Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Europa League Final, No Go For Nasri, No Go For Tevez, 50 Things Since Arsenal Won A Trophy, France/Argentina/Holland/Italy Squads

A pleasant Hump Day to you. 

She's angry.
Not so pleasant, however, for one Samir Nasri. Didier Deschamps has deemed Samir surplus to requirements and won't be taking him to Brazil. Nasri's girlfriend is pissed! Here's what she had to say (via Twitter, of course): "Fuck france and fuck deschamps! What a shit manager!" Damn, girl! Here's the French squad, then:

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Mickaël Landreau (Bastia)
Defenders: Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Lucas Digne (PSG) Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (PSG), Clément Grenier (Lyon), Blaise Matuidi (PSG), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)
Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad), Loïc Rémy (Newcastle), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)
Stand-by players: Stéphane Ruffier (Monaco), Loïc Perrin (St Etienne), Maxime Gonalons (Lyon), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton), Benoît Trémoulinas (Dynamo Kiev), Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon), Rémy Cabella (Montpellier)

Argentina released their team today. Have a look, yeah? You'll notice the absence of one Carlos Tevez. Sam Kelly is in Buenos Aires and can explain.

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Sampdoria), Mariano Andújar (Catania), Agustín Orión (Boca)
Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Federico Fernández (Napoli), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Marcos Rojo (Sporting Lisbon), Hugo Campagnaro (Internazionale), Martín Demichelis (Manchester City), José Basanta (Monterrey), Nicolás Otamendi (Atlético Mineiro), Lisandro López (Getafe), Gabriel Mercado (River Plate)
Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Éver Banega (Newell's Old Boys), Ricardo Alvarez (Inter), Augusto Fernández (Celta Vigo), José Sosa (Atlético Madrid), Angel Di María (Real Madrid), Maxi Rodríguez (Newell's Old Boys), Fabián Rinaudo (Catania), Enzo Pérez (Benfica)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuaín (Napoli), Sergio Agüero (Manchester City), Rodrigo Palacio (Internazionale), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris Saint-Germain), Franco di Santo (Werder Bremen)
Good on her for finding a silver lining, though...

The Dutch? Yes, we must:

Goalkeepers: Jasper Cillessen (Ajax), Tim Krul (Newcastle United), Michel Vorm (Swansea City), Jeroen Zoet (PSV Eindhoven)
Defenders: Daley Blind (Ajax), Stefan de Vrij, Daryl Janmaat, Terence Kongolo, Bruno Martins Indi (all Feyenoord), Karim Rekik (PSV Eindhoven), Patrick van Aanholt (Vitesse Arnhem), Paul Verhaegh (Augsburg), Tonny Vilhena (Feyenoord), Ron Vlaar (Villa), Joel Veltman (Ajax)
Midfielders: Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Nigel de Jong (Milan), Leroy Fer (Norwich City), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV Eindhoven)
Forwards: Jean-Paul Boetius (Feyenoord), Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04), Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce), Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kiev), Quincy Promes (Twente Enschede), Robin van Persie (Manchester United)

The Italians? Va bene...

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Salvatore Sirigu (PSG), Mattia Perin (Genoa)
Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juve), Giorigo Chiellini (Juventus), Gabriel Paletta (Parma), Andrea Ranocchia (Inter), Ignazio Abate (Milan), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Matteo Darmian (Torino), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina)
Midfielders: Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Thiago Motta (PSG), Marco Verratti (PSG), Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Marco Parolo (Parma), Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Romulo (Verona)
Forwards: Mario Balotelli (Milan), Antonio Cassano (Parma), Alessio Cerci (Torino), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Giuseppe Rossi (Fiorentina), Mattia Destro (Roma), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)

Want a running tally of every nation's team? Done.

That means most of the "big" countries have announced their squads. Hence, The Guardian has announced its squad of rejects. It's pretty strong, as you might expect. The Guardian also hired Brazilian legend Zico to pontificate on the World Cup. Today he's got this: A lucky draw and few injuries give the Seleção a great chance of going all the way – now they need to ramp up the atmosphere.

Our man in Lisboa Pedro Santos sent us this funny piece this morning. Here are 50 Things That Have Happened Since Arsenal Last Won A Trophy.

Up in Turin Sevilla and Benfica (hey, they rhyme!) will battle for the Europa League Trophy. Here's a preview. Curse? What curse? If you're so inclined, you can catch all the action at 2:45pm EDT on Fox Sports 1.

The Big Match this weekend (other than the FA Cup Final) is in Spain where Atlético Madrid will go to Barcelona to decide the title. Graham Hunter says the visitors must re-focus after last weekend's disappointment against Málaga. Meanwhile, Xavi, certainly not a favorite of us here at SSN, says that Barcelona deserve to win the title. Really, Xavi? Dick.

Back to the U.S. for a moment where Brian Strauss is checking out The Fight For 23: U.S. World Cup roster locks and uncertainties.

We already miss the Premier League. Thankfully, Phil McNulty has ten things we learned from 2013-14 season to remind us of how great it really was.

And finally...what was the most-watch Premier League match in the U.S. this season? Click here to find out. It's not what you think.

Onward!!

-SSN

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