UEFA Champions League Thread [Archive]

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I'd say it's open to anyone really, Juve, BVB, Bayern, Real, Barca/AC Milan.

I just think after the way they lost the final they are going to be the hungriest but yes any one of those teams could win it
 
5PM: "Huge game tonight, this will define our entire season"

10PM: "We still got the league, that's the most important thing."

:lol:
 
The Champions League is always the most important tournament, as is the Copa Libertadores in South America. It is the most prestigious without a doubt. The referee definitely played a huge part in Madrid's win. Funny, in Mourinho's words, we could say that, should Madrid win the Champions League this year, it would be "stained".
 
Not having the slightest interest in football, curiousity got the better of me after all the posts I saw on my Facebook wall and watched the match.

It's not too bad. That football player did a brilliant karate kick, but the punishment was too harsh in my opinion as it was accidental. I bet the referee had a bad day before the match started.

And if he wasn't given a red card? You'd still be bickering. The childishness amongst many of the fans of this game is why I do not normally watch it.
 
If anyone is bored, give the Man U forums a read. Very entertaining.


Also for those who feel it wasn't a red card, I'm sure there have been people sent off for less:
nani-red-card.gif


Even though he is trying to control the ball, intent or not, he hits him in mid-air on the side. Definitely a chance for a red coming out for that.
 
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I'd say it's open to anyone really, Juve, BVB, Bayern, Real, Barca/AC Milan.


WHAT ABOUT US?!

In the words of Jose tonight: "There are plenty of trials to overcome to stand a chance of winning the CL, AC, Dortmund, Celtic, can never write off Celtic.."


:lol: :lol: :lol:

And to comment on CL vs League thing, think it depends on what league you play in as a factor. I know for one thing, me personally, I never tire of the story of the Lisbon Lions, maybe it's because of the manner we won it in or purely because it's the stuff of dreams but European glory is unmatched for me.

LISBON%20LIONS.JPG


<3
 
Wooooo hala madrid!!!

I am a big Nani fan both at Man U and for national team but he went in wreckless cleats up high. Sometimes the ref gets it right, sometimes he doesn't even see it. Had no one been there it wouldnt even be considered but high contact cleats up regardless of how serious of an offense it was or not usually draws out the red. Personally I would have given just a yellow and I get why he would give a straight red but that could have been a lot worse than it was. Arbeloa definitely made it more than what it was. CRON7 was mostly kept a bay. Modric for me was the game changer. But great battle between 2 great clubs and 2 great coaches. My pick 2 top picks to win it all was whoever won this match up. I am a Porto fan but there is still A LOT of competition left and as good as my favorite club is doing I could see them get bumped out next round (pending they finish off Malaga next week!)
 
Pagey279
If anyone is bored, give the Man U forums a read. Very entertaining.

Also for those who feel it wasn't a red card, I'm sure there have been people sent off for less:

Even though he is trying to control the ball, intent or not, he hits him in mid-air on the side. Definitely a chance for a red coming out for that.

Of course people have been sent off for less, I've seen a player sent off because he walked aggressively towards the ref, doesn't make it right though. And intent has to be a very key factor in what card gets give for something like this. If that was a straight red when Nani had his eyes on the ball and didn't see Arbeloa until it was too late then that must mean that it was the act of raising his foot that high which was illegal because the contact was not deliberate and only came about through the two players going for the ball. Therefore, should any player raise his foot that high in future he should be red carded no matter if there's contact with another player or not since intent obviously isn't a factor.

What happens when players jump for a corner and a swinging arm hits another player in the face, a free kick and at the very worst a yellow card. There is absolutely zero consistency with referees decisions and that's what makes it such a problem. If everyone got sent off for raising their foot above their waist then fine, but they don't. That's the first time I've seen a red for that when the players been fixed on the ball ins very long time. All things considered it was a stupid decision.
 
But like I said if you raise your boot that high and catch the other player in the side/chest with your studs your always running the risk of getting sent off.
I'm not saying the ref was right to show the red, I'm saying it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise.
 
Pagey279
But like I said if you raise your boot that high and catch the other player in the side/chest with your studs your always running the risk of getting sent off.
I'm not saying the ref was right to show the red, I'm saying it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise.

Sure there's always a chance of being sent off but that doesn't make it right. A yellow wouldn't have been a surprise but a red for that was definitely, especially when their keeper gets away with punching vidic on the head without any punishment.

If you raise your foot then the punishment if you catch another player can only be based on intent otherwise every high boot should be an instant red card regardless of contact and intent which then leaves you with the issue of how high is a high boot and that type of rule will cause major issues. Every scissor kick and every over head kick can be considered dangerous, but if you try one of those and catch another player it's rare to get booked because the intent was to get the ball, not the player. It's no different in this instance. It's no different to a keeper rushing out to punch the ball away and hitting a player instead.

The FIFA rules even state that it's only bookable if you do it when you're challenging another player for the ball, to do so would require intent. Attempting to control the ball with a high boot is not considered a challenge on another player. Even Graham Poll, a former referee has said that it wasn't a sending off.

It's football, these things happen and it's not the end of the world but United fans have a right to feel aggrieved as do any fans when a poor refs decision proves so costly against them.
 
Predictions for tonight anyone? I honestly think the game will be a 0-0 stalemate, don't see Juve pushing too hard to be honest and they have a solid defence.

Just going to enjoy my last game of the competition realistically speaking!
 
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I can't see tonight being a fun evening for any Celtic fans... I hope it's a tight game and would love to see Celtic score first, but I'm more than a little pessimistic - 2-0 Juve tonight is my guess...

... I missed the game last night as a workmate fancied a night out while his wife is away on business. We went to an Irish bar in the West End of Glasgow that is normally rammed, only to be greeted by the frankly surreal sight of an almost totally empty bar. Aside from one couple enjoying a (very) quiet drink, we were the only ones in there... of course, everyone else was in a bar that was showing the game :ouch:
 
:lol: You'd think they would show the match? Strange...
 
:lol: You'd think they would show the match? Strange...

I don't think Jinty McGinty's ever show live sport, although oddly they do have a TV, but had it on Sky News :ouch: Hugo Chaves died incidentally.
 
So I heard, least you were one of the first to find out? :dunce:
 
Of course people have been sent off for less, I've seen a player sent off because he walked aggressively towards the ref, doesn't make it right though. And intent has to be a very key factor in what card gets give for something like this.

Absolutely true. We had a player in Argentina receive an elbow to the face which broke his nose and left him bleeding for quite a few minutes, and not a yellow card given, because he didn't have any intention to do it (that we could see). Now he is Bane.

What's done it's done, I think that United deserved to go through on the basis that they had control of the match until the send off. Only afterwards did Madrid create any real danger.
 
It doesn't matter where Nani's eyes were fixated nor that he was going for the ball and no intent of harm in kicking Arbeloa. What matters is that during fast play he recklessly lunged cleats up towards the player in an attempt to get the ball and made contact. That alone per the rules is a sending off. I would have given a yellow because Nani isnt a dirty player and the impact it would have on the game but replace Nani with Pepe or Sergio Ramos and people would be screaming for red cards due to their history of aggression. The ref made the right decision and note I am a Nani fan and did not want to see it come down to the sending off.
Even Mourinho came out being classy saying he wont comment on the red but the better team lost because Man U could have won this. That is soccer for you...
What is funny is that all the british media are up in arms over the sending off. Sorry but Nani had a lapse of judgement and you cant go in cleats up towards a person's body the way he did. I have seen him and others do the same thing without contact and i always said if they make contact they will be showering sooner rather than later.
 
The Champions League is always the most important tournament, as is the Copa Libertadores in South America. It is the most prestigious without a doubt. The referee definitely played a huge part in Madrid's win. Funny, in Mourinho's words, we could say that, should Madrid win the Champions League this year, it would be "stained".

Lwguwuu

EDIT: :lol: What the hell?
 
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Predictions for tonight anyone? I honestly think the game will be a 0-0 stalemate, don't see Juve pushing too hard to be honest and they have a solid defence.

Just going to enjoy my last game of the competition realistically speaking!

4-1 to Juventus. I fancy Celtic to get an early goal, then Juventus put them to the sword.
 
cuco33
It doesn't matter where Nani's eyes were fixated nor that he was going for the ball and no intent of harm in kicking Arbeloa. What matters is that during fast play he recklessly lunged cleats up towards the player in an attempt to get the ball and made contact. That alone per the rules is a sending off. I would have given a yellow because Nani isnt a dirty player and the impact it would have on the game but replace Nani with Pepe or Sergio Ramos and people would be screaming for red cards due to their history of aggression. The ref made the right decision and note I am a Nani fan and did not want to see it come down to the sending off.
Of course it matters where Nani was looking. There are 2 reasons Nani shouldn't have been given a red card, and this is according to FIFA's rules. Firstly the rules differentiate between reckless play and excessive force, raising your boot to control a ball coming over your shoulder is not excessive, it's what you do to control the ball as it comes over your shoulder in front of you. According to FIFA that would make Nani's challenge reckless but not excessive, that would be a yellow card then, not a red. Secondly the rules are specific about being applied when challenging another player for the ball, if Nani is just trying to control the ball he isn't challenging Arbeloa for it, again no red card.

I can see why the red was given but that doesn't prevent it from being in error and proving to become the deciding factor in one of the biggest games of the season. That's what makes it do frustrating, if we lost 2-0 because Real battered us that would be fair, it's just bitter to take when the ref improperly sends a player off like that
 
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Surely Man United players should be allowed to kick ex-Liverpool players...
 
daan
Surely Man United players should be allowed to kick ex-Liverpool players...
Of course, there's never anything wrong with that ;).
 
Predictions for tonight anyone? I honestly think the game will be a 0-0 stalemate, don't see Juve pushing too hard to be honest and they have a solid defence.

Just going to enjoy my last game of the competition realistically speaking!

I can see at least a 1-1 score in that game...
 
I can't see Celtic winning, a draw possibly but I'm expecting Juve to win. Would be nice to see Celtic do something amazing though.
 
If Celtic get the first goal tonight then its game on!...
 
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