IdleRich

IdleRich
These last three or four days I've been wishing I was into football tbh
You're not the first person I've seen/heard say that. And it makes sense. But basically this last few days are the pay off for a terrible life. My girlfriend was just saying to me "but didn't something this ridiculous happen before when Man Utd beat Bayern in 99?" And my reply is "Yes it did" but basically nothing good happened since then - and now that happened twice in two days and it's unbelievable.
But is it worth a lifetime of torture for the highs? I dunno, but when the highs come you gotta enjoy them.
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
The orgasm you're hearing right now is only earned by a lifetime of nothing.... except that's not quite true, these two games are ridiculous and I hope that anyone who gets it will be excited in the same way that every English football fan loves the Brasil 70 side...
 
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Corpsey

bandz ahoy
That's kind of what the case is with football on a game by game basis, right? The excitement of the goals is created by the great swathes of disjointed or boring play. That's why I much prefer football to basketball, say, where they're constantly scoring - although I'm not slagging basketball, I understand there's a different tension going on there. In football a single goal is usually highly consequential. If it's a beautifully taken goal that just adds to it.

I went to see two Oxford United games recently with my mate and in the second match Oxford scored the winning goal from outside the area in extra time. Was brilliant.

I've tried to reconnect with football (which I was obsessed with in primary school) from time to time but I usually find it takes too much work to keep up with it. I've got a lot of competing interests so 90 minutes of possible boredom doesn't seem like a good investment of time. Unfortunately, the fact that I have to artificially try to care about it makes it seem unlikely I ever will get back into it properly. But I'm a pretty rare breed of non football loving men in my social circle, so I know I'm missing out. Something to look forward to, to structure your week around, something to put you through an emotional wringer.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
It is an emotional wringer right? It's a weird one, suppose your team is in the final, you look forward to it for ages, you get your mates or whatever, get some beers in everything is great.... and then they lose and it's the worst night of your life. You don't get that with going to see a film or a gig or whatever. I mean, I suppose the fun of clubbing is that it is (or can be) an adventure. But you don't have this risk of disappointment - maybe the film/gig is shit but that's not the same. Of course you couldn't have the chance of elation without the risk of despondency, that's the deal you make I guess.
Do you live in Oxford then?
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
@Corpsey I went to see Oxford just the once and they scored an equaliser in the 90th minute. Must be a thing.

The disappointment factor is awful. I'm not a Liverpool supporter but I've always been a fan of the club, and more recently of Klopp since Dortmund days - the CL final last year made me feel almost physically sick (first Ramos on Salah, and then the absurdity of those two goals that weren't the best goal of all time). Almost gave up watching football then and there as not worth the emotional investment. Can't even imagine what being a week by week attendee must be like (well, I've read fever pitch, so i guess i can)

I think this era of football (thinking of the post 2006ish era) has been undeniably improved by Messi, Ronaldo and the return of grand football strategic narratives (tiki taka, parking the bus, heavy metal football etc). The three years of RM hegemony in Europe were a massive downer tho
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
@Corpsey I went to see Oxford just the once and they scored an equaliser in the 90th minute. Must be a thing.

The disappointment factor is awful. I'm not a Liverpool supporter but I've always been a fan of the club, and more recently of Klopp since Dortmund days - the CL final last year made me feel almost physically sick (first Ramos on Salah, and then the absurdity of those two goals that weren't the best goal of all time). Almost gave up watching football then and there as not worth the emotional investment. Can't even imagine what being a week by week attendee must be like (well, I've read fever pitch, so i guess i can)

I think this era of football (thinking of the post 2006ish era) has been undeniably improved by Messi, Ronaldo and the return of grand football strategic narratives (tiki taka, parking the bus, heavy metal football etc). The three years of RM hegemony in Europe were a massive downer tho
Indeed they were. I'm hoping for a few years of Premiership dominance now though rather parochially. I think that Liverpool are definitely better than any side in the other European leagues and City are better than them so it's quite possible. At the end of today it could finish with four Prem sides in the two European finals. It was only Real's inexplicable flukiness/unbeatableness that stopped Liverpool last time.
One thing that's not good in football at the moment is the predictably of all the major leagues - except for the premiership. You've got Juventus with 8 titles in a row, think Bayern have the same, PSG similar and Barcelona have won eight out of last eleven. At least in the Prem there have been City, Chelsea and Leicester in the last few years. I'd even like Liverpool to win purely to add to that, I think this competitiveness might be what is giving them an advantage in the CL.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Agreed on Liverpool. I think City's squad is better, but I don't think their first team necessarily is (but then, the de Bruyne factor is critical, and Sane is the best sub in the world most weeks).

I was a bit fearful last year that we were going to be entering a comparatively dull era of competition, with PSG and City remorsely wending their way to European titles through sheer commercial power, but something altogether more interesting is materialising, with a real victory this year for sides built largely without the purchase of ready-made superstars (Liverpool, Spurs, Ajax, and Dortmund looked fantastic for a while as well before fading badly). And so much for Mbappe taking the mantle of best player in the world - won't happen it seems as long as he's with PSG. And then World Player of the Year Modric being decimated by de Jong. The 2018 World Cup feels like 7 years ago already.
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
Agreed on Liverpool. I think City's squad is better, but I don't think their first team necessarily is (but then, the de Bruyne factor is critical, and Sane is the best sub in the world most weeks)
I was a bit fearful last year that we were going to be entering a comparatively dull era of competition, with PSG and City remorsely wending their way to European titles through sheer commercial power, but something altogether more interesting is materialising, with a real victory this year for sides built largely without the purchase of ready-made superstars (Liverpool, Spurs, Ajax, and Dortmund looked fantastic for a while as well before fading badly). And so much for Mbappe taking the mantle of best player in the world - won't happen it seems as long as he's with PSG. And then World Player of the Year Modric being decimated by de Jong. The 2018 World Cup feels like 7 years ago already.
I think there have been times when Modric is the best player in the year, or at least was right up there. But I think that he got the award this time more his life-time service rather than cos he was actually the best this year.
 

version

Well-known member
This would have been goal of the season had it gone in, the touches to take it round the defenders are ridiculous and the outside of the boot shot is just as good -
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
This would have been goal of the season had it gone in, the touches to take it round the defenders are ridiculous and the outside of the boot shot is just as good -
I love the touch when he gets the one-two back, a kind of flick that looks loose when it seems as if the only sensible choice at that point is the tightest of tight control. Somehow he finds space to knock it into and wrong-foots everyone in the stadium. I'd like to think it was a miscontrol...
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I'm really looking forward to the final. Should be a great game and I don't care who wins so no pressure that could spoil it for me... although does that lack of the risk of the lowest low mean that the highest high is also not available to me? Hmmm.
 

version

Well-known member
I love the touch when he gets the one-two back, a kind of flick that looks loose when it seems as if the only sensible choice at that point is the tightest of tight control. Somehow he finds space to knock it into and wrong-foots everyone in the stadium. I'd like to think it was a miscontrol...

I can't decide whether it would be more or less impressive if it was accidental; if he did it on purpose then it's obviously brilliant, but if he did it on the fly after a dodgy touch then the speed at which he managed to respond to the situation and improvise is absolutely staggering.
 

version

Well-known member
"Kyle Walker is the first player to score for the Netherlands in extra-time since Ruud Geels in 1976 v Yugoslavia."
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
VAR though... I think it's a great idea but I quibble with the application, especially the way they don't follow their own rules. Last night, how can it go from a penalty to Portugal to one for Switzerland? That can't be right.
 
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