Football Thread!

[Solun]

Great news that 17 year old Elif Elmas earned his first cap overt night for Macedonia Vs Spain.

Fatih Terim had been given the task organising for his alligience be given Turkey but that did not turn out to be the case

[Stojacanec]

Macedonia did not have a good day out against the Spanish.

[DraganOfStip]

Macedonia did not have a good day out against the Spanish.

Well, according to experts the Spaniards are in the top 2 favorites for winning the championship, so there wasn't much our boys could do.
I'm still annoyed that our public service aren't broadcasting the games of our lads (after all, this is the very first competition in this sport that we have qualified for, it's the least they could do), instead some local TV station from Skopje is but it's signal is too weak and I can't watch the games.
Still, according to people that watched the game our lads played good football despite the heavy loss, the end result didn't reflect the play on the pitch they say.
That's encouraging.

[Solun]

Well, according to experts the Spaniards are in the top 2 favorites for winning the championship, so there wasn't much our boys could do.
I'm still annoyed that our public service aren't broadcasting the games of our lads (after all, this is the very first competition in this sport that we have qualified for, it's the least they could do), instead some local TV station from Skopje is but it's signal is too weak and I can't watch the games.
Still, according to people that watched the game our lads played good football despite the heavy loss, the end result didn't reflect the play on the pitch they say.
That's encouraging.

I wasn't disappointed by Macedonia's performance against the tournament favourite. Some added context: Spain had 11 attempts on goal and scored 5 goals, Macedonia had 24 attempts on goal and didn't score. For those in my part of the world who are not aware, all matches are being shown live (and also in repeat) on beIN SPORTS.

[Solun]

Macedonia - Serbia 2-2
I was disappointed by Macedonia's performance, I was much happier in their performance in the 0-5 loss to Spain. Babunski for me was the big disappointment. He was excellent when playing against his 'native' Spain, but was totally out of today's game. He should not have lacked motivation, considering how he was treated whilst at Red Star Belgrade. The introduction of Elmas for the final half hour did give Macedonia a major boost.

[Liberator of Makedonija]

Can someone please explain to me why there are so many Nazi's and White Supremacists in Macedonian football?

[DraganOfStip]

Macedonia - Serbia 2-2
I was disappointed by Macedonia's performance, I was much happier in their performance in the 0-5 loss to Spain. Babunski for me was the big disappointment. He was excellent when playing against his 'native' Spain, but was totally out of today's game. He should not have lacked motivation, considering how he was treated whilst at Red Star Belgrade. The introduction of Elmas for the final half hour did give Macedonia a major boost.

Babunski got injured in the training practice before the game but insisted on playing in order to contribute for his national team.This affected his performance on the pitch and when the pain was unbearable the coach had to take him out. This is a picture of his fingers after he was taken out:



It is still unclear whether he will be abe to play against Portugal.
Overall, I think both teams played beneath their possibilities and the quality of football was poor. Still, the Serbian team's opening goal was scored from an apparent offside position and should have been ruled out, but stood. And they scored their equalizer in the last minute of the game so we were again unlucky (having said that, they did hit the frame in their last attack and could have walked out with all 3 points, so I guess the final score was fair).
Chances aren't lost yet, if they beat Portugal (which would be a great feat) and Serbia loses from Spain, we still have a chance in the ranking of second-placed teams...

[Solun]

Macedonia does have alot to look forward to with regard to their Senior football team on the basis of what the U/21 team has produced.
17 year old Elif Elmas will be a star. There is a reason he is being watched by Manchester City scouts.
Enis Bardhi will no doubt be playing in one of the top leagues before too long.
David Babunski should continue to progress with Yokohama before coming back to Europe
19 year old Swiss born Nikola Gjorgjev will continue to get better
Hopefully Gjoko Zajkov will get increased first team exposure in Belgium
The players with Vardar and Shkendija now earn just as much as their foreign based teammates so hoping for some good results in Europe for Macedonian clubs

[Stojacanec]

Good to see that the Under 21s have put themselves on the football map and were competitive.
Its now time for the Seniors to do something. To impose themselves in the European circuit or World Cup.
They looked promising at one stage being unlucky by always losing by one or two goals or the bottom falls out and they crash.

[Phoenix]

Macedonia does have alot to look forward to with regard to their Senior football team on the basis of what the U/21 team has produced.
17 year old Elif Elmas will be a star. There is a reason he is being watched by Manchester City scouts.
Enis Bardhi will no doubt be playing in one of the top leagues before too long.
David Babunski should continue to progress with Yokohama before coming back to Europe
19 year old Swiss born Nikola Gjorgjev will continue to get better
Hopefully Gjoko Zajkov will get increased first team exposure in Belgium
The players with Vardar and Shkendija now earn just as much as their foreign based teammates so hoping for some good results in Europe for Macedonian clubs

You're absolutely correct.

For smaller footballing nations to achieve success on the international stage, even without winning major tournaments but to be in the top 15 - 20 FIFA ranked sides and at least make it to competitions like the WC or European Championships requires an element of luck, but most of all it requires a 'golden generation' of players...young kids that come through the system at the same time, who are gifted players plying their craft in the better European leagues.

If you have a core group of such players coming together from their late teens playing junior representative football up until Olympic level and then into senior football it makes a huge difference to the standing of the senior national squad...the current Chilean squad is a good example of this, as was Australia a decade ago...Croatia is a another very good example.

[Solun]

Macedonia's real golden generation was just prior to independence.
Pancev, Najdoski, Stanojkovic, Kanatlarovski, Ringov, Savevski, Bosko Dzuroski, Milko Dzuroski.
At that time Macedonia would have been stronger on paper than even Serbia and Croatia.
The current crop of kids coming through may well rekindle those times.

[Phoenix]

Macedonia's real golden generation was just prior to independence.
Pancev, Najdoski, Stanojkovic, Kanatlarovski, Ringov, Savevski, Bosko Dzuroski, Milko Dzuroski.
At that time Macedonia would have been stronger on paper than even Serbia and Croatia.
The current crop of kids coming through may well rekindle those times.

They certainly were all class players and clearly we have a football culture that has produced many prodigious talents over the years.
I'm confident that at some point we will see another group that will lift Macedonia out of the FIFA rankings basement.

[Liberator of Makedonija]

Anyone know anything about PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad? The club was formed under the name PFK Makedonska Slava in 1928 with the VMRO colours and the Macedonian lion on its emblem.

[Momce Makedonce]

Anyone know anything about PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad? The club was formed under the name PFK Makedonska Slava in 1928 with the VMRO colours and the Macedonian lion on its emblem.

I found this video and mentioned it in another thread.
It`s a song about FC Pirin Blagoevgrad. What is interesting is the lyrics of the song. Macedonia is mentioned and the Macedonian name Gorna Dzumaja is used for Blagoevgrad with nothing whatsoever mentioned about Bulgaria.
"Od Gorna Dzumaja, toa e gordosta na Makedonija, samo Pirin ale"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Lboa83SSc

Apart from that I don`t really know much about the club, not even what you mentioned.

[Liberator of Makedonija]

I found this video and mentioned it in another thread.
It`s a song about FC Pirin Blagoevgrad. What is interesting is the lyrics of the song. Macedonia is mentioned and the Macedonian name Gorna Dzumaja is used for Blagoevgrad with nothing whatsoever mentioned about Bulgaria.
"Od Gorna Dzumaja, toa e gordosta na Makedonija, samo Pirin ale"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Lboa83SSc

Apart from that I don`t really know much about the club, not even what you mentioned.

That is very interesting, it is quite possible that the club was established by Macedonians and may even of had Macedonian fans up until its demise in 2008