Official Football Thread

1 Ajax; matches played: 29; points: 61
2 AZ; matches played: 30; points: 58
3 Feyenoord; matches played: 30; points: 58
4 FC Twente; matches played: 30; points: 57
5 PSV; matches played: 30; points: 57
6 sc Heerenveen; matches played: 30; points: 57

O man, this is getting more and more exciting....! Come on Feyenoord!
 
There's no justice in football. After the game between Chelsea and Barcelona, a worse lesson took place today. Galatasaray lost to Fenerbahçe 1-2 in Championship Group. (the playoff system was carried into effect this season, Galatasaray finished the regular season 9 points ahead of Fenerbahçe)

Here's some stats from the game :

Shots : Galatasaray 28 Fenerbahçe 3
Shots on Target : Galatasaray 10 Fenerbahçe 3
Possession : Galatasaray %68 Fenerbahçe %32

Galatasaray is still ahead of Fenerbahçe by two points, there are four weeks to go. Last match of the season will be played between these teams in Fenerbahçe's stadium, Şükrü Saraçoğlu.
 
I somehow regret I didn't get to watch tonight's semi-final ... still, I hope Bayern go through tomorrow and absolutely tear Chelsea to pieces in the final.
 
Barcelona has to be the only team in the world that keeps passing the ball around calmly outside the penalty box when they have five minutes to score.

Chelsea fought hard and deserved to go through, though I wonder how they'll do in the final with three or four players suspended.
 
Fantastic game tonight. Excitement and great play, unlike last night which was mostly just excitement.
 
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Barcelona has to be the only team in the world that keeps passing the ball around calmly outside the penalty box when they have five minutes to score.

And how are you supossed to play when the other team parks 9 players in front of their goal, who are taller and more physically strong than yours?

I am sick and tired of people calling Barcelona's gameplay boring. It's the opponents that make the game boring. Real showed that Barca can be beaten in an open game. But yes, that's Real, and they're highly comparable by individual quality and team play with Barca. All these Chelseas that aren't...well their only chance is to defend the base with all arms, and hope for a miracle. And miracle happened; missed penalty, four bars/posts, and a dozen of missed 100% chances in two games for Barca.

And all the sensationalist journalism, "Barca is a read book", "Chelsea nails last nail in the coffin of Guardiola's Barcelona", etc, etc...same shit every other year since 2005, and meanwhile they've lifted three European champion titles.

Barcelona is the best team out there, but they can lose. And that's the beauty of football, if any handball/basketball team had the analogy of Barca's squad, they would be basically unstoppable. And I love that. I love when somebody really defeats them, like Real did couple of days ago (and i hate Real), because it's good for the team.

So for all the people ranting about boring games, rant at the other team.
 
I enjoyed Tuesday's match, so I'm not ranting at anyone for anything. The thing with Barcelona is that they've pretty much perfected keeping the ball within the team, and there's no point in trying to beat them at their own game. So other teams, including Real Madrid to some degree, cede possession, put pressure on the ball holder and go for quick attacks. This often leads to slow play, with Barcelona making no particular effort to attack until they find the right opening and the other team doing everything to avoid providing it. Many people find this boring, which isn't really the fault of either team. Chelsea took the strategy to an extreme - mostly skipping the "quick attacks" bit - which made sense given the circumstances. Obviously Barcelona fans would rather see them take unnecessary risks and lose. :bigsmile:
 
I am glad that Real lost. Even better: both a Portuguese and a Spanish player missed a penalty. It will give them lots of faith of during a certain tournament I am looking forward to this summer. We'll eat them raw.
 
I am glad that Real lost. Even better: both a Portuguese and a Spanish player missed a penalty. It will give them lots of faith of during a certain tournament I am looking forward to this summer. We'll eat them raw.
Just don't get into a penalty shootout with ze Germans - that one on Wednesday was a foregone conclusion (despite Bayern missing a couple).

The best match of the week though was Bilbao vs Sporting Lisbon. There probably isn't a team I enjoy watching more than Athletic Bilbao at the moment, and I think I've seen more of them this season than any other team (except one). I used to think Llorente was just a lump that Spain used to throw on at the end of matches, but I assume with Villa injured and Torres now non-league standard that he'll be their main striker now.
 
One round before the end of the competition it's already safe to say that Feyenoord finishes at 2nd place! For the first time since 2001!

Excellent. They came back from far...
2007: 7th;
2008: 6th;
2009: 7th:
2010: 4th;
2011: 10th!
 
Real Madrid are the champions in La Liga after waiting for three years. I'm neutral in this Real vs. Barça thing but I really wanted Real to win it all this season. Barcelona aren't fun to watch anymore, Real keeps the game exciting at least.
 
Galatasaray are the Turkish League champions !

The playoff system came into force this season, Galatasaray were the regular season leaders, nine points ahead of Fenerbahçe. In the playoffs, Galatasaray struggled while Fenerbahçe won 4/5 of their games. Heading into the last game which was in Fenerbahçe's stadium, Şükrü Saraçoğlu, Galatasaray were only one point ahead of their arch rivals. In the final of the final, it ended all square and Galatasaray became the champions of the league for the 18th time in their history, tying Fenerbahçe.

What a great day.
 
@Nush: if QPR wins, or draws, they could "help" Man U (if Man U will do their business correctly themselves).

Bit of a double feeling about this match?
 
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