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| Champions League 2010-11 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 16 2010, 07:51 AM (4,376 Views) | |
| Onslow | May 4 2011, 01:18 PM Post #331 |
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That was a lot easier I think than even Sir Alex thought it would be. Like Winslow mentioned Neuer was not wearing his red cape in this match but it was not so much he as the huge gaps which the Schalke backline gave up in both legs which were exploited by Manchester United. So United advance to the final and now can concentrate on their league title decider vs Chelsea on Sunday. Meanwhile on 28 May we get the 2009 rematch between Barcelona and Manchester United. |
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| xeneize | May 4 2011, 01:36 PM Post #332 |
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That looked more like a training game for Manchester United than a Champions League semifinal, as there was really only one team on the field tonight. Schalke played all of their cards in getting past Valencia and Inter, but they had nothing left vs Manchester United. But what surprised me is exactly what Onslow commented on, how many holes there were in Schalke's defense. How did a team with such a vulnerable backline get this far? |
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| Merengue | May 5 2011, 10:59 AM Post #333 |
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Because neither Inter nor Valencia finished the chances they created against Schalke, Manchester United, however, did. I really do not have much to add about the 4th clasico in the past month which has not already been stated here, although Barcelona had much more of the ball the bottom line after these four games between the clubs is that there was not much between them, a win for each and two ties demonstrates that. As was discussed the sending off of Pepe was the decisive moment in the two Champions League games as Barcelona built their eventually winning margin following his dismissal. But like many of my fellow madridistas I am left wondering "what if...?" about what could have happened if Mourinho did not have Madrid playing so negatively through most of these four games. |
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| Merengue | May 6 2011, 08:24 AM Post #334 |
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A 5 match ban for Mourinho, one of which he has already served and one which will be suspended, for his post leg 1 of the semiifnals rant about how UEFA favors Barcelona. Actually I think he got off pretty easy considering what he said then. Bottom line is he will miss the first 3 games of next season in Europe. Pinto the Barcelona goalie got a 3 match ban for his involvement in the halftime fracas in leg 1. he has serve done game already, will miss the final and barcelona's first European game next season. |
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| Pepe | May 6 2011, 11:24 AM Post #335 |
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Mourinho deserves that lengthy ban, he is a repeat offender and his post game 1 comments were way out of bounds. I know he loves the "us vs the world" theme but he really has taken it too far and as a lot of commentators in Spain have been noting, he has almost hijacked Real Madrid and taken them along on his "us vs the world" ride. |
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| raconteur | May 24 2011, 03:44 PM Post #336 |
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So Saturday is the final at Wembley, Manchester United vs Barcelona. Curiously both clubs won their first European Champions Cup titles at the old Wembley, Manchester United in 1968, Barcelona in 1992. Because of the potential threat of ash fallout from yet another Icelandic volcano, Barcelona move dup their air journey to London to today as they still contend last year's first leg semifinal loss to Inter was due in part to their overall fatigue after taking a long bus journey to Milan because flights were grounded because of last year's Icelandic volcao eruption. Both clubs seem healthy coming into the match as each were able to shut things down in their domestic leagues the last few weeks after already clinching their league titles. I am curious to see how Alex Ferguson will have Manchester United play this match. We all know Barcelona will control possession but the issue to me is how you defend them, do you sit back, try and absorb their attacks with a packed in defense and look to counter or do you seek to pressure them farther up the field and hope that leads to turnovers which because of where you are pressing them, means you will have less ground to cover when you seek your counter after recovering the ball? My preference is the latter but I do not know if Manchester United has the team to put that kind of pressure high up the field on Barcelona. What United does have are tough, disciplined defenders who do not often make mistakes. That discipline will be needed to contain Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. Apart from their excellent possession game what I enjoy about Barcelona's play is how they pressure their opponents defensively. Barca do pressure high up the field and other than Ferdinand, United's defenders are not the best at playing the ball so this is something which I think Guardiola will look to exploit. Should be a fascinating game, the two champions of Europe's top two leagues meeting for the European title. |
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| SuperEagle | May 24 2011, 04:24 PM Post #337 |
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I think there is a third alternative raconteur to try to neutralise Barcelona and that is to clog the midfield, and that is where Rooney's work rate and ability to drop back into midfield will be very helpful to Manchester United. Carrick will I think have to have a very good game against Xavi but Manchester United's wingers, Park and Valencia will try and keep Barcelona's fullbacks occupied, Valencia with his ability to run at defenders and Park with his non stop running. The thing about Manchester United is in addition to the defensive discipline raconteur wrote about they also are a strong willed team which know how to pull out wins, combine those qualities with their ability to make a defense pay for mistakes and i think this could be a very intriguing final. Style makes a fight and both clubs not only have vastly different styles but are not the type to simply sit back and defend which hopefully will lead to good entertainment for we neutral fans. |
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| Dr. Z | May 24 2011, 07:23 PM Post #338 |
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Of course Manchester United has a chance to win Saturday's Final, they are not English champions and in this final by chance. They are a very gritty team with plenty of experience in grinding out wins when necessary. And their defense is strong but an area where they may have trouble is giant defenders like Vidic and Ferdinand and a holding midfielder like Carrick while good they also are not as nimble as Barcelona's attackers and that I think is an area where Barcelona can look to exploit Manchester United's backline and defensive midfielders, using their mobility and technique to make United chase them. |
| Poniendo el pecho a las balas! | |
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| Simon | May 26 2011, 11:26 AM Post #339 |
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Looking forward to this game of course, I'm off down to London after work tomorrow - no ticket but I at least expect to spend the Saturday with legions of other reds before finding somewhere to watch it. Accommodation is all sorted as my brother lives 'in exile' down there among the southerners, so his place is the base - and we can spend the night either in wild celebrations or drowning our sorrows! Odd one this, for reasons summed up in the first line of Dr Z's post "of course Manchester United has a chance to win Saturday's final". I would do a double take when reading that because United never go into games as the underdog - but on this occasion that may well be the case. The bookies are mostly quoting Barca at prices like 1/2 to be holding the trophy by Saturday night. To be fair, I think if you take the overall picture of the respective squads then United are not as strong as in 2009 while Barcelona are better. And as Barca won on that occasion then it seems legitimate to regard them as favourites this time. In 2009 I expected United to win the final, and for the first 10 minutes it went as I had hoped it would. United played with pace, aggression and dynamism, pinned Barca back and could have scored. But then we gifted Barcelona a soft goal, the shape of the game naturally changed and we never really got going again. I do think that it's important that United score first on Saturday as Barcelona are equipped to pass the game to death if they have a lead to protect. The main reason I'm cautious about our squad this time round is the centre midfield. For the last two summers United fans have identified centre mid as the area that needs strengthening but it hasn't happened (don't get me started on the Glazers and their ownership!). Really, United don't have a ball-winning midfielder to play in the game. Fletcher fits the bill but he's been out for a month or two with a nasty virus, lost loads of weight and frankly looks like hell. He's made brief appearances in the last couple of games but I don't think you could throw him into a CL final. Carrick will play, and he's an intelligent player who reads the game well and makes interceptions, but he's no tackler. Anderson is more of a ball-winner but his passing is IMO erratic and I doubt he'll start. Scholes is an option off the bench these days (United are desperate for him to delay retirement but he is reluctant) but tackling is his weak point. So that leaves Giggs to partner Carrick in centre-mid, and of course he isn't a ball winner either! I expect Rooney will drop in, and Carrick and Giggs will be aided by Park and Valencia, but the bottom line is that United don't have the personnel to win the ball consistently and quickly. Because of that there is the danger that Messi and co find plenty of room between Carrick and the back four. Alternatively, we could press up and play a really high line, but that would be real folly in my view. So unfortunately the chances are that United will spend plenty of time behind the ball. Not that that's a problem in itself - the key of course is what you do with the ball. And where I'm more confident is that when we've got it we commit numbers forward and we should be asking questions of Barcelona's defence. Alves may leave space in behind him which we can exploit, and quick raiding combinations between Park, Giggs and Valencia can definitely create chances for Rooney and Hernandez, just as their partnership is such that they can also make chances for each other. I think that while the squad may not be as strong overall as it was two years ago, United shot themselves in the foot with their defending back then and I'm hopeful that our concentration will be better this time (I do have some concerns about Evra and possibly Fabio/Rafael in that regard). Also it has to be said that, great player though he is, Ronaldo was just playing for himself in that final and didn't interact with his teammates at all. That won't happen with any of our players at the weekend. Another factor that will play its part is that we need Victor Kasai the Hungarian referee to be strong, as we know what some of the Barcelona players are like - much as I don't want to end this post on a negative note. Anyway, on to Saturday, and there should be a great atmosphere at 'Old Trafford South' She wore, she wore, She wore a scarlet ribbon, She wore a scarlet ribbon in the merry month of May And when, I asked Why she wore that ribbon, She said it's for United and and we're going to Wembley! Wembley! Wembley! We're the famous Man United and we're going to Wembley!! |
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| Nkono | May 26 2011, 02:34 PM Post #340 |
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The Hungarian Viktor Kassai will be the referee, I have heard of the name but do not recall anything about his officiating. Which actually must be a good thing, he would not have been working the Champions League Final without experience in other big matches and the fact I do not recognize his name likely means he has not been involved in much controversy. Hopefully that continues after Saturday. I suppose Barcelona are favorites based on what they have achieved and their 2009 final win over Manchester United but Simon I think is correct in noting how the current United team may lack Cristiano Ronaldo but is better as a unit and works extremely hard overall. An intriguing game but again Simon is I think right in identifying an early goal as being key for either club. And that is despite all the big name attackers on display, it is defensively where both clubs are very good and if one gets an early lead they will really put the other under a lot of pressure trying to play catch up. Barcelona will drive you crazy chasing the ball while United have a physical, well drilled set of defenders and could, with a lead, frustrate Barcelona much like Chelsea and Inter have done in the past. Hopefully this becomes an entertaining game, it has the potential to become one that is for sure. |
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| Martin | May 26 2011, 04:10 PM Post #341 |
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Oh-oh Simon will be in "that London" this weekend! Watch out for those southern bleerts! Look up Harry Enfield and London for those who do not get that line!I am curious to see how Ferguson will set up his midfield to try and neutralize Barcelona's passing game, as Simon points out there are not many pure ball winners in the team with Fletcher's health an issue. But with Valencia's ability on one wing, Park's work rate on the other and the eye for goal of Rooney and Hernandez, Manchester United have the offensive players to make Barcelona work defensively. But will they be able to take the ball off of Barcelona? Dr. Z also raises an intriguing point though about United's big defenders being able to cope wih Barcelona's mobile atatckers. I just hope we get an entertaining game, after last summer's stale World Cup Final it would be nice to have a good game in a title decider. |
| Club Sportivo Desamparados | |
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| Yogi | May 27 2011, 07:08 AM Post #342 |
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The work rate of Rooney, Valencia and Park will very much be needed in this game to try and neutralize Barcelona's possession game. One area where the current Manchester United team has an advantage over the beaten 2009 finalists is in their tactical discipline, they do stick to their coach's game plan well and have a set of intelligent and disciplined players. Both clubs essentially have had 3 weeks off as they clinched their domestic titles awhile ago and have been playing mostly reserves in league games since then. So the issue of how sharp each club will be will be a factor I think, especially early on in the game where an early goal could decide the match. Something to watch for tomorrow. |
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| The Artful Codger | May 27 2011, 07:18 AM Post #343 |
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Yes Simon you definitely need to be wary of those southern bleerts! LOL As for predicting a winner of this match, I do not know, my feelings are whichever club can impose its tempo on the other will be the one who wins. United will look to counter quickly and to cause damage on set plays, Barcelona wll play its metronomic possession game. It makes for a good contrast in styles, hopefully that results in a good match. |
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| ursus arctos | May 27 2011, 08:11 AM Post #344 |
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The video that Barca has made to be played at Wembley before the game. Even Simon will appreciate the shots of the "real" Wembley. I'd be surprised if Dr. Z and anyone else of the cule persuasion can make it through the whole thing without tearing up. I certainly failed miserably at that. |
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| Dr. Z | May 27 2011, 10:40 PM Post #345 |
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Great link, it sure brought a big smile to my face. I have said my piece on the final, just time to watch and see how it plays out, but I have confidence in this Barcelona squad. |
| Poniendo el pecho a las balas! | |
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