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American Soccer |OT2| Party Like It's 1999.

Z

zroid

Banned
TFC beat NYRB? can't believe it.

I totally forgot there was a game today, Jays had all my attention ha ha. Need to catch up on the highlights.
 
The Chosen One

The Chosen One

Member
Amazing goal by Gio and great show of commitment to have that kind of performance after just flying in from national team duty. Guys like Dempsy and Jozy should be taking notes.

I hope the MLS can keep Gio because it's great having world class prime talent on display like that. Dramatically raises the quality of the league. But at the same time if he goes to a major club like Barcelona, it would also be a good thing for the MLS. It might encourage other world class players who may not be getting as much playing time in Europe to come to the MLS as a stepping stone to reach higher in Europe.

Having the MLS be a Euro-feeder league is better than being a Euro-retirement league.I'll take 1-2 prime seasons of Gio over 3-4 retirement seasons of Lampard. Guys like Gio make the MLS a more exciting product. Whereas Lampard is just a waste of space taking up DP money that could go to a younger American player or a hungrier international.
 
D

DominoKid

Member
The Chosen One said:
Amazing goal by Gio and great show of commitment to have that kind of performance after just flying in from national team duty. Guys like Dempsy and Jozy should be taking notes.

I hope the MLS can keep Gio because it's great having world class prime talent on display like that. Dramatically raises the quality of the league. But at the same time if he goes to a major club like Barcelona, it would also be a good thing for the MLS. It might encourage other world class players who may not be getting as much playing time in Europe to come to the MLS as a stepping stone to reach higher in Europe.

Having the MLS be a Euro-feeder league is better than being a Euro-retirement league.I'll take 1-2 prime seasons of Gio over 3-4 retirement seasons of Lampard. Guys like Gio make the MLS a more exciting product. Whereas Lampard is just a waste of space taking up DP money that could go to a younger American player or a hungrier international.
Click to expand...

Gio might go back to Europe soon but he's not on Barca's radar lol. Hope he stays for a while and it gets more people to come over here in their prime.
 
M

Meier

Member
The Chosen One said:
Whereas Lampard is just a waste of space taking up DP money that could go to a younger American player or a hungrier international.
Click to expand...

Lampard has been playing very well recently and should score a boatload of goals next season with a full offseason of preparation. Gio was sort of a perfect storm -- you have to find the kind of player who is willing to come to MLS "before his time" and is still able to play at a high level. Gio had been frozen out for the most part at Juve and therefore it made a lot of sense to him to leave. There aren't many players at his age and his level that are in the situation he was in.

Pablo Dani Osvaldo and Michu are probably the two most comparable figures that come to mind immediately but Osvaldo has a horrible, horrible attitude and Michu has been a mess in terms of injuries for the past two seasons and has barely played at all for ages -- Swansea want nothing to do with him even if he is fit. Giovinco didn't have the character flaws and/or injury concerns of either of these players and in Osvaldo's case, he was still able to earn a move to Porto.

There is no American player that isn't in MLS whose better or worth the money of a Frank Lampard. None even come close. The only players that are approaching his level, even at his age, are already in MLS and making a lot of money.
 
N

NoRéN

Member
Cystm said:
Dempsey plays for the Sounders. Jozy and Gio are actually teamates. F.



Goodluck, duder.
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Doesn't matter where that scrub plays. He should take notes on how to play with dedication. That passion Giovinco displays is something most of the current USMNT lineup can learn from.

But if we are gonna be picky, Gio plays for the Galaxy. :)
 
D

Dr Campino

Member
Cystm said:
Goodluck, duder.
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks! My team is made up of all the random players who just need a team. I'm the keeper, and I'm not great, but I try.

...I also scored tonight! As the keeper!

Guy floated a corner into the box, I was unmarked, one-touched it into the far corner. Other keeper had no chance. Hilarious.

But yeah, otherwise we totally lost, like 8-1 or something.
 
M

Meier

Member
Cystm said:
San Jose to win 2015 MLS Cup:
Click to expand...

I saw Besler and some other guys from SKC in the Denver airport on Wednesday -- they were taking Southwest and I saw there was a San Jose flight so I guess it was a connection. Didn't see Dom sadly.. would have been pretty cool. I did say hello to Matt though. Didn't see Zusi or Feilhaber either and I don't think I know what anyone else on their team looks like hah.
 
C

Cystm

Member
Meier said:
I saw Besler and some other guys from SKC in the Denver airport on Wednesday -- they were taking Southwest and I saw there was a San Jose flight so I guess it was a connection. Didn't see Dom sadly.. would have been pretty cool. I did say hello to Matt though. Didn't see Zusi or Feilhaber either and I don't think I know what anyone else on their team looks like hah.
Click to expand...

That's awesome. I always wondered what I would do if I saw a footballer I liked. Would I freakout like fanboy? Would I just be cool? Or in Besler's case kinda be sad for him due to our recent USMNT situation. lol.
 
P

platypotamus

Member
My wife took a picture with Ozzie Alonso when she was black friday shopping last year. She told him that I was totally straight but might make an exception in his case. So I look forward to inevitably meeting him and having him remember that someday.
 
M

Meier

Member
Cystm said:
That's awesome. I always wondered what I would do if I saw a footballer I liked. Would I freakout like fanboy? Would I just be cool? Or in Besler's case kinda be sad for him due to our recent USMNT situation. lol.
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I was like, "Whoa, Matt Besler?" (his hair looked a little blonder than I expected) and he said (super soft spoken), "What's up, man." He was walking by and it was out of the blue so I didn't really know what else to say other than, "Sorry about the game last night." and that was it.
 
C

Cystm

Member
platypotamus said:
My wife took a picture with Ozzie Alonso when she was black friday shopping last year. She told him that I was totally straight but might make an exception in his case. So I look forward to inevitably meeting him and having him remember that someday.
Click to expand...

Meier said:
I was like, "Whoa, Matt Besler?" (his hair looked a little blonder than I expected) and he said (super soft spoken), "What's up, man." He was walking by and it was out of the blue so I didn't really know what else to say other than, "Sorry about the game last night." and that was it.
Click to expand...

:lol
 
M

Meier

Member
That second goal was absolutely wild. I was so confused about how the initial pass to Larin was onside. Felt bad for Calle but huge from Winter to stick with it and get that ball over to Cyle.
 
A

Arials

Member
Meier said:
Gio was sort of a perfect storm -- you have to find the kind of player who is willing to come to MLS "before his time" and is still able to play at a high level. Gio had been frozen out for the most part at Juve and therefore it made a lot of sense to him to leave. There aren't many players at his age and his level that are in the situation he was in.

Pablo Dani Osvaldo and Michu are probably the two most comparable figures that come to mind immediately but Osvaldo has a horrible, horrible attitude and Michu has been a mess in terms of injuries for the past two seasons and has barely played at all for ages -- Swansea want nothing to do with him even if he is fit. Giovinco didn't have the character flaws and/or injury concerns of either of these players and in Osvaldo's case, he was still able to earn a move to Porto.
Click to expand...

Really, thinking about it just now Toronto getting Giovinco off Juventus is more comparable to Liverpool getting Sturridge off Chelsea back in 2013. A player who was warming the bench but had shown quality when they had had opportunities to play.

The key difference is Toronto got Giovinco on a free as his contract was expiring while Liverpool paid £12m to get Sturridge. A player of Giovinco's quality at a top club running down their contract without much interest from other top European clubs is going to happen very rarely and I don't see many (/any) MLS clubs being willing to pay the $20m+ transfer fee that a player of that calibre would command in contract.
 
B

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Arials said:
Really, thinking about it just now Toronto getting Giovinco off Juventus is more comparable to Liverpool getting Sturridge off Chelsea back in 2013. A player who was warming the bench but had shown quality when they had had opportunities to play.

The key difference is Toronto got Giovinco on a free as his contract was expiring while Liverpool paid £12m to get Sturridge. A player of Giovinco's quality at a top club running down their contract without much interest from other top European clubs is going to happen very rarely and I don't see many (/any) MLS clubs being willing to pay the $20m+ transfer fee that a player of that calibre would command in contract.
Click to expand...

Watching Gio put in minutes with the Italians, I just don't get why he wasn't drawing any other interest in Europe. He wouldn't be as dominant as he is here, but there's a few PL teams who could have used someone of his level.
 
D

Dr Campino

Member
B-Dubs said:
Watching Gio put in minutes with the Italians, I just don't get why he wasn't drawing any other interest in Europe. He wouldn't be as dominant as he is here, but there's a few PL teams who could have used someone of his level.
Click to expand...
I think I recall there being interest from European clubs, but Toronto was the only one backing a truck full of money into his driveway.
 
C

Cystm

Member
Yedlin's EPL experience summarized via GIF:

Rmnh9ch.gif
 
M

Meier

Member
Arials said:
Really, thinking about it just now Toronto getting Giovinco off Juventus is more comparable to Liverpool getting Sturridge off Chelsea back in 2013. A player who was warming the bench but had shown quality when they had had opportunities to play.

The key difference is Toronto got Giovinco on a free as his contract was expiring while Liverpool paid £12m to get Sturridge. A player of Giovinco's quality at a top club running down their contract without much interest from other top European clubs is going to happen very rarely and I don't see many (/any) MLS clubs being willing to pay the $20m+ transfer fee that a player of that calibre would command in contract.
Click to expand...

Agreed -- that's why I mentioned Michu (would be available for little to nothing) and Dani Osvaldo (joined Porto for free) as somewhat similar situations. Gio was a very special case that would rarely be able to be replicated due to a multitude of factors.
 
Z

zroid

Banned
Giovinco's free kick placement is just insane. He's almost always on target, and he usually makes goaltenders work for it too.
 
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