8 replies to this topic

[Simon]

Congratulations to all. Must be the finest European Cup quarter final line-up for a long time.

AC Milan
Real Madrid

Valencia
Ajax

Barcelona
Inter Milan

Man Utd
Juventus

1st draw 2nd now. How about Juve v Inter and Manu U v Madrid

Regards,
Simon

[Franco]

Real - Manchester Utd. 3-1. What about the retour match ? Real defensive players are not so good. Manchester should attack strongly to overcome and keep ball possession.
Real is an excellent, fantastic team. If You let them play football and ball possession, they are able to score many goals. Zinedine Zidane decided to leave Juventus and play with Merengues in 2001 and he was right, because now he can enjoy himself and his supporters too. Italian championship is very different from Liga and Champions league. You have to stop Your opponents instead of playing better football than them.
Tonight's matches Juve vs. Barcellona and Inter vs. Valencia. David Trezeguet is out because of shoulder dislocation. My forecast: Juve 2 - Barcellona 0; Inter 1 - Valencia 1.

[Simon]

Mark Lawrenson ex Liverpool defender now turned football pundit summed it up perfectly when he said "Real were irresistible". It was a disappointing result but what a superb exhibition of football - the kind every true fan loves to watch. I think Zidane, Figo, Raul, Ronaldo and Carlos would be on the team-sheet if Earth played Mars at football!

Although the away goal has given Man Utd a slim chance of progressing, I doubt whether they will be able to overcome Real without conceding goals and may fall just short. United will be very determined though and it should be very exciting again.

My predictions:

Juve 1 - Barcelona 1
Inter 1 - Valencia 1

Forza Juventus! - Renda Franco Felice!

Riguardi
Simon

[Franco]

Bad news from Turin. I'm afraid it's going to be very hard to progress in Champions league.
Juventus forwarders were not able to score goals.
1-1 seemed to be the right conclusion of the match.
Inter is able to go to Valencia and win 3-0, but they are also able to lose 3-0.
My forecast after yesterday evening matches:
Barcellona vs. Real Madrid;
Valencia vs. Milan.

[Simon]

Yes, bad news it will be difficult for Juve now. Although they have the players and are a good enough team to do it. They must attack!

The good news is I predicted the score correctly - sorry.

Regards,
Simon

[Franco]

Hi Simon. Soccer may sometimes be very strange.

After Barca had attacked our goal for a long time, and We were not able to cross middle field, Juve did only one simple counter attack, and Marcelo Zalayeta scored the goal !

Pavel Nedved, the so called "bionic-man", was the MOM.

I was watching the match at home, stood up immediately and shouted loud GOOOAAAALLL and started running and jumping all around !!!!. My wife and our Rufus cat were sleeping. They soon woke up and thought I got crazy. The cat escaped under the table and stayed there for a while.

Juve played the well known Italian "catenaccio". This word means "thick metal chain" and it has been used to describe the defensive strategy of many Italian football teams. Let the other team play the game, try to keep the ball far from Your goal. As soon as Your opponents make an error in the middle field, counterattack and score the goal. Then keep eleven players in Your penalty area and wait for the end of the match.

Someone calls it "the son of a bitch" strategy.

Also Inter at Valencia's did not play football, but only "catenaccio".

I think it's a shame, but as soon as You catch the result, every strategy is good. The result is that We have two italian teams in UCL semi finals. It's the first time in the history of UCL.

My forecast was wrong, but I'm happy to say so.

What are You going to do this evening ? Are you going to Old Trafford ? Will You watch the match on TV ? Raul will not be able to play. What about Van Nistelroy and Giggs ? Both may be the match winners. Hope that United beats Real, so next match will be United vs. Juve and We'll discuss again about our teams.

Franco

[Simon]

HOORAY for Manchester United!

Once we have steamrollered Real Madrid we have a very easy passage to the final (almost a bye) as we know we can beat Juventus without any problems.

No seriously, congratulations to 'the old lady' and you Franco. Very few teams come away from the Nou Camp with a result of any kind and it must have been a magnificent performance. Catenaccio has always been a successful strategy for Italian teams in Europe and is known and loved the world over. :D

My brother applied for tickets but was unsuccessful so I will be watching the game on TV. I admire Raul greatly he is a gifted player and I actually placed a bet on him to win the 'golden boot' in the last world cup, but that's another story. It is good for Man Utd that he won't play although they have plenty of other firepower.

It seems stupid to say but I feel the first goal may decide the game, if MU can score without reply, in the first half, I think we can do it. It is a monumental task though as Real are the best club team in the world and we have left ourselves a mountain to climb at 1-3.

All Manchester players will have to perform to their very best and above all I feel Roy Keane's performance is the key, he must provide a blood, sweat and tears performance if he is to inspire them to victory.

I believe we can do it.

Maybe you should send your Wife and Rufus on vacation for the semi-final.


Regards,
Simon

[Simon]

Ronaldo what can you say and Utd's defence shocking. In the end we needed to score six against the mighty Real Madrid and the funny thing is we could and possibly should have done it.

It's barely 1/2 an hour after the game and I must say I have mixed emotions; very disappointed, a bit annoyed, but also very happy to have witnessed such a marvellous game. It must have been great for the neutral unfortunately I am not. Am I dreaming or did Real score on almost every attack? And did Man Utd miss dozens of clear goalscoring chances?

I could go on all night but we all know what we saw.

I think you can exploit that defence and I've decided to buy a Juventus shirt.

COME ON JUVE!
:)

[Franco]

Wonderful match !!! Terrific Merengues, but United never gave up. It was an anticipated final. It would have been a great chance for United to play the final at Old Trafford.

Madrid usually wins UCL in odd years (1998, 2000 and 2002): Juve supporters hope that this tradition will be confirmed.

Semi final Milan - Inter is going to be a war game because both teams are from Milan and both matches will be played in the same stadium "Giuseppe Meazza".

Three italian teams in semi finals !!! Just incredible.