Champions League play off first leg 22nd Aug - Braga v Udinese return 29th Aug - Udinese v Braga not a bad drow good to avoid Spartak Moskva and Dynamo Kyiv
I don't think these will be shown on TV here, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find somewhere to watch! (cough)
Would fully expect Udine to dispatch Brage with relative ease. Shall make an effort to watch these games.
Absolutely not to be underestimated IMHO. Sporting Club Braga is certainly within the possibilities of Udinese, but let's remember it is ranked 29th in Team Ranking UEFA and arrived 2nd in 2010/11 Europa League. Can be won, but certainly is not an "easy" opponent.
Braga did well in the EL last season. Very good on the counter. As Mr.Holmes say's not to be underestimated. Their goalkeeper will always raise a chuckle. ****.
-1 and tension is growing fast calls for the first leg: goalkeepers: Brkic - on the bench: Pawlowski, Romo. Defence: Benatia, Danilo, Domizzi, - on the bench: Heurtaux, Pasquale, Coda Midfield: Basta, Pinzi, Willians, Armero, plus one between Allan, Pereyra, Badu (I guess Pereyra) - on the bench: Battocchio, Faraoni, Allan, Badu Forward: Fabbrini, Di Natale on the bench: Maicosuel, Marsura
For the benefit of anybody based in the USA, this game will be on Fox Soccer Channel at 1.30 CT. I'll be watching for sure. Making the most of the final week of summer.
I think that over 2 legs Udinese should have enough (only just though) - Braga is a one of the toughest teams they could have drawn at this stage Fingers crossed
You're missing the punditry genius of Warren Barton and Eric Wynalda. It's really something else. EDIT: The commentators went on a nice little spiel about WFC and how we've taken a bunch of players on loan from Udinese and speculating about future possible loans for those who don't perform well tonight. Nice touch.
HT: Udinese very solid defensively, Braga playing well without looking like penetrating. Willians looks like a good signing, a bit like Tiote, snaps at their ankles and turns the ball over frequently. Superb header by Basta for the goal.
Personally, I think we can do well. Regarding the new players, just from this first 45' of CL: Brkic seems quite good and 'pitbull' Willians is IMHO simply impressing for the number of balls he recovers. And the absent Muriel, from what was seen before, seems very very talented, with the only doubt of how well he will play together with Di Natale. I'm quite hopeful.
Incredible shot from Braga for the draw. Maybe only something like that could pass through a very solid Udinese's defence. But 1-1 away from home is very good anyway. I'm very conforted by how the new players did: Brkic seemed quite good. Willians had said his "model" is Gattuso: very well, and he looks very good to follow his model. Maicosuel looked promising. A word about Benatia: he is an hymn to the capabilities of Udinese's scouts. Bought from France's Ligue 2 (Clermont) in 2010 for 500.000€; now worth at least 12M€ according to http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/udinese-calcio/kader/verein_410.html. Well worth, seeing his performance.
I agree the score is correct. Braga deserved the draw, the second half we suffer a bit too much. They were in a better shape but in the whole technically it is clear that we can do it. They were unable to penetrate our defence (Benatia, Danilo, Domizzi = the wall) and the only way to score was from distance. Willians is confirmed to be the best sign of this season, Brikic a good substitution of Handanovic, Fabbrini is growing constantly. Basta, I simply love him. The weak point is the left midfiled. I knew we would have suffered the departure of Asamoah. Anyway a result that puts as in a good position for return match.
A good first result for you away from home. Benaita seems a real talent, as you have suggested Udinese. Good luck in the next round!
Second leg kicks off in a few hours. Again on Fox Soccer channel for the fellow US based people. Looking forward to it. Expecting Udinese to seal the deal on their home turf, but Braga played well enough in the first leg to show that they'll be a threat. Should be a good game.
Udinese on one laptop and Jon Marks commentary of the Horns on the phone ,think I`ve got it covered ,Hope Granada arent playing tonight running out of hardware .
Absolutely - Murray will be world class - whether he can step into the shoes now - anyones guess - I suspect he will wear black and white soon - maybe not this year - but I have no doubt he will be a better player than Asamoah eventually - be a shame if Arsenal steal him for £5m now when his long term value to the Group is 5 times that - but i suspect he needs to show his ability in a top league setting before someone will pay that
If there are people not going to the Bradford game and are going to be in the near vicinity of a TV that you can control, Udinese vs Braga is on ITV 4. Come on you zebrette (COYZ maybe?) and COYH tonight