General Football Thread

[edge_of_the_wire]

Something I forgot 2 weeks ago:
Sunday, 13 May. After a 9-year wait Juventus finally won the Serie A title for the 28th time following a 3-1 win over Atalanta at home. The match proved to be Alessandro del Piero's last with the Bianconeri after playing there for 19 years and will probably move to the English Premier League to try his luck at either one of its top clubs.

 

[edge_of_the_wire]

Also on Sunday, 13 May, Real Madrid wins the Primera Liga for the record 32nd time after a huge 4-1 victory over Real Mallorca. Tenor Plácido Domingo, clad in a Real jersey, performed Hala Madrid in front of the home fans after the match and hoped that Real Madrid would become Spanish champions for the 33rd time next season.

 

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Something I forgot last month:
Sunday, 20 May, Napoli ended its 25-year wait by winning the Italian Cup for the 4th time by defeating Italian champions Juventus 2-0 in the Final.

 

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Friday, 25 May. Barcelona wins the Copa del Rey for the 26th time after defeating UEFA Europa League runners-up Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the Final in Madrid courtesy of goals from Pedro (3, 25) and Lionel Messi (20). The match proved to be Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola's last as he signs off with a Cup victory while his assistant Tito Vilanova will take over his reins next season. Visca Barça! (Long Live Barça!)

 

[afraidtoshooteddie]

Team GB got off to a flying start then. :roll:

Starting as they no doubt intend to carry on, with a 1-0 loss to a bunch of Mexican under 23yr squad. :|

 

[rockin_plumber]

Team GB got off to a flying start then. :roll:

Starting as they no doubt intend to carry on, with a 1-0 loss to a bunch of Mexican under 23yr squad. :|

Must be the influence of the England players LOL

 

[edge_of_the_wire]

Teams that will be competing at this year's Olympic Games in London:
Men's category -
Group A
Great Britain (Hosts)
Senegal
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay

Group B
Mexico
South Korea
Gabon
Switzerland

Group C
Brazil
Egypt
Belarus
New Zealand

Group D
Spain
Japan
Honduras
Morocco

Women's category -
Group E
Great Britain (Hosts)
New Zealand
Cameroon
Brazil

Group F
Japan
Canada
Sweden
South Africa

Group G
United States (Gold medallists)
France
Colombia
North Korea

 

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Thursday, 9 August. The United States successfully defended its Olympic women's football gold medal for the 4th time after beating world champions Japan 2-1 in the Final at Wembley Stadium. Carli Lloyd scored both goals for the defending gold medallists in the 8th and 54th minutes while Yuki Ogimi pulled one back for Japan in the 63rd minute. During the medal presentation bronze went to Canada, having defeated France 1-0 earlier in Coventry courtesy of Diana Matheson's 92nd-minute goal.

 

[edge_of_the_wire]

And staying at the recently-concluded Olympics. I'm a little busy recently.
Saturday, 11 August. Mexico creates history by winning its first-ever Olympic gold medal in men's football after defeating Brazil 2-1 in the Final at Wembley Stadium. Oribe Peralta opened the scoring for Mexico in the 1st minute then added one more in the 75th minute to make it 2-0 towards injury time. Brazil later pulled one back when Hulk, named after the comic book superhero due to his resemblance to actor Lou Ferrigno, netted a consolation in the 91st minute. During the medal presentation bronze went to South Korea, who defeated Asian opponents Japan 2-0 a night before at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium courtesy of goals from Park Chu-Young (38) and Gu Ja-Cheol (57).

 

[edge_of_the_wire]

Something I forgot 1 week ago, on the same date the Olympic Games concluded:
Sunday, 12 August. English champions Manchester City win the FA Community Shield after beating F.A. Cup winners Chelsea 3-2 at Birmingham's Villa Park. Fernando Torres puts Chelsea in the lead in the 40th minute then the Blues went down to 10 men after Serbian defender Branislav Ivanović was sent off in the 42nd minute for a challenge on City's Aleksandar Kolarov. During the 2nd half Yaya Toure equalized for City in the 53rd minute while Argentine star Carlos Tévez's 59th minute goal puts the Citizens in the lead. In the 65th minute it was Samir Nasri's turn to put City in the lead before being substituted by David Silva in the 77th minute while Ryan Bertrand, back at Chelsea following Great Britain's elimination from the Quarterfinals in the Olympics, scored a consolation for the Cup holders in the 80th minute after coming on as a substitute for Belgian striker Eden Hazard in the 71st minute.

 

[rockin_plumber]

Something I forgot 1 week ago, on the same date the Olympic Games concluded:
Sunday, 12 August. English champions Manchester City win the F.A. Community Shield after beating F.A. Cup winners Chelsea 3-2 at Birmingham's Villa Park

Birmingham play at St. Andrews :?

 

[edge_of_the_wire]

rocky, Villa Park is Aston Villa's current stadium and is situated in Birmingham but does not belong to Birmingham City.
Sunday, 12 August. Bundesliga and Champions League runners-up Bayern Munich win a trophy, this time the German Supercup, after beating double winners Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Croatia striker Mario Mandžukić opened the scoring for Bayern after a pass from teammate Franck Ribéry while German international Thomas Müller netted for the Bavarians in the 11th minute to make it 2-0 towards half-time. Polish ace Robert Lewandowski gave Dortmund some hope when he scored in the 75th minute but Bayern proved too tough for Dortmund to fight towards full-time and lost at the end. A well-deserved victory gave the Bavarians a chance to lift the Supercup after an unsuccessful season.

 

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Time to put this thread back on track after a 12-day delay.
On Saturday, 11 August, Serie A champs Juventus won the Italian Super Cup following a 4-2 victory over Cup holders Napoli in Beijing, the Chinese capital. The match ended 2-2 during full-time and saw Napoli down to 9 men after 2 players were sent off; Macedonian forward Goran Pandev, scorer of Napoli's 2nd goal during the 41st minute, gets his marching orders during the 85th minute while his Colombian teammate Juan Camilo Zúñiga received his 2nd yellow card in the 93rd minute.

 

[rockin_plumber]

rocky, Villa Park is Aston Villa's current stadium and is situated in Birmingham but does not belong to Birmingham City.

Yes but you said....

Sunday, 12 August. English champions Manchester City win the F.A. Community Shield after beating F.A. Cup winners Chelsea 3-2 at Birmingham's Villa Park

Suggesting it is Birmingham's Villa Park...
When in fact it is Aston Villa's Villa Park...In Birmingham

 

[edge_of_the_wire]

I'm referring to Villa Park's location, not the club that owns it, rocky.
On Wednesday, 29 August, Spanish champs Real Madrid win the Spanish Super Cup after beating Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 2-1 (4-4 on aggregate) at home. Barcelona was reduced to 10 men after Brazilian defender Adriano received his red card in the 28th minute.

 

[edge_of_the_wire]

On Friday, 31 August, UEFA Europa League winners Atlético Madrid win the U.E.F.A. Super Cup after demolishing Champions League winners Chelsea 4-1 in Monaco, a feat it repeated back in 2010. Colombian midfielder Radamel Falcao scored a hat-trick during the 6th, 19th and 45th minutes to put Atlético in the lead towards half-time while his Brazilian teammate João Miranda netted the Europa League winners' 4th goal in the 60th minute, making the score 4-0. Chelsea then pulled one back after Gary Cahill scored a consolation in the 75th minute but could not afford to trail Atlético towards full-time and eventually lost. A huge victory over the Blues also gave Atlético a chance to lift the Super Cup for the final time in Monaco as the tournament heads to Prague, the Czech capital, next year.

 

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Something I forgot 5 days ago...
On Wednesday, 26 September, Spanish champions Real Madrid win a trophy, this time the Santiago Bernabéu Trophy, after a huge win over Colombian club Millonarios 8-0 courtesy of goals from Kaká (14, 38, 60 - penalty), José María Callejón (23, 68), Álvaro Morata (32, 36) and Karim Benzema (78). Kaká was named Man of the Match and received a small trophy after scoring 3 goals for Real.
Interesting note: Real Madrid honorary president and legend Alfredo di Stéfano played for Millonarios from 1949-53.

 

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Teams currently playing in this year's FIFA Club World Cup in Japan:
Quarterfinals
Sanfreece Hiroshima (Japan) (Hosts)
Al-Ahly (African champions/ Egypt)
Ulsan Hyundai (Asian champions/ South Korea)
Monterrey (North American champions/ Mexico)

Semifinals
Corinthians (South American champions/ Brazil)
Chelsea (European champions/ England)

Qualification
Auckland City (Oceanian champions/ New Zealand)

 

[edge_of_the_wire]

Something I missed 3 days ago...
Sunday, 16 December. South American champions Corinthians ended its 12-year wait by winning the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup for the 2nd time after defeating European champions Chelsea 1-0 in the Final at Yokohama's International Stadium. Peruvian midfielder Paolo Guerrero scored the only goal of the game during the 69th minute. The Blues went down to 10 men after Gary Cahill received his marching orders in the 90th minute while his teammate Fernando Torres nearly gave Chelsea some hope after his equalizer was ruled offside in the 92nd minute. During the trophy presentation the F.I.F.A. Fair Play Award went to North American champions Monterrey and the Golden Ball award went to Corinthians goalkeeper Cássio while the Silver Ball went to Chelsea's David Luiz and lastly the Bronze Ball went to Guerrero. Third place went to Monterrey, who beat African champions Al-Ahly 2-0 earlier before the Final at the same stadium.

 

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Teams currently playing in this year's Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa -
Group A
South Africa (Hosts)
Angola
Morocco
Cape Verde

Group B
Ghana
Mali
Niger
Democratic Republic of Congo

Group C
Zambia (Champions)
Nigeria
Burkina Faso
Tunisia

Group D
Ivory Coast
Tunisia
Algeria
Togo