OT: Alphonso Davies (and other European football talk)

[KahunWOW]

They come for the nature. They have an uncanny ability to find lakes in the most remote places. Not sure how they do it.

Another funny story is when I had a German friend come over and we drove to Norway together. He wanted to get out of Germany and rid himself of the Germans. Little did he know that the place we ended up in had far more Germans than either Norwegians or Swedes. They're everywhere.

Btw, the place we visited was Preikestolen. Stunning place. Norway's nature is unparalleled.

This is funny and so true. I am german and spent many summer vacations on the most far away hidden norwegian islands to go fishing. No matter how hidden that place was, there were cars with german license plates everywhere.
But yeah, Norway is insanely gorgeous. I hope to live there when I am old. Just love their lifestyle, nature and shrimps

As far as Germany goes, there are sooo many beautiful places, where there are no foreign tourists at all. Especially at the coast, most islands and beach towns have literally close to 0% tourists from other countries. I always wonder why, as there are some stunning travel places:

Islands and Coast Archive | Tourism.de - Awesome travel destinations in Germany

 

[Bangers]

 

[Bryanbryoil]

So PSG vs. Bayern in the CL final, who do you guys think wins?

 

[Zaddy]

So PSG vs. Bayern in the CL final, who do you guys think wins?

Being an Mbappé fan I hope for PSG but realistically there's no chance. Bayern should roll over them with relative ease.

I do hope we get to see some Mbappé - Neymar - di Maria magic at least though.

 

[Cloned]

Being an Mbappé fan I hope for PSG but realistically there's no chance. Bayern should roll over them with relative ease.

I do hope we get to see some Mbappé - Neymar - di Maria magic at least though.

Mbappe and Neymar have enough pace to really pressure Bayern's high line. Bayern just has too many scoring options right now though. Gnabry has been a revelation in the CL. It's funny how Arsenal used to be the club that grabbed all these players out of nowhere and now they're the ones selling all these players before they become good.

 

[Oilhawks]

Seeing Neymar depressed after a loss would be big part of the sweetness of a Bayern victory.

 

[Zaddy]

Mbappe and Neymar have enough pace to really pressure Bayern's high line. Bayern just has too many scoring options right now though. Gnabry has been a revelation in the CL. It's funny how Arsenal used to be the club that grabbed all these players out of nowhere and now they're the ones selling all these players before they become good.

My one hope is that Boateng might be out with an injury and force Bayern to make changes to their defense, which could shake things up a bit and leave them vulnerable. But Bayern are just so good across the board and so deep as a team that it probably won't matter much.

 

[Cloned]

My one hope is that Boateng might be out with an injury and force Bayern to make changes to their defense, which could shake things up a bit and leave them vulnerable. But Bayern are just so good across the board and so deep as a team that it probably won't matter much.

Soccer can be a strange game, especially in a one-game knockout scenario.

 

[Zaddy]

Seeing Neymar depressed after a loss would be big part of the sweetness of a Bayern victory.

Hehe, I'm really ambivalent towards Neymar. I've been a big fan of him going back to Santos FC. All the haters saying he wouldn't be able to play his technical style of football in Europe and that he was too skinny and would be easily dealt with in the more physical European game. But I never doubted his ability and was convinced he would succeed, which he promptly did, and I was very happy he choose to play for Barcelona, my favorite club as well.

But then came the extremely toxic break-up between the two that has just left a really sour taste in my mouth. So I have a pretty intense dislike for Neymar the person, but I still adore Neymar the footballer. He's probably the most technical player in the world and has learned to use that in a way that's not just beautiful but also effective and gets results. One aspect of his game that I find to be really underrated is his playmaking ability. The guy can thread the needle as good as anyone and if the guys in front of him had more finish he'd dominate in assists.

This video right here is pure soccer porn:



There are not many players in the world that has his touch and vision. Mbappé must love playing with him. Not sure anyone else would be able to time the passes of his explosive runs as well as Neymar does.

 

[Zaddy]

Soccer can be a strange game, especially in a one-game knockout scenario.

Indeed, we have a saying here in Sweden: "bollen är rund", which translates to "the ball is round", meaning anything can happen.

 

[McDrai]

Is TSN covering this? I couldn't find the semi finals game anywhere.

 

[Bangers]

So PSG vs. Bayern in the CL final, who do you guys think wins?

In all honesty, I hate both teams. The fact that Bayern has Davies makes me hate them slightly less, so Bayern.

 

[Bangers]

Hehe, I'm really ambivalent towards Neymar. I've been a big fan of him going back to Santos FC. All the haters saying he wouldn't be able to play his technical style of football in Europe and that he was too skinny and would be easily dealt with in the more physical European game. But I never doubted his ability and was convinced he would succeed, which he promptly did, and I was very happy he choose to play for Barcelona, my favorite club as well.

But then came the extremely toxic break-up between the two that has just left a really sour taste in my mouth. So I have a pretty intense dislike for Neymar the person, but I still adore Neymar the footballer. He's probably the most technical player in the world and has learned to use that in a way that's not just beautiful but also effective and gets results. One aspect of his game that I find to be really underrated is his playmaking ability. The guy can thread the needle as good as anyone and if the guys in front of him had more finish he'd dominate in assists.

This video right here is pure soccer porn:



There are not many players in the world that has his touch and vision. Mbappé must love playing with him. Not sure anyone else would be able to time the passes of his explosive runs as well as Neymar does.

It's too bad he's such an asshat because he's an incredible footballer. I do think he's regressed a bit since moving to PSG though. His last season at Barcelona he was an absolute force, surprisingly more so when Messi was out.

 

[Zaddy]

Anyone watching?

 

[EchoesoftheEighties]

Is TSN covering this? I couldn't find the semi finals game anywhere.

All football is on DAZN now.

TSN and Sportsnet lost the rights a year ago.

Anyone watching?

Davies looking bang average tbh. Expected though, he's still a really young guy in the biggest game of his career, in the biggest game in club football

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

Anyone watching?

PSG needs to stop trying these difficult hopeful passes if they want to move up field. They've got time to build and work it up field.

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

Bayern wins 1-0. PSG didn't do a lot after the Coman goal. Bayern was in control and Neymar was bad at the end. PSG really only had a couple chances after Bayern went up 1-0 and no sustained pressure. Alphonso Davies with some nice touches in defense.

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

19 year old Champions league winner after carrying a yellow card from the first half. He's just impressively calm and plays like he belongs on the biggest stage. Can't wait to see him perform for Canada in WC qualifying.

 

[Zaddy]

Really boring game unfortunately. Mbappé needed to bury that feed at the end of the 1st half. Could've been a much more interesting game.

Oh well, not like a Bayern victory was unexpected, but PSG at least played pretty strong defensively most of the game.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Really boring game unfortunately. Mbappé needed to bury that feed at the end of the 1st half. Could've been a much more interesting game.

Oh well, not like a Bayern victory was unexpected, but PSG at least played pretty strong defensively most of the game.

How do you shoot that right at the keeper?

 

[Oilhawks]

Heck of a thing to add to your resume at 19 years of age

Really happy for Bayern. Well deserved. Lessens the sting of Lewy getting boned with the Ballon D’Or, but I think he’ll be more than happy with this haha.

 

[Zaddy]

How do you shoot that right at the keeper?

Probably wasn't expecting to get the ball back, and he was slightly off-balance but yeah, can't squander chances like that if you hope to beat Bayern.

 

[McDrai]

PSG had a couple of good chances in the first half. Bayern Munich goalie was really solid on the 1st one and the second chance Mbappe should have finished on.

Bayern took over in the 2nd half. Coman was giving the defenders a lot of problems with his speed and ultimately ended up with the nice header for the winner.

After the goal, Bayern put a lot of pressure on PSG Defenders and mid field which led to many turnovers. Neymar had a few blunders at midfield and couldn't get anything done today.

Bayern seemed like an actual team with great chemistry and a set game plan whereas PSG seemed like a bunch of individuals on the pitch, relying too much on their stardom.

Congrats to Davies for his first Champions league win! I think that's the first of many for this young Canadian lad!

 

[Zaddy]

PSG had a couple of good chances in the first half. Bayern Munich goalie was really solid on the 1st one and the second chance Mbappe should have finished on.

Bayern took over in the 2nd half. Coman was giving the defenders a lot of problems with his speed and ultimately ended up with the nice header for the winner.

After the goal, Bayern put a lot of pressure on PSG Defenders and mid field which led to many turnovers. Neymar had a few blunders at midfield and couldn't get anything done today.

Bayern seemed like an actual team with great chemistry and a set game plan whereas PSG seemed like a bunch of individuals on the pitch, relying too much on their stardom.

Congrats to Davies for his first Champions league win! I think that's the first of many for this young Canadian lad!

Yep. Their front three really didn't get much done. I would've liked to see Icardi play. They could've rolled the same 4-2-3-1 system Bayern does, just move out Paredes for Icardi. Would've made them much more threatening, although possibly more vulnerable defensively.

 

[Bangers]

First Canadian to win a major European trophy and only the 4th CONCACAF player to do so.