The Ultimate Soccer Thread 2011-2012. VOL 2 (EPL,LFP, SERIE A, BUND, ETC.)

that second goal on ****** rimando
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David Ferreira to have surgery and miss 6-8 weeks.
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Barcelona was the better team but how about letting them ACTUALLY score the goal to win the match instead of handing it to them. This is soccer, teams lose/draw all of the time while being the better team. I am not saying Barcelona wouldn't have won anyway. In fact I wanted them to win because I want to see a El Clasico in the Champions League final but that 2nd PKwas so damn soft.
 
Originally Posted by abovelegit1

LOL. Only Barcelona can dominate a game to the tune of two-thirds possession and seven times as many shots on goal (with three at the back), against a European giant no less, and yet still have the "neutrals" crying about a "robbery."

Obviously, the second pen was a bit soft. I assume the ref from his angle saw the hands gripping the shirt and Nesta bundling over Busquets so he made the call (Nesta admitted he committed a foul post match, and maintained Puyol fouled him at the same time). But of course, no one was up in arms when up to two penalties were turned down at the San Potato Field. Dudes would be perfectly happy if an inferior Milan side had advanced on a draw while Barca had 2-4 penalties ignored. Pathetic, yet understandable. As always, greatness begets envy and antipathy. Catalunya is sleeping soundly tonight.

And to be fair to Arsenal fans, they have plenty to be bitter about. 2006 CL final, two years ago, last year, Cesc, all the years of trophy-less misery, resembling a feeder club at times, etc, etc.
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 Talking the low road while having a discussion on a message board huh? Again why is this about Arsenal? Because a couple of Arsenal fans have been saying the same thing that most fans of other teams and pundits around the world have said that there were a couple of questionable decisions today? 

You guys were the better team and should have went through overall but damn I bet you too wish that at times some of your wins  in the CL weren't clouded by a couple doggy decisions? (actually not really because as you said the Barcelona faithful are sleeping well) Missing calls is one thing but that looked like cheating by Busquets and Puyol.

If the ref was going to call the fist two PKs for fouls in the box then what was this?

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I dont give a %$+% for either team but some consistency is all we ask of UEFA refs. At this level they shouldn't be missing 2 Pk calls in the first leg especially with another set of eyes on the touchline that they have in CL matches. TBH this isnt really even about Barcelona to me its just that Uefa seems to be immune to criticism and deaf to the calls of a level-unbiased consistent refereeing by their employees. Call it the same way everytime and let the players decide the outcome. 

Congrats on the win BTW. I'd prefer that Bayern wins it since its at their stadium but I'd be happy as long as anyone but Chelsea lifts the trophy. (Plus if you guys lift it we get paid more for Cesc criminally low transfer fee.) 
 
Originally Posted by babam11218719

Barcelona was the better team but how about letting them ACTUALLY score the goal to win the match instead of handing it to them. This is soccer, teams lose/draw all of the time while being the better team. I am not saying Barcelona wouldn't have won anyway. In fact I wanted them to win because I want to see a El Clasico in the Champions League final but that 2nd PKwas so damn soft.
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+1.
You missed the point abovelegit. No one really said they didn't deserve it. It sucks to see a CL QF turn on such a stupid call. I would've said the same thing had Bayern or Madrid advanced in the same manner. Any neutral soccer fan should be annoyed by this sort of orchestrated appeal to the referee. 

Don't be so blinded by your love for Barca to miss legitimate and even-handed points that people are making. 

And the PKs missed last week were not at all comparable to the terrible PK granted today. I don't even remember what the second one was, but the Sanchez one was honest defense that may or may not have impeded a player (Sanchez went down rather easily). It may have been a PK, but it wasn't such a clear scoring opportunity and such a clear foul that it's a travesty for it to be missed. Today's call in my eyes was a travesty. Barca appeared to have created a play for Sergio Busquets to dive in the box. If you want to be less cynical about it, there was grabbing on both sides as Nesta said, and Busquets, known to go down easier than anyone in the world, went down. An encounter between two European giants shouldn't be decided by such petty antics. Let Messi and Xavi and Iniesta create their magic. They've done it before and would likely have done it again. Don't put a bad taste in the mouth of soccer fans, again, by awarding Busquet's theatrics. 
 
@ trunks
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Well, you asked how anyone could support Barca, and another gooner called us a disgrace, so of course I had to take a dig of my own.

To be honest, I don't care for refereeing controversies, nor do I particularly care what other fans think about the club I love and support. I've been watching since the early 90s, and the refs have been making bad decisions since then, contrary to what the popular opinion seems to be that Barca are the only club to ever get a decisions go their way. All the great teams I've seen, from the Fledglings to the Invincibles to the Galacticos have gotten calls during their respective periods of dominance, and there were always those who would cry favoritism and fixing. Fact is, a reason why those sides were great and successful is because they made their own luck.

From what I've seen, the refs on the touchlines have been utterly useless since their inclusion, and the standard of refereeing hasn't changed at all. Sure I wish controversy could be avoided and that refereeing was consistently good, but it's not, has never been, and I think it probably is what it is at this point. It's a very difficult game to officiate, and one can only hope the bad calls are offset during the course of a season - similar to what happened in the two legs of this tie. I'm just glad Barca advanced against a strong Milan side, and deserved to advance based on the two games.
 
I'm happy Barca made it through. Messi is jaw-dropping right now at nearly every turn. The little pass combo that Messi chested down and just missed was epic.

There was a couple of 10 minute periods today where the game was being played to near-perfection on both sides. Boateng had a couple of
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touches too.

Overall
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at the way this CL is shaping up. Madrid/Bayern Chelsea/Barca (Benefica can win obvi but I'd rather see Chelsea). You can't ask for much more if you're a soccer lover.
 
Controversy aside, I thought it was an enthralling contest. Tactics were interesting - Barca were basically playing a 3-3-4 for long stretches, probably the first time I've seen it employed in a big match. Despite the loss, I thought Allegri got his tactics and formation right this time after trying to get too cute with three strikers in that second leg against Arsenal. It's never nice to hear about an injury, but I felt particularly bad for the Milanistas after Silva was ruled out. The massive pitch at the Nou Camp is no country for old men, and Nesta wasn't able to replicate his first leg performance.

Love Dani Alves; easily my favorite right back to watch since Cafu. Such an asset because Pep doesn't even need to put a winger in front of him - he completely owns the right side of the pitch by himself. Incredible engine and attacking ability. Crazily enough, he may have been even more influential for Sevilla.

Agreed about the overall sentiment. Madrid/Bayern alone is
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So many world class attackers. And for better or worse, I'm always fascinated by Mou's approach in cup matches. IMO, the key will be Sweinsteiger's recovery/form. Real will quite rightly be the favorites, but I won't be surprised if Munchen manage victory with Bastian bossing the midfield. 
 
Madrid vs Bayern is going to be a great match! I'm glad we advanced, sure some questionable calls but bad calls happened in both games.
 
Cassano could be back very soon.He is already doing practice with the team.
Mario Gomez and Bayern extend their partnership till 2016.
Kiryat Schmona wins for the first time the title in Israel ( who the hell is Kiryat Schmona ????).
Besiktas fired Carvalhal.
Former AS Bari and now Atalanta Bergamo player Masiello admitted game manipulation.
Arsene Wenger punished by the UEFA and has to sit for three games on the tribune.
 
Benfica looking very interesting right now... waves of attacks...

And just as I say that, Pereira gets a red... oh well... move along.
 
Chelsea's game is a wrap...Benfica going a man down...


Real got a 5-0 aggregate at half time...that's a wrap too...
 
Even with 10 men Chelsea looking second best. Not quite sure why Di Matteo won't do a reshuffle. With this 4-2-3-1 they are being overrun in the midfield. They need to drop Ramires deeper, especially since he is providing nothing on the right. Why RDM continues to select him there is baffling.
 
Originally Posted by Weaponry Expert

Chelsea hasn't been the same since the Essien handball against City.
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They actually have been. They were the same before then, too. Slow and predictable going forward, and liable to concede at the back.
 
I'll always have a soft spot for the Blues, but what a thoroughly unimpressive way to advance. Looking like Barca could put them away in 45 minutes.
 
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