[Archived] Champions League 2013/2014 (and Europa league!)

[Audax]

I thought I heard the Borussia fans were upset with the owners and per this article, players: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/borussia-dortmund-players-ask-fans-to-stop-making-them-feel-like-they--committed-some-sort-of-crime-202353855.html

And this article is talking about how Bayern Munich are really dominating that league, maybe too much:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303802104579451372184655890 Have not lost a league match since October, 2012 and are in first place by 23 points.

[CapeTownRover]

Happens in every country, people are proud of their leagues. Constantly putting the league down is no different to constantly calling it the best in the world. Barcelona, Real and Bayern would probably all win the premier league this season, but City are in that same mix and the rest of the top four would all have a chance. 10-20th in the Premier League would usually comfortably handle 10-20th in La Liga and the Bundesliga. All of the leagues have their selling points.

you think 10 to 20 in the PL would comfortably handle 10 to 20 in La Liga? I disagree!

[Salgado Is A Hero]

From 10th to 20th, I'd say the standard of attacking (including the midfield) is higher in Spain and the standard of defending (including goalkeeping) is higher in England.

When you watch a bottom half La Liga team against a top six side, they can play some very good football and are mostly pretty good teams going forward.......when you watch the likes of Sunderland and VIlla, they often can't string three passes together.

However, watching highlights and games, enough of the goals you see them concede are due to the slightly poorer standard of defending.

That's my opinion anyway.

[Audax]

Real Madrid started getting the superstars back in the '50s and '60s with Di Stefano and Puskas. I don't know if there were others before that. There is a whole book on Spanish football called Morbo that might discuss this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Morbo-The-Story-Spanish-Football/dp/0956101127/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395767720&sr=8-1&keywords=morbo in case one is curious. I don't know the real history, I did know one Real Madrid fan and it was always about how they had more trophies than any other club and they won a bunch of the first Champions League titles. So from Zidane, the 2 Ronaldos and more, they've truly been the Galacticos. I like those smaller clubs though, Atletico, Athletic Club and so on.

"Of course, no Spanish history book could avoid the subject of the Civil War and the regime of Franco that soon followed. How he got satisfaction seeing the great Real Madrid side of the 50s make a clean sweep on the European stage is also well covered."

Franco just might have liked them because they were in Madrid, I don't know the ties.

[Stuart]

From 10th to 20th, I'd say the standard of attacking (including the midfield) is higher in Spain and the standard of defending (including goalkeeping) is higher in England.

When you watch a bottom half La Liga team against a top six side, they can play some very good football and are mostly pretty good teams going forward.......when you watch the likes of Sunderland and VIlla, they often can't string three passes together.

However, watching highlights and games, enough of the goals you see them concede are due to the slightly poorer standard of defending.

That's my opinion anyway.

This would seem like a recent phenomenon. The Champions League money and legacy has put the top 5-6 teams on a different level, with their second string being a comfortable PL side.

Established PL sides are locked into that middle band, with the odd mistake dragging a team into a relegation battle, and the yo-yo clubs battling relegation with the odd success story taking a team to mid-table.

At which point the players jump ship and the status quo returns the following season.

The PL is turning into groups of players rather than club as the same faces, with different badges on their shirts bob along the waterline.

Let's not even get started on the foreign players...

[Guest Norbert]

I agree Stuart, that is a good analysis.

I'm hoping that Bayern Munich really put the hammer down, and punish Man Utd.

[thenodrog]

This would seem like a recent phenomenon. The Champions League money and legacy has put the top 5-6 teams on a different level, with their second string being a comfortable PL side.

Established PL sides are locked into that middle band, with the odd mistake dragging a team into a relegation battle, and the yo-yo clubs battling relegation with the odd success story taking a team to mid-table.

At which point the players jump ship and the status quo returns the following season.

The PL is turning into groups of players rather than club as the same faces, with different badges on their shirts bob along the waterline.

Let's not even get started on the foreign players...

Accepting that this is the best competition that the Prem has provided since it's inception I feel that the Champions League money has ruined the Premier League. Just look at the dog eat dog situation of the Championship offers. Much more interesting and enthralling isn't it?

The only significantly positive thing that continual CL qualification has done for the big clubs is submerge then into ever greater debt. There will inevitably be a day of reckoning for them all.

[Guest Norbert]

I hope so Gordon (though Real Madrid will somehow be bailed out by the Spanish government again).

[Joar]

I hope so Gordon (though Real Madrid will somehow be bailed out by the Spanish government again).

Well, atm the Spanish government is leaking money faster than Real Madrid, so guess it would depend on the time frame we're talking of here...

[Oklahoma]

I know that the CL money has made a diference but I believe that the biggest diference has been made by the new owners of clubs like Chelsea, Man City and others that spent much more money than they would ever dream of, even with the CL.

[roverandout]

barce manager promised 100 million euros to spend in the summer, they need a new centreback, a goalkeeper and probably another striker, they could do worse than frazier forster at celtic.

[Audax]

http://www.worldsoccer.com/news/bayern-munich-best-team-ever

Article that might be worth reading.

[Guest Norbert]

Manchester United

• 01 de Gea
• 04 Jones
• 28 Büttner
• 16 Carrick
• 05 Ferdinand
• 15 Vidic
• 31 Fellaini
• 11 Giggs
• 10 Rooney
• 25 Antonio Valencia
• 19 Welbeck

Substitutes

• 13 Lindegaard
• 14 Hernández
• 17 Nani
• 18 Young
• 24 Fletcher
• 26 Kagawa
• 44 Januzaj

Bayern Munich

• 01 Neuer
• 13 Rafinha
• 27 Alaba
• 31 Schweinsteiger
• 08 Javi Martínez
• 17 Boateng
• 10 Robben
• 21 Lahm
• 25 Müller
• 39 Kroos
• 07 Ribéry

Substitutes

• 05 van Buyten
• 09 Mandzukic
• 11 Shaqiri
• 14 Pizarro
• 19 Götze
• 22 Starke
• 34 Höjbjerg

Very weak starting 11. No pace apart from Welbeck and Valencia, no support for Rooney and a defence that creaks getting out of bed.

[speeeeeeedie]

Men v Boys at old Trafford.

0-0 at half time though Man U should be 1 up. Welbeck missed an abolsute sitter.

[Guest Norbert]

1-0 Man Utd. Vidic from the corner.

0-1 Athletico Madrid.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Men v Boys at old Trafford.

0-0 at half time though Man U should be 1 up. Welbeck missed an abolsute sitter.

Mm, abolsute sitter eh ? Would Jason Roberts have slotted it away .

[roverandout]

he tried to be too clever with his finish

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

he tried to be too clever with his finish

Welbeck's ok if he doesn't have time to think.

[speeeeeeedie]

Welbeck's ok if he doesn't have time to think.

He had plenty of time and tried to scoop it over the keeper instead of slotting it past him.

I thought Utd actually played well. They knew they weren't as good as Bayern and set their stall out accordingly. This is what Moyes is good at; being the underdog. That's not what Man U want to be though.

[Audax]

For Zlatan, I'd like to see Paris St. Germain win today vs. Chelsea. Good matchup.

[roverandout]

no way, never, I would never back a foreign club over an English one, I don't understand people that would rather a club from overseas wins than one in our own league, and yes before u say it, Chelsea don't have many English players etc, I don't care if its man utd, Chelsea, city or bleedin burnley,. As for zlatan, he sounds like an arsehole.

[Salgado Is A Hero]

He's a character. Football needs characters.

He's also been brilliant these last couple of seasons. 10 goals in 7 Champions League appearances this season is top quality and some of them have been screamers.

He's usually impressed me, particularly domestically, but never always produced it in the bigger games (I used to think the same about Ribery as well). But he's certainly stepped up his game in the last year or two and I'd like to see him win it this year.

The English Premier League is a collection of foreign exports; players, managers and owners, littered with some English ones as well. I can understand why someone who's English wouldn't particularly care if the likes of Chelsea or United got knocked out by a foreign team. And that's without even mentioning their fans.

[roverandout]

no doubting zlatan is top class, I used to argue with people who said zlatan was better than rooney, now I have to say he certainly is, his goal scoring record all over is incredible, I called him an arsehole because he says he will never play in the premier league, like he is too good for it or something

[Audax]

I'm not real solid in supporting PSG, the French clubs are always the weakest of the major football countries in Europe in the Champions League, they've only won it one time, Ibrahamovic misses the World Cup and this is only the first of two matches.

I'm usually for the English club, if Celtic are in there, I might cheer for them. I like Atletico some in Spain though for the Europa League, I believe it was Atletico vs. Fulham in the final, 2010 and I definitely was for the English club. Just not always.

[speeeeeeedie]

no doubting zlatan is top class, I used to argue with people who said zlatan was better than rooney, now I have to say he certainly is, his goal scoring record all over is incredible, I called him an arsehole because he says he will never play in the premier league, like he is too good for it or something

He is a top class footballer. He has won league titles everywhere he has played. The skills he has for someone 6ft 4 is unreal.

He is a bit of an eccentric though. In his younger days he used to dress up as a policeman and patol the streets.