The European/World Football Thread III

Not very convincing at the back again despite bringing Ilori in. He was actually quite poor after my high praise of him! There was nothing anyone could have done about their first goal though, cracking finish. Mica was very unlucky with that shot that hit the bar, that would have been a cracking goal too. At times these youngsters look good but then they switch off for a bit. On the plus side Bruma continues to impress.

Anyone else been really disappointed with the French at the U20's World Cup so far? They have a lot of players with a lot of first team experience at this level and yet don't seem to be able to take advantage at all, Pogba in particular has been a big disappointment.

Anyone else been really disappointed with the French at the U20's World Cup so far? They have a lot of players with a lot of first team experience at this level and yet don't seem to be able to take advantage at all, Pogba in particular has been a big disappointment.

Yeh, that match against Korea was one that they should have won, but like you said, they switched off again and let Korea back into the game.

Beaten Cuba today though, 5-0. Cuba are a poor side though, so it isn't saying much, but it was finally a good performance. Bruma was excellent in this match.. really looks like another gem of a player from the Sporting academy.

To Ze played well too.. much better than Andre Gomes, which is unfortunate, because I think Gomes should be one of the main players for Portugal (especially considering he played really high level games for Benfica) but it always looked like he doesn't care whenever he played.

Aladje has also come out of nowhere really.. looks like a really useful striker.

Iraq are turning out to be the cinderella story of the u20 tournament- game top of their tough group that included Egypt, England and Chile and now, they've made to to the QFs where they'll play S.Korea-a very winnable game for them.

Not particularly fond of our new away kit...



Never really understood having a home kit and an away kit the same colour. I know they are different styles but they're still both blue.

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I don't think its that bad haha I actually quite like it just the problem you said of it being the same colour

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Eredivisie update:

Lots of transfers have taken place so far all across the league, the biggest probably being the attacking midfielder Adam Maher (who has been tipped to be big in the future) has joined PSV from AZ. The fee is said to be around 8 million euros which could be a coup if he sells on for a lot more in a few years. Also they've signed Chelsea centre-back Jeffrey Bruma for 3 million Euros and Florian Josefzoon from RKC Waalwijk. However with Maher, Bruma and Josefzoon coming in, PSV have sold their main attackers Dries Mertens and Jeremain Lens to Napoli and Dinamo Kiev respectively, picking up big fees for them in the process, which may be used to further invest in the squad. In fact, one signing that could be possible is Stijn Schaars, who played for the Netherlands in the World Cup in 2010. PSV are definitely still trying to win the title after last year's disappointment despite spending big.

The likes of Ajax and Feyenoord have been relatively quiet, with fairly low key incomings and outgoings so far, but I believe Feyenoord are being linked with the likes of Bojan Krkic, as they need a back-up striker in case of injury to their big striker Graziano Pelle.

Vitesse are busy as they have sold Van Ginkel to Chelsea (to replace Frank Lampard I reckon), and Wilfried Bony should be next out the door. They really need to start spending in order to compete for the title and Europe, they've only signed Vejinovic from Heracles and Kelvin Leerdam from Feyenoord thus far.
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Thoughts on Tiago Ilori? Liverpool linked with him, we want to pay 6million max but they're asking for 12!?

Would he be ready to go into the first team, subs bench, first team squad etc, and is he destined for the top? How long before he's a regular starter for Liverpool?

He mainly started off for Sporting B this season but because the club is in a messy situation a few of these youngsters were given a chance by Jesualdo Ferreira in the second half of the season. Tiago Ilori is very quick, it's not often you see a CB that fast, he is good with his head which is what you want from a CB but he's also good with his feet too. He's still quite young though and i think the best thing for him is to stay at Sporting as he will get a lot more first team opportunities. This should help improve him to gain a bit more experience as sometimes you can tell he is a young defender. The problem for Sporting is they need money so every offer becomes rather tempting for them to accept.

Ajax look pretty much sorted really, maybe they could use a striker. Also very surprised that PSV have got Maher which is big for them but not sure what they're doing rebuilding the squad so much. Think they'd have won it had they kept things stable but they'll still be there or there abouts. Feyenoord going absolutely nowhere.

Portuguese fixtures have just been released tonight. Final game of the season Benfica will travel to the Dragão. Obviously a long way off but potentially the Liga could be decided at the Dragão, again!

Yeah Ajax do have a solid and steady enough squad, which may not be the most talented or expensive in the division, but under De Boer they have an excellent manager similar in some ways to Sir Alex. They will need to replace who they lose though and could do with an extra defender imo, even though they have some youth waiting to come through, they simply haven't played enough to become a starter for Ajax in a Champions League match for example. Van der Hoorn is being touted as a replacement for Alderweireld should he leave, 3 million Euros is the fee.

PSV do need to rebuild seeing as they couldn't keep their best players after scoring so many goals last season, plus their defence was shocking at times...Waterman, Marcelo and Derijck. So new players are needed for sure.

What do you make of Vitesse? They'll need to reinvest the 20 million or so they make from sales in order to challenge for anything.

Vitesse are pretty sensible, dont think theyll go overboard with the signings but they need to replace Van Ginkel. Dont know if Vejinovic is that man tbh, havent watched much of him.

PSV need a new DM for sure with Van Bommel leaving plus probably a defender and at least 2 attackers. That's why I cant understand them selling all 3, they only needed to shore up the back to overtake Ajax imo now they need to rebuild everywhere. Guess the money was too good to turn down.

Ajax seem to be able to recover from losing players under De Boer much better than they were in the past. Eriksen will probably stay so it should be even easier this time. Selling Alderweireld would be a mistake as he's their only half competent defender atm Koppers might get in the team as he did alright at Den Haag last season. Up front theyll need Sigþorsson to step up because he'll be a fantastic player and hopefully Viktor Fisher too who is class.

I'd predict Ajax again to win it.

Sensible? Or tight?


You think Eriksen will stay??
Shocked you think that, although I wouldn't be surprised. He'd need to sign a new contract though, he said he would if he couldn't leave this summer, as he's out of contract the following summer and he wants Ajax to be rewarded.
Moisander was a good signing last summer too. Alderweireld might have reason to leave, imo he's a great defender (Belgian what a surprise), and he'll want to be playing in the world cup...Van der Hoorn wouldn't be a bad player to replace him though. Koppers plays as a left-back though doesn't he?
Imagine that front line next season, a fit front 3 of an ever improving Fischer, Sigthorsson and Sana. Danny Hoesen will bag some goals too...

I still think it's too early to make a prediction yet, but it's definitely between Ajax and PSV.