2014-15 UEFA Champions League

Andersonisgod

Turtwig wrote: »

Luis "Lucho" Enrique has now won a whopping 42 out of 50 games. A new record for a Barca coach.

Also, AndersonisGod wanted him sacked. :pac:

At the time the complaints levied against him were entirely valid. It looked like a team without a plan, without cohesion and with an apparently disgruntled star player. Since then, everything has clicked. The plan is there to see, there's far greater cohesion from front to back and Messi is back with Suarez and Neymar very impressive. Lucho still has his detractors, and I suppose we will have to wait and see what silverware he finishes the season with but I'll say that Barcelona the last few months have the best football I've seen since Guardiola's Barcelona.

Nalz

Can anyone recommend a bar in Madrid to watch the 1/4 final? I'm assuming most places will be hopping but if anyone knows of a great place in the centre let me know!

Gracias!

eagle eye

I'd try one of the Irish bars. The James Joyce deffo shows the games.

DVDM93

eagle eye wrote: »

I'd try one of the Irish bars. The James Joyce deffo shows the games.

Grand spot too. Was there in February of last year watching the Liverpool v Arsenal and Ireland v Wales (rugby) games before I went to a Madrid home game. Decent grub too and met some nice people in there, mostly Irish obviously.

killwill

Trilla wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a bar in Madrid to watch the 1/4 final? I'm assuming most places will be hopping but if anyone knows of a great place in the centre let me know!

Gracias!

Show off!!!

citytillidie

Tonight's results

Real Madrid CF (ESP) 1 V 0 Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) (Agg 1-0)
AS Monaco FC (FRA) 0 V 0 Juventus (ITA) (Agg 0-1)

Semi Finalist
FC Bayern München (GER)
FC Barcelona (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Real Madrid CF (ESP)

eagle eye

It's quite clear now that there are three superpowers in European football. Between Barca, Bayern and Real Madrid they have provided three semi-finalists in four of the last five seasons I think, at least three of the last five seasons anyways and there has deffo been two of them in the semis over those five years. They've won three of the last four titles between them too and look likely to add another one now.

TrustedApple

Am i the only one hoping for Juventus to win the Champions League ?.

There a complete outsider and i extremely hoping for a Juventus win to return some positive outlook to Italian Football.

Crazy thing are they the 1st team since inter in 2010 who went on to win it to reach the last 4 in 5 years ?.

Fizman

Great to see an Irish official at this level of the CL!

Damian McGrath, a Mayo lad, assistant referee in the Monaco v Juve game tonight.

The Golden Miller

samapple789 wrote: »

Am i the only one hoping for Juventus to win the Champions League ?.

There a complete outsider and i extremely hoping for a Juventus win to return some positive outlook to Italian Football.

Crazy thing are they the 1st team since inter in 2010 who went on to win it to reach the last 4 in 5 years ?.

There's no "hope" about it. They WILL win it. They will handle Bayern or Madrid with ease, and Barca will have to play at 100% over 2 legs to beat them and that won't happen. They are organised, consistent, well drilled, balanced, have a great spread of talent in the right area's and most importantly, they are devastatingly clinical when they need to be. This is Juve's to lose

TrustedApple

The Golden Miller wrote: »

There's no "hope" about it. They WILL win it. They will handle Bayern or Madrid with ease, and Barca will have to play at 100% over 2 legs to beat them and that won't happen. They are organised, consistent, well drilled, balanced, have a great spread of talent in the right area's and most importantly, they are devastatingly clinical when they need to be. This is Juve's to lose

Like Juventus as long as Pogba is fit for the next legs i hope for the best with them as with other teams looking at them as complete underdogs you never know.

As my father is a huge Juventus fan but he is from the south of Itlay so work that one out i would love for them to win as i went to see a man utd V Juventus friendly years ago and i could not believe how well they got on with each other EG the fans compare to a Roma match i was at a year before that.

Just cant wait to see who they get.

Turtwig

Whatever about Juve, I'm delighted for Allegri he did a magnificent job with Milan. Wasn't really appreciated for it though.

The Golden Miller

Turtwig wrote: »

Whatever about Juve, I'm delighted for Allegri he did a magnificent job with Milan. Wasn't really appreciated for it though.

Ye done well with revitalizing that absolute shambles of a Milan team with limited resources and made them very competitive again. Lost it a bit at the end though, with key players leaving which was out of his control in fairness. Thiago Silva was a big loss. Muck in defense since

The Golden Miller

samapple789 wrote: »

Like Juventus as long as Pogba is fit for the next legs i hope for the best with them as with other teams looking at them as complete underdogs you never know.

As my father is a huge Juventus fan but he is from the south of Itlay so work that one out i would love for them to win as i went to see a man utd V Juventus friendly years ago and i could not believe how well they got on with each other EG the fans compare to a Roma match i was at a year before that.

Just cant wait to see who they get.

You from Italy yourself? My uncle is a big Juve fan aswell. His father is from around Turin somewhere.

Madrid don't seem to have much direction to their play and are very inconsistent. Mainly just individuals passing it aimlessly around like Man City, albeit to a higher level. But an organised Juve should handle them fairly comfortably. Bayern could win it if Heynckes was still there. Pep has brought them backwards. Their attack is very blunt trying to break down a top defense playing this tiki taka stuff as we saw several times last years. Just don't do it close to the level of Barca in their pomp, which is needed to break down a great defense when teams go into their shells. They will be punished heavily on the counter. Juve will let them aimlessly attack all night like they did with Dortmund. And as for Barca, they are the only real threat if they can bring their "A" game. But as we seen in the past, they also struggle against a well organised defense. They could beat Juve if they click for 180 minutes, but are gonna be ripped apart on the counter. The smart money is on Juve in my opinion

Ferris_Bueller

Glad these four teams are true, is it safe to say the four best teams in Europe are in the semi finals? Not the case every year, any final now should be very good. I think Barcelona will go on to win it, I think Juve are slightly behind the other three teams in the competition and Bayern & Real are more likely to have an off day than Barcelona. When is the draw for the semis, Friday?

LuckyLloyd

citytillidie wrote: »

Tonight's results

Real Madrid CF (ESP) 1 V 0 Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) (Agg 1-0)
AS Monaco FC (FRA) 0 V 0 Juventus (ITA) (Agg 0-1)

Semi Finalist
FC Bayern München (GER)
FC Barcelona (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Real Madrid CF (ESP)

Mouth watering draw.

Real Madrid semi finalists each of the last five years.

greendom

samapple789 wrote: »

Am i the only one hoping for Juventus to win the Champions League ?.

There a complete outsider and i extremely hoping for a Juventus win to return some positive outlook to Italian Football.

Crazy thing are they the 1st team since inter in 2010 who went on to win it to reach the last 4 in 5 years ?.

They will need to improve a lot on their 2 displays against Monaco if they're going to challenge

Soby

"This is Juve's to lose" is something I couldn't imagine even the most passionate local Juventus supporter would be thinking. And to call Juve "a ridiculous outsider" is a bit much. They're an outsider, right, but it's not they are similar to Porto and Deportivo in 2004, or Liverpool in 2005. At this stage, I hope they do go on to win the trophy, but they aren't some plucky underdog devoid of quality in comparison to Barcelona, Bayern and Real Madrid like being made out above.

I only saw the highlights of the game in Turin, but going by that, Monaco were very wasteful on the counter unlike against Arsenal in the round before.

kfallon

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Mouth watering draw.

Real Madrid semi finalists each of the last five years.

Bayern have been finalists 3 out of the last 5!

LuckyLloyd

kfallon wrote: »

Bayern have been finalists 3 out of the last 5!

It's clear to see who the big clubs are. When success is not tied to any one manager or financial context you know you're dealing with the dream clubs.

citytillidie

Confirmed Arsenal and Man Utd to lose top seeding in the Champions League for next season

League Champions from the top 7 leagues and Champions League winners will be the top seeds.

However if Champions League winners also win their own league then top 8 league winners will be the top 8 seeds

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/22/uefa-champions-league-seedings-arsenal

Rayne Wooney

What final would people prefer?

For me it's Madrid and Juventus, reckon it would be a cracking game

Shanotheslayer

Munich Barca
Munich Real

Would love either of them

DVDM93

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

What final would people prefer?

For me it's Madrid and Juventus, reckon it would be a cracking game

El Classico semi to avoid it for the final as it isn't always pleasant viewing, but they can be good over two legs. Whoever makes the final from a Madrid v Barca / Bayern v Juve final I'd be happy with so just hoping for that semi final draw.

If I had to pick it'd be Munich v Barca/Madrid.

Pep against Barca would be interesting.

Cienciano

The Golden Miller wrote: »

You from Italy yourself? My uncle is a big Juve fan aswell. His father is from around Turin somewhere.

Madrid don't seem to have much direction to their play and are very inconsistent. Mainly just individuals passing it aimlessly around like Man City, albeit to a higher level. But an organised Juve should handle them fairly comfortably. Bayern could win it if Heynckes was still there. Pep has brought them backwards. Their attack is very blunt trying to break down a top defense playing this tiki taka stuff as we saw several times last years. Just don't do it close to the level of Barca in their pomp, which is needed to break down a great defense when teams go into their shells. They will be punished heavily on the counter. Juve will let them aimlessly attack all night like they did with Dortmund. And as for Barca, they are the only real threat if they can bring their "A" game. But as we seen in the past, they also struggle against a well organised defense. They could beat Juve if they click for 180 minutes, but are gonna be ripped apart on the counter. The smart money is on Juve in my opinion

No way, juve aren't in the same league as the other 3 teams. I'm a juve fan and have watched them a bit over the last few years. Our best chance of winning is madrid over 2 legs. I don't think we have a hope against barca or bayern except in a one off final.
Juve struggle very badly against teams that close us down fast which is what Barca and Bayren will do. Monaco did it too last night, but not as deep as someone like Barca or Bayern. Remember against Bayern in 2013 we could have went down to a record score. We couldn't get out of our own box! Our defenders and full backs could could barely get a pass to out midfielders. It was painful to watch. OK, 2 different teams now, but not that much different.
I'd love juve to win, but we are big outsiders against these 3.

Pinturicchio

This Juve team is a different beast to Conte's team. They're now far more flexible and able to adapt their game plan, formation and style of play.

That said, I don't think they'll get to the final. There's a chance though.

GavRedKing

Juve v Real
Barca v Bayern

the_monkey

Watch Pep roll over for Barca ....

Chancer3001

I'll go for bayern juventus final.

Think juventus could skank their way there.

All depends on their attitude. They might just be happy to be in the semis.

Hopefully they don't settle for that

Knex*

the_monkey wrote: »

Watch Pep roll over for Barca ....

He certainly doesn't strike me as that type of guy. His will to win is borderline a sickness, like Keane or Suarez.

He'll want to win, and win well.

citytillidie

Semi Final draw

FC Barcelona (ESP) V FC Bayern München (GER)
Juventus (ITA) V Real Madrid CF (ESP)

Most people would have wanted Real and Barca to play in the semi final as there games are becoming a joke for play acting these days

FortuneChip

Please don't be El Classico, please don't be El Classico, please don't be El Classico.

Photo-Sniper

Work is giving me and a friend two tickets for the final so looking forward to it now. Hoping Juventus get there.

Skylinehead

Juve are a massive bogey team for Real Madrid, don't rule them out. I remember Del Piero taking them apart on more than one occasion.

Photo-Sniper

I dont get why people are ruling Juventus out in the first place?

The only team who stands in their way is Barcelona IMO. Munich have been playing good in the Bundesliga this year (as always) but they have struggled against opponentsL who really put it up to them. The first leg against Porto was a fearless Porto side with nothing to lose and they absolutely destroyed Munich.. The second leg was Porto nerves (with everything to lose) and Munich took advantage of that. They dont have a big chance against Barcelona I reckon with the likes of Messi and Neymar attacking loose cannons such as Boateng. Robben return will be good for them though.

I think Madrid will struggle against Juventus. Tevez and Morata have been phenomenal in Serie A this year and will definately put up a good fight. As mentioned already, Madrids bogey team is Juventus.... They could do damage.

Harvey Low Fat Milk

I think Pogba could be back against Madrid which is as huge a difference as Modric not being there for Real. A midfield of Pirlo, Vidal and Pogba, coupled with their defence and Tevez and a Morata with a point to prove will cause Madrid big problems. Can't wait for it.

Lucas Hood

Photo-Sniper wrote: »

Work is giving me and a friend two tickets for the final so looking forward to it now. Hoping Juventus get there.

Any jobs?

Photo-Sniper

Lucas Hood wrote: »

Any jobs?

Heh heh.

I live and work 3 minutes from where the final is so sorry cant help ya

kfallon

Do we have dates for the 2 legs?

Also I know Schweinsteiger was on the bench on Tues and Robben is back this week but will Alaba, Benatia and Ribery all be back for the semi?

Poor Badstuber injured again

citytillidie

kfallon wrote: »

Do we have dates for the 2 legs?

Also I know Schweinsteiger was on the bench on Tues and Robben is back this week but will Alaba, Benatia and Ribery all be back for the semi?

Poor Badstuber injured again

5th and 6th May for 1st legs
12th and 13th May for 2nd legs

Any South American (apart from Luis Suarez) or Mexican player may be forced to miss playing in the Final as the Copa America is to start on June 11th and players if rules are enforced will have to join up with their countries.

greendom

citytillidie wrote: »

5th and 6th May for 1st legs
12th and 13th May for 2nd legs

Any South American (apart from Luis Suarez) or Mexican player may be forced to miss playing in the Final as the Copa America is to start on June 11th and players if rules are enforced will have to join up with their countries.

Same applies to the cup final

citytillidie

So bad having the finals so late, like they will crown winners on June 6th and next seasons will start on June 30th

NIMAN

I think Madrid is the team of the 3 that juve might have picked beforehand. Think they are better set up to beat them than barca or bayer.

Madrid will still be favourites which will suit juve perfectly.

I was in the stadium in 08 when delp got 2 to help juve top their group. Unfortunately delp isn't around these days!

snowblind

Harvey Low Fat Milk wrote: »

I think Pogba could be back against Madrid which is as huge a difference as Modric not being there for Real. A midfield of Pirlo, Vidal and Pogba, coupled with their defence and Tevez and a Morata with a point to prove will cause Madrid big problems. Can't wait for it.

I would swap Pirlo for Marchisio there. Or at least not playing Pirlo as regista. First match against Monaco he lost the ball three times in the first 20 minutes as the last midfielder, each time causing a scoring opportunity. This has happened a lot in other matches too. Love the guy but in 2015 he is a liability in that position against teams who press hard enough.

munchkin_utd

Photo-Sniper wrote: »

Munich have been playing good in the Bundesliga this year (as always) but they have struggled against opponentsL who really put it up to them.
The first leg against Porto was a fearless Porto side with nothing to lose and they absolutely destroyed Munich..<snip>

The first leg saw Bayern make 3 clangers of individual mistakes at the back under pressure that they havent seen in a while.
They got caught out, but they are still in the competition, and have the experience from Porto to learn from. If anything the weakness exposed in Porto is a positive for Bayern as they know that they have to avoid letting the same happen again with players getting caught in possession at the back with no path to play it to midfield.

I cant see them getting done in a similar manner again, and theres a game against Dortmund in the cup and away to Leverkusen that will ensure that the laxadasical attitude that they had against Madrid last year in the semis wont happen this year.

Now.... how do I get a ticket for the second leg in Munich ?!

dfx-

To be honest as a Barca fan, I'm glad it's Munich. Would be wary of Juventus and wouldn't prefer Madrid..

It would be very sweet if they beat them.

Cienciano

dfx- wrote: »

To be honest as a Barca fan, I'm glad it's Munich. Would be wary of Juventus and wouldn't prefer Madrid..

It would be very sweet if they beat them.

Im glad it's not a barca bayern final. Purely so I can see who comes out on top over two legs

Pinturicchio

Chancer3001 wrote: »

All depends on their attitude. They might just be happy to be in the semis.

Hopefully they don't settle for that

If any club is not going to do that it's Juventus. They literally have had "winning is not important. It is the only thing that matters" written on their shirts.

Skylinehead wrote: »

Juve are a massive bogey team for Real Madrid, don't rule them out. I remember Del Piero taking them apart on more than one occasion.

He got a standing ovation from the Bernabeu on this occasion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcJE3h1he6k

the_monkey

Barça have won the whole comp, done deal ... next year roll on please when dignity has a chance of coming back to the UCL.

RedemptionZ

I don't really follow Serie A football so I'll have to ask, what makes people think they can beat Real? The Juve midfield is very strong but that's their only edge, and even then I don't know if they have an edge.