UEFA Champions League Thread

[profets]

martyn was prob out for sure watching the game. i would have been too if not stuck at work

[Tel]

Well done Liverpool. Successful season for you boys. Rafa "The Tactics God" Benitez got it spot on tonight.

[Rappy Veteran]

Well done Liverpool. Successful season for you boys. Rafa "The Tactics God" Benitez got it spot on tonight.

Ummm :unsure:

[sharpy2k4]

Naff game to be fair, we played better out of the two teams, but had NO idea what the defence was doign for the 2nd goal...and gratz' to inzaghi for scoring froma deflected free kick!

I think crouch should have started and not kuyt but oh well :(

dont know what else to say, im really really gutted.

other than 3 mins extra time?!??! purely for subs and corners, what about the 2 mins inzaghi was on floor when the ball hit him! He blew the whistle 1 min before it should have finished!!! 6 games hes reffed for Milan this year and they've won all 6!

OH AND!!! MILAN SHOULDNT OF BEEN IN THE COMPETITION THIS YEAR!!!! but you know Uefa hate England and such like that

:( RIP ATHENS

Well done Liverpool. Successful season for you boys. Rafa "The Tactics God" Benitez got it spot on tonight.

:unsure: :blink: wtf?

[Bawx]

So, I watched some of this game just flicking through channels. Was this a big game? Like the Superbowl is America?

[Tel]

sorry just to clear up my post, i'm not a liverpool fan and for the last 2 weeks all i've heard is how great Rafa and liverpool are and how it is liverpool's destiny to win it again, obviously not.

[ctebah]

the history these two teams have is big but milan wins hands down. more players are experienced, look at seedorf, won with milan, ajax and barcelona. and we can't forget maldini who rewrote uefa history books today.

[Kerm]

Gutted.

[Scirwode]

No sign on Martyn yet?....I bet he has kicked his telly out the window...

Probably too embarrassed after saying for much of the season and in this thread that he had a feeling that it will be Liverpool's year :p !

Naff game to be fair, we played better out of the two teams, but had NO idea what the defence was doign for the 2nd goal...and gratz' to inzaghi for scoring froma deflected free kick!

I think crouch should have started and not kuyt but oh well :(

dont know what else to say, im really really gutted.

other than 3 mins extra time?!??! purely for subs and corners, what about the 2 mins inzaghi was on floor when the ball hit him! He blew the whistle 1 min before it should have finished!!! 6 games hes reffed for Milan this year and they've won all 6!

OH AND!!! MILAN SHOULDNT OF BEEN IN THE COMPETITION THIS YEAR!!!! but you know Uefa hate England and such like that

:( RIP ATHENS

:unsure: :blink: wtf?

To be fair, Liverpool were the better team but Milan took their chances and took it well. Zenden in the first half was non existent for the most part but all in all, they could have done it if it wasn't for Inzaghi. Second goal, I think Reina went out too early and gave enough space for Inzaghi to slip it in the far post. Liverpool got a goal back from a header by Dirk Kuyt, I believe, but they left it a little too late. I was a bit surprised that the referee blew the whistle 40 seconds before it finished. In football, 40 seconds could have brought a goal so I am a bit suspicious of that.

As for the part that Milan shouldn't be in the competition, well, what's done is done. Complaining about it wouldn't do any good. So congratulations to AC Milan for being the UEFA Champions League Winners 2006/2007.

Scirwode

Edited May 24, 2007 by Scirwode

[profets]

Naff game to be fair, we played better out of the two teams, but had NO idea what the defence was doign for the 2nd goal...and gratz' to inzaghi for scoring froma deflected free kick!

I think crouch should have started and not kuyt but oh well :(

dont know what else to say, im really really gutted.

other than 3 mins extra time?!??! purely for subs and corners, what about the 2 mins inzaghi was on floor when the ball hit him! He blew the whistle 1 min before it should have finished!!! 6 games hes reffed for Milan this year and they've won all 6!

OH AND!!! MILAN SHOULDNT OF BEEN IN THE COMPETITION THIS YEAR!!!! but you know Uefa hate England and such like that

:( RIP ATHENS

:unsure: :blink: wtf?

i would say liverpool played a bit better, but milan made more of their chances. it wasnt lopsided in terms of possession either. liverpool are a great team and really close the field making it difficult for their opponents.

although you guys feel down after the loss.. you can imagine what it was like for us 2 years ago. milan was playing incredible and screwed up completely during those 10 horrible minutes. it seemed destined for liverpool to win that time though. just like milan this year.

PLEASE dont start with this BS about milan should not have been in the CL this year. alot of BS happened in serie A. mostly milan were victims. the past 5 years milan has been very strong in europe, they deserve to be there.

[Shibby]

I was slighty anoyed by the whistle getting blown early. You are ment to add on time for subs and when people are down. Not take it away!

Ah well. Couldn't really fault Stevie G, Pennant and Alonso. They worked there socks of for 'Pool

[sharpy2k4]

Im not taking away anything from milan, they deserved to win, they took their chances and played amazingly well against Man United. But being out of the competition then let in? No offence, if the Italy scandal was in Uk i would guarantee all English teams would be banned from Europe for at least the one season.

Sad to hear about those genuine fans last night that was banned from the stadium cause people with non tickets charged in :(

[Tel]

i was reading on BBC's website some fans were selling their tickets and deciding to watch the game down the pub, personally no amount of money would have convinced me to miss my team in a champions league final. Guess Money talk....

[Martyn]

You'll Never Walk Alone

Red men, we love you and we are so proud of you for taking us on another epic European journey!

Congratulations to AC Milan first off, the new seven times European Champions.

The result last night probably went some way to healing the pain that AC Milan felt after the game in Istanbul...which was two years ago tomorrow. To be honest, I would rather have won in Istanbul in Athens anyway...just because of the circumstances two years back, it was just the most amazing game and I still cant believe how it turned out now, it is a feeling that will always be cherished and never beaten. I still think Milan will be feeling the pain of Istanbul forever.

Well anyway, my opinion on the game now. I know some of you automatically assume I will be biased in Liverpool's favour, but I honestly try to be quite fair with my opinions on football...although I am obviously going to lean towards Liverpool because they are in my heart. On the balance of play I felt Liverpool deserved to win the game, anyone could see that certainly in the first half we controlled the game, we where just very unfortunate that Milan scored undeniably a total fluke of a goal. After they scored we had to adjust our tactics and we had to take more risks, press on and leave more spaces at the back which would leave us open to counter attacks, we had to do this instead of steadily controlling the game and letting the game develop naturally. Alonso, Mascherano and Gerrard effectively stopped Milan from playing their game, and allowed us to play our game in the first half, but it was a bit more open in the second. I think the game was lost on our inability to score, this is a problem we have had really since Michael Owen left us, we just not have a top class striker in the mould of Drogba, Henry or Eto'o. Kuyt is a good player but he enjoys linking up play and is not an out and out striker who will bang in 30 goals a season, although he does have a good goal record.

The referee was very poor last night, all you had to do is stand next to a player and he blew for a foul all the time, he should of just let the game flow which is what we like to see in finals. Only playing 2 minutes and 30 seconds of injury time was a joke, there was meant to be a MINIMUM of 3 minutes extra time...and the rules are that 30 seconds should be added on for every substitute made during that extra time period, so there should of been a minimum of 3 minutes 30 seconds to be player...and we all know what Liverpool are like with last minute goals, there is a famous that "it only takes a second to score a goal". I am not saying we would of scored during that extra minute but you can bet your arse we would of tried, I guess we will never know now though.

I am sure we will use this loss to our advantage, it will make us more determined to come back strongly next season. Rafa will certainly be ringing the changes to the squad during the close season, especially now we have the financial capability to compete with the likes of Chelsea and Man Utd.

Congratulations once again to AC Milan!

martyn was prob out for sure watching the game. i would have been too if not stuck at work

Yup, I went into the city centre to watch the game, so this is the first real opportunity I have had to post on here about the game. The atmosphere was absoloutely amazing, even when we went 2-0 down we just carried on singing even louder! It was amazing when we scored, I got completely soaked in beer :p! I took a video of the You'll Never Walk Alone before the game which I may lash on YouTube later for those interested!

Probably too embarrassed after saying for much of the season and in this thread that he had a feeling that it will be Liverpool's year :p !

Why would I be embarrassed that my team got to a European Cup final :)?

Edited May 24, 2007 by Martyn

[Samboini]

I love nothing more than seeing Liverpool being beaten. O how I laugh! I probably wouldn't be as bothered if they were not so big headed and prophetic. But hey you got to the final right, and you won... nothing.

[.kvn]

Well done to Liverpool in getting to the final and well done to Milan for winning. Pity the ref was ****.

[Rappy Veteran]

I think the ref was a bit crappy he gave stupid decisions when players jumped for the ball...can see why they call Gattuso Pitbull :laugh:

Liverpool will be back next year stronger and with new players Voronin for one will add options up front for them...

[ctebah]

typical british, always blame the ref.

[Brodel]

typical british, always blame the ref.

I think it's mostly down to the Premiership being a more physical league than most of the others in Europe. When it comes to European competitions the refs are more used to the continental style, where as English teams and supporters are not and prefer a game where tough challenges and shoulder to shoulder charges are part of the game. In contrast, players tend to fall or refs tend to blow the whistle on the continent.

To quote the Roma coach Luciano Spalletti in the build up to the Champions League Semi's.

"I think their sides are more physical, more complete," continued the Roma coach, whose charges had no answer to United's pace and power this week. "The players are better equipped for one-on one duels because they are used to that in the Premiership and they bring this strength into Europe."

http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/kind=419...sid=527073.html

Edited May 24, 2007 by Brodel

[metallithrax]

You know, even though I follow Liverpool results before anyone elses, I get sick of all the "the better team lost" rubbish.

Then idea of football is to score goals, it doesn't matter how good you play if you don't score goals. Liverpool scored one, Milan scored two, therefore Milan were the better team.

On a side note, it will be a relief to my mate Andy because he has loads of Liverpool enamel badges with the 5 stars on and he probably wouldn't have been able to sell them if they had won this year. :laugh:

I'll tell him to make sure he sells them all before next years final.

[Rappy Veteran]

typical british, always blame the ref.

:laugh:

I support neither side but just felt he wasn't good...

[Dorza]

typical british, always blame the ref.

Standards in officiating a football match in any professional English league has lowered significantly since they went professional ; you only need to watch them week in week out to see that. The officiating in the lower leagues is laughable, talk about incompetent. As for that European ref last night he was terrible, anyone can see that. You get some brilliant officials don't get me wrong, but for the most part their not very good at what they do.

Then idea of football is to score goals, it doesn't matter how good you play if you don't score goals. Liverpool scored one, Milan scored two, therefore Milan were the better team.

How on earth do you come to the conclusion that if a team scores more then they are automatically the better team? Football is not as black and white as that, far from it. Thats a FACT by the way.

As for last night Liverpool deserved to win based on their performance. I'm a man utd/swansea fan and under normal circumstances I would have wanted Liverpuddle to win (I'm odd in that as a utd fan I actually like Liverpool), however since we won the prem, I didn't want Liverpool coming home European Champions since it would basically override the success of utd this season in being English Champions.

[Martyn]

I think it's mostly down to the Premiership being a more physical league than most of the others in Europe. When it comes to European competitions the refs are more used to the continental style, where as English teams and supporters are not and prefer a game where tough challenges and shoulder to shoulder charges are part of the game. In contrast, players tend to fall or refs tend to blow the whistle on the continent.

To quote the Roma coach Luciano Spalletti in the build up to the Champions League Semi's.

http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/kind=419...sid=527073.html

Exactly! They are all tarts in the other leagues :p! Get stuck in is my motto!

Drogba and Ronaldo are great players, and they scare the hell out of me when they play against Liverpool, but I do not respect them with all there poncey play acting...it is just not football.

[metallithrax]

Standards in officiating a football match in any professional English league has lowered significantly since they went professional ; you only need to watch them week in week out to see that. The officiating in the lower leagues is laughable, talk about incompetent. As for that European ref last night he was terrible, anyone can see that. You get some brilliant officials don't get me wrong, but for the most part their not very good at what they do.

How on earth do you come to the conclusion that if a team scores more then they are automatically the better team? Football is not as black and white as that, far from it. Thats a FACT by the way.

As for last night Liverpool deserved to win based on their performance. I'm a man utd/swansea fan and under normal circumstances I would have wanted Liverpuddle to win (I'm odd in that as a utd fan I actually like Liverpool), however since we won the prem, I didn't want Liverpool coming home European Champions since it would basically override the success of utd this season in being English Champions.

You have proof of your FACT?

The idea of football is to win the game. To win the game you need to score more goals than the opposition. The team that scores the most goals is the winner, therefore the better team surely. It doesn't matter how classy your football is if you cannot score goals.

[ctebah]

english league is bellow spanish and italian at the moment. tards in outher leagues?

you're cheering for a club that's coached by a spanish dude and owned by americans!!!!!

hahahahahahahaha....