Foreign Football Thread

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Yeah the big Spanish game is on tomorrow from what I heard on television earlier, should be one heck of a game and certainly a must win for Madrid if they want to catch Barcelona now. I did want to quickly talk about another game that was on tonight, but I thought I'd just post this all in one because I doubt hardly anyone cares for the next game I talk about.

Juve/Fiorentina was on earlier tonight on Eurosport. Well the two are kind of rivals you could say and well the game was expected to be good, but not as good as it turned out to be. Was a stunning game which ended up 3-3, who says Italian football is boring and all about defending? They took the game to us I must say, although by the end we did have one goal not ruled a goal even though it was over the line. Pazzini scored for them first with a super strike. We got one back by Del thanks to a bit of a keeper mistake, none the less solid strike from him. They went up AGAIN Chiellini through a header, but we came right back again thanks to Zlatan. Then Dainelli scored for them in the 75th minute and it looked over. Two goals both from set pieces, which to be fair they were killing us in all night. Then came for me one of the moments of the season, amazing play from Zlatan and Zalayeta, seriously you need to see this awesome goal. There was some swift passing, led to Zlatan who passed on to Zalayeta, made a run and Zalayeta back heeled in into the path on Zlatan who then chipped it into the net, just stunning play and brilliant to watch. I think it boosted the confidence of Zlatan big time too because he's been playing amazing lately and yet we were close to having two poor results in just a week. The guys really improving on his finishing as well, once he masters that he'll certainly be one of the best forwards around. Just a joy to watch on the ball.

Birdenelli looked very dodgy and I'm really worried for Wednesday now because Zebina is out and so Birden will probably play in that place again which might let Liverpool have a tonne of joy up that side. Nedved for about sixty minutes had yet another poor game and continued to worry me. I just think all these injuries have really got to him and it's slowing his game down so much. He just seems to look a touch slower lately. Maybe he's still not fully fit but I'm still worried for the guy, because he'a already said if this continues he'll retire at the end of the season, which I don't want to see. Zalayeta had a good game once he came on, I'd really consider playing him sometime on Wednesday because he works damn well with Zlatan. Emerson didn't play today, hopefully he'll be back for Wednesday. The defence looked solid on the ground but poor in the air which hopefully doesn't happen on Wednesday. The game had a great atmosphere though all around, crowd was great there and the commentators have put it down as match of the season in Serie A. The draw was better than a loss, but Milan drew earlier today as well so we threw away a great chance to go two points clear, I can see this one coming down to the Milan/Juve game which will be huge.

Back onto the Spanish game, I'm hoping it's as entertaining as the one earlier this season. I don't know why but I can see Madrid possibly stealing this one and cant see Barcelona walking away with it like before, but I could be wrong. Any idea if Beckham is back yet?

[Malenko]

They showed the whole game? Or one of those half an hour highlights?

Anyway, I love to watch Zlatan play. He's my favourite player in the Juventus team, and while i agree he isn't the most accurate player in what concernes to finishing the chances that really doesn't bother me cause not being a Juve fan i'm not really looking for the result as long as he entertains me I understand why it bothers you though. The fact is, he's an amazingly skilled player with a ball touch so unlike players his size usually have. He's also good creating and plays better with a second striker alongside him.

You should also watch the Milan highlights. Rui Costa scored a fabulous goal. He had been starting thanks to Shevchenko's injury and now that Shevchenko is back he's playing instead of kaka who was benched.

As for the Real Madrid vs Barcelona game, i think a draw is the most likely result. Barcelona will be playing without Deco (reached the 5th yellow card in the last match) which is of supreme importance in the transition game. I don't know who they'll play instead, maybe Iniesta but while he's good he isn't good enough for such an important role. As long as Xavi plays alongside him though he should be good enough to keep a balanced midfield.

Beckham will play unless something happens to him tomorrow before the game

Madrid will play with Casillas; Salgado, Pavon (they're without Samuel), Helguera and Roberto Carlos; Beckham, Gravesen and Zidane; Raúl, Owen and Ronaldo.

I think it's about time they give Owen a chance considering how badly Raul and Ronaldo are playing but is nonsense to not take one of Raul and Ronaldo out. Raul will probably play behind them on the left side. I can't understand why Figo doesn't play considering how he, Owen and Solari have been the best players for Madrid. Zidane hasn't done ANYTHING the whole season but i guess he's too much of a "name" to leave out. Madrid have been winning more often lately, while still having a bad game now and then, so i think they could make an even game out of this one.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Eurosport had both the Juve/Fior game live and the Milan/Brescia game live. The Costa goal was amazing, I was shocked when it came because it was just brilliance. Apprently the odds of him scoring there first goal was like 66/1, I should have had a bet

Anyway yeah, both games were live so I got to see the entire thing. Milan game was a bit dull at times though but it was awesome seeing them only get a draw, only a shame that we couldn't get a win. The thing with Zlatan as well is that even if our team is playing shit, he can somehow drag us up a gear and get us out of the hole we're in. Like today, without him we'd have basically lost. Got to give a mention to Del too. Despite the critics and people saying he's passed it, I disagree still. Keeps having some very good performances not to mention that in Serie A he's the player who has made the most points for a club. He's got us like 24 points or something thanks to his goals in like 1-0 wins, or something like that they were saying. I still rate him highly and don't get why people want him out. Oh and what do you think about Lucio? Just we're trying to get him and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure we need him.

As for the Barcelona/Madrid, awesome to see Beckham playing, mainly because I just like watching the guy play.

[Malenko]

I miss the days i had The british Eurosport

Rui Costa only scores great goals. He may score only about 5 goals in a whole season counting all competitions but when he scores he takes me out of my seat.

Lucio if it's the central defender we're talking about is a good defender and not too bad with the ball either. To be honest i didn't know Juventus were trying to get him and i don't really think he should be any kind of priority though, considering Juve's squad, unless someone is leaving. In my humble opinion the lack in Juve's team is depth on the offensive midfield. Juventus already has a great defensive line plus keeper, and consistent players in the midfield. With Both Del Piero and Zlatan playing upfront, i think the position i would be trying to improve would be the linkage between the two. Just so they wouldn't be too dependent on whether a guy like Nedved is fit or not. Also with that player they would also have the chance to let him fully recover from his injuries, even if that meant missing the beggining of next season, so he would be fully fit when he returned. But that's just me

[G-O-D]

For the Madrid game, I think Barcelona will win. Barcelona are only missing Deco through suspension after Puyol has made a miraculous recovery for this game. But Madrid are missing 2 key players: Samuel and Guti.

And Helguera + Pavon = disaster.

[Summers]

Reaaaaaaal Maaaaaaadriddddd!

[G-O-D]

Great match between Barca and Madrid now. 3 goals in 29 mins.

And Van Bronckhorst is simply known as 'Gio' in Spain. Never knew that.

[Malenko]

For the Madrid game, I think Barcelona will win. Barcelona are only missing Deco through suspension after Puyol has made a miraculous recovery for this game.

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Edited April 10, 2005 by Malenko

[G-O-D]

OMG, Barca are being ripped apart. 3-1 Raul.

Barca are playing some breathtaking stuff, but they just can't finish it off. And if Chelsea's defence was as bad as Barca's, Mourinho would prolly have an heart attack.

Great match so far though.

And if the second half is anything like the first one, the score will certainly not remain at 3-1.

[IAceI]

I said this before the match, Real Madrid will win it, but Barca will run away with the league.

Not watching it anyways.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Only see the last fifteen minutes which was damn good, sounds like an awesome game so I'll catch the replay later tonight on Sky Sports. Ronaldinho didn't seem too happy at times and kept looking for freekicks towards the end. The Beckham strike was awesome, very close as well and is the commentator right by saying he was the best man on the pitch? I like to hear that

[FLiam]

That is why I love Spanish football, that game was awesome.

I think Beckham is back to his best and it was also great to see Owen get a goal.

[G-O-D]

FT: Madrid 4 -2 Barcelona

Eto'o was stretched off, and now that Madrid is only 7 (or is it 6?) points behind, the pressure is now on Barcelona.

[Malenko]

Only see the last fifteen minutes which was damn good, sounds like an awesome game so I'll catch the replay later tonight on Sky Sports. Ronaldinho didn't seem too happy at times and kept looking for freekicks towards the end. The Beckham strike was awesome, very close as well and is the commentator right by saying he was the best man on the pitch? I like to hear that 

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[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Nothing to do with Spanish football here, but I thought I'd reply here instead of making a new thread. Just got to watch the game earlier today between Juve/Lecce, which I taped live yesterday. We pretty much needed a win, because Milan lost 2-1 which was a shock, so if we won we'd go three points clear.

Anyway, we managed the win in what was ANOTHER awesome game, just like the one with Fiorentina. It ended up 5-2 to us. We were pretty poor at the back though I must say. Not terrible, but for our standards we were pretty shocking at times. Going forward though we seemed very hot coming off of that loss from Liverpool. Zlatan scored a hat trick, Nedved got one and Appiah got the other. They actually went ahead first to make it 1-0. Then Appiah was clear on goal and scored a lovely finish, dummying the keeper. Not sure many people know the guy, but I really rate him highly and think he's quite underated. Although still not at his BEST, Nedved was back and finally giving one of his top performances. You can still tell he's not fully fit, it's just crystal clear, but he was moving so much better today. Played some amazing balls and scored a wonder goal which he really did deserve, so I'm so damn happy for the guy.

As said earlier, Zlatan scored a hat trick and a wonderful one for that matter. All goals were pretty damn brilliant and that isn't a lie. The third and final one was a masterpiece, in which he turned a defender and from about 20 yards out, curled it right round the keeper and straight into the right hand corner, just lovely stuff to watch. It's got me happy too because it'll really boost his confidence, because some guys say he needs to master his finishing to be a world class striker, and he's done just that lately if you ask me. There final goal was a penalty, which probably wasn't one. The guy ran into the box, knocked the ball away and jumped into Cannavaro. It would be a freekick if it was out the box, but never a penalty, because he literally jumped into Cannavaro, who could do nothing about it. Didn't matter though, was late in the game and stuff. Del Piero had a very poor game. A tonne of chances which he didn't take, shame about that but he is getting back to some good form lately. Overall, a brilliant game with a good Juve performance and although I'm said we lost to Liverpool, we are finally back on top of Serie A and with a few games left, can fully focus on winning that.

[Malenko]

Nothing to do with Spanish football here, but I thought I'd reply here instead of making a new thread. Just got to watch the game earlier today between Juve/Lecce, which I taped live yesterday. We pretty much needed a win, because Milan lost 2-1 which was a shock, so if we won we'd go three points clear.

Anyway, we managed the win in what was ANOTHER awesome game, just like the one with Fiorentina. It ended up 5-2 to us. We were pretty poor at the back though I must say. Not terrible, but for our standards we were pretty shocking at times. Going forward though we seemed very hot coming off of that loss from Liverpool. Zlatan scored a hat trick, Nedved got one and Appiah got the other. They actually went ahead first to make it 1-0. Then Appiah was clear on goal and scored a lovely finish, dummying the keeper. Not sure many people know the guy, but I really rate him highly and think he's quite underated. Although still not at his BEST, Nedved was back and finally giving one of his top performances. You can still tell he's not fully fit, it's just crystal clear, but he was moving so much better today. Played some amazing balls and scored a wonder goal which he really did deserve, so I'm so damn happy for the guy.

As said earlier, Zlatan scored a hat trick and a wonderful one for that matter. All goals were pretty damn brilliant and that isn't a lie. The third and final one was a masterpiece, in which he turned a defender and from about 20 yards out, curled it right round the keeper and straight into the right hand corner, just lovely stuff to watch. It's got me happy too because it'll really boost his confidence, because some guys say he needs to master his finishing to be a world class striker, and he's done just that lately if you ask me. There final goal was a penalty, which probably wasn't one. The guy ran into the box, knocked the ball away and jumped into Cannavaro. It would be a freekick if it was out the box, but never a penalty, because he literally jumped into Cannavaro, who could do nothing about it. Didn't matter though, was late in the game and stuff. Del Piero had a very poor game. A tonne of chances which he didn't take, shame about that but he is getting back to some good form lately. Overall, a brilliant game with a good Juve performance and although I'm said we lost to Liverpool, we are finally back on top of Serie A and with a few games left, can fully focus on winning that.

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[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Don't know too much about that guy. Didn't catch that game either actually, but I'll catch the goals in either Eurogoals or GOL! on Eurosport. I was shocked Milan lost though. Did they have Shev and Crespo up front? Not sure what happened, but I read something earlier about Shev actually getting away with some headbutt or something, no clue what that's about.

Inter this Wednesday on Eurosport too, boy do I want revenge on them for coming back in the last game to make it 2-2. We should at this rate be able to beat them, but this season you cant tell with Inter.

Edit: Oh and some awesome news I just read. Nedved has said he's staying on until his contract ends, which is brilliant if you ask me. He needs to get back to full fitness, but I'm just so happy he's going to play on. He said how he really wants to win the CL with us too, which I really hope we can do next season, I bet he'll be up for it as well.

Edited April 18, 2005 by JohnnyPerfect

[Malenko]

Crespo scored the Milan goal. Milan actually were the first to score. I don't understand how a team that is supposed to be fighting for the title manages to lose the game in the end. Even more so, when they're playing one of the last placed teams. When the lower team scores first, usually they back up to defend the score, so it's more/less acceptable that is hard to score that goal back when they're trying so hard to keep the score. But with the things going their way, how do they manage to lose? Of course this happens once in a while but it's still surprising. I have a friend that's a huge Nedved/Juve fan. He had told me last friday that Nedved retiring were just rumours and that he had a conference saying he wouldn't want to retire just yet. To be honest i too hope he doesn't retire. He was playing so well last season, that i felt he still had a few years ahead of him. As long as he gets proper treatment when the season ends, he may recover to play in full force next season, even if he misses the beggining of it. I think he should be rested earlier in the games though. The last game was already decided long before it was finished, and so i thought Nedved should have been replaced to avoid being re-injured unnecessarily. Of course, he probably wants to stay in the pitch and give it all he can (even when he can't do much), and i understand that, but both he and the Juve staff have to realise they can't jeopardise a player's career by having him play without being fully fit.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Yeah that's the thing. I know we're at a huge point in the season right now, but why don't they just rest the guy? We've got players to fill his spot for now as well, so it wouldn't be a problem. The last thing I'd want is him playing on this season and getting injured right near the end or something. Although Nedved seems like the type of guy who refuses to not play and forces them to make him play him which is good to see most of the time. Weird thing is, every single game he gets fouled. Probably because he always goes in to win balls and stuff and isn't scared of a challenge. If it was me though, I'd play him in the big game against Inter tonight and then rest him from there on until the huge AC Milan game, which we need him at 100% full fitness big time. We're playing Birindelli tonight as well again, he always bloody worries me that guy but I'm willing to give him a chance, but I think I'd prefere Montero. That said, I think we really need to bring in at least one defender by the end of the season, even if it's someone as backup, because when someone gets injured at the back we haven't got like a tonne of good defenders to fill in the spots. Apprently we're looking in to getting Shabani Nonda from Monaco, Caracciolo and Iaquinta both from Italy. Not heard or seen much of any of them, any idea if they're anything special?

Really hoping Milan slip up again tonight, which I highly doubt. A must win for us though, really need this one. Let's hope Zlatan is on top form again too.

[Malenko]

Iaquinta is a striker. Not very talented in my opinion but has the striker's fundaments, being good finisher, gets unmarked well, and has good heading of the ball. He was about to have a big move in the summer but it never happened.

Nonda isn't bad. Caraciollo isn't a name i've heard often. No idea about that one. I think Juve could do better though.