Wow @ Group G. Ajax, Milan, Real Madrid and Auxerre. That is a TOUGH draw ... even Madrid aren't a lock to survive that group. Meanwhile, Arsenal gets free money with the easiest draw of all. Plus some extra frequent flier miles.
Yeah it is sad for Ajax, they couldn't have gotten a more difficult group (ok maybe instead of Milan, they could have Internationale). Fc Twente also got a difficult group. Let's see if one of the 2 dutch teams can advance. It was stupid to see that Ajax was in pot 3 and Twente in pot 4 (Twente was our champion last year). p.s. I was amazed that fc Utrecht defeated Glasgow Celtic with 4-0 (after losing the first game with 2-0) in the Europe league. Celtic already out of Europe this year, wow.
I am really stoked for the Champions League. I really wonder if Tottenham will be able to get out of their group. For their first trip in, they got a pretty tough draw. I think Manchester United should be able to cruise to the knockout stage.
Bump. Watched Barça curb stomp Panathinaikos yesterday. Arsenal is killing Braga Ajax is down 1 to those ****s Real Madrid.
Bayern played well enough against Roma...they were hopelessly only trying to defend. About 70 % possession for Bayern.
For anybody stuck at work that wants to watch the games FoxSoccer.tv has a free trial going on this week.
Recently became a bigger fan of soccer after playing the video games and becoming a little more familiar with the players/teams. Still learning though, before had only watched during world cups. Any hints, info, insight on being a proper soccer fan, as well as knowledge on teams/players is appreciated. Currently I'm a fan of FC Barcelona.
Just make FC Bayern Munich your favorite team, and you will have reason to celebrate at the end of this Champions League season!
lol...whats a good site for more info on teams/players the overall flavor of the league? I've always liked world cup international soccer because the talent/skill level was much greater then American soccer which always seemed like the developmental leagues. The main reason I'm a FC Barcelona fan currently is due to remembering the names and performances of a couple of guys on the squad in the world cup (Messi, Xavi) and I like their speed/athleticism in video games, and the jerseys aren't bad either.
The best part of that game for me was how the Spurs adjusted their tactics due to injury & circumstance. Remember a few months ago they tried, against Young Boys to play a standard 4-4-2, which pretty much blew up in their faces, going down 3-0 within 30 minutes. Even after they finally came to their senses in the rest of the CL games and only had Crouch or Pav up front, they basically just tried to outscore people with Bale screaming down teh sideline and VDV flying in. Then yesterday, with no Gareth Bale, a half-injured Luka Modric, and a half-strength Van der Vaart, they instead went kind of 1-3-2-4, with 2 CDM's, one of whom (Sandro) was making his 2nd start ever. They used it to frustrate AC's attack, countered with speed from Lennon to score the counter, and then played keep away in AC's house to preserve the win..which equals nutty ass Gattuso meltdown
1. There is no "proper" way to be a fan (I'll skip the support your local team rant). 2. Enjoy games for what they are instead of getting hung up on bandwagons and "rivalries". If you want to be a Barcelona fan then you have to hate Real Madrid, but Madrid can be fun to watch, I think it's better to be neutral and enjoy both. Also, if you grew up in London then talking trash about scousers is one thing, but jumping on a bandwagon and then ranting about how scousers suck is kind of lame. You're welcome. If it makes you feel better I heard about the free trial this weekend but forgot about it until yesterday evening, so I didn't get to use it yesterday either.
Excited for the Arsenal/Barcelona match today. I fully expect Barcelona to come out and destroy the Gunners. A team that tries to play Barca football vs. Barca itself. I'm also glad to see Spurs get the win yesterday. It's been hard to root for them in the EPL this season, but Champions League is fun. They're too bipolar with all of their chips in the UEFA table.