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Champions League
Topic Started: Aug 1 2008, 07:30 AM (4,242 Views)
Yogi
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You can't help but cheer for both Anorthosis Famagusta and Cluj. Maybe the clock will soon strike midnight for them but up till now they are real Cinderella stories and it is refreshing to see them not only compete but do well in their respective groups despite their much smaller budgets than their opponents. I don't know about Cluj other than their goalscorer from round 1 Culio but Anorthosis are coached by Temur Ketsbaia, the Georgian who one played for Newcastle United and the leader of their defense is Trainos Dellas one of the stars of Greece's unexpected Euro 2004 champions. Now he is at the tail end of his career but he has found another unexpected team to play for!

Liverpool looked good, or was it PSV being poor? Well Simon was right at the beginning when he wrote that Liverpool and Atletico would control this group. Most of the rest of us thought it would end up being a very closely fought group.

Julio Baptista made himself a hero in Rome with his late goals to give Roma the win but now they play two staright against Chelsea and with Cluj playing like they are, Roma are going to need to secure some points from the two Chelsea games. Now that Drogba is injured, perhaps that just became achievable?
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Pique
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If you haven't seen Sergio Aguero's goal for Atletico it is worth finding on the internet. What class he has in front of goal! Good win for Atletico too, Marseille were pretty competitive but Atletico ahd too much for them and probably should have won by more than one goal.

Barcelona however were extremely lucky. Lionel Messi came off the bench to help them win, he set up Eto'o for what should have been a goal then took matters in his own hands scoring twice in the 87th and 94th minute for the Barca win. The first goal was controversial to answer Simon's question because Shaktar had kicked the ball out when one of their players went down injured and Barcelona, after the player got up, threw the ball in and atatcked scoring off a mistake by the Shaktar goalie. With the way Shaktar have treated Nery Castillo I don't have much sympathy for them but they were victims in my opinion of a lack of fair play from Barcelona.
Esas son las leyendas de futbol mexicano,
En todo Mexico hay un Chiva hermano!
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Don Balon
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Pique is right, Aguero's goal was a beauty, he took a long pass from Maxi Rodriguez over his shoulder, brought it down with the outside of his right foot to avoid the covering defenders and then shot it into the net. Atletico looked good except for the one defensive breakdown which Simon noted but with league games coming up against Barcelona and Real Madrid, injuries are starting to take a toll on Atletico I think.

Again Pique is right about Barcelona's first goal, Shakhtar's players were pointing for Barcelona to put the ball out or at least give it back to them when Bojan decided instead to run at the defense and hit the low cross which the goalie dropped and which Messi knocked in. Now the second goal by Messi, off a great Xavi pass was a pretty goal. But Barcelona are not yet at their best. Last night they were very fortunate.

Drogba's injury doesn't sound good. You think Chelsea now are having second thoughts on getting rid of Shevchenko?

Like others I am thrilled by the play of Cluj, Anorthosis and BATE. They have each added some much needed excitement to these opening group games.
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Martin
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Aguero's goal really was something to see, such skill and ability to turn so quickly. That is what makes him so difficult to defend. It is easy to forget he is still only 20 years old!

Pique and Don Balon have described the play where Barcelona forgot about fair play and ended up scoring the then game tying goal. Shakhtar kicked the ball out because of the injured player, Bojan's claims that they didn't and simply just cleared the ball out of their defensive zone don't carry any weight in my opinion because you can see when Bojan receives the ball on the throw in after the ref restarts play, at least 4 Shakhtar players are pointing at him to return it to them. Bojan ignores them dribbles unimpeded to the end line hits his low cross which the goalie bobbles and then Messi scores. A pretty disgraceful incident.

Shakhtar played a good game against Barcelona and they deserved more. Their home support also was extremely enthusiastic and very loud throughout the game. They have home and away games coming up with Sporting Lisbon which will likely determine which team joins Barcelona in going through but last night Shakhtar were robbed, not by the referee but by Barcelona's lack of fair play.

Like almost everyone else I too am pleasantly surprised by the play of Cluj and Anorthosis. And talking of Anorthosis, another well known name on their team at the end of his career is Savio, the Brazilian left winger who won several Champions League titles with Real Madrid.
Club Sportivo Desamparados
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Simon
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Don Balon,Oct 2 2008
12:09 AM
Drogba's injury doesn't sound good. You think Chelsea now are having second thoughts on getting rid of Shevchenko?

I think Chelsea would rather play Drogba up front on crutches with both legs in plaster than have to play Shevchenko! ;)

Thanks for the explanation of the Barcelona equaliser, that does sound pretty classless of them. If it wasn't bad enough to let a goal in in those circumstances, Shakhtar then concede a winner 4 minutes into injury time. They must have been sick, and to be honest they were pretty sanguine given the situation. Those 3 away points are priceless for Barca in a place where they couldn't necessarily have budgeted for winning, but the whole episode is pretty unsavoury.
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raconteur
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That does sound bad from Barcelona, I'll have to watch for a replay to see if Barcelona has any defense to their actions but it doesn't sound so.

Inter struggled to get a 1-1 tie at the San Siro with Werder. Adriano worked hard but Ibrahimovic has been missing in action this year and without him Inter's attack lacks inspiration in my opinion. Werder has a new kid on their team, Ozil I believe is his last name, and he was very lively in attack.

Wouldn't it be amazing if Anorthosis continues their magical run against Inter? They play them home and away in the next two rounds.
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Don Balon
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It is hard to defend Barcelona's actions but the Shakhtar player who cleared the ball away was in front of the injured player so did he really see that he was down? And once the ball left the field the injured player quickly got back up to his feet. So the Barca claim that they thought the ball had only been cleared away and not purposefully kicked out so the down player could get treatment is I think possible. But where their argument suffers is that once play was started again and Bojan had the ball, many Shakhtar players were signalling him to give the ball back to them, Bojan saw that, hesitated then ran with the ball to the endline and crossed it which the goalie dropped and Messi knocked in for the tying goal. It was a cheap way to score and I could understand Shakhtar's anger.
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Simon
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Atletico Madrid have been much in the news over the last couple of days as UEFA have handed them a record 150,000 euro fine and banned them from playing their next two CL home games at the Vicente Calderon following monkey chants aimed at Marseille's black players by Atletico fans during the recent CL game between the two clubs. UEFA decreed that Atletico must play their remaining two home games at least 200 miles from Madrid. That angered Liverpool fans who've already made travel and accommodation arrangements for the next game, and so apprently UEFA may relent slightly and allow the Liverpool game to be played 'in the Madrid area' but not at the Calderon.

This subject had been in the news recently as last week FIFA, for all their rhetoric about combating racism, fined Croatia just £15,000 for their fans' racist abuse of England's black players during England's 4-1 win in Zagreb. Rio Ferdinand and Emile Heskey both made outspoken attacks on the world governing body for that decision, but it does seem from this that UEFA are much more willing to take decisive action. UEFA spokesman William Gaillard was keen to point out that the fine of Croatia was entirely down to FIFA and had it been UEFA's decision the ban would have been much more severe. Just the day before the UEFA CL decision, the English FA vetoed plans to play a forthcoming friendly with Spain in the Bernebeu due to the racist abuse England's black players suffered in the game there in 2004. Apparently due to this latest incident at the Calderon, the 2004 racist chanting at the Bernebeu and monkey chants directed at Lewis Hamilton during a McClaren F1 presentation in Madrid, the city authorities are worried that their 2016 Olympic bid could be scuppered. It is unfortunate when the innocent have to suffer for the actions of the idiots but this type of ban is the right direction to take IMO. Fines, especially paltry ones like the Croatian fine, just don't get the job done.
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Manzanares
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Simon,Oct 15 2008
02:27 PM
Atletico Madrid have been much in the news over the last couple of days as UEFA have handed them a record 150,000 euro fine and banned them from playing their next two CL home games at the Vicente Calderon following monkey chants aimed at Marseille's black players by Atletico fans during the recent CL game between the two clubs. UEFA decreed that Atletico must play their remaining two home games at least 200 miles from Madrid. That angered Liverpool fans who've already made travel and accommodation arrangements for the next game, and so apprently UEFA may relent slightly and allow the Liverpool game to be played 'in the Madrid area' but not at the Calderon.


The ban is on hold while Atletico appeals to UEFA so the Liverpool game will take place at the Calderon, although now Fernando Torres will miss his homecoming as he got hurt playing for Spain last night. Atletico are denying there were racist chants made agaisnt Marseille's players and apparently will use this video to support their claim:

http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/...lo/1175588.html

The fans were getting on Marseille's Nigerian player Taiwo after he made a bad tackle on Aguero but they were whistling him and Atletico claim that any supposed monkey chants were really Atletico fans yelling "Kun, Kun, Kun" in support of Aguero (his nickname). One of Marseille's Brazilian players, Vitorino Hilton told Spanish radio he never heard any racist chants at the game either. For what it is worth, I watched the game on TV and I did not hear any racist chants and those are usually pretty distinctive.

Part of UEFA's sanction also was because there weren't enough room granted to Marseille's supposed handicapped fans, yet another of the videos shows Marseille's fans getting up and walking away from their wheelchairs as if they did not really need them but were only using them to get field levelaccess..

Finally UEFA also claimed the Madrid police were in error in dealing with Marseille's fans but again the videos show the marseilel fans atatcking them, throwing seats at the police and Atletico fans.

I was not at the game so I don't know what exactly did take place but Atletico do feel as if this punishment is way too harsh and is inappropriate as they feel UEFA are trying to make a point even when no wrongdoing took place. There is no justification for any racial chants but here the question is did those relaly take place and is Atletico being made an example based less on these events and more for past incidents?
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Simon
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Ah, the plot thickens!

Sounds like it may take a while for UEFA to sort through all the claims and counter-claims so it's good they've put the ban on hold. It may be that in the light of the measly fine given by FIFA to Croatia, UEFA was eager to go in two-footed on someone at the first opportunity to show how tough they are on the subject. I think UEFA's punishment is the right one generally speaking for episodes such as this, but let's wait and see whether they can be sure they got it right in this instance...
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Simon
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Right let's get on this again:

Tuesday 21st October
Group E
Villarreal v AaB Aalborg
Manchester United v Celtic

The 'Battle of Britain' hype has been cranked up as usual for this clash between the champions of England and Scotland. Celtic boss Strachan played under Ferguson for both Aberdeen and United and they had a high-profile falling out a few years ago, but they seem to have kissed and made-up since so that's one less thing the media can use to spice the game up! Scottish sides always seem to find an extra 30% when they play opposition from south of the border, but Celtic are really up against it this time. Strikers Vennegoor of Hesselink, Samaras and Killen are all out, leaving Scott McDonald as their only fit forward for the visit to OT, and they have various other injuries besides. Villarreal have a good chance to beat Aab at home and strengthen their prospects of advancing.

Group F
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
Steaua Bucharest v Lyon

There's been some speculation about whether it would be respectful for Toni to celebrate scoring against his old club Fiorentina. Well, first things first, let's concentrate on actually scoring a goal first Luca! Bayern did just win for the first time in 4 Bundesliga games, but La Viola are on fine form and Toni's mate Gilardino is Serie A top scorer so they must have a decent chance of a good result in Germany. Lyon currently sit 2nd in the group with two draws, and if they can't profit from two games with Steaua they'll be storing up trouble for themselves.

Group G
Fenerbahçe v Arsenal
Porto v Dynamo Kyiv

Arsenal lead the way but have a tough away trip to Fenerbahce. Anything they got on the road should clear their path to the last 16 as they can probably be expected to win their 3 home games. Dynamo Kiev were out of their depth last year but look more resilient this time round. Porto have played just twice in 3 weeks - if they win we'll hear Dynamo complain that Porto were 'fresher', if they lose we can expect Porto to tell us they were 'rusty'!

Group H
Zenit St. Petersburg v BATE Borisov
Juventus v Real Madrid

The game in Turin is the type of fixture the CL was created for, but it's come at a bad time for Juventus who are missing (deep breath) Christian Poulsen, Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Jonathan Zebina, Cristiano Zanetti, Tiago, Mauro Camoranesi, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Nicola Legrottaglie and Olof Mellberg. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Juve haven't won in 6 matches and were 'welcomed' at the airport by some of their supporters after losing to Napoli, their 2nd consecutive league defeat. With Madrid on a high after their dramatic derby win, does La Vecchia Signora stand any chance? I also read that Dick Advocaat wants his Zenit side to be more cautious when they play BATE. If either of those sides wants a shot at the last 16, you'd think they need to win both of these head-to-head games.

Wednesday 22nd October
Group A
Bordeaux v CFR Cluj
Chelsea v Roma

Chelsea's injury list is arguably worse than Juventus's, as they have 8 regular first teamers out of action, namely Cech, Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Ballack, Deco, Joe Cole, Essien and Drogba. It says something for the strength of their squad that they played superbly at Middlesbrough, won 5-0 and stayed top of the league. All this while Roma, with some injury problems of their own, were trounced 4-0 at home by Inter and lie 14th in Serie A, just 3pts above the relegation zone. And that's before we come to Chelsea's home record, last time the blues lost a game at Stamford Bridge things were a lot rosier for Roma - I think they'd just conquered Carthage :P . So naturally, football being football, we can expect a Roma win on Wednesday! Cluj are 2nd in the group, and Bordeaux are bottom after two heavy defeats, so maybe it would actually be an upset if the French won? Gourcuff is in fine form though...

Group B
Internazionale v Anorthosis Famagusta
Panathinaikos v Werder Bremen

Inter's win at the weekend was just about the most impressive by any CL team but now they're facing a real test against group leaders Anorthosis Famagusta! Okay, the fairy tale has to end somewhere, but that was still an enjoyable sentence to type ;) . Werder keeper Wiese and midfielder Daniel Jensen both miss the trip to Greece, but they hope to have Diego, Naldo and Rosenberg fit.

Group C:
Shakhtar Donetsk v Sporting Lisbon
Basel v Barcelona

Keita and Gudjohnsen miss out for Barca, with Marquez and Toure doubtful, but it would still be a surprise if Basel can bounce back from two defeats to win. It's reasonable to expect the Spanish side to win the group which adds extra significance to the two games between Shakhtar and Sporting. Shakhtar were mugged by Barcelona last time out, but they have the chance to make amends and it would be good for the sake of diversity if we had a team from the east in the 2nd Round.

Group D
Atlético Madrid v Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven v Marseille

Off the pitch concerns have distracted somewhat from the Atletico-Liverpool game, but now we can concentrate on the football. While Torres misses his much-anticipated return to the Calderon, there will be another homecoming of sorts as Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina's dad kept goal for Atletico in the 1974 European Cup Final. These two teams have had it their own way in the group so far, which makes it doubly important for either PSV or Marseille to aim for 6 points from their match-ups. Maybe Marseille are better-placed to do that as they're unbeaten and only a point behind Lyon in France while PSV played poorly at the weekend, lost and fell to 4th.

Uefa.com does a nice little summary of how each team fared at the weekend, for those who are interested:
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/...sid=762737.html
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Merengue
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Well done as always Simon with the preview, I have a few comments to your post,

Quote:
 
Group F
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
Steaua Bucharest v Lyon

There's been some speculation about whether it would be respectful for Toni to celebrate scoring against his old club Fiorentina. Well, first things first, let's concentrate on actually scoring a goal first Luca! Bayern did just win for the first time in 4 Bundesliga games, but La Viola are on fine form and Toni's mate Gilardino is Serie A top scorer so they must have a decent chance of a good result in Germany.


Not only has Gilardino filled Toni's spot with Fiorentina, he's also taken his starting job with the Italian national team, so this is a good chance to see Italy's two number 9s going at one another. It took both Inter and Barcelona a month or so to get accustomed to their new coaches' way of playing but since doing so both clubs have taken off, Bayern to me look like they have not yet adapted to Klinsmann's tactics. They better soon or else they'll find themselves in trouble in this competitive group.

Quote:
 
Group H
Zenit St. Petersburg v BATE Borisov
Juventus v Real Madrid

The game in Turin is the type of fixture the CL was created for, but it's come at a bad time for Juventus who are missing (deep breath) Christian Poulsen, Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Jonathan Zebina, Cristiano Zanetti, Tiago, Mauro Camoranesi, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Nicola Legrottaglie and Olof Mellberg. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Juve haven't won in 6 matches and were 'welcomed' at the airport by some of their supporters after losing to Napoli, their 2nd consecutive league defeat. With Madrid on a high after their dramatic derby win, does La Vecchia Signora stand any chance? I also read that Dick Advocaat wants his Zenit side to be more cautious when they play BATE. If either of those sides wants a shot at the last 16, you'd think they need to win both of these head-to-head games.


Despite their domestic struggles, Juventus are pretty well placed in this group. But they'll need to obtain some poinst against Real Madrid or they can see Zenit pass them by if they win their next two games against BATE. It will be interesting to see what sort of reception Fabio Cannavaro gets on his return to Juventus? So far this season, Real Madrid are finding ways to win matches without being overly dominant, that gives me a good feeling as this team is I think still coming together and the best is yet to come. Watch out for Gonzalo Higuain who has added pace and dynamism to Madrid's attack.

Quote:
 
Group B
Internazionale v Anorthosis Famagusta
Panathinaikos v Werder Bremen

Inter's win at the weekend was just about the most impressive by any CL team but now they're facing a real test against group leaders Anorthosis Famagusta! Okay, the fairy tale has to end somewhere, but that was still an enjoyable sentence to type  . Werder keeper Wiese and midfielder Daniel Jensen both miss the trip to Greece, but they hope to have Diego, Naldo and Rosenberg fit.


You would expect Anorthosis Famagusta's fairytale run to end at Inter but both they and Cluj have surprised us already and must be full of confidence now. Still if Inter even approaches their play in destroying Roma yesterday, Anorthosis will be in trouble. When Werder Bremen play expect goals, they lead the Bundesliga in goals scored and in goals permitted!

Quote:
 
Group D
Atlético Madrid v Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven v Marseille

Off the pitch concerns have distracted somewhat from the Atletico-Liverpool game, but now we can concentrate on the football. While Torres misses his much-anticipated return to the Calderon, there will be another homecoming of sorts as Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina's dad kept goal for Atletico in the 1974 European Cup Final. These two teams have had it their own way in the group so far, which makes it doubly important for either PSV or Marseille to aim for 6 points from their match-ups.


Yes it was Miguel Reina in goal, and Luis Aragones the star for Atletico back in 1974. Although both Atletico and Liverpool are well placed in the group, this is an important game for Atletico to at least draw after they've lost 3 straight league games to Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid and before they visit Villarreal next weekend. Torres' injury for Liverpool takes away some sentiment from the game but should help Atletico. But like Real Madrid, Liverpool have found this season the ability to pull out wins in games even when not playing their best.
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libero
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Juventus current form doesn't lead to much optimism but playing Real Madrid in Turin should be enough to motivate the team. Plus Juve have a good record against Madrid both home and away. Should be a fun match and as Simon writes is the type of game which is why the Champions League was created. Enjoy it!
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historyman
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Simon,Oct 20 2008
10:12 AM

The 'Battle of Britain' hype has been cranked up as usual for this clash between the champions of England and Scotland. Celtic boss Strachan played under Ferguson for both Aberdeen and United and they had a high-profile falling out a few years ago, but they seem to have kissed and made-up since so that's one less thing the media can use to spice the game up!

Scottish sides always seem to find an extra 30% when they play opposition from south of the border, but Celtic are really up against it this time.

These clashes are always passionate affairs, but the days when these clubs fielded only British players have long gone. As the gulf between the top divisions in England and Scotland grows ever wider, it's difficult not to predict anything other than a Man Utd victory tonight. Celtic more than held their own when they last met two seasons ago, and of course won 1-0 up in Glasgow. But I doubt that they'll get much change out of Old Trafford tonight.
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Mr. Pither
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historyman,Oct 21 2008
03:54 AM
Simon,Oct 20 2008
10:12 AM

The 'Battle of Britain' hype has been cranked up as usual for this clash between the champions of England and Scotland. Celtic boss Strachan played under Ferguson for both Aberdeen and United and they had a high-profile falling out a few years ago, but they seem to have kissed and made-up since so that's one less thing the media can use to spice the game up!

Scottish sides always seem to find an extra 30% when they play opposition from south of the border, but Celtic are really up against it this time.

These clashes are always passionate affairs, but the days when these clubs fielded only British players have long gone. As the gulf between the top divisions in England and Scotland grows ever wider, it's difficult not to predict anything other than a Man Utd victory tonight. Celtic more than held their own when they last met two seasons ago, and of course won 1-0 up in Glasgow. But I doubt that they'll get much change out of Old Trafford tonight.

When have Celtic ever done well in Europe away from home?

The two clubs may no longer be filled with players from England and Scotland but the passion of the battle still remains. It should be a passionate match but Manchester United especially now that Rooney is on such a streak and Berbatov is awakening, just have too much for Celtic. Strachan's side's best hope will be Nakamura's set pieces.

Arsenal with a tricky visit to Fenerbahce tonight too. Luis Aragones first match in the spotlight since guiding Spain to the Euro 2008 crown. English fans haven't had the problems traveling to play Fenerbahce as they did against Galatasaray, but this shoudl still be an emotional match.

Bayern Munich-Fiorentina is another big one tonight. Klinsmann needs to get his team scoring again and with Toni, Klose, Ribery and Schweinsteiger you would think he has the arsenal for that. But so far this season Bayern just have not clicked.
P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD
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