UEFA Champions League 2009-2010

[Xifio]

I think the better statement is that, "English clubs have done better than clubs from other countries in the past 7 years or so". Hardly worth chanting about innit? But that in turn, has been implied as "dominating Europe".

...

A lot of English fans actually respect and acknowledge the stature of the clubs in the rest of Europe, sure there's some that are ignorant but that's the same with fans from any country.

Its not our fault English football is overrated, some of us were led to believe that by the media, but that's due to ignorance and not bothering to study with the actual situation.

Its the same case as if we take players in football as an example . Once the media hype begins, and the player subsequently disappoints, he's considered "overrated" for some reason. But it wasn't his fault to begin with.

well said ... I agree with it all ... though I must point out that the reason why English football is so profitable is because of the constant hype which pervades the huge English-speaking world ... but that is another discussion for another time ...

like I said a couple of pages ago:

I for one am glad to be shot of the English teams -- given all that I've said before on this topic in this forum, this should come as no surprise ... but credit must be given where credit is due ...

they've had a different losing finalist every year for the last 4 years -- confirming the dominance of the English "top 4" for those years both in England and in Europe ... even I cannot begrudge them the credit for being that effective on the continental stage for half a decade ... it was ugly, it was brutish, but it was damn effective ... well done to them ... but I hope this signals the end of that "era" ...

respecting someone's achievements doesn't mean you like them or condone how they achieved what they achieved ... respecting someone's achievements is an acknowledgment that they have done something worthy of recognition (i.e. having a consistently sizeable presence in the latter stages of the most prestigious club competition) ... and English football cannot be denied that ...

 

[ArgVega]

If he were a Catalan sympathiser of his own accord, I would have no problems with it. But he's only supporting the cause because he's a Barca supporter. If he were a Madrid supporter or a Chelsea supporter he wouldn't give two ****s about it.

And that is a reason that is ridiculous enough to merit me saying something. Not to mention, that just like he has the right to his beliefs and to be vocal about them, I have the right to my own beliefs and be vocal about them in turn. I have my opinions about his beliefs, and I see no reason not to share them if I see fit.

I apologise for not being a chocolate-covered carebear.

Up until there I agree with you, if thats how you feel then thats fine.

The last comment though was a bit childish, and I know you would jump all over Arnau or Buti or anyone for answering childish stuff like that.

For someone who prides himself in his english, you should learn to read what I was asking. I said to be respectful, that doesn't mean a chocolate-covered carebear, google it if you don't understand.

 

[Zakov]

well said ... I agree with it all ... though I must point out that the reason why English football is so profitable is because of the constant hype which pervades the the huge English-speaking world ... but that is another discussion for another time ...

like I said a couple of pages ago:

respecting someone's achievements doesn't mean you like them or condone how they achieved what they achieved ... respecting someone's achievements is an acknowledgment that they have done something worthy of recognition ... and English football cannot be denied that ...

I think we all realize that don't we.

Football in England is easier to market towards the rest of the world is because of the language for starters, as well as the fact that England are supposedly "creators" of the game, people from countries that were colonized by the British take up interest in football and clubs from England during that period, and add the backing of the tabloids on top of that, etc etc.

We could go on and on about it. But we shouldn't let that hinder us from enjoying it. I'm always watching a few games from the Serie A over the weekends despite what people have been saying about over the years. It's all there to be enjoyed, just appreciate it for what it is man. Those who are saying its "overrated" and "hyped" won't be able to appreciate the Premier League for what it actually is, a league that mostly practices fast paced tempo and very physical football.

 

[Xifio]

If he were a Catalan sympathiser of his own accord, I would have no problems with it. But he's only supporting the cause because he's a Barca supporter. If he were a Madrid supporter or a Chelsea supporter he wouldn't give two ****s about it.

And that is a reason that is ridiculous enough to merit me saying something. Not to mention, that just like he has the right to his beliefs and to be vocal about them, I have the right to my own beliefs and be vocal about them in turn. I have my opinions about his beliefs, and I see no reason not to share them if I see fit.

I apologise for not being a chocolate-covered carebear.

look, I don't condone any of this Catalonia independence crap ... nationalism leads to jingoism and/or baseless bias towards one faction of people, and none of that is desirable for a functioning society ... actually, that is why I dislike you, Eyal ... still, I won't deny you your right to feel that way, if you so choose ... your point of contention with Buti in this case, though, has some holes in it ... let me explain:

Buti is from a region of the world where there has been a history of oppressive regimes ... his country only recently gained outright independence ... if he sympathizes with Catalonia, it is because he feels he can relate in some ways to their situation ...

but your point of contention is about how and why he cared so much about Catalunya ... well, it is fairly evident that Buti came into extensive contact with this whole Catalunya idea because of his support of FC Barcelona, no doubt ... but why is that bad thing?

let's take an analogy to understand this further: there are several examples of people who actively fund-raise for leukemia research, AFTER they have lost a loved one to leukemia, or AFTER a loved one has contracted the disease ... they may have known about it before, and may have felt something should be done, but until they personally came into a situation where they were exposed to the cause, they did not actively do something about leukemia ... it is a similar situation here ...


EDIT:

I think we all realize that don't we.

Football in England is easier to market towards the rest of the world is because of the language for starters, as well as the fact that England are supposedly "creators" of the game, people from countries that were colonized by the British take up interest in football and clubs from England during that period, and add the backing of the tabloids on top of that, etc etc.

We could go on and on about it. But we shouldn't let that hinder us from enjoying it. I'm always watching a few games from the Serie A over the weekends despite what people have been saying about over the years. It's all there to be enjoyed, just appreciate it for what it is man. Those who are saying its "overrated" and "hyped" won't be able to appreciate the Premier League for what it actually is, a league that mostly practices fast paced tempo and very physical football.

again, another good post from you ... I have to agree once again ... like you watch a few Serie A matches, I too watch the Premiership -- otherwise I would speaking from ignorance about what the Prem style is as I see it ... no harm in different people having different tastes ... and I am happy to leave that discussion there ...

 

[Mandieta6]

look, I don't condone any of this Catalonia independence crap ... nationalism leads to jingoism and/or baseless bias towards one faction of people, and none of that is desirable for a functioning society ... actually, that is why I dislike you, Eyal ... but I won't deny you your right to feel that way, if you so choose ... but your point of contention with Buti in this case has some holes in it ... let me explain:

Buti is from a region of the world where there has been a history of oppressive regimes ... his country only recently gained outright independence ... if he sympathizes with Catalonia, it is because he feels he can relate in some ways to their situation ...

but your point of contention is about how and why he cared so much about Catalunya ... well, it is fairly evident that Buti came into extensive contact with this whole Catalunya idea because of his support of FC Barcelona, no doubt ... but why is that bad thing?

let's take an analogy to understand this further: there are several examples of people who actively fund-raise for leukemia research, AFTER they have lost a loved one to leukemia, or AFTER a loved one has contracted the disease ... they may have known about it before, and may have felt something should be done, but until they personally came into a situation where they were exposed to the cause, they did not actively do something about leukemia ... it is a similar situation here ...


EDIT:

again, another good post from you ... I have to agree once again ... like you watch a few Serie A matches, I too watch the Premiership -- otherwise I would speaking from ignorance about what the Prem style is as I see it ... no harm in different people having different tastes ... and I am happy to leave that discussion there ...

You dislike me for being a jingoist? You'll have to refresh my memory on where you got that from.

If his locale were anything but a peripheral factor in his stance, I'd accept it. But it isn't. It's been made clear that he believes what he believes because of the club. It's not even an issue of him discovering Catalonia through Barca (although true), it is simply a mimicking act. I'd offer to look through his posts and find the evidence, but the prospect of immersing myself in his posts sickens me.

That analogy is faulty and doesn't apply. If I were to retranslate the analogy, it would requyire Buti to come in contact with the cause. He hasn't. He's come in contact with an entity which holds the cause as a secondary characteristic. Quite simply, it would be like me basing my political stance on what the Chelsea players or board believe.

I have no doubt in my mind that should Barca distance themselves from the Catalonian movement, so would Buti.

 

[Xifio]

You dislike me for being a jingoist? You'll have to refresh my memory on where you got that from.

you're not so much a jingoist as much as a person who has a "baseless bias towards one faction of people" ... I've brought this up before ...

If his locale were anything but a peripheral factor in his stance, I'd accept it. But it isn't. It's been made clear that he believes what he believes because of the club. It's not even an issue of him discovering Catalonia through Barca (although true), it is simply a mimicking act. I'd offer to look through his posts and find the evidence, but the prospect of immersing myself in his posts sickens me.

That analogy is faulty and doesn't apply. If I were to retranslate the analogy, it would requyire Buti to come in contact with the cause. He hasn't. He's come in contact with an entity which holds the cause as a secondary characteristic. Quite simply, it would be like me basing my political stance on what the Chelsea players or board believe.

I have no doubt in my mind that should Barca distance themselves from the Catalonian movement, so would Buti.

like I said, even though I don't at all agree with the reasons for this independence talk, Buti has seen oppression first-hand, and seen independence gained, so he can relate to the Catalonia situation in some ways ... but I'll give you the first-hand contact vs. the second-hand contact point ... and I won't dispute your latter point ...

 

[Sevillista]

Haha, my post was a joke... I didn't expect to wake up to three pages of debate. My point was that how teams do in the Champions League has no reflection on the league, just the teams, and I wanted the anglophiles to understand/admit that.

 

[Jaboldinho]

1. There has been atleast one EPL team in the semi-finals of the Champions League in 6 out of the past 7 seasons. No other European league has come close to that.

2. Missing the semi-finals in one year is not a big deal IF there is atleast one team in the semis the following year. If no one makes it next year, THEN it ma be true that that league is in decline. You can't make such a loud statement until the semis of the following season.

Saying something is overrated doesn't mean they aren't good. It means they aren't as good as some people want to think they are.

For sure, EPL is a tough league, probably the toughest in the world, but that doesn't mean it can't be overrated. For example, here in Finland, English football is all people talk about. Whenever there is a round of Champions' League, the national TV station most often shows the match with ManU, Liverpool or Chelsea playing in. Then the commentators hype about the English style of play, the toughness of the players, and the league. No talk about the Spanish, Italian, French or German leagues. In the sports news, if they happen to show some highlights of the weekends Euro football action, it's always just the Premier League. And that all has just gotten worse with EPL teams being so strong in the UCL the last few years. That's why I'm so happy, that this year there aren't any English teams in the semis. Obviously, change at itself is almost always a good thing, and maybe this would teach some of us Finns, that there is more to football than the EPL.

 

[Xifio]

Saying something is overrated doesn't mean they aren't good. It means they aren't as good as some people want to think they are.

For sure, EPL is a tough league, probably the toughest in the world, but that doesn't mean it can't be overrated. For example, here in Finland, English football is all people talk about. Whenever there is a round of Champions' League, the national TV station most often shows the match with ManU, Liverpool or Chelsea playing in. Then the commentators hype about the English style of play, the toughness of the players, and the league. No talk about the Spanish, Italian, French or German leagues. In the sports news, if they happen to show some highlights of the weekends Euro football action, it's always just the Premier League. And that all has just gotten worse with EPL teams being so strong in the UCL the last few years. That's why I'm so happy, that this year there aren't any English teams in the semis. Obviously, change at itself is almost always a good thing, and maybe this would teach some of us Finns, that there is more to football than the EPL.

from my experience, it could not be more identical than what you have described even if they tried back home in Zambia (and by extension the whole of southern, western, and eastern Africa), and here in my new adopted home of the USA (east coast, west coast, and now central, hasn't made a difference so far) ... word for word what you've described there ...

Toronto was better, due to the dominant immigrant population, and because most of the Persians were gino and supported Italian teams ...

 

[Arnau]

Love spanish medias, aren't we their last team in champions league?

 

[Rolls93]

I will be really happy when Barca get a good result for them in the 1st leg in Italy.

 

[MaestroZidane]

I feel Like I'm the only watching this awesome game...

 

[MaestroZidane]

Like I said when the draw was made, This Inter team is a very different than from the group stage.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Wowwww

 

[kp41]

clear penalty on Alves.
offside goal from milito.
it was 12 vs 11 the whole match.
but it doesn't matter. Barca should repeat that earlier result, 2-0.
Let's Go Barca, Screw SOB Mourinho, Inter.

 

[Dytza]

where are all the idiots claiming last year Barça went in the final helped by the referee?

 

[MaestroZidane]

clear penalty on Alves.
offside goal from milito.
it was 12 vs 11 the whole match.
but it doesn't matter. Barca should repeat that earlier result, 2-0.
Let's Go Barca, Screw SOB Mourinho, Inter.

You can continue with the excuses if you can find some more..

Inter was by far the better team

 

[Zakov]

Great result from Inter. Jose got everything right, soaked up most of the pressure and got the goals from quick breakaways.

Maicon is beast, and I thought Sneijder continued the form he showed against us which was absolutely magnificent. Milito worked his socks off, Motta was doing his usual foul play tackles which broke a lot of Barca possession.

Strangely enough Messi didn't get much joy against Zanetti, who had the measure of him for most of the match. He was fairly anonymous to be fair, the first half shot and second free-kick and the accidental collision with Maicon(which led the latter to being subbed) were the only things that stood out.

Pedro was brilliant(Don't think Henry is ever going to get his starting place back), and Pique has great ball juggling skills, he even manage to juggled the ball from in front of Inter's goal and away from danger.

 

[newbie original]

No Pique, no Puyol in this game......and they won't be back for the 2nd leg either so Inter will score in the second leg as well. Barca are basically finished.

 

[Zakov]

clear penalty on Alves.
offside goal from milito.
it was 12 vs 11 the whole match.
but it doesn't matter. Barca should repeat that earlier result, 2-0.
Let's Go Barca, Screw SOB Mourinho, Inter.

Sorry, I just checked out the replay and Sneijder's legs were spread out and Alves fell down without any contact(unless Sneijder had a huge knob that clipped Alve's legs).