08/09 Champions League Thread

[Locke]

Originally Posted by cSpooge

Let's be honest here, we both know Robben will be injured again just because he is too fragile ... it pains me to say as a dutchmen but it's true.

If he could manage that trick sometime in the next 5 minutes that'd be great. Aside from that though he is an amazing talent.

Originally Posted by Bagor

What did you think of Sergio Aguero?

Got a chance to see him a couple of times at the U-20s here in Ottawa a couple of years back and he was just totally in a class of his own.

One to watch for in S. Africa.

I saw Sergio Aguero during that tournament too, and he is pretty stellar, I was shocked that they took him off after half an hour yesterday.

Hes definitely a lock for the Argentina WC squad.

[kdogg]

Chelsea opens up the scoring!
________
Paxil problems

[Locke]

Damned Spanish feeds....its an EPL team and I cant get one in English?

My French is rusty, my Spanish is crap.

[cSpooge]

Originally Posted by Locke

Damned Spanish feeds....its an EPL team and I cant get one in English?

My French is rusty, my Spanish is crap.

check you pms lock

[Locke]

Originally Posted by cSpooge

check you pms lock

Thanks kindly!

Dammit Juve, turn down the SUCK!

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Locke

Damned Spanish feeds....its an EPL team and I cant get one in English?

My French is rusty, my Spanish is crap.

GOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL = goal

[Pagal4321]

So Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all win 1-0, while Man U fails to score.

Bayern explodes for 5 goals today? Where the HELL did that come from?

[SuperMatt18]

Juventus Levels up the score early on, Iaquinta in the 19th minute.

[JohnnyFlame]

Originally Posted by Pagal4321

So Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all win 1-0, while Man U fails to score.

Bayern explodes for 5 goals today? Where the HELL did that come from?

Looks like it's just not all that difficult to score against Sporting. 9-1 now on aggregate and it's not done yet.

[cSpooge]

Real looks terrible today.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by cSpooge

Real looks terrible today.

Just today?

Bayern is up 12-1 on aggregate. That's overkill!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by cSpooge

Real looks terrible today.

Real got schooled today.

4-0 Win by Liverpool to go to the Quarterfinals on a 5-0 aggregate.

And it could have been worse, it should have been worse. It could easily have been 4-0 after the first 30 minutes if not for Casillas.

[cSpooge]

Originally Posted by Locke

Real got schooled today.

4-0 Win by Liverpool to go to the Quarterfinals on a 5-0 aggregate.

And it could have been worse, it should have been worse. It could easily have been 4-0 after the first 30 minutes if not for Casillas.

Yeah Casillas seemed to be the only player who showed up.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by cSpooge

Yeah Casillas seemed to be the only play who showed up.

I thought that aside from Casillas the best Madrid player was Sneijder, Raul was trying but he couldnt keep his efforts on target.

In the end, brutally tough Liverpool defending made Real back off.

Casillas must be pissed though.

[Locke]

I was just watching the replay of the Juve/Chelsea match...

Strange....Thunderball assured me the Juve didnt suck and Chiellini was Italy's next Cannavarro.

Well, both Chiellini and Cannavaro had a rough night.

As much as I really dont like the Italian league I wish the greatest of luck to Roma and Inter tomorrow.

It seems unfair though that the other 3 English teams get to play the weak little sister Italian teams while Liverpool has to take on Real Madrid, last year's Spanish Champions.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by Locke

I was just watching the replay of the Juve/Chelsea match...

Strange....Thunderball assured me the Juve didnt suck and Chiellini was Italy's next Cannavarro.

Well, both Chiellini and Cannavaro had a rough night.

As much as I really dont like the Italian league I wish the greatest of luck to Roma and Inter tomorrow.

It seems unfair though that the other 3 English teams get to play the weak little sister Italian teams while Liverpool has to take on Real Madrid, last year's Spanish Champions.

Well, they don't suck, they played a very good game, considering they were down 4-5 starters before the ball even dropped, and another starter within 10 minutes. Being down players like Camoranesi, Zanetti, Zebina, Legrottaglie, Sissoko and then Nedved (especially bearing in mind some of their replacements) would kill most clubs. Their lousy display at Stanford Bridge in the first round was decisive though. They had practically no chance going in. It also forced them into playing a formation they weren't comfortable with, and without their best two midfielders (Sissoko and Zanetti), it left the weakened defense way too exposed.

I don't think I ever said it was an easy round. In fact, I said, if healthy, it was a 50/50 round. Juve wasn't healthy, Chelsea was. 50/50 becomes 70/30 Chelsea, and even then, 3-2 aggregate is respectable, especially seeing how Real gave up.

They are not at the level of Chelsea yet. They are about 2 starters and 1 coach short, on top of being healthy. Salihamidizic instead of Giovinco? Ranieri is an idiot. He's a proven loser everywhere he's been.

Chiellini had a rough night, but on no planet was that even a yellow card. He contacted the balll first, even the commentators were shocked. Chiellini was under a lot of pressure compensating for the weakness of his other defenders, seeing as ideally, none of Grygera, Mellberg or Molinaro (though he is improving) are starters.

Conversely, that moron Salihamidzic should probably have been ejected for his ridiculous tackles. Now that's a guy who sucks. Belletti's attempt at volleyball should have been an easy red card on top of the PK. Even Cech could have been ejected for handling the ball outside the box. Chelsea was the better team, but they aren't a match for a healthy squad like Barca.

Cannavaro is done. I think if you read my previous posts, I've said he's fallen a long way from his Juve days.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

Well, they don't suck, they played a very good game, considering they were down 4-5 starters before the ball even dropped, and another starter within 10 minutes. Being down players like Camoranesi, Zanetti, Zebina, Legrottaglie, Sissoko and then Nedved (especially bearing in mind some of their replacements) would kill most clubs. Their lousy display at Stanford Bridge in the first round was decisive though. They had practically no chance going in. It also forced them into playing a formation they weren't comfortable with, and without their best two midfielders (Sissoko and Zanetti), it left the weakened defense way too exposed.

I don't think I ever said it was an easy round. In fact, I said, if healthy, it was a 50/50 round. Juve wasn't healthy, Chelsea was. 50/50 becomes 70/30 Chelsea, and even then, 3-2 aggregate is respectable, especially seeing how Real gave up.

They are not at the level of Chelsea yet. They are about 2 starters and 1 coach short, on top of being healthy. Salihamidizic instead of Giovinco? Ranieri is an idiot. He's a proven loser everywhere he's been.

Chiellini had a rough night, but on no planet was that even a yellow card. He contacted the balll first, even the commentators were shocked. Chiellini was under a lot of pressure compensating for the weakness of his other defenders, seeing as ideally, none of Grygera, Mellberg or Molinaro (though he is improving) are starters.

Conversely, that moron Salihamidzic should probably have been ejected for his ridiculous tackles. Now that's a guy who sucks. Belletti's attempt at volleyball should have been an easy red card on top of the PK. Even Cech could have been ejected for handling the ball outside the box. Chelsea was the better team, but they aren't a match for a healthy squad like Barca.

Cannavaro is done. I think if you read my previous posts, I've said he's fallen a long way from his Juve days.

You make some good points, I was just pushing your buttons because they lost....

That and because I have a deep seeded grudge against Italy aggravated by the fact that some fat, hairy Italian basterd pulled a muscle in my back by jumping on me after a scored a goal against him in Men's league.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by Locke

You make some good points, I was just pushing your buttons because they lost....

That and because I have a deep seeded grudge against Italy aggravated by the fact that some fat, hairy Italian basterd pulled a muscle in my back by jumping on me after a scored a goal against him in Men's league.

I figured you were... a couple of my buddies were razzing me too. To add insult to injury, I lost a bet with my Chelsea fan buddy, and now I'm a "proud" owner of a new Chelsea jersey. However, they weren't ready to be in the semis, but they demonstrated a lot of growth and moxie, and it only means next year should be more fun.

That sucks about the sucker shot after scoring a goal. I've taken quite a few injuries from scoring goals too. When I was playing U18 for Foothills, rather than accept that I beat them to the ball and scored a nice goal, I had both defenders kick my ankle after I shot the ball, breaking the cartilage in it. It took me out of the league (while we were being scouted by the Storm's PDL coach no less), and I've never been the same since. They were likely some kind of British... but I've dealt with goons of all shapes, sizes, colors and creeds. Not to sound racist, but I've found Central Americans and Middle Eastern players to be dirtiest, but I do my best not to judge on that experience. (I should add, they're also amongst the most fun to play with/against because they take the sport very seriously, and tend to understand if they get tripped up by an errant foot) I definitely understand the frustration though.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

I figured you were... a couple of my buddies were razzing me too. To add insult to injury, I lost a bet with my Chelsea fan buddy, and now I'm a "proud" owner of a new Chelsea jersey. However, they weren't ready to be in the semis, but they demonstrated a lot of growth and moxie, and it only means next year should be more fun.

That sucks about the sucker shot after scoring a goal. I've taken quite a few injuries from scoring goals too. When I was playing U18 for Foothills, rather than accept that I beat them to the ball and scored a nice goal, I had both defenders kick my ankle after I shot the ball, breaking the cartilage in it. It took me out of the league (while we were being scouted by the Storm's PDL coach no less), and I've never been the same since. They were likely some kind of British... but I've dealt with goons of all shapes, sizes, colors and creeds. Not to sound racist, but I've found Central Americans and Middle Eastern players to be dirtiest, but I do my best not to judge on that experience. (I should add, they're also amongst the most fun to play with/against because they take the sport very seriously, and tend to understand if they get tripped up by an errant foot) I definitely understand the frustration though.

I've found the Eastern Europeans or Italian/Portuguese to be the worst, but yeah, pick your poison I guess, it all stems from passion for the sport.

It really sucks to hear about that Chelsea Jersey...I was cheering hard for Juve and am partly disappointed that they lost. My bet was much tamer, I have to play our next rec game using a kid's blue Chelsea ball as our game ball.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by Locke

I've found the Eastern Europeans or Italian/Portuguese to be the worst, but yeah, pick your poison I guess, it all stems from passion for the sport.

It really sucks to hear about that Chelsea Jersey...I was cheering hard for Juve and am partly disappointed that they lost. My bet was much tamer, I have to play our next rec game using a kid's blue Chelsea ball as our game ball.

Oh yeah, they'd be the next two on my list alongside the Brits. It really is passion. I'm sure many foreign hockey players would tell you Canadians are the dirtiest players around, and Canadians would tell you the Fins or Swedes or Russians are the worst.

At least Adidas makes some nice looking jerseys, so its not a total loss. Too bad about the Chelsea ball, though I guess that will add a new dimension to the game.