Official Football Thread

Yeah I think the Premier League is very much over-rated. Probably because they have the most raucous fans and the Primera Division is basically just two teams (Real and Barcelona). But it looks like the Italian Serie A is finally starting to get some more recognition.
 
England - Netherlands @ Wembley: 2-3

What a match! England didn't bring the strongest team on the pitch (at least 4 big names were missing) but they had some younger guys giving 100%. Holland came 0-1 ahead via Robben and the second goal was a header by Hunterlaar but "The Hunter" got into a head-collision with an English defender (sorry didn't remember the name) and both had to leave the field. I believe Huntelaar missed a tooth and the other had to be carried away, so that looked serious as well. Then England came back. 2-2 in extra time. And then Robben (man of the match) made the winning goal, almost from a stand-still position.

This was the first Dutch victory vs England on Wembley since 1977.

And this was the 19th time that Engeland and the Netherlands met each other.
England: 5 wins / Netherlands: 5 wins / draws: 9
 
I caught the last three goals of that match live. Both Young's 2-2 goal and Robben's winner were very fine goals.

Norway finally got a good result again. Since last summer things haven't been going our way, but a 3-0 win away against Northern Ireland should give some of the young guys in the team confidence. We had some abscentees as well, most notably Brede Hangeland, but the replacements did well.
 
Uncharacteristically for me, I want to ask you guys to hold your thumbs for Hertha BSC - they're currently on relegation yet again, and desperately need a victory today - against Werder Bremen, no less.
 
Sieg! :) They won.

Van Persie is a great club player, I am glad we have other guys in the national team when he is not doing that well.
 
And about time. They haven't won in eight or nine games, and have lost the last six.
 
Holy crap. I didn't think Arsenal v Milan was going to be exciting at all, considering Milan won their home match 4-0. But at 3-0 to Arsenal with one half still to be played, it's wide open again. Who would have thought that?
 
I wonder who's the idiot that brought Mesbah to Milan. What a dumbass player... I hope Milan manages to prevent Arsenal from scoring, just 20 more minutes.
 
Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
Holy crap. I didn't think Arsenal v Milan was going to be exciting at all, considering Milan won their home match 4-0. But at 3-0 to Arsenal with one half still to be played, it's wide open again. Who would have thought that?
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I must admit, that was edge of the seat stuff. The problem is that the Arsenal faithful are all spouting on about how passionately they played and played Milan off the park. Well, why was that not there in the first leg?
 
Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, no question. I don't even see how there can be a debate between him and Cristiano Ronaldo. He single-footedly dismantled the entire Bayer Leverkusen squad. Incredible, a beauty to watch.
 
It's not lonely at the top in the Dutch league:

1. AZ 24 15 4 5 49 51-25
2. FC Twente 23 14 6 3 48 65-25
3. PSV 24 14 6 4 48 62-34
4. Heerenveen 25 13 9 3 48 56-36
5. Ajax 24 13 7 4 46 63-33
6. Feyenoord 24 13 5 6 44 48-31
 
Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
Vaagan Moen released from QPR contract. Seems like he never fit in there, resulting in one of the bigger failures for a Norwegian player in British football for a while. He's obviously also out of the national team now, and should find a club where he'll play regularly.
I miss the days when Norway exported players who played a big role in their clubs, like Thorstvedt in Spurs, Rune Bratseth in Werder Bremen and so on.
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I thought you might like to see this below, an opinion on Vaagen Moen from a QPR website which I read. I can't really comment much on him myself because I think I only ever saw him as a substitute once or twice. Before he signed I saw a video of his goals in Norway, and he looked like a very exciting signing, but maybe the difference in class between those two leagues was just too great. Or maybe he would have adapted given more of a chance.

Petter Vaagan Moen

Facts: Neil Warnock added this left footed Norwegian international midfielder to his squad a year ago as part of a January squad strengthening drive with the aim of securing promotion to the Premiership. Rangers achieved that of course, but Vaagen Moen made only one start, in the FA Cup at Blackburn, and struggled for appearances throughout his time in W12. The 27-year-old who arrived from Brann in his homeland agreed to cancel his contract at Loftus Road this week after two starts and six substitute appearances.
Opinion: When Petter Vaagan Moen drew back his left foot from fully 40 yards out at Blackburn in the FA Cup last season I caught myself beginning to laugh. Oh yeh? From there? Really? Ok go on then.
Boy did he catch that free kick sweetly. It went like a guided missile and almost snapped the cross bar in two as it rebounded back into play. It seemed that day that Warnock had done it again, spotting a cheap talent in some forgotten backwater and giving him a stage on which to showcase his ability. Moen showed an impressive eye for a pass and range of distribution that day against a Premiership side, a cultured left foot that could provide cover for Alejandro Faurlin.

Whether Moen actually wasn’t any good after all, or simply never had a chance because Faurlin was so good and injury free for so long, I’m not sure we’ll ever know. Certainly in pre-season last summer when LFW travelled to see him play at Crawley he appeared very lightweight, easily shrugged off the ball by League Two players, so it may be that he was never actually much good at all.
When I spoke to him at the Player of the Year dinner he seemed to believe that he would be given plenty of opportunities in the Premiership, which Warnock had told him would suit his game better. He was well spoken, polite and likeable and I wished him well, but then he failed to even make the 25 man squad. Most QPR fans probably wouldn’t even know him if they passed him in the street.
A strange signing.
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