RedrebelFor me I see Juventus very strong when they play in Champions League, so I say Juventus wins this year's Champions League. Not trying to put down Manchester United, but I don't think they are winning anything this year.
04.01.2009
Robert O'CarlosAs a Man Utd fan, I grimace when I admit that it's not necessarily the best team that wins the European Cup. Juve are looking resurgent but it only takes 1 bad match ...
:-)
I don't think any of the English teams will look so impressive in Europe this year.
Juve are as good a bet as you could make at this stage I guess.
:-D
05.01.2009
nvrBarcelona. But it's always a though call. You never know who gets lucky during and after quarter finals.
05.01.2009
ZolaI'd go for Barcelona too. By March La Liga will be done and dusted for them, and they can concentrate more to CL than others.
06.01.2009
theformationnerd123Well, maybe Manchester Utd or maybe Barcelona.
why for man utd?
because - manutd, if you take a look at there results and premier league not the same as U.C.L because in ucl they didnt lose any match and premiere league they lost. lets just say manutd is really hopefull about them losing there title.
why for barca?
because - barca, holy mama. i could imagine if they would bring 8 goals in a match. barca are taking it serious this season.
BARCELONA 80% for CL
INTER 50% for CL
LIVERPOOL 65% for CL
MANUTD 75% for CL
CHELSEA 45% for CL
ARSENAL-believe me i dont know
REAL MADRID 70% for CL
VILLAREAL 35% for CL
thats what i think
06.01.2009
FeriAtsYour percentages should add up to 100 not 420. You are not a betting man, I take it...
07.01.2009
Robert O'CarlosQuite literally LOL, FeriAts.
:-D
Is it meant to be a win percentage for each club, FormationNerd?
07.01.2009
RedrebelIf Juventus doesn't win CL than Inter will. I have faith on the Italians this year.
08.01.2009
hchoWhy do you think Italian will win this year? Juve still struggles with the effects of relegation on their squad couple of years ago. Inter have a great bunch of players but as a team they are not really ticking.
Are you betting on their track record in Europe?
09.01.2009
RedrebelI'm not betting because of their track record I'm betting on their performances on this year's CL.
09.01.2009
Robert O'CarlosBetting being the operative word here.
:-D
In a cup competition, it only takes one mistake, bad decision or lucky shot ...
;-)
11.01.2009
RedrebelBut, Italians are good on cup competitions club level and international level.
11.01.2009
Robert O'CarlosI think it's a great shout going for an Italian club to be honest.
:-D
A good defensive setup can take you a long way. I'm thinking Greece in the Euros, for instance. And, if there's one thing the Italians do well, it's defending.
12.01.2009
RedrebelDefending and counter attacking is not a bad idea in cup competitions.
12.01.2009
hchoJuventus knocked out by Chelsea. Things don't look rosy for Inter and Roma either. We might see all Italians out at this relatively early stage.
11.03.2009
RedrebelIncredible!! ALL ITALIAN TEAMS KNOCKED OUT BY ENGLISH TEAMS!!! Well, Barcelona, Villarreal, Bayern Munich, and Porto have a chance. I say Barcelona has the biggest chance of making it into the final and I see it hard. Most likely two english teams are going to knock out each other. I would really like it if its Chelsea vs Man U.
11.03.2009
hchoI had a feeling that this might happen(see my post on 09.01 in this topic). Inter was the only Italian team who could have progressed, but to their misfortune they faced a very in form Manchester United.
What surprised me was Roma's performance against Arsenal in both legs. I wasn't expecting them to resist that much.
To me it now looks between Man U, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
12.03.2009
RedrebelI say the biggest candidates are Man U and Barcelona and I hope Man U doesn't win the Champions League. But, don't underestimate Villarreal and Porto they might cause and upset.
12.03.2009
hchoWow, Chelsea were really hard done tonite. Should have at least 2 penalties.
06.05.2009
Robert O'CarlosToo true, my friend.
:-(
Chelsea have had the final taken away from them by a referee who wasn't up to the job.
Manchester United must be odds on favourites now with Barca's back line decimated - even Puyol is not the player he once was.
Tonight I'm just feeling bad for Chelsea. And being a Man Utd fan, that's saying something.
06.05.2009
FeriAtsThe ref got it right on all occassions apart from Drogba's shirt pulling. And on that one, I give him the benefit of doubt as Drogba has a long track record of diving.
Chelsea showed great tactical dicipline to stop Barcelona in these games. They really deserved to be in the final.
I wonder if SAF will choose to play that defensive. If he goes for an open game, United might not match Barcelona's fire power.
06.05.2009
Robert O'CarlosCan't agree with your statement that the ref got it just about right in that match, FeriAts. Chelsea had 1, if not 3, obvious penalty shouts. I can't condone it, but I can understand why Chelsea were so livid at the final whistle.
Like Barcelona, United don't have it in them to sit back and defend. The difference will come down to the fact that both teams have a superb attack, but United also have a top class defence. Barca are kings in their own league but I get the impression with the Spanish teams that they don't quite match up to a physical outfit like the English teams.
A reasonably comfortable United win for me.
:-)
06.05.2009
Robert O'CarlosJust re-read the line about Barca's fire power, FeriAts.
:-D
Would that be the same firepower that produced a total of 1 shot on target during the Chelsea match?
(Just a little friendly banter there.)
06.05.2009
RedrebelWhat happened to Chelsea against Barcelona is incredible. Chelsea in my opinion got robbed, but it is also their fault for staying defensive in the last minutes of the game and for believing they had the ticket to the final. A football game is over till it is over and Barcelona did understand this and I praise them for not giving up. Now, the question is, who is going to win between Man U and Barcelona???? In my opinion Barcelona has larger momentum and I wouldn't be surprised if they beat Man U, but Man U is Man U and anything can happen.
07.05.2009
Robert O'CarlosIt all comes down to tonight then.
:-)
Both teams have an equally good chance over 90 minutes now. As long as we get a sensible ref and both teams play to their potential, it should be a cracking game.
I'd probably trust in United's bench more if it stretches on for more than 90 though.
:-)
27.05.2009
FeriAtsBarcelona are going into this game with a pretty vulnerable back four. They might pay for not having a proper second right back.
27.05.2009
RedrebelBarcelona right now is looking to win the Cl. 1-0 Eto'o
27.05.2009
RedrebelHehehe What did I tell you guys? I was right. No English team won the Champions League and Barcelona took down Manu U 2-0. Have to celebrate!!:}
27.05.2009
FeriAtsWell, that game went no where near what I expected.
CR7 seemed in a rush to make his mark on the game and he squandered lots of possession with weak shots from the range in the early minutes. He didn't recover from this mental state even after Eto'o's goal.
Second half was totally a different story. I haven't seen ManU that helpless for a long time. Barca dominated the possession as if they were playing against their B team. SAF was partly to blame for this. He took out his midfielders and introduced strikers which seemed like a panic decission to me. Barca's midfield is clearly a lot stronger and decreasing the numbers did not help.
ManU tried to do a Chelsea with their 4-5-1 starting line up but were not though and diciplined enough. Had they started with their classical 4-4-2, things could have been a little bit more balanced.
Congrats to all those who called the result right.
27.05.2009
RedrebelThank you.
27.05.2009
Robert O'CarlosHave to laugh at the thanks there, Red. Bit rich saying thanks after predicting a Juventus triumph (or Inter, if not Juve). Only kidding.
:-D
As a United fan, it's a strange feeling this morning. I can't honestly say I'm that disappointed. It would have been great to have won but it somehow doesn't feel like United were beaten by anyone but themselves.
:-)
Barcelona were incredibly good and their passing and possession was phenomenal. But United just didn't have any passion for the game, highlighted by the lack of tempo and the fact the midfield weren't exactly looking concerned whenever Xavi or Iniesta went past them.
It would have been nice to have seen a game with 2 teams both keen to play their best, but United just looked sluggish and couldn't be bothered with the whole thing. Very strange.
:-)
Ultimately, Barcelona fully deserved the win. I applauded them lifting the trophy.
:-)
28.05.2009
RedrebelIt was the first goal that made United's players go into a mental breakdown.
28.05.2009
Robert O'CarlosChelsea fans, you must have been gutted at the result. A fair referee in the semi final and you'd have been up against a United team that just didn't seem bothered.
I had to have a laugh re-reading Rooney's comments after the match about Iniesta being the best player in the world. Took on a potentially different sticking-the-knife-in slant after it was revealed that Ronaldo told the team he was off before the match. I wonder if that affected the team somehow.
:-D
05.07.2009
