Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona, Copa Del Rey Final, 25/05/12, SS1 21:00

Rekop dog

V




Looking forward to this one tonight, Spanish Cup Final at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. Bilbao coming in with no injury worries and a fully fit squad to pick from. Barca will be without Alves, Puyol and Abidal as well as Villa up front whose still recovering from his long term injury.

Probably more importance on this game from a Barca perspective after the disappointing season they've had by their own very high standards. Despite the defensive injury problems I can't see anything other than a Barca win here tbh, Bilbao really crumbled in the Europa league final showing that the group really lacked big game exprience. Also you'd think the Barca lads will be extra motivated to win Pep one last trophy before his departure.

4-1 Barca imo.

Blatter

Easy win for Barca imo, Bilbao have been on the slide over the last month or so.

Rekop dog

Heh so its apparently June now:D, i can't edit the title:o.

G.K.

Bilbao to win.

LuckyLloyd

G.K. wrote: »

Bilbao to win.

Any particular rationale?

gimmick

It will be close until the last 20. Barcas fitness will tell from there and will give a flattering 4-1 victory.

Messi to get another 2, Pique and Keita to score.

carlop

I'd like Bilbao to win, but I can't really see it happening. Barca will be playing for Pep. The only hope for Bilbao is that they have had a good rest. Their game relies on a high-octane approach, which is probably why they faltered so much in the last month of the season. From an Irish point of view, let's hope for a very hard-fought match.

National anthem should be fun too. Hopefully there's no trouble before the match, but there's a far-right anti-separatist march scheduled for today in Madrid to coincide with the game, and bringing together thousands of Basques and Catalans in Madrid and having them play at 10 at night after a solid day's boozing doesn't seem the smartest to me.

G.K.

Good to see you asking that of those saying Barca will win.

Because Bilbao are a 'cup team', and on their day, they can match up with anyone. They have proven that against Barca, United, Schalke, Sporting and others this season. Really I said it because everyone else had been saying Barca.

Rekop dog

carlop wrote: »

I'd like Bilbao to win, but I can't really see it happening. Barca will be playing for Pep. The only hope for Bilbao is that they have had a good rest. Their game relies on a high-octane approach, which is probably why they faltered so much in the last month of the season. From an Irish point of view, let's hope for a very hard-fought match.

National anthem should be fun too. Hopefully there's no trouble before the match, but there's a far-right anti-separatist march scheduled for today in Madrid to coincide with the game, and bringing together thousands of Basques and Catalans in Madrid and having them play at 10 at night after a solid day's boozing doesn't seem the smartest to me.

Did you get tickets?

Blatter

G.K. wrote: »

Good to see you asking that of those saying Barca will win.

Because Bilbao are a 'cup team', and on their day, they can match up with anyone. They have proven that against Barca, United, Schalke, Sporting and others this season. Really I said it because everyone else had been saying Barca.

I think their only chance was to catch Barca on the hop in the middle of a congested fixture list.

A fresh Barca will tear them apart imo. I can honestly see a 3/4/5-0 win tonight.

carlop

Rekop dog wrote: »

Did you get tickets?

Nah. I didn't really try too hard but I think it would have been very difficult. There's 40,000 coming from Bilbao alone so demand is very high. I might wander down to the fanzone later on to soak up the atmosphere though.

LuckyLloyd

G.K. wrote: »

Good to see you asking that of those saying Barca will win.

Because Bilbao are a 'cup team', and on their day, they can match up with anyone. They have proven that against Barca, United, Schalke, Sporting and others this season. Really I said it because everyone else had been saying Barca.

No need to get snippy with me sir!

I think it is reasonable to ask the question of such a confident assertion when Barcelona are hot favourites for the tie gambling wise.

I think Bilbao's recent form is instructive, and I expect a similar outcome to the UEFA Cup final (though I hope I'm wrong).

G.K.

Sorry, exams haven't left me in the best of moods. One more to go now.

LuckyLloyd

Well at least they're well out of the way before the Euros begin! Lot of pissed off kids ten years ago when Ireland were playing Germany in the World Cup...:rolleyes:

Morzadec

I've seen a huge amount of Bilbao fans and Bilbao shirts in Madrid, they've come here in droves seemingly.

Only seen one small group of Barca fans wearing their colours. Don't know if they're hiding or if not many came down, or if they feel a bit embarrassed wearing their shirts in Madrid after losing the title, but they seem well outnumbered by the Basques.

Morzadec

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Well at least they're well out of the way before the Euros begin! Lot of pissed off kids ten years ago when Ireland were playing Germany in the World Cup...:rolleyes:

Was doing my English exam when Robbie Keane scored the equaliser. Could hear all the cars beeping outside and everyone was mad distracted, so eventually the examiner told us we'd equalised.

One of the greatest Irish sporting moments and I missed it, sick!

Cokeistan

Last time we were in a major tournament I was heading into my final year of primary school....now I'm heading into my final year of college, so I didn't have the agony of us being in a major tournament during JC/LC exams, not sure if that was a good or bad thing!

On tonight's match, I strongly fancy Barca, much like everyone else on the thread. Bilbao looked a very tired team in the Europa League final, their squad has been too small for the amount of games they've played this season and that'll probably lead to a routine win for Barca

Moneymaker

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Well at least they're well out of the way before the Euros begin! Lot of pissed off kids ten years ago when Ireland were playing Germany in the World Cup...:rolleyes:

Our principal came in and told us we'd equalized, took 10 mins to calm everyone down. They were nice enough to extend the exam by said 10 mins.

Serious fml moment missing that game though.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

G.K.

Tomorrow

Moneymaker

It's tonight, 9pm.

Catalans and Basques in Madrid. I'm surprised the place hasn't burned down yet.

It's like hosting an Annual Ayran Convention in Jerusalem.

G.K.

It is tonigfht, I got mixed up with the League One playoff final :pac:

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Moneymaker

On the match, Bilbao will have a big performance in them after their abject EL display. It would be fitting reward for them to win a trophy. I hope they somehow pull it off too as they're a club I have admired for years.

I can't see it happening though, Messi going to be in the mood tonight I suspect. 4-1 Barca.

xtal191

Barce Team: Pinto, Adriano, Piqué, Montoya, Mascherano, Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Messi, Sánchez, Pedro

Bilbao Team: Iraizoz, Iraola, Amorebieta, Aurtenetxe, Ekiza, Javi Martínez, Susaeta, Llorente, Muniain, De Marcos, Ibai

Fishooks12

Anyone know if there will be celebrations in Barca tonight if they win? (big ones mind)

Living here and would like to see the Catalans go daft

LuckyLloyd

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

eternal

My exams are finished, so can watch with a few beers. Can't see Barca losing. It is the last horay of the seasiin, be nice to get some silverware. Didn't realise Villa was missing the Euros. Strongly fancied Spain winning.

LuckyLloyd

Ruh roh Bilbao...

Paully D

Game over after 2 minutes. Oh well :pac:

eternal

I'm watching the worst link sky sports 3 not even a hint of excitement at the goal.

Francie Barrett

Bilbao struggling so far.

Francie Barrett

What a save there, Bilbao are all over the place, no shape to their team.

eternal

Why is this thread so quiet? Any good links? Im on atdhe

Francie Barrett

Suicidal tactics from Bilbao, they are utterly woeful.

markie29

give credit to Barca...they are being put under pressure from Bilbao players but they are just passing it around them...great finish by Messi.

elefant

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Suicidal tactics from Bilbao, they are utterly woeful.

They're not a great side anyway, but to play their usual stuff against Barca is a disaster.

The Floyd p

Best 25 minutes all season

Francie Barrett

3-0, magic from Barca, Bilbao are dreadful.

Turtwig

Pedro was a big loss all season for them. What a clinical finisher that guy is.

RandolphEsq

Bilbao hapless. Attackers are attacking and defenders are defending; where is the midfield?

Barca are playing like they have gotten a star boost from Mariokart.

dagdha

Barca are playing some super stuff tonight so far!

Francie Barrett

25 minutes played and it could be 6-0 already.

elefant

Jernal wrote: »

Pedro was a big loss all season for them. What a clinical finisher that guy is.

Rumours he might be heading to Valencia. Would be a great signing I think.

Nuri Sahin

Suicidal stuff from Bilbao, not highly surprisingly giving Bielsa's unwillingness to alter his methods. His biggest flaw, always has and always will be be his stubborn nature.

markie29

should have been a penalty to Bilbao there

Turtwig

elefant wrote: »

Rumours he might be heading to Valencia. Would be a great signing I think.

A fantastic signing, but would he really leave the Catalans? I can't see him doing that just yet.

Moneymaker

Jaysus this is a massacre.

Pique still finds time to do something stupid.

We have to pressure that guy when we play Spain. He's a complete liability.

DDC1990

markie29 wrote: »

should have been a penalty to Bilbao there

? Really. Looked like a blatant dive to me. Pique got the ball, and Llorente just hit the deck.

Barca are unstoppable when they play like this.

JPA

elefant wrote: »

Rumours he might be heading to Valencia. Would be a great signing I think.

Why would they sell him?


Anyway, a nice break for Barcelona is all they needed, their squad was too stretched all season.

Turtwig

OMG! STOP THE PRESS!!!...


Xavi just missed a passed by a significant measure. Somebody must have stolen his protractor!