CL Semi-Finals 13/14 - April 22,23,29,30

#07 said:
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I sometimes wonder why we need a manager when we got Perez...

So nervous about the game tonight, I know we can pull it off but we'll need everyone on top of their game. Altough with this pressure I wouldn't be surprised about a massive Pepe or Ramos brainfart or usual sending off.
 
I don't believe that even Perez would be daft enough to risk the Decima by telling Ancelotti who to play.
 
Don't understand what the problem is swapping out Isco/Casemiro for Bale and keep to a 4-4-2. Bale's played left back for years, his defensive work would be fine as a left midfielder. Only downside for Real is retaining possession when they win it back, although Modric and Alonso did most of the work with the few times they had the ball, Isco also helped out. Bale isn't as strong in that respect, but brings a completely different dynamic in that position.

I think it's destined for an all Madrid final.
 
Kazi said:
Don't understand what the problem is swapping out Isco/Casemiro for Bale and keep to a 4-4-2. Bale's played left back for years, his defensive work would be fine as a left midfielder. Only downside for Real is retaining possession when they win it back, although Modric and Alonso did most of the work with the few times they had the ball, Isco also helped out. Bale isn't as strong in that respect, but brings a completely different dynamic in that position.

I think it's destined for an all Madrid final.
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Ancelotti's already said it'll be a 4-3-3. Which could be a lie, but he's been a straight shooter this season so I doubt it. Bale's defensive work has been awful this year, he's been really lazy working back the pitch which has cost them a few goals, but I'm sure he'll have learned from that and put in a disciplined performance no matter what the formation is.
 
Kazi said:
Don't understand what the problem is swapping out Isco/Casemiro for Bale and keep to a 4-4-2. Bale's played left back for years, his defensive work would be fine as a left midfielder. Only downside for Real is retaining possession when they win it back, although Modric and Alonso did most of the work with the few times they had the ball, Isco also helped out. Bale isn't as strong in that respect, but brings a completely different dynamic in that position.

I think it's destined for an all Madrid final.
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Destiny would be Bayern v. Chelsea. Revenge for 2012 when Bayern had the chance to be first team to win it at home. This time they would have the opportunity to be the first team to defend the CL. Who would be an better opponent than Chelsea in that case?
 
OutlawGER said:
Destiny would be Bayern v. Chelsea. Revenge for 2012 when Bayern had the chance to be first team to win it at home. This time they would have the opportunity to be the first team to defend the CL. Who would be an better opponent than Chelsea in that case?
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If it does end Bayern vs Chelsea I would have no doubt in my mind we'dd win. Vs Real I have no doubt we'll lose.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
If it does end Bayern vs Chelsea I would have no doubt in my mind we'dd win. Vs Real I have no doubt we'll lose.
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I actually agree with this. I want Bayern in the final but I know if Chelsea make it to Lisbon too, they'll have a good chance of winning it. So I'm undecided on who to support tonight. Wish it was Chelsea playing today.
 
Kazi said:
I actually agree with this. I want Bayern in the final but I know if Chelsea make it to Lisbon too, they'll have a good chance of winning it. So I'm undecided on who to support tonight. Wish it was Chelsea playing today.
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Why dont you want us to win? Keeps EPL figures up!
 
ItsEssexRob said:
Doesnt seem to matter how many times we beat City, Liverpool, Bayern, Barca, people will always just assume we will get beaten. Do you never learn?
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When did you beat Bayern exactly? You count draws as wins?

You beat Barca once, when God's good angels were by your side.

What do Liverpool/City have to do with the current Bayern? Or even the previous games you mentioned took place 2 years ago. Time rolls by and each football match is different.

So, by your logic, if it's a Chelsea-Bayern final, the price for Bayern winning should be what exactly? 10? 100? 1000? Since you always seem to beat them apparently?
 
malappapper said:
When did you beat Bayern exactly? You count draws as wins?

You beat Barca once, when God's good angels were by your side.

What do Liverpool/City have to do with the current Bayern? Or even the previous games you mentioned took place 2 years ago. Time rolls by and each football match is different.

So, by your logic, if it's a Chelsea-Bayern final, the price for Bayern winning should be what exactly? 10? 100? 1000? Since you always seem to beat them apparently?
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We knocked them out the last time two times we played them and were 5 seconds away from beating them again this season. Weve knocked Barca out a couple of times in the last 10 meetings and beaten them 3 times, only losing twice in 10 meetings one of which didnt matter in the end. Bayern will always be favourites, but more astute people especially those on here should know better than to roll out 'Chelsea will get beaten', although even a blind hen will eventually find the grain!

Ive watched your posts and you seem to think football only started in 2012. between 2003 and 2012 we have the best champions league record of all the English sides and the second best in Europe.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
We knocked them out the last time two times we played them and were 5 seconds away from beating them again this season. Weve knocked Barca out a couple of times in the last 10 meetings and beaten them 3 times, only losing twice in 10 meetings one of which didnt matter in the end. Bayern will always be favourites, but more astute people especially those on here should know better than to roll out 'Chelsea will get beaten', although even a blind hen will eventually find the grain!

Ive watched your posts and you seem to think football only started in 2012. between 2003 and 2012 we have the best champions league record of all the English sides and the second best in Europe.
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You startet that tbh.

ItsEssexRob said:
If it does end Bayern vs Chelsea I would have no doubt in my mind we'dd win. Vs Real I have no doubt we'll lose.
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I would fear Chelsea, because they know how to play us (park the bus as hard as possible). But i still want revenge for 2012. So this would be my dreamfinal.


edit: Btw. don't you guys think it is weird that an portuguese is ref today? (Ronaldo, Pepe, Coentrao and Spain><Portugal) Bad decision by UEFA imo.
 
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OutlawGER said:
You startet that tbh.



I would fear Chelsea, because they know how to play us (park the bus as hard as possible). But i still want revenge for 2012. So this would be my dreamfinal.


edit: Btw. don't you guys think it is absurd that an Portuguese is ref today? (Ronaldo, Pepe, Coentrao and Spain><Portugal) Bad decision by UEFA imo.
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Yeah but everyone knows the reason I do that, its like my betting jinx!
 
ItsEssexRob said:
We knocked them out the last time two times we played them and were 5 seconds away from beating them again this season. Weve knocked Barca out a couple of times in the last 10 meetings and beaten them 3 times, only losing twice in 10 meetings one of which didnt matter in the end. Bayern will always be favourites, but more astute people especially those on here should know better than to roll out 'Chelsea will get beaten', although even a blind hen will eventually find the grain!

Ive watched your posts and you seem to think football only started in 2012. between 2003 and 2012 we have the best champions league record of all the English sides and the second best in Europe.
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Your current team has very little semblance with the old team of Drogba, Essien, Lampard in his prime, Carvalho, Anelka, plus many others. The Bayern pre-2012 was utter rubbish compared to the current team. Barca beat them 4-0 in 2009 with all four scored in the first half and then showed pity in the 2nd half. Going so much back in time is gravely mistaken, everything has changed since then.

I am not questioning the fact that in the past decade Chelsea probably have the best record in the CL after Barcelona, but that is just academic by now. Chelsea will be in contention no matter who they face in the final, but they will not be favourites against anyone. That is what rationality demands. Now, if you meant to say, that you would prefer Bayern to Real in the final, for the reason that Bayern will completely dominate possession and you will keep defending with 11 men for 90mns, something you are very good at, then I would understand. Parking the bus though, even if done properly, cannot guarantee you victory. Sometimes possession teams come on top, other times parked buses do the job, there is nothing predestined in this case. So yes, would Bayern suit Chelsea a bit more than Madrid in a potential final? Maybe I can accept that. But to claim that there would be no doubt of Chelsea winning against Bayern Munich is preposterous.
 
malappapper said:
Your current team has very little semblance with the old team of Drogba, Essien, Lampard in his prime, Carvalho, Anelka, plus many others. The Bayern pre-2012 was utter rubbish compared to the current team. Barca beat them 4-0 in 2009 with all four scored in the first half and then showed pity in the 2nd half. Going so much back in time is gravely mistaken, everything has changed since then.

I am not questioning the fact that in the past decade Chelsea probably have the best record in the CL after Barcelona, but that is just academic by now. Chelsea will be in contention no matter who they face in the final, but they will not be favourites against anyone. That is what rationality demands. Now, if you meant to say, that you would prefer Bayern to Real in the final, for the reason that Bayern will completely dominate possession and you will keep defending with 11 men for 90mns, something you are very good at, then I would understand. Parking the bus though, even if done properly, cannot guarantee you victory. Sometimes possession teams come on top, other times parked buses do the job, there is nothing predestined in this case. So yes, would Bayern suit Chelsea a bit more than Madrid in a potential final? Maybe I can accept that. But to claim that there would be no doubt of Chelsea winning against Bayern Munich is preposterous.
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Sometimes I have less doubt about one game than another. against Real madrid the omens arent good, against Bayern they are, plus Im probably in the minority but I dont think Peps Bayern are anywhere near the team they were last season.
 
In fact I have more worry we wont even get on the final than I would if we were facing Munich in it.

It wasnt personal by the way it was because I find it amusing how every single game people roll out the same line about how we will get beaten or have no chance, and no matter how many times we come through its always the same!
 
OutlawGER said:
You startet that tbh.



I would fear Chelsea, because they know how to play us (park the bus as hard as possible). But i still want revenge for 2012. So this would be my dreamfinal.


edit: Btw. don't you guys think it is weird that an portuguese is ref today? (Ronaldo, Pepe, Coentrao and Spain><Portugal) Bad decision by UEFA imo.
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The ref appointments by UEFA are frankly completely absurd. You are absolutely right in this case, and I can provide many other examples. A Spanish referee when Bayern were facing United. If the Spanish ref made a serious mistake against Bayern, imagine the outcry and suspicion, given that there were 3 Spanish teams at that stage of the tournament. Or a German and then an English referee in the Atletico-Barca games, again considering the teams involved in the CL, that could also lead to conspiracy theories if something controversial actually happened. Nothing did, but it could have.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
If it does end Bayern vs Chelsea I would have no doubt in my mind we'dd win. Vs Real I have no doubt we'll lose.
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Does that mean, you put some money on Real going through today? To make sure Real goes out? That would make me feel more comfortable about the game today :lol:. I start worrying about the final when we've made it there.
 
Balu said:
Does that mean, you put some money on Real going through today? To make sure Real goes out? That would make me feel more comfortable about the game today :lol:. I start worrying about the final when we've made it there.
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I am actually.
 
malappapper said:
The ref appointments by UEFA are frankly completely absurd. You are absolutely right in this case, and I can provide many other examples. A Spanish referee when Bayern were facing United. If the Spanish ref made a serious mistake against Bayern, imagine the outcry and suspicion, given that there were 3 Spanish teams at that stage of the tournament. Or a German and then an English referee in the Atletico-Barca games, again considering the teams involved in the CL, that could also lead to conspiracy theories if something controversial actually happened. Nothing did, but it could have.
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So they shouldn't select the best referees, that have no bias towards any of the teams involved in those matches because there are teams from their countries involved in other matches? You can't back it up by saying something could have happened either.
 
OutlawGER said:
edit: Btw. don't you guys think it is weird that an portuguese is ref today? (Ronaldo, Pepe, Coentrao and Spain><Portugal) Bad decision by UEFA imo.
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He was the ref in the Champions League final between Bayern and Chelsea (with a portuguese Bosingwa) and did a very good job. You lost but it wasn´t because of the ref. Proença isn´t my cup of tea (has to be the center of attentions) but technically he is one of the best refs in the World.
 
Bayern will win 2-1 tonight.
0-0 tomorrow all the way to pens and Atletico get through, Courtois being the hero.

Real win the final.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
Sometimes I have less doubt about one game than another. against Real madrid the omens arent good, against Bayern they are, plus Im probably in the minority but I dont think Peps Bayern are anywhere near the team they were last season.
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One thing to clarify here, I have no intention of defending Pep, but I have to say that this notion that Bayern of this year is not as good as last year's is completely unfounded in my eyes. They won their league even more easily than in the previous season. Now, in the CL, after a club wins that god damn trophy, everyone facing them the following season, is super-motivated, and super-prepared. All the big clubs of Europe become willing to play defensively against you, and no one will blame them. Especially if a team wins in impressive fashion, like Barca and Bayern did, then the following season, opponents are willing to concede their inferiority and try everything in the book to ruin your game, this makes it 10 times harder. This is one of the main reasons why no club has ever retained the CL.

Another thing. I heard many people accusing Bayern and Pep after their 1-0 defeat to Real. Shit like this does my nuts in. People judging games only by the result. Bayern were awesome for long periods of the game. In the first 15mns especially, they had Madrid pinned right back in front of their goalposts. It was breathtaking to watch at times. People also forget here, that Real Madrid are also one hell of a team, and they can certainly beat anyone on their home turf. They could have easily, just as well beaten last year's Bayern. No team is invincible in football.
 
Spiersey said:
So they shouldn't select the best referees, that have no bias towards any of the teams involved in those matches because there are teams from their countries involved in other matches? You can't back it up by saying something could have happened either.
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I am sure there are lots of good refs from completely neutral countries as well. I know that they all performed well in the QFs, but mistakes are always bound to happen and conspiracy theorists should not be given too much to feed on. You see, the fact that the ref tonight is Portuguese, has already drawn some attention.
 
malappapper said:
I am sure there are lots of good refs from completely neutral countries as well. I know that they all performed well in the QFs, but mistakes are always bound to happen and conspiracy theorists should not be given too much to feed on. You see, the fact that the ref tonight is Portuguese, has already drawn some attention.
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The fact it's already drawn attention is people looking for reasons though. Then if a mistake happens people have already convinced themselves before the game it was on purpose. A lot of neutral countries such as the Scandinavian ones have no experience of games anywhere near this magnitude. They're more likely to make a mistake under the pressure than a potentially bias referee with the nationality of some players.
 
Spiersey said:
The fact it's already drawn attention is people looking for reasons though. Then if a mistake happens people have already convinced themselves before the game it was on purpose. A lot of neutral countries such as the Scandinavian ones have no experience of games anywhere near this magnitude. They're more likely to make a mistake under the pressure than a potentially bias referee with the nationality of some players.
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True. People will always find a reason to complain
 
Proença is a very experienced ref. He has been appointed to the best football competitions in the world, club and national team wise. The man has a Champions League final and an Euro 2012 final presence in his curriculum. Sounds like some are already preparing the excuses.
 
Spiersey said:
The fact it's already drawn attention is people looking for reasons though. Then if a mistake happens people have already convinced themselves before the game it was on purpose. A lot of neutral countries such as the Scandinavian ones have no experience of games anywhere near this magnitude. They're more likely to make a mistake under the pressure than a potentially bias referee with the nationality of some players.
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I see your point. Just saying...
 
The general standard of refereeing has been a lot better than last season, at least.

Although I'm still trying to work out why Welbeck's early goal against Bayern was disallowed. Had we been title contenders and looked bang in form for that game like last season, it would've been another Nani vs Madrid moment.
 
Sly said:
He was the ref in the Champions League final between Bayern and Chelsea (with a portuguese Bosingwa) and did a very good job. You lost but it wasn´t because of the ref. Proença isn´t my cup of tea (has to be the center of attentions) but technically he is one of the best refs in the World.
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All I know is he likes to book players. Wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of yellows tonight.
 
Ruht said:
All I know is he likes to book players. Wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of yellows tonight.
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How many of our players are in danger of missing the final?
 
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