Champions League Final - Arsenal v Barcelona

Slash/ED

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

If you asked me if I'd trade Gerrard for Ronadlinho - I'd say no without hesitation.

Makaveli

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

To a large extent I agree with a lot of Henry said, especially regarding Ronadlinho - he was largely absent - he is as much of a circus sidewhow as a footballer. When they played Chelsea I called Ronaldinho a fair-weather footballer. At the time I meant that he can play well and do all his fancy little tricks when the team are playing well. In contrast during that match, Robben ran Barca ragged for large parts of the game - when Chelsea were down to 10 men.

There is a huge myth surrounding Ronaldinho, too often propogated by people "dazzled" by his flicks. Don't get me wrong, he's a very good player. Best player in the world? Hardly. He's not even the best player at Barca.

Anybody that watched him play over the course of the season would know he is one of the most influential players they have and yes the best. Puyol and Xavi are probably the most important players they have but Ronaldinho is better than them. Eto'o scores plenty of goals, who do you think sets up the majority of them?

Henry is a clown. He criticises Eto'o for doing nothing in the game. Eto'o was the one through on goal when he was taken down by Lehman. Eto'o also hit the post in the first and only because of a fantastic save by Almunia, and finally Eto'o scored the equalising goal. Hardly a player that did nothing. What did Henry do? Get the assist for the Arsenal goal and waste two or three chances, yeah fantastic.

The chap is a great player, but he is a bad loser. He may have deserved a CL winners medal for all he has done in football and for being such a great player but I'm glad he got nothing out of last night.

Ronaldihno didn't have a good game, but as I've said time and time again the depth in the Barcelona squad means Ronaldinho can have off days and there is still a Messi, Deco, Xavi, Eto'o on the pitch that can win games for them.

PHB

Yeh, Pele was **** at defending too.

Players play in positions, and each position has a role.
Ronaldinho plays in the AMC, defending is not part of what he is meant to do.

He is the best in the world in that position, the stats prove it, his preformances prove it, and even last night proved it. He had a woeful game by most people on here, yet still created the goal that was disallowed and got their keeper sent off, played a lovely through pass to Eto who was only denied by a great save from Almunia, and got involved in a good bit of build up play. It wasn't a great game for him, yet he still shoulda got one assist, and created one other clear chance.

eirebhoy

The same people saying Ronaldinho isn't the best in the world would say that Pele or Maradona are the best ever. He may not be able to tackle and he isn't going to be up there with Roy Keane when it comes to leadership but he's undoubtebly the best in the world imo. He has more goals+assists than appearances this season which is amazing but it's his influence on the team overall that has Barca up there as the best in the world.

Slash/ED

Also people saying he's selfish or all skill but doesn't set up enough goals clearly don't watch him very often, it's as simple as that. There isn't a more creative player or better effective passer than him.

LegacyUser

He is simply unreal.

KdjaCL

Good game, felt sorry for Arsenal they were never meant to win it. Ref was too biased to be allowed ref a schoolboy game.

Ronnie was a no show, and Henrys interview was legendary tv

Well done barca, hard luck Arsenal.


kdjac

Royale with Cheese

Ah sh*t happens. Wasn't meant to be. I think Arsenal can be proud of themselves though. 2-1, winning until the 75th minute after playing most of the game with 10 men against the supposedly unstoppable Barcelona that alot of people said were going to 'put arsenal in their place'. Barcelona didn't play that great, if it had been 11 vs 11 for the entire game I really think Arsenal could have taken it. But that's football. It's just a really disappointing way for the club's best ever season in Europe to end.

The most annoying thing for me was that it was Lehmann who got sent off. Arsenal lost both Lehmann and Pires then. Almunia is a bit sh*t really. Lehmann would have saved both the goals. Beaten at the near post and then through the legs. Fantastic stuff.

Guy:Incognito

eirebhoy wrote:

The same people saying Ronaldinho isn't the best in the world would say that Pele or Maradona are the best ever. He may not be able to tackle and he isn't going to be up there with Roy Keane when it comes to leadership but he's undoubtebly the best in the world imo. He has more goals+assists than appearances this season which is amazing but it's his influence on the team overall that has Barca up there as the best in the world.

He might be the best in the world, but only in his position. There are better strikers than him, there are better central midfielders and of course there are better defenders & goalkeepers. There cant be one "best" player in the world, unless he's great in every position. So yes, Ronaldinho is the best/most skillfull attacking midfielder in the world, but not the best player as there are defenders who are as good at defending as he is at attacking.

David19

Stekelly wrote:

He might be the best in the world, but only in his position. There are better strikers than him, there are better central midfielders and of course there are better defenders & goalkeepers. There cant be one "best" player in the world, unless he's great in every position. So yes, Ronaldinho is the best/most skillfull attacking midfielder in the world, but not the best player as there are defenders who are as good at defending as he is at attacking.

I think the point is he does his job better than any other player does theirs, with respect to their positions. In other words Ronaldinho is a better attacking midfielder than Shevchenko is a striker or Terry is a defender(or whoever).

mike65

Eto'o pays tribute to er Liverpool

SAMUEL ETO'O insisted his Barcelona side emulated the example of Liverpool to beat Arsenal 2-1 and lift the Champions League trophy in a compelling final at the Stade de France.

Eto'o equalised late in the second half and substitute Juliano Belletti scored the winner after Sol Campbell had given the Gunners the lead with afirst half header.

The Barcelona striker had also been at the centre of the game's most controversial incident when Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off for upending him when he looked certain to score.

Eto'o said: "We remembered the spirit of Liverpool.

"We saw what Liverpool did last year when they were three down. You can't doubt yourselves in a final.

Mike.

Guy:Incognito

David19 wrote:

I think the point is he does his job better than any other player does theirs, with respect to their positions. In other words Ronaldinho is a better attacking midfielder than Shevchenko is a striker or Terry is a defender(or whoever).

Yeah but my point is that he doesnt. There are players that play their own positions eqaully as well as he plays his.

David19

Stekelly wrote:

Yeah but my point is that he doesnt. There are players that play their own positions eqaully as well as he plays his.

Sorry for some reason I replied without actually reading the end of your post. I disagree anyway, I think he's far more effective at his job than any other player. His ability to make an impact on a game is unmatched. He's just got a little something extra in comparison to others. IMO of course.

ultain

masterK wrote: »

It will be the exact opposite of last year. Last year not many people where expecting much from a entertainment point of view with Liverpool and AC. This year the talk is all about what a fantastic game it will be, it'll probably be 0-0 now:D

That will do nicely

reverenddave

ultain wrote: »

That will do nicely

you might want to look at the date this match took place

You're nearly 5 years too late

i think you're looking for this thread
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056200199

Paully D

Good bump

That was a cracking game, I really enjoyed it. Larsson changed it when he was introduced IMO.

JPA

That new boards search function is getting a workout.

ultain

reverenddave wrote: »

you might want to look at the date this match took place

You're nearly 5 years too late

i think you're looking for this thread
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056200199

ahh, ok...jumping without looking

Le King

Brilliant

monkey9

Jaysus, Eirebhoys post are on this page!!