UEFA Champions League

[LordOfTheFish]

Well the the 2nd legs to the quarter finals have started as of about and hour ago. What are your predicition? Who do you want to take the tournament?

Personally, I'm a Man U fan, but judging from their last few performances things arent looking to good. Rooney was out due to injury for the last match against Chelsea which I think majorly hurt the team and the moral. I'm not sure if he will be able to play tomorrow against Bayern but God do I hope so. Being down by a point by aggregate is not a place they want to be in but they will have to cope with it.

Hopefully ( though it's doubtful ) Arsenal will beat Barcelona this time around. It was 2-2 in the first leg so it's an even playing field other than Barca having home advantage and Fabregast being out.

Lyon basically has earned their spot in the semi finals and Inter will probably move on also.

I predict:

Barca - Inter

[Astrotoy7]

VISCA EL BARCA!!!

kick off in under an hour...

mtfbwya

[Fredi]

Barca- Inter Milan and Bayern Munch - Olympique Lyon

[Astrotoy7]

woot! VISCA EL BARCA!!

If there was still any doubt about who the greatest player in the world is, I think Lionel Messi, aka "El Fenomeno" has just proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt

Let's hope he can be as entertaining during the World Cup... but the Argentinian team is not Barcelona, so that may be a tall order....

mtfbwya

[jonathan7]

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

Well the the 2nd legs to the quarter finals have started as of about and hour ago. What are your predicition? Who do you want to take the tournament?

Barcelona to win the Champions League... I don't think even Jose can stop them!

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

Personally, I'm a Man U fan, but judging from their last few performances things arent looking to good. Rooney was out due to injury for the last match against Chelsea which I think majorly hurt the team and the moral. I'm not sure if he will be able to play tomorrow against Bayern but God do I hope so. Being down by a point by aggregate is not a place they want to be in but they will have to cope with it.

It's a long time since I can remember United loosing 3 games on the trot; but your midfield simply isn't strong enough for games against Europes current heavyweights... Chelsea, Bayern, Inter and of course Barcelona, all have superior Centre Midfield's; which is why United won't regain the CL this year, even if they get past Bayern (which I doubt)... major investment is needed there if United want to compete with the above clubs.

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

Hopefully ( though it's doubtful ) Arsenal will beat Barcelona this time around. It was 2-2 in the first leg so it's an even playing field other than Barca having home advantage and Fabregast being out.

Out of interest why would you want Arsenal to win? Barcelona easily play the best football of any team I can remember in my life time. I predicted a 4-2 win for the tonight, so was only a goal out. Simply, Arsenal are not good enough to compete with Barcelona; they were lucky that the first game finished 2-2, it wasn't down to a come back by them, but a few rare tactical errors by Guardiola in the closing stages (Abidal should have come on for Maxwell, and Toure, should have come on for Keita to nullify Walcott).

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

Lyon basically has earned their spot in the semi finals and Inter will probably move on also.

Not sure about this, Bordeaux deserved to win the first leg, and I doubt they will be as profligate in front of goal, or as generous in defence as they were at the Stade Gerland.

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

I predict:

Barca - Inter

I'll stick my neck out, and say I expect, Barca to beat Inter, and I expect the other semi to be Bayern v Bordeax, and a Barca - Bayern final.

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

woot! VISCA EL BARCA!!

If there was still any doubt about who the greatest player in the world is, I think Lionel Messi, aka "El Fenomeno" has just proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt

Agreed, no more of this CR9 crap!

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

Let's hope he can be as entertaining during the World Cup... but the Argentinian team is not Barcelona, so that may be a tall order....

mtfbwya

They have the players, and I think Gabriel Milito coming back from injury will majorly sure up their defence, its more if Maradona can get things right more than anything else; Argentina are a real dark horse, and very, very unpredictable. They could flop at the first stage, or win it it.

[Fredi]

Originally Posted by jonathan7

a Barca - Bayern final.

That's going to be the final, I do think it will be Barca v Bayern.

[LordOfTheFish]

Originally Posted by jonathan7

Barcelona to win the Champions League... I don't think even Jose can stop them!

Eh, I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch. Inter plays a very strong defense in my opinion, especially with players like Lucio and Javier Zanetti. Samuel Eto'o is quite skilled up top, as you might remember from his Barca days. And the man in the middle I like to watch is Wesley Sneijder.

It's a long time since I can remember United loosing 3 games on the trot; but your midfield simply isn't strong enough for games against Europes current heavyweights... Chelsea, Bayern, Inter and of course Barcelona, all have superior Centre Midfield's; which is why United won't regain the CL this year, even if they get past Bayern (which I doubt)... major investment is needed there if United want to compete with the above clubs.

I think they should also invest in a new forward. Rooney does a very good job, and I haven't watch Michael Owen much, but Berbatov really isn't doing his job. When he first joined the reds he was actually scoring, and I personally think made a great difference. Between Rooney, Tevez, C. Ronaldo, and Berbatov last season I think that offensively Man U was the best in the world. Things have certainly changed now.

Out of interest why would you want Arsenal to win? Barcelona easily play the best football of any team I can remember in my life time. I predicted a 4-2 win for the tonight, so was only a goal out. Simply, Arsenal are not good enough to compete with Barcelona; they were lucky that the first game finished 2-2, it wasn't down to a come back by them, but a few rare tactical errors by Guardiola in the closing stages (Abidal should have come on for Maxwell, and Toure, should have come on for Keita to nullify Walcott).

I just don't want to see Barca win the CL again.

Not sure about this, Bordeaux deserved to win the first leg, and I doubt they will be as profligate in front of goal, or as generous in defence as they were at the Stade Gerland.

The score really isn't in Bordeaux's favor. By aggregate it would take 3 goals without concieving a goal just to move on. I don't see Bordeaux having that big of a skill advantage over Lyon. But it is possible.

I'll stick my neck out, and say I expect, Barca to beat Inter, and I expect the other semi to be Bayern v Bordeax, and a Barca - Bayern final.

I'm hoping the other semi will be Man U - Lyon

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

I'm hoping the other semi will be Man U - Lyon

With Rooney injured....cmon.

I still am flabbergasted that they let Giggs, Scholes and Neville run around on the pitch - people who were playing when I was still in freakin high school/uni.... (10-15 years ago!)_

mtfbwya

[LordOfTheFish]

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

With Rooney injured....cmon.

I still am flabbergasted that they let Giggs, Scholes and Neville run around on the pitch - people who were playing when I was still in freakin high school/uni.... (10-15 years ago!)_

mtfbwya

Yes, I know... don't remind me.

[jonathan7]

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

Eh, I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch. Inter plays a very strong defense in my opinion, especially with players like Lucio and Javier Zanetti. Samuel Eto'o is quite skilled up top, as you might remember from his Barca days. And the man in the middle I like to watch is Wesley Sneijder.

I usually predict correctly, so this isn't a case of counting my chickens Barcelona had 80% possession at the San Siro in the group leg... Inter didn't create any real chances over 180 minutes of football.

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

I think they should also invest in a new forward. Rooney does a very good job, and I haven't watch Michael Owen much, but Berbatov really isn't doing his job. When he first joined the reds he was actually scoring, and I personally think made a great difference. Between Rooney, Tevez, C. Ronaldo, and Berbatov last season I think that offensively Man U was the best in the world. Things have certainly changed now.

With all due respect Manchester United lost to Barcelona in CL last year, against Bayern and Chelsea because they couldn't control the midfield... Having Ronaldo last season didn't change the fact that with the exception of the perennially injured Hargreaves United don't have a single midfielder who can actually tackle.

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

I just don't want to see Barca win the CL again.

Why not?

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

The score really isn't in Bordeaux's favor. By aggregate it would take 3 goals without concieving a goal just to move on. I don't see Bordeaux having that big of a skill advantage over Lyon. But it is possible.

Wrong, you ever heard of a small thing called the away goals rule, Bordeaux only need to win 2-0, though it has to be said it is extremely rare for a team that has lost the first leg in the champions league to overturn the result in the second leg. Though I suspect Bordeaux may just pull it off

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

I'm hoping the other semi will be Man U - Lyon

I have no vested interested in who goes through, but hope isn't something I used to make my predictions

[Astrotoy7]

hehe... Man U bundled out, historical revenge style by Bayern. Even after taking a 3 goal lead, the away goals scored by Bayern was enough to put them through

Originally Posted by LoTFish

I just don't want to see Barca win the CL again.

Why not...because you hate seeing highly skilled technical football played by footballers who are famous for the way they play, not how they look?

I know many football fans who are not Barca supporters but even they concede that Barca have been dazzling on the pitch over the last couple of years in particular. At the moment, there is simply no other team on the globe that can play like that. Their passing stats are simply jaw dropping.

Lolz@Madrid this year. What a sublime waste of money the new 'Los Galaticos' has been. Maybe they can bounce back next year?? Benzema should go play in the UK IMO.

20th April - set your DVRs for Barca v Inter !! Hopefully it will be an exciting match. Last years clash was relatively lackluster. Bayern v Lyon will be the other semi on the 21st. Good to see a French team in there IMO.

mtfbwya

[jawathehutt]

If Chelsea or Bayern Munchen are still in it, I'm cheering for them. Otherwise I'm cheering for whoever is playing Man U.

[jonathan7]

Originally Posted by jawathehutt

If Chelsea or Bayern Munchen are still in it, I'm cheering for them. Otherwise I'm cheering for whoever is playing Man U.

Chelsea and Man United are out, Bayern are still in, along with Inter Milan, Barcelona and Lyon; it's the semi finals...

Inter v Barcelona and Lyon v Bayern

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by jawathehutt

If Chelsea or Bayern Munchen are still in it, I'm cheering for them. Otherwise I'm cheering for whoever is playing Man U.

lolz. I just covered all of that right above you. I even gave the dates of the two semi finals

Skim reading makes baby Jesus/Mohammed/Buddha Cry!!

mtfbwya

[Ztalker]

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

Yes, I know... don't remind me.

Yeah. Rafael did much better then Neville could do at that position.
Football is (imo) a game in which experience counts. Look at AC Milan.

Neville = experience.
And imo, Giggs is still plane awesome. Maybe not as good as he was when he was in his twenties, but he doesn't need to be in a new role.

Anyway, all the British (richest) clubs and Real are out. Although I love the English football, this is a victory for the clubs that have less then 800 billion trillion dollars of debt and oil tycoons as club owners (or in United's case a meglomaniac idiot that bought the club using loaned money).

I'd love to see Bayern - Barca as a finale. Barca is an ode to self-trained players and Bayern simply ha my sympathy for being the uber underdog.
Bayern has a defense weaker then the veteran squad of my local soccer club, so Messi will laugh his ass off probably....

[Prime]

As an Arsenal supporter these are sad times indeed.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

I'm Arsenal at England.
Inter at Italy.
Barça at Spain.
Could care less about French and German clubs (but it'd probably be Lyon-win-it-all and Bayer Leverkusen if I did care).

But I'm totally cheering for Barça right now. Let's Messi have his show because he most certainly won't have during the Cup, heh.

[Fredi]

I do think that Lyon can give a surprise to Bayern.

[LordOfTheFish]

Bayern really lucked out in my opinion. They don't deserve to move forward... The goal that won the first leg for them was nothing more than defensive fluke and the other goal was a deflection off a United defender. Rather you agree with me or not, I still think Man United is a better team and that Bayern escaped by the skin of their teeth. However, none of the teams left ( possibly Inter on a really good day ) are going to be able to beat Barca.

Sir Alex seems to think had Rafael not been an idiot and remained in the game they would have won 3-1 and moved on. I think that it may have helped, 11v10 at the pro level can make a big difference, but United being the better team from the start should have just moved the ball more. But they didn't, they just played crappy defense and let in yet another goal. I must give credit to Arjen Robben for a world class finish. Nani's back-heel was quite impressive also

I'm pulling for Inter in their game versus Barca ( only because they are the team that I pull for in the Italian league ), and Lyon versus Bayern. If Bayern moves on two the finals then I wish the wrath of Messi upon them.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

Bayern really lucked out in my opinion. They don't deserve to move forward... The goal that won the first leg for them was nothing more than defensive fluke and the other goal was a deflection off a United defender. Rather you agree with me or not, I still think Man United is a better team and that Bayern escaped by the skin of their teeth. However, none of the teams left ( possibly Inter on a really good day ) are going to be able to beat Barca.

What's magical about football, as cliche as it may sounds, is it's unpredictability.
You can't really tell who's gonna win what, even if one team is vastly superior.

[LordOfTheFish]

Originally Posted by Ctrl Alt Del

What's magical about football, as cliche as it may sounds, is it's unpredictability.
You can't really tell who's gonna win what, even if one team is vastly superior.

That is true but mostly with pro teams. I really do think at times ( especially when the teams are dead even ) luck plays a big part in football, and sometimes teams have more luck on a regular basis than others. Right now Man U has none at all...

[LordOfTheFish]

The final two teams are set.

FC Internazionale vs. FC Bayern Munchen

What are your predictions? Any thought's on the semi-finals?

[jonathan7]

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

The final two teams are set.

FC Internazionale vs. FC Bayern Munchen

What are your predictions? Any thought's on the semi-finals?

Lyon looked like a team that didn't want to be in a Final, they almost looked like a rabbit caught in the glare of a cars headlights Bayern deserved to win both legs.

Inter I think are the best defensive team in the whole competition, though my whole over-riding thought about the ties (and thinking back to last year), is how unsporting many footballers are; from Busquets cynically getting Tiago Motta sent off (which I think actually helped Inter). To Inter's typically Italian play acting constantly; which I know frustrated a lot of neutrals.

Unfortunately, I don't think it was Jose Mourinho or Inter who beat Barcelona, but the officials who did. Effectively they caused a three goal swing in Inter's favour (the 3rd offside goal in Milan, the stone wall penalty not given, and then Kirkic's winner being ruled out). - Any of those decisions going the other way and Inter would have been out.

What concerns me, is that Barcelona beat Chelsea last year due to poor refereeing and this year Inter beat Barcelona for the same reason. Surely the teams should be deciding matches between them, rather than incompetent officiating.

That said congratulations to Inter on a job well done, Mourniho is a great manager, but I will always think him an ass for the manner in which he conducts himself.

[LordOfTheFish]

Originally Posted by jonathan7

Inter I think are the best defensive team in the whole competition,

I agree. But I think Barca are clearly the best offensive team in the competition. Inter used there strength to hold Barca off, but some people seem to think they played a cowardly game. I think Mourinho knew going into the match however, that if his team got forward to much, Barca's counter attack might lead to numerous goals. I'll give it to Guardiola and his squad for giving it there best, though.

from Busquets cynically getting Tiago Motta sent off (which I think actually helped Inter).

I thought that was ridiculous. Not even a yellow in my book. I would have simply told Motta to keep his hands down. None the less though, that raised the intensity of the game for Inter.

Unfortunately, I don't think it was Jose Mourinho or Inter who beat Barcelona, but the officials who did. Effectively they caused a three goal swing in Inter's favour (the 3rd offside goal in Milan, the stone wall penalty not given, and then Kirkic's winner being ruled out). - Any of those decisions going the other way and Inter would have been out.

What concerns me, is that Barcelona beat Chelsea last year due to poor refereeing and this year Inter beat Barcelona for the same reason. Surely the teams should be deciding matches between them, rather than incompetent officiating.

That's what Warren and Bobby were saying at halftime. The refs have got to make better decisions. While I can't recall who or what team he was from, someone was sent off for 'clapping' the other day. Being a ref myself I know why he did it; after recieving one yellow card, the ref was going to book him another yellow for showing dissent by action. But all he did was clap, he didn't cuss at him or make a smart remark about the call at all, he just clapped.

[Astrotoy7]

what a crummy week.. Barca out...Liverpool out !!

@LoTFish - Im wondering if you are an actually Italian as well as an Inter fan? Even the Inter fans I know, whilst greatly pleased with the success have also commonly expressed a thorough dislike of Mourinho's squad selection and the club's general disregard for nurturing local talent.

I would usually be happy that an Italian team is in the mix, as it would usually mean that actual Italian players were playing in an elite competition - especially young stars who desperately need match practise... but alas.. with those idiots running Inter, 'local' talent to them means somewhere not in Italy Yes, a team with a nice cosmopolitan influence can be great but when it is done at the expense of developing local players, it's not right IMO.

I still have to rub my eyes when I look at the inter line up: Mourinho commonly starts with one (*cough*token*cough*) Italian player. He must surely be having a huge chuckle to himself..... I mean just look at that squad.... it belongs somewhere in CONMEBOL, not UEFA!

Internazionale Buenos Di Janeiro
Starting Line Up for match against Barca - listed by nation of origin
Cesar - Brazil
Maicon - Brazil
Motta - Brazil
Chivu - Romania
Santon - Italy
Ferreira - Brazil
cambiasso - Argentina
el tractor - Argentina
pandev - (FYRO) Macedonia
Milito - Argentina
Stankovic - Serbia

The 6+5 Rule cant come fast enough for clubs like inter... 4+7 theoretically starts next year which most clubs would have no probs with... except Inter...

As for the final...there's some Turkish blood at Bayern, so I have to be cheering for them of course

mtfbwya

[Miltiades]

The last few years, I didn't really have a reason to watch the final since I pretty much hated all of the teams (except for Chelsea). It's nice to have someone else in the final than Man Utd. or Barcelona for a change. Okay, so Inter probably won't get points for style, but that doesn't matter, does it? And guys, Zanetti is just awesome. I'm cheering for Inter now.

Same in Europa Cup. Pretty much the final I wanted from the teams in the semi-finals. I think I'll be cheering for Fulham. They deserve something spectacular.

@Astro: Wasn't aware of that, but when I look at their squad, yeah, it's horrible. And the Italians they got aren't the nicest of guys (Balotelli, Materazzi).

[LordOfTheFish]

@Astro - I really am not that big of an Italian football fan, I favor the EPL much more. But when I do watch it I pull for Inter. Always have since I first started watching professional football.

But I guess you are right, it would be nice to see a more Italian squad. But It could be that Mourinho has simply told them "the ones who perform the best in training play." That's how it is on my team.

The only real complaint I have from Inter is Thiago Motta's reaction after being sent off (he grabbed poor Busquets by the throat, shook him around, and exchanged some harsh word). That doesn't justify Busquets little acting moment.

[Fredi]

My team is out (Barca), but I do believe Bayern can beat Inter, I just hope so cause I can't stand Mourinho.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

it belongs somewhere in CONMEBOL, not UEFA!

Internazionale Buenos Di Janeiro

Lol, indeed it does. Nevertheless, winning the here and now is all that matters to a club.

Originally Posted by LordOfTheFish

I really am not that big of an Italian football fan

With all due respect with the Itallian's - after all they won more than their share of WCs to demonstrate they're to be respected - I don't like their football either. It's slow, too defense-oriented and, european-like, often dirty.

[LordOfTheFish]

Originally Posted by Ctrl Alt Del

With all due respect with the Itallian's - after all they won more than their share of WCs to demonstrate they're to be respected - I don't like their football either. It's slow, too defense-oriented and, european-like, often dirty.

I agree. I would much rather watch the EPL or La Liga if it ever came on any of my channels.

Both leagues I consider to be much faster paced, and we all know the Spanish teams can be quite creative at times.

Even though I'm not a Barca fan, I still enjoy watching them (mainly Messi ) play.