But you’re not wrong, according to Google Maps, Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern are only 68 km apart.
I wonder too, because I am not so sure Guardiola is a magician. He seems to be very good, he is also very smart. He left Barcelona when he reached the top, when it could only go downwards. He had won six titles in his first season (2008), which was something unheard of, and won another Champions League in his four years in Barcelona, as well as several Liga titles and the Spanish Cup. That – and driving José Mourinho nuts – is a very good basis for a coach. But would he have made that without Victor Valdés, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Leo Messi in their prime? He did not have to prove anything to anyone after those four years and he could ask for fenomenal ressources, specially at City. I don’t know what he would achieve with Barcelona today. Some people say he should have won more Champions Leagues, both with Barcelona and with City, but I think that is unfair.
Look at the kids from the academy, la Masía: remember Ansu Fati? He had a fantastic first year, averaging a goal per match when he usually came in as a substitute. Then he tore his meniscus up and has never been the same. He was on loan in Brighton (I believe, or perhaps Bristol?) and nobody knows where he will be next year. Pedri? He is back, but after playing an abusive amount of games in his first year he had a lot of muscular injuries, and I hear that he started to enjoy the pleasures of Barcelona’s night life a bit too much for a professional footballer. I don’t blame him, I would do the same in his place. Gavi? Tore his knee ligament apart, will not return until next season. Lamine Yamal? So young, he still has braces and is growing a centimeter every month. And still they make him play like an adult, I hope he is at least spared the Olympic Games! There is a lot of talent in la Masía, but the club is wasting it by being greedy and impatient.
What Guardiola could do, perhaps, is teach those kids to go slower. To try to advance in a more sustainable manner. To mature better. But it is difficult when everybody is desperately looking for the next Messi: the fans, eager to win titles, the club, eager to earn sponsoring money, the agents, who want to take a cut, the media, because that is what media do, and the players themselves every time they look in the mirror, having seen this dream come true in this very club during their lifetime. I am afraid I will not see another Messi in my lifetime, and if I see one it will not be at Barcelona.
Which is much better than confusing Bristol with Brighton, which are 166 miles apart (Google sez)? You are too kind, thank you! I know somebody who would hit me with a frying pan in the head for confusing Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern, I’ll better not tell anyone.
I also always confuse the two and have them both filed as English cities on the coast where English people use to go on vacations, beginning with Bri…
Speaking of South Coast clubs, Southampton won the big money game today 1-0 over hard luck Leeds. They’re going right back up along with Leicester and Ipswich Town (after a 22-year absence).
Not confident in Saints’ ability to hang, though; their scouting department is a shadow of what it was before the ownership change.
First half of the CL final, Dortmund was clearly the dominant team, not by possession, but by shots on goal which I counted 6-0 or so with most of them very dangerous (one hit of the post by Füllkrug). Real seemed very uninspired, but they often do and win in the end anyway.
I came to find the thread but you’d moved it!
What a really fun first half. But they need to convert soon, because I’m not sure they can keep running their asses off like that for a full half plus potential extra.
I had the same fear, they can’t keep up that speed for another 45 minutes.
Yeah, the game now is more balanced in second half, and Real already had two or three good chances, which they had none of in first half.
Well, it was a delightful match to watch, but in the end, Real Madrid is going to Real Madrid.
Aw, damned. Real is a bitch.
And Vinicius deserves a kick in the balls.
And after mbappe jouns they win 9 more in a row. God I hate Real Madrid.
There’s something doubly grating about a heavy favorite diving to get calls.
It rhymes, so it must be true.
And I hate them as much or more than you, I am sure.
Scotland and Germany kicking off Euro today. Feels like another wide open tournament to me.
Los geeeeehts!!!
It looks like I’ll have to support Scotland, even if their chances are negligible.
I started the much-needed Euro 2024 thread here:
Because of things like this:
France must be pretty big favorites, no? Both in talent and form they’re ahead of the field, imo.
Sorry for missing that. I work on a Kindle Fire and don’t always get the full view of threads. Thanks for starting the thread.