Global Football Odds & Ends

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/09/petr-cech-joins-guildford-phoenix-ice-hockey-team
The former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has joined British ice hockey team Guildford Phoenix.

The 37-year-old, who retired from playing football in the summer and rejoined Chelsea in an off-field role, has signed for Guildford as a goaltender.

Cech said he played the sport as a youngster in the Czech Republic. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to play with the Phoenix to get the match experience,” Cech told the club’s website.

“I hope I can help this young team to achieve their goals for the season and try to win as many games as possible when I have the chance to play.


“After 20 years of professional football this is going to be a wonderful experience for me to play the game I loved to watch and play as a kid.”

Phoenix, who were founded in 2017, are in the fourth tier of Britain’s ice hockey pyramid and have a home game at the Guildford Spectrum leisure complex against Swindon Wildcats II on Sunday.
That's really cool.

The most surprising thing in a surprising story is that there's a fourth tier to the British hockey pyramid, let alone one at all.
 

Spacemans Bong

chapeau rose
SoSH Member
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/09/petr-cech-joins-guildford-phoenix-ice-hockey-team


That's really cool.

The most surprising thing in a surprising story is that there's a fourth tier to the British hockey pyramid, let alone one at all.
Cech has been a Guildford season ticket holder/member and possibly investor for quite a long time, at least a decade. I've known he was a puckhead for a while, some of my ball hockey friends who played on ice for Guildford would see him at the rink fairly regularly.

Hockey is a surprisingly enduring thing here in the UK, it's probably the most deeply rooted Big 4 sport in the country. That's not saying much, but not saying nothing either: the sport's maintained some kind of professional league for at least 30 years now. I went to a Romford Raiders game last year for work, as they chose my charity as their charity of the year, and there were at least 250-300 people there. And that's in London, which is the biggest black hole for support (not helpful, due to the number of expats/migrants here from hockey playing countries) due to the lack of good arenas with an ice plant. Belfast Giants average something like 4-5,000 and the Scottish teams and Nottingham do well too. They actually beat France this year in the World Championships, meaning they avoided relegation to Division I.

There's also the remarkable story of Tony Hand, one of the best what-if stories I've ever heard in sports. This article actually undersells how good he was and how interested teams were: after '86 there were other NHL teams interested, and plenty of bigger European teams, but Hand just constantly chose the UK, steady ice time and a steady paycheque over playing at a higher level. Can't say Tony ended up with a shit life, but boy oh boy, if homesickness and a poor kid's desire for stability didn't get in the way...
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Cech has been a Guildford season ticket holder/member and possibly investor for quite a long time, at least a decade. I've known he was a puckhead for a while, some of my ball hockey friends who played on ice for Guildford would see him at the rink fairly regularly.

Hockey is a surprisingly enduring thing here in the UK, it's probably the most deeply rooted Big 4 sport in the country. That's not saying much, but not saying nothing either: the sport's maintained some kind of professional league for at least 30 years now. I went to a Romford Raiders game last year for work, as they chose my charity as their charity of the year, and there were at least 250-300 people there. And that's in London, which is the biggest black hole for support (not helpful, due to the number of expats/migrants here from hockey playing countries) due to the lack of good arenas with an ice plant. Belfast Giants average something like 4-5,000 and the Scottish teams and Nottingham do well too. They actually beat France this year in the World Championships, meaning they avoided relegation to Division I.

There's also the remarkable story of Tony Hand, one of the best what-if stories I've ever heard in sports. This article actually undersells how good he was and how interested teams were: after '86 there were other NHL teams interested, and plenty of bigger European teams, but Hand just constantly chose the UK, steady ice time and a steady paycheque over playing at a higher level. Can't say Tony ended up with a shit life, but boy oh boy, if homesickness and a poor kid's desire for stability didn't get in the way...
That's really cool.

I looked at the league's website and noticed that the teams are mostly in the north, Scotland, and NI as opposed to London.
 

MiracleOfO2704

not AWOL
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
9,528
The Island

MiracleOfO2704

not AWOL
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
9,528
The Island
Way late on this, but as @jkempa can attest, St. Pauli is one of the most politically conscious clubs in Europe, embracing a far-left identity. It isn't a shock that they would take a drastic measure like that when the player publicly supports a regime like Erdogan's.
 

Vinho Tinto

Member
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Dec 9, 2003
7,047
Auburn, MA
Libertadores second legs will be played the next two nights. Boca will try to overturn the 2-0 defeat to River at La Bombonera. After a 1-1 draw in Porto Alegre, Flamengo will host Gremio at the Maracana tomorrow.

The tournament is now on beIN.
 

Zososoxfan

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Jul 30, 2009
9,209
South of North
Instead of pepper spray, tonight's match has been delayed for half an hour due to confetti.

View: https://twitter.com/rubronegroofi/status/1186804136647507968?s=20
That was completely ridiculous. The best part of the BeIn broadcast was Phil saying how Boca was prepared for this. In other words you're telling me being prepared results in a half-hour delay?!? What does not being prepared...you know what, nevermind.

With respect to the game, River played very well in La Bonbonera and wins the tie with a 1-0 loss (2-1 on aggregate). I was very impressed that River could play a tighter defensive game rather than they're usual high flying attacking style. I love Gallardo as a manager, but I have to think that the disparity in quality and depth between the squads was the deciding factor. Even with some bigger names like Macallister, Salvio, Mas, etc. Boca really struggle generating consistent attacks. Nevertheless, Gallardo seems to be far ahead of Alfaro in terms of tactics. Boca really misses Pavon.

For River, I expect Palacios and De La Cruz to be in Europe soon. Palacios is a terrific MF that pops up everywhere and is a well-rounded player. De La Cruz is a gifted dribbler who's not afraid to track back and get stuck in. Both are in their early 20s with bright futures ahead of them.

I do think Boca have some promising youngsters as well, but they haven't proven it yet and likely will lead this club forward as some older mainstays move on.

Tonight Gremio travel to the Maracanã for the return leg against Flamengo. The first leg in Porto Alegre was a 1-1 draw. The finals are on 23 November.
 

Vinho Tinto

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Dec 9, 2003
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Auburn, MA
Agreed on the match. Boca did not muster one real attack. They scored on a set piece and had Salvio's goal on another removed for a hand ball. Otherwise, they did nothing of note while River easily snuffed out possessions. While they were severely outshot, I thought River looked more dangerous. Most of Boca's shots were tepid, but the number of bodies they had to throw forward left a lot of space for River to counter with. They were poor in finishing their transition game. Boca did well to leverage the ref pocketing his whistle for most of the match to slow them down.

Jorge Jesus is one of my favorite managers/people on Earth because of how entertaining and insane he is. I'm rooting hard for Flamengo tonight. He would be just the 2nd European manager to win the Libertadores if Flamengo pulls it off.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Sep 27, 2016
21,762
Pittsburgh, PA
Google's search homepage today has a link at the bottom that says "explore the life and work of Claudio Bravo", and I immediately thought "yeah, great goalkeeper, but is that really necessary?"

In my defense, the default bio page on Wikipedia is the goalie. You gotta click a bit to find the painter.
 

BrazilianSoxFan

Member
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Apr 11, 2006
3,751
Brasil
Michael Eberwein stats. 0 matches played in 2.Bundesliga. Look at the video.

How is that a penalty? Can substitutes even commit a foul?

That should be a misconduct, punishable with a card, but not a foul.

Edit:
From Law 9:
If, when the ball is in play, it touches a substitute player or a substituted player who are on the field of play, the referee shall stop the match and restart play with an indirect free kick against the team of the substitute or substituted player, from the position of the ball when play was stopped.*
https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/refereeing/law_9_the_ball_in_and_out_play_en_47392.pdf
 
Last edited:

mauf

Anderson Cooper × Mr. Rogers
Moderator
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Random question: why don’t more teams treat a deep throw as a set piece (similar to a corner kick), rather than simply being content to retain possession?

I figure most teams have a strong enough thrower to get the ball into the center of the box from the sideline. Is it just not an effective
play?
 

teddykgb

Member
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Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
I think you’re underestimating the difficulty of the throw significantly. I doubt most teams have a player who can do it with any kind of accuracy and pace. If you float something in there you won’t be able to win the ball anyway
 

67YAZ

Member
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Dec 1, 2000
8,730
Random question: why don’t more teams treat a deep throw as a set piece (similar to a corner kick), rather than simply being content to retain possession?

I figure most teams have a strong enough thrower to get the ball into the center of the box from the sideline. Is it just not an effective
play?
this is instructive.

 

DLew On Roids

guilty of being sex
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Aug 30, 2001
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The Pine Street Inn
There’s a limit to how effective a throw-in can be deep in the opponent’s end, simply because there are few players who can get the ball into the box who you’d also want in the side for the rest of the match. People remember Rory Delap, but he was a former javelin thrower.

One area that could definitely be improved, though, is throw-ins away from the opponents’ goal. They turn into 50/50 duels 5-10 yards from the spot of the throw far too often, with players on the team throwing it in standing around as if this is just the way things are.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

RIP Dernell
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Mar 24, 2008
7,204
There’s a limit to how effective a throw-in can be deep in the opponent’s end, simply because there are few players who can get the ball into the box who you’d also want in the side for the rest of the match. People remember Rory Delap, but he was a former javelin thrower.

One area that could definitely be improved, though, is throw-ins away from the opponents’ goal. They turn into 50/50 duels 5-10 yards from the spot of the throw far too often, with players on the team throwing it in standing around as if this is just the way things are.
In high school, I could do a throw in about half the width of the field. I actually got promoted from JV to Varsity my junior year for state tournament purely for this skill. (Spoiler: I didn't actually get any playing time). It was a great skill in high school because it came with the element of surprise and you'd have in guarded players in the middle of the box. Professionally, you'd know exactly which players have the ability and it wouldn't be quite that effective.

The Rory Delap note is interesting. My senior year, I tore my hamstring and couldn't run my normal track events. I ended up throwing javelin and placed in a few meets with only a month or so of practice, and a limited running start.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
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Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
Did your state high school regulations have open substitutions? That could make for an interesting tactical option.
This was done ALL the time when I was in high school. Portsmouth, NH, in particular had a guy that would hang out near the touch line. When the ball went out he’d quickly sub himself in and take it. He’d go back out on the next break in play.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Sep 27, 2016
21,762
Pittsburgh, PA


"Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise.... I'll come in again."
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Lucas Digne of Everton can throw the ball a long way. Everton scored off one of his throws against Arsenal last year. Arsenal fans were insistent that he had stepped too far onto the pitch but his foot was on the line, which is the rule.

Johann Berg Gudmunsson of Burnley and Iceland is like a human catapult which is a useful weapon, and lucky for him because he has no discernible above-average skill otherwise.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
53,844
Random question: why don’t more teams treat a deep throw as a set piece (similar to a corner kick), rather than simply being content to retain possession?

I figure most teams have a strong enough thrower to get the ball into the center of the box from the sideline. Is it just not an effective
play?
Of note, most studies have shown that, on corner kicks, short corners that keep possession are worth more goals than using corners as a set piece. So, being "content" to retain possession actually seems to lead to more expected goals.
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
22,672
Messi was awarded the Ballon D'or, not that is breaking news or anything. I'm not going to argue that he doesn't deserve it or that someone unequivocally was better because they were not, but it feels kind of lame to just give it to Messi for a season that wasn't particularly outstanding by his impossibly high standards. Yes, that speaks to his brilliance that even in a "down" year he can still be the best player in the world, but I'd like to see a little more variety in these awards.
 

coremiller

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Jul 14, 2005
5,846
Messi was awarded the Ballon D'or, not that is breaking news or anything. I'm not going to argue that he doesn't deserve it or that someone unequivocally was better because they were not, but it feels kind of lame to just give it to Messi for a season that wasn't particularly outstanding by his impossibly high standards. Yes, that speaks to his brilliance that even in a "down" year he can still be the best player in the world, but I'd like to see a little more variety in these awards.
It wasn't a down year at all, it was probably Messi's best season since the 2014-15. He led La Liga in just about every statistical category, he was the best goalscorer, best creator, and ball-progresser all at the same time, he carried an otherwise aging and flawed Barca team to a league title and a champions league semifinal, and he became the best free-kick taker in modern memory.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
8,730
VVD on finishing second:

“It was an amazing year but unfortunately there are a couple of players … that are unnatural,” he said. “You have to respect greatness.
Agree with the sentiment - it may be repetitive for the same 2 dudes to keep winning this award, but Messi & Ronaldo are unnatural. And Messi was the world’s best player this year.

Alison won the inaugural Lev Yashin award for best keeper, de Ligt the Award for best young player.

And of course Rapinoe wins the Ballon d’Or, too! At age 34, no less. She’s firmly taken her place among Akers, Hamm, Wambach, and Donovan as the greatest American players.
 

veritas

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Jan 13, 2009
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It wasn't a down year at all, it was probably Messi's best season since the 2014-15. He led La Liga in just about every statistical category, he was the best goalscorer, best creator, and ball-progresser all at the same time, he carried an otherwise aging and flawed Barca team to a league title and a champions league semifinal, and he became the best free-kick taker in modern memory.
Agreed 100%, he's be doing everything for Barca, he's the best player in the world still and it's not close. He also hasn't won since 2015, there's definitely been some variety in the award over the past few years.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Of note, most studies have shown that, on corner kicks, short corners that keep possession are worth more goals than using corners as a set piece. So, being "content" to retain possession actually seems to lead to more expected goals.
It makes more sense intuitively to put a short corner out to a guy in space, at a better angle, who can pick out a range of teammates with a targeted pass (or shoot himself). It would seem to have a higher % than humping it up there and hoping that your CB gets his head on the end of it.

But - short corners also work because they're not done often and not well defended. It would be interesting to do them every time out, draw a defender(s) out further to guard them, and then go back to an aerial corner to see if one fewer guy in the box makes it easier to convert.