I couldn't find a thread on this for this year. In a couple minutes the Barca vs Bayern semi final is going to start on Fox Soccer. Tomorrow is Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund on FX. Due to the format, Champions League can sometimes get a little defensive, but with Bayern and Barca it should be an epic game. Bayern may be the best team in the world this year and Barcelona have to either play a youngster or fullback at CB. Visca Barça!
So far its been all Bayern. Messi doesn't look 100%, but I'm not sure if that is his hamstring or if it is Bayern just not giving him much space. Hopefully Tito can draw up some 2nd half adjustments, cause right now it looks like it's going to end 2-0 or worse.
Guess its time to root for an all German final cause at 3-0 its essentially over. 2 of the 3 goals were fucking jokes. The 2nd had 2 players clearly offsides and that 3rd had a screen that would have been a foul in basketball. At some point refs will realize that running into a player is a fucking foul. All game long. But, Bayern are BY FAR the better team so they deserve the win and at least a 2-0 result. If Messi and co can recover from this, it'll be the greatest combeack since Liverpool in the Final in 2005.
Well that was depressing. I don't think I've ever seen Barca lose 3-0, let alone 4-0. 2 of the goals shouldn't have been allowed, but they could have called 1 penalty for handball, so...
Condolonces Porkchop... look on the bright side.. you could be a Gooner like me, and watch your best players not play in a 4-0 loss and aim for a Champions League berth, and that be your "trophy" :/
Shit, tell me about it. Since needing a new cb they've bought Mascherano, Song, Cesc, Alba, Alexis, Villa, Ibra...and on and on and on. They did try and get Silva last summer. With him, I think they would be infinitely better. Maybe they could even defend a corner...or score on one! I just read a rumor that they are trying to buy Hummels, so that would help.
I'm not really down about it. I was just more shocked at how badly they were outplayed. I've been wanting to strengthen the middle for years, so hopefully this loss will get them to finally pull the trigger there. I'm still pissed that they sold Toure so they could promote Busquets. I get that the more La Masia players, the better, but it was Yaya fucking Toure. He fucking bosses the middle of the park and would give the team the toughness they need. Plus, we wouldn't have to watch Busquets peek out from behind his hands after taking a dive. Good luck to Arsenal. i normally root for them, but I would like to see Dempsey in the CL so I'll be conflicted.
I gotta root for Dortmund. It looks like they'll be dismantled after this year. Gotze is confirmed to have been sold to Bayern. I just read that Lewandowski is a done deal to be joining him there (though not confirmed like the Gotze deal) and then the rumor that Barcelona is buying Hummels. http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1424935/agent-hints-robert-lewandowski-move-already-done?cc=5901 http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1425004/barcelona-set-summer-shake-up?cc=5901
Song would be pretty decent in that role I think. And he developed as way more of a playmaker than I expected in his last year at Emirates. Has he played much for you guys since the transfer? I used to feel the same way, until he went to Spurs but seriously Deuce is one of the most underappreciated players in a long time. Doesnt have to be pretty, but he gets you the gritty results you need. In Landon's shadow alot for USMNT, but IMO he has been their best player for quite a while.
Agreed. Its good to see Clubs like Dortmund get this far. And their Yellow Wall is effing EPIC. Good to see fans like that get to feel what most big Clubs feel.
alba was a good signing tho, really good. you could argue villa too, I think he has been, or at least orginally he was successful. I don't understand the philosophy they have though. I understand wanting to promote youth or whatever, but it's not like they aren't spending money.
Is anybody else shocked that it likely will be an all-German final? Maybe the Bundesliga is now the best league in the world.
Although I think Man U will be the favorite in next year's Champions' League. The have dominated the Premiere League, and with van Persie next year, they should be ready to compete again. I keep wanting my Celtic team to come through, but they're an afterthought at this point, although they did dominate SFL this year. Without Rangers, though, that entire league is a joke.
What is great about Champions League is that there never is a clear cut favorite. Even in this past 5 or 6 year reign for Barca, its not like they were winning it every year. At this point, I'd say the favorites have to be Bayern (current squad + Pep to coach + Gotze and possibly + Lewandowski), Man Utd, Man City, Real and Barcelona. But there could be another Dortmund ready to make a run. You're right that w/o Rangers, the Scottish League is a joke. There are always rumors about letting the Scottish teams into the EPL and other English leagues. I'm not sure who is for it and who is against the idea though. They already let Welsh teams in, so I don't see any reason why the Scottish clubs couldn't join (other than pride for the Scots and English teams not wanting to potentially lose out on an EPL spot). One thing it'd do is make Celtic and eventually Rangers better. I'm guessing at this point an up and coming player would rather sign at QPR or one of the other bottom feeders in the EPL over Celtic. Hell, they might even sign with a top Championship club over them, because of the potential to move into the EPL.
You're right about both of those signings. For Villa, people seem to forget he broke his leg and it took him nearly a year to fully recover. And Alba is a great player (soooo good in the Euros) and he is a youth product, but for the past 2 summers the biggest need was a tall, strong center back. Instead of getting Silva, they buy a fullback who somehow lowers the average height of the team. But, with Abidal out with his liver issue, LB was a need so I wasn't mad at that signing.
Oh, and to give some glimmer of hope to my fellow Cules (or any Madrid fans), I present the single greatest game (in terms of viewing experience) I've ever seen. I was living in Barcelona at the time and went to an Irish pub where we knew the owners. The place was packed, 90% of which were Liverpool fans. I was pretty neutral, but it was hard not to root alongside everyone else. When it went 0-3, I was pretty sure a few of them were going to start crying. And then this happened. [video=youtube;tPEmC3vN-bQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPEmC3vN-bQ[/video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPEmC3vN-bQ
