Tag: Eintracht Frankfurt

’10 to Track’ soccer matches for Saturday (5/19) – MLS and more FA Cup finals action!

The ten most important matches for us- thew newish American fans of the global game – to follow.  Noob’s mantra.

But share with your experienced friends!  Noob’s coverage of leagues the world over might interest even the most seasoned fans.  Let’s dig in, Noobites.

  1. Portland Timbers vs. LAFC – MLS

Expansion LAFC haven’t lost in six straight matches.  Portland have one four in a row.  Something’s got to give!

They shouldn’t have trouble getting up for a home match against the #3 team in their conference, but 5th-place Portland are coming off a match with regional rival Seattle Sounders.  Much will hinge on the goalkeeping, and Timbers’ Jeff Attinella hasn’t conceded one in the three matches he’s played.   (3:00 PM Eastern, Fox Deportes)

RESULT:   Portland   2-1     Timbers climb to 3rd (though league matches are still pending at time of this update)

Image result for Jeff Attinella funny

B.  Seattle Reign vs. Chicago Red Stars – NWSL

#B hosts #4 in America’s top women’s league.  Seattle have scored seven in their last two games.  Look for the Reign’s Megan Rapinoe to continue her solid striking.

RESULT:   0-0

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Solid, striking Number B!

  1. Chelsea vs. Manchester United – English FA Cup

It’s the Final at Wembley!

Chelsea absolutely crapped the bed in their last league match, but presumably they can wake up with a trophy on the line.  And Manchester United only scored twice in their last three games.  Noob wouldn’t put money on this game even if sports gambling were already legal all across America.   (12:15 PM, Fox Deportes)

Noobstradamus Sees:   0-0, then Chelsea in PK’s!  They redeem themselves for a league 5th-place finish and missing out on the next Champions League.

RESULT:   Chelsea   0-1     So Chelsea win the league last year, the FA Cup this year, and word is they may well sack their manager.  Harsh.

  1. Bayern Munich vs. Eintracht Frankfurt – DFB Pokal (German FA Cup)

It’s the Final in Berlin!

Frankfurt faded down the stretch in the Bundesliga, finishing 8th.  Bayern did very Bayern-y things to everyone in winning the league title.  No reason to think they won’t crush today.  If Frankfurt keeps it within a goal, it will only be because Bayern has everyone fall back defensively after getting the lead.   (2:00 PM, ESPNEWS)

RESULT:   Frankfurt   1-3    Well, color Noob shocked!   Bayern dominated everywhere by the scoreboard.

And now Bayern’s manager retires and Frankfurt’s manager is his replacement.  Wild schtuff.

Image result for frankfurt funny

 

The Frankfurt Hotel.

Your team has whatever beating it takes today coming.

  1. Celtic vs. Motherwell – Scotland FA Cup

Staying in the British Isles, it’s another Final!   While not on their actual home pitch, this one is held in Glasgow, Celtic’s home city.  However rough a time Frankfurt will have above, double it for Motherwell.  Celtic won the league again, while “The Steelmen” didn’t even crack the top half of the table.   (10:00 AM, GOL TV)

Noobstradamus Sees:   Celtic ‘however many they want’ – 0

RESULT:   Celtic   2-0

  1. Lyon vs. Nice – Ligue 1

These days, France only get three teams into Champions League, down from the max of four.  That’s bad news for either Lyon or Marseille.  #3 Lyon leads Marseille by just a point in the table.  They have the tougher matchup, hosting #6 Nice, who are fighting for a Europa League berth.  Marseille host #13 Amiens.

Lyon has oodles more offensive firepower than Nice, but all they need is a draw.  Look for this to go very low-scoring, probably that draw.   (3:00 PM, TV5MONDE)

RESULT:   Lyon   3-2    And so they hold off Marseille for 3rd place and the last Champions League berth.

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Disallowed!

  1. Goztepe vs. Galatasaray – Turkey Super Lig

Turkey’s top-flight title race remained as good as any in Europe, right through today!

Galatasaray lead two clubs by just three points.  More, they are currently only tied in tie-breaking goal differential with one of them (Fenerbahce).  So they could win today and still not finish 1st.  More, they’re not even guaranteed a top-two finish and CL slot.

Galatasaray also have the toughest matchup today of all contenders.  Their opponent is higher in the table than their rivals’ opponents today, and they’re on the road to boot.   (12:00 PM, beIN Sports)

Noobstradamus Sees:   A 3-1 win.  Goztepe is barely average, despite they’re reasonably good spot in the standings.

RESULT:   Galatasaray   0-1     All four top teams won on this, the last day of league play.  Congrats to the G’men- champions!  Fenerbahce claim Turkey’s second and final CL berth with a come-from-behind win as well today.

  1. Rijeka vs. Hajduk Split – Croatia First League

#B Rijeka could tie #1 Dinamo Zagreb on points in the table on today, the last day of league play.  But the tiebreaker is already won by D.Z. (and congrats to the champs!)  They lead #3 Split by just a point.  They’re both headed to Europa League, but whoever finishes higher will get to enter that competition one qualifying round further in.

RESULT:   Rijeka   3-1

Image result for rijeka funny

 

Come to Rijeka for the football.

Stay for a pie at Gvardijan Pizzeria.

  1. Maribor vs. Olimpija Ljubljana – Slovenia Prva Liga

Slovenia’s first tier might not be quite in the top half of UEFA leagues, but #1 vs. #B will never fail to win Noob over!  Three league matches to go, and Maribor lead O.L. by just a point.  And only one can go to Champions League.

Noobstradamus Sees:  …that while Ljub may not have lost a match since last December, they haven’t won that many, either.  Maribor have been doing almost nothing but winning for months.  Hosts win 2-1 today.

RESULT:   Ljub   3-1      We have a new #1 in Slovenia!   Come-from-behind win with the decisive goal scored at 90′.

  1. Dynamo Kyiv vs. Shakhtar Donetsk – Ukraine Premier

Congratulations to league champions Shakhtar Donetsk!  There will be nothing but pride on the line today, but Noob never ignores a #1 vs. #B matchup.  Kyiv qualify for Europa League for their season’s efforts.

RESULT:   D.K.   2-1

Image result for Kiev funny

 

 

So long from Kyiv!

(Isn’t the world just weird and magical?)

’10 to Track’ soccer matches- Weekend Edition – Premier League, MLS, all the finest

The ten most important matches for the newish North American fan to follow.  Our quest is noble.

  1. Chicago Fire vs. Sporting Kansas City – MLS

The Fire placed 3rd in the Eastern Division last season, and unless team make-up has changed a lot, they will play things wiiiiiide open.  KC finished 5th in the weaker Western.

The Management has strong KC ties.   Noob has yet to decide if he will openly root against The Management’s teams on principle, cheer along with him (Unlikely!), or modestly heckle.  For today, I’ll just say this:  If Chicago score first, KC will get routed.  (6:00 PM Eastern, NBA League Pass 6)

RESULT:   3-4    KC     (KC scored first)

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Apparently, Noob’s late to this party.

B.  Tigres UANL vs. Tijuana – Liga MX

Noob loves Liga MX more and more each passing day.  They play about the same number of games as other premier leagues (34), but when the season is divided into two separate halves, every game means so much more.

They’re 10 games into the Clausura (second half-season), and things are tight as a tick in the table.  Only eight points separate 1st from 13th.  These two are 5th and 7th.  Top eight will get to play in the postseason Liguilla.

The hosts have some trouble on the defensive side of things, but that makes this a good matchup for them.  Tijuana apparently just like to kick the ball as high as they can all game long.  Only 16 goals have been scored in their 10 matches.   (8:00 PM, ESPN Deportes, Univision)

RESULT:   Tigres   1-0

Image result for mexican letter B

 

 

Number B is so ready.

  1. Manchester United vs. Liverpool – English Premier

At #B and #3, both these clubs are looking safe for a top four-finish and invites to the Champions League.  Man Utd. like a lower-scoring game, at least compared to other top clubs.  Noob looks for 1-0 Red Devils win.

RESULT:   Man Utd.    2-1

  1. Sevilla vs. Valencia – La Liga

Spain’s top-flight league gets four Champions League invites, and Valencia seem set for that 4th.  They’re six points up on 5th-place Sevilla.  They need more than a draw.  Anything but a win and they’ll for certain be settling for Europa League.

RESULT:   Valencia   0-2

Image result for sevilla fc meme

 

 

 

Layers of confusion.

 

 

Sunday, 3/11

  1. Atlanta United vs. D.C. United – MLS

What a treeee-mendous first season Atlanta had!   4th place in the brutally tough East.  Pretty much filling up the lower bowl at the NFL Falcons’ home stadium.  Just think where they might be in a few years.

Hopefully someplace good.  Unlike long-timers D.C. United.  They crapped the bed to a dismal last-place finish.   (3:00 PM Eastern, ESPN)

RESULT:   Atlanta   3-1     The Capitol-crapping continues

  1. Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt – Bundesliga

Likely the most important game on the globe this weekend.  League titles mean a lot, but those seem to be decided for most of the big Euro leagues.  Getting to Champions League is what counts.

These two are tied for 3rd, and three more teams lurk no more than three points behind them.  American superstar Christian Pulisic and Dortmond will be looking to make this a battle of offense today.  Frankfurt won’t be able to keep up.   (1:00 PM, FS2, Univision Deportes)

RESULT:   Dortmund   3-2      High drama!  Frankfurt gets the equalizer a minute into stoppage time, then Dortmund gets the winner at 90+5.

Image result for christian pulisic funny

 

 

They grow up SO fast!

  1. Inter Milan vs. Napoli – Serie A

If the above is most important, it’s #7 here giving them a run.

Napoli lead the Italian league by a point, but they’ve also played one more game than #B Juventus.  Inter are just one point behind Lazio for the league’s last Champions League berth.  They play the same defense, but Napoli score half again as often.   (3:45 PM, beIN Sports)

RESULT:   0-0

  1. Rangers vs. Celtic – Scottish Premiership

The sand is running out of the glass on Rangers.  They’re just six points behind Celtic for 1st (and the league’s only C.L. spot), but few other teams have the capability to beat Celtic.  They’ll only face off one more time after today.  Realistically, Rangers have to have a win and three points here.

RESULT:   2-3   Celtic

Image result for great scottish food

 

 

 

Wait, those can’t be Scottish.  They look edible.

  1. Jorge WIlstermann vs. Bolivar – Bolivia Premier

This is the Apertura (first half-season), and oh my have they changed formats.  While the Clausura will still be played under a more typical round-robin system, right now they league is split into two groups of seven.  The top four from each group will advance to a Knockout tournament.

Aaaaanyway.  These two are tied for 1st in their Group.

RESULT:   JW   4-2

  1. PAOK vs. AEK Athens – Superleague Greece

#2 hosts #1!   Just what’s needed – added pressure.  PAOK fans will fight just about anywhere, anytime as is.  The club has already had two points in the table deducted for hooligan fans.  They’re five behind AEK.

RESULT:   0-0      Best of all, Noob heard of no fan maimings

Image result for paok hooligans

Actual photo from fighting before a PAOK-AEK game.   

We should NEVER have sent Greece those Karate Kid VHS tapes.

’10 to Track’ soccer for Saturday, 2/24 – Premier League and other ‘Hiccup Watch’ matches

10 to Track briefly returns to its former format – full complements of matches for both Saturday and Sunday!  

Luxuriate in it, yet know this will not be regular.  An exhausted Noober passed out last night before being able to finish.  It’s faster today to not filter for just one list for the weekend.

But who knows!  If the Noobite masses clamor for separate “ten most important games to follow’s” on the weekends, it shall be so.

(Note:  Noob’s starting to list game times, if the game is televised on a channel or network that I find reasonably possible to get in the U.S.  All times are Eastern.)

  1. Liverpool vs. West Ham United – English Premier

Let’s call this “Hiccup Watch”.  Maybe just for today.  Watching sound doesn’t make sense.  Where’s my staff, we need to brainstorm.

With just a few matches to go, Liverpool sits in 3rd place, good for one of the league’s four Champions League berths.  They could easily finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th; the table is tight.   They have plenty of motivation to stay focused at home against 12th-place West Ham.  Can they avoid a costly hiccup?

RESULT:   Liverpool   4-1    Liverpool move to #B, for the moment.  Man Utd. has a tough match tomorrow, so they might even stay there. 

Image result for soccer hiccup

 

 

Today, Hiccup learns it’s not easy to learn how to train your angry footballer.

B.  CF América vs. Tijuana – Liga MX  

Halfway through the 2017-18 Clausura (second half-season), CFA leads the pack.  Tijuana are in 8th, the last slot that will earn a league postseason berth.

CFA are undefeated, scoring like it’s going out of style, and playing nearly the league’s best defense.  Tijuana can’t score a lick, but have made tremendous strides on defense.  0-1 or 0-0 and a shootout seem the only likely ways the visitors would pull an upset today.  (10 PM, Univision)

Image result for Mexican number two

 

Dios mio, Numero Dos-  so many stereotypes.

Make way for Numero B!

  1. VfB Stuttgart vs. Eintracht Frankfurt – Bundesliga

13th hosts 3rd.  The visitors are in basically the same position as Liverpool – in a CL slot, but in a tight table pack.   Neither team scores a ton.  If Frankfurt gets the first goal, they will button things up for the win.

RESULT:   Stuttgart   1-0

  1. Real Madrid vs. Alavés – La Liga

Another “Hiccup Watch” for our Saturday.

Real Madrid have finally started to turn things around, climbed to 3rd.  Villareal is the only team that could reasonably pass them in the table, so they appear good for one of the league’s four Champions League invites.  But will they relax against 16th– place Alaves?

RESULT:   Real   4-0

Image result for funny hiccup

  1. Manchester City vs. Chelsea Ladies – WSL

The Man City gals had their own hiccup recently, losing to mid-pack Birmingham.  It is their only loss on the season.  This puts them two points behind undefeated Chelsea, so this is as important a league match as we will see today.  A road win would likely settle the title.

RESULT:   2-2   Man City fell behind 0-2 early, coming back with the equalizer in 86′.

  1. Freiburg vs. Bayern Munich – women’s Bundesliga

Two teams qualify for Champions League on the ladies’ side in Germany.  #B Munich is two points up on Freiburg, but they are about statistically identical otherwise.

RESULT:   Freiburg   2-0   They switch places in the table.

wc

 

 

Brass band-themed urinals in Freiburg.   Noob wishes he was kidding.

  1. Connah’s Quay vs. TNS – Wales Premier

The New Saints have all but wrapped up the league title.  Again.  Connah’s Quay is in 3rd and trying to climb a spot in order to auto-qualify for Europa League.  Since the match is at CQ, this might be a fair fight.

RESULT:   TNS   0-1

  1. Wydad Casablanca vs. TP Mazembe – CAF Super Cup

Like other continental federations, the Africans have an annual match between the winners of their Champions League and secondary tournaments (in Africa, the Confederation Cup).

Wydad have really struggled in Morocco’s type flight.  Perhaps all the international play has worn them out.  DR Congo’s best come to call for this exhibition, and they’re undefeated in their (admittedly weaker) league.

RESULT:   Wydad   1-0

  1. USM Alger vs. MC Alger – Algeria Ligue 1

If USM wants to make a move on cracking the top two and earning a Champions League berth, the time is now.  20+ games into their season, they sit five points behind #B MC Oran.

MC Alger is only in 5th.  They wouldn’t normally catch Noob’s wandering gaze, but intracity rivalries are hawwwt.

RESULT:   2-2     USM went up 2-0 early, gave this one away.

Image result for you're not hawt

 

But if you’re bats**t crazy, we have a hard time caring…

  1. Zeta vs. Buducnost Podgorica – Montenegro First League

The only drama left in this league may be for the second Europa League invite.  First place Niksic ran away and hid from everyone.  BP seems secure in a #B finish.  Zeta are trying to stay clear of Mladost, who are four points back.

RESULT:   1-1

Honorable Mention:   Toulouse vs. AS Monaco (Ligue 1), Inter Milan vs. Benevento (Serie A), any Swedish or Finnish Group Stage FA Cup match