The Football Thread

[teio]

champions league draw results...

 

group a

club brugge kv

juventus fc

sk rapid wein

fc bayern munich

> the clear favorites to emerge from this group are juventus and bayern munich... both rapid and club brugge needed to score a late winner to progress to the finals...

 

group b

arsenal fc

fc thun

ac sparta prague

ajax amsterdam

> perhaps the easiest group in this year's competition... arsenal and ajax are both in the learning curve playing without enigmatic midfielders patrick vieira and rafael van vaart, respectively... sparta has their bad streak of not progressing to the knockout stages... greenhorn thun is currently on a hot streak and can pull out a surprise...

 

group c

werder bremen

barcelona fc

udinese calcio

panathinaikos

> barcelona is still the team to beat in this group and the other slot for the knockout stage will be contested by the others... bremen has the upperhand after progressing from the group stage last year... panathinaikos has some new recruits while udinese will be making their first champion's league appearance...

 

group d

sl benfica

losc lille metropole

villareal

manchester united

> it is not an easy task to pick from this group... villareal has one of the most exciting offense in europe today... benfica is returning to the top club competition and you can't take united out of the picture... lille will have an uphill battle especially with their current poor performance in ligue 1 despite having the luxury to play in the finals venue at the stade de france...

 

 

group e

ac milan

fenerbahce sk

psv eindhoven

fc schalke 04

> semi-finals rematch number one - ac milan vs. psv eindhoven... milan was on a buying spree early in the off season while psv was on a losing spree with mark van bommel and park ji sung opting to play for barcelona and manchester united, repsectively... fenerbache pulled off some impressive performances last year... schalke be making a return to the champion's league...

 

group f

olympique lyonnais

rosenborg bk

real madrid fc

olympiacos

> it is a pity to have lyon and real madrid in the same group... rosenborg and olympiacos will have a tough time progressing to the next round...

 

group g

real betis balompie

liverpool fc

chelsea fc

rsc anderlecht

> semi-finals rematch number two - liverpool vs. chelsea... both teams have their own meaningful acquisitions... but the thing is that they might cross-out each other... which may be a blessing in disguise for both betis and anderlecht...

 

group g

artmedia bratislava

fc internazionale

rangers fc

fc porto

> inter got new players to help them break their choking perfomances in the competition... porto has already proven themselves by winning the cup a few years ago... rangers is making a return while artmedia will get its baptism of fire...

[teio]

olympique lyonnais somehow landed on a replacement for michael essien with the signing of portuguese international midfielder tiago mendes from chelsea for €10m...

 

the les gones also extended the contract of brazilian playmaker juninho pernambucano for two years...

[bubuy]

champions league draw results...

 

group a

juventus fc

fc bayern munich

 

group b

arsenal fc

ac sparta prague

 

group c

werder bremen

barcelona fc

 

group d

villareal

manchester united

 

group e

ac milan

psv eindhoven

 

group f

olympique lyonnais

real madrid fc

 

group g

real betis balompie

liverpool fc

chelsea fc

rsc anderlecht

 

group h

fc internazionale

fc porto

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

these are my predictions for the group stages.. if you notice in group g i didn't eliminate anyone.. if chelsea and liverpool play two games to a draw, one of the other two teams might sneak in..

[teio]

some players from olympique lyonnais escaped death after their plane made an emergency landing after the fixture against aj auxerre...

 

reports are saying that south korea's lee young-pyo has already been acquired by tottenham hotspur from psv eindhoven...

[teio]

newcastle united have signed prodigous english striker michael owen for €23.5m... owen slipped down the pecking order in real madrid with the entry of both julio baptista and robinho... the switch was the largest in the tyneside team's history eclipsing the €22m shelled out to acquire alan shearer from blackburn rovers... owen's entry brings hope to lift the magpie's from a dismal performance early this season... owen will team up with shearer and fellow new addition albert luque from deportivo la coruña...

 

many fans found themselves scratching their head after learning about the news... last year, owen made a move from liverpool to real madrid... despite an acceptable performance of 13 goals... the galacticos never had a chance to bring home a major european or domestic silverware... and with the signing of the two brazilian strikers... owen found himself having trouble to secure a place for england's world cup team...

 

olympique lyonnais found a better use with some of the money they received for michael essien by spending it with prolific cruziero striker frederico chaves guedes... better known as fred... the 21-year-old brazilian scored 40 goals in his last 43 games... lyon shelled out €15m for the transfer...

 

center back wilfred bouma put pen to paper a four-year contract after aston villa paid €5.1m for his transfer from dutch champions psv eindhoven...

 

olympique de marseille may find life harder in the domestic league despite their winning form in the european scene... but the french outfit has something to smile after securing the service of slovenian center back bostjan cesar from nk dinamo zagreb... meanwhile, scottish champions rangers have brought back greek defender sotirios kyrgiakos... another greek, midfielder georgios karagounis was acquired by portuguese champs sl benfica from internazionale for an undisclosed fee... internazionale's argentinian defender javier zanetti will miss roughly six-weeks after injuring his right thigh...

 

europe gears up with the possible last-minute switches as the august transfer window closes on the 31st... as roma forward antonio cassano had already made it clear that he has no interest in renewing his contract with the capital side... juventus is his next likely destination... acf fiorentina is pursuing rsc anderlecht and sweden winger christian wilhelmsson while out-of-favor forward fabrizio miccoli appears to be bound to sl benfica... psv eindhoven defender lee young-pyo could be strutting his wares in white hart lane with newcastle united winger jermaine jenas... european champs liverpool may have been beaten by newcastle in the race to sign michael owen, but the merseysiders are on the hunt for a center back and right winger as roma's philippe mexes, brondby's daniel agger, and parma's daniele bonera are likely candidates... also, nolberto solano was purchased by liverpool from aston villa... djibril cisse may leave liverpool for either olympique de marseille or as monaco... sidney govou may also be on the move following lyon's purchase of brazilian striker fred... ral madrid appears to be signing up defender sergio ramos from sevilla but coach vanderlei luxemburgo doubts the €27m price tag...

[ruud]

will see how essien will help chelsea lift the epl cup this time. well, im a manutd fan, i do think that van de sar will surely add up the defense line of manutd. he's a leader type of gk, he shouts a lot and gives directions. he has international experience. the kind of gk manutd needed. not to mention the addition of park. ruud in good form. rooney, ronaldo, heinze, smith ... its pretty balanced now.

 

ooooooooohhhhhhh .... united we love you!!

[damaso]

should we give brazil the world cup already?

 

they just thrashed chile 5-0 to qualify. they are the defending world champions, confederations cup champions and copa america champions.

 

the biggest problem is who's gonna play: they are playing an ultra attacking formation with 4 forwards (2 out and out strikers and 2 just behind). for the chile match, twas ronaldo and adriano upfront with robinho and kaka in support. ronaldinho was suspended. adriano banged in a hattrick and robinho scored and set up 2 of adriano's goals. it might be ronaldo who will be benched once ronaldinho comes back.

 

only overconfidence can beat them now, just like what happened in the 82 finals. but they should be installed as heavy favorites for the world cup in germany.

[teio]

well... they'll be susceptible to a counterattack...

[_eRon_]

so sad for england, beaten by northern ireland 1-0..tsk tsk tsk..after this loss & the disappointing loss to denmark,will sven goran erikkson be sacked?..we'll see..

[damaso]

so sad for england, beaten by northern ireland 1-0..tsk tsk tsk..after this loss & the disappointing loss to denmark,will sven goran erikkson be sacked?..we'll see..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

bad tactics. for some reason, beckham plays a central midfield role, bunching him together with lampard and gerrard. its either he starts in the middle, or he lines up in the right midfield then drifts towards the middle and ends up staying there. sven should tell beckham to stick to the right flank, that way lampard and gerrard have more space in the middle. also, all 3 of them are attack-minded, one should play more of a holding role.

[damaso]

well... they'll be susceptible to a counterattack...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

as what happened during the world cup qualifier against argentina a couple of months ago. but brazil learned their lesson, now putting 2 defensive midfielders (usually emerson and ze roberto) behind the attacking quartet. the difference showed when they dismantled argentina in the rematch (finals of the confederations cup). the only real concern i see is the discipline of roberto carlos, who sometimes gets overzealous attacking and leaving the left flank exposed.

 

but then again, football is football and sometimes a huge upset can happen. but it will take a brave man to bet against brazil defending their trophy.

[damaso]

dream debut for lyon striker fred, scoring both goals on a 2-1 triumph over monaco...

[bubuy]

should we give brazil the world cup already?

 

they just thrashed chile 5-0 to qualify. they are the defending world champions, confederations cup champions and copa america champions.

 

the biggest problem is who's gonna play: they are playing an ultra attacking formation with 4 forwards (2 out and out strikers and 2 just behind). for the chile match, twas ronaldo and adriano upfront with robinho and kaka in support. ronaldinho was suspended. adriano banged in a hattrick and robinho scored and set up 2 of adriano's goals. it might be ronaldo who will be benched once ronaldinho comes back.

 

only overconfidence can beat them now, just like what happened in the 82 finals. but they should be installed as heavy favorites for the world cup in germany.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

as long as corporate GIANT nike is sponsoring brazil, ronaldo will never be benched.. remember france 98?

 

but watching that game, i'd have to agree with you.. brazil is simply too too too.. argh.. give them the cup..

[_eRon_]

damaso  Sep 9 2005, 02:24 PM 

bad tactics. for some reason, beckham plays a central midfield role, bunching him together with lampard and gerrard. its either he starts in the middle, or he lines up in the right midfield then drifts towards the middle and ends up staying there. sven should tell beckham to stick to the right flank, that way lampard and gerrard have more space in the middle. also, all 3 of them are attack-minded, one should play more of a holding role.

 

i think sven should play becks in the right, he has a wicked cross & can give quality service to the forwards (rooney,owen,defoe,crouch), england have 2 quality right wingers in becks&wright-phillips,the key problem with the england side is the left wing, they can use joe cole, but i think he's not a definite left winger, he's more of a midfielder that is in the hole which supports forwards in attacking, so they should find a good left winger, sino kaya? any ideas?....sven should play lampard & gerrard together, eventhough they are offensive minded, they are hard tackling central midfielders & have enough quality to hold the midfield & give quality service to the forwards, kung baga offense w/ defense..another problem for sven is their defense, they have world class defenders in ashley cole, rio ferdinand, john terry, sol campbell, but they can't find a constant back 4 who can play day-in&day-out, para magkakilala na maglaro kung baga, dapat di ba constant un back 4 mo, sino kaya ang ok na combination?..

 

damaso  Sep 5 2005, 04:36 PM 

should we give brazil the world cup already?

 

they just thrashed chile 5-0 to qualify. they are the defending world champions, confederations cup champions and copa america champions.

 

the biggest problem is who's gonna play: they are playing an ultra attacking formation with 4 forwards (2 out and out strikers and 2 just behind). for the chile match, twas ronaldo and adriano upfront with robinho and kaka in support. ronaldinho was suspended. adriano banged in a hattrick and robinho scored and set up 2 of adriano's goals. it might be ronaldo who will be benched once ronaldinho comes back.

 

only overconfidence can beat them now, just like what happened in the 82 finals. but they should be installed as heavy favorites for the world cup in germany.

 

i think brazil is still a beatable team, if cameroon can beat them in the olympic finals why can't other teams in the world cup? there are lots of great teams..france, italy, argentina, germany, holland, greece, england who are more than capable of beating the brazilians..bilog ang bola sabi nga nila..lets just watch the world cup finals in germany kung ano mangyari..heavy favorites sila dahil sa offensive power nila pero importante pa din ang defense sa kahit anong sport, look at real madrid, beaten by celta vigo, 3-2, all the money in the world to buy the best offensive players pero kulang pa din sa depensa tsk tsk tsk.. :thumbsdownsmiley:

[teio]

beckham should play at the flanks where he is more comfortable and more efficient especially in delivering those inch-perfect crosses... gerrard is the guy who should be playing the defensive midfield position... lampard is also effective as a defensive midfielder... but his offensive prowess is too much to be overlooked...

bad tactics. for some reason, beckham plays a central midfield role, bunching him together with lampard and gerrard. its either he starts in the middle, or he lines up in the right midfield then drifts towards the middle and ends up staying there. sven should tell beckham to stick to the right flank, that way lampard and gerrard have more space in the middle. also, all 3 of them are attack-minded, one should play more of a holding role.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[bubuy]

i think brazil is still a beatable team, if cameroon can beat them in the olympic finals why can't other teams in the world cup?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the olympics is a different story.. it is basically an under-23 event with only 3 seniors allowed to play..

[_eRon_]

a win is still a win, kahit balibaliktarin ang mundo tinalo pa din sila ng cameroon,if they can beat them, any skilled team can beat them, it just takes teamwork in offense as well as defense to win..corny nman kung lagi na lang brazil di ba? kaya nila yan, bilog ang bola, para exciting ang world cup..

[r9naldogoal]

hi tutal marami din nmn pla dito nanoud football(soccer) tanng k klng a inyo kng cn sa nyo ang tngin ninyo pina kamagaling na player in their position for me this DECADE till present........

 

gk- buffon-cassilas at cya pnagpilian ko pero kelngan pa mag mature konti ni iker cya ngyun kc mas prone c iker sa mistakes

 

rb-roberto carlos-watch him

 

lb-cafu-him 2

 

cb-maldini-still the best

 

dm-vierra-very good

 

lw-figo

 

rw-joaquin

 

am-zidane and ronaldinho wla ko pagpipilian..

 

forward-ronaldo-still phenomenon

 

coach-jose mourinho-do talking on and off the pitch

 

team real madrid-kung wla lng c bekcham(replace him wt joaquin) kuha nila la liga copa del rey at ucl

 

best young talent- robinho- manud kyo isa lng masasab ko..GRABE!!! :thumbsupsmiley:

[luol_deng]

I'm a Man U supporter since 1997 before the band wagon started after the Treble season, for my team i think we wont win the Premier League (again) but we should be able to be at the 2nd spot. Champions League another Q finalists reaching semis would be good but wont get that far, only FA Cup & League Cup are our great chances in winning something this year.

 

I dunno why people have labelled Arsenal as a threat to Chelsea, their very thin in the middle of the ball park since Vieira left & I can agree to that with our Roy Keane the guy is declining and his heart isnt what it was 5 years ago. Paul Scholes red bulb has turned off and doesnt look interested out there, only going for us is the kids in Ronaldo, Park, Rooney, Darren, Richardson, Brown & Rio. But like before they said to Freguson you cant win with kids and well the history speaks for itself.

 

Arsenal will struggle Henry is out for about a month with groin injury so their goes their goal scorer and rock...

[luol_deng]

For Champions League

 

Group A

Bayern Munich | Juventus

A stroll in the park really, only these two teams should be the highlight to watch. Ballack, Diesler, Nedved & Vieira should star in a two horse group stage...

 

Group B

Arsenal | Ajax

only Sparta is a true dark horse in the group and could be a threat watch out for Zelenka, without Henry & Vieira Arsenal could struggle unless Cesc Fabregas commands the middle of the park like a beast in a stick body & Reyes steals the world over...

 

Group C

Barcelona | Werder Bremen

Barca for sure a 1st pick will be lead by the greatest footballer in todays era by Ronaldinho, Eto & Xavi will help along with Edmilson while if he gets better from injuries Swedish target man Larsson is dangerous. On 2nd spot any of the three really however Werder more has the stronger squad to go through in the end...

 

Group D

Manchester United | Villareal

Man U will always be their in the group stages but on the latter its another question...This is a year for Ronaldo to shine, a year for Rooney to show what he can do & let the new boys play like Park & Richardson. Giggs, Keane & Scholes will be there but their sliding. Ruud needs to be their when they need him his work rate is the best in the world. Villareal should beat Benfica, while Benfica is a good squad and could be the dark horse for this group like Porto before. But Villareal has played against better comp in Spain and they have a few talented pieces, Lile will round off the looses.

 

Group E

AC Milan | Up For Grabs

AC Milan the San An Spurs of the soccer world, always their and will always be hunting. Another trip to the finals depends on Shevchenko & Kaka to pull the strings while wonder boy Gilardino will replace Crespo role last year...Fenerbahce like other Turk teams are tough however the 2nd spot is really up for grabs between the rest, PSV could come out on top but might fall short while Schalke is the dark hosre.

 

Group F

Real Madrid | Lyon

No doubt Real Madrid, galaxy of stars and talent like the Dream Team. Only stopping them is themselves, defence is creaky but their dangerous attack makes up for it. Look for Robinho to shine while Ronaldo will always do what he does best thats to score goals & for Becks he needs a good year of fashion the guy missed out on the top 100 GQ best dressed men. Lyon will pull through in 2nd they have a strong squad and will be a challenger to Real, Olympiakos is the dark horse Rivaldo will need to do miracles....

 

Group G

Chelsea | Liverpool

Chelsea their the Portland Blazers of the early 2000's & the 1992 NBA finalists, talented & expensive squad but always comes out short. Lampard will be the star & Essien the new boy hopes to fill the new "Vieira" shoes. They will bull doze the group stage but expect a good match between Liverpool hey they did win the cup! Besides Gerrard Liverpool will need every bit of Cisse & Xabi to get them through the group stage, Real Betis is the dark horse threat here if Joaquin can weave his magic its going to be tough. BTW both squads of Chelsea & Liverpool have players from Spain who should know Betis game & the two English club should know each other well...

 

Group H

Inter Milan | FC Porto

A great squad in Inter leading with Adriano, getting a long time champions league campaigner in Figo while adding some good talent along the way should give them an edge in this group & to go forward in the later stages. Watch also for Claudio Pizarro former Bayern Munich player & Stankovic. FC Porto past champions but looking a shade off that now should be a threat & be there in the 2nd spot in the end they will need every bit of Benni McCarthy to get them there. Artmedia Bratislava knocked out Celtic now Rangers hope they wont get done by them too, watch Barry Freguson his a talented Scots man but never did well in Blackburn. You'll never see a talented Scottish player in a long time....

 

Leading Goal Scorer for group stages: Adriano, Ronaldo, Shevchenko, Ruud Van Nistelrooy

 

Shock of the group stage:Artmedia Bratislava wins over Inter, Chelsea knocked out

[xycho_g]

astig!...this wed na ung champions league...nasan na ung everton?...haha..olats...natanggal agad...haha...buti naman liverpool nanjan...

 

my picks...

 

group a - juventus and bayern

group b - ajax and either arsenal or sparta praha...olats kasi arsenal ngyn e...never been a fan...haha..

group c - barcenlona and udinese

group d - villareal and manu

group e - milan and psv

group f - real and either olympiacos or lyon..wala na kasi si essien e...

group g - liverpool and chelsea...sayang ung betis!...haha..

group h - inter and porto or rangers...wana see the rangers play...haha..

[xycho_g]

sang stadium pala finals ngyn?....

[damaso]

i think sven should play becks in the right, he has a wicked cross & can give quality service to the forwards (rooney,owen,defoe,crouch), england have 2 quality right wingers in becks&wright-phillips,the key problem with the england side is the left wing, they can use joe cole, but i think he's not a definite left winger, he's more of a midfielder that is in the hole which supports forwards in attacking, so they should find a good left winger, sino kaya? any ideas?....sven should play lampard & gerrard together, eventhough they are offensive minded, they are hard tackling central midfielders & have enough quality to hold the midfield & give quality service to the forwards, kung baga offense w/ defense..another problem for sven is their defense, they have world class defenders in ashley cole, rio ferdinand, john terry, sol campbell, but they can't find a constant back 4 who can play day-in&day-out, para magkakilala na maglaro kung baga, dapat di ba constant un back 4 mo, sino kaya ang ok na combination?..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

everyone agrees beckham should play on the right wing. everyone but beckham himself haha. he admitted to the press he prefers to play the central "quarterback" role. c'mon becks, swallow your pride for your country.

 

the left midfield has been a problem of england for a long time now. remember last world cup they used emile heskey, a natural striker! joe cole is really the best bet, esp now that mourinho sometimes uses him in the same role for chelsea.

 

gerrard and lampard should play together. but both of them can't go rampaging forward. sven needs to put his foot down and assign one of them a more defensive role. they have the qualities for defense, just need the attitude.

 

regarding england's back 4, they have talent and depth in the center (terry, ferdinand, campbell, carragher) but not on the flanks. aside from ashley cole and gary neville, they have no cover. that showed during the denmark match where glen johnson was ripped apart. i would play cole, terry, ferdinand and neville as the starting 4.

 

i think brazil is still a beatable team, if cameroon can beat them in the olympic finals why can't other teams in the world cup? there are lots of great teams..france, italy, argentina, germany, holland, greece, england who are more than capable of beating the brazilians..bilog ang bola sabi nga nila..lets just watch the world cup finals in germany kung ano mangyari..heavy favorites sila dahil sa offensive power nila pero importante pa din ang defense sa kahit anong sport, look at real madrid, beaten by celta vigo, 3-2, all the money in the world to buy the best offensive players pero kulang pa din sa depensa tsk tsk tsk.. :thumbsdownsmiley:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

i was exaggerating. of course an upset can happen, but brazil just looks so dominant right now. they have 2-3 world class players for each position. if the world cup finals were held today and brazil was allowed to field 2 teams, odds are those 2 teams would meet in the final. players like juninho, julio baptista, wagner love, etc would be all automatic starters for most national teams. the defense also looks tough. emerson, gilberto and ze roberto are hard-nosed defensive mids. the back line is solid with cris, juan, roque jr, cicinho, cacapa, lucio all looking to join regulars cafu and roberto carlos in the starting line-up. just a impressive team all around.

[teio]

stade de france at saint denis will host the finals...

 

champion's league hopeful losc lille metropole will have the opportunity to play in this season's final venue after their own ground was deemed not fit for their group stage home fixtures...

sang stadium pala finals ngyn?....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

i'm still sticking with the virtual underdogs... artmedia bratislava and thun... to make it to the knockout stages... add also rapid wein and udinese calcio...

[luol_deng]

everyone agrees beckham should play on the right wing. everyone but beckham himself haha. he admitted to the press he prefers to play the central "quarterback" role. c'mon becks, swallow your pride for your country.

 

the left midfield has been a problem of england for a long time now. remember last world cup they used emile heskey, a natural striker! joe cole is really the best bet, esp now that mourinho sometimes uses him in the same role for chelsea.

 

gerrard and lampard should play together. but both of them can't go rampaging forward. sven needs to put his foot down and assign one of them a more defensive role. they have the qualities for defense, just need the attitude.

 

regarding england's back 4, they have talent and depth in the center (terry, ferdinand, campbell, carragher) but not on the flanks. aside from ashley cole and gary neville, they have no cover. that showed during the denmark match where glen johnson was ripped apart. i would play cole, terry, ferdinand and neville as the starting 4. 

i was exaggerating. of course an upset can happen, but brazil just looks so dominant right now. they have 2-3 world class players for each position. if the world cup finals were held today and brazil was allowed to field 2 teams,  odds are those 2 teams would meet in the final. players like juninho, julio baptista, wagner love, etc would be all automatic starters for most national teams. the defense also looks tough. emerson, gilberto and ze roberto are hard-nosed defensive mids. the back line is solid with cris, juan, roque jr, cicinho, cacapa, lucio all looking to join regulars cafu and roberto carlos in the starting line-up. just a impressive team all around.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

i'd rather have Richardson play left wing this kid has some talent and you can see it when he played in West Brom last year...the 4-5-1 really limits them. Have Beckham back on wings with Lampard & Gerrard at central & Richardson on wing and up front Rooney & Owen. At back Neville, Rio, Terry & Cole.