Official Football Thread

Alrighty, it's time for a revival of this thread in light of the results of the UEFA champions league draw for the first knockout round. In case anyone doesn't know the results here they are:

Porto vs. Chelsea
Celtic vs. Milan
PSV vs. Arsenal
Lille vs. ManU
Roma vs. Lyon
Barcelona vs. Liverpool
Real Madrid vs. Bayern
Internazionale vs. Valencia

I think that Chelsea will proceed to the next round without a real struggle, as will Arsenal, ManU, and Barcelona. Celtic can be dangerous and there's no knowing how they'll play, but I think its safer to bet on Milan. I hope that Lyon will win against Roma, but frankly I don't know enough about either team to make a judgment. Since I don't like either Real or Bayern, I couldn't care less who wins, although it'll probably be Real. And lastly I hope for Internazionale if only because of Zlatan  :P.
 
Chelsea to beat Porto
Milan to beat Celtic
PSV to beat Arsenal (well, one can hope)
Man U to beat Lille
Lyon to beat Roma
Liverpool to beat Barca
Real to beat Bayern
Valencia to beat Inter

I don't see where people get this "Celtic can be dangerous" tag from as it is only their home form that is slightly worth shouting about. They lost more games and conceded more goals than any team that has qualified from the group stages and their away form is 100% loss. They will struggle to score against Milan.
 
Talking about the three italian teams, Roma will have the bigger problems in my opinion. Lyon is dominating french championship (as in the last years) and it's a very strong team, they have a great collective.
At the present, Milan seems to be a very weak team, in comparison to its "golden years", but remain an experienced team, and maybe some new players will fix the holes that they have in their defense.
Inter, mhhh....I hope for Valencia, "if only because of Zlatan" ;)
 
Albie said:
I don't see where people get this "Celtic can be dangerous" tag from as it is only their home form that is slightly worth shouting about. They lost more games and conceded more goals than any team that has qualified from the group stages and their away form is 100% loss. They will struggle to score against Milan.
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Celtic are playing at home first.  If they don't conceed (quite likely), Milan will get nervous and try to force the game at the San Siro, which will play into Celtic's hands.  Milan are a poor team this year, compared to previous seasons.

Chelsea
Celtic
Arsenal
Lille (I'm a pessimist :P)
Lyon
Liverpool
Real Madrid
Valencia

I think Lyon will win the competition.
 
Meh, what's all this about Liverpool beating Barca? Barcelona were fantastic against Werder Bremen, which goes to show that they can deliver if they're pressed to it. And they definitely will be pressed now. No, I don't think Lyon will win, much as I would wish it for them. I think it far more likely that it'll be one of the English teams (if only because there are so many of them).  :bigsmile:

Oi, and what's wrong with Zlatan?  :(
 
Natalie said:
Oh, so you were a Juve fan?
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I'm still a Juve fan ;)
I know, Juve was literally destroyed from the scandal that happened last year (for the ones who don't know what I'm talking about, read this), but I'm sure that we'll be back from the ashes really soon :P
 
Natalie said:
Meh, what's all this about Liverpool beating Barca? Barcelona were fantastic against Werder Bremen, which goes to show that they can deliver if they're pressed to it. And they definitely will be pressed now.
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I think you may be underestimating Liverpool here.
 
Well, I know Liverpool are very good but I think that Barca under pressure might be a wee bit better.
 
Natalie said:
Barcelona were fantastic against Werder Bremen...
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... for 45 minutes.  Then they turned off and got lazy (a certain mister Ronaldinho in particular).  Barcelona were shown up against Chelsea both at home and away and I think that they are there for the taking.  On any goven day, Barcelona can be the best team in the world but when things go against them, they can be quite terrible.
 
As much as I admire Barcelona, Liverpool can be very good in Europe and have a very good chance against them. When they won the Champions League two seasons ago, they had to beat Chelsea and Juventus, no mean feat. Also, the advantage of playing the second leg at Anfield could be quite important.
 
This news article is interesting, if only to show that their exists the odd football chairman out there that do not make knee-jerk reactions to their team facing a relegation battle. Southend has achieved quite a bit for a small club over the last few years and it seems they have ambitions to set up a footballing academy for local youths - good on them, I say.
 
Any writer who has the audacity to refer to Celtic as an English club - should be shot. But the bit about injuries is interesting - maybe because the English game is probably more physical and competitive (yes I know the Italian game is very physical, but it just is not that competitive).
 
Does David Backham coming to Los Angeles to play football get much attention in Europe, particularly in England?  Do people care since he is too old and past his prime by European/South American standards.  In North America, it is highly advertised.  A wax statue of Beckham and his wife (what's her face?) with a wax statue of Bush welcoming them is being displayed in New York City.

I think Beckham could change the popularity of the game here in North America.  How much he will contribute with a huge contract like he has remains to be seen.
 
Of course it has received lots of attention in the media over here. He gets loads of publicity all around Europe anyway, and he's been one of the major figures in English football of the last ten years, so there's bound to be considerable interest in what he's up to next. Don't forget that until six months ago, he was the national team's captain. Personally, I don't begrudge him the astronomical amounts of money he's getting paid: if someone wants to pay him that much, it's their problem. At least he's spent his career earning his money, rather than an 18 year-old being badly advised by an agent and demanding a huge contract, holding his club to ranson (*cough* Ray Jones at QPR *cough*).

Back to Beckham, I feel sorry for him about how Real Madrid have treated him, saying that he will never play for them again, just because he's leaving them at the end of the season. I'm sure money has played a big role in his decision to move to LA, but he's a family-man too and is probably thinking of his kids (and Victoria's budding acting career :lol:).

As to whether he'll change the image of the game, I'm not so sure. There was a similar 'experiment' when Pele went to play in the USA. Crowds doubled while he was playing, but as soon as he left they were back to low attendances again. I'll be suprised if many more big names go there (at least those not at the end of their careers), especially with the salary-cap effectively allowing each team only one high-earner.

Well, America, watch out for Dosh and Bucks! :innocent:
 
I caught the last seconds of the sports news on Austrian tv yesterday because I heard the name 'Ronaldo' from the room next door. I'm saying this because I might have misunderstood what was going on with him, but from what I understand he's been transferred to AC Milan for a mere 7.5 million euro. If its true then its rather astonishing to me, as I would have thought he'd be 'worth' more. Although admittedly he's been sitting on the bench in Madrid recently because he's 'fat'. Well, hopefully AC Milan will benefit from the transfer, I like 'em better than Madrid anyway. 
 
One thing is certain in regards to Beckhams LA transfer, is that it is undoubtedly the end of his England career - and by signing up, he has shown that he has resigned himself to this fact. Shame, he had one more tournament in him.
 
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