The Ali Dia Football/Soccer Thread

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 11 Jun 2015, 07:26

Guam v. Turkmenistan is like super exciting. WOULD BE NICE IF THERE WAS A WAY TO GET UPDATES....

At least a lot of AFC qualifying is on tonight.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 13 Jun 2015, 21:01

Greece, who got as far as the round of 16 on previous years world cup, has now lost against the Faroe Islands for the second time and are now dead last in their group. On the positive side, this win made Faroe Islands to jump over Finland in the standings!
No other noteworthy giant-beating performances, though Iceland now confirms that their current squad is the real deal, having taken back the lead in their group, with 4 games to go. It's a breath of fresh air. Pun intended. Also, out of nowhere, Northern Ireland suddenly became reasonably good (though their group is one of the weakest)
GP rejects favourite team? Must be Gibraltar! After only 6 games, they conceded 34 goals! For comparison, San Marino has 'only' conceded 17 goals in 5 matches.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 13 Jun 2015, 21:57

This wrote:Greece, who got as far as the round of 16 on previous years world cup, has now lost against the Faroe Islands for the second time and are now dead last in their group. On the positive side, this win made Faroe Islands to jump over Finland in the standings!
No other noteworthy giant-beating performances, though Iceland now confirms that their current squad is the real deal, having taken back the lead in their group, with 4 games to go. It's a breath of fresh air. Pun intended. Also, out of nowhere, Northern Ireland suddenly became reasonably good (though their group is one of the weakest)
GP rejects favourite team? Must be Gibraltar! After only 6 games, they conceded 34 goals! For comparison, San Marino has 'only' conceded 17 goals in 5 matches.

San Marino have also scored a point from a 0-0 draw against Estonia earlier in the campaign. Gibraltar have improved somewhat losing only 4-0 away to Germany and maybe with a bit of luck they can draw against Georgia having lost that first game 3-0. However Germany were that confident of winning they left Thomas Muller out of the squad and left Sami Khedira and Lukas Poldolski on the bench highlighting the chasm between the 2 teams

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 14 Jun 2015, 23:31

Altough Liechtenstein has always been the best of the mini-states, they're having a good season to their standards, having scored 5 points so far and still in the hunt for a 4th place in their group. Additionally, i noticed that FC Vaduz isn't doing too bad nowadays either. Also Slovakiawinslol and Austria confirming their form.

Post by **Londoner** » 16 Jun 2015, 10:57

Dat banter. Liverpool are a laughing stock at the moment. :pantano:

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 16 Jun 2015, 14:24

East Londoner wrote:

Dat banter. Liverpool are a laughing stock at the moment.

That would be more relevant if it wasn't for the fact that Liverpool have money. They'll spend a shitload of money on average players as usual.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 16 Jun 2015, 22:35

East Londoner wrote:

Dat banter. Liverpool are a laughing stock at the moment.

We could be AC Milan and not have European football at all.

So if Liverpool somehow win a trophy next season can i be the first to say "you and your big mouth"?

The jokes are understandable for now though

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 17 Jun 2015, 00:23

We should focus on Guam. That should be F1 Rejects team. I mean they just beat India.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 17 Jun 2015, 00:48

Aguaman wrote:We should focus on Guam. That should be F1 Rejects team. I mean they just beat India.

Indeed, they might actually qualify for the Asian Cup at this rate!
No big shocks in the central American zone, altough i suppose Cuba being eliminated by Curaçao is a little bit of a surprise.

I already mentioned Greece rejectful exploits, but another former big name being similarly rejectful is Serbia, who are also bottom of their group with just one point. They're somewhat lucky that they're in the only 5-team group, avoiding certain embarrassment from the micronations. They also won a game without receiving points for it because of something to do with Albanian drones.
Also Croatia might be in trouble as in their game against Italy (which they had to play behind closed doors because of racist behaviour of their fans), in the grass, a clear swastika was visible. Sabotage or not, Uefa is defenitely not going to take this lightly. Which would be a big shame, as Croatia had been having a very good campaign so far. But yeah, fans (or crew) need to behave themselves as well.
Talking about fans, good singing job by Wales, you're almost as good as Irish fans

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 17 Jun 2015, 09:07

Guam

Just by winning the group they're in just now, they will for the first time qualify for the Asian Cup (their answer to the European Championship and Copa América), even if they were not to progress beyond Third Round Qualifying.

But let's get real, that isn't even going to happen. Of course they are going pass the third round. And the fourth. And onwards to the World Cup shall march the mighty Matao. :pantano:

Much like Tahiti had Vahirua, they have that one player who is a full professional in the big leagues. Marshalling the defence is A. J. DeLaGarza, who has over 150 appearances for LA Galaxy in the MLS.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 21 Jun 2015, 19:34

On Spain, Las Palmas earned promotion to La Liga after winning 2-0 to Zaragoza, Las Palmas lost 3-1 on the 1st match against them

So Levante-Las Palmas next year on Primera (WARNING: SPANISH JOKE)

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 24 Jun 2015, 13:05

Liverpool sign Roberto Firmino for £29m. He's a good player, but that's £29m less to sign a striker that we know will score goals for you. I'm not the most confident in Ings yet. Perhaps Lacazette in a Liverpool shirt is happening, but then you have to say, "What? A good striker? Liverpool? You've ought to be f***ing kidding me?"

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 24 Jun 2015, 13:55

Rivaldo is considering coming out of retirement.

The return could be happening at Mogi Mirim, the club which he is president of.

Izzyeviel · Post by **Izzyeviel** » 25 Jun 2015, 00:41

Does anyone know which Lega Pro (Serie C) team get reprieved because of Parma going bust?

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 25 Jun 2015, 16:22

Izzyeviel wrote:Does anyone know which Lega Pro (Serie C) team get reprieved because of Parma going bust?

Most of the time not even the Lega Pro know the answer. Every year it's the same mess, a handful of clubs go under and there's a bitter war between teams claiming they have the right of avoiding relegation or being promoted, depending on who you ask.

I think, in theory, it will be the best of the losers of the relegation play-offs. There are three teams with a difference of -1, and of those, Aversa Normanna scored the most goals themselves, so I think they would be first in line, followed by Gubbio and Forlì.

Of course, you can imagine that Gubbio would protest such an order, as they finished higher in the league during regular season in their group (B, 16th) than Aversa Normanna did in theirs (C, 17th). And if it's decided purely by regular season points, the order becomes Gubbio (B, 43pt), Forlì (B, 43pt), Pro Patria (A, 38pt), Messina (C, 34pt).

Which system is used? I don't think it matters if it's written anywhere, the Lega Pro has a habit of deciding amongst themselves what to do in any given season when dealing with bankruptcies. The extraordinary thing in this situation is that it was almost entirely the teams closes to automatic relegation, rather than those closes to escaping the relegation play-offs, that were able to save themselves on the pitch in those crucial play-off matches.

We just have to wait and see what Lega Pro decide to do. Precedent seems to mean little to them. I don't think you can predict what will happen, as for the most part they seem to make it up as they go along.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 28 Jun 2015, 00:26

Paraguay just beat Brazil on the Copa America after penalties, it's the biggest surprise of the day tbh

Also, on Parma...

Parma fans should stop mourn the disappearance of his team to hope with the birth of the new Parma 1913. The Italian press says that next Monday, Parma 1913 will be born from the hand of 8 large shareholders among which is the famous pasta company Barilla.

Parmesan club must start from Series D after failing to do so in Series B since filed for bankruptcy on Monday by not finding a buyer.

This time Parma had until July 10 to find investments to be reborn under another name and fund the club from scratch. He has found eight, which will push the new Parma 1913 from the fourth tier of Italian football to return to Serie A in the shortest possible time.

Parma FC and Parma will be renamed 1913, making hoinor a year in which the recently broken club was born.

The charge of directing this project is none other than Nevio Scala, who coached Parma in one of the most successful periods in its history. With him on the bench parmesan, the Italian club won one Serie A in 1990, the Coppa Italia in 1992, the Cup Winners Cup in 1993, the European Super Cup in 1994 and the UEFA Cup in 1995.

Apart from the eight major investors who bet for keeping alive the Parma football, fans can be part of this new project with the 'widespread shareholding', with which the Parmesan club can receive free funding from the fans, allowing these invest in directly in the capital of the Italian box through an external company.

Source: http://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/se ... rie-d.html (on Spanish)

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 28 Jun 2015, 01:35

FullMetalJack wrote:Rivaldo is considering coming out of retirement.

The return could be happening at Mogi Mirim, the club which he is president of.

Well, this could rise up the morale of the team. Mogi Mirim were rising from the lower divisions, but now is doing bad in the second division of the main Brazilian championship. Dead last, no wins in eight matches.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 28 Jun 2015, 12:36

AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:Paraguay just beat Brazil on the Copa America after penalties, it's the biggest surprise of the day tbh

It wasn't a surprise after the 90 minutes were over. Brazil are terrible at penalties. This was an improvement over their last Copa America performance! They got knocked out on penalties by Paraguay last time too, and in that situation missed all of their penalties!

Parma fans should stop mourn the disappearance of his team to hope with the birth of the new Parma 1913. The Italian press says that next Monday, Parma 1913 will be born from the hand of 8 large shareholders among which is the famous pasta company Barilla.

It gets better. One of those other 8 shareholders is Gian Paolo Dallara himself, founder of the Dallara Automobili company.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 28 Jun 2015, 19:28

Biscione wrote:It gets better. One of those other 8 shareholders is Gian Paolo Dallara himself, founder of the Dallara Automobili company.

Reject spirit for the new Parma, this can only be a good thing...

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 28 Jun 2015, 20:48

Biscione wrote:
AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:Paraguay just beat Brazil on the Copa America after penalties, it's the biggest surprise of the day tbh

It wasn't a surprise after the 90 minutes were over. Brazil are terrible at penalties. This was an improvement over their last Copa America performance! They got knocked out on penalties by Paraguay last time too, and in that situation missed all of their penalties!

Parma fans should stop mourn the disappearance of his team to hope with the birth of the new Parma 1913. The Italian press says that next Monday, Parma 1913 will be born from the hand of 8 large shareholders among which is the famous pasta company Barilla.

It gets better. One of those other 8 shareholders is Gian Paolo Dallara himself, founder of the Dallara Automobili company.

Brazil aren't completely terrible at penalties as they beat Chile in the last 16 on them in the world cup last year. England on the other hand :facepalm:

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 28 Jun 2015, 21:18

Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:
Biscione wrote:
AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:Paraguay just beat Brazil on the Copa America after penalties, it's the biggest surprise of the day tbh

It wasn't a surprise after the 90 minutes were over. Brazil are terrible at penalties. This was an improvement over their last Copa America performance! They got knocked out on penalties by Paraguay last time too, and in that situation missed all of their penalties!

Parma fans should stop mourn the disappearance of his team to hope with the birth of the new Parma 1913. The Italian press says that next Monday, Parma 1913 will be born from the hand of 8 large shareholders among which is the famous pasta company Barilla.

It gets better. One of those other 8 shareholders is Gian Paolo Dallara himself, founder of the Dallara Automobili company.

Brazil aren't completely terrible at penalties as they beat Chile in the last 16 on them in the world cup last year. England on the other hand

Is there anything England is not terrible at?

The Dutch Bear · Post by **The Dutch Bear** » 28 Jun 2015, 21:31

Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:
Biscione wrote:
AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:Paraguay just beat Brazil on the Copa America after penalties, it's the biggest surprise of the day tbh

It wasn't a surprise after the 90 minutes were over. Brazil are terrible at penalties. This was an improvement over their last Copa America performance! They got knocked out on penalties by Paraguay last time too, and in that situation missed all of their penalties!

Parma fans should stop mourn the disappearance of his team to hope with the birth of the new Parma 1913. The Italian press says that next Monday, Parma 1913 will be born from the hand of 8 large shareholders among which is the famous pasta company Barilla.

It gets better. One of those other 8 shareholders is Gian Paolo Dallara himself, founder of the Dallara Automobili company.

Brazil aren't completely terrible at penalties as they beat Chile in the last 16 on them in the world cup last year. England on the other hand

Well, England did win the 2014 Euro Under 17 on penalties against the Dutch. I was at that match as I happened to be on holiday with a group of fellow students in Malta where that tournament was held. The Dutch's record on penalties isn't too good either.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 03 Jul 2015, 02:03

For once Liverpool fans shouldn't be ashamed. You've signed Roberto Firmino, better than Sterling in about every department to add more attacking and defensive depth. Now you've gone and signed Nathaniel Clyne. Talk about great business. And you picked up Milner on a free transfer? Fantastic. Now you need a solid striker, and perhaps a quality center-back, and you're transfer window should be somewhat of a success.

Post by **Miguel98** » 03 Jul 2015, 07:19

go_Rubens wrote:For once Liverpool fans shouldn't be ashamed. You've signed Roberto Firmino, better than Sterling in about every department to add more attacking and defensive depth. Now you've gone and signed Nathaniel Clyne. Talk about great business. And you picked up Milner on a free transfer? Fantastic. Now you need a solid striker, and perhaps a quality center-back, and you're transfer window should be somewhat of a success.

They do, when they sign Firmino for 41 million, and then refuse to spend 32 million on Benteke....

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 03 Jul 2015, 11:36

Miranda to Inter Milan is an amazing get. Need that defense.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 07 Jul 2015, 22:26

Gibraltar champions Lincoln Red Imps made history, by beating Andorran side FC Santa Coloma and progressing to the second round of the Champions League! The luck is going to end soon though, as they now have to face Danish champion Midtjylland, the team known for using mathematical models, also a former Superleague Formula contender if i'm not mistaken.
For the rest, the first round of the CL didn't cause any big surprises.

Post by **Miguel98** » 11 Jul 2015, 20:40

FC Porto have signed Iker Casillas. FC PORTO HAVE SIGNED IKER CASILLAS. Nope, doesnt sound right.

This is bad. Really bad. Iker is still a good keeper, but he's not that good anymore. And seeing that he'll probably have a massive salary, it's a bad signing.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 13 Jul 2015, 19:46

Atlético are back to work, on the first day, Vietto looked tired

but i don't mind, meanwhile, Ferreira Carrasco looks a promising signing for me, i hope he could make history here

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 14 Jul 2015, 04:01

Newcastle signed Georginio Wijnaldum for £14.5m. Well, at least the Geordies can finally be happy for once.

As for Sunderland, we've signed Sebastian Coates on permanent deal and signed Wes Brown, 35 mind you, and by no means at his peak, to a new deal. Brilliant business mates. Ellis Short, you need to throw more money out there! Where's the grit needed to sign quality players asides from Manchester City hand-me downs? Even then, they aren't great players!

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 14 Jul 2015, 09:22

Miguel98 wrote:FC Porto have signed Iker Casillas. FC PORTO HAVE SIGNED IKER CASILLAS. Nope, doesnt sound right.

This is bad. Really bad. Iker is still a good keeper, but he's not that good anymore. And seeing that he'll probably have a massive salary, it's a bad signing.

If they manage to sell 500,000 shirts in Asia per year with Casillas name on it, his salary will be pretty much paid for.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 21 Jul 2015, 22:12

Since my last post on this thread we signed Jackson Martínez and Stefan Savic, and the best thing of all, MARIO SUÁREZ IS GONE :dance:

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 25 Jul 2015, 17:44

Long POst:

Anyway first this is basically the whole qualifying for the WC

Oceania: Part 1 - August start

It will be a round robin in Tonga between - American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga
The winner moves on the R2

Oceania Part 2

Group A - Tahiti, New Caledonia, Winner of Part 1, Papua New Guinea
Group B - New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu

Top 3 of each group gets into another group round. Eventually the winner of this bloc takes on the 5th best South American team

CONCACAF: Part II - August start

M1 - Curacao v. El Salvador
M2 - Canada v. Belize
M3 - Grenada v. Haiti
M4 - Jamaica v. Nicaragua
M5 - St. Vincent & the Grenadines v. Aruba
M6 - Antigua & Barbuda v. Guatemala

CONCACAF - Part III

Group A - Mexico, Honduras, Winner of M1, Winner of M2
Group B - Costa Rica, Panama, Winner of M3, Winner of M4
Group C - United States of America, Trinidad & Tobago, Winner of M5, Winner of M6

The top 2 from every group will play each other in a 6 team round robin. The top 3 automatically go into the WC and the 4th has to play the Asian team

Asia - Current

The third round will consist of two groups of six teams. The first two teams in each group will proceed to the WC. The 3rd teams go in a playoff to take on the 4th best CONCACAF Team.

The next block of matches in the 3rd of September include:

Group A - UAE v. Malaysia (in Abu Dhabi) & Saudi Arabia v. East Timor (in Jeddah)
Group B - Australia v. Bangladesh (in Perth) & Jordan v. Kyrgyzstan (in Ibrid)
Group C - China v. Hong Kong (In Shenzhen) & Qatar v. Bhutan (in Doha)
Group D - Iran v. Guam (in Karaj) & Oman v. Turkmenistan (in Seeb)
Group E - Japan v. Cambodia (in Saitama) & Syria v. Singapore (in Muscat, Oman)
Group F - Iraq v. Chinese Taipei (in Tehran, Iran)
Group G - South Korea v. Laos (in Hwaseong) & Kuwait v. Myanmar (in Kuwait City)
Group H - Uzbekistan v. Yemen (in Tashkent) & Bahrain v. North Korea (in Riffa)

Africa

Round 1 - October
M1 - Somalia v. Niger
M2 - South Sudan v. Mauritania
M3 - Gambia v. Nigeria
M4 - Sao Tome & Principe v. Ethiopia
M5 - Chad v. Sierra Leone
M6 - Comoros v. Lesotho
M7 - Djibouti v. Swaziland
M8 - Eritrea v. Botswana
M9 - Seychelles v. Burundi
M10 - Liberia v. Guinea-Bissau
M11 - Central African Republic v. Madagascar
M12 - Mauritius v. Kenya
M13 - Tanzania v. Malawi

Africa - Round II

M1 v. Cameroon
M2 v. Tunisia
M3 v. Guinea
M4 v. Republic of Congo
M5 v. Egypt
M6 v. Ghana
M7 v. Nigeria
M8 v. Mali
M9 v. Democratic Republic of Congo
M10 v. Cote d'Ivoire
M11 v. Senegal
M12 v. Cape Verde
M13 v. Algeria
Sudan v. Zambia
Libya v. Rwanda
Morocco v. Equatorial Guinea
Mozambique v. Gabon
Benin v. Burkina Faso
Togo v. Uganda
Angola v. South Africa

The winners of these 20 matches are divided into 5 group of 4. The Top 5 qualify for the WC

South America - October

Matchday 1

Colombia v. Peru
Chile v. Brazil
Argentina v. Ecuador
Venezuela v. Paraguay
Bolivia v. Uruguay

Top 4 qualifying, 5th place goes to take on the winner of Oceania

Europe - September 2016 start

Group A - Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg
Group B - Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra
Group C - Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino
Group D - Wales, Austria, Serbia, Ireland, Moldova, Georgia
Group E - Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan
Group F - England, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta
Group G - Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia, Liechtenstein
Group H - Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus
Group I - Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland

Top of each group qualifies to the WC. Then there will be a ranking of the 2nd placed teams from each group. The Top 8 of those will play H/A Fixtures for the last 4 spots in the WC.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 25 Jul 2015, 21:03

I say we throw our rejectful support behind South Sudan. This will be their first attempt at a World Cup... right?

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 25 Jul 2015, 21:57

Somebody could explain why Wales and Romania were in pot 1?

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 25 Jul 2015, 22:17

Dj_bereta wrote:Somebody could explain why Wales and Romania were in pot 1?

Because in european qualifiers its currently Waleswinslol. I have no idea how Romania snuck themselves in there, though. For a similar reason Faroer was in pot 4 instead of the usual pot 6. Interestingly, Faroer will be in the same group as Andorra. I suggest a forum meeting in Andorra!

dinizintheoven wrote:I say we throw our rejectful support behind South Sudan. This will be their first attempt at a World Cup... right?

Indeed. But don't tell me i didn't warn you about some hardcore (North) Sudan supporters here on the forum :twisted:

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 26 Jul 2015, 02:33

dinizintheoven wrote:I say we throw our rejectful support behind South Sudan. This will be their first attempt at a World Cup... right?

Yes

but at the end of next month it all kicks off.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 04 Aug 2015, 19:20

Izzyeviel wrote:Does anyone know which Lega Pro (Serie C) team get reprieved because of Parma going bust?

An update on this crazy situation;

As it turns out, who gets the reprieve from Parma going down is mostly inconsequential. So many clubs, either those who survived on the pitch or who won the right to join Lega Pro through their success in Serie D, failed to register for the league correctly. This threw a pretty big spanner in the works. Clubs are going bankrupt left, right and centre, and so lots of teams who were heading out of Lega Pro on merit are being permitted to rejoin, seemingly on the basis of economic capability rather than their league positions.

The following clubs were originally to be ejected on grounds of failing to meet economic conditions despite surviving in terms of results, but successfully appealed and will continue in Lega Pro; Benevento (lost Serie B promotion play-off), Ischia Isolaverde (won relegation play-off), Lupa Castelli Romani, Martina Franca and Savona (won relegation play-off).

The following clubs were ejected on grounds of failing to meet economic conditions despite surviving in terms of results; Reggina (lost Serie B promotion play-off), Varese (relegated from Serie B, so effectively a double relegation!), Venezia, Real Vicenza and Paganese.

The following clubs were relegated through league results and have been readmitted to the Lega Pro through intervention of the FIGC federal council; AlbinoLeffe and Pordenone.

Castiglione secured the right of promotion having won Group B of Serie D last season, but have elected not to register their place in Lega Pro.

Financial difficulties is a very common theme across the board in Lega Pro. Last season, 1 in 4 teams in the league were docked points in the league for financial issues. It's complete chaos really, you'd have a better chance at deciding who will be relegated at the end of the year by reading the financial accounts of the clubs than watching the teams actually play!

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 04 Aug 2015, 20:36

Oooh, look there is a football thread!

This wrote:For a similar reason Faroer was in pot 4 instead of the usual pot 6. Interestingly, Faroer will be in the same group as Andorra.

Quite honestly, the Faroes deserved pot 5 for sure, looking at the results and even more, the actual matches of pot 5 teams (Lithuania, Moldova, Belarus) I might risk saying they are ok in pot 4.
What I'm sure of is that they'll always throw a good fight and won't ever back down. And hell, they have unknown guys equaling or bettering the performances of Finnish, Greek, Northern Irish, Romanian or Hungarian players.
I already have my ticket reserved to the October ECQ match they'll play here in Budapest. I expect our team to win, of course, but unlike many, I don't think it'll be anything near a walkover.

Post by **tommykl** » 04 Aug 2015, 20:40

Meanwhile, in Belgium, my local team Sprimont-Comblain finished second in Division 3B. This is a team based in a commune with barely 14 000 people living in it, and a stadium that wouldn't look out of place in the Peterborough & District Football League (Division Two).

And with the absolutely batshite insane formula for Belgian football coming for the 2016-17 season (see This' earlier post on it), this team may end up in Division 2 by default, alongside the equally unlikely Virton...if either of them can (or want to) get a licence, that is.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 04 Aug 2015, 22:37

tommykl wrote:Meanwhile, in Belgium, my local team Sprimont-Comblain finished second in Division 3B. This is a team based in a commune with barely 14 000 people living in it, and a stadium that wouldn't look out of place in the Peterborough & District Football League (Division Two).

And with the absolutely batshite insane formula for Belgian football coming for the 2016-17 season (see This' earlier post on it), this team may end up in Division 2 by default, alongside the equally unlikely Virton...if either of them can (or want to) get a licence, that is.

Depends on which division 2 you mean, 1B or the superleague, as it's called now? (going to 1B would be impossible no matter how you look at it). Considering the Superleague is now the 'top amateur league' the licence requirements will still be reasonable. But judging Sprimont is now in the same division as both the promoted WilrijkBeerschot and FC Liège, i doubt they have much of a chance getting to that superleague, as they'll have the be the absolute best of the rest (how it currently stands, it looks like 7 teams from third division (+9 teams from the current division 2) will get 'promoted' to the second division which is actually the third division which is actually the second division which is *goes mentally insane*)
And don't bash on Virton, at least they represent a region (albeit the Gaume is a rather small region), what region does Sprimont represent? "Pride of the Famenne depression"?

(having the word depression in the name of your region could make that team popular with the emo crowd though, if marketed right)