Other Domestic Leagues 18/19

[Ajacied]

Great Stadium as well.

It was packed for the entire season. They deserve to be in the Eredivisie, but I'll doubt they will compete with AZ and Feyenoord for 3rd place anytime soon, as they usually did. They have great fans, too. They really have their own, really local fanbase, much like Heerenveen and Groningen have theirs. The fans of the bigger teams come from all over the country.

 

[Albatros]

Good to see Twente back after their Maltese saga, in lowly Finnish football it seems like similar events regarding shady transfers might be about to happen as Chinese investors represented by a Moldovan player agent are negotiating the purchase of the soccer department of HIFK, also known as one of the top hockey teams in the country.

 

[gary69]

Non penalty goals for clubs in the top 5 leagues :
1/ Messi 40 goals
2/ Mbappe 33
3/ Lewa 29
4/ Benzema 27
5/ Aguero 26
6/ Piatek 25
7/ Ben Yedder and Jovic 24
9/ Sterling 23
10/ Mane 22
11/ Aubameyang 21
12/ Ronaldo 20

On the opposing end, Rangers' James Tavernier has scored 14 penalties this season (and missed two pk's). That must be close to a record, and if not overall then for a fullback at least.

 

[HajdukSplit]

Czech international Josef Sural (played at Euro 2016 and most recently in October) was killed in a bus crash involving some players from Alanyaspor when the driver fell asleep. What’s more tragic was these players (mostly the foreign based players, including former EPL star Papiss Cissé) chose to take a private bus home rather than wait overnight for the team bus back to Alanya

 

[Rexor]

Czech international Josef Sural (played at Euro 2016 and most recently in October) was killed in a bus crash involving some players from Alanyaspor when the driver fell asleep. What’s more tragic was these players (mostly the foreign based players, including former EPL star Papiss Cissé) chose to take a private bus home rather than wait overnight for the team bus back to Alanya

It's truly sad. I knew him (as a player, not personally) since he was 12 or so, saw him play a couple of times when he was still a kid. He looked very promising as a young player in the Czech league, especially with Liberec, but eventually got lost in the black hole called Sparta Prague. What is sad too is that it wasn't even a big crash, it looks like he wasn't wearing a seatbelt though and got thrown out of the van. Other passengers had only minor injuries.

 

[Savi]

Big surprise in the Belgian Cup final as 2nd division KV Mechelen beat AA Gent 2-1 to win their first Cup since 1987. It is also the first time in history a 2nd division club beats 1st division club in the Cup final.

Especially surprising Mechelen was able to win since they haven't played a competitive game in 45 days. They did win the Promotion Playoff Final (on a last minute goal) so next season they will be back in the 1st division - and with their Cup win they're going straight to the Europa League group stage.

Now.. all of this could still be taken away from them. Mechelen were one of the main targets in the matchfixing scandal that rocked Belgian football this season. The investigation could reach it's conclusion very soon now and if Mechelen are found guilty, their promotion to 1st division will be cancelled as well as their European license (3rd placed team from the Championship playoffs will take Mechelen's place in the EL group stage).

 

[Albatros]

Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas suffered a heart attack age 37, might be the end of a glorious career:

Iker Casillas: Porto goalkeeper taken to hospital following heart problems

 

[HajdukSplit]

Multiple league winners this weekend

- Zenit win the Russian league for the first time since 2015, they will be a Pot 1 team in next season's Champions League
- Young Boys won their 2nd successive title in Switzerland, they will need to go through qualifiers
- Red Bull Salzburg won their 6th straight Austrian title, they still must wait to see if they get automatic entry to the Champions League, they likely will, unless Ajax win the CL and don't win the Eredivisie
- Celtic won their 8th straight Scottish title, they will need to go through qualifying
- APOEL Nicosia won their 7th straight title, will need to go through qualifying

 

[Ajacied]

Ajax won the Dutch Cup with a 4-0 spanking of Willem II. Goals by Blind, Huntelaar (2x) and Kristenssen. It's their first Cup in 9 years. Daley Blind and Matthijs de Ligt were flat out dominant; best players on the pitch. Donny van de Beek continues his strong play as well. Thank god Kristenssen scored. He's an awful player and I hope some lower league teams show somewhat of an interest now. Huntelaar keeps surprising me. He's still so energetic and dedicated for someone who turns 36 in 3 months and always seem to come up big in important games.

 

[Savi]

Turkish league going down to the wire as well. Istanbul Basaksehir had a big lead over Galatasaray like two months ago but have now won only 1 of their last 6 games. Gala beat Besiktas tonight which means bith IB and Gala are now tied at 63 pts - Besiktas are 3rd at 59 pts.

Galatasary have two away games left, against 8th ranked Rizespor (matchday 32), and at 11th ranked Sivasspor (MD 34)
Istanbul have two home games left, against 14th ranked Ankaragucu (MD 32), and against 6th ranked Alanyaspor (MD 34)

However, matchday 33 will see Galatasaray host Istanbul, with both teams possibly in position to wrap up the league. If both teams are still tied going into that game, the winner will be champions (Istanbul v Galatasaray ended 1-1 so a win would give any team the tiebreaker over the other)

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Turkish league going down to the wire as well. Istanbul Basaksehir had a big lead over Galatasaray like two months ago but have now won only 1 of their last 6 games. Gala beat Besiktas tonight which means bith IB and Gala are now tied at 63 pts - Besiktas are 3rd at 59 pts.

Galatasary have two away games left, against 8th ranked Rizespor (matchday 32), and at 11th ranked Sivasspor (MD 34)
Istanbul have two home games left, against 14th ranked Ankaragucu (MD 32), and against 6th ranked Alanyaspor (MD 34)

However, matchday 33 will see Galatasaray host Istanbul, with both teams possibly in position to wrap up the league. If both teams are still tied going into that game, the winner will be champions (Istanbul v Galatasaray ended 1-1 so a win would give any team the tiebreaker over the other)

The demise of Big 3 in Turkey has been greatly exaggerated.

Well, at least for Galatasaray.

 

[Albatros]

The demise of Big 3 in Turkey has been greatly exaggerated.

Well, at least for Galatasaray.

It's a complicated situation in many ways more about politics than football, some clubs are greatly favored by the system while others are torn apart by infighting.

 

[HajdukSplit]

Galatasaray scored twice in the 90th minute at Rizespor to get the vital 3 points as both IB and Besiktas have winnable home games this round

 

[Savi]

Championship could be decided tomorrow in Belgium as well. With 3 games to go, Genk lead Club Brugge by 6 points. They will meet in Brugge tomorrow night. Genk could clinch with a win. However, if Brugge were to win, they bring it back to a 3 point gap, with two games left, and with the tiebreaker over Genk.

 

[sabremike]

Perth Glory blew a late 2-0 lead but ended up beating Adelaide United on penalties and will host Sydney FC (who just killed Melbourne Victory with death) in the A League Grand Final. Game will be held at Optus Stadium (the brand new AFL stadium that is far bigger than the Glory's home ground). GLORY GLORY PERTH GLORY!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ajacied]

This team..

PSV lost to AZ (0-1) while Ajax beat Utrecht 4-1, making them the unofficial champions of the Eredivisie 2019. Their first domestic title in 5 years and 34th in total. The race shouldn't have been this close for so long, however, as PSV has some major weaknesses.

Ajax' season MVP:

1) Hakim Ziyech
2) Matthijs de Ligt
3) Dusan Tadic

In other Eredivisie news; Robin van Persie had his goodbye in De Kuip. He will retire officially this Wednesday, leaving only Arjen Robben as the last of ' De grote vier' (the big four). The end of an era, Robin van Persie was a one of kind forward. Never seen anyone quite like him. Problem child turned into role model; unique skill set and a plethora of beautiful goals and assists racked up over the course of his career. I remember including him in my soccer prospect list years ago and wrote that he could be a top 3 player in the world one day if everything falls into place (that was without foreseeing the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo). I think he was definitely in the running between 2011 and 2014.

 

[HajdukSplit]

Crazy scenes in Switzerland as historic club Grasshopper Zurich are relegated for the first time in 70 years, they were losing 4 when their fans stormed the field and demanded the players to take off their shirts, they did, probably to avoid something serious happening and the game was abandoned

In Russia, CSKA winless in 3 are set to miss the Champions League next season. The runner-up spot which is an automatic CLGS position is down to Lokomotiv and Krasnodar, third place means they need to go through qualifying

 

[Savi]

Championship could be decided tomorrow in Belgium as well. With 3 games to go, Genk lead Club Brugge by 6 points. They will meet in Brugge tomorrow night. Genk could clinch with a win. However, if Brugge were to win, they bring it back to a 3 point gap, with two games left, and with the tiebreaker over Genk.

Brugge beat Genk 3-2 in a pulsating game this afternoon, so they're still alive. Genk scored a very early goal and went into HT with the lead. Then, in a crazy 15 minutes after the break, Club Brugge scored 3 goals in rapid succession, and missed a penalty that would've made it 4-1. Genk dominated the final 15 minutes, made it 3-2 on a late headed corner kick, then in injury time striker Samatta missed a golden chance to tie it up as he hit the post on a wide open header.

So.. we go into the final week with Genk 3 points up on Brugge.

Thursday: Anderlecht v Genk ; Standard Liege v Club Brugge
Sunday: Genk v Standard Liege ; Club Brugge v Antwerp

 

[Savi]

Genk win their first championship since Thibault Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne led them to the title in 2011.

Club Brugge lost 2-0 at Standard Liege tonight, even though they completely dominated that game, but gave away a dumb penalty (converted by future Ajax midfielder Razvan Marin) and then in injury time Marin again scored a sick free kick from about 35m out. This result meant Genk only had to avoid defeat at Anderlecht, which they did as that game ended 1-1.

Even though Brugge fought long and hard to defend their title, Genk are very deserving of this win as they have topped the standings since October I believe, they have been dominant in both the regular season and playoffs. Really only Brugge have managed to outplay them a couple of times this season, no other team were a match for them.

Too bad there's a lot of uncertainty about their coach, who could leave, and several of their great core of young players who are wanted by bigger clubs around Europe. Sander Berge and Leandro Trossard will definitely leave, right back Joakim Maehle and striker Samatta have been looking for a move to the Premier League, maybe the prospect of playing CL football will entice some of them to stay, we'll have to see.

 

[HajdukSplit]

So “next Messi” Halilovic barely played for Standard this season, already like the 4th club he’s failed at in his career

 

[Savi]

So “next Messi” Halilovic barely played for Standard this season, already like the 4th club he’s failed at in his career

He's shown some nice things.. but to be honest he still looks like a kid out there. The minute things get a bit physical he just disappears. Also his decision making is really bad at times. I think maybe the Dutch league would suit him better than the Belgian league.

 

[HajdukSplit]

Big match in Turkey today between Galatasaray-Basaksehir, winner likely wins the title

Guardian wrote an article about Basaksehir's 'rise' Başakşehir's push to upset old order in Turkey gets ultimate examination

 

[Savi]

Big match in Turkey today between Galatasaray-Basaksehir, winner likely wins the title

Not likely.. Definitely. Due to head to head results being the tiebreaker and the first matchup ending in a draw.

edit: Gala win 2-1 and are champions

 

[HajdukSplit]

Galatasaray are the Turkish champions and will be in the CL next season

First time champions in Poland, Piast Gliwice won their first ever title. They have only been in the Ekstraklasa since 2008 and have only played 4 matches in Europe (failed to win any of them). Looking at their squad, there is nobody of note minus Jodlowiec who played for Poland at Euro 2016

 

[Savi]

Final matchday in Belgian League today with only 3rd and 5th place left to play for. Gent beat Anderlecht 2-1 and finish 5th. Antwerp lost at Club Brugge which means they fail to overtake Standard who earned a point at Genk.

Final standings:

1. RC Genk - Champions League group stage
2. Club Brugge - Champions League 3rd qualifying round
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3. Standard Liege - Europa 3rd qualifying round
4. Antwerp - EL playoff*
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5. AA Gent
6. Anderlecht

*Antwerp qualify for the EL playoff final, which means they will play the winner of "Playoff 2" (playoffs contested by the teams who finished between 7th and 15th in the regular season), that will be either Kortrijk or Charleroi (to be determined), Antwerp will host one of those teams next weekend, with the winner qualifying for the Europa 2nd qualifying stage

Cup winner: KV Mechelen - Europa group stage*

*This is provisionary. KV Mechelen are currently in a matchfixing lawsuit and could be excluded by either the Belgian League, UEFA (or both). I think the fact they are in a lawsuit will be enough for UEFA to exclude them anyway. If Mechelen is not allowed to play in Europe, Standard will take Mechelen's place in the EL group stage, the winner of the Antwerp v Kortrijk/Charleroi will go to the EL 3rd Q round and - now it gets tricky - if Antwerp were to lose that game they get the EL 2nd Q round ticket, however if Antwerp beats Kortrijk/Charleroi than that final EL ticket will go to AA Gent and not Kortrijk/Charleroi.

There you go for Belgian complexity