Other domestic leagues 2022/23

[Savi]

SOme notable busts on River plate.... Barco, Krane, Mammana and Zucilini

Driussi too

 

[les Habs]

Driussi too

I think Driussi is still in MLS.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Barco starts in super Classico, big call. Wish I can tune in but bro wants the devils.

 

[Gecklund]

I think Driussi is still in MLS.

He’s doing really well in the MLS too

 

[Savi]

Only 7 red cards in the Superclasico, looks like it was a pretty quiet derby

 

[HajdukSplit]

Some 'new' champions across Europe

- Feyenoord win their first Eredivisie title since 2017, won it fairly easily, have only lost one league game so far this season. Ajax are the big dissapointment, currently 4th and completely out of the CL picture for next season
- AEK Athens win the Greek title, their first since 2018, like in the Eredivisie the usual dominant club, Olympiakos, have really struggled, will likely finish 3rd and miss out on the CL themselves, though maybe their owner is more pre-occupied with Forest
- Rakow Czestochowa won their first ever Polish league title, they have knocked on the door last few years but accomplished it this season. Even more impressive considering they were in the third tier as recently as 6-7 years ago.

Those are the confirmed ones for now, looking elsehwere not too many surprises, there are tight title races in Bulgaria and Romania which can see fairly "new" winners, Ludogorets the dominant club in Bulgaria only have one point lead over CSKA Sofia while the current leader in Romania are Farul Constanta (managed by Gheorge Hagi) are looking to win their first title since 2017

 

[luiginb]

Farul (my hometown team, and number one) hasn't really won any Romanian title in the past, because we've just merged with Hagi's old team Viitorul two years ago. It would be the first title in history and it would mean I can die happy.

 

[maclean]

The Czech league has moved into it's "play-off" phase where the league is divided into three groups that play against each other to add to their regular season point totals. Sparta just beat their main rivals Slavia (their third derby in the span of a couple weeks) this weekend to put them five points ahead in the title race. Four more matches to go, but if they hold on it would be their first title since the 2013/14 season, by far their longest drought since the revolution and in fact since their return to dominance in the early eighties.

 

[luiginb]

Guess who that is haha

 

[JPBolts]

 

[Savi]

- AEK Athens win the Greek title, their first since 2018, like in the Eredivisie the usual dominant club, Olympiakos, have really struggled, will likely finish 3rd and miss out on the CL themselves, though maybe their owner is more pre-occupied with Forest

Those are the confirmed ones for now, looking elsehwere not too many surprises, there are tight title races in Bulgaria and Romania which can see fairly "new" winners, Ludogorets the dominant club in Bulgaria only have one point lead over CSKA Sofia while the current leader in Romania are Farul Constanta (managed by Gheorge Hagi) are looking to win their first title since 2017

I've held an eye on the Greek League earlier in the season, Panathinaikos were in the lead for much of it so I'm a bit surprised to see AEK being champions now.

Some other leagues are very close as well. In Turkey, Galatasaray lead Fenerbahce by 5 points I think but they still play eachother on the penultimate matchday. In Ukraine, Dinamo Kiev will miss out on a top 2 finish for the first time in almost a decade; Shakhtar hold a 2 pt lead over Dnipro for first place and they play eachother on the penultimate matchday as well. And in Denmark, Copenhagen hold a 1 point lead over Nordsjaelland with two games remaining.

With 4 (out of 6) MD's completed in Belgium's championship playoffs, we could see Antwerp win the league next weekend. Antwerp were 3rd at the start of the playoffs but then won at Union, they beat Genk at home and last week were down 0-2 at home vs Brugge but a 97th minute goal gave them a 3-2 lead and first place in the playoffs. This afternoon they lost 2-0 at Brugge, but then the Genk v Union game ended in a tie which means with two games left, Antwerp and Union are tied for first place (Antwerp hold the tiebreaker), with Genk 3 pts behind. Next weekend Antwerp host Union and a win would see them become champions for the first time since 1957.

 

[luiginb]

My hometown team Farul Constanta has just been crowned Romania's champions. We were in the fourth division a couple of years ago and were never higher than 4 at the end of the year. Gica Hagi 2 years ago joined his team with ours and now we're champions. I can die happy.

 

[Savi]

Shakhtar beat 2nd place Dnipro 3-0 and win the Ukraine league again.

And Sparta Prague are Czech champions for the first time since 2014.

 

[maclean]

Aside from Sparta winning the Czech league after a long drought, subjectively more impressive is that my local side Bohemians finished fourth which puts them in Europe (conference league qualifiers) for the first time in the post-revolution era.

 

[Savi]

Aside from Sparta winning the Czech league after a long drought, subjectively more impressive is that my local side Bohemians finished fourth which puts them in Europe (conference league qualifiers) for the first time in the post-revolution era.

What surprised me most was Priske going there and immediatly winning the league. He was pretty shit in Belgium last year. Does Sparta play nice football?

With 4 (out of 6) MD's completed in Belgium's championship playoffs, we could see Antwerp win the league next weekend. Antwerp were 3rd at the start of the playoffs but then won at Union, they beat Genk at home and last week were down 0-2 at home vs Brugge but a 97th minute goal gave them a 3-2 lead and first place in the playoffs. This afternoon they lost 2-0 at Brugge, but then the Genk v Union game ended in a tie which means with two games left, Antwerp and Union are tied for first place (Antwerp hold the tiebreaker), with Genk 3 pts behind. Next weekend Antwerp host Union and a win would see them become champions for the first time since 1957.

No champion in Belgium just yet.
Antwerp-Union finished 1-1 which means both teams are still tied going into the final MD.
Antwerp went up 1-0 very early, then stopped playing and just waited for the game to end which ended up costing them. Union showed a lot of heart, they had a player sent off in the 2nd half, and three(!) players were clearly injured (and they had no subs left) so they were basically playing with 7 men and still managed to equalize, albeit with a lucky goal.
Genk beat (an injury depleted) Club Brugge to still have a shot as well.
Going into the final MD this is the table:

1. Antwerp 46 (hold the tiebreaker over Union)
2. Union 46
3. Genk 45

Genk-Antwerp, and Union-Club Brugge are the final games.
I still think Union takes it, because at Club Brugge literally NO ONE wants to see Antwerp win the league (both teams have been rivals for a long time, both chairmen also hate eachother) so I don't think they will do everything they can to beat Union. Also because of the many injuries Brugge will basically field a youth lineup.
Genk and Antwerp both have to win so will be interesting to see how that pans out. Antwerp have won twice at Genk already this season, once in the league and once in the Cup.

 

[maclean]

What surprised me most was Priske going there and immediatly winning the league. He was pretty shit in Belgium last year. Does Sparta play nice football?

I honestly barely watch Czech league games so I don't even know if they place nice football. They get a lot of penalty shots But I didn't get the impression they were particularly impressive this year or anything. I suppose he deserves some credit though

 

[gary69]

Xavi Simons with two goals for PSV, which secures them CL football for next season. He basically just run past defenders with the ball and scored. If this was his last match for PSV, it sure was impressive.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Echevarri called up for rivers game tomorrow… against velez (prestianni)

 

[Savi]

Copenhagen won their 2nd straight Danish championship yesterday to complete a remarkable comeback in the league. For a long time it looked like they wouldn't even make the championship playoffs.
Nordjaelland led the league for the entire regular season, but yesterday lost 5-1 at Brøndby which puts them 4 pts behind Copenhagen with only one game left. They only got 2 pts from their 5 away games in the playoffs.

Most league are just about finished now. The only champions yet to be decided are Armenia (FC Urarte lead defending champions Pyunik by 2 pts with two games left, one of them against eachother), Bulgaria (with two games left, CSKA Sofia hold a 1 pt lead over Ludogorets who've won 11 straight league titles), and Turkey where Galatasaray have a 5 pt lead over Fenerbahçe, they can win the league tomorrow in their away game at Ankaragücü. Crazy stuff can still happen though because Gala v Fener is the final MD.

edit: also worth mentioning but in Serbia, champions Red Star Belgrade have completed their 2nd unbeaten season in 3 years, their only loss in that period was last season in an away game at FK Radnik Surdulica. That's 1 loss in their last 112 league games. (actually 113 because they lost the penultimate game of the 19-20 season)

 

[Savi]

No drama in Turkey as Galatasaray won their game 4-1 tonight and clinch their first title in four years.

Also at 36 years old finally a league championship for Dries Mertens!

 

[HoseEmDown]

Copenhagen won their 2nd straight Danish championship yesterday to complete a remarkable comeback in the league. For a long time it looked like they wouldn't even make the championship playoffs.
Nordjaelland led the league for the entire regular season, but yesterday lost 5-1 at Brøndby which puts them 4 pts behind Copenhagen with only one game left. They only got 2 pts from their 5 away games in the playoffs.

Most league are just about finished now. The only champions yet to be decided are Armenia (FC Urarte lead defending champions Pyunik by 2 pts with two games left, one of them against eachother), Bulgaria (with two games left, CSKA Sofia hold a 1 pt lead over Ludogorets who've won 11 straight league titles), and Turkey where Galatasaray have a 5 pt lead over Fenerbahçe, they can win the league tomorrow in their away game at Ankaragücü. Crazy stuff can still happen though because Gala v Fener is the final MD.

edit: also worth mentioning but in Serbia, champions Red Star Belgrade have completed their 2nd unbeaten season in 3 years, their only loss in that period was last season in an away game at FK Radnik Surdulica. That's 1 loss in their last 112 league games. (actually 113 because they lost the penultimate game of the 19-20 season)

Nordsjaelland kinda got screwed by the 2 months off they take over the winter. They were the clear best team at that point and had the best player, Schjelderup, in the league as well. They are more a developmental club than Copenhagen so not winning the league doesn't sting as much but would have been a nice touch. I don't know if they're going to win the league anytime soon because if they do have a good player or two, they'll most likely sell them in winter and not be as strong down the stretch.

 

[ScottishCanuck]

@5cotland is famous For a lack of self awareness, but famous nonetheless

 

[ScottishCanuck]

Oh, and:

 

[HajdukSplit]

edit: also worth mentioning but in Serbia, champions Red Star Belgrade have completed their 2nd unbeaten season in 3 years, their only loss in that period was last season in an away game at FK Radnik Surdulica. That's 1 loss in their last 112 league games. (actually 113 because they lost the penultimate game of the 19-20 season)

Not only that but they get an automatic spot in the Champions League next season due to Serbia's decent coefficient, it helps they have two decent-level European teams (ones which are competitive in whatever group stage they are in), something Croatia don't have at the moment. Though like most of EE, Zvezda are certainly aided by the fact Serbia's government are totally behind them. What's interesting in 2nd place was TSC Backa Topola, so they will be in the CL qualifiers; they too are politically backed of course, one of the many regional clubs Orban's cronies are taking over to create some phony 'Greater Hungary' through football

 

[maclean]

What's interesting in 2nd place was TSC Backa Topola, so they will be in the CL qualifiers; they too are politically backed of course, one of the many regional clubs Orban's cronies are taking over to create some phony 'Greater Hungary' through football

Huh, interesting, any insight into how the Serbian authorities/fans feel about that?