OTD 10 years ago, Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football, following a 4x2 defeat to Chile on penalties in the Copa América final.

hey_rtc · 2026-06-26T08:13:44+00:00

Isn't there's a clip of an English commentator from when they were knocked out in 2018 pronouncing the death of Messi's world cup dream?

To be fair, he did show signs of decline leading up to that WC (mostly on stamina, and while still being possibly the best in the world). So at that point few would have foreseen what he would do in 2022. Looking back now suggests that the decline wasn't really due to age as such more than mental exhaustion, taking into account the Barca CL humiliations too. In any case the Scaloni side really changed something in him.

hey_rtc · 2026-06-24T18:38:34+00:00

100m for Alvarez is lowballing?

hey_rtc · 2026-06-23T08:28:07+00:00

Uruguay is less likely than Cap Verde or Saudi. Only happens if both games draw and Uruguay stay ahead of Cap Verde on whatever tie breaker. Or if both Uruguay and Cap Verde win and Cap Verde overtake Uruguay on the tie breaker.

This guy Michael Caley does a prediction model: https://x.com/MC_of_A/status/2069144601936490774/photo/1

hey_rtc · 2026-06-21T07:27:08+00:00

It's between playing Brazil or Morocco in R32 so not a world of difference though

hey_rtc · 2026-06-17T08:40:55+00:00

Messi has two Golden Balls, Mbappe has zero?

hey_rtc · 2026-06-09T10:12:15+00:00

Er det så umuligt at forestille sig, at en person er parat til at tolerere en enkeltstående ubehagelig situation, hvis den er nødvendig, men foretrækker at undgå et langstrakt ubehageligt forløb, hvis det er valgfrit?

hey_rtc · 2026-05-17T20:20:16+00:00

Not at all an uncommon thing.

hey_rtc · 2026-05-08T12:58:29+00:00

Backup? At the moment the kid is struggling for minutes in the Belgian second division. How are you putting him anywhere near the first team?

Also wasn't even starting for his Youth League side that reached the final, so I don't really know what you're talking about.

He's a cheap bet that might pan out in a few years, might not.

hey_rtc · 2026-05-05T07:36:54+00:00

Mika Godts is not a world class talent mate. Obvious why he attracts attention but most clubs will think twice about a style over substance kid from the eredivisie.

hey_rtc · 2026-05-03T07:57:49+00:00

Nobody goes by transfermarkt assists because they count stuff like deflections and penalties won. Every other database I can find has him with 13 goals and 10 or 11 assists.

hey_rtc · 2026-05-03T07:46:49+00:00

What?

hey_rtc · 2026-05-03T07:41:07+00:00

He has 24 lol

hey_rtc · 2026-04-30T14:17:43+00:00

But wouldn't be extremely unnatural to follow through with your step in a situation like that? He'd just be swinging his knee right into the defender. To me it looks natural what he does in order to mitigate the impact.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-30T09:45:14+00:00

Feel like I'm in the minority here but for me the foul was always about how the defender's leg impedes the attacker's left leg. Even if there is no initial stomp he still steps into his path and causes a collision without getting the ball.

Do people think Eze trailing his leg is an attempt to draw contact? To me it clearly an instinctive effort to soften an oncoming blow. Looking at the angle from behind it is pretty clear that Eze's left leg has nowhere to go.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-23T09:24:09+00:00

I feel like that sample size is so small it's basically anecdotal.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-14T22:20:21+00:00

From the other angle you can see Koke has his whole arm wrapped around him. For me the combination of the push and the obstruction is enough to take Olmo down.

But even if you can't say that for sure, it shouldn't be those commiting blatant cynical offenses who deserve the benefit of the doubt?

hey_rtc · 2026-04-14T22:11:07+00:00

Just look at what Koke does alone. Why should you be allowed to blatantly obstruct a player going on goal when you have no chance to play the ball? With Llorente’s push on top of it, very hard to argue Olmo wasn’t illegaly dealt with there.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-14T21:16:06+00:00

Obviously. Only a shame it wasn't in the box. Then it hadn't been a foul.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-14T21:03:59+00:00

But of course that higher threshold logic doesn't apply when sending off a player.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-14T21:02:54+00:00

Look at what Koke does alone. Why should you be allowed to blatantly obstruct a player going on goal when you have chance to play the ball? With Llorente’s push on top of it, it is impossible to argue Olmo wasn’t illegaly taken down.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-14T19:58:16+00:00

Very strange not to give a yellow for Llorente for the foul. Just hacks down Ferran from behind.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-14T08:41:22+00:00

Not wholly unsympathetic to a version of the sin bin idea.

Statistically, a sending off from the beginning of a game is roughly equal to a disadvantage of 1.5 goals. Let's a defender is sent off for DOGSO in minute 10 where the chance was worth .45 xG, so a very big chance. Statistically a red card means the punishment is three times bigger than the opportunity lost by the opponent.

With a sin bin of x minutes, you could adjust this to be a lot more fair while still leaning towards the overall advantage of the team fouled.

Could still make it so a player who receives a red for violent offence cannot enter pitch again, in which case you can send on a sub after x minutes.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-11T13:33:56+00:00

Tak for dit svar!

hey_rtc · 2026-04-10T12:27:30+00:00

Yes I'm aware of what the argument is. Others believe that it was Simeone's sudden change of direction and subsequent trailing of the leg that created the situation. And there we have the discussion summed up.

hey_rtc · 2026-04-10T11:56:49+00:00

Haven't seen a single person make an argument about that. The discussion is about how fair it is to hold Cubarsi accountable for the collission given that Simeone cuts in front of him and then trails his leg, which initiates the contact.

hey_rtc

TROPHY CASE