World Football Thread XVI - The demise of one Ronaldo and the rise of another

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Maquiladora
I never claimed he was. Certainly sexier though, if only for not being a frog.

Not you, maybe, but most Tottenham fans have been claiming that the gap is closing. You find Jol sexy? That's most amusing. My comment earlier was about the football, not the manager.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Cort Haus

Arsenal enter partnership with Colorado Rapids
Arsenal today enters into an exclusive agreement with Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE) — the leading live sports and entertainment group based in Denver - with the primary aims of building the Arsenal brand in the US; helping to improve the quality of football at MLS team Colorado Rapids and supporting grassroots football in the US.

The establishment of this innovative strategic relationship will combine an exchange of best practices together with commercial and marketing efforts which includes the inception of a Centre of Excellence at Dick's Sporting Goods Park and the transfer of coaching ‘know how’.

Furthermore, a key component of this relationship is the development of the Arsenal Cup, a club tournament that will be open to American club teams from all over the United States which will be hosted at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Colorado.

Arsenal Football Club's Managing Director Keith Edelman enthused: "We are delighted to be able to announce our partnership with Kroenke Sports Enterprises and the Colorado Rapids. This is a very important step for Arsenal Football Club as this becomes our first venture into the United States marketplace. We are approaching this as a long term development partnership that will benefit both clubs significantly."

KSE Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer Paul Andrews said: "“We are trilled to have established such a partnership with one of the leading clubs in the world that will help continue the expansion of our sport well into the future."

Colorado Rapids Managing Director Jeff Plush said: “This groundbreaking partnership with Arsenal, a team that has been in the first flights of the sports for more then 100 years is the one of the stepping stones to continue pushing our sport into the next level. In today’s international business community, soccer is the only true global sport that transcends ethnicity, culture and language and with this type of relationships we are making sure that our company is expanding this vision through our worldwide sport.”

The Rapids will travel to London on March 8th, where they will be hosted by Arsenal Football Club to continue their pre-season training camp practicing at their team facilities. The stint in London will end on March 13, when the team departs to their final stage of their preseason in Valencia, Spain.

With a new era beginning for the team today and the opening of their new 18,000 seat soccer-specific stadium set for April 7, 2007, the Colorado Rapids are poised to set a new standard of excellence in Major League Soccer and around the world of sports.

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=447154&lid=NewsHeadline&Title=Arsenal+enter+partnership+with+Colorado+Rapids

Nice to see a USAian (Mr Plush) wanting to sell the marvellous, sexy product that is the football of Arsenal FC to the discerning, quality-loving public of the United States without actually needing to own our club.

In return, his team will enjoy links to one of Europe's biggest clubs, and the Colorado Gunners will enjoy my support.

Is South Park in their catchment area, btw?

Their new logo:



Unis (check out those green cleats - somehow I'm not thinking they'll be standard issue )



I think there is a notice period you have to give MLS before you can do a name change, but it seems that the Rapids may be Arsenal Colorado when that time comes (speculation entirely though). This would be the third partnership with a foreign club in the league, with Chivas USA (CD Guadalajara in Mexican Soccer League), Chelsea/LA Galaxy, and Real Salt Lake/Real Madrid.

[Maquiladora]

Originally posted by Cort Haus

You find Jol sexy?

What straight man doesnt?

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Cort Haus


Closing the gap?

Certainly not the evolutionary one.....

[duke o' york]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
This would be the third partnership with a foreign club in the league, with Chivas USA (CD Guadalajara in Mexican Soccer League), Chelsea/LA Galaxy, and Real Salt Lake/Real Madrid.

Shurely shome mishtake Mish Monnypenny?

And call them boots, not cleats!

Regarding today's fixtures:

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, yeah... I forgot about Real Salt Lake until I edited it in (should have been obvious).

As for today's fixture:



I dance with you .

Dyer looks very good and Harper filling in well for Given, though a bad mistake gave Bellamy the first goal.

[ískallin]

Good weekend so far, +17 GD and 6 points still. 11 games to go .

Thumbs up for the toon agains the scouse

[Drake Tungsten]

Eloquent and well thought-out argument there, Drake.

Why would I waste my time crafting an elegant rebuttal to such a clearly assinine statement? There's any number of "global" sports that "transcend ethnicity, culture and language." Only a complete moron would say such a thing (or agree with it).

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
There's any number of "global" sports that "transcend ethnicity, culture and language."

Whilst this is true, the fact remains that football is the world game, even if one or two countries don't see it like that. The guff about culture is silly, but irrelevant.

[Drake Tungsten]

Whilst this is true, the fact remains that football is the world game, even if one or two countries don't see it like that.

Soccer's only the biggest sport in Europe, Latin America and Africa. It's hardly "one or two countries" that don't see it like that. Most of the world's population prefers to play something else...

[ískallin]

Soccer is also huge in Asia and in North America it is THE sport in Mexico.
Thats wrong that MOST of the world's population prefers something else. Volleyball is the most played sport from what I can gather. Followed by soccer. Even in rugy countries like New Zealand soccer is played by heaps of kids and adults.

That is what I could gather from my experiences and of course good old Google..

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by ískallin
Thats wrong that MOST of the world's population prefers something else.

QFT. Drake will happily troll all day to try to wind-up non-Americans, but the fact remains that football is the world game. Nothing else comes close.

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

Whilst this is true, the fact remains that football is the world game, even if one or two countries don't see it like that.

Soccer's only the biggest sport in Europe, Latin America and Africa. It's hardly "one or two countries" that don't see it like that. Most of the world's population prefers to play something else...

That leaves the Yanks and Eskimos....

[MikeH]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

Whilst this is true, the fact remains that football is the world game, even if one or two countries don't see it like that.

Soccer's only the biggest sport in Europe, Latin America and Africa. It's hardly "one or two countries" that don't see it like that. Most of the world's population prefers to play something else...

And South America, obviously, and Asia... it's huge in Japan, China, South Korea, the Middle East, former Russian Republics.

So it's only the biggest sport in Europe, Latin America, South America, Africa and Asia.

The world cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, bigger than the Olympics which involves dozens of sports. More countries take part in the world cup than in the Olympics. FIFA has more member nations than the UN. (207 FIFA/World Cup vs 204 Olympics vs 192 UN).

Only in the North America would anyone even consider there was any debate on this matter.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by MikeH
Only in the North America would anyone even consider there was any debate on this matter.

And even there, only amongst North America's most persistent and belligerent trolls.