Champions League

[SEAL]

Please try to stay on topic. If you don't like the topic, don't hit the reply button. Thanks.

Prediction first knockout round winners:
Monaco
Arsenal
Real Madrid
Milan
Juve
Chelsea
Manutd
Lyon.

Hoping for CL winner:
Manutd
CL winner prediction:
Real (yes, kinda safe)

Your thoughts?

[Galleleo]

24-02-2004

Lokomotiv Moskva 2-1 Monaco
Celta 2-3 Arsenal
Bayern 1-1 Real Madrid
Sparta 0-0 Milan

25-02-2004

Deportivo 1-0 Juventus
Stuttgart 0-1 Chelsea
Porto 2-1 Man. United
Real Sociedad 0-1 Lyon

9-3-2004
Juventus 0-2 Deportivo juve is a bit washed up and not really what it used to be, Deportivo will take the win, not gonna be a really exciting match IMO
Chelsea 2-1 Stuttgart Chelsea should be able to bring this to a good end, could be a good match
Man. United 1-0 Porto Man, didnt play to well against porto last match, and I dont think they will do to good this time, but will pull out a win, Me thinks v. Nistelrooij could play an important role this match, Man United will go through because of the goal scored in porto.
Lyon 3-1 Real Sociedad Cant say I know alot about these teams, it could be a very good match to see, but I think Lyon will take the win

10-3-2004
Monaco 3-2 Lokotiv Moskva Should be a very good match, these teams are about evenly skilled I think Monaco will take the win in this match, but lokotiv will go through
Arsenal 3-1 Celta Arsenal will take the win at home, henry will once again play an important role in this win, And I think Pires will maybe score a goal.
Real Madrid 3-2 Bayern I think it will be a good match, but bayern will not take the win, although they do deserve the win. Real will eventually luck out and score more
Milan 1-0 Sparta I think this will be a pretty boring match, and will result in a 1-0 for Milan

I donno if they are gonna draw straws for the quater finals, or that it is already set wich team plays wich, depending on the results. But I think Arsenal might get far this year, They are having a very good year, and certainly in europe compared to last years. The other finalist will be between Real and Milan, real has the skill Milan has the teamwork. Both teams have the luck working for them too. This depends on wich team plays wich in the following 2 rounds tho, Man United isnt doing that well this season and will go down in the semifinals.

NOTE: These are just my opinions, and they probably will be totally and utterly wrong.

[Caos]

Nah Real wont win this time...Arsenal is looking pretty good tough. They r having a nice season in the Premier Legue and they r very solid at this point.
CL Final:
Real Madrid vs. Arsenal
Arsenal wins gg!

[Dim]

I hope Man UTD DOn't win, But hope that Arsenal or Chelsea do.

[Jeansi]

I hope Man UTD DOn't win, But hope that Arsenal or Chelsea do.

Real Madrid will own big time
if not thanks to their "uberleet" =) players then becasue of some discussable penaltyshot that they get with 1 minute left to play

[ZeUs!!]

Results and score after the first leg (the home side are listed first, so for the return leg the away side will play at home)

Bayern Munich 1 - 1 Real Madrid
Celta Vigo 2 - 3 Arsenal
Lokomotiv Moscow 2 - 1 Monaco
Sparta Prague 0 - 0 AC Milan
Deportivo 1 - 0 Juventus
Porto 2 - 1 Manchester United
Real Sociedad 0 - 1 Lyon
Stuttgart 0 - 1 Chelsea

The Munich - Madrid match is a repeat of the quarter final in the year which Munich won the cup, 2002 I think. I could just fob off Munich because Madrid do have the best side in the world, no question, however I feel they are both evenly matched. While Madrid are brilliant, they have 10 attacking players on the pitch (not including the goalie), whereas Munich are not as good going forward, they are solid throughout the park. They have last season's golden boot winner in Roy Makaay (that means he scored the most goals in the hardest leagues last year) and two brilliant wing-backs with Lizarazu (only player other than Beckenbauer to hold the World Cup, European Championship and Champions League at the same time) and Salihadizic. However as they are playing at home, Madrid will be full of confidence and will not worry about pressing forward and I can only see Madrid winning this one. Plus I hate Germany.

Arsenal are currently the most in form team in Europe, if not the world. They haven't lost a league game all season and the season's nearly finished, and they might not of lost a game all season but I'm not sure. I don't remember them losing. On the other hand Celta have no real star players and are struggling domestically as they are in the bottom half of the Spanish table. Although their European form is a direct contrast to their home form, I feel Arsenal are too strong. Having seen bits of the first leg, the Arsenal defence seemed fairly comfortable containing the Celta attack, which seemed to run out of ideas quite quickly. If Arsenal can contain the limited Celta attack, coupled with their three away goals (which count for double if the scores are level at the end of the match), they should have no problem.

I quite fancy Moscow for this one. Monaco's strength is all in their midfield, however star midfielder Ludovic Giuly is suspended for this match. With a collection of mercenary well-travelled foreigners for a defence, they have probably one of the weakest defences still in the cup. One things for sure; whoever wins this match won't go far in the league. Moscow will try to soak up the Monaco pressure and hit them on the counter attack, and as the French side haven't been playing with each other long and being the same nationality definately helps as you can forge a friendship and read each other's thoughts if you have been playing with each other for long enough, I feel Moscow will punish them on the break.

Milan will dick all over Sparta. Don't get me wrong, Sparta are a good side, they've got former Man Utd and Lazio player Karel Poborsky and a couple of others who've slipped my mind, but Milan are the current holders and even without the services of Rivaldo will ease it. The fact that the biggest shock of the last matches was that Milan didn't thrash them says it all. Prague will try and play down the wings, and if they play Maldini and Kaladze at full back, not serginho at wing back like they have been then it should be an easy victory.

I honestly can't call the Depor - Juve match... so I won't bother.

Man Utd Vs Porto should be a good match. I think that result will act as a blessing in disguise, as not only will it give them a kick up the backside which will be amplified as they are playing at home, they have an away goal which means all they have to do is win 1-0 and although they've drawn the tie 2-2 on aggregate, they'll have scored more goals away from home and will progress. The fact that Roy Keane is suspended shouldn't be too much of a blow. They have more than capable deputies, the favourite being Nicky Butt, and this will give them an excuse to play Scholes in the middle and not stuck on the right, keeping Giggs on the left and bringing Christiano Ronaldo in on the left. However with Rio suspended the pace of the Porto attack will be difficult for the Man Utd defence, with Neville despite being an accomplished euro veteran, not the quickest of guys and O'Shea inexperienced in Europe. I still fancy a Man Utd win though. I should be putting money on these results.

I don't know much about either Real Sociedad or Lyon, so I won't pretend I do. What I do know is that despite finishing 3rd in the Spanish league last year, Sociedad are doing crap this year and are dangerously near the relegation zone. However like Celta their European form deeply contrasts their home form. Lyon have a few good players, having signed Giovanne Elber from Munich over the summer and retaining the services of Vikash Dhorasoo. I wouldn't be able to tell you the score though.

Chelsea should beat Stuttgart. They have an away goal to the good, although that could all change if Stuttgart score first. The one thing about Chelsea is they don't cope too well under pressure, something well demonstrated in the qualifying stages of the Champions League. If they score first they'll cruise to the final whistle, however if they concede they'll have their work cut out against another solid if unspectacular German side.

[Deluge]

Holy Shit Wtf Are You Talking About???????????

[Galleleo]

Real Madrid will own big time
if not thanks to their "uberleet" =) players then becasue of some discussable penaltyshot that they get with 1 minute left to play

Not really, They might have 10 of the 20th best players in the world, as a team they suck. If you for example take Korea, they had almost no famoush well known players last World Championship, but great teamwork and teamspirit, and they got to 4th place. Real on the other hand, has lots of induvidual skill, but it laks teamwork and teamspirit, its just a bunch of showoffs trying to showoff their skill and be the one that scores. Real is in fact really weak eventho they have the best players in the world.

[NaiLed]

I'd very much like Man Utd to win, but their defence is shocking atm.

EDIT: "I think Ferguson thinks Wes Brown is much better than he actually is" -radioguy

So true.

[Dabram]

I'm not going to show my football nerdiness on this board by making a long post like Mike.

PREDICTIONS FOR FINAL:

PORTO Vs ARSENAL. Arsenal wins 3:2

Porto has been playing the most attractive football this year. And when I see they're actually capable of rolling up the defense of teams like Man U, I give them a good chance of getting in to the C.L. finals.

Arsenal is like Mike said probably the best team this year. Henry is still getting better every year, Bergkamp although getting old shows he's still the most creative player in the world (Deco and Sneijder catching up). But most important is that the defense has improved a lot, Campbell, Toure and Cygan are now very reliable defenders. I dunno if Cole is already back in the defense, if not they have 1 weak spot. (that replacement guy sucked)


IF Monaco actually manages to get through (They score an avarage of 4 goals home, so they should be able to go through), they've got a fair shot on making the finals aswell.

[Pyros]

Not really, They might have 10 of the 20th best players in the world, as a team they suck. If you for example take Korea, they had almost no famoush well known players last World Championship, but great teamwork and teamspirit, and they got to 4th place.

You're crazy, how can you say Real sucks? It makes no sense.
And about Korea, yeah they weren't bad but they got LOTS of help from the refs. Everyone knows that.

[cundor]

Celta - Arsenal: 2 - 0
Mantra 4 crying

[ZeUs!!]

I dunno if Cole is already back in the defense, if not they have 1 weak spot. (that replacement guy sucked)

HEY! We tried to buy him! Some guy called Clichy

[SEAL]

i agree zeus, the manutd match will be a one to watch. The fans are already really pissed about the last performances and losing robben to chelski, imagen what will happen if porta pulls off a stunt. If porta ever had a change to win in manchester, this will be the time.

It surprised me how well arsenal is doing tho, looking at the last years and the start of the competition.
Plus, why i thought real will win is pure based on stats. since they didnt win last year, they "should" win this year again. (considering they win every odd year, so 2003/2004 is for them again)

[Galleleo]

You're crazy, how can you say Real sucks? It makes no sense.
And about Korea, yeah they weren't bad but they got LOTS of help from the refs. Everyone knows that.

They do suck. K, they are better then most teams, but if you look at what kind of the team they have, playerwise. They suck.. They should do alot better then they are doing. They should be dominating every single match with the players they have. but they do suck.

And korea did really well, with or without the ref's. Bit lucky with scoring all those golden goals in overtime. But still, I dont think the refs had to big of an influence.