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@kanjiman8 – I thought a draft would be daft, but when you put it that way, I’d love to see that, it’d be hilarious – Messi would have to get used to those wet Tuesday nights in Stoke if it was his home club!!!
Sure Spain will be favourites, but I think less so than previous. In the World Cup a few teams pushed them (even Switzerland), and in the years since then I think people have had a chance to develop ways to play against Spain/Barcelona.
Don’t hold your breath on an Asian team winning it!I quite like international comps and get a bit annoyed when people slag it off, when they say that unlike the CL it’s not all the best players competing. I like the fact that there are constraints on who is in a team, and managers have to use strategy more and $$$ less.
@ andrew
First, what is your avatar of? It looks like someone in a wrestling ring. Perhaps a Japanese promotion? I maybe wrong.Messi playing for Stoke would be funny but if he ever plays against them, I fear he may have his legs broken by their physical brute players. That’s my main criticism of Stoke. I don’t mind too much their route 1 style of football as it does keep them up but their plays do fly in with some reckless tackles at times. e.g. Aaron Ramsey having his leg broke by Ryan Shawcross in Feb 2010.
I used to love international football. The World Cup would eclipse any tournament. A combination of players prioritising their club over country (mainly due to wages), and alot of the players from the 90′s and early 00′s either past their peak or retired has made it less special now.
Sure, there’s the likes of Messi, C Ronaldo and Van Persie who are at their peak and world class players, but I miss the days of Zidane, Henry, (Brazillian) Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Bergkamp, Raul, Figo, etc. Those were the players I grew up watching.
The World Cups of 1998 and 2002 were outstanding. I would happily watch those tournaments over again. The 2006 World Cup was a bit hit and miss. I’d say only half the tournament was good. The 2010 World Cup was boring in my opinion. Aside from the final and the semis, the rest of the tournament could easily be skipped.
I really would love an Asian team to win the World Cup one day. The players are definitely getting better. While I miss the players I grew up watching (mainly European and South American), I do like the fact that Asian players are getting better all the time and are raising their reputation to the rest of the world. The J-League looks like an awesome league. I’m sure there’s less money in it and more loyalty which the European leagues don’t have anymore.
@kanjiman8 – there is no justice in the football world; that CL final proves it. Just terrible.
Agree about Japan/Korea, both the leagues are getting better and do well in the Asian CL. They do happen to have the odd Brazilian in the side who often make the difference though.
World Cups are brilliant with that festive atmosphere, similar to the Olympics. I think the last few have been of less quality due to style – the footballing world has embraced conservative styles of play more and more.
We may be of a similar vintage – those are the sorts of players that got me into football.
My picture is of Kazushi Sakuraba – Japanese mixed martial arts superstar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazushi_Sakuraba …. http://www.saku39.com/
I’ll leave it at that, as I could go on about for him forever!
@ andrew
Just finished watching the CL final. I’ll give my quick thoughts on it. Bayern were the better team overall. They dominated for 88 minutes, and when Mueller scored, I thought they’d go onto win it. Then, Heynckes makes the mistake of subbing a striker (Mueller) for a defender (Van Buyten). That would of been ok if Bayern were say 2-0 up or with at least a two goal advantage. With only one goal seperating the teams, it only takes one stroke of luck for Chelsea to get back into the match and that’s what happened.With one less striker on the pitch for Bayern, they were at a disadvantage tactically. When Robben missed that penalty, I got that feeling of de ja vu. It was like the semi final second leg vs Barca all over again. At that point, I knew Chelsea would go onto win.
Did Chelsea deserve it in the end? Probably. Bayern were punished for trying to kill the game off too prematurely. No one can deny though, that Chelsea have had alot of luck go their way.
Not just in the final but in the games against Barca and Napoli especially.Ah, I thought your avatar would be someone to do with wrestling or MMA.
@vanandrew
>>>>there is no justice in the football world; that CL final proves it. Just terrible.I think it would have been an injustice had they lost. The way they came back against Napoli (after changing managers), the way they beat Barcelona, no team has played as hard as they did this season. All of their games since Napoli have been down to the last kick. Literally, against all the odds.
@kanjiman
>>>>>>Then, Heynckes makes the mistake of subbing a striker (Mueller) for a defender (Van Buyten).I think hindsight is 20/20. If he left on Mueller and Chelsea scored and went on to win, people would have said he made a mistake and should have put on defenders with 7min to play.
>>>>No one can deny though, that Chelsea have had alot of luck go their way.
The amount of luck borders on surreal to be honest. As Gary Neville kept yabbering, “written in the stars.”.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by
クリス.
True, Chelsea could of scored even if Mueller hadn’t been subbed, but had it gone to extra time in that scenario, having Mueller on the pitch would of been more beneficial than Van Buyten in a game of this magnitude. People might not like Chelsea’s style of play but turning around the Napoli tie and knocking Barca out are no easy feats.
The amount of luck gone their way has been surreal. You saw Drogba praying and looking at the sky. Perhaps there is a football god somewhere up there. Drogba has been instrumental in their route to the final. Now that he’s won it, could that of been his farewell? He’s won everything at Chelsea and you get the feeling he wants to end his time at Stamford Bridge on a high. I think he’ll join Anelka in China or go to the MLS.
I think Di Matteo should get the job full time. He’s been great since taking over from AVB. He’s done what Ranieri, Mourinho, Grant, Hiddink, and Ancelotti all failed to do. I don’t see how he can’t be considered. He has a real passion for the club.
@kanjiman – It’s funny that we were lamenting the lack of players being involved with one club, then Di Matteo manages his old club to CL glory!
@ chris – I was frustrated at Chelsea’s victory partly because of their style, which was really annoying to watch. I like counter-attacking football, when teams remember to attack when they get possession! Chelsea weren’t really counter-attacking with conviction when they got possession, they were just so cautious.
@ andrew
Yes indeed. It’s like a fairytale in some ways. Di Matteo was sacked from West Brom last season. Start of this season he joins Chelsea as AVB’s assistant. Now he’s led them to CL glory. The guy has worked his way up the ladder though. Firstly at the MK Dons, then West Brom and now Chelsea.The real test will be taking them through a full season. It’s a different kettle of fish in some ways. The ins and outs at the Bridge this summer will be interesting.
@vanandrew
>>>I like counter-attacking football, when teams remember to attack when they get possession!Haha yes, they were guilty of that. I’m going to say it was because the centre backs were injured and couldn’t run, yes, that explains it. :P
Although I am a fan of the way teams like Arsenal and Barcelona play, you do need to win ugly at times to get results and to win trophies. Barcelona combine both which no one else can really do. Arsenal do play attractive football, but they can’t grind out results sometimes. This is one of the reasons for their lack of trophies in recent years.
@ kanjiman –
The old aesthetics vs results dilemna; as a fan are you happy to win trophies with ugly 1-0 wins, or would you rather come 2nd/3rd with beautiful football?
Arsenal have been lacking grit and steel in their side, and have at times become too fascinated with ‘beautiful’ football. Perhaps not so much this season, but recent seasons they kept trying to pass the ball into the net, making me want to throw my remote through the TV.It’s interesting seeing young people who have grown up with the beautiful football of Barca/Arsenal etc playing football now. To an extent a lot of them have inherited the same problem. They are obsessed with retaining posesession, great passing etc. But shooting, scoring?! It’s almost as though they’re not interested in it!
Can you expain – in what way do Barca play ugly?
@ andrew
When I said Barcelona combine both, I meant playing beautiful football and winning trophies at the same time. That is the ideal philosophy but only really can be pulled off by them. The way the club is run is almost perfect from ownership down to the La Masia academy. They do try and use as many Catalan players preferably from the academy as possible but do end up buying if they need to. This results in the players knowing each other for years and having a strong bond on and off the pitch.Back in the 90s and even before, it was Ajax that had the best youth setup. The likes of Bergkamp, Seedord, Davids, de Boers, all started their senior careers there. Even though Ajax did win the Champions League in 95 and came runners up in 96, they have been known as a feeder club. This is due to the Dutch league not being one of the top leagues and because Ajax need to sell to keep the club running.
You’ve hit the nail on the head there about results. I think a mixture of both is needed. Try and play beautiful football if you can but if that isn’t working, then change style to grind out a result. Your right about Arsenal. They have grinded out a few results this season which they haven’t done so much since the invincible era. I would love them to win a trophy next season even if it is done the “ugly” way. They are capable of doing it but need a few more quality players added to the squad.
@kanjiman/chris
What sites do you do to for Arsenal news, analysis, opinions? I’ve never really found one I like@ andrew
I check a few sites for news.1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/
Mainly focuses on English leagues but does report on European news too. The layout of the site is horrible though. That big yellow border is irritating to look at.2) http://soccernet.espn.go.com/?cc=5739
All round site that mainly focuses on European, Asian and South American football. Good informative articles. My favourite site.3) http://arseblog.com/
Good Arsenal blog.4) http://www.goal.com/en/#
A site which I have just started reading recently. Looks goods from what I’ve seen of it.5) http://www.worldsoccer.com/
I used to read the magazine version alot but occasionaly look at the website.I tend to avoid newspapers as they talk absolute nonsense.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO8YC5uKpcY
I really hope Kagawa is signed into the Premier League.-
This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by
Nick.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by
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