FINAL WEEKEND . . . sorry Geordies. Going to be a FUN day, even if it means watching the Toon go down.
Premier League/Champions League 2014-15
- Thread starter Steve_N
- Start date
So yeah. Let's go Juventus. 1-0 but there's plenty of time to go. The just need to focus and slow down. They'll get it.
Great match . . . marred only by the CONSTANT diving and writhing by Barca players in the latter stages. you would have thought GSG-9 snipers were taking potshots at players with some of the reactions. Neymar's goal rightly ruled a handball and there could EASILY have been a red or two for abuse of Officials. the celebration after the third goal, BEFORE a Final whistle, was over the top and worthy of sanction.
That said, Barcelona were clearly the better team on the day, being able to ramp up their intensity when needed and put Juventus to the sword. The Italian Club has nothing to hang their heads over, as they manfully evened the contest and stayed in it until the death. they were beaten, not defeated.
That said, Barcelona were clearly the better team on the day, being able to ramp up their intensity when needed and put Juventus to the sword. The Italian Club has nothing to hang their heads over, as they manfully evened the contest and stayed in it until the death. they were beaten, not defeated.
I watched the final, too. 2-1 (with Neymar's coup de grace arriving after 7+ minutes of added time) pretty much reflected the run of play, IMO. Entertaining second half.
I'm sympathetic to both teams, but would have slightly preferred to see Juventus lift the trophy.
I'm sympathetic to both teams, but would have slightly preferred to see Juventus lift the trophy.
i thought it a great match as well. the move that brought barce's first goal was a spectacular bit of team play, combination passing, a well timed switch from messi and excellent team movement within juve's compact shape. buffon was not under constant pressure, but made some crucial saves to keep it a game, and it felt like juve had the momentum when they finally broke through. i'm happy for barce, as i think their play has been the best in europe this year and the best yesterday. hats off to juve for a tough performance and for coming at barce.
i'll disagree about the diving. i do think neymar and suarez often go down softly, but diving is as much a problem about the culture of fouling in the game as anything else. players would rather foul than get passed, and rather foul than defend. when asked how to stop messi leading up to the match several former top european defenders said they didn't know, but they would definitely foul him and how. chiellini euphamistically said about the same in commenting on messi's goal against athletic. the "professional" foul is as much a part of a defender's arsenal as sound tackling(and in many cases much more a part). i dislike that as much as i dislike diving and see them as two linked issues. i don't think juve or barce were disgraceful or over the top, but there were plenty of times they didn't need to foul and they did, and plenty of times when barce players didn't need to go down and they did. to me, both disrupt the play unnecessarily.
i'll disagree about the diving. i do think neymar and suarez often go down softly, but diving is as much a problem about the culture of fouling in the game as anything else. players would rather foul than get passed, and rather foul than defend. when asked how to stop messi leading up to the match several former top european defenders said they didn't know, but they would definitely foul him and how. chiellini euphamistically said about the same in commenting on messi's goal against athletic. the "professional" foul is as much a part of a defender's arsenal as sound tackling(and in many cases much more a part). i dislike that as much as i dislike diving and see them as two linked issues. i don't think juve or barce were disgraceful or over the top, but there were plenty of times they didn't need to foul and they did, and plenty of times when barce players didn't need to go down and they did. to me, both disrupt the play unnecessarily.
That game would have been so much better if Vidal and Progba wouldn't have picked up silly yellow cards. If those 2 could have gotten stuck in without worrying about being sent off then the match could have been very different. Juventus should not hang their heads though, Buffon, Morata, Marchisio, and especially Lichtsteiner all gave good accounts of themselves, and I wonder if Chellini would have made a difference at the back would he have been fit.
Iniesta, the classy player he is just bossed the game, Pique and Mashcerano between them nullified Tevez very well. Juve's big strength is playing through the middle with the slick passers they have, but every time they went near Busquets in the middle of the park he fell over, and the ref fell for it nearly every time. The movement of Barcelona's front 3 was something to admire too, they did deserve to win.
About diving, what they need to do is bring the rules form the 70's and 80's back. If a forward simulated a dive which resulted in a free kick, the opposing defender would remember it. The next time that defender and forward came together, the forward wouldn't know what hit him. Usually the ref would remember the previous incident too, and a card wouldn't even be shown. The players sorted themselves out.
All that changed when the money got huge in the game, and these princess players started crying about needing protecting. Just look at the career of Dani Alves, he is the biggest cheat and dirty player I've seen in a generation.
The saddest thing for me about the Champion's League final was Pirlo. He's been such a great player for so long, but has hung onto the game for one to many seasons. It was sad to see him go out like that, his passing wasn't crisp like it was before and he couldn't keep up with the pace of the match. I'm no Juventus fan (no club has cheated or been caught cheating more in the history of football), but I do have to applaud them for treating players well who have been faithful to them.
One last point to my little rant here. I think the Champions League name should be changed to: "The Champions, 2nd place, 3rd place and sometimes 4th place team league where you can lose games and still progress to the next round of the competition". Come on UEFA, bring back the old competition already where only league champions and the previous year's winners play in a knock out competition. That was a real challenge. I have absolutely no interest in seeing the 4th placed English team play against say the 3rd placed German team in a round robin, they don't even field their best squad in some of the games. Such a money grab.
Sorry, rant over.
Iniesta, the classy player he is just bossed the game, Pique and Mashcerano between them nullified Tevez very well. Juve's big strength is playing through the middle with the slick passers they have, but every time they went near Busquets in the middle of the park he fell over, and the ref fell for it nearly every time. The movement of Barcelona's front 3 was something to admire too, they did deserve to win.
About diving, what they need to do is bring the rules form the 70's and 80's back. If a forward simulated a dive which resulted in a free kick, the opposing defender would remember it. The next time that defender and forward came together, the forward wouldn't know what hit him. Usually the ref would remember the previous incident too, and a card wouldn't even be shown. The players sorted themselves out.
All that changed when the money got huge in the game, and these princess players started crying about needing protecting. Just look at the career of Dani Alves, he is the biggest cheat and dirty player I've seen in a generation.
The saddest thing for me about the Champion's League final was Pirlo. He's been such a great player for so long, but has hung onto the game for one to many seasons. It was sad to see him go out like that, his passing wasn't crisp like it was before and he couldn't keep up with the pace of the match. I'm no Juventus fan (no club has cheated or been caught cheating more in the history of football), but I do have to applaud them for treating players well who have been faithful to them.
One last point to my little rant here. I think the Champions League name should be changed to: "The Champions, 2nd place, 3rd place and sometimes 4th place team league where you can lose games and still progress to the next round of the competition". Come on UEFA, bring back the old competition already where only league champions and the previous year's winners play in a knock out competition. That was a real challenge. I have absolutely no interest in seeing the 4th placed English team play against say the 3rd placed German team in a round robin, they don't even field their best squad in some of the games. Such a money grab.
Sorry, rant over.
