CHAMPIONSLEAGUE SAISON 2009/10

[Mike Rotchtickles]

That was a great half of football, no doubt.
But if Samuel Eto'o was still playing for Barca, the score would have been 2-0 or maybe 3-0 at half-time.
Ibrahimovic made up for it in the 2nd half, but in the 1st half must have missed 3-4 golden opportunities.

[Moralspain]

Ribery : "My wife needs sun,she doesn't have a lot of friends here (in Germany)..."
He'll go to Spain for sure...But Robben warned him "Don't go to Real!!!"LOL
He wants to sign for his futur club before he goes to World Cup....

In my opinion he has an agreement with Real Madrid for the next season...well actually it´s what the media says in Spain.......just as Cesc has an agreement to come back to Barcelona for the next season

[ati4850]

Gunners-Barca was a fantastic match. English teams never give up, and I can't wait for the next match on tuesday.

[Amazing Matheja]

At the mid-time,Wenger told his players Barça could not be able to produce this level of play on the whole match...He told them to hold and,as soon as Barça goes down,try to score...
English football is awesome for that : never giving up,whatever the score is,they always try to play and go score one more goal!...It has evolve so much since 10-20 years!!!They've add tactical plans to their physical strength...Impressive!!!And for this,the Premierleague is one of the best league to watch (in the entire world!)...Even a match between Burnley/West Brom is entertaining to watch!!! (no offense for those teams)

[Mike Rotchtickles]

...It has evolve so much since 10-20 years!!!They've add tactical plans to their physical strength...Impressive!!!And for this,the Premierleague is one of the best league to watch (in the entire world!)...Even a match between Burnley/West Brom is entertaining to watch!!! (no offense for those teams)

Very true, Matheja.
The EPL I prefer it over any other league in the world because from top to bottom you get entertaining and very exciting matches.

BTW, speaking of the English Premier League, there is a great Football Fantasy competition that runs every season.
It's this one: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/
Do you play it?
It's great fun especially if you're competing in leagues with other friends.

[GOA MASTER MDMA]

Ribery : "My wife needs sun,she doesn't have a lot of friends here (in Germany)..."
He'll go to Spain for sure...But Robben warned him "Don't go to Real!!!"LOL
He wants to sign for his futur club before he goes to World Cup....

that is true .arien robben warned him not to go to real .

its not sure that he leave bayern münchen - also he have no pre-contract with nobody.

at least bayern münchen have the last word in case ribery !!!
when uli höhness say : we have enough money - we hold ribery till end of his contract 2011 and ribery is not for sell ,than barca and real can start whining, ,coz than he must play next saison in munich !!
thats a fact . ribery have contract till 2011 !!

but i think when ribery not makes before beginning WORLDCUP a new bayern contract - höhness let him go , but not under 50 million euro !!

the media said that the 1st half Barça played in London was the best of all time, didn´t watch the match so i can not confirm that

it was on of the strongest 1 halftime i ever saw in CL .
normally barca must lead 3-0 after 45 minutes

but i think the best halftime ever was last year about bayern münchen (4-0 after 30 minutes )

[GOA MASTER MDMA]

manchester United - chelsea 1-2

Without rooney ,manu is only50 cent from a dollar .

wednesday ...........
manchester - bayern münchen 1-2

[Mike Rotchtickles]

No Rooney = no silverware. That's my opinion anyway.
And with Owen out for the season, that leaves only Berbatov as the main recognized striker.
If they still had match-winners like last season with the quality of Ronaldo or Tevez, things would obviously be different. But they don't, and with Rooney injured (will he be back in time for the Man City game?) they won't find the back of the net as frequently.
Berbatov is good but doesn't have that extreme work rate that Rooney has.
Other players like Nani, Valencia and the Korean guy-Park, are good players but good enough to carry the load without Rooney there? I don't think so.

In fact, Sir Alex should be given all the credit in the world for still being in contention for the major trophies (he's already won the league cup) with this squad. If you think about it he's actually performed wonders this season after previously having sold Tevez and Ronaldo.
He's two main central defenders-Ferdinand and Vidic, until very recently, have been mostly hit with injuries, as well as injuries to the rest of his defensive line. And as a result Ferguson has really had to chop and change that part of his squad.
The midfield one could argue has missed a player like Hargreaves(although his injuries seem to last a life-time ), and Scholes and Giggs whilst still class acts, are now in their mid-thirties. As for Anderson, that guy is a complete flop in my opinion.

So taking all those factors into account, United, it could be said, have actually punched a little above their weight with the current players at their disposal.
And it's mostly all down to Ferguson. I mean I'm hardly a fan of ManUre, they're my least liked team, but even I can recognize the class of Ferguson. Just a great footballing mind.

[GOA MASTER MDMA]

ferguson is on of the best coaches in world. no doubt about it .
he formed a complete new team, after ronaldo is gone to real madrid.

but its their own fault that they MUST sell ronaldo (real)and tevez(man city).
MAN U have 750 millions liabillity !! thats true.
so they must sell this players to go not bankrupt !
with that ferguson proofs again how good he really is !!
he play this year in the premier league about the title with chelsea and arsenal. big credit to ferguson for that.
like i said earlier - the coach is one of the most important point for a worldclass team


today i read in german press that manU tried to let play rooney about bayern at wednesday ! to 40 %he can play

i think thats a fake from MAN U - on the other hand ................... no i think its impossible that rooney can play wednesday with that injuring .
however , robben is fit ,ribery is fit . gomez is fit , our team is complete !!

i can´t wait for wednesday - to reach the semifinal -
or like van gaal said : dead or gladiolus (a flower)

[GOA MASTER MDMA]

at tuesday is playing barca about arsenal.
sadly fabregaz arshawin and gallas can´t play - that is really big sadness for arsenal.
i give all credits to barca to reach next round

[Mike Rotchtickles]

yeah Arsenal just don't have the kind of depth that would provide some cover for the loss of those three players. That's the equivalent of let's say a Liverpool losing Gerrard and Torres. You just can't replace that kind of talent.
So yes Barca should definately reach the next round.

[GOA MASTER MDMA]

absolutly correct - i totally agre with you.
in a big team allways there are some extra important player .
this kind of player needs every team

like fabregaz ,arshawin for arsenal
messi and xavi by barca
ronaldo by real madrid
robben and ribery by bayern

this kind of player you can´t replace 1-1 .
and when this player fall out -every team got problems .

so its a very bad time for arsenal to loose their 3 best and most important player .
it will be very hard for them in NEW CAMP

[Amazing Matheja]

Of course,i agree with ya guys but let's not underestimate the loss of Puyol,Piqué...

[GOA MASTER MDMA]

yeh , punyol is the leader from defense - and is maybe not 1-1 replaceable for barca -
henry can play for ibrahimovic but ARSENAL have clearly the bigger handycap with loosing their best 3 players in my opinion.
maybe we see a sensation tomorrow -
HEADLINER :
the ARSENAL young guns fight barca down .

but i can´t believe it

[Mike Rotchtickles]

Ok Matheja I see your point that Barca also have players missing like the one's you mentioned and Ibrahimovic. Also doubts to Iniesta(he is back in full training though) and some injury doubt to Toure.
But look at who is still playing.

Messi as we all know talent wise is from a different planet.
Thierry Henry can slot in attack to replace Ibrahimovic. Even the youngster-Bojan Krkic who scored a couple over the weekend, looks capable enough.
In central defence- Abidal with Diego Milito, should form a solid partnership.
Xavi ,Busquets and (maybe Iniesta, if fit) will be controlling the middle of the park.

On the other side of the field Arsenal are not so lucky.
They have to cope with the loss of their main attacking threats. They need goals to advance. Who's going to provide those goals? And most importantly who is going to direct the play in midfield and make those telling passes now that Fabregas will be missing?
The one real threat that Arsenal still have is that of Theo Walcott. That though is not enough against a team like Barca.

Btw, I also heard that Alex Song is also now out. He is a versatile type of player and could probably have covered for Gallas in defense. Now it looks like they might have to rely on Sol Campbell. Can this 35 year old play twice in four days and still be effective? (he played v Wolves on the weekend).

So all this and Barca also have the edge by playing at home and with the advantage of the 2 away goals from the first leg.
In my opinion there is only a very small chance for Arsenal. This tie is almost done and dusted.

BTW, after saying all the above, won't I look just great if by some miracle Arsenal go on and win.