**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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"random" (as in probably paid Saudi shills) fans.
The inter fan club (which is the only fan club that didn't boycott the event) actually brought a banner for "Daje Lazio" because their ultras have a brotherhood but the all their banners were initially stopped by the Saudi security until the players themselves intervened to explain that it's common to hold banners at matches which makes it even more suspect how the Lazio Merda banners got in...
https://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/serie-a/inter-lazio-problemi-per-la-curva-nord-nerazzurra-con-gli-striscioni-intervengono-i-giocatori-1924974
Mostly because everyone's heels are dug into their side already. As per the prince himself, this is definitely a sports washing project which did pick up traction for a couple of weeks but has now, as expected, quickly unraveled. The ongoing conflicts, strict religious laws, shitty PR, slave labor, and artificial hyperwealth in the region don't help the arguments against the sports washing. But to your point (at least a point that it seemed to me that you were alluding to), there's obvious xenophobia towards Arab countries that is one of the elephants in the room that people ignore. I'm not here to argue and won't comment anymore on it but that's what I see.
Not at all. Went to the WC and wouldn’t go back to any arab country even if it was free. I agree with everything you say except the xenophobia, I went with an open mind and left hating the country.
probably because they'll get downvoted into oblivion no matter what they say, but don't get me wrong, there's obviously clear issues with stadiums being empty for big games
False equivalency.
The European leagues have grown gradually over a century to become what they are, such that players worldwide, including South American and African players, consider European football to be the pinnacle of the sport.
No foreign player plays for a Saudi team for anything other than money.
There is a reason that a Brazilian kid will dream of playing for Real Madrid, but no European kid will ever dream of playing for Al Hilal.
> There is a reason that a Brazilian kid will dream of playing for Real Madrid, but no European kid will ever dream of playing for Al Hilal.
If he’s poor, he will lmao.
It’s just an extreme presumptuous and eurocentric view that Saudis care about anything else other than money.
You do know that non league clubs in England, where players are on 500 pounds per week, get a higher attendance than Al Ettifaq.
Just because you don't understand than argument doesn't make it stupid. Paying Henderson 350k per week in itself isn't the stupidity. Paying him that to play in front of 900 people is the stupidity.
Considering that they probably generate 10,000 pounds at best from the 900 people, that wouldn't even cover half a day's wages for Henderson.
If they cared about money then why would they fund the league when it can never become profitable?
The amount of money spent vs the generated revenue from fans and Tv already shows that this sporting project is certainly about something other than money.
Actually based from Sarri. I laughed when I saw this, but I agree with him. It’s a tier below the stupidity of us playing a friendly in Saudi Arabia next week.
If there was an international break it would make more sense but it isn’t. At this point of the season you can’t risk an injury in these friendlies cause anything can happen.
It was a classic FM "cheat" back in the day, arrange friendlies anywhere on the calendar that you had space and play reserves and youth players. You could even schedule them 4-5 consecutive days in a row during some weeks.
Depending on the opposition you could earn £10,000-£120,000 per friendly. So they added up to a pretty good financial boost over time. And you could learn which tactical changes made an impact, boost morale.
You could even play your first team into form too, before say a Champions League game, I'd have a friendly against some random side like Aldershot Town. Play my first team squad in a very attacking system and they'd rip Aldershot to shreds, my forwards would all get on the score sheet, have 9-10 rating then I'd sub them off. So for the Champions League game I would tell them to "pick up where they left off"
I remember it clearly, RLC was a whole other beast under Sarri. Really wanted him last summer, I honestly thought Milan with new management would have moved on from the Maldini targets but they didn’t. RLC and Guendouzi together in our team would of been a fun midfield
I'll always root for him. Never complained, always willing to play in whatever position the coach put him in. What could have been if not for that injury...
He reminds me a lot of Moussa Dembele in that regard. They both had a rare blend of size, pace, and technique that would enable them to absolutely dominate the midfield when in form, but their progress was constantly hindered by injuries.
Same reason as Barca playing a friendly in the USA mid season, cash grab for clubs. Lots of clubs across Europe are dealing with the fallout of a decade + of reckless financial management and/or decreased revenue and carry over cash flow issues from covid, and/or FFP actually being enforced so wealthy owners can’t artificially balance the club’s books with cash injections. Not sure specifically Roma’s situation but Saudi waiving bags of cash is very enticing to most non-PL clubs atm.
Agreed, I guess these club owners need to balance the books for losses. Roma’s situation is a bit of a problem for them due to the FFP penalties and the mountains of debt still remaining and only increasing. Can’t blame them for getting these offers to play
Yeah it makes business sense even if its a farce. Honestly I think its a positive overall that so many clubs are having to slow down the spending, address their existing debt loads and get back into a more normal spendingrevenue ratio. Better for the sport and league competitiveness overall and hopefully we see it reflected in the transfer market self-correcting moving forward.
It will give another reason for many clubs to look to their youth teams a bit more. Italian youth development definitely needs a good kick in the leg, I know we had to restart our entire Youth system under a new sporting director and he’s done wonders finding young talent in all sectors of the academy and we are now back in Serie A after being relegated last season. Overall I want to see Serie A back in good shape, competitiveness in the league is key. The likes of Milan, Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Lazio, Atalanta, Roma, and Fiorentina should hold their weight in Europe. More calculated transfer windows for each club would see a good rise in the competitiveness of the league. More Stadium projects as well would go a long way if Italy wasn’t so corrupt with that
It's not the first time. The most impactful such friendly must be the one we played in 2014/15.
A world record beating juggernaut last empty handed while the stuttering arch rival almost on the brink of consider secured a treble.
We were traveling halfway across the world when we should have been resting while Barça held their nerve WRT to Luis Enrique and the rest as they say, is history.
It takes a lot for me to disagree with a banner that says Lazio merda, but I side with Sarri too here. Look, they are uniting old bitter rivals through a common enemy.
I love Sarri. Speaking of managers I'd be very funny if Mou showed up in Saudi next week like “surprise bitch!” but I'll be very surprised if the Al Shabab rumours actually happen at this stage
Exactly. They should take note from lazio fans, [this is the proper posture for holding a banner](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQsOSl5vuxeSztT92MaqZOW_EZo3kWENJ0bYTUzlAl5NzJM68O8LivCTxih&s=10).
[heres them using that technique in the stadium to hold up a banner](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-google&sca_esv=599810411&sxsrf=ACQVn0_K3eeEjvqHviFJFHUgbXp09MWnWw:1705675772638&q=the+famine+is+over+lazio&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiiuZ602emDAxWkT0EAHfS_CCgQ0pQJegQICxAB&biw=412&bih=746&dpr=3.5#imgrc=zYFdtOEJnQDtPM)
Not really. Players who went to Saudi for the money or for their religion like Benzema did are struggling there. There's reports about it. Hendo left. There are reports about Benzema. With the negative PR, it's not easy. To be able to stay in Saudi for an extended period, you need some Harry Maguire level mentality and willpower.
It’s literally just Benzema and Henderson. I understand wanting the Saudi project to fail but you’re being incredibly naive if you think that a handful of players leaving the league will have any impact or deter anyone from joining. As for the super cup, blame the Italian executives who sold out to the Saudis.
Why not? Benzema is a world class player and a ballon d'or winner. He's also a Muslim who said that he always wanted to live in a Muslim country. If even he finds it difficult to settle there, it would bring down their popularity. Ronaldo and Benzema going to Saudi is what put them in the global limelight. If Benzema leaves, and Ronaldo retires in a year or two, who's gonna go there? There may be a couple of idiots who want money, but Saudi popularity is gonna fall off the same way China's did. No aspiring professional football player wants to play in front of a 1000 fans.
Hhahah yeah, all I see is that everyone's a legend when criticizing arab countries yet:
\- professionals bend over for money after criticizing the places/policies
\- people watch the events hosted there (world cup in qatar, wrestling, tennis, all these cups) after criticizing the places/policies
All I see is a giant pile of hypocrisy by literally everyone from professionals to random Joes, everyone doesn't give a goddamn shit besides few comments online and won't do actually anything.
Everyone's excuse for going to play there or tune the telly for these BS events is "it's not gonna make a difference" if I do or not, I may at least indulge into this money/entertainment.
Of course it doesn't you hypocrite, you really don't give a flying fuck or you would act differently.
I was in Rome recently for a champions league game against Lazio and my mate kept telling me we were in a Lazio area and we should be careful, I asked him why he said that and he pointed to a wall and said he’s seen those words a few times within the last few minutes.
The writing on the wall said ‘Lazio Merda’.
A Babelsberg fan! Your team has a place in my heart from the time I lived in Potsdam a long time ago. I went to a few matches, including the '09 DFB Pokal against Leverkunsen. I loved the atmosphere at the stadium. Really fun times
You know that Lazio isn't a far-right team, just a minority of noisy ultras use football as an excuse to do politics?
That's because fascism is banned by constitution, thus fascists have only football as an excuse to legally gather.
They have been at odds with management for decades. Lazio doesn't own the stadium, can't really ban them. Law is different here. It's complicated.
I mean, Chelsea, Real Madrid and many other teams are well known for their ultras being a far-right monopoly, they just less noisy and they don't have the same laws we have in Italy.
And AS Roma fanhood has shifted right decades ago too.
Yeah tbh as a Rome gal I'm always a bit ????? at the "every Lazio supporter = scary" talk on this sub because I know scores of normal Lazio supporters who're just chilling. I wouldn't wish any club's fanbase to be judged by the worst of their ultras, and I think it's disingenuous to pretend like racism bigotry and rabid antisemitism aren't a widespread issue among Italian matchgoing fans... I wish it was just one club lol.
That said, I avoid Lazio ultras like the plague irl, and tbh the club could be way more outspoken about the worst of the fanbase.
But I was told on IG by Arab people that we are disrespecting Saudi culture and being racist by not playing all of our Cups there and by getting mad when they make fun of European or Latin culture.
> Journalist Franco Vanni, one of the reporters in Saudi Arabia, wrote that Lega Serie A Luigi De Siervo had to explain at a press conference on Wednesday why Milan and Juventus were not among the clubs participating in the Supercoppa, ensuring that the game between Napoli and Fiorentina ‘would be great.’
https://football-italia.net/stadium-nearly-empty-for-napoli-fiorentina-as-saudi-fans-wanted-milan-or-juventus-at-supercoppa/
I mean, I'd root for a "Lazio Merda" banner under most circumstances(especially if it involves Lazio ultras) but if this is a reaction towards Sarri's statement this is so idiotic.
Sarri is correct, Saudis are backwards assholes who have no respect for foreigner clubs, footballers and coaches. Why are we giving them exposure for no reason? There are many other rich countries who'd happily invite these teams, fully cover what they have to and treat you well for a friendly game, bootcamp or a tournament.
I'm pretty sure the players would rather play in an empty stadium like they did in COVID than this embarrassing crowd. It's almost like they're trying too hard. Are there even 1000 people in the stadium?
The hypocrisy of these European teams is astounding; they’ve been buying all the talent in the world, stealing them from local and democratic leagues everywhere… all with the lure of money.
The money is what makes leagues and teams so powerful- look at the EPL- they have the MOST money and hence all the top talent.
Now that someone richer has come along, these hypocrites are crying foul.
Europeans never wanted an equal playing field with Arabs. That’s the bottom line.
This has nothing to do with Saudis buying players (who btw are fleeing after a couple of months there)
The criticism is about playing in Saudi Arabia where no one cared about the game, instead of playing in Italy where the actual fans would have went to the stadium
But the Italian super cup is played all over the world. They played in China too- https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/italian-super-cup-headed-back-to-china
But we only see complaints about it when Arabs host it.
Nope, I hated it as well when we played in China. I'd hate it if we played in England, US or Brazil. I just want the Italian super cup to be played where Italian fans are, not where the money are
Then you know who is to blame for the Italian super cup being played in various other countries- serie A management.
It ain’t Saudi’s or China’s fault that serie A doesn’t want to service their local fans.
No. This would be hypocrisy if a European country purchased a Saudi Arabian football club. This would be hypocrisy if a European city hosted the most significant games of the Saudi Arabia football calendar.
I had never heard of this, so I looked it up. It's a tournament that has existed since 2013. Get this, the Saudi Super Cup **expanded** to 4 teams in 2022.
First of all, you’re only complaining about Arabs hosting the super cup, but notice how the Italian super cup has been played all over the world including China but there wasn’t so much as a peep when it was other countries hosting them.
Money talks man. Europe has sucked it all in with their money, and now yall are crying cause player two has entered the game
You're making big assumptions about my stances about this.
I've been watching English league football for over 30 years. I don't watch it because it has the best players -- arguably, it doesn't. The best players go to Real Madrid or Barcelona. I suppose you could lump Manchester City into this, but that's irrelevant because my point is I don't watch La Liga.
People watch the football they watch for many reasons... maybe it's what their parents watched, or it's local to them, or it's played in a timezone convenient for them.
I will never watch the Saudi league for the same reason I will never watch the Australian league.
As for the money, you can't blame Europe for that. The word you're looking for is capitalism.
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The point by Sarri is underlined by the sheer lack of anyone in the stadium
There's not even enough people to properly stretch that banner lmao.
Barely enough to hold up that banner. Hilarious.
It is an Inter fan club that's holding it up...? Or just random fans?
"random" (as in probably paid Saudi shills) fans. The inter fan club (which is the only fan club that didn't boycott the event) actually brought a banner for "Daje Lazio" because their ultras have a brotherhood but the all their banners were initially stopped by the Saudi security until the players themselves intervened to explain that it's common to hold banners at matches which makes it even more suspect how the Lazio Merda banners got in... https://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/serie-a/inter-lazio-problemi-per-la-curva-nord-nerazzurra-con-gli-striscioni-intervengono-i-giocatori-1924974
Stadium almost as empty as my dm's
Not even enough people in the stadium to hold the banner up
I'm really loving this. Where are all the people who claimed Saudi League was more than a sport-washing project hiding?
Unrelated, your username is top tier lmao
was just thinking this, what a god tier username lmao
I wouldn’t have noticed that otherwise but that’s an amazingly creative username lmao
Now we just need a tech bro AubamAndrewYang to tell us about his UBI.
But whats Auba’s last name?
Aubamabloodclaartyang. His full name is Auba Aubamabloodclaartyang.
But Jordo Henderson didn't have enough time to grow the league you see.
Huh, wonder why people don't show up and actually try to have a conversation around here with people who don't agree with them.
Mostly because everyone's heels are dug into their side already. As per the prince himself, this is definitely a sports washing project which did pick up traction for a couple of weeks but has now, as expected, quickly unraveled. The ongoing conflicts, strict religious laws, shitty PR, slave labor, and artificial hyperwealth in the region don't help the arguments against the sports washing. But to your point (at least a point that it seemed to me that you were alluding to), there's obvious xenophobia towards Arab countries that is one of the elephants in the room that people ignore. I'm not here to argue and won't comment anymore on it but that's what I see.
Not at all. Went to the WC and wouldn’t go back to any arab country even if it was free. I agree with everything you say except the xenophobia, I went with an open mind and left hating the country.
I went to Italy and had a shitty experience at the stadium due to racist fans because I'm brown. Left hating the country.
probably because they'll get downvoted into oblivion no matter what they say, but don't get me wrong, there's obviously clear issues with stadiums being empty for big games
Probably running for their lives to Europe
You are arguing against fake people, no one is saying this.
Didnt Cristiano Ronaldo say stuff likethat?
noticed he's been real quite on r/soccer lately too
His fanboys are. Might also be Saudi fanboys, AstroTurf or real. But every post you have some of them, mostly down voted and thus less visible.
Yeah they truly care about what europeans think of them
Considering they have signed a bunch of players from European leagues to legitimize themselves, they 100% do care about what Europeans think of them.
Then europeans must truly care about what south americans and africans think of them too
No that’s the difference between playing to win and buying a league to influence your PR.
“Yeah they truly care about what europeans think of them” and we’re back
Who do Saudis want to watch their league?
False equivalency. The European leagues have grown gradually over a century to become what they are, such that players worldwide, including South American and African players, consider European football to be the pinnacle of the sport. No foreign player plays for a Saudi team for anything other than money. There is a reason that a Brazilian kid will dream of playing for Real Madrid, but no European kid will ever dream of playing for Al Hilal.
> There is a reason that a Brazilian kid will dream of playing for Real Madrid, but no European kid will ever dream of playing for Al Hilal. If he’s poor, he will lmao. It’s just an extreme presumptuous and eurocentric view that Saudis care about anything else other than money.
If they cared about money, they wouldn't have paid Henderson 350k per week to play in front of 900 people. Money is clearly not the agenda for them.
Stupid argument when there is a lot of subpar players in european leagues with big wages.
You do know that non league clubs in England, where players are on 500 pounds per week, get a higher attendance than Al Ettifaq. Just because you don't understand than argument doesn't make it stupid. Paying Henderson 350k per week in itself isn't the stupidity. Paying him that to play in front of 900 people is the stupidity. Considering that they probably generate 10,000 pounds at best from the 900 people, that wouldn't even cover half a day's wages for Henderson.
If they cared about money then why would they fund the league when it can never become profitable? The amount of money spent vs the generated revenue from fans and Tv already shows that this sporting project is certainly about something other than money.
Oh yeah because in every business the return is instantaneous after big investments, right ? Or are you able to tell the future ?
in this case yeah
💀💀💀
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Probably the Saudis..?
You might be on to something there. How deep does this rabbit hole go?
How much are you willing to pay to know?
i think its more like "how many body parts are you willing to have bonesaw'd off to understand"
Ouch
> Who even made it a popular thing for the Saudis to host events? The spectre of capitalism.
LOL. so true.
Actually based from Sarri. I laughed when I saw this, but I agree with him. It’s a tier below the stupidity of us playing a friendly in Saudi Arabia next week.
> us playing a friendly in Saudi Arabia next week wtf
Oh you didn’t hear? We play Al Shabab on the 24th. Funnily enough Mou has been rumored to be their next coach.
Why in the hell are you guys playing a friendly during the season lol
Free kebab and a couple millis
Just saw Lukaku clear a table of Kebabs
They don't call him Big Rom for nothing
💪
Steve Bruce fuming he's no longer managing an elite club for free kebabs
Tbf a free kebab from Al Shabab is fucking fab
We must please our new Saudi overlords. For a serious answer, I’m guessing it’s a contractual obligation with our sponsor. Dumb af is you ask me.
If there was an international break it would make more sense but it isn’t. At this point of the season you can’t risk an injury in these friendlies cause anything can happen.
Makes little sense. Best part is Mou might be their new coach.
Losing to your ex-manager immediately after firing him would be peak comedy, friendly or not.
Would be peak Roma.
At least you get to see the special one once more. I low key miss him and his antics lol
It was a classic FM "cheat" back in the day, arrange friendlies anywhere on the calendar that you had space and play reserves and youth players. You could even schedule them 4-5 consecutive days in a row during some weeks. Depending on the opposition you could earn £10,000-£120,000 per friendly. So they added up to a pretty good financial boost over time. And you could learn which tactical changes made an impact, boost morale. You could even play your first team into form too, before say a Champions League game, I'd have a friendly against some random side like Aldershot Town. Play my first team squad in a very attacking system and they'd rip Aldershot to shreds, my forwards would all get on the score sheet, have 9-10 rating then I'd sub them off. So for the Champions League game I would tell them to "pick up where they left off"
That's what chelsea did and RLC tore his achilles pre-bohely
A day that will live in Infamy
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I remember it clearly, RLC was a whole other beast under Sarri. Really wanted him last summer, I honestly thought Milan with new management would have moved on from the Maldini targets but they didn’t. RLC and Guendouzi together in our team would of been a fun midfield
I'll always root for him. Never complained, always willing to play in whatever position the coach put him in. What could have been if not for that injury...
He reminds me a lot of Moussa Dembele in that regard. They both had a rare blend of size, pace, and technique that would enable them to absolutely dominate the midfield when in form, but their progress was constantly hindered by injuries.
€€€
Can’t blame em for it, Friedkins got themselves into some deep shit
Loads of money and honestly given De Rossis appointment a good test. Turned out not so bad while still unneccessary
De Rossi could've had a friendly against an Eccellenza/Serie D side in Trigoria
Same reason as Barca playing a friendly in the USA mid season, cash grab for clubs. Lots of clubs across Europe are dealing with the fallout of a decade + of reckless financial management and/or decreased revenue and carry over cash flow issues from covid, and/or FFP actually being enforced so wealthy owners can’t artificially balance the club’s books with cash injections. Not sure specifically Roma’s situation but Saudi waiving bags of cash is very enticing to most non-PL clubs atm.
Agreed, I guess these club owners need to balance the books for losses. Roma’s situation is a bit of a problem for them due to the FFP penalties and the mountains of debt still remaining and only increasing. Can’t blame them for getting these offers to play
Yeah it makes business sense even if its a farce. Honestly I think its a positive overall that so many clubs are having to slow down the spending, address their existing debt loads and get back into a more normal spendingrevenue ratio. Better for the sport and league competitiveness overall and hopefully we see it reflected in the transfer market self-correcting moving forward.
It will give another reason for many clubs to look to their youth teams a bit more. Italian youth development definitely needs a good kick in the leg, I know we had to restart our entire Youth system under a new sporting director and he’s done wonders finding young talent in all sectors of the academy and we are now back in Serie A after being relegated last season. Overall I want to see Serie A back in good shape, competitiveness in the league is key. The likes of Milan, Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Lazio, Atalanta, Roma, and Fiorentina should hold their weight in Europe. More calculated transfer windows for each club would see a good rise in the competitiveness of the league. More Stadium projects as well would go a long way if Italy wasn’t so corrupt with that
It's not the first time. The most impactful such friendly must be the one we played in 2014/15. A world record beating juggernaut last empty handed while the stuttering arch rival almost on the brink of consider secured a treble. We were traveling halfway across the world when we should have been resting while Barça held their nerve WRT to Luis Enrique and the rest as they say, is history.
Probably for the same reason Barca recently went from a match straight to the airport to fly to Dallas for a friendly: A big pile of money
Why the hell are Roma playing a friendly against a Somali terrorist organization?
Just saw Empoli play against those guys the other day lol
they need money for signings and to pay for lukaku's needs
$ (or Euros, I suppose)
Read Sarri's quote again brother
American owner means MLS heritage
>Al Shabab I googled without adding "football" as I've never heard of that club, and all that came up is an east african terrorist group
Oh you didn’t hear? We play Al Shabab on the 24th. Funnily enough Mou has been rumored to be their next coach.
It takes a lot for me to disagree with a banner that says Lazio merda, but I side with Sarri too here. Look, they are uniting old bitter rivals through a common enemy.
I love Sarri. Speaking of managers I'd be very funny if Mou showed up in Saudi next week like “surprise bitch!” but I'll be very surprised if the Al Shabab rumours actually happen at this stage
The would be very funny in this instance but just sad on the whole to see him go there beyond the Italian game
My view as well
I laughed my ass off when I saw this banner not gonna lie, the most random shit ever
the best part of it is that there aren't even enough of them to properly hold it up
Lazio really pissing off and trolling the entire world. I do find it hilarious. Every champions league thread is so funny
The Celtic match thread was the peak of it, the scots gave less of a shit than the random people in there
Yeah was mainly referring to that one, Pedro’s last minute goal was too good lol
Lazio got even beef with the saudis
As long as they don't have pork with the Saudis it's all good, I guess.
if they Saudis are criticising you, then you're probably doing something right
That bar is extremely low, if you allow women in your stadium then they’re criticizing you and you’re doing something right.
Women are allowed in the stadium fyi
Not by themselves. And it’s frowned upon for men to bring their wives to a game, so woman are practically not allowed regardless of the rule.
Is this football heritage?
wacky picture✅ funny backstory✅ laziali infamati da qualcuno✅ Yep, sounds like proper football heritage to me
how many cups are being played in Saudi, spanish and Turkish aswell
We (Turkish) pulled out
Premature ejection?
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Yeah, let's move it to 2094, maybe something has changed then.
This is very ‘Larry David struggling to make a decision’ GIF.
Came here looking for this.
They can’t even hold it properly 😭
Exactly. They should take note from lazio fans, [this is the proper posture for holding a banner](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQsOSl5vuxeSztT92MaqZOW_EZo3kWENJ0bYTUzlAl5NzJM68O8LivCTxih&s=10).
Comedian lmao, I’m in a good mood. Take your upvote lol
They're dressed like they'd fit in both at a white-pride or gay-pride march
[heres them using that technique in the stadium to hold up a banner](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-google&sca_esv=599810411&sxsrf=ACQVn0_K3eeEjvqHviFJFHUgbXp09MWnWw:1705675772638&q=the+famine+is+over+lazio&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiiuZ602emDAxWkT0EAHfS_CCgQ0pQJegQICxAB&biw=412&bih=746&dpr=3.5#imgrc=zYFdtOEJnQDtPM)
Why are you using a photo from a bunch of neo-Nazis from Melbourne, Australia. 😂
Brilliant. **SS** Lazio.
Sarri ledgend. It seems like the saudi footbal hype is coming to an end. Lets take as much money as we can and then disappear forever folks.
Just like it happened with CSL.
So which Al will be next Guangzhou Evergrande
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Not really. Players who went to Saudi for the money or for their religion like Benzema did are struggling there. There's reports about it. Hendo left. There are reports about Benzema. With the negative PR, it's not easy. To be able to stay in Saudi for an extended period, you need some Harry Maguire level mentality and willpower.
It’s literally just Benzema and Henderson. I understand wanting the Saudi project to fail but you’re being incredibly naive if you think that a handful of players leaving the league will have any impact or deter anyone from joining. As for the super cup, blame the Italian executives who sold out to the Saudis.
Why not? Benzema is a world class player and a ballon d'or winner. He's also a Muslim who said that he always wanted to live in a Muslim country. If even he finds it difficult to settle there, it would bring down their popularity. Ronaldo and Benzema going to Saudi is what put them in the global limelight. If Benzema leaves, and Ronaldo retires in a year or two, who's gonna go there? There may be a couple of idiots who want money, but Saudi popularity is gonna fall off the same way China's did. No aspiring professional football player wants to play in front of a 1000 fans.
Hhahah yeah, all I see is that everyone's a legend when criticizing arab countries yet: \- professionals bend over for money after criticizing the places/policies \- people watch the events hosted there (world cup in qatar, wrestling, tennis, all these cups) after criticizing the places/policies All I see is a giant pile of hypocrisy by literally everyone from professionals to random Joes, everyone doesn't give a goddamn shit besides few comments online and won't do actually anything. Everyone's excuse for going to play there or tune the telly for these BS events is "it's not gonna make a difference" if I do or not, I may at least indulge into this money/entertainment. Of course it doesn't you hypocrite, you really don't give a flying fuck or you would act differently.
I was in Rome recently for a champions league game against Lazio and my mate kept telling me we were in a Lazio area and we should be careful, I asked him why he said that and he pointed to a wall and said he’s seen those words a few times within the last few minutes. The writing on the wall said ‘Lazio Merda’.
I'd usually agree with "Lazio Merda" but this time I'm 100% with Sarri
Why not both?
Yeah Saudi has done the impossible here, me, a fan of probably the most left wing hippy team in Germany is backing Lazio in something.
st pauli?
No, Babelsberg. You won't see Pro-Israel banners at our games haha.
the lazio curva nord stance is pro-palestine
Doesn't take a genius to work out they wouldn't like Israel
St Pauli had a banner which took a dig at Celtic for being pro Palestine which is what I meant here mate.
A Babelsberg fan! Your team has a place in my heart from the time I lived in Potsdam a long time ago. I went to a few matches, including the '09 DFB Pokal against Leverkunsen. I loved the atmosphere at the stadium. Really fun times
You know that Lazio isn't a far-right team, just a minority of noisy ultras use football as an excuse to do politics? That's because fascism is banned by constitution, thus fascists have only football as an excuse to legally gather. They have been at odds with management for decades. Lazio doesn't own the stadium, can't really ban them. Law is different here. It's complicated. I mean, Chelsea, Real Madrid and many other teams are well known for their ultras being a far-right monopoly, they just less noisy and they don't have the same laws we have in Italy. And AS Roma fanhood has shifted right decades ago too.
Yeah tbh as a Rome gal I'm always a bit ????? at the "every Lazio supporter = scary" talk on this sub because I know scores of normal Lazio supporters who're just chilling. I wouldn't wish any club's fanbase to be judged by the worst of their ultras, and I think it's disingenuous to pretend like racism bigotry and rabid antisemitism aren't a widespread issue among Italian matchgoing fans... I wish it was just one club lol. That said, I avoid Lazio ultras like the plague irl, and tbh the club could be way more outspoken about the worst of the fanbase.
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But I was told on IG by Arab people that we are disrespecting Saudi culture and being racist by not playing all of our Cups there and by getting mad when they make fun of European or Latin culture.
An Serie A official had to explain to the Saudi Arabian reporters why Fiorentina and Lazio had been sent “in place of Juventus and Milan”…
For real or u being sarcastic?
> Journalist Franco Vanni, one of the reporters in Saudi Arabia, wrote that Lega Serie A Luigi De Siervo had to explain at a press conference on Wednesday why Milan and Juventus were not among the clubs participating in the Supercoppa, ensuring that the game between Napoli and Fiorentina ‘would be great.’ https://football-italia.net/stadium-nearly-empty-for-napoli-fiorentina-as-saudi-fans-wanted-milan-or-juventus-at-supercoppa/
A claim for which there were literally no sources aside from a website inventing it. But Arabs bad haha upvote to the left
I mean, I'd root for a "Lazio Merda" banner under most circumstances(especially if it involves Lazio ultras) but if this is a reaction towards Sarri's statement this is so idiotic. Sarri is correct, Saudis are backwards assholes who have no respect for foreigner clubs, footballers and coaches. Why are we giving them exposure for no reason? There are many other rich countries who'd happily invite these teams, fully cover what they have to and treat you well for a friendly game, bootcamp or a tournament.
If Coppa Italia games don’t sell out in Italy no way this is ever selling out in that joke of a country.
Good job holding the banner, "LAZIO MEAUR."
I don't think there's any country I hate more than those rich motherfuckers
The Saudi league will last 2 years max lol everyone coming home next winter
The only way that happens is if they don't pay the players which isn't beyond the realm of possibility.
They're right, but they're wrong about why they're right
Might be effective if there was enough people to hold up the banner
For me, this is the first semi-effective sports washing display from Saudi.
When a banker is saying this, you know it is too much greed.
*communist banker
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It hurt the ego of some rich cunts who've never heard someone tell them off in their lives.
This reminds me Turkish super cup in Saudi Arabia which got cancelled in the last minute before kickoff due to disagreements.
you know shits fucked when even Lazio of all clubs has a logical point to make
pathetic people, pathetic project, what else is new
Are Saudi’s now making death threats? They’re really testing the Saudi partnership and peoples lust of money here…….
[Saudi Arabia to Sarri](https://i.makeagif.com/media/2-27-2019/JpxSel.gif)
Money please 🫴
I can usually get behind a "Lazio merda" banner, but not this time
They pay so much money to host these events and yet can barely get a few thousand to attend. It's quite strange.
Don't make me like Lazio
Saudi fans have to be the most plastic in the world. At least Americans show up to games.
Lazio merda all day every day but kinda cool how the 7 fans there can barely hold up the banner.
which project will have more of a football legacy? the saudi or chinese one?
Saudi Arabian sportswashing project is horrible, but Nazio Merda is also correct.
I'm pretty sure the players would rather play in an empty stadium like they did in COVID than this embarrassing crowd. It's almost like they're trying too hard. Are there even 1000 people in the stadium?
Sarei was right
Another Saudi W lol
Another? What was the first W?
Rarest Lazio W
SS Nazio.
The hypocrisy of these European teams is astounding; they’ve been buying all the talent in the world, stealing them from local and democratic leagues everywhere… all with the lure of money. The money is what makes leagues and teams so powerful- look at the EPL- they have the MOST money and hence all the top talent. Now that someone richer has come along, these hypocrites are crying foul. Europeans never wanted an equal playing field with Arabs. That’s the bottom line.
This has nothing to do with Saudis buying players (who btw are fleeing after a couple of months there) The criticism is about playing in Saudi Arabia where no one cared about the game, instead of playing in Italy where the actual fans would have went to the stadium
But the Italian super cup is played all over the world. They played in China too- https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/italian-super-cup-headed-back-to-china But we only see complaints about it when Arabs host it.
You haven't being paying attention then.
Nope, I hated it as well when we played in China. I'd hate it if we played in England, US or Brazil. I just want the Italian super cup to be played where Italian fans are, not where the money are
Then you know who is to blame for the Italian super cup being played in various other countries- serie A management. It ain’t Saudi’s or China’s fault that serie A doesn’t want to service their local fans.
No. This would be hypocrisy if a European country purchased a Saudi Arabian football club. This would be hypocrisy if a European city hosted the most significant games of the Saudi Arabia football calendar.
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I had never heard of this, so I looked it up. It's a tournament that has existed since 2013. Get this, the Saudi Super Cup **expanded** to 4 teams in 2022.
First of all, you’re only complaining about Arabs hosting the super cup, but notice how the Italian super cup has been played all over the world including China but there wasn’t so much as a peep when it was other countries hosting them. Money talks man. Europe has sucked it all in with their money, and now yall are crying cause player two has entered the game
You're making big assumptions about my stances about this. I've been watching English league football for over 30 years. I don't watch it because it has the best players -- arguably, it doesn't. The best players go to Real Madrid or Barcelona. I suppose you could lump Manchester City into this, but that's irrelevant because my point is I don't watch La Liga. People watch the football they watch for many reasons... maybe it's what their parents watched, or it's local to them, or it's played in a timezone convenient for them. I will never watch the Saudi league for the same reason I will never watch the Australian league. As for the money, you can't blame Europe for that. The word you're looking for is capitalism.
The same capitalistic rules apply to Saudi Arabia as they do the European clubs buying all the talent across the world.
lol didn't Sarri coached Chelsea, the OG sport-washing club?
No, Chelsea was for money laundering, not sports washing
fair enough, I thought Putin let Abrhamovich buy it to get more influence in the West
Putin and his cronies had more than enough influence by then