Champions League Thread (the dawn of time - 2014)

[MasterBlaster76]

Errm...maybe because he's one of the best keepers in the world and twice the player that Manninger is.

And you'd support Juve's biggest rivals if they played against United or Madrid, who aren't Juve's rivals. :laugh

Knee jerking glory hunters like you should be banned from the internet.

Buffon injured his probably still twice as good as many keepers around the world...

 

[m_vaughan]

Ronaldooo magic!! Its almost feels like the Clasico never happened. Confidence is really high although we've got a big test coming up this weekend. Just gotta hope Espanyol, despite their current form, pick some points of Barca. Before that there is also the chance that Dynamo beat them 2-0 (or maybe more) and knock them out.

 

[Auwais]

Forza la viola!

 

[iridescentt]

Not neccasarily Champions League material but its close enough. Just to rub it in for those Liverpool fans ...

Liverpool unseeded for the Europa League Knockout Phase - Goal.com :laugh

 

[m_vaughan]

We do not have very fond memories of Lyon, especially on our travels and before the draw I had placed them right behind Bayern in the teams to avoid from the draw. Will be tough no doubt but I think we'll do it.

Bordeaux have probably got the easiest game, but considering that they were placed with Bayern and Juve in the group stages and the way they came out of that with 16 points, they deserved an easy draw.

Tough luck for Stuttgart though. Struggling in the Bundesliga but made it through to the last 16 on the final day, only to draw Barcelona.

 

[iridescentt]

Dayum'. Looks like we got Inter. Well, they got a history of choking in the final CL 16 so it wouldn't be a surprise if we made it through. It'd be sweet to put one over Mourinho. But without a winning mentality we'd probably be the ones to bottle it.

Anyway. Here's the full draw:

VfB Stuttgart Vs. Barcelona
Olympiakos Vs. Bordeaux
Inter Vs. Chelsea
Bayern Munich Vs. Fiorentina
CSKA Moscow Vs. Sevilla
Lyon Vs. Real Madrid
Porto Vs. Arsenal
AC Milan Vs. Manchester United

Found this to be quite interesting as well ...

Some fascinating narratives in the draw! Jose Mourinho returns to Chelsea with Inter; David Beckham is set to return to Manchester United with AC Milan. Aliaksandr Hleb faces his parent club, Barcelona, with Stuttgart. Also in there, we have Karim Benzema set for an immediate reunion with his former Lyon team-mates!

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Man Utd v Milan is going to be really exciting. Great to see the first leg is at San Siro, so it means we have the cards in our pockets..

 

[treva]

Anyone know when the Europa League draw is? Next Friday?

 

[iridescentt]

Anyone know when the Europa League draw is? Next Friday?

Already done. Click here.

Should post this in the Europa League thread as well.

 

[Auwais]

We do not have very fond memories of Lyon, especially on our travels and before the draw I had placed them right behind Bayern in the teams to avoid from the draw. Will be tough no doubt but I think we'll do it.

Oh definitely, great memories for me being a neutral.

The first half 3-0 performance was crazy and Carew's back heel in the Bernabau was brilliant.

And then van Nistelrooy dragging you lot back in the game from 2-0 down only to miss a penalty that would have won it.

Lyon are a shadow of that team of the past though.

They should have won a CL title at their peak but were unlucky.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

So, Mr Beckham is set to return to Old Trafford, eh? It'll be good to see him back, but I think we'll have too much for AC Milan over the two legs. It's good that the 1st leg's at the San Siro as well.

 

[m_vaughan]

To be very honest I've never really understood this whole concept of having the advantage of playing at home in the second leg. If it goes to extra time, the opposition gets 30 more minutes to score an away goal.

 

[treva]

Surely away goals are ignored once the game goes to extra time. If they aren't they should be.

Was a good draw with some juicy ties. Both Chelsea and Manchester United will be made to play at their best. Plus sides like Bordeaux, Sevilla and Fiorentina have a real chance of making it into the quarters.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

To be very honest I've never really understood this whole concept of having the advantage of playing at home in the second leg. If it goes to extra time, the opposition gets 30 more minutes to score an away goal.

It's simple. If you lose 1-0, or 2-0, where would you rather the next game be played? It's far better to have the 2nd leg at home, that way you have more of a chance to retrieve the match aggregate situation if necessary.

 

[m_vaughan]

It's simple. If you lose 1-0, or 2-0, where would you rather the next game be played? It's far better to have the 2nd leg at home, that way you have more of a chance to retrieve the match aggregate situation if necessary.

Thats just looking at it from one angle.