Real Madrid - Osasuna 0 - 0. Small comfort. And Koeman gone, OK. Twelve million down the drain, let’s see what the next one can do with this team. Sigh…
Who will it be? The best manager available is Conte but his style is the opposite of Barcelona. Probably be Xavi because he has been identified as a future manager but this trait of hiring legendary players as managers is hit and miss. He could be the new Guardiola or he could be the new Pirlo.
Just remember to keep your grubby hands off Marcelo Gallardo! He’s ours.
They’ve asked Xavi before and he turned it down, probably because he doesn’t want to take over a dumpster fire. I don’t think that’s changed since the last time he was asked. I think he’s most likely, still. Then maybe Gallardo and ten Hag as a hopeful long shot.
What’re the rules on hiring coaches? Do you have to wait for a transfer window, or do coaches not follow that
If a coach you want is already employed at another club then you have to be granted permission to speak to him. By agreeing to a financial settlement. There is no transfer window for coaches. They’re free to move at any time.
They’re still called that?
Huh, thought that was just a 70s thing.
Would get my vote. Or Brendan Rogers.
No, this nickname survived. This is their mascot, the foal Jünter (named after Günter Netzer, who coined the nickname “Die Fohlen”):
I’m not sure that any manager would be able to succeed in Barcelona with the club’s current financial picture. At least not to fans’ expectations. But it was those expectations that put the club in its current mess in the first place.
Christ on one of those mobility scooters…
Looks like Messi has problems with the back of his leg, which I hope explains all the uncharateristic giveaways - especially in his last game against Lille, where he had to be subbed at the half - and mediocre shot attempts/miscues. Really weird to see.
And there’s doubts about him being available against Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League this Wednesday.
Messi gave the ball away a lot last season too. I hope he can get it together, it’d be a shame if his career ends being banished from a club in ruin and then having minor injuries into irrelevance.
Barca now probably favored to advance out of their group. Today was a good day for them. Ronaldo in stoppage time in both halves. Jeez.
And Bayern have seemingly recovered after the 0-5 humiliation against Gladbach last week. Two 5-2 victories against Union Berlin and Benfica within three days with five Lewandowski goals.
ETA: Lewandowski with a hat-trick in his 100th CL game. And Manuel Neuer gave his first ever goal assist in a CL game (his 123rd) to Lewi on the fifth goal.
If they beat Benfica they are mathematically qualified, no matter how embarrasingly they lose again against Bayern Munich, but beating Benfica will not be easy. They have a very weak defense and not such a good attack.
…
I don’t think the Xavi hiring is a surprise to anyone. Supposedly an 18 month contract, which I find odd. GIven the state of the roster you have to know it’s a rebuilding period.
I think Xavi was an incredibly intelligent player and the type of guy you would think would eventually succeed as a manager, but apparently he tries to play a lot like 2009 Barca. And I don’t know that anyone can play like 2009 Barca without Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi. Qatar isn’t a good testing ground. I guess we’ll see how adaptable he is.
Well, City dominated United. Love to see it.
Barcelona look determined to throw away a 3-0 halftime lead, although the ref is doing them some favors.
Barça has managed to throw away the 0 - 3 halftime lead. They played well the first half, well, sort of, Celta let them too, then went to sleep the second. Several new injuries to top the self inflicted insult, let’s hope they are not too serious or long lasting. Can’t see what Xavi will do with this sorry lot, but as he is here now, he will have to do something. He wanted the job. Wonder why.
Apparently one of Xavi’s intentions is to hire an entirely new physio staff. Makes sense given they spent $100M on Dembele only to have him injured for 4 years straight. Pedri and Ansu Fati both injured a lot too, which is a shame because they’re both phenomenal at a young age. They really do need like $200M worth of defenders a striker and a winger to be elite though. If Xavi can survive for 3-4 years, and if they can make good transfers, they might have a hell of a team. Two huuuuge ifs though.
RB Leipzig got a very deserved win over Dortmund today. Glad for Marsch to finally get a good win especially after letting Man City off the hook during the week.
CONCACAF qualifying is back on tomorrow, with Mexico at USA and Costa Rica at Canada as the big matches. Predicted temperature for kickoff is 0° C for the Canada game. Mexico at Canada on Tuesday should be even colder.
Iké Ugbo has joined the Canadian team, and is on the roster for tomorrow. I think I have some vague memory of him playing on England U17 but I don’t think I know anything about him beyond that.
USA 2 - 0 Mexico
Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica
That leaves USA and Mexico on 14 points, and Canada on 13. For a while it looked like Panama would lose, which would have opened up a large gap below the top 3 qualifying spots. But they came back from 2-0 down to beat Honduras 3-2. That leaves Panama at 11 points, with no one else above 6. The top 4 seem pretty set, so it may just be a matter of which of them have to go to the playoff from 4th place.