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Le Bilan - Ligue 1 Matchday 14 : Penalty Party
The yearly beating of french clubs in european group stages has come to an end with two teams getting out (Paris in Champions League, Lille in Europa League) and the other three (Marseille, Rennes and Nice) managing to earn a whopping combined total of 7 points in 18 matches. Congrats to them. This weekend, the Ligue 1 teams started a little marathon of four matches in ten days before the winter break with an exciting Marseille-Monaco on saturday and a climactic Paris SG-Lyon on sunday night.
Appetizers
On the day it was announced that Mediapro, the new broadcaster of Ligue 1, was giving up for default of payment after only four months, the opening match of the matchday, usually the symbol of a festive weekend, was an appealing Saint-Étienne-Angers. Yes, Saint-Étienne-Angers. 0-0. Next.
Marseille made a statement in the race for the podium, beating Monaco, a direct rival, 2-1 on saturday afternoon, their sixth straight win in the league. Despite a larger possession and more chances throughout the game, the monégasques conceded two early goals from the Benedetto-Thauvin duo who exchanged assists with each other to get that early lead. After the loss in Lille to another european aiming team, Monaco concedes another loss, a definite halt after climbing up the rankings in the past weeks.
Lens-Montpellier was expected to be a pretty entertaining fixture and it was indeed. Even though the southerners took a healthy lead in the first 30 minutes, their opponents from the other side of the hexagon came back thanks to a lucky goal and a penalty. In the middle of the second half, Gaëtan Laborde, usually assister, gave Montpellier the three points and a fifth victory across their last six matches (the other one being the loss last week against PSG).
The clash between the teams-that-play-in-red-and-black-and-that-ashamed-the-whole-country-in-Europe resulted in a win for Rennes away in Nice with a goal from Mbaye Niang at the end of a game easily controlled by the Bretons. Despite a managerial change, Nice is still struggling to get back in form, their last win dating from a month and a half (same for Rennes before this one).
Speaking of teams that hadn't won in a long time, Lorient was part of this not really prestigious club until this sunday where they dispatched Nîmes 3-0 at home. The Merlus (Hakes in english) were finally rewarded for their quality of play and their lack of efficiency (six matches in a row without scoring). Nîmes on the other end continues to fall and hit the 18th place, synonymous of a playoff spot.
After a great start of the season, Metz is starting to struggle a bit, suffering a fifth match without a win, this time in Strasbourg, at the end of a high-scoring match (for Ligue 1 standards at least). Bronn and Nguette successively gave Metz the advantage but they were answered respectively by Simakan and Thomasson.
Three days after throwing the first place of their Europa League group at Celtic Park, Lille had the opportunity to reclaim another top position in the case of a misstep from PSG at Lyon. And they did the job with a splendid strike from Jonathan Bamba and a rocket of a header from José Fonte. After a solid first half, Bordeaux was dominated quite heavily throughout the last 45 minutes and despite a recent good form couldn't avoid the loss.
The most anticipated match of the week (arguably of the whole season even) unfortunately didn't provide the most entertaining spectacle. Lyon's domination in the first half was rewarded by a goal from Kadewere following a disastrous misunderstanding between Kimpembe and Paredes. With only one shot on target during the whole game, the parisians were barely able to provide any danger towards Anthony Lopes. With that win, their first at the Parc des Princes since 2007, Lyon takes the second place, ahead of their opponents of the day.
With 0,48 penalty per match, Ligue 1 tops the rankings among the top 5 leagues in Europe (ahead of Premier League with 0,47 and Bundesliga with 0,45). Another seven of them were whistled this weekend.
1-2 Champions League group stage 3 Champions League qualifiers round 3 4 Europa League group stage 5 Europa Conference League play-offs 18 Relegation play-offs 19-20 Relegation to Ligue 2
Stade Brestois : Le Bilan didn't talk about Brest yet, not in length at least, and it's a mistake because the team has certainly been one of the most interesting to follow this season. You just have to look at the table to understand what kind of team it is. With seven wins, seven losses and no draw, the 6th best attack and the 3rd worst defense of the league, the bretons, led by the former Dijon coach Olivier Dall'Oglio, have gambled everything on entertainment in a safer Bielsist way. And it works. Of course they have conceded a lot of goals, of course they have yet to play Paris, Lyon and Montpellier but as they have shown in the past, much like their english counterparts, they are not afraid of big teams. They beat Lille 3-2, Monaco 1-0 and lost 3-2 a match they should have won against Marseille. With four wins in the last five matchdays, the brestois have given themselves a large cushion so that they don't have to think yet about an eventual return in Ligue 2. Oh yes, we didn't mention it yet, they got promoted only last year.
Downwards
David Guion : After correctly predicting the dismissals of Patrick Vieira and Christian Gourcuff in the past two weeks, Le Bilan has basically become the equivalent of the Washington Post of french football, no less. Pulitzer, here we come. Anyway, there's another man whose job is more and more in danger. And it would be by far the saddest of the three if David Guion was showed the door. Not that it wouldn't do good (the way Reims has been playing for a long time now is quite shocking) but what he has done for the club in the past three seasons must not be overlooked. For his first year in Champagne in 2017-2018, Guion led Reims to a Ligue 2 champion title (getting the UNFP best Ligue 2 coach trophy in the process), followed by an 8th place, then a 6th place (though the season was stopped early) and a first participation in a european competition in almost sixty years (stopped early in playoffs against the modest MOL Fehérvár). Sadly, this season has not been good for David Guion and his team. At all. Reims curretnly sits at the 19th place, has not won in the last five games and does not seem to have many assets to get back on track. Their reputation of a solid defensive team has disappeared and it would be unrealistic to ask Boulaye Dia (8 goals already) to carry the entire attack by himself for the whole season. Even worse, Reims president said he wouldn't oppose a departure from his striker. If he does indeed leave, Reims would need a miraculous replacement to save themselves from a sure relegation. Paris Saint-Germain : We may not get a lot of opportunities to have PSG in this category so let's not waste this golden one. Indeed, Paris has struggled lately in the league. With 4 points taken out of the last possible 12, already 4 losses in 14 matchdays (more than Lyon, Lille and Marseille combined), Paris has logically let go its top spot, reclaimed by Lille, their opponents on next sunday. In fact, PSG had not lost four times this early since 2009-2010, a season in which they ended 13th and Jean-Eudes Maurice had regular play time. Of course Paris won't finish 13th this year, they still have the best attack and the best defense of the league but it's clear that the crucial european matches against Leipzig, Manchester United and Istanbul Başakşehir have put an emotional and physical toll on players already tired since the end of Champions League this summer. One thing is certain though : for the first time since 2017, the league title is in play.
I am very, very happy. With our different systems, we have an element of surprise that we didn't have last year. It's harder for the opponents to prepare their match and it's interesting for us. Emotionally, it was very hard with the end of the european adventure. So to do a performance like that, I say bravo to the team.
Morgan Schneiderlin, Nice midfielder :
We have to keep this collective spirit, we take fewer goals but we score less or not at all, it's hard to win matches. Believe me, the fans are disappointed but we, the players, are the first to be affected by this situation. We are keen to rectify all this before the break. We don't want to spend a season playing nothing, getting bored. We're going to do everything we can to win on Wednesday.
Christophe Pelissier, Lorient coach :
It is a success both offensively and defensively. It's a perfect evening. It's a relief because it was a burden not to score, not to be rewarded. We must savour it and recover well. This victory allows us to be in the running, with 4-5 teams (Strasbourg, Nîmes, Reims, Dijon). We have a mini-Championship (for survival) where we have to perform well. We have to win that championship.
Thomas Tuchel, Paris coach :
We saw a very mentally tired team. I had the impression that the last sequence (Manchester United - Montpellier - Basaksehir) was too much for us. We missed even some easy passes. It's the fault of all of us, me first, the team. It wasn't serious enough, we must have enough quality to win every match. That remains my responsibility, that's clear.
Rerel, Paris supporter but football connoisseur first and foremost :
You give money to Arsenal, they turn it into shit.
Next matchday
Wednesday 16/12, 19:00 Dijon FCO - Lille OSC Montpellier Hérault SC - FC Metz Angers SCO - RC Strasbourg Nîmes Olympique - OGC Nice Stade de Reims - FC Nantes Wednesday 16/12, 21:00 Paris Saint-Germain - FC Lorient Olympique Lyonnais - Stade Brestois Stade Rennais - Olympique de Marseille AS Monaco - RC Lens Girondins de Bordeaux - AS Saint-Étienne Thanks a lot to Hippemann and NotMeladroit for all the clips and the tables ! For more news about the best league in the world (except for the other four) and to improve your french, come and subscribe to /Ligue1. All feedbacks are welcome ! Previous matchdays : Season 2020-2021 M1 - M2 - M3 - M4 - M5 - M6 - M7 - M8 - M9 - M10 - M11 - M12 - M13 Season 2019-2020 M12 - M13 - M14 - M15 - M16 - M17 - M18 - M19 - M20 - M21 - M22 - M23 - M24 - M25 - M26 - M27 - M28
10 Football Managers That You May Not Know Much About Who Are On The Rise (Part 5/10)
In this series, I will talk about 10 of my picks for football managers that are, In my opinion, are doing great work at their current clubs and will be moving on to bigger teams. I will dive into moderate depth about why they are doing well, and how they rose to prominence. As a Disclaimer, I do not support any of these teams, so if I have any wrong information, please let me know in the comments and I will fix it! Also thank you for the support everybody! It means a lot that you guys are enjoying this content! Pt.1 (Pepe Bordalas) Pt.2 (Serhiy Rebrov) Pt.3 (Julien Stephan) Pt.4 (Diego Martinez) 5. Roberto De Zerbi (Sassuolo 2018-)
Introduction
Are you looking for a Serie A team to support? Do you enjoy entertaining, attacking football, and receiving heart attacks from most games? Well, Roberto De Zerbi's Sassuolo might be the team for you (or Atalanta) . 5 games into the 2020 season, Sassuolo have already scored 16 goals. This is currently the most in the league, but this could change with the fixtures this weekend. In 2017/18, Sassuolo finished 11th in the league and only scored 29 goals the entire season. In comes Roberto De Zerbi. In 2018/19, Sassuolo still finished 11th under De Zerbi, but they scored 59 goals this season, more than twice the amount they scored the year before
Playing Career
De Zerbi began at AC Milan, and he was loaned out to various teams while he was there. He never played a game for Milan, and was eventually sold to Foggia, where he had a few decent seasons. De Zerbi was a decent midfielder in his days, so he would have a good career that spanned 16 years. The biggest side he would play for are Serie A giants Napoli, who signed him for 2.5 million pounds. However, when De Zerbi played 30 matches for them in 2006, they were in the Serie B. After a few seasons in Romania, De Zerbi returned to Italy in 2012/13 and retired that season with Trento
Beginnings in Management
De Zerbi went straight into being a manager. His first club was Serie D side Darfo Boario. They had been stuck in Serie D for quite some time now. The season under their previous manager started off poorly, and De Zerbi was asked to try to salvage the season. Unfortunately, he was not able to do so, as the side got relegated. After the season, De Zerbi accepted a new job position at Serie C side Foggia Calcio. Foggia had just been promoted to Serie C. In their first Serie C season, Foggia did quite well, as they finished in 7th position under De Zerbi. The next season, they would go on to have a great campaign (almost perfect). In Serie C, they came in second place, and the Coppa Italia Lega Pro (cup for Serie C sides and below I believe). However, the season was not perfect. Despite finishing second, De Zerbi's side managed to not get promoted to Serie B.
De Zerbi Begins to be Noticed
After the campaign in second, Crotone, who were a Serie a side at the time, offered De Zerbi to take the helm. However, he declined and wanted to stay at Foggia. This would be something he would regret, as, in August 2016, he would leave the club due to disagreements with the board. At that time, the Crotone job was no longer available, so De Zerbi needed to look elsewhere. In September 2016, De Zerbi was offered to take over at Palermo (big mistake). De Zerbi accepted and quickly realized that the Palermo board was even more incompetent than Foggias. After only 7 games in charge, De Zerbi was axed after they lost to a Serie B side on PK's. In his 7 games in charge, Palermo managed to get 0 wins. It's safe to say De Zerbi's time at Palermo was a disaster
Getting the Career Back on Track
After a year without a job, De Zerbi was again asked to take over a promotion newcomer. This time, it was Serie A newcomers Benevento. He took over in October after Marco Baroni left the club due to a shocking start that saw Benevento on 0 points after 10 games. They had also scored 3 goals in those 10 games, so Benevento looked truly fucked. In comes Roberto De Zerbi. De Zerbi did not get off to a great start either, as it took them until matchday 15 to pick up their first point. However, the football looked much better, as it was attacking, and entertaining. Fast forward to matchday 38, and Benevento's season did not turn around. They finished in 20th with 21 points, and nowhere near safety. However, De Zerbi was not criticized. In fact, he was praised for playing attacking football and trying to give sides a game. Benevento really overachieved to get promotion, so it wasn't too much of a surprise that they struggled. At the end of the season, De Zerbi still left Benevento to take over another Serie A side.
Onto Sassuolo
Despite only scoring 33 goals, Benevento was not the lowest scoring side in Serie A. That went to 11th place Sassuolo, who despite finishing 11th, managed to score only 29 goals that season. They looked to be relegation candidates for most of the season, but turned it around towards the end to secure safety by 8 points. However, Sassuolo were not particularly pleased with the football the side had played, and turned to Roberto De Zerbi. De Zerbi lost key player Matteo Politano to inter, but he was able to bring in some pieces to turn the offense around. Most notably, Filip Djuricic,Jeremy Boga, and Kouma Bubacar. Despite finishing in 11th once again, and on 43 points once again. Sassuolo looked like a much better side. They scored 24 more goals, and only conceded one more goal. The team were not scraping results this season, and they were giving teams a run for their money.
Second season In Charge
In his second season, De Zerbi absolutely nailed some signings in the window. Most notably, he signed Francesco Caputo from Empoli. Caputo absolutely killed it for Sassuolo, as he scored 21 goals in his first season with the club. Merih Demiral was brought in for 8 million, to be quickly flipped to Juventus for 18 million. Jeremy Boga, who was only bought for 3 million from Chelsea, was exceptional and his value shot up to 20+. Lets not forget that De Zerbi kept on to Dominico Berardi, who was the key man that season. In 2019/20. De Zerbi's side finished in 8th place. They were very entertaining to watch because of De Zerbi's possession and attacking football. The results didn't quite click at first, but towards the end of the season, they began to do so. Sassuolo scored 69 goals that season, 6th most in the league, and conceded 63. This season, they are off to a unbeaten start in the league, and continue to bang in goals. They have 16 goals in 5 games, and their last 2 games have been thrillers
Tactics
As I've mentioned throughout, De Zerbi plays attacking, adventurous, and possession-based football. His 2 main systems are a 4-3-3 and a 3-4-3. However, towards the end of the 19/20 season, and to start the 20/21 season, De Zerbi has used a 4-2-3-1 with great success. Sassuolo will play out from the back, and look to build slowly, while also transitioning quickly. The quick transition of pace will often catch teams off guard, and give Sassuolo quality opportunities. Sassuolo usually use vertical passing, but this doesn't mean they will not pass it out wide. Sassuolo will press to win the ball back, but the level of pressing depends on the quality of the opposition.
Conclusion and Sources
De Zerbi at the age of 41 has established himself as a quality manager who can spot a player. His side is incredibly entertaining to watch and is never an easy win. He is also adaptable, and has proven himself against big Serie A teams. All of this leads me to believe hat De Zerbi will definitely be seen on the sidelines of a bigger team soon. Tactics (Great video) Transfers: General information on De Zerbi (Wikipedia article AND the sources listed at the bottom of the article Tactics, very in-depth Next team Prediction: Roma
[France Football] Interview with scouts on how they discovered Ansu Fati, Takefusa Kubo, Federico Valverde, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Riqui Puig and Raheem Sterling. "Try to find out if what you perceive to be different comes from the player's head. If it is the case, sign him."
What they have in common is that, one day, on the bend of a field, they have spotted or validated the profile of one of those who are now the joy of the biggest European clubs. Those who found Ansu Fati, Kai Havertz, Takefusa Kubo, Raheem Sterling, Federico Valverde and Hakim Ziyech tell the story of their love at first sight, why they fell in love at first sight, and, as a watermark, their profession. Freshly mowed parks in London, playgrounds in Montevideo, overcrowded fields in the Paris suburbs, synthetic playgrounds in Tokyo... Everywhere, all the time, soccer games are played throughout Europe and the world. Around the playgrounds, the voices of parents mingle with those of educators and the cries of young children. Further back, a fourth type of character is regularly added to the picture. Whether they are recruiters, intermediaries or simple enthusiasts, they scrutinize the catches and movements in a much more discreet way. Yet they are at the center of it all, because they have the power to put a budding star on the road to success. For FF, these talent scouts look back at their best find, how they got their hands on it, and - for some of them - the coaching work they then had to do with their nugget. Slawomir Czarniecki ( Kai Havertz): "He was never afraid of the other side's dry cleaning". Bayer Leverkusen's sports coordinator, the man who has just seen his protégé fly to England and Chelsea believes that fairies once had to bend over Kai Havertz's cradle. Endowed with a mad talent, the German international had to be mentally accompanied...
"By the time one of our regional scouts told us about him, Kai was already playing for a good academy, Alemannia Aachen (Editor's note: The main club in Aachen, the player's hometown). The first time I saw him play with them, he was ten years old. At that time we were already in contact with the family. We had introduced them to the club's facilities and philosophy. But if we stick to the field, the first match I saw him play was... against us. Our youngsters had won by a large margin but Kai had scored all three of his team's goals. But I can't take any credit for detecting great qualities in him that day. In the end, if I played a role, it was afterwards: when we presented our project and then to accompany him throughout his training. What were his main qualities before he joined us? I would say his speed, but also and above all his ability to make everything simple, even under pressure. He was never scared of the other side's dry cleaners. The funny thing is that he wasn't big at all at that time. Until the U15s he was even one of the smallest of our groups. It's interesting because it means that he had to be at full strength all those years." "I don't know if we can say that it was already sold out at the time, but in any case it had something special. He had everything that cannot be acquired, a kind of gift from heaven. He then worked hard, of course, but some things can't be learned... He was usually on the axis, in 8, 10 and 9. He was played here because that's where you have to be the most demanding. That's what we had to develop in him: that requirement. Once again, spotting a player like him is not very difficult. What you have to do, after you've identified a great potential, is to make the boy understand that he can become a top (he insists) player. Repeat it to him too, even when he's not as good a player. That's what we did with Kai. So you can imagine what kind of moment it was when, six years after his arrival, his mother and I attended his first training session with the big boys...".
Albert Puig ( Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig and Takefusa Kubo, among others): "Try to find out if what you perceive to be different comes from the player's head. If it is the case, sign it." A recruiter for FC Barcelona in the early 2000s, Albert Puig then directed the Masia between 2010 and 2014. Known for having brought Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig (no family ties), Takefusa Kubo, Thiago Alcantara but also Marc Cucurella or Dani Olmo, the one who now coaches in Japan (Albirex Niigata) looks back on the discovery of the first three cities.
"Both (Ansu Fati and Riqui Puig) are great players and have a bright future ahead of them. I am delighted to have found these two gems but I am also happy to have discovered other players, less exposed to the media but whose potential was more difficult to detect when they were young. Riqui (Puig) was obviously very talented but the question of recruiting him arose because it was clear that his physique was not going to be of much help in the short term and that could be a hindrance. With him, we had to look further... "For Ansu (Fati), it's different. He was a pure talent. There was no discussion about him. But as some of my colleagues have had to tell you, the essential thing is not so much to discover and then recruit but to train, educate and thus guide these promising people. The road to success is long and difficult and many external factors come into play. But yes, of course, raw talent is at the root of everything. It's a must and they had it back then. I'm talking about when Ansu was 9 years old. He had just left Africa, but it was a rough diamond that brought a lot of joy to the game." "Riqui was 11 years old the first time I saw him play. I watched him evolve from year to year and it was felt that he should be brought in at the age of 14. Again, his physique was a big handicap but I think that somehow it made him stronger mentally and made him want to do everything he could to improve tactically." "The case of Takefusa (Kubo) is even different. We signed him thanks to Oscar Hernandez, who is currently my assistant at Albirex. He was coordinating one of our campuses in Japan. He is the one who discovered Take. He told me that there was this young Japanese talent whose family was about to move to Barcelona. I trusted him and agreed to let him come and try out with us for a week. From his first balls, I understood how huge the talent of this child was. We then recruited him. He was a very mentally strong boy who didn't hesitate to take risks in the game. He had a great personality and, of course, a great technique. But when you have the talent, that competitive mindset, and that mental strength, you can only succeed, or almost succeed...." "I don't forget boys like Lee (Kang-in), Brahim Diaz, Sergi Roberto, Munir (El Haddadi), Thiago Alcantara, Oriol Romeu, Iñaki Peña, Adama (Traoré), (Jon) Toral, Miranda, Pablo Moreno... All of these boys have their own stories and I keep in mind memories about each one of them. But without going into details I think it is important to underline one thing about our job: stay on your first impression! It is the fruit of all your experience. Don't look for flaws. Try to find out if what you perceive to be different comes from the player's head. If so, sign it!"
Clive Ellington ( Raheem Sterling): "We were simulating post-game interviews on the way home".
"I was introduced to Raheem when he was about eight years old. I watched him play in the middle of a playground and I thought, either this kid is incredibly good, or the people he plays with are incredibly bad (laughs). He had a technique and moves that you only see in professionals. So I asked him what he was doing on the weekend. He told me he wasn't doing anything special. I then asked him what team he played with. He told me that he didn't play for anyone. (Editor's note: Clive Ellington is an educator with Alpha & Omega FC). And that's when the magic started to happen. We watched him play and wondered how he could achieve what he was doing in front of players who were bigger than he was. It's a natural, pure talent. It wasn't the first time we'd heard about a talented kid, but he had, and still has, the humility to do it. That's what we noticed very quickly and one of the things I like most about him. He realized very quickly that he had great potential, the potential to make a career, but he never showed it. When he was 12 or 13 years old it was particularly visible: it was not the desire to be above the pack that motivated him. On the contrary, he wanted the whole team to be at his level, if not at an even higher level. He was anything but selfish. That doesn't mean he wasn't more determined than average. His teammates saw this as a recreation, not him." "Where he was stronger? Speed, of course, but also balance, the ability to stand. What did he need to learn? Accepting defeat or at least learning how to live it better. Passing more assists, too. He was also asked to pay attention to how he was getting his messages across. I remember telling him, "If you can't find the words to get your teammate to lift his head, it's better not to say anything at all." We also prepared him a little bit for whatever was going to happen to him by faking interviews. We did that in the car on the way to the game or training (laughs). And when I would ask him if he was aware that he had become one of the best players in the country, he would answer me with a look that would say, "What are you talking about?" (laughter). But we knew we had a phenomenon in our hands, a future superstar. And since his passion for the sport was equal to all that... He wanted to play soccer all the time, all the time (he insists)! He is also very grateful to the educators who made him do some extra work after training, which says a lot about his education. In this regard, we also have a lot of esteem for his mother, who worked very hard to provide for him. Are we still in contact with Raheem? Of course we are! And we don't just talk about soccer. What I can tell you is that we haven't seen everything yet. I'm convinced that the best is yet to come... In conclusion, you should know that the fact that he has been able to face judgments that have not always been made in the past is a great advantage for him." "I'm very proud to be the man he is now."
Karel Brandsma ( Hakim Ziyech): "You don't really discover this kind of player". Director of the SC Heerenveen recruiting unit at the time of the signing of the new signing for Chelsea, Brandsma is humbled to look back on one of the most beautiful moves in the club's history.
"A few months before we moved, we had been given the information that there was a very promising young dribbler playing for ASVD Dronten. So we logically moved. Our scout could notice how Hakim was the best player on the field. When the difference is so big, it's not so difficult to notice it. Anyone with a pair of eyes could have seen that talent. To tell the truth (he's looking for his words)... you don't really get to know this kind of player. The boy is there, right in front of you, and you just have to do everything you can as a club to bring a player of that caliber back to Heerenveen. And that's what we did! "His father had just passed away. So he needed a structure that could accommodate him, that would allow him to go back and forth between his home in Dronten and the training center. With him, we knew that the main thing was not the recruitment of the player but the accompaniment that would have to follow. The gambler had to feel that he was going to join a family. The rest, and especially the determination, we soon saw that he had it. We also quickly realized that this boy hated mediocrity."
Néstor Gonçalves ( Federico Valverde): "He knew how to get out of the frame to solve a situation". Gonçalves is also the origin of the emergence of Rodrigo Bentancur (on the Boca Juniors side), and is the one who recommended the name Federico Valverde to the leaders of the mythical Peñarol. A few months later, his foal became a Uruguayan international at youth level and scared the recruitment cells all over Europe (the player notably did an internship with the Arsenal Gunners in 2014). The scout, whose eyes always shine when he talks about the Real midfielder, remembers a kid who already read the game perfectly.
"The first time I saw Fede, he must have been nine or ten years old. His name had been slipped to me, so I went to see him play and talk to him. They hadn't told me he was extraordinary, no. It's hard to use that term at that age. I was told there was a player who was doing well, that's all. The first thing that caught my attention was how smart he was playing. The way he read the game was, for his age (he's looking for his words)... surprising. At that level, he was already quite different from the people he was playing with. I don't know how to say it precisely, but let's say that he managed to solve the situations that were submitted to him. He didn't hesitate to get out of the frame, out of the organization, if that was what the team needed. All of this was done very quickly. Again, these are things you don't often see in children that age. There was something else, too: his obsession with the goals he wanted to achieve and the progress he wanted to make. I'm talking about obsession in the positive sense of the word. On top of that, he was always listening to his educators. At that time, Fede was also very small and thin. But this was not a problem because with the chief doctor of the Peñarol and thanks to science, we knew approximately how big he was going to get. It's quite funny because Fede is now measuring exactly the size that we had determined. Was it easy to predict his success? When he was ten years old, I told the then president of Peñarol that this player embodied the future of the club and the future of the selection, I have documents that prove it. You know (he is looking for his words)... there are many factors, many aspects of the game that can be analyzed, but there is also something else: intuition."
For Liverpool, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah are expected to be fit to play despite missing their side's friendly victory over Blackburn Rovers. The same pair also sat out an internal training match the weekend before but Liverpool have said there are no injury concerns surrounding the two players.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also uncertain for the match, after picking up an injury midweek in the reds 6-0 victory over blackburn.
The news is not so good for Everton. Fabian Delph has had to miss training along with Andre Gomes while Theo Walcott has had a minor surgery which puts him out of contention for a month. Yerry Mina is also out after tearing his thigh muscle at the start of June.
Ultimately you would expect most players to be at a decent fitness level, however it will shine through which teams are up for the challenge. Lets see who has been taking this lockdown seriously and who have let it go.
Strange as it now seems given their dominance of the season, but Liverpool were wobbling in the weeks before lockdown. Four out of six matches had ended in defeat, a sequence that cost Jürgen Klopp’s team their undefeated record in the Premier League, their hopes of reaching a third successive Champions League final and of adding the FA Cup to this season’s trophy haul.
Liverpool did set an English top-flight record of 22 consecutive home wins in their last league outing with victory over Bournemouth. Controversy surrounded the decision to play the second leg of the Champions League tie against Atlético Madrid in front of more than 52,000 fans at Anfield with the coronavirus infection rate growing rapidly. An official investigation is under way. Alisson was sidelined by a hip injury at the time and his replacement, Adrián, was at fault as Atlético inflicted a first defeat on Klopp in his 11 European knockout ties as the Liverpool manager.
Unsurprisingly upbeat now the unprecedented threat to a richly deserved title victory has eased. The return to contact training has also helped players who Klopp claimed were “like five- and six-year-old boys” while keeping fit at home during lockdown. On the day of football’s suspension the manager called his squad together for a quick meeting to stress the importance of remaining positive, and even enjoying the rare extended break, despite the reward for their outstanding season being placed on hold. A Zoom group including around 60 players and staff helped in that regard. Alisson is now fit, so too Jordan Henderson, who had a hamstring injury shortly before lockdown. Players who were starting to show the effects of an uninterrupted campaign for club and country – Roberto Firmino for one – should benefit from the shutdown. “We are so recharged, I can tell you,” the manager says.
What needs to be done to have a successful end to the season? Win two of the remaining nine matches to be crowned champions of England for the first time in 30 years. On the surface it really is that simple, although that target would be at odds with the mentality and ambition Klopp has ingrained in his squad. Should results go their way Liverpool could win their coveted 19th league championship in the first game back against Everton but, even then, the manager would demand more. Manchester City’s record of 100 points will be his unspoken target. Liverpool, who have dropped points in only two of 29 league matches this season, have taken a staggering 109 points from the previous 38 games. They could win 109 points from the 114 available this season. While that is a big ask of any champion side there is no question Liverpool, their title celebrations stuck on pause for so long, will be supremely motivated to remind everyone of their authority.
Have players and staff behaved during lockdown? Behaved and trained diligently throughout, which is little surprise given the standards demanded by dressing-room leaders including Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum. The same cannot be said of the owner, Fenway Sports Group, whose decision to furlough around 200 non-playing staff in April prompted fierce criticism and a swift U-turn following talks with the Spirit of Shankly supporters’ union and local politicians.
Any unsung/community heroes? Henderson will not only be remembered this season for lifting the Premier League trophy. The Liverpool captain was the driving force behind the Players Together initiative that has raised millions for frontline NHS workers and made a mockery of government attempts to single out footballers for criticism over wage cuts at the start of the crisis. Liverpool players, and the chief executive, Peter Moore, have also donated thousands to Fans Supporting Foodbanks.
Key player in the run-in? Mohamed Salah. The forward was hitting his best form of the season just before lockdown and is only three goals behind Jamie Vardy in the race for the Golden Boot. That could provide a little extra incentive to keep unlocking defences long after the title is won.
End-of-season prediction Something tells me this really could be Liverpool’s year. Neck-on-the-line time – champions.
How is everyone doing? We move yet another week closer to the new Premier League season as sports around the world start gathering momentum. This week the transfer rumours have quieted a little, although that's perhaps to be expected as teams gear up for their first matches. This weekend brings the opening matches in England, France and Spain, although football in Italy and Germany will not start for another week.
Let me know if I've left off your favourite sport/league and I'll add it to the list
In slightly Villa related news, here's a list of predictions for the Premier League season from various sources.
Phil McNulty - BBC: Villa to finish in 15th Maths/Simulation - FiveThirtyEight: Villa with a 75% chance to stay in the league (16/20). Worth noting that Villa have an 8% chance of finishing in each of the bottom 5 spots. Micah Richards - Daily Mail: Villa in 17th (before the Watkins transfer was confirmed). Says that Villa need(ed) to strengthen to be more secure. Joe Prince-Wright, Nick Mendola, Andy Edwards - NBCSports: Villa 16th, 16th, 15th consistently just outside relegation despite most other teams moving around a lot between the 3 predictions (Baggies only team relegated in all 3). Robbie Savage... - Mirror: Villa 18th but also says "If Jack Grealish stays, Villa will stay up" Couldn't find many decent sources that have Villa going down (most are blogs, pages dedicated to rival teams, or are from before we made any signings and it looked like Jack was leaving). Seems like most people think that Villa's survival hinges on keeping Jack. Hope everyone is doing well right now, stay safe!
This week, Le Bilan celebrates its first birthday. Thank you everyone for being here every week to follow the last events of your favorite championship. And thank you to my londoner friend LeMexicanos for being the perfect Hermes last week. In Europe, the french clubs had another shocker with 4 losses and a win. Lille was brilliant in Milan and french football is grateful to the Dogues and Yusuf Yazıcı for this performance, single handedly saving the coefficient. Before the last international break of the year, there was still a Ligue 1 matchday this weekend with three obvious matches to follow : PSG-Rennes, Nice-Monaco and Lyon-Saint-Étienne.
Appetizers
Marseille won in Strasbourg in the most efficient and minimalistic way possible, with only one shot (but what a shot) in the whole 90 minutes. If Philip Glass was involved in football, he would coach Marseille.
Unsurprisingly, Montpellier won in Bordeaux 2-0 with goals from Mollet, who is starting to get his starting spot back regularly, and Delort. Bordeaux keeps disappointing with no visible signs of improvement. Their fans already knew from the start that the season would be long and certainly painful, it's looking more and more this way.
After an upsetting loss at the hands of RB Leipzig, Paris had to redeem themselves against another Champions League team, Rennes, defeated 3-0 by Chelsea this week. With eight injured players at the start of the game (and twelve at the end, seriously what are the physios doing ?), Paris still had no troubles taking the three points thanks to another goal from Kean and a brace from Di María (well one goal and a half in the end as the second one was given as an own goal for Da Silva). Rennes started the season very well but the last few weeks have been extremely rough to say the least, most likely a consequence of the heavy calendar, which is new for the team.
For the first time this season (and the first time in competitive matches since february), Lille fell. Brest was the team that finally defeated the Dogues. By scoring three times in the first half, they certainly made things quite complicated for a team probably physically diminished after their formidable feat in Milan (though according to Christophe Galtier, it was more the mentality that was lacking). Still, they didn't give up, getting back progressively with two goals from the inevitable Burak Yılmaz. The turkish striker even shot on the post late in the game but ultimately it was the Bretons who left the pitch victorious.
In the least Angers-esque possible, the black & white massacred Nîmes in their own home 5-1. You know you did poorly when even Loïs Diony scores against you (ok it was a penalty but still). Angers reaches the first half of the table, two points away from the Champions League spots (*shudders*, please don't). Meanwhile, the Crocodiles continue to feel the heat of the red zone.
Another high-scoring match saw Lens snatching a draw in the last minutes against Reims for their comeback after three weeks out of the pitches because of a COVID outbreak in the team. No less than five goals were scored in the last 15 minutes with Florent Sotoca being the hero of the Sang et Or (again should I say) with two goals at the end of the game.
After being humiliated in Prague against a team that lacked half of their players due to COVID, Nice had to bounce back, especially against their nearest rival. Unfortunately, they encountered a Monaco who seems to be (finally, perhaps, we will see) on the right track. Disasi opened the score, Diop doubled it in the second half before Pierre Lees-Melou reduced the gap. Not enough despite a clear domination in the last 45 minutes.
A derby between Lyon and Saint-Étienne is never a normal match and once again bizarre events occurred. First, Saint-Étienne played way better than expected and made their rivals suffer, especially in the first half with notable disappointing performances from Depay, Aouar and Bruno Guimarães, concluded by an own goal from Anthony Lopes following a great individual work from Bouanga. After an hour of playtime, Garcia made three changes, bringing in Thiago Mendes, Paqueta and, above all, Tino Kadewere. The zimbabwean, best scorer and best player of Ligue 2 last season with Le Havre, scored a brace something he dreamt about right before the match, delivering the Gones from a potential humiliating defeat. At the end of the game, les Verts had the opportunity to equalize but Denis Bouanga completely bottled the penalty.
34 goals were scored this weekend, as I predicted on thursday (and I've got witnesses to certify it). So far this season we've got on average 2,82 goals/match, compared to 2,34 last season at the same time.
1-2 Champions League group stage 3 Champions League qualifiers round 3 4 Europa League group stage 5 Europa Conference League group stage 18 Relegation play-offs 19-20 Relegation to Ligue 2
I had already planned to take stock of Ligue 2 since one or two weeks given the fact there were 5 matchdays since the last one. So imagine my reaction when I learned Toulouse lost against Valenciennes, a team that hadn't won since September. 5-4. At home. With FOUR GOALS FROM A RIGHT BACK. Was it laughter ? Confusion ? How does one not feel like it was a gift to the Bilan from the Almighty ? So yeah, that happened. In his whole career before this match, the hero of the day Jérémy Cuffaut, now 32, had only scored 11 goals. Unsurprisingly, he becomes the first defender having done such a feat in the history of Ligue 2. And that includes two wonderful free kicks (here's the last one, credit to NotMeladroit). Now I know laughing about Toulouse is fun but apart from this little hiccup, they have actually performed quite well lately. Since their first win in 11 months against Auxerre that we talked about last time, they have added another three wins to their tally, consecutively nonetheless, which allows them to reach the heights of the 9th place. And it's a dutchman, Stijn Spierings, who has become the technical leader of the team that still hopes to get back in the elite and with only one point from the playoffs spots, it's definitely doable. But the team there's a need to talk about is definitely Paris FC. After a last season where they barely saved their place in Ligue 2, it was tough to expect something incredible from them. Yet not only are the parisians leading the ranking, they are crushing it. With eight wins in ten matches and seven points above the second Troyes, the best attack and the second best defense, PFC is currently on an autoroute heading towards Ligue 1. It would be the first time two teams from Paris compete in Ligue 1 since 1990 and the relegation of Racing Club de Paris (though technically it can be debated since RC Paris is based in Colombes which is 6 km from Paris but let's not get too picky). Apart from the huge gap at the top, Ligue 2 is extremely tight with only the tiny club of Chambly seemingly on the wrong track. The fact they survived last year for their first L2 season, finishing at the 10th place, was already incredible. Also shoutout to Mickaël Le Bihan from Auxerre, top scorer of the league. Le Bilan 🤝 Le Bihan The complete Ligue 2 results Ranking
André Villas-Boas, Marseille coach, slightly angry at journalists :
You are not allowed to make efforts to win a match and when you win a match with your efforts the match is saved by others! What are you saying! But what are you saying sincerely! You have to stop sometimes! Make concrete analyses! If you look at other clubs, you will see this kind of things. You think that winning in Strasbourg away from home is easy! Extraordinary guys make the difference in all the clubs, it's always like that. It's a victory on a difficult pitch that takes us very high in the rankings. I know you're upset but that's how it is, that's life.
Thomas Tuchel, Paris coach, also angry at journalists :
For me you are disrespecting the players who are there and you are disrespecting the team's performance by asking five questions about Marquinhos, two about Florenzi and none about the game, none about the opponent or what is needed today. It shows that you have no respect at all for what we are doing and what the team needs to do here, and that is very sad for me.
Julien Stéphan, Rennes coach :
There was more realism, more efficiency, I also found more cunning in them, more intensity. We have a lot of progress to make to be able to fight against these teams. We saw it this week in wednesday's match (3-0 defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League) or today's match: even if they are two different match contents, at the end of the match, that makes two heavy defeats and there are a lot of things to correct.
Christophe Galtier, Lille coach :
We thought the kick-off was going to be at 2 p.m., we were an hour wrong. We found an opponent that we knew was determined, we didn't know how to respond to their commitment, especially in their offensive races. We didn't exist, it was difficult for us to make the counter-efforts, just like the first two goals. When it is the full-backs who score, it is because there is a real problem of balance. [...] When there is such a contrast between two matches, the explanation is mental, and the only person responsible is me. My starting eleven didn't work at all. We couldn't get back into Sunday's match. I should have injected more freshness.
ThePr1d3, Rennes supporter and #FrenchTech enthusiast :
Truffert is such a cone he could be a VLC ambassador.
Next matchday
Friday 20/11, 19:00 Stade Rennais - Girondins de Bordeaux Friday 20/11, 21:00 AS Monaco - Paris Saint-Germain Saturday 21/11, 17:00 Stade Brestois - AS Saint-Étienne Saturday 21/11, 21:00 Olympique de Marseille - OGC Nice Sunday 22/11, 13:00 FC Nantes - FC Metz Sunday 22/11, 15:00 Montpellier Hérault SC - RC Strasbourg Dijon FCO - RC Lens Stade de Reims - Nîmes Olympique Sunday 22/11, 17:00 Angers SCO - Olympique Lyonnais Sunday 22/11, 21:00 Lille OSC - FC Lorient Thanks a lot to Hippemann for all the clips and the tables ! For more news about the best league in the world (except for the other four) and to improve your french, come and subscribe to /Ligue1. All feedbacks are welcome ! Previous matchdays : Season 2020-2021 M1 - M2 - M3 - M4 - M5 - M6 - M7 - M8 - M9 Season 2019-2020 M12 - M13 - M14 - M15 - M16 - M17 - M18 - M19 - M20 - M21 - M22 - M23 - M24 - M25 - M26 - M27 - M28
[Le Bilan] - Ligue 1 Matchday 9 : Para bailar la Bamba se necesita una poca de Garcia
We are already reaching the quarter of the season with relatively few surprises so far (if we consider that PSG's slow start was predictable). On the european front, the french clubs have produced a more presentable collective result this week with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. This weekend, Lille was hosting the fallen giant Lyon with one goal in mind : asserting themselves as a new powerhouse.
Appetizers
After five matches without a win, the last one being a loss in Sevilla, it was time to awaken for Rennes at home against their fellow bretons from Brest. And despite a clear domination in the first half Rennes didn't manage to open the score. Worse, it was the visitors who claimed the first blood after one hour of play. Fortunately for Salma Hayek's favorite club, the two centre backs Da Silva and Aguerd turned the situation around, the pair scoring their 5th and 6th goal in 9 matches.
The first half of Nantes-PSG was atrocious, borderline unwatchable, symbolized by this Choupo-Moting tribute from Moses Simon. The second half was completely controlled by the parisians (though with Navas, already the best player against Istanbul Basaksehir, stopping a penalty from Bamba) who scored early by Ander Herrera then later by Kylian Mbappé (again) and Pablo Sarabia in what constitutes their 7th straight win in Ligue 1. Nantes on the other end progressively get closer from the red zone.
For the second time in a row, Saint-Étienne didn't manage to have a shot on target. In a way it's impressive. That poor performance allowed Montpellier, who was on a pretty bad run, to claim a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Mavididi.
Nice's bounce back after their thrashing in Leverkusen (6-2) was confirmed this sunday. After a reassuring draw against Lille and a win against Hapoel Beer Sheva, the Aiglons dismantled Angers 3-0. Unfortunately, it came at a huge cost as Dante got injured on the knee, which will see him most likely out for a long time.
It doesn't even come as a surprise anymore but Metz won again, this time away in Nîmes. A single goal from Lamine Gueye (another product from the Génération Foot Academy who was supposed to be loaned at Paris FC but finally stayed in Lorraine) allowed the Grenats to get ahead. After they were reduced to ten men just before half time, they were logically dominated by Nîmes but defended well enough to prevent an equalizer.
Bordeaux' defence this season had been stellar thus far, conceding only five goals in eight matches, only below Paris and Lille in that regard. Alas yesterday they crossed the road of a team that wanted blood after being humiliated in Lyon last week. Monaco walloped Bordeaux in four minutes in the middle of the first half, scoring three goals in that interval. Completely dazed, the Girondins couldn't respond and finally conceded a fourth goal later by Kevin Volland who scored his first two goals since his arrival in the principality.
The first half of Lille-Lyon was mostly dominated by Lyon, which was quite surprising given the recent dynamics of both teams. In the end it was not rewarded as Lille opened the score by a beautiful goal from Jonathan Bamba before Lyon equalized thanks to an own goal from Celik. Unfortunately for the Gones, the plans had to change quickly in the second half with the sending off of Marcelo for a second yellow card. Lille logically put pressure on their opponents the whole 45 minutes but wasn't able to claim the victory.
1-2 Champions League group stage 3 Champions League qualifiers round 3 4 Europa League group stage 5 Europa Conference League group stage 18 Relegation play-offs 19-20 Relegation to Ligue 2
Burak Yılmaz & Jonathan Bamba :Two weeks ago, we spent some time talking about the poor start of the season from Jonathan David while acknowledging that the rest of the Lille team was doing very well so let's focus this time on what are their main strengths, especially on the attacking front. After the departure of Victor Osimhen to Naples and Loïc Rémy to Çaykur Rizespor, the club and its mastermind Luis Campos had to find at least two players to replace them. And while the marquee signing previously mentioned hasn't convinced yet, the other one, much less talked about at the time, has been one of the revelation of the season in Ligue 1. At the tender age of 35 years old and after spending his entire career in Turkey, including in the Big 3 from Istanbul, Burak Yılmaz decided to become adventurous and follow the paths of his compatriots Yusuf Yazıcı and Zeki Çelik in northern France. And with already four goals in two assists in the league, a physical strength well needed among a relatively light squad and a generosity on the pitch very appreciated by the supporters, Yılmaz has already become a cult idol and an indispensable player to put on the pitch for Christophe Galtier. But there's another player who has been key this season for Lille. Jonathan Bamba started his third season for the Dogues as humbly as he could (and as he should). After a very strong first season two years ago with 13 goals in the league, Bamba completely disappeared the next year with a terrible total of 1 goal in 26 Ligue 1 appearances and an overall contribution that obviously wasn't enough to make him the starter he was meant to be. Rather than moping around and look for another club to bounce back, Bamba chose to stay in Lille to "give back the confidence that was put in me". And with four goals and four assists in 9 matches, it's fair to say his choice was the right one. Of course he'll have to maintain this form for several months to make everyone forget about last season but recently he oozes this famous confidence and it can be seen by the quality of passes he sents to his partners or his goal this weekend against Lyon. If he continues like that the doors of the French National Team could open more quickly than expected.
There have been positive responses from the players after discussions this week. We had put in a new system for this match between two sick teams. When you come to Saint-Etienne and the Cauldron is full, it stimulates their players and the closed-door situation certainly makes them lose points.
Stéphane Jobard, Dijon coach :
Defensively, there was some application, and it's the first time we haven't conceded a goal, we'll say that's the positive point of the day. I feel like saying to the players: go ahead guys, there's no one left behind us. The week before the match in Metz next Sunday will be important. We can't let go now. We could have come back to within two points of Lorient if we had won, but I didn't feel any rebellion.
Christophe Pelissier, Lorient coach :
Taking four points in two trips is a good thing, as is not having conceded a goal for the first time this season. We wanted to impose our game, but although I noticed a certain defensive balance, there was a lack of technical accuracy, quality in the crosses, in the passes... Against Marseille (0-1), we deserved to take a point, against Dijon we could have taken three: we mustn't make this observation every weekend.
A not so happy Jérôme Arpinon, Nîmes coach :
There are players whose feet are burnt by the ball! At half-time I told them what I thought, but after the match I didn't say anything. Afterwards I'm going to tell them the truth. Sometimes you yell at your children, but you love them anyway, that's the same thing. With everything that's going on right now, terrorism, Covid-19 and everything, we have to put a lot more spirit and joy into it. Football is fun. We mustn't have a first half like that. We have to bring life, breathe football and then it will come on its own! Be careful, I, and all the staff, are included in the defeat. But there are players who shit themselves when they have the ball in their feet!
And this moment of grace from Ligue 2 by René Girard, Paris FC coach, speaking about Pascal Dupraz (Caen coach) :
I called him a piece of shit, is that what he said? I'm not going to go in there, I'm not a snitch because he's not Simon Templar, he's not a saint. But hey, he doesn't represent anything in football and he knows it.
Hello to everyone except Neymar who decided to miss his penalty in the semifinal of my FM tournament and disqualify me.
Next matchday
Friday 06/11, 21:00 RC Strasbourg - Olympique de Marseille Saturday 07/11, 17:00 Girondins de Bordeaux - Montpellier HSC Saturday 07/11, 21:00 Paris Saint-Germain - Stade Rennais Sunday 08/11, 13:00 Stade Brestois - Lille OSC Sunday 08/11, 15:00 RC Lens - Stade de Reims FC Lorient - FC Nantes FC Metz - Dijon FCO Nîmes Olympique - Angers SCO Sunday 08/11, 17:00 OGC Nice - AS Monaco Sunday 08/11, 21:00 Olympique Lyonnais - AS Saint-Étienne Thanks a lot to Hippemann for all the clips and the tables ! For more news about the best league in the world (except for the other four) and to improve your french, come and subscribe to /Ligue1. All feedbacks are welcome ! Previous matchdays : Season 2020-2021 M1 - M2 - M3 - M4 - M5 - M6 - M7 - M8 Season 2019-2020 M12 - M13 - M14 - M15 - M16 - M17 - M18 - M19 - M20 - M21 - M22 - M23 - M24 - M25 - M26 - M27 - M28
N.B.A. Hopes for ‘as Close to a Normal Season as Possible’
The first team to take up residence at the N.B.A. bubble in July was one of the first to be assigned a road trip last week. The Orlando Magic on Thursday afternoon boarded a team flight for the first time since March and made the short journey to Atlanta to jump-start a season like no other.Upon arrival, Orlando’s 47-passenger contingent — including two coronavirus testers — was divided up and ushered onto four separate buses to maximize social distancing. Players were reminded to avoid the hotel gift shop and crowded elevators and were instructed to stay on the hotel property, apart from visits to a nearby Whole Foods Market.“I don’t know if it’s going to be like that all season long,” Orlando’s Evan Fournier said in a phone interview. “I still don’t know what I’m really allowed to do. I guess that’s what the preseason is for.”Dress rehearsals, for a league adjusting to new realities, are indeed underway. Tuesday marked Day 5 for the N.B.A.’s rapid-fire exhibition schedule — with a countdown clock in the bottom left-hand corner of NBA TV, the league’s official channel, offering repeated reminders that next Tuesday’s opening night for the 2020-21 season is fast approaching.As Fournier noted, N.B.A. teams are trying to make road life as restrictive as possible, hoping to keep their traveling parties safe with the coronavirus still surging across the country. It’s way too soon to say the league’s measures are working, when leaguewide travel has just begun, but Fournier sounded refreshingly hopeful when we spoke, saying he feels safe given the players’ daily testing, combined with as many old bubble practices as teams are able to replicate now that they’re on the move.The French guard joked Saturday on Twitter, in his native language, that he was getting sick of himself after three days in the same Atlanta hotel room, but Fournier left little doubt in our chat that he was “super happy” to be back on the court for two games against the Hawks.“It’s so much better than just being in the bubble, in my opinion, because we actually get to travel and play in real arenas,” Fournier said.You can understand the sentiment. Everyone who plays and works in the league knows that the restricted-access village erected by the N.B.A. at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., was by far the safest way to conduct business and finish the 2019-20 season, but no one wanted to do it again because of the mental-health toll exacted by long stays behind Disney’s gates, cut off from the outside world.So the N.B.A. will try to do it this way, with nearly 160 pages of safety guidelines for teams to follow to try to keep the coronavirus from infiltrating practices and mostly fan-less arenas, even as the increasing (and at times farcical) ineffectiveness of college football and basketball in combating the virus suggests that major disruptions are looming. The N.F.L., without a bubble, has likewise had countless troubles.A month ago, as the draft and free agency approached, I wrote about how strange it was to see and hear so little public concern about the daunting challenges that the N.B.A. would face this winter, when medical experts were rightly predicting an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases. Not much has changed in the weeks since — James Harden’s uncertain future in Houston gets far more coverage from the basketball media than health issues — but I do get it. The virus has been a constant in our lives for nine months. Many have grown weary of worrying.It was thus so tempting, starting Friday night, to get swept up in the basketball as the preseason began. Training camps landed a little later on the calendar than usual, but this, after all, is the time of year for just that — for all teams and their fans to dream before the games start counting.John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have looked healthier and livelier than the Houston Rockets, who are otherwise soaked in the drama of the disgruntled Harden, could have hoped. Golden State’s Stephen Curry returned from his own injury woes with a new trick shot that he flung from the empty stands at Chase Center during pregame warm-ups and that may have topped every past trick shot in a career full of them. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had majestic moments together in their long-delayed debut as Nets teammates. Talen Horton-Tucker, who turned 20 on Nov. 25, looked as dangerous as Los Angeles Lakers insiders have whispered for months he would be when he got a chance to play real minutes. Zion Williamson, too, was back to his wrecking-ball best Monday night in the New Orleans Pelicans’ exhibition opener.Thursday’s Minnesota at Dallas preseason game is the first I will have the chance to attend in person. Members of the news media are not allowed to get anywhere near the floor or the two teams, as we used to, but I don’t think I will be able to stay home after getting Fournier’s description of the State Farm Arena scene for the Magic’s 116-112 victory over the Hawks in the teams’ Friday exhibition.“It was really fun, actually,” Fournier said. “I didn’t really pay attention to the empty seats. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s just because I was so happy to be out there.”Where I live, in the same city as one of the game’s loudest optimists, talk about the coming season tends to be even more bullish, in contrast to my typical fear-the-worst anxiety, which I am once again struggling to stifle. Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, is a self-professed vaccines “geek” who has been reading everything he can as a mass vaccination campaign begins to roll out nationwide. Last week on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Cuban said it was “my personal belief” that there would be a “huge snap back” in March or April “where most of the people in the country will have had access” to coronavirus vaccination “if they wanted it.”Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, has predicted that most people will be able to get the vaccine by late spring or early summer, and that those with no underlying conditions could be vaccinated by the end of March or beginning of April. Seemingly taking his cue from such projections, Cuban told SiriusXM that he thinks “things are going to get really fun” in N.B.A. arenas in the second half of the season, provided that the league’s rush to start before Christmas to satisfy its television partners proceeds into the spring with no serious setbacks.When I reached Cuban on Tuesday, he insisted that the Mavericks’ mantra is “safety first, safety second and safety third.” He also confirmed that he would be at American Airlines Center on Thursday night, which will be Cuban’s first opportunity to watch his team in person since the viral clip of his stunned in-game reaction to news of the season’s suspension on March 11.“So far, so good,” Cuban said. “The most important aspect is that the players and staff that are traveling are treating each game as a self-imposed bubble. We won’t be able to eliminate cases and outbreaks, but if we can minimize them, then hopefully it can be as close to a normal season as possible.”UpdatedDec. 23, 2020, 8:46 p.m. ETThe Scoop @TheSteinLineYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at [email protected]. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.(Questions may be lightly edited or condensed for clarity.)Q: Congratulations on 35 years in the business, and I wish you many more. My question is basically which parts stand out most to you in the evolution of N.B.A. basketball into a global, 24/7 machine? I remember being at university in the 1990s, watching the game of the week with the lads and using newspaper box scores for our little fantasy league with made-up rules. How things have changed. — Heath Melrose (Brindisi, Italy)Stein: N.B.A. players are among the most recognized (and closely followed) athletes in the world. It hasn’t always been this way. I know I’ve said it before, but the ever-growing interest in those individual personalities and a perpetually insatiable appetite for N.B.A. transactions are the standout changes for me.Apologies if I have shared this remembrance in the newsletter and just forgot, but the signal to me that the N.B.A. had truly entered a new era was a seemingly minor trade in January 2007 that sent Earl Boykins from the Denver Nuggets to the Milwaukee Bucks.Chris Ramsay, one of my ESPN.com editors at the time and the son of the legendary former Buffalo Braves and Portland Trail Blazers coach Jack Ramsay, told me that my story on the trade generated several hundred thousand page views. The trade deadline was more than a month away, but the appetite for a transaction headlined by a reserve guard was an early hint of how the landscape was changing.As for your mention of fantasy basketball, I make similar comments to my 14-year-old son, Aaron, every weekend while watching him breezily manage his first fantasy football team with all these new-age phone apps that do all the math for you. Not sure I would have made it through high school if I’d had a phone with push notifications to distract me.Q: Oscar Robertson will always be in my top six. — Ken Paul (New York Times senior staff editor)Stein: Ken got a good chuckle out of me with this response to a section of my recent piece on Diego Maradona that mentioned the contentious greatest-of-all-time debates in soccer and basketball.I listed Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain as the N.B.A.’s top six contenders for G.O.A.T. status — while acknowledging that there may not be a consensus on those finalists.Ken’s note promptly validated the suspicion that my top six might not be your top six. So did the email protest I received from one of our newsletter regulars, David Machlowitz of Westfield, N.J., asking why I included Magic but not Larry Bird.Just imagine what will happen if James wins his fifth ring this season by leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a second consecutive championship. That would give us some real G.O.A.T. tension at the front of the N.B.A. line as well as the back.Q: There has been talk of expanding rosters to deal with the Covid-19 situation. The N.B.A. will probably be affected even more by the coronavirus than the N.F.L. because there are so many more games per week, so wouldn’t everyone benefit if rosters were bigger? — Heber Costa e Silva (Brazil)Stein: There was some behind-the-scenes support in November for N.B.A. teams to be allowed to sign four players to two-way contracts this season rather than two, which would have essentially enabled teams to carry 19 players instead of 17.That push was ultimately rejected, but the league did eradicate the old 45-day N.B.A. limit for players on two-way deals. Players holding two-way contracts can be active for 50 of a team’s 72 games this season and will each earn a uniform $449,155. The league is also expected to formally announce later this week that teams will be allowed to dress 15 players per game this season, up from the usual 13.Two-way players are thus widely expected to stay predominantly with their N.B.A. teams in 2020-21 — which, of course, is one of the daunting variables that G League officials have to factor in as they continue to discuss the best format for their season.Numbers Game3Holdouts are rare in the modern N.B.A., but the Houston Rockets’ duo of James Harden (two) and P.J. Tucker (one) missed three days of training camp combined to convey varying levels of dissatisfaction with the team. Harden wants to be traded; Tucker wants a contract extension.5Five of the last eight offer sheets to restricted free agents have gone unmatched by the incumbent team. This includes the Knicks’ four-year, $71 million offer sheet to then-Atlanta Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in July 2017 and, more recently, Atlanta’s four-year, $72 million offer sheet to Bogdan Bogdanovic that the Sacramento Kings declined to match.4Although Milwaukee’s acquisition of Jrue Holiday is widely regarded as a clear upgrade to the Bucks’ backcourt because of his two-way prowess, Holiday’s résumé includes only limited playoff experience. He has reached the postseason four times in 11 N.B.A. seasons and advanced to the second round just once each with Philadelphia and New Orleans.15-and-5Fred VanVleet averaged 17.6 points and 6.6 assists per game last season and just received a four-year, $85 million contract from the Raptors. The last undrafted player to average at least 15 points and 5 assists for an entire season, according to Basketball Reference, was also a Raptor: Toronto’s Mike James averaged 20.3 points and 5.8 assists in 2005-06.3The Washington Wizards now have Twitter accounts in three different languages after adding a Hebrew feed to publicize the exploits of their Israeli first-round draft pick, Deni Avdija. In addition to its main English feed, Washington launched a Twitter account in Japanese last season for the first-rounder Rui Hachimura.Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to [email protected].
N.B.A. Hopes for ‘as Close to a Normal Season as Possible’
The first team to take up residence at the N.B.A. bubble in July was one of the first to be assigned a road trip last week. The Orlando Magic on Thursday afternoon boarded a team flight for the first time since March and made the short journey to Atlanta to jump-start a season like no other.Upon arrival, Orlando’s 47-passenger contingent — including two coronavirus testers — was divided up and ushered onto four separate buses to maximize social distancing. Players were reminded to avoid the hotel gift shop and crowded elevators and were instructed to stay on the hotel property, apart from visits to a nearby Whole Foods Market.“I don’t know if it’s going to be like that all season long,” Orlando’s Evan Fournier said in a phone interview. “I still don’t know what I’m really allowed to do. I guess that’s what the preseason is for.”Dress rehearsals, for a league adjusting to new realities, are indeed underway. Tuesday marked Day 5 for the N.B.A.’s rapid-fire exhibition schedule — with a countdown clock in the bottom left-hand corner of NBA TV, the league’s official channel, offering repeated reminders that next Tuesday’s opening night for the 2020-21 season is fast approaching.As Fournier noted, N.B.A. teams are trying to make road life as restrictive as possible, hoping to keep their traveling parties safe with the coronavirus still surging across the country. It’s way too soon to say the league’s measures are working, when leaguewide travel has just begun, but Fournier sounded refreshingly hopeful when we spoke, saying he feels safe given the players’ daily testing, combined with as many old bubble practices as teams are able to replicate now that they’re on the move.The French guard joked Saturday on Twitter, in his native language, that he was getting sick of himself after three days in the same Atlanta hotel room, but Fournier left little doubt in our chat that he was “super happy” to be back on the court for two games against the Hawks.“It’s so much better than just being in the bubble, in my opinion, because we actually get to travel and play in real arenas,” Fournier said.You can understand the sentiment. Everyone who plays and works in the league knows that the restricted-access village erected by the N.B.A. at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., was by far the safest way to conduct business and finish the 2019-20 season, but no one wanted to do it again because of the mental-health toll exacted by long stays behind Disney’s gates, cut off from the outside world.So the N.B.A. will try to do it this way, with nearly 160 pages of safety guidelines for teams to follow to try to keep the coronavirus from infiltrating practices and mostly fan-less arenas, even as the increasing (and at times farcical) ineffectiveness of college football and basketball in combating the virus suggests that major disruptions are looming. The N.F.L., without a bubble, has likewise had countless troubles.A month ago, as the draft and free agency approached, I wrote about how strange it was to see and hear so little public concern about the daunting challenges that the N.B.A. would face this winter, when medical experts were rightly predicting an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases. Not much has changed in the weeks since — James Harden’s uncertain future in Houston gets far more coverage from the basketball media than health issues — but I do get it. The virus has been a constant in our lives for nine months. Many have grown weary of worrying.It was thus so tempting, starting Friday night, to get swept up in the basketball as the preseason began. Training camps landed a little later on the calendar than usual, but this, after all, is the time of year for just that — for all teams and their fans to dream before the games start counting.John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have looked healthier and livelier than the Houston Rockets, who are otherwise soaked in the drama of the disgruntled Harden, could have hoped. Golden State’s Stephen Curry returned from his own injury woes with a new trick shot that he flung from the empty stands at Chase Center during pregame warm-ups and that may have topped every past trick shot in a career full of them. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had majestic moments together in their long-delayed debut as Nets teammates. Talen Horton-Tucker, who turned 20 on Nov. 25, looked as dangerous as Los Angeles Lakers insiders have whispered for months he would be when he got a chance to play real minutes. Zion Williamson, too, was back to his wrecking-ball best Monday night in the New Orleans Pelicans’ exhibition opener.Thursday’s Minnesota at Dallas preseason game is the first I will have the chance to attend in person. Members of the news media are not allowed to get anywhere near the floor or the two teams, as we used to, but I don’t think I will be able to stay home after getting Fournier’s description of the State Farm Arena scene for the Magic’s 116-112 victory over the Hawks in the teams’ Friday exhibition.“It was really fun, actually,” Fournier said. “I didn’t really pay attention to the empty seats. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s just because I was so happy to be out there.”Where I live, in the same city as one of the game’s loudest optimists, talk about the coming season tends to be even more bullish, in contrast to my typical fear-the-worst anxiety, which I am once again struggling to stifle. Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, is a self-professed vaccines “geek” who has been reading everything he can as a mass vaccination campaign begins to roll out nationwide. Last week on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Cuban said it was “my personal belief” that there would be a “huge snap back” in March or April “where most of the people in the country will have had access” to coronavirus vaccination “if they wanted it.”Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, has predicted that most people will be able to get the vaccine by late spring or early summer, and that those with no underlying conditions could be vaccinated by the end of March or beginning of April. Seemingly taking his cue from such projections, Cuban told SiriusXM that he thinks “things are going to get really fun” in N.B.A. arenas in the second half of the season, provided that the league’s rush to start before Christmas to satisfy its television partners proceeds into the spring with no serious setbacks.When I reached Cuban on Tuesday, he insisted that the Mavericks’ mantra is “safety first, safety second and safety third.” He also confirmed that he would be at American Airlines Center on Thursday night, which will be Cuban’s first opportunity to watch his team in person since the viral clip of his stunned in-game reaction to news of the season’s suspension on March 11.“So far, so good,” Cuban said. “The most important aspect is that the players and staff that are traveling are treating each game as a self-imposed bubble. We won’t be able to eliminate cases and outbreaks, but if we can minimize them, then hopefully it can be as close to a normal season as possible.”UpdatedDec. 23, 2020, 8:46 p.m. ETThe Scoop @TheSteinLineYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at [email protected]. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.(Questions may be lightly edited or condensed for clarity.)Q: Congratulations on 35 years in the business, and I wish you many more. My question is basically which parts stand out most to you in the evolution of N.B.A. basketball into a global, 24/7 machine? I remember being at university in the 1990s, watching the game of the week with the lads and using newspaper box scores for our little fantasy league with made-up rules. How things have changed. — Heath Melrose (Brindisi, Italy)Stein: N.B.A. players are among the most recognized (and closely followed) athletes in the world. It hasn’t always been this way. I know I’ve said it before, but the ever-growing interest in those individual personalities and a perpetually insatiable appetite for N.B.A. transactions are the standout changes for me.Apologies if I have shared this remembrance in the newsletter and just forgot, but the signal to me that the N.B.A. had truly entered a new era was a seemingly minor trade in January 2007 that sent Earl Boykins from the Denver Nuggets to the Milwaukee Bucks.Chris Ramsay, one of my ESPN.com editors at the time and the son of the legendary former Buffalo Braves and Portland Trail Blazers coach Jack Ramsay, told me that my story on the trade generated several hundred thousand page views. The trade deadline was more than a month away, but the appetite for a transaction headlined by a reserve guard was an early hint of how the landscape was changing.As for your mention of fantasy basketball, I make similar comments to my 14-year-old son, Aaron, every weekend while watching him breezily manage his first fantasy football team with all these new-age phone apps that do all the math for you. Not sure I would have made it through high school if I’d had a phone with push notifications to distract me.Q: Oscar Robertson will always be in my top six. — Ken Paul (New York Times senior staff editor)Stein: Ken got a good chuckle out of me with this response to a section of my recent piece on Diego Maradona that mentioned the contentious greatest-of-all-time debates in soccer and basketball.I listed Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain as the N.B.A.’s top six contenders for G.O.A.T. status — while acknowledging that there may not be a consensus on those finalists.Ken’s note promptly validated the suspicion that my top six might not be your top six. So did the email protest I received from one of our newsletter regulars, David Machlowitz of Westfield, N.J., asking why I included Magic but not Larry Bird.Just imagine what will happen if James wins his fifth ring this season by leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a second consecutive championship. That would give us some real G.O.A.T. tension at the front of the N.B.A. line as well as the back.Q: There has been talk of expanding rosters to deal with the Covid-19 situation. The N.B.A. will probably be affected even more by the coronavirus than the N.F.L. because there are so many more games per week, so wouldn’t everyone benefit if rosters were bigger? — Heber Costa e Silva (Brazil)Stein: There was some behind-the-scenes support in November for N.B.A. teams to be allowed to sign four players to two-way contracts this season rather than two, which would have essentially enabled teams to carry 19 players instead of 17.That push was ultimately rejected, but the league did eradicate the old 45-day N.B.A. limit for players on two-way deals. Players holding two-way contracts can be active for 50 of a team’s 72 games this season and will each earn a uniform $449,155. The league is also expected to formally announce later this week that teams will be allowed to dress 15 players per game this season, up from the usual 13.Two-way players are thus widely expected to stay predominantly with their N.B.A. teams in 2020-21 — which, of course, is one of the daunting variables that G League officials have to factor in as they continue to discuss the best format for their season.Numbers Game3Holdouts are rare in the modern N.B.A., but the Houston Rockets’ duo of James Harden (two) and P.J. Tucker (one) missed three days of training camp combined to convey varying levels of dissatisfaction with the team. Harden wants to be traded; Tucker wants a contract extension.5Five of the last eight offer sheets to restricted free agents have gone unmatched by the incumbent team. This includes the Knicks’ four-year, $71 million offer sheet to then-Atlanta Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in July 2017 and, more recently, Atlanta’s four-year, $72 million offer sheet to Bogdan Bogdanovic that the Sacramento Kings declined to match.4Although Milwaukee’s acquisition of Jrue Holiday is widely regarded as a clear upgrade to the Bucks’ backcourt because of his two-way prowess, Holiday’s résumé includes only limited playoff experience. He has reached the postseason four times in 11 N.B.A. seasons and advanced to the second round just once each with Philadelphia and New Orleans.15-and-5Fred VanVleet averaged 17.6 points and 6.6 assists per game last season and just received a four-year, $85 million contract from the Raptors. The last undrafted player to average at least 15 points and 5 assists for an entire season, according to Basketball Reference, was also a Raptor: Toronto’s Mike James averaged 20.3 points and 5.8 assists in 2005-06.3The Washington Wizards now have Twitter accounts in three different languages after adding a Hebrew feed to publicize the exploits of their Israeli first-round draft pick, Deni Avdija. In addition to its main English feed, Washington launched a Twitter account in Japanese last season for the first-rounder Rui Hachimura.Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to [email protected].
The soccer 13 punter will have to predict the correct results from a list of 13 scheduled matches and is mostly played twice weekly (mid-week and weekend). The punter places a wager on 13 scheduled soccer matches with three bet choices available on each game. Home (H), draw (X) or away (away). We provide soccer results and predictions since 1999. Choose soccer league and you will find statistics, picks, tables and information for all your betting needs. All football information on this site is free. You can choose a football game by date or select league from the country list. For detailed information about match click into score link. Free Best Football Prediction Site. Supatips.com is a free football prediction site that predict football matches accurately on all types of predictions in all the major leagues in the world, such as the Bundesliga and the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 to name but a few. We do not mess or talk about fixed matches, but we guarantee you over 85% success rate in all betting sections You can depend on us for reliable soccer banker tips of the day.Though there are a lot of bookies and online betting firms who offer these tips, they are difficult to get. There is a scarcity of banker soccer prediction for today as they are very fewer experts on this prediction.These predictions need research, time, and in-depth analysis of the matches. Scores, results, and fixtures from this weekend's football. Covers 750+ leagues from competitions around the world. FootyStats is world's most in-depth Football Stats / Soccer Stats site. Our prediction team always analyse the key facts of each team in full detail which allows our experts to then make the very best predictions on each soccer match based on those facts and figures. That may not necessarily be the bookmakers expected results of those matches, and as such there will often be some large and generous odds available We provide soccer predictions for over 30 popular leagues in the world, including the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Spanish La liga, Italian Serie A, and French Ligue 1. Our experts make forecasts for today's matches and ensure that no matches in lower leagues are left out. Italy-FA Cup Spain-Laliga England-FA Cup Turkey-FA Cup Cyprus-1. Division France-FA Cup Portugal-Primeira Liga Belgium-FA Cup Saudi Arabia-Premier League Italy-Serie B Netherlands-FA Cup Thailand-Thai League 1 Paraguay-Division Profesional-apertura South Africa-Premier Soccer League Israel-Ligat Haal Poland-FA Cup Austria-Bundesliga Northern Ireland-Premiership Ghana-Premier League Romania-FA Every day, soccer fans across the globe are actively searching for a reliable site that predicts football matches correctly over the long term. Not to mention, a reputable soccer prediction site provides you with the edge over the other bettors by offering well-researched soccer match predictions accurately categorized in various outcome slots Multiple Bet Tips. Check out our new feature! - Football multiple bet tips and ideas. Here is a selection of upcoming multiple bet tips. Click View All Multiple Bet Tips to view all of our multiple bet tips for today, tomorrow and the weekend.
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