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ridiculous
Champions League knockout stage draw
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by el Chief,
- Start date
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"si si si, nos vamos a madrid"
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Watching Barca play is
So squaded and they play so well together. Iniesta makes any team that he is on a thousand times better.
So squaded and they play so well together. Iniesta makes any team that he is on a thousand times better.
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Messi is ******ed...
This Bordeaux - Olympiakos game is crazy, Diarra just got a red after Derbyshire got one 5 minutes ago, now 10-10.
This Bordeaux - Olympiakos game is crazy, Diarra just got a red after Derbyshire got one 5 minutes ago, now 10-10.
777
formerly gunitg23
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Iniesta, ball control is
sirius lee handsome
Banned
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BARCELONA BEAT-DOWN
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Barca are through and Chamakh just scored to put Bordeaux through with a crazy header (can't wait to see that score 15 goals for us next season
)
So...
Arsenal
Man Utd
Lyon
Bayern
CSKA
Inter
Barca
Bordeaux
The final 8...we shall find out who plays who on Friday.
So...
Arsenal
Man Utd
Lyon
Bayern
CSKA
Inter
Barca
Bordeaux
The final 8...we shall find out who plays who on Friday.
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Messi is the undisputed best player in the world, hands down. He makes everyone around him better and can score at will.
The only way to stop this Barca team is to try what Chelsea did last season and hope you can hang on.
My dude Thierry Henry is almost finished. His brain is still there and he's still a wizard with the ball but he cant keep up with the rest of the team. Dude should've had 2 goals in the first half but was just too slow.
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Quite simply, we're witnessing the best team ever. Barça toyed with Stuttgart just like they did last year with OL and Bayern.
Guardiola read Stuttgart's offside trap perfectly and that lead to consistent 2-on-1 opportunities for Barça. Toure and Henry are rounding into shape at the same time as last year, Valdés is currently the best goalkeeper in Europe, Puyol and Piqué do not miss a beat on defense, Maxwell is performing very well, Busquets and Iniesta drive the opposition nuts with their constant passing, Dani Alves is an additional midfielder who also shuts down the right side on defense, Pedro and Bojan are hungry and responding better than expected and Messi is, well, Messi.
And to think that FCB was missing the Euro 2008 MVP and a top 5 winger tonight...
On another note, this Stuttgart team needs to be blown up. Keep Molinaro, Osorio, Marica, Pogrebnyak and Kuzmanovic, transfer Cacau to an upper-tier team and use the 18-24 million to get yourself three or four serviceable attackers and give Lehman his walking papers.
Guardiola read Stuttgart's offside trap perfectly and that lead to consistent 2-on-1 opportunities for Barça. Toure and Henry are rounding into shape at the same time as last year, Valdés is currently the best goalkeeper in Europe, Puyol and Piqué do not miss a beat on defense, Maxwell is performing very well, Busquets and Iniesta drive the opposition nuts with their constant passing, Dani Alves is an additional midfielder who also shuts down the right side on defense, Pedro and Bojan are hungry and responding better than expected and Messi is, well, Messi.
And to think that FCB was missing the Euro 2008 MVP and a top 5 winger tonight...
On another note, this Stuttgart team needs to be blown up. Keep Molinaro, Osorio, Marica, Pogrebnyak and Kuzmanovic, transfer Cacau to an upper-tier team and use the 18-24 million to get yourself three or four serviceable attackers and give Lehman his walking papers.
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As always people can't just appreciate a great player, you have to overreact and make crazy statements. Better than Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Ronaldinho EVER played? EVER? Ronaldo in his El Phenomeno days? C. Ronaldo in his 42 goal season? Ronaldinho in his late PSG/early Barca days? Not arguing either way but I hate when people just throw out these grand statements.
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Yes he is. None of them were this dominant. 6 Trophies in 1 season. You take him out of the Barca line-up last season and who knows if they win anything. Lets also not forget that he carried Argentina in the U20 WC and that he helped Argentina win Olympic gold in Beijing.
Unlike Ronaldo, Messi is a team player who knows when to pass the ball and when to shoot. Just compare their assist numbers over the years. Ronaldo's 42-goal season was inflated due to him taking all of Man Utd's PKs and free-kicks (long and short).
As great as Ronaldinho was in 2005 and 2006, he did not perform his best in the KO-stages of the UCL. He did not do very much in the KO-stage the season Barca won the UCL. Look at how great Messi was in last season's KO-stage. Other than against Chelsea, he beasted against everyone else.
Fat Ronaldo didn't have much European success and obviously wasn't as complete of an attacker as Messi (due to playing a different position...it's not something I'm taking away from him). Think about it, Messi is doing this against the best clubs in the world. Based on overall impact, Messi is far more influential than Ronaldo was.
Messi is unstoppable for Barca and can be just as unstoppable for Argentina if Cokadonna gets his tactics right.
Right now:
1. Messi
2. Rooney
3. Ronaldo
Edit:
Messi has 21 goals in 42 career matches in Europe.
C. Ronaldo has 23 goals in 64 career European matches.
Ronaldinho has 26 goals in 65 career matches in Europe.
Ronaldo finished with 37 goals in 73 matches.
Messi will probably surpass C. Ronaldo's total in this year's edition of the UCL. Messi also has way more assists in Europe than Ronaldo. He'll also eventually score more European goals than Ronaldinho and he's the only player in this discussion that is scoring at as a prolific rate in Europe as Fat Ronaldo despite playing in a more withdrawn position than Fat Ronaldo. Enough said.
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A mid-table Bundesliga side?
Man, these footy threads on NT are out of control with the homerism.
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Real Madrid couldn't even beat a mid-table Ligue 1 side
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And that's why they're not the best team ever.Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez
Real Madrid couldn't even beat a mid-table Ligue 1 side
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Wow. What a start to st pattys day. I had to switch up the estrella for the guinness on this beautiful socal day.
VISCA BARCA!
VISCA BARCA!
marionthebarberian
Banned
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As much as I like Barca, VV is not the best keeper in Europe he's not even top 7
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Some decent points, but you're making convenient arguments and leaving out the ones that hurt his case. I would point out that Messi is playing on a stacked team and basically has his whole career. It's easier to create when everyone around you is world class. Not saying the others played with scrubs, but I don't think any of them really played on a team this stacked, with players like Xavi, Iniesta, Henry, etc. there to draw defenders and leave that side of the field relatively open.
Also, you can't just use Maradonna as an excuse for Messi's weak international performances. It was the same before Maradonna got there, and if Messi is really as great as you say he should shine regardless of tactics. He might be a little worse because of tactics but he shouldn't be disappearing in international games to the point that his team barely makes the World Cup field.
And I think you make a weak point about Ronaldo's stats being inflated. He earned a lot of those PKs and all of his FKs were impressive as hell. Not sure how taking and making FKs "inflates" your stats. It's a part of football and is one of the most difficult skills to perfect, so I would certainly say a FK counts as much as any other goal.
To me this talk of Messi being greater than the three Rs EVER WERE is pure reaction (as always happens in NT soccer threads) to a great run of games by a great player on a great team. You put any of the other mentioned players on this squad in their primes and they do just as well or better. This makes me wonder if many of you actually saw R9 play early in his career.
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Welcome to NT soccer threads.
A good team thrashes a horrible team that doesn't belong in the CL and all of a sudden they are the greatest team of all time, their best player is the greatest player of all time, and their goalkeeper is the best in Europe.
It's amazing how shortsighted NT soccer fans are.
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Hey, we've all made some ******ed comments on this forum.Originally Posted by PersiaFly
Welcome to NT soccer threads.
A good team thrashes a horrible team that doesn't belong in the CL and all of a sudden they are the greatest team of all time, their best player is the greatest player of all time, and their goalkeeper is the best in Europe.
It's amazing how shortsighted NT soccer fans are.
My most ******ed one was when I said the U.S. had 0% chance of advancing in the CC and they ended up advancing
Erascism said at the end of last season that Chelsea were the best club in Europe.
You said during the CC that Andrea Pirlo was a top 5 player in the world
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Barça is not SUDDENLY the best team ever. They won every single competition they played last season, 6-for-6. That was unheard of. They knocked the defending UCL champion out in Rome and might have drawn even more blood if Sir Alex Ferguson hadn't waved the white flag after 70 minutes. They scored 32 goals in 13 UCL matches last year, and this year they've given up 3 goals in 7 UCL matches. They won their six title games (including the Bernabeu Massacre, because that was basically what that game came down to) by a combined score of 20-5. They've won 72 of their 105 games in the past two seasons and of their 10 losses four came when their standing was set in stone and Guardiola played the reserves. They haven't lost a game by more than one goal since Pep took charge. What more can you ask for?
As for being second, that's only true as a technicism. In Spain, face-to-face goal average isn't taken into account until both rounds are completed. Basically, Barça only has to duplicate every result Madrid achieves and draw at Bernabeu to win it. Don't forget 63 points at this stage has never been achieved either, it's not like these dudes are dragging out a 50-point league like you see in France or Germany. And let's not get into the refereeing...
And yes, Valdes is the best goalkeeper in Europe right now. 20 goals allowed in 37 matches playing in a team that only lines up two true defenders. Shutouts against Valencia (twice), Madrid, Sevilla and Inter (twice). Nobody is seeing those numbers.
As for being second, that's only true as a technicism. In Spain, face-to-face goal average isn't taken into account until both rounds are completed. Basically, Barça only has to duplicate every result Madrid achieves and draw at Bernabeu to win it. Don't forget 63 points at this stage has never been achieved either, it's not like these dudes are dragging out a 50-point league like you see in France or Germany. And let's not get into the refereeing...
And yes, Valdes is the best goalkeeper in Europe right now. 20 goals allowed in 37 matches playing in a team that only lines up two true defenders. Shutouts against Valencia (twice), Madrid, Sevilla and Inter (twice). Nobody is seeing those numbers.
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Hugo Lloris > Victor Valdes, and he's 5 years younger too.
End of story.
End of story.
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Excellent reasoning Jada. The strong facts and thoughtful analysis that back up your opinion are just brilliant . Thanks for such a remarkable contribution.
And by the way, I'm not saying Barça is the best team ever based off of this tie. I'm doing it based on the squad's overall body of work.
And by the way, I'm not saying Barça is the best team ever based off of this tie. I'm doing it based on the squad's overall body of work.
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Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez
Hey, we've all made some ******ed comments on this forum.Originally Posted by PersiaFly
Welcome to NT soccer threads.
A good team thrashes a horrible team that doesn't belong in the CL and all of a sudden they are the greatest team of all time, their best player is the greatest player of all time, and their goalkeeper is the best in Europe.
It's amazing how shortsighted NT soccer fans are.
My most ******ed one was when I said the U.S. had 0% chance of advancing in the CC and they ended up advancing
Erascism said at the end of last season that Chelsea were the best club in Europe.
You said during the CC that Andrea Pirlo was a top 5 player in the world
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Don't feel like flippin through all these sites to find stats to prove to you why Lloris is a better keeper than Valdes. But Valdes has 5 + years on Lloris and by the time Lloris is 28, he will be world class which he isn't far off from and which Valdes is not. I'm too busy right now on Ebay trying to win an auction.
