Barcelona vs. Chelsea

:sign15: :biggrin:

 

Gary Neville is incredible. His reaction to the Torres goal was one of the greatest things I've ever heard.

 

I found this very funny. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/future-news-barcelona-petition-fifa-declare-possession-more-225601843.html

""We hope that FIFA will finally take this matter seriously and take action," Xavi continued, standing on a table so he could be seen. "It is time for all other clubs to resume their poor imitation of our style of play and lose to us with dignity. After all, everyone knows that playing disciplined defense within the rules of the game and then using patience and precision to score on the counter attack is still cheating and equivalent to puppy murder. Actually, it's worse. Defending is worse than puppy murder."

 

I've heard and read some amazing comments today, have you and others forgotten what this one dimensional football has won them in the last four years? Last night their 'tippy tappy football' gave them 82% possession of the ball. Their failure was not finishing the chances they created and not shooting enough. That said, they still scored twice and missed a penalty. Their failing was a poor defence. Not replacing Villa after his injury with another quality striker has also cost them, but talk of no plan b and one dimensional seems like a massive over reaction to me.

 

Nobody has forgotten mate, but at the end of the day chelsea threw pretty much their entire team behind the ball and barca just didn't know how to get past them. Their tippy tappy football Ís a joy to watch, but they need to learn how to switch up their game and alter their style of play when they play teams likÈ chelsea, who can't match them man for man so they throw their men behind the ball. Being able to play different types of football and find a way through, even if it isn't pretty is what makes a team world class.

 

Í disagree by the way. I think they were a little one dimensional. 82% possession but they only score 2? Something isn't right there. That being said, their defence wasn't great.

 

I'm sorry but they were massively one-dimensional. Barcelona's tactics are (apart from pass-pass-pass-pass-pass-*yawn*-pass-pass-pass-*zzz*-pass-pass etc) run through the middle and tap it over the keeper, or stand with your back to goal on the edge of the area, lay it back to a deeper player, original player turns and runs behind defence whilst the second player chips the ball over the defence into his path. If you can stay tight centrally, and stick with the runner, they don't know what to do (bar the odd Messi and Mascherano shot from range).

 

I dont disagree that they were 'one dimensional' in their style of play, but I disagree that that was the reason for losing the game. Not having a recognised striker in the team following Villa's injury earlier in the season and having a very poor defence is what I believe cost them the game.

 

But it wasn't their style if play that lost the game, it was the impotence upfront... Messi hitting the woodwork twice in the first leg, missing the penalty, hitting the post in the second leg, Fabregas' miss in the first leg, Alexis' miss from 2 yards or whatever in the first leg etc etc etc

 

I'm so sick of Barcelona worship that I am genuinely happy that Chelsea, one of the least lovable clubs on earth, beat them. Good riddance!

 

I've only just picked up on this thread, but I can tell you there is nothing wrong with the way Barca play. I was at both Barca's last two matches and I can tell you when you see it live, it takes your breath away.

Chelsea got through by riding their luck. It is as simple as that. No sour grapes, but over the two legs Barca missed a stack of chances, hit the post/bar on 4 occasions, had a goal disallowed, missed a penalty.....but it was one of those things.

Chelsea had one chance in the first leg and scored, and two chances in the second and scored those too. It was a case of one side playing a blinder, taking everything that came their way, riding their luck and the other side being very wasteful.

I do believe Barca overly rely on Messi, but their style of play should not really be questioned just because they have had a very tough week. They have won lots of cups and will be there or thereabouts next season on all fronts.

Well done Chelsea though, even with luck on your side you still need to play a very good game, in this they did. I hope they now go on to thrash the German's, but in Munich is going to be extremely tough.

 

I don't think anyone is saying that the way Barcelona play is wrong hornetboy, but what some are saying (myself included) is that their style of play is quite predictable. This is taking absolutely nothing away from them mind you, as this predictable style of play has proven near impossible to play and defend against, Chelsea and Inter being 2 of the teams I can think of who have withstood it.

I think that any team will need a bit of luck to beat Barcelona over 2 legs to be honest, but Chelsea were excellent also but I will come onto that later. As for the team themselves, Barcelona were extremely wasteful, and then must head back to the drawing board to find out why that was, what they were missing and how they are going to break down teams like Chelsea in the future (although many on here have already commented on these problems).

Chelsea on the other hand were absolutely clinical. Their counter attacking play was brilliant and they put away the chances they made, so congratulations to them.

Barcelona definitely suffered from not having a striker up top. Why they didn't sign one back in January is beyond me and Pep Guardiola will have to take the fall for that I'm afraid. He's a cracking manager but I actually think he might leave at the end of the season. Despite being so young, he's built up a very impressive CV, although la liga is only ever contested against 2 teams and nobody else has a chance in hell. I think 3rd placed Valencia are 25 points behind Barcelona? Sickening really, the league really need to do something to get money distributed more evenly.

 

John Terry will get a medal and be allowed to lift the Trophy,UEFA changed there rules that all suspended players that have contributed will get medals.I bet Paul Scholes is peed off cos he didn't when suspended.

 

Plain and simple. He disgraced himself again, and shouldn't be allowed to. He got a red card in a game which he knew would sit him out of the final.

(Then again, it's a good thing for Ivanovic, Meireles and Ramirez who actually deserve to play in the final Had they been playing other teams who don't make a meal of the slightest touch, then they'd probably all be playing in Munich... so it's probably just me hating Terry).

 

Wow. Guardiola could well be leaving. Not hugely surprised, but he must be a shoe in for the Chelsea job if Abramovich doesn't offer it to Di Matteo or Derulo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17855980

 

Would you hate Terry when he plays for England? At the end of the day it was a moment of madness,same as Beckham being sent off and Rooney to when playing for England,and more Rooney when we could have reached a final.Tell me anyone that does not make mistakes,but to be hated is a bit much.

 

It's going to be announced tomorrow whether he decides to leave, but if he does it's going on sabbatical apparently, so won't be taking another job for a long while. Chelsea will have to look elsewhere.

 

Is it really worth all the fuss? He got a red card and will miss one of the biggest games of his career, he was an idiot, he's been punished. If Chelsea do win it and if they do decide he should lift the cup, what has it got to do with anybody else? Does nobody else think there are rules for the sake of having rules? At the end of the day football is a sport and, I think, would benefit from taking itself less seriously.

 

Gutted :dismay: He will be taking a year off from football.

 

And straight into the United job

 

As soon as he loses a few matches and things aren't so perfect he quits.

 

And some suggested that Guardiola didn't have a Plan B!

 

Yes - I don't like Terry fullstop. And to be honest, I had lost all passion for following the National team under Capello. It was boring, and there never was the promised revolution of youth being introduced that was so desperately needed after the South African nightmare. Under Pearce/Redknapp or whoever ends up leading the country in Poland/Ukraine, i'm hoping there will actually be some pride, passion and enthusiasm on display with players showing they want to wear the shirt.

Excuse me for voicing my opinion. A moment of madness it may have been, but he's a mug for even contemplating doing it at all. It's football.

 

Yes. I genuinely can't stand him. The less I see his face on TV, the better.

 

Josep has always been very careful about signing short-term deals and every year there has been speculation that he could leave. Regardless of whether he leaves or not, what he's achieved there has been pretty remarkable for a coach so young. It'll be very interesting to see who ends up in charge there, should the rumors of his departure be true.

It'll also be interesting to see where he ends up whenever he does decide to come back. I wonder if we'll eventually see a test of where Messi's loyalty lies, should Guardiola end up at a big spending club like Man City somewhere down the line.

 

I'd like to know just why JT has become such a massive hate figure. There really seems to be a bandwagon movement of anti-Terry'ist out there & i wonder if half of them even know why!

Granted, he's not the brightest, he's pretty uncoth at times & he's done a few nasty things on the pitch.. but then that counts for half the footballers i can think of.
So is it the racist thing? The racist thing that has so far consisted of accusations and nothing else. If he's proven to have done anything then its understandable.. not before.

 

I do not believe for one moment that any player putting on the National shirt would go out to play badly.You can not simply drop every player and fill it with youth players,but he brought in Young,Hart,Wiltshire,Baines,jones,smalling,welbech,sturridge,Walker,Rodwell,so there is 10 players straight off,but Ashley cole is prob been one of our consistant performers,Rooney is another one you just can not out them because of Youth.Nearly all of those youthful players is the crop of the bunch,and no where near world class to be performing and expecting to win against the elite nations of spain,brazil and others.You really need to think things through before posting garbage about youth players!

 

Shagging a team mates wife, racist comments against an England team mates brother, letting down your team mates in a semi final with rank stupidity, taking money for personal tours of Chelsea, a shoplifting mother and a drug selling father and that's only what we know. The bloke is a nasty piece of work as proven in full on Tuesday night, and the reason why I and many others dislike him is because he represents absolutely everything that is wrong with football today, and this is the bl**dy captain.

 

He can do nothing about his parents, but I agree with everything else. He has no morals and if Chelsea win the European Cup he will show no humility when he proudly holds the trophy aloft.

When Man United beat Bayern both Scholes and Keane did not want a medal because they never played in that game. They felt the medal would be hollow because they didn't earn it. That shows the true fibre of a man.

If UEFA did not present Terry with a medal, no doubt he'd get his mum to lift one, as he would want it regardless of earning it or not. This is why no one likes him.

 

Careful about praising Scholes HB1. You'll get the "let down his country" brigade after you.

You generate enough heat as it is from the various other sections!

 

Not forgetting what a c0ckle he was acting when they played us a couple of years ago.

 

Bang on. Post of the year perhaps?

 

... and not forgetting harrassing American tourists at a Heathrow Airport hotel in the hours after 9/11 :dismay: