Great atmosphere there but terrible quality of football. Still, hopefully he’s the goods.coochiee
A guy from The Port says it is the same guy. Unless he's just reading your posts YH.
Interesting for me as I've spent a bit of time in Medellin and went to 2 big Athletico Nacional games there. Saying the atmosphere is something else is an understatement.
Suspect he will wonder what all the fuss is about with the Nix v AFC derbies. Will seems a bit tame for him, no fans openly snorting coke on the terraces, away section not ringed by riot police.
I mean Sakai is genuinely a bigger signing than we’ve seen in NZ on pedigree.
While Davila or Zawada were great for the Nix, none have come with nearly the club or international experience Sakai has.
To be honest, I think he’s somewhat underhyped by this Auckland machine. The way the last signing has played out has taken the focus off quite how good his pedigree is. Perhaps it’s also because we haven’t had a lot of Asian players in the league. We tend to be PL snobs. He’s played in the Bundesliga and Ligue Un. And a lot for Japan in some big games.
That’s a better pedigree than Paul Ifill, than Bally or Greenacre or Smeltzy.
I honestly think this is the biggest signing we’ve seen in NZ. It doesn’t mean we haven’t seen amazing players dominate the league from the Championship or even League One level. But he has played a lot of his career top tier. He has no need to come to NZ. He could be in the MLS or plenty of other Japanese contracts I’m sure.
The fact they got him plus 4 other imports at all is a startling detail. We have to see how good they are.
Bigger then a certain lad from Newcastle keen on jet skis and long pins, Mr Taylor?
Best signing any kiwi pro club has had up to this season in my eyes, even though there has been a lot of class between the Nix, Knights and Kingz.
Lol, how could I forget him? Great goalkeeping technique too for a CB.
Okay, second best! But definitely shouldn’t be forgotten in the pedigree discussion.
Though Sakai has played more World Cup football and in some big games. Certainly where I know him from. Quick check- he played against Belgium in the heart breaker, Germany and Croatia.
That 3rd Belgian goal in 2018 is one of my favourite World Cup goals.
In the short match highlights you can see Sakai (no 19) up for the late attacking corner, being one of the taller Japanese players I guess, but then none of his team mates cover the wide space on the right flank where he would have been otherwise, as Belgium launch their last minute counter from Courtois's throw.
Vertonghen also scored the Belgian's first from a long looping header that Sakai watches sail over him, into the net. Yeah Auckland's captain has played on the biggest stage, and apparently he's pretty famous & loved in his home country. Might have his own little Japanese expat fan club at Mt Smart and at other venues around the league. Taylor never had that.
Good numbers for a week or so out. Aucks AFC have done well in the getting out into the public eye over the last few months so visibility has been good.
I remember quite a lot of crowds around 20k at Eden Park so there should be a market out there.
Yeah that could have been due to the novelty factor of the nix coming up, will be different with their own team. It wont be like starting from zero because there is some awareness of the league and the obvious derby. It will be interesting to see what the average attendance is after season one.
Seeing a few Latinos on their FB Supporters page now.
Small community in NZ, but often passionate football fans, and Auckland with players from Uruguay (May played in Argentina as well), Chile and rumoured Colombia will drag in a few.
That 3rd Belgian goal in 2018 is one of my favourite World Cup goals.
In the short match highlights you can see Sakai (no 19) up for the late attacking corner, being one of the taller Japanese players I guess, but then none of his team mates cover the wide space on the right flank where he would have been otherwise, as Belgium launch their last minute counter from Courtois's throw.
Vertonghen also scored the Belgian's first from a long looping header that Sakai watches sail over him, into the net. Yeah Auckland's captain has played on the biggest stage, and apparently he's pretty famous & loved in his home country. Might have his own little Japanese expat fan club at Mt Smart and at other venues around the league. Taylor never had that.
I vaguely remember that that Japanese team had done something game managementy in a previous game, and then lost that game over committing at the final corner, when they really didn’t need to. Still can you imagine how bad KDB and Belgium’s golden generation would be feeling without even that memory to return to?
On the subject of fan clubs, a lot of the women here with no interest in football still remember Kawaguchi, even though he was a few generations ago! A certain boyish charm I’m told.
I’m fairly sure that Steven Taylor, too, has fan clubs in every corner of the world where football is played! Full of supermodels and massively overweight, tattooed half naked Geordies…
That 3rd Belgian goal in 2018 is one of my favourite World Cup goals.
In the short match highlights you can see Sakai (no 19) up for the late attacking corner, being one of the taller Japanese players I guess, but then none of his team mates cover the wide space on the right flank where he would have been otherwise, as Belgium launch their last minute counter from Courtois's throw.
Vertonghen also scored the Belgian's first from a long looping header that Sakai watches sail over him, into the net. Yeah Auckland's captain has played on the biggest stage, and apparently he's pretty famous & loved in his home country. Might have his own little Japanese expat fan club at Mt Smart and at other venues around the league. Taylor never had that.
I vaguely remember that that Japanese team had done something game managementy in a previous game, and then lost that game over committing at the final corner, when they really didn’t need to. Still can you imagine how bad KDB and Belgium’s golden generation would be feeling without even that memory to return to?
On the subject of fan clubs, a lot of the women here with no interest in football still remember Kawaguchi, even though he was a few generations ago! A certain boyish charm I’m told.
I’m fairly sure that Steven Taylor, too, has fan clubs in every corner of the world where football is played! Full of supermodels and massively overweight, tattooed half naked Geordies…
All I'll say is there is alot of Airline cabin staff, based in travel hub Dubai. Alot. Emirates employs over 20,000 for starters.
On the other hand, can they afford not to? I think it might be the TAB though, which is the best of a bad business.
I was going to say isn’t it illegal for betting agencies other than TAB to advertise in NZ. Then looked into betcha and it’s just the TAB rebranded for a younger audience.
I have even noticed the new adverts for Anchor are targeting a very young and hip age group Tegal
martinb
lthomas20
Jeez...
Do Nix have a betting sponsor? I hope not
On the other hand, can they afford not to? I think it might be the TAB though, which is the best of a bad business.
I was going to say isn’t it illegal for betting agencies other than TAB to advertise in NZ. Then looked into betcha and it’s just the TAB rebranded for a younger audience.
On the other hand, can they afford not to? I think it might be the TAB though, which is the best of a bad business.
For sure - however I'm not convinced a club with the financial backing that Auckland has, numerous already significant sponsorship deals and likely high ticketing income needs to be promoting gambling.
11 of the 20 premier league shirt sponsors are gambling organisations
In the prem if you have a gambling sponsor you're legally required to sell jersey's with no sponsors on them at all since so many young people watch it. So it could mean the Jafas get no sponsor jerseys which is cool. Then again Idk if the APL have that same rule
Good numbers for a week or so out. Aucks AFC have done well in the getting out into the public eye over the last few months so visibility has been good.
I was saying to someone the other day that having been in Auckland for 2 years now, I have seen nothing about the Auckland team beyond what has been available nationally (TV news and Papers).
I am sure that there has been some stuff going on, but I have not seen it.
All I do is make the stuff I would've liked Reference things I wanna watch, reference girls I wanna bite Now I'm firefly like a burning kite And yousa fake fuck like a fleshlight
