UEFA Champions League

[porkchopexpress]

I couldn't find a thread on this for this year. In a couple minutes the Barca vs Bayern semi final is going to start on Fox Soccer. Tomorrow is Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund on FX.

Due to the format, Champions League can sometimes get a little defensive, but with Bayern and Barca it should be an epic game. Bayern may be the best team in the world this year and Barcelona have to either play a youngster or fullback at CB.


Visca Barça!

 

[porkchopexpress]

Shit, Barca's lack of height is killing them.

 

[porkchopexpress]

So far its been all Bayern. Messi doesn't look 100%, but I'm not sure if that is his hamstring or if it is Bayern just not giving him much space. Hopefully Tito can draw up some 2nd half adjustments, cause right now it looks like it's going to end 2-0 or worse.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Height killed them again, except this time he was offsides.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Guess its time to root for an all German final cause at 3-0 its essentially over. 2 of the 3 goals were fucking jokes. The 2nd had 2 players clearly offsides and that 3rd had a screen that would have been a foul in basketball. At some point refs will realize that running into a player is a fucking foul. All game long.


But, Bayern are BY FAR the better team so they deserve the win and at least a 2-0 result. If Messi and co can recover from this, it'll be the greatest combeack since Liverpool in the Final in 2005.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Well that was depressing. I don't think I've ever seen Barca lose 3-0, let alone 4-0. 2 of the goals shouldn't have been allowed, but they could have called 1 penalty for handball, so...

 

[ehizzy3]

play a fullback at CB.

the barcelona way. why buy a centerback when we can sign alex song and let him warm the bench....

 

[Wheels]

Condolonces Porkchop... look on the bright side.. you could be a Gooner like me, and watch your best players not play in a 4-0 loss and aim for a Champions League berth, and that be your "trophy" :/

 

[Wheels]

Looking like an All German Final. Wow

 

[porkchopexpress]

the barcelona way. why buy a centerback when we can sign alex song and let him warm the bench....

Shit, tell me about it. Since needing a new cb they've bought Mascherano, Song, Cesc, Alba, Alexis, Villa, Ibra...and on and on and on. They did try and get Silva last summer. With him, I think they would be infinitely better. Maybe they could even defend a corner...or score on one! I just read a rumor that they are trying to buy Hummels, so that would help.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Condolonces Porkchop... look on the bright side.. you could be a Gooner like me, and watch your best players not play in a 4-0 loss and aim for a Champions League berth, and that be your "trophy" :/

I'm not really down about it. I was just more shocked at how badly they were outplayed. I've been wanting to strengthen the middle for years, so hopefully this loss will get them to finally pull the trigger there. I'm still pissed that they sold Toure so they could promote Busquets. I get that the more La Masia players, the better, but it was Yaya fucking Toure. He fucking bosses the middle of the park and would give the team the toughness they need. Plus, we wouldn't have to watch Busquets peek out from behind his hands after taking a dive.

Good luck to Arsenal. i normally root for them, but I would like to see Dempsey in the CL so I'll be conflicted.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Looking like an All German Final. Wow

I gotta root for Dortmund. It looks like they'll be dismantled after this year. Gotze is confirmed to have been sold to Bayern. I just read that Lewandowski is a done deal to be joining him there (though not confirmed like the Gotze deal) and then the rumor that Barcelona is buying Hummels.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1424935/agent-hints-robert-lewandowski-move-already-done?cc=5901

Barthel stopped short of naming the club in question but speculation suggests it is Bayern Munich, who earlier this week agreed to activate the 37 million euros ($48.3 million) release clause of Dortmund playmaker Mario Goetze.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1425004/barcelona-set-summer-shake-up?cc=5901

The €30 million-rated Inter Milan keeper Samir Handanovic and Borussia Dortmund centre-half Mats Hummels have figured heavily in speculation

 

[Wheels]

He fucking bosses the middle of the park and would give the team the toughness they need. Plus, we wouldn't have to watch Busquets peek out from behind his hands after taking a dive.

Song would be pretty decent in that role I think. And he developed as way more of a playmaker than I expected in his last year at Emirates. Has he played much for you guys since the transfer?

but I would like to see Dempsey in the CL so I'll be conflicted.

I used to feel the same way, until he went to Spurs but seriously Deuce is one of the most underappreciated players in a long time. Doesnt have to be pretty, but he gets you the gritty results you need. In Landon's shadow alot for USMNT, but IMO he has been their best player for quite a while.

 

[Wheels]

I gotta root for Dortmund. It looks like they'll be dismantled after this year. Gotze is confirmed to have been sold to Bayern. I just read that Lewandowski is a done deal to be joining him there (though not confirmed like the Gotze deal) and then the rumor that Barcelona is buying Hummels.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1424935/agent-hints-robert-lewandowski-move-already-done?cc=5901


http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1425004/barcelona-set-summer-shake-up?cc=5901

Agreed. Its good to see Clubs like Dortmund get this far. And their Yellow Wall is effing EPIC. Good to see fans like that get to feel what most big Clubs feel.

 

[ehizzy3]

Shit, tell me about it. Since needing a new cb they've bought Mascherano, Song, Cesc, Alba, Alexis, Villa, Ibra...and on and on and on. They did try and get Silva last summer. With him, I think they would be infinitely better. Maybe they could even defend a corner...or score on one! I just read a rumor that they are trying to buy Hummels, so that would help.

alba was a good signing tho, really good. you could argue villa too, I think he has been, or at least orginally he was successful. I don't understand the philosophy they have though. I understand wanting to promote youth or whatever, but it's not like they aren't spending money.

 

[PapaG]

Is anybody else shocked that it likely will be an all-German final? Maybe the Bundesliga is now the best league in the world.

 

[PapaG]

Although I think Man U will be the favorite in next year's Champions' League. The have dominated the Premiere League, and with van Persie next year, they should be ready to compete again.

I keep wanting my Celtic team to come through, but they're an afterthought at this point, although they did dominate SFL this year. Without Rangers, though, that entire league is a joke.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Although I think Man U will be the favorite in next year's Champions' League. The have dominated the Premiere League, and with van Persie next year, they should be ready to compete again.

I keep wanting my Celtic team to come through, but they're an afterthought at this point, although they did dominate SFL this year. Without Rangers, though, that entire league is a joke.

What is great about Champions League is that there never is a clear cut favorite. Even in this past 5 or 6 year reign for Barca, its not like they were winning it every year. At this point, I'd say the favorites have to be Bayern (current squad + Pep to coach + Gotze and possibly + Lewandowski), Man Utd, Man City, Real and Barcelona. But there could be another Dortmund ready to make a run.

You're right that w/o Rangers, the Scottish League is a joke. There are always rumors about letting the Scottish teams into the EPL and other English leagues. I'm not sure who is for it and who is against the idea though. They already let Welsh teams in, so I don't see any reason why the Scottish clubs couldn't join (other than pride for the Scots and English teams not wanting to potentially lose out on an EPL spot). One thing it'd do is make Celtic and eventually Rangers better. I'm guessing at this point an up and coming player would rather sign at QPR or one of the other bottom feeders in the EPL over Celtic. Hell, they might even sign with a top Championship club over them, because of the potential to move into the EPL.

 

[porkchopexpress]

alba was a good signing tho, really good. you could argue villa too, I think he has been, or at least orginally he was successful. I don't understand the philosophy they have though. I understand wanting to promote youth or whatever, but it's not like they aren't spending money.

You're right about both of those signings. For Villa, people seem to forget he broke his leg and it took him nearly a year to fully recover. And Alba is a great player (soooo good in the Euros) and he is a youth product, but for the past 2 summers the biggest need was a tall, strong center back. Instead of getting Silva, they buy a fullback who somehow lowers the average height of the team. But, with Abidal out with his liver issue, LB was a need so I wasn't mad at that signing.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Oh, and to give some glimmer of hope to my fellow Cules (or any Madrid fans), I present the single greatest game (in terms of viewing experience) I've ever seen. I was living in Barcelona at the time and went to an Irish pub where we knew the owners. The place was packed, 90% of which were Liverpool fans. I was pretty neutral, but it was hard not to root alongside everyone else. When it went 0-3, I was pretty sure a few of them were going to start crying. And then this happened.

[video=youtube;tPEmC3vN-bQ]

 

[THE HCP]

I am going to the River Plate game Sunday night! Boca didn't have a game. Very excited......nice knowin' you guys!

 

[THE HCP]

Obviously the talent level here isn't as high as in Europe, but are these guys above MLS soccer?

 

[Wheels]

Obviously the talent level here isn't as high as in Europe, but are these guys above MLS soccer?

Yes Argentina is def a deeper, better, richer league (The Money is the biggest part that seperates MLS and getting the talent) Valeri was playing in that league last year.

 

[porkchopexpress]

I just cancelled cable last week so I missed out on Madrid's near comeback. It sounds like they were getting pretty close to going up 3-0 (and therefore advancing). For some reason I still get some channels just through the wall connection and the Barca game is on Fx, so I'll probably watch. Busquets and Abidal are out, so I'm guessing that means we get to see what Song would have brought last week. I'm hoping they get al least 2 goals back to make the final score more respectable. I'm not holding my breath on that though.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Well, Barca finally scored. Too bad it was Pique scoring on Valdes.

The final is going to be fun.

 

[porkchopexpress]

0-3. Though its more competitive. 0-3 at home (or worse, there is still 13 minutes) is worse than 0-4 in Munich. It's going to be an interesting summer in Barcelona.

Oh, and Gus Johnson regressed this game. I haven't been paying attention since about 25 minutes in, but in the beginning he kept messing up the players and just saying filler because he had no clue what to talk about. I still have hope he'll be ready for the world cup in 5 years.