2013-2014 UEFA Champions League season

[ThePhilosopher]

as for PSG, they just need to get whiter
tiago silva has been exposed
get atleast a white central defender alongside him and then give him all the praise but get at leat a white central defender

lucas moura is one of the worst flops ever, and cavani is overrated, what a surprise

I doubt they can get any whiter,for a Ligue 1 outfit.
The coach doesn't dare drop the clown Matuidi even though the far superior Cabaye is on the bench.

 

[Matra2]

Peter Cech goes off injured for Chelsea after conceding a corner (possibly saving a goal). Atletico Madrid instead of testing the new goalie (Schwarzer) who has just run on to the field to receive the corner play it short then eventually try crossing it to one of their players looking for a header nowhere near the goalie. Schwarzer hasn't touched the ball yet. Force him to make a play right away when he's cold!

I know it is hard to argue with the success of Spanish clubs and the national team in recent years but what is this Spanish aversion to deep crosses? No wonder Spanish goalies don't bother learning how to play them.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I hate Jose Mourinho.

He turned a spectacle into a slugfest.
What was he thinking by selecting Mikel,Ramires,Willian in the same lineup?:der:

 

[frederic38]

Peter Cech goes off injured for Chelsea after conceding a corner (possibly saving a goal). Atletico Madrid instead of testing the new goalie (Schwarzer) who has just run on to the field to receive the corner play it short then eventually try crossing it to one of their players looking for a header nowhere near the goalie. Schwarzer hasn't touched the ball yet. Force him to make a play right away when he's cold!

I know it is hard to argue with the success of Spanish clubs and the national team in recent years but what is this Spanish aversion to deep crosses? No wonder Spanish goalies don't bother learning how to play them.

i thought exactly the same
i watched the game with a friend and said "they are going to test the new goalkeeper", then i saw that they played it short :der:

 

[frederic38]

all atletico madrid has to do now is score a goal at chelsea and it's gameover (because of the away goal rule)
atletico has the best defence in europe
0-0 at home is actually not a bad result at all

 

[ThePhilosopher]

all atletico madrid has to do now is score a goal at chelsea and it's gameover (because of the away goal rule)
atletico has the best defence in europe
0-0 at home is actually not a bad result at all

Jose will play for penalties,trust me.

 

[frederic38]

Jose will play for penalties,trust me.

yes but it won't be easy, one goal from atletico and it's over
he should have tried to score in madrid
but with the team he put up it was impossible

 

[ThePhilosopher]

yes but it won't be easy, one goal from atletico and it's over
he should have tried to score in madrid
but with the team he put up it was impossible

It must be pathetic to be one of Oscar or Schurrle right now.
Can't play because their manager is a effeminate wimp who plays security guards like Mikel,Ramires and 'defensive attackers' like Willian.

 

[Porthos]

Benzema's goal against Bayern
[video=youtube;AAK96iSEhnM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAK96iSEhnM[/video]

That's what Bayern gets by playing 3 blacks in defense. They all rush to cover the same guy and Benzema gets his tap-in. What a stupid goal.
Man-marking / shadowing is an unknown concept to them.
Bayern looked like Barcelona, lots of sterile ball posession, but few real goal chances.
On top of that, the Alaba guy doesn't know how to cross, needs 7-8 tries to get one (kind-of) right.
Don't they have any good old White German defenders?

 

[frederic38]

Benzema's goal against Bayern
[video=youtube;AAK96iSEhnM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAK96iSEhnM[/video]

That's what Bayern gets by playing 3 blacks in defense. They all rush to cover the same guy and Benzema gets his tap-in. What a stupid goal.
Man-marking / shadowing is an unknown concept to them.
Bayern looked like Barcelona, lots of sterile ball posession, but few real goal chances.
On top of that, the Alaba guy doesn't know how to cross, needs 7-8 tries to get one (kind-of) right.
Don't they have any good old White German defenders?

spot on
and coentrao played very well, why isn't he considered a titular in that team? he was already very good in the spanish cup final

something is really getting on my nerves: the brazilian defenders trend
how many defenders do brazil have?
at the world cup their starting 11 will be 11 defender or what?

 

[ThePhilosopher]

Benzema's goal against Bayern
[video=youtube;AAK96iSEhnM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAK96iSEhnM[/video]

That's what Bayern gets by playing 3 blacks in defense. They all rush to cover the same guy and Benzema gets his tap-in. What a stupid goal.
Man-marking / shadowing is an unknown concept to them.
Bayern looked like Barcelona, lots of sterile ball posession, but few real goal chances.
On top of that, the Alaba guy doesn't know how to cross, needs 7-8 tries to get one (kind-of) right.
Don't they have any good old White German defenders?

Yes,ll the three blacks messed up.

Gif:

For the accolades Alaba gets,I'd rather have Jon Flanagan or Callum Chambers or an Alberto Moreno,thank you very much.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

spot on
and coentrao played very well, why isn't he considered a titular in that team? he was already very good in the spanish cup final

something is really getting on my nerves: the brazilian defenders trend
how many defenders do brazil have?
at the world cup their starting 11 will be 11 defender or what?

Yes,Contreao is much better than Marcelo,but Madrid cannot wait to sell him,it seems.


I remember how good Contreao was at Benfica,when many were suggesting that he play as a wide-forward,so fine were his dribbling,crossing skills.

Regarding the Brazilian defenders,the best ones are also the most European - Felipe Luis,David Luiz.

 

[Porthos]

Regarding Real, I have to heap some praise for Luka Modric, a player I was not particularly enthusiastic about.
When he joined Real last year for 30M Euros, I considered him to be overrated. Other comentators with the obsession of "physical players" (blacks) considered him a minion that will be brushed aside in contact-plays. He also plays in a not very visible role where he doesn't often score or even provide direct assists. However, looking at him yesterday on the field, it was obvious that his role in the economy of Real's game is extremely important. An incredible amount of balls go through him and Real's players, when they don't know what to do with the ball and/or are under pressure, most often look for Modric's help. And he's everywhere, one moment he's in attack, trying to distribute balls to the strikers, the next he's clearing the ball in his penalty box. Very valuable player indeed.

Here's his statistic - 97% pass accuracy:
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/5-2013/matches/750257/player-stats/37055/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

Luka Modric, the little engine that could.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

Regarding Real, I have to heap some praise for Luka Modric, a player I was not particularly enthusiastic about.
When he joined Real last year for 30M Euros, I considered him to be overrated. Other comentators with the obsession of "physical players" (blacks) considered him a minion that will be brushed aside in contact-plays. He also plays in a not very visible role where he doesn't often score or even provide direct assists. However, looking at him yesterday on the field, it was obvious that his role in the economy of Real's game is extremely important. An incredible amount of balls go through him and Real's players, when they don't know what to do with the ball and/or are under pressure, most often look for Modric's help. And he's everywhere, one moment he's in attack, trying to distribute balls to the strikers, the next he's clearing the ball in his penalty box. Very valuable player indeed.

Here's his statistic - 97% pass accuracy:
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/5-2013/matches/750257/player-stats/37055/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

Luka Modric, the little engine that could.

The^ stats are amazing

Screenshot :

I remember watching the '08 euros as a kid,and a commentator described Luka,in Croatia's very first group game in these words:


"Kaka aside,he's the best player in the world in that position"(Does anyone else recall the same?)


... to which my reaction was 'no way!Cesc's better'


But really Modric's really today one of the best in his role....his passes to the flanks,from the outside of the foot,are a thing of beauty.




(Remember to right click and select 'view image' to view them properly.)

 

[Matra2]

On top of that, the Alaba guy doesn't know how to cross, needs 7-8 tries to get one (kind-of) right.

I probably should know this but do they use a completely different ball at the pro level today than what they used to use or the kind we buy in the shops?

I ask because crossing seems to be the most basic footballing skill that players (of all races) repeatedly mess up. I remember they designed a new ball for some World Cup or Euro championship in the last decade so that when struck hard it would move about more in the air during free kicks. Perhaps it affects softer struck balls that go in the air (ie crosses)?

Yes,Contreao is much better than Marcelo,but Madrid cannot wait to sell him,it seems.

Mourinho likes him so ought to get Chelsea to buy him to replace some of his security guards.

 

[Porthos]

I probably should know this but do they use a completely different ball at the pro level today than what they used to use or the kind we buy in the shops?

I ask because crossing seems to be the most basic footballing skill that players (of all races) repeatedly mess up. I remember they designed a new ball for some World Cup or Euro championship in the last decade so that when struck hard it would move about more in the air during free kicks. Perhaps it affects softer struck balls that go in the air (ie crosses)?

...

Accurate crossing while running/dribbling from open play is actually not so easy and it takes a lot of practice. You have to have a lot of technique, good vision and be a quick thinker, none of which this Alabba guy is capable of. Crossing from set pieces (free kicks, corners etc.) is much easier and is a whole other pair of shoes.
That's why crossing from open play is probably one of these skills that have fallen out of favor in the football academies. You see some pretty atrocious crossing, particularly from black players who were never known for finessing the game.
According to football statistical analysis, you need on average between 30-50 crosses to score a goal, while 80% of the crosses will end up in the loss of ball posession and a possible counteratack. Damien Comolli, when he was in Liverpool together with Kenny Dalglish, tried to implement the perfect crossing game by buying some of the best crossers (Downing, Henderson) and the best target-man of the moment (Andy Carroll) but the effort failed, supposedly because crossing simply is not the most efficient strategy for bringing the bal in the penalty box, and Comolli was fired - https://www.bsports.com/statsinsights/football/stewart-downing-statistical-analysis-in-football
Today, the most common ways to get the ball in the penalty area are fast passing on the ground (Spanish "tika-taka" model) and "muscling" the ball inside the penalty area by physical players (English model, they seem to have abandoned the "long ball" of which crosses are a sub-category). However these playing styles and fads like "tika taka" change with time.

 

[frederic38]

i was really surprised by how poor alaba looked like
i thought he was something special for a black player
maybe it was only a bad showing

regarding the crossing, the most frustrating thing for me is that once they get the ball, the fullbacks never manage to move forward, the just stand still and pass the ball backwards or cross from where they are
the lethal weapon in soccer is when you are able to get past the fullback and pass to a player who is in front of the goal (kind of like the goal real madrid scored against bayern munich)
that's why when you are a defender you are always told to protect your outside (between the touchline and yourself) more than the inside
but black players like sagna gibbs and others obviously don't have the skills to move forward with the ball like bale would do

 

[Matra2]

Crossing from set pieces (free kicks, corners etc.) is much easier and is a whole other pair of shoes.

That's what I was referring to. Poor crosses from set pieces or even from running play where the players are not under pressure are way too common.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I think the fall in the general quality of crossing is the direct consequence of the 'blackening' of the sport.

White players like Di Maria,Podolski,Lahm,(the much derided)James Milner and even relatively 'smaller' players like Marko Arnautovic and Luke Shaw put in a great cross at every given opportunity.


For example,this is Carl Jenkinson,a young white Right-back,who has arrived at Arsenal on merit,due to his performance in the lower leagues,in England:

That was one of the very few starts he has made in the PL,and he showed his quality just a minute or so in the game!


Sadly,he only plays when Sagna is injured....Sagna can't put in a cross like that if his life depended on it.

 

[Matra2]

Bayern Munich give up an early home goal to Real Madrid thanks to lack of marking on a cross.

Edit: And just as I typed the above Real score a second goal from a header. Looking at the replay Dante, who just tried to injure Ronaldo, may bear much of the responsibility on at least one of them. I'm glad Real Madrid read my posts then took my advice on crossing:icon_wink: especially with Bayern appearing to be incapable of defending against them.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

Look who's could've done better for the first goal:

The lousy blacks Dante,Jerome Boateng.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Samuel Eto'o gives up a penalty to Atletico Madrid and now Chelsea are down 2-1. He's brought on to "score goals" and he did help to score a goal.... for Diego Costa and Atletico Madrid.

 

[frederic38]

on sergio ramos' second goal against bayern, boateng didn't even attempt to get the ball
that's not the first time their defense is exposed
2 years ago against chelsea boateng lost drogba on the corner kick, then drogba scored and chelsea won the champions league
last season dante offered a penalty in the final against dortmund and should have been sent off
and now this game

 

[frederic38]

Samuel Eto'o gives up a penalty to Atletico Madrid and now Chelsea are down 2-1. He's brought on to "score goals" and he did help to score a goal.... for Diego Costa and Atletico Madrid.

ahah yes, so good to see
etoo looked really unprofessional with his 6 months pregnant belly

 

[frederic38]

so, in the final we will have 2 spanish clubs, with both 1 black player (mixed brazilian) and 1 arab marketing player
i will root for atletico because as you know i hate benzema
BTW, benzema is allowed to do zero defensive work while bale is asked to play almost as a fullback sometimes, on the side line
he can't play like he did in england
what a shame for a player they paid so much for, clearly one of the best players in the world with ronaldo/messi, and a player that already does so much for real madrid (the sensational goal to win the spanish cup, an assist for ronaldo yesterday, and i think that he obtained the freekick that led to ramos' second goal)

bale reportedly complains to his entourage in madrid that he doesn't like the way he is asked to play, with a lot of defensive work, and very few oportunities to go for the goal (julian ruiz, spanish writer, reported what he said in private)
this while benzema does no defensive work
and doesn't bring anywhere near what bale brings to real madrid (not even talking about potential)