2025-26 European Soccerball season

[Westheim]

European soccerball is starting up and right away with a banger! Werder Bremen did the impossible!

They managed to crash out - as a Bundesliga team - in the national Cup competition against the same lower-league opponent, two seasons in a row. Has (probably) only been done once before, by Cologne in the 80s against Hanover. Cologne, also a punchline team in German soccerball.

But Bremen. Lost 2-1 in Bielefeld in the quarterfinals last year. Lost 1-0 in Bielefeld in the first round just now.

Bielefeld played in Third League last year, and in Second Bundesliga this year.

There's a running gag in Germany that the city of Bielefeld does not exist. It's all made up. You're made to believe that there is a city of Bielefeld. But in fact there is nothing. Big conspiracy! Do you, personally, know anybody from Bielefeld? - See?

Bremen plays in the top flight Bundesliga of course. As of now. They got nothing. They had nothing last year. Then the manager fled town, they lost their best scorer for nothing to BIRMINGHAM, they signed a single player all summer, who did precisely nothing in this game. Their goalkeeper today has already been signed away by Frankfurt. They'll now have a guy for a goalkeeper that had once 88 goals crammed up his bottoms in a flamboyantly futile season with Dutch club Volendam.

Now they lost against a team from a city that doesn't exist, for the second time in six months.

Bremen is dead.

And I feel empty.

(silence)

Soccerball, yaaaaay...

[LD84]

Originally Posted by Westheim

There's a running gag in Germany that the city of Bielefeld does not exist. It's all made up. You're made to believe that there is a city of Bielefeld. But in fact there is nothing. Big conspiracy! Do you, personally, know anybody from Bielefeld? - See?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld_conspiracy


I never knew it had it's own article in English.
I have been to Bielefeld and can confirm it's existence. Nothing special about it, pretty average German city.

Or maybe I am in on the conspiracy?

[Amazin69]

Ironically, I've known of Arminia Bielefeld for decades, I think. They must have had an American international playing for them at one point.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Ironically, I've known of Arminia Bielefeld for decades, I think. They must have had an American international playing for them at one point.

Nobody I can think of, but they have this one fun fact that they were the first European club of Ali Daei, who was the all-time leading international goal scorer until dethroned by Cristiano Ronaldo some years back.

Daei never hacked it big in the Bundesliga, scoring 19 goals across five years, but it turns out you can farm goals pretty easily against Laos and Nepal...

[LD84]

George Bello would be the only player I can think of.

Arminia Bielefeld have had a few Americans play for them in recent years. But none played for the USMNT except Bellow.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by LD84

George Bello would be the only player I can think of.

Arminia Bielefeld have had a few Americans play for them in recent years. But none played for the USMNT except Bellow.

Hmm, Bello didn't make the final squad for Bribery '22 and I don't think I watched that many qualifiers that season, but he did play for both Bielefeld and the USMNT that year, so I suppose it won't hurt to give him a shout. [/blame my dad!]

[Jordan]

Interesting article on Alexander Isak. Mentions recent Lassana Diarra court decision too.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/...pool-transfers

I wonder what kind of actual compensation Diarra may end up getting. It's not like FIFA is money poor.

Isak is a talented striker. Article speculates that if Newcastle don't end up selling Isak, and he doesn't play as he has stated as his intention, he could break his contract at the end of the season, leave for a new club, play immediately, and compensation would be eventually determined between former and new club. And the number would likely be well below the reported rejected bid