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| Champions League | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 13 2007, 02:00 PM (4,097 Views) | |
| valenciano | Sep 18 2007, 10:49 PM Post #31 |
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It couldn't have worked out better for Valencia today. First they win at Schalke while Chelsea only is able to draw at home with Rosenborg. Valencia didn't play a great game and they were pretty conservative in this match but David Villa beat his marker and Schalke's goalie Neuer to a long ball to score the game's only goal. I'm quite content with this opening day result. Shevchenko got Chelsea's equaliser after they fell behind to Rosenborg. Looks like Chelsea's fans were as nonchalant about the game as their team was, the stadium was only half full. |
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| rosarino | Sep 19 2007, 08:37 AM Post #32 |
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Shevchenko did end up saving Chelsea but without Drogba and Lampard their attack is pretty anemic for this level. In the week after the Rosario derby in Argentina between Newell's and Rosario Central, I found it ironic that against Milan Benfica started Oscar Cardozo (Newell's) and Angel Di Maria (Rosario Central) who last year were playing in that local derby. Di Maria set up Cardozo for a great chance in the first half when his left wing cross found Cardozo at the far post and with the whole goal empty Cardozo headed against a post! The score was 1-0 to Milan at the time and Milan went down the other end with that nice combination between Kaka, Pirlo and Inzaghi which made it 2-0. A lost opportunity for Benfica there. I'm looking forward to today's Barcelona-Lyon and Arsenal-Sevilla games. Those are the type of matches the Champions Legaue was created for. |
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| Merengue | Sep 19 2007, 09:44 AM Post #33 |
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Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored once apiece and set the other one up for their goal in Real Madrid's win over Werder Bremen. I thought it was a pretty interesting game, Bremen picked up their play from their disappointing league start but Raul and Ruud are showing a good understanding together in attack. Like Madrid's weekend league win it wasn't as fluid of play as they had before the international break but it was still a good win and I have to say Schuster is getting this team playing the way Madrid's fans like to see. I'm with rosarino, today's Barcelona-Lyon and Arsenal-Sevilla games look like they should be worth watching. |
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| Winslow | Sep 19 2007, 01:00 PM Post #34 |
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And Wednesday's matches... . . . . . . . Group E: Barcelona 3, Lyon 0; Rangers 2, Stuttgart 1. Group F: Roma 2, Dynamo Kyiv 0; Sporting Lisbon 0, Man United 1. Group G: PSV Eindhoven 2, CSKA Moscow 1; Fenerbahce 1, Inter Milan 0. Group H: Arsenal 3, Sevilla 0; Slavia Prague 2, Steaua Bucharest 1. So the one big upset comes from Istanbul, while the day's top matches are notable mainly for their final scores. Barca gave Lyon a hurting, as Messi was up to his usual tricks; his very nice run led to an own goal to open the scoring, then he put in the second before Henry finally broke his Catalan duck in injury time. Meanwhile, the Gunners also took the lead on an own goal before van Persie jumped on a loose ball in the box to make it two; Eduardo added the third just before the end. Sporting can consider itself unlucky; it stretched van der Sar several times, and finally lost when C. Ronaldo dived to head in a cross at knee level after a slick run off the ball. It was a very useful home win for Rangers, who fell behind before scoring twice in the second half. Interesting that there were no draws today. |
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| Martin | Sep 19 2007, 08:21 PM Post #35 |
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I'm not that surprised by Inter's defeat in Istanbul. As Merengue mentioned Inter had a lot of players suspended from their brawl in last year's Champions League plus others were missing due to injuries. Add in a good opponent and a tough stadium to win in and you get Fenerbahce's victory. Barcelona were easy winners over Lyon and probably should have won by more than 3-0. OK Lyon also has their share of injuries but they've also lost a lot of good players sold over the summer and to me look just a shell of the team who've delighted fans in the past few Champions Leagues. Messi scored once and had another shot deflected in for a goal but missed about 3 others because he's afraid to shoot with his right foot! Lionel that right leg is for more than keeping your pants on! On Tuesday I liked Madrid's win over Bremen. It wasn't easy as Bremen, especially Diego, pushed them hard but Raul and Van Nistelrooy are, as Merengue stated, forming a good forward tandem. I don't know if Raul discovered Ponce De Leon's Fountain of Youth but in this new season this is the best I've seen him play in the past 4 years. He's active, shows good leadership on the field and as I said is forming a very good partnership with Van Nistelrooy. I was surprised by Arsenal's victory margin over Sevilla. I know the Gunners are off to a good start but so are Sevilla. That is as comprehensive a win as I can recall in the past few years against Sevilla. I didn't see the game but would be interested in hearing from those who did. |
| Club Sportivo Desamparados | |
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| enganche | Sep 19 2007, 11:48 PM Post #36 |
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Inter were missing Maicon, Cordoba and Burdisso through suspension and Materazzi, Chivu and Vieira through injury. Even for a team with Inter's depth that is a lot of players out especially on defense. I see Zico is coaching Fenerbahce now and he has his share of Brazilians there too, Roberto Carlos, Edu Dracena (who played for Brazil last week), Alex (the playmaking midfielder and ex Brazilian international) plus the goalscorer today, forward Deivid. Add Uruguay's centerback Diego Lugano, Mateja Kezman and some Turkish national team players and that is a pretty good team. Fenerbahce could be a darkhorse in this year's competition. Both Roma and Manchester United recorded good wins too and that sets up an extremely interesting match when they play. I watched Barcelona's win over Lyon and I agree Messi, who played a good game today, should have scored even more but was reluctant to use his right foot. Nevertheless he and Deco were Barcelona's most effective attacking players. Lyon don't look like the same team they've been in recent years but after losing a lot of players and hiring a guy who failed at Portsmouth to coach them what do you expect? |
| Prefiero morir de pie que vivir arrodillado | |
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| Simon | Sep 20 2007, 04:33 AM Post #37 |
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Interesting opening matches. It was a pretty good game in Lisbon between Sporting and United. I have to mention that the pitch at the Jose Alvalade was utterly dreadful. Even 5 mins into the game it was cutting up terribly and it soon resembled the surface of the moon. A huge number of Sporting staff were on the pitch at HT trying to replace divots, but it was the same story the moment the second half started. Very difficult to play on that, as the ball was bouncing all over the place. It must be a talking point in Portugal as well, as the Portuguese tv director kept showing close-ups of the terrible surface - it seemed like a colony of moles live under the field! Sporting had only lost once in their last 32 games, so coming here and winning is the best possible start for United. It was an even game, Sporting played well but never created any chances and were reduced to long-range shots (although one of those from Liedson required a great save from Van Der sar). United were excellent in the 2nd half, Rooney had a nice 70 min run out in his first game back from his broken foot, but Ronaldo was the star of the show. Besides the goal he had several thrilling runs through the Sporting defence and they gave him a standing ovation when he was subbed out, which was a great gesture. I also saw the Arsenal game, and it was pretty comfortable for the Gunners. It's funny, they kind of slipped under the radar this summer while everyone was talking about United, Chelsea and Liverpool, but Arsenal are top of the league and now they have this emphatic win over a very good side. Martin, I thought the game was close in the first half and Arsenal's opener was a lucky deflection, although they drove their fans mad last year with their reluctance to shoot -now they have a shoot-on-sight policy that is paying dividends, especially to Fabregas. There was a spell in the 2nd half when it seemed Arsenal could do with a second goal to make sure, but once they got that they were very comfortable. In all honesty Arsenal could have scored more, Sevilla never got to grips with Adebayor and Arsenal wasted a few opportunities with poor final balls. |
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| Pepe | Sep 20 2007, 08:58 AM Post #38 |
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Simon it is good to read that Sporting's fans were just that, very sporting in greeting one of their ex players Cristiano Ronaldo even if it was his goal which beat their club last night. In this day where you see Barcelona's fans whistling Luis Figo's every move when he returned to play Barca with Real Madrid and other similar incidents involving other players coming back to play their former clubs, it is still refreshing to see the fans respecting one of their old players who has moved on. I thought Sevilla showed their nerves on their first Champions League night but they have the quality to bounce back and their relatively easy group should help. I thought the deflected goal by Cesc was the turning point last night but Arsenal are a pretty dynamic team and I am thrileld to see Cesc take on a more elaidng role on their team with henry's deprture. Barcelona's win was pretty easy over a Lyon team which does look punchless compared to their more recent teams. I'll agree with others that Messi played well but could easily have scored more goals in the match. The problem about his reluctance to use his right foot is made worse by the fact he plays on the right and I thought he was more effective when he was able to move forward from a more central position as he had more space to move then. |
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| Sergio | Sep 20 2007, 03:49 PM Post #39 |
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I saw Stuttgart throw away a 1-0 lead on the road and lose 2-1 to Rangers. The Scottish team showed a lot of spirit in fighting back but overall it was a pretty average game. I was interested in seeing how Pardo and Osorio, Stuttgart's 2 Mexicans played and they both had average games I'd say. Rangers' French forward Darcheville is very quick and a handful for any defense. Do you guys get the sense at Barcelona that Rijkaard's recent policy of taking Ronaldinho out in the 2nd half is part of the team handing the baton over from Ronaldinho to Messi as the club's maximum star? maybe I am reading too much into it but it has been Messi not Ronaldinho who has been Barcelona's focal point in the early season. |
| "You left as a champion, you will always be in our hearts. Rest in Peace Christian Benítez." | |
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| SuperEagle | Sep 20 2007, 09:49 PM Post #40 |
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As the Arsenal fan on this forum let me say I was quite pleased with the Gunners opening game win over Sevilla. The game was pretty even until Cesc's goal off a deflection but after that I thought Arsenal had the better of the match and restricted Sevilla's goal opportunities. Simon is correct this year Arsenal are much more likely to shoot from distance than last season when they were intent on walking the ball into the net and this change in plan has been effective. Cesc Fabregas is having his best season yet and does look to be relishing the opportunity to be the leader of this Arsenal team now that Henry has left. Some Arsenal fans were lamenting Ashley Cole's departure last year too but Gael Clichy has fit in well at left back and on the right Bakary Sagna has beat Emmanuel Eboue out of the starting role. As with Eduardo da Silva, Sagan is another example of Arsene Wenger going out and signing an relatively unknown player who is able to be a productive member of Arsenal's first team. I also enjoyed the reception Sporting Lisbon's fans gave Cristiano Ronaldo when he left the pitch the other day. It was refreshing to see that instea dof them hurling hate towards a player they once cheered. Now that manchester United are getting Ronaldo and Rooney back I think the rest of the EPL needs to stand up and take notice of them. |
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| futbol4 | Sep 21 2007, 12:14 PM Post #41 |
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I'm with you on Pardo and Osorio. It will unltimately help the Mexican Nats. I also got a big kick watch DMB enter the show. Re Barca; I totally agree with Frank taking Dinho out. Messi is coming into his own, is a much more direct player and ultimately more effective in the system. Dinho's elegance is awesome, he was once one of the greatest players in the game, but its not what Barca need. I think they'll play better without him, especially when Eto is back. Then there is Dos Santos.....as a friend said, this may be the best attacking team ever assembled. On another note, Madrid has a pretty spectacular passing game in the making...its going to be fun watching La Liga Cl if you're Spanish futbol fan. |
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Four hundred years ago, English-speaking illegal immigrants slipped into Jamestown, Va. When will America start getting serious about protecting its borders? - L Powers U S A! MEXICO! BARCA, BARCA, BARCA! MILAN! | |
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| Hector | Sep 21 2007, 01:19 PM Post #42 |
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hey futbol4 nice "nome de plume!" I am surprised you say Barcelona will play better without Ronaldinho. I disagree as I still think he is an incredibly gifted player. Messi is now more than just a promise for the future, he is a reality and a wonderful player himself but I think the team are capable of playing well with both Ronaldinho and Messi. I was disappointed with Sevilla's loss at Arsenal. The Londonders are a good team and took advantage of their opportunities but I thought Sevilla showed first game nerves in this match. I was also curious to see the team start a pair of young players like Capel and Fazio, without much first team experience, in such an important game. Neither played well and have been dropped for this weekend's league game against Barcelona. I am not worried about the loss and think Sevilla will do fine in the future games but it still was a disappointing result for we fans of the club. Say what is up with Arsenal playing without a single English player in the game? Hector |
| iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo! | |
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| Simon | Sep 22 2007, 04:33 AM Post #43 |
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Isn't it ridiculous? I'd love to see some kind of minimum number of national players in each team, and I know UEFA have been pushing for the same. Problem is that any such rule contravenes laws against restraint of trade. You legally can't bar someone from working on the basis of their nationality. |
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| siralfred | Sep 22 2007, 05:45 PM Post #44 |
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Forza Zlatan!
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Let's just make it clear that we're talking about players that have passports from EU member states. All others have to adhere to certain requirements such as having featured for their national side in some measure. For example, Clint Dempsey had to make a special request and go through an appeal before playing for Fulham because he hadn't played for the USA quite enough yet. |
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| Merengue | Sep 22 2007, 11:42 PM Post #45 |
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Am I correct in assuming that teams from the UK are the only ones with such restrictive work permit requirements for non EU players? In Spain teams are allowed to field 3 non EU passport holders. That is why a lot of South American players end up obtaining EU passports through a relative who emigrated from Europe. Unlike the UK, there isn't any requirement on non EU players on having played internationally for your country. |
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