Post: #3251

Porto never had to pay the referee to win games and make money.

Post: #3252

(05-10-2017 11:04 AM)rudebwoy Wrote:  Rossi _ I wouldn't run your mouth so hard.

Serie A has been joke for years now. Wasn't Juve in some scandal not so long ago?
It has been a one horse race for awhile now. Juve is the Bayern Munich of Italy.

Back in the 80s/90s it was probably the top league.
AC Milan back in the day were something special to watch, albeit the foreign players like Van Basten, Guillt, Rikjard made them great.

Say what you want about the English league, but it isn't a one horse race. It is exciting to watch and unpredictable.

Here, I found a very competitive league for you. Chilean League.

Take a look: http://i63.tinypic.com/n1e9vm.png

It's very competitive. Even 11th team can be champion. Does this mean the best league in the world? No.

It means all of those teams suck equally, like Premier League. I mean, we're talking about English teams who lost 10-2 to Bayern. Against Gent. Barely beating Anderlecht on extra times, when you spent €200 millions on transfers.

Sorry mate. That doesn't look like best league to me.

As for Italian league, of course it will be one horse race. Because it's Juventus. If Italian league is not good, let European teams stop Juventus in CL. Why can't they?

Porto 0-2 Juventus
Juventus 1-0 Porto

Juventus 3-0 Barcelona
Barcelona 0-0 Juventus

Monaco 0-2 Juventus
Juventus 2-1 Monaco

We knocked everyone out, not by 1 goal, with 3 goal margin. Who do you think in Italy that can stop us when Barcelona can't?

If we play in Premier League, it will be one horse race too because we're a lot better than them.

Post: #3253

(05-10-2017 11:14 AM)britchard Wrote:  Porto never had to pay the referee to win games and make money.

Yeah match fixing is part of the Italian game.

It would be great to see Buffon raise the trophy, maybe the FIAT family can pay enough money to the referee.

Post: #3254

(05-10-2017 12:15 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  

(05-10-2017 11:14 AM)britchard Wrote:  Porto never had to pay the referee to win games and make money.

Yeah match fixing is part of the Italian game.

It would be great to see Buffon raise the trophy, maybe the FIAT family can pay enough money to the referee.

Come, beat us in Champions League. Why cant you?

Is that how we beat Man City 2-1 at home and away last year?

Go, spend another €300 million Arab money, maybe you can beat us next year or not concede 6 goals from Monaco kids. We're in Champions League Final, watch us from your tv. I'll be in Cardiff.

Post: #3255

AC Milan sold to Chinese Investors 628 million pounds.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-acmila...SKBN17G0SF

Stadium sharing, unheard of in England.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/the...e-stadiums

In fact, your whole country is up for sale.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...r-by-renzi

Win the CL, then you can brag....

Post: #3256

(05-10-2017 11:41 AM)Rossi Wrote:  It means all of those teams suck equally, like Premier League. I mean, we're talking about English teams who lost 10-2 to Bayern. Against Gent. Barely beating Anderlecht on extra times, when you spent €200 millions on transfers.

So what happened to Italian teams in Europe this season?

Roma didn't even make it to CL group stage, losing in playoffs to Porto (0-3 at home).
Inter finished last in their Europa League group (which included Southampton, Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Sparta Prague).
Fioretina were eliminated in the round of 32 by Mönchengladbach.
Sassuolo finished last in their group (with Genk, Rapid Wien and Bilbao).

Post: #3257

Portugal has now been added to the list of countries that Rossi hates, it seems.

It's funny how you say 'beat 'us' in the Champions leage'. The Juve team has 3 Italians in it, all of whom are in the twilight of their careers. That's about the same as the number of English players in English CL teams who you claim aren't good enough. And the English players are in most cases young.

I seem to remember Spurs easily beating Fiorentina last season.

Inter Milan lost to fucking Southampton of all teams. So 9th in the Premier League beats 4th in Serie A, but Premier League is weak? Strong logic there.

Post: #3258

Juve had 5 Italians in yesterdays match, Buffon, Bonucci, Barzagli, Chiellini & Marchisio.

When was the last time a Premier League team had 5 Englishmen in a Champions League match, or at all?

Man U, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool... doesn't seem like any of the big EPL teams have more than 5 English in their teams either.

Wasn't there a rule in the EPL where clubs would have to have a minimum number of domestic players in their squads?

Post: #3259

^Spurs had at least 5 for sure

Post: #3260

Yeah I was thinking Spurs would be the only one close to fielding 5 domestic players at a time.

Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Delle Alli....maybe Eric Dier.

Post: #3261

The English teams have English players on their squads, usually on the bench.

The National team is a joke, so no one is defending them.

In Club football, one or two good players can make the difference. Look at Alves for Juventus, what a incredible goal he scored yesterday and to think Barcelona let him go on a free.

Chelsea won the league because they picked up Kante, who was rightfully the best player in the League this year. They probably felt guilty not giving him player of the year trophy last season. He is a modern day Makele.

Where is Leicester this season!

Post: #3262

(05-07-2017 06:25 AM)Going strong Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 08:42 PM)floor7 Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 06:37 PM)Going strong Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 06:23 PM)floor7 Wrote:  https://www.fcbarcelona.cat/club/noticie...referendum

Barca officially supporting the referendum push to determine the future of catalonia.

But, but... I thought football was not about politics...

Qatari jihadist owners trying to break up Spain, to avenge the Reconquista...

To Skank_Hunt: you are wondering why the excellent, young Morata sits on Real's bench like a discarded bum, while old, clumsy, never-scoring Benzema is playing... Well, ask yourself who the coach of Real is, and inchallah you'll understand.

And note that Benzema has a sad, proven habit of blackmailing (plus sexual-entrapment and false imprisonment) his fellow football dudes (see the Valbuena scandal)... maybe he's blackmailing people at the Real?

Benzema, even with his shattered body, is a much better foil for Ronaldo and Bale than Morata. Unless RM totally change their system, Morata will not be a first XI player there in the long run. He's too slow and is not effective enough out wide. A post ronaldo RM shifting towards needing a pure 9 is what Morata would need. I don't think he can wait for that.

Benzema is extremely fluid in his movement for a 9 and is as comfortable moving wide left and wide right when Ronaldo and/or Bale cut in and run behind the last man.

Morata is too static and Zidane is a very decent manager - not revolutionary in his thinking - but very balanced in his ideas and commands massive respect in the dressing room which is what is required at a club like RM. I can't think of another boss that could control the dressing room as well as him.

Yeah, whatever (you didn't explain why Benzema never scores, not a small detail for a striker; he moves like a dancer, but forgets to score. Morata on the other hand, doesn't fool around, and scores), but anyway:

is it normal and fair to still prefer Benzema, after he's been convinced of complicity in sexual entrapment, swindling, blackmail, against the talented but vulnerable, small creative midfielder, Valbuena? Benzema should sit in jail, not in a Ferrari.

If you watched the match that was on just now, I hope you now understand why Benzema plays over Morata.

Have you played or coached at a decent level? I don't think you are american but just looking at a striker's goal output is a very american view of football.

There is no 9 on the planet that could've executed what Benzema did at that level while also playing lone striker other than Suarez.

Post: #3263

(05-10-2017 03:56 PM)floor7 Wrote:  

(05-07-2017 06:25 AM)Going strong Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 08:42 PM)floor7 Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 06:37 PM)Going strong Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 06:23 PM)floor7 Wrote:  https://www.fcbarcelona.cat/club/noticie...referendum

Barca officially supporting the referendum push to determine the future of catalonia.

But, but... I thought football was not about politics...

Qatari jihadist owners trying to break up Spain, to avenge the Reconquista...

To Skank_Hunt: you are wondering why the excellent, young Morata sits on Real's bench like a discarded bum, while old, clumsy, never-scoring Benzema is playing... Well, ask yourself who the coach of Real is, and inchallah you'll understand.

And note that Benzema has a sad, proven habit of blackmailing (plus sexual-entrapment and false imprisonment) his fellow football dudes (see the Valbuena scandal)... maybe he's blackmailing people at the Real?

Benzema, even with his shattered body, is a much better foil for Ronaldo and Bale than Morata. Unless RM totally change their system, Morata will not be a first XI player there in the long run. He's too slow and is not effective enough out wide. A post ronaldo RM shifting towards needing a pure 9 is what Morata would need. I don't think he can wait for that.

Benzema is extremely fluid in his movement for a 9 and is as comfortable moving wide left and wide right when Ronaldo and/or Bale cut in and run behind the last man.

Morata is too static and Zidane is a very decent manager - not revolutionary in his thinking - but very balanced in his ideas and commands massive respect in the dressing room which is what is required at a club like RM. I can't think of another boss that could control the dressing room as well as him.

Yeah, whatever (you didn't explain why Benzema never scores, not a small detail for a striker; he moves like a dancer, but forgets to score. Morata on the other hand, doesn't fool around, and scores), but anyway:

is it normal and fair to still prefer Benzema, after he's been convinced of complicity in sexual entrapment, swindling, blackmail, against the talented but vulnerable, small creative midfielder, Valbuena? Benzema should sit in jail, not in a Ferrari.

If you watched the match that was on just now, I hope you now understand why Benzema plays over Morata.

Have you played or coached at a decent level? I don't think you are american but just looking at a striker's goal output is a very american view of football.

There is no 9 on the planet that could've executed what Benzema did at that level while also playing lone striker other than Suarez.

You've been patiently waiting for Benzema to pull a decent performance. Ok, the old boy had some good moments during the match tonight... and? Morata would still have performed better I think, and Benzema-on-steroids Dybala (or Cavani, or Morata-on-steroids Kane) are better than him. Also, it does not change anything regarding the criminal sexual-blackmailing activities of Benzema (Valbuena case)...

Anyway, I foresee a final victory of the Juve, 1-0, goal of Higuain at the 30th minute, and 65 minutes of heroic all-Italian defense... I can also pretty much guarantee that Ronaldo will have his knee or tobillo fucked up good before the end of the game, by Barzagli or Chiellini, like the French did during the Eurocup finale.

Post: #3264

(05-10-2017 04:10 PM)Going strong Wrote:  

(05-10-2017 03:56 PM)floor7 Wrote:  

(05-07-2017 06:25 AM)Going strong Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 08:42 PM)floor7 Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 06:37 PM)Going strong Wrote:  But, but... I thought football was not about politics...

Qatari jihadist owners trying to break up Spain, to avenge the Reconquista...

To Skank_Hunt: you are wondering why the excellent, young Morata sits on Real's bench like a discarded bum, while old, clumsy, never-scoring Benzema is playing... Well, ask yourself who the coach of Real is, and inchallah you'll understand.

And note that Benzema has a sad, proven habit of blackmailing (plus sexual-entrapment and false imprisonment) his fellow football dudes (see the Valbuena scandal)... maybe he's blackmailing people at the Real?

Benzema, even with his shattered body, is a much better foil for Ronaldo and Bale than Morata. Unless RM totally change their system, Morata will not be a first XI player there in the long run. He's too slow and is not effective enough out wide. A post ronaldo RM shifting towards needing a pure 9 is what Morata would need. I don't think he can wait for that.

Benzema is extremely fluid in his movement for a 9 and is as comfortable moving wide left and wide right when Ronaldo and/or Bale cut in and run behind the last man.

Morata is too static and Zidane is a very decent manager - not revolutionary in his thinking - but very balanced in his ideas and commands massive respect in the dressing room which is what is required at a club like RM. I can't think of another boss that could control the dressing room as well as him.

Yeah, whatever (you didn't explain why Benzema never scores, not a small detail for a striker; he moves like a dancer, but forgets to score. Morata on the other hand, doesn't fool around, and scores), but anyway:

is it normal and fair to still prefer Benzema, after he's been convinced of complicity in sexual entrapment, swindling, blackmail, against the talented but vulnerable, small creative midfielder, Valbuena? Benzema should sit in jail, not in a Ferrari.

If you watched the match that was on just now, I hope you now understand why Benzema plays over Morata.

Have you played or coached at a decent level? I don't think you are american but just looking at a striker's goal output is a very american view of football.

There is no 9 on the planet that could've executed what Benzema did at that level while also playing lone striker other than Suarez.

You've been patiently waiting for Benzema to pull a decent performance. Ok, the old boy had some good moments during the match tonight... and? Morata would still have performed better I think, and Benzema-on-steroids Dybala (or Cavani, or Morata-on-steroids Kane) are better than him. Also, it does not change anything regarding the criminal sexual-blackmailing activities of Benzema (Valbuena case)...

Anyway, I foresee a final victory of the Juve, 1-0, goal of Higuain at the 30th minute, and 65 minutes of heroic all-Italian defense... I can also pretty much guarantee that Ronaldo will have his knee or tobillo fucked up good before the end of the game, by Barzagli or Chiellini, like the French did during the Eurocup finale.

Going Strong, I don't understand your fetish with Juventus and hatred of Real Madrid, you are even neither Spanish or Italian... If the bias is based on the perception that Juventus fields more local based players than Real Madrid, then that perception is totally unreal.

Looking at Real Madrid squad I see nine Spanish players who are valid options for Zidane (more or less, but they all have considerable playing time), Carbajal, Ramos, Nacho, Isco, Morata, Asensio, Vazquez, Mariano and Casilla. (Ruben Yanez completes the Spanish contigent)

As for Juventus, you have as valid options the following: Buffon, Chiellini, Marchisio, Barzagli, Bonucci, Rugani and Sturaro, totaling 7 players. All the other 4 Italians in the squad have zero playing time (De Ceglie, Audero, Kean? and Mandragora).

As for Benzema, I can understand that he is not the most enjoyable character in the world, but his talent for playing football is totally undeniable. I think no coach in the world would play Morata instead of Benzema. The first is a clinical poacher, as for the later, he simply has more technical ability, more power, more football IQ and tactical awareness, whether he is likable or not as a person, he is among the best players in the world.

Regarding your last phrase, one of the reasons why the Eurocup win and that Eder goal in extra time felt so so good, is because it was against France, and because the dirty tactics of your squad that fucked Ronaldo knee early in the game.

Just some final words on my part on this argument, I grew up admiring Juventus squad, since young I had a crush on sides that fought against the established champions and stronger squads, possibly due to my upbringing as a Porto fan in Lisbon, a city dominated by either Benfica or Sporting, and I was always alone against the crowd.
Mind that this was the early 90s, so, Juventus (vs Milan), Atletico Madrid (vs Real and Barça), Blackburn Rovers (vs ManU and Arsenal), Paris St.Germain (vs Marseille) or Dortmund (vs Bayern) where always my favorite teams.

Even my favorite player and the one I tried to imitate was Romario, who only got worldwide recognition after his transfer to Barcelona and the world cup USA94, when all the other kids in the street "wanted to be" Van Basten, Laudrup, Papin, Gullit, Baggio, Stoitchkov.

Nonetheless Juventus had a great team that later I even admired more, Vialli, Ravanelli, Baggio, Andreas Moller, Kholer, Conte, Ferrara, and with the addition of magnificents Zidane and Del Piero, the strong defenders Montero, Thuram or Pessotto, in miedfield Paulo Sousa or Deschamps dominated the play.
Truly great teams and players. I also rooted for them against Real in 1998, and against Ac Milan in 2003 (it was truly a joy to watch Pavel Nedved playing).

Despite this, I should not have any reason to like Juventus, in 1984, an excellent Porto squad (that 3 years later won the Champions) got robbed of his first European silverware against none other than Juve, with scandalous refereeing (in the end of the match our GK kicked the ass of the assistant referee and got irradiated of European football for one year). We lost 2-1 against possibly the greatest Juventus team of all time, with Platini, Boniek, Gentile, Scirea, Tardelli, Paolo Rossi, in wich the 2nd goal of Juventus when the match was tied was clearly preceded by foul on the Porto defender, as well as many other wrong decisons favoring the Italians.

Bottom line, I will refrain from posting in this thread, since a few years ago, (coincidentally when I started to get more and better muff) whether in victory or defeat, I became very unattached to the sport and the mood variations that it brings to fans or supporters, the football matches I watched from begging to end can be counted by the fingers of one hand in the last 5 years, best thing that happened to me on the day of the eurocup victory was not the victory, but banging a nice Croatian ass...

Post: #3265

(05-10-2017 04:10 PM)Going strong Wrote:  

(05-10-2017 03:56 PM)floor7 Wrote:  

(05-07-2017 06:25 AM)Going strong Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 08:42 PM)floor7 Wrote:  

(05-06-2017 06:37 PM)Going strong Wrote:  But, but... I thought football was not about politics...

Qatari jihadist owners trying to break up Spain, to avenge the Reconquista...

To Skank_Hunt: you are wondering why the excellent, young Morata sits on Real's bench like a discarded bum, while old, clumsy, never-scoring Benzema is playing... Well, ask yourself who the coach of Real is, and inchallah you'll understand.

And note that Benzema has a sad, proven habit of blackmailing (plus sexual-entrapment and false imprisonment) his fellow football dudes (see the Valbuena scandal)... maybe he's blackmailing people at the Real?

Benzema, even with his shattered body, is a much better foil for Ronaldo and Bale than Morata. Unless RM totally change their system, Morata will not be a first XI player there in the long run. He's too slow and is not effective enough out wide. A post ronaldo RM shifting towards needing a pure 9 is what Morata would need. I don't think he can wait for that.

Benzema is extremely fluid in his movement for a 9 and is as comfortable moving wide left and wide right when Ronaldo and/or Bale cut in and run behind the last man.

Morata is too static and Zidane is a very decent manager - not revolutionary in his thinking - but very balanced in his ideas and commands massive respect in the dressing room which is what is required at a club like RM. I can't think of another boss that could control the dressing room as well as him.

Yeah, whatever (you didn't explain why Benzema never scores, not a small detail for a striker; he moves like a dancer, but forgets to score. Morata on the other hand, doesn't fool around, and scores), but anyway:

is it normal and fair to still prefer Benzema, after he's been convinced of complicity in sexual entrapment, swindling, blackmail, against the talented but vulnerable, small creative midfielder, Valbuena? Benzema should sit in jail, not in a Ferrari.

If you watched the match that was on just now, I hope you now understand why Benzema plays over Morata.

Have you played or coached at a decent level? I don't think you are american but just looking at a striker's goal output is a very american view of football.

There is no 9 on the planet that could've executed what Benzema did at that level while also playing lone striker other than Suarez.

You've been patiently waiting for Benzema to pull a decent performance. Ok, the old boy had some good moments during the match tonight... and? Morata would still have performed better I think, and Benzema-on-steroids Dybala (or Cavani, or Morata-on-steroids Kane) are better than him. Also, it does not change anything regarding the criminal sexual-blackmailing activities of Benzema (Valbuena case)...

Anyway, I foresee a final victory of the Juve, 1-0, goal of Higuain at the 30th minute, and 65 minutes of heroic all-Italian defense... I can also pretty much guarantee that Ronaldo will have his knee or tobillo fucked up good before the end of the game, by Barzagli or Chiellini, like the French did during the Eurocup finale.

My initial laudatory post on why Benzema starts due to RM's system was made 4 days ago. I can understand your assertion if I posted this at the beginning of the season and then sprung this up now. I didn't need to wait. His attributes are his attributes and why he has been a stalwart for 350+ matches contributing to 170+ goals and 70+ assists at RM. Literally the next match he starts after I made my point he shows what he's done for close to a decade now.

Morata is a completely different profile. I'll give an example - at man utd for instance, morata would be more effective than Benzema. All I have been saying is Benzema for Real madrid is pretty much the best striker they can have (outside of suarez - not obtainable - or Muller perhaps if he was in form, which he hasn't been for over 12 months now).

Yes Dybala is better than Benzema presently - I never said he wasn't. He's also much younger. Though I'm not sure if Dybala would prosper as a lone striker in a front 3.

Cavani is a one-trick pony. He's not in benzema's class and never will be. You are kidding right? He would have convulsions if he found himself moving into wide areas to drag defenders away and doing the off-the-ball work that Benzema does (in addition to be a lone 9).

Harry Kane doesn't have the on-the-ball ability either, nor is his passing ability in and around the box on par.

It is very hard to find a 1 in 2 goal scorer that can lead the line and be subservient on the pitch to other attackers at the same time. Extremely hard. 9's with that strike rate almost always demand the attacking phase go through or finish with them and do not like to venture out into zones 13, 15, 16, 18.

I do agree that france should've jailed benzema. That isn't RM's issue. If he's free, RM should play their strongest XI - which includes him. It isn't RM's responsibility for France's cucking out over justice.

Post: #3266

(05-05-2017 04:19 PM)Skank_Hunt Wrote:  The only one purchase I would say is not a good move from Juventus is actually Higuain. Yes, he scored 2 against Monaco and has done well in the league, but 90m euros? That's not the clever way Juve usually does business. Higuain is still a bit overweight and he doesn't score enough in the Champions' League. If we had a ~20m striker like a good Llorente against Monaco I think that would have been enough. Tevez would have done better than Higuain in this years Champions' League, and he's old. I don't know why Juve paid 90m for a player who is old and fat. If he was a young talent like Dybala with many years to come, OK, but why pay 90m for a 29 year old, it makes no sense. I would prefer Morata, poor Morata who sits on the bench for Real. Morata is a born finisher, young, quick, lethal in front of goal. His minutes to goal ratio is excellent. 40m for young Morata > 90m for old fat Higuain. I still think Higuain is a top player, but he is just too old and too unfit. You can solve the unfit part, but the old part you cannot solve. So it was stupid so buy him for 90m. Juve should have kept most of the Pogba money and bought a better value striker.

I agree 90 mil for Higuaín is ridiculous given his age and limited skill set, not to mention his epic missed opportunities in the 2014 WC and the 2015 Copa America finals. But they knew they needed an improvement so they went out and got one. Overpriced and not exactly the stuff of a Champions League hero, but a consistent scorer in league matches. He led the Serie A in goals last year (broke some kind of record I think..?), and by signing him they also knocked one of their few competitors in Italy, Napoli, down a peg (Just like they did to Roma by signing Pjanic).

Post: #3267

Well luckily strikers don't need excellent dribbling skills, or players like Kane and Cavani who are both excellent at what they do would be out of a job. I'd also include Diego Costa in that group.

Post: #3268

(05-10-2017 06:26 PM)floor7 Wrote:  Cavani is a one-trick pony. He's not in benzema's class and never will be. You are kidding right? He would have convulsions if he found himself moving into wide areas to drag defenders away and doing the off-the-ball work that Benzema does (in addition to be a lone 9).

I have to disagree. Cavani is (or used to be) a great player, even "moving into wide areas". Remember when he used to play kinda left-wing, with Forlan as 9 and Luis Suarez el pistolero on the right wing?

The greatest trident of modern times (as good as MSN):

Post: #3269

(05-10-2017 08:09 AM)Rossi Wrote:  Do you want me to add up what Man City spent and what Juventus spent in past 5 years? We're in CL final 2 times. Man City spent probably 20 times more than us and they never got to final.

Man Utd bought Pogba from us for €110 millions and they can barely beat Rostov and Anderlecht in extra times.

Tottenham gets knocked out by Gent.

Man City spent €55 millions on John Stone and Otamendi €45 millions alone and they conceded 6 goals from Monaco.

Arsenal, who are richest 7th team in the world, lost 10-2 against Bayern, like a basketball game

And, you are telling me that this is transition time? Yes, Premier League is tougher than La Liga, Bundesliga or Serie A because all the English teams equally suck in England.

If you have Juventus, Bayern, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, they will win Premier League by 15 points. That's why loser Italian coach like Ranieri was able to win Premier League easily with Leicester.

English people don't really know much about football. That's why you don't see English manager winning Premier League much.

Ranieri goes to Leicester, wins it.
Ancelotti goes to Chelsea, wins it.
Conte goes to Chelsea, wins it.

Why is it so easy for Italian coaches to win in Premier League but no English won it recently?

Premier League is one of the most over-rated league in the world. Marketing, stadiums, condition of the pitches are best in the world but not the football itself. Otherwise, if it was the best league, we would have seen something in European area from English teams.

Instead, we have failure after failure from English teams even though they blow up 100-200 millions on transfers.

Lol, I laughed when I read this post, it's so true. There are obviously some strong opposing (pro-EPL) opinions to Rossi in this thread, but I can't see how you can deny the above. The EPL is overrated, throws around extremely large amounts of money compared to their low achievement at the highest level (UCL). I did mention the odd exception of Juventus' overpriced purchase of Higuain, but apart from that the EPL transfers overall are the absolute worst value.

For a very, very recent example at Man Utd last night: 1-1 against Celta Vigo after they spent ??? millions on new players and huge salaries (Zlatan was "free" but is receiving around 20m per year). Rooney I feel has always been overrated but earns a few hundred thousand every week for warming the bench. As far as coaches, compare Mourinho to Conte: the former cannot complain he doesn't have good tools to work with. His tactics are extremely negative and depressing; there is a difference between defence and attack which Juventus does well where appropriate, and absolutist negative philosophy. What is the point of having intelligent, creative players like Mkhitaryan in your squad when you are set up so negatively and defensively? It is a complete waste because the team is not set up to get the best out of the players. That's on the coach, not on the players. Conte is a more reserved character than Mourinho, but he is very intense and almost obsessed with winning and if it is within his realm of capability he will find a way tactically to make his squad of players winners. A criticism of Conte is that he was quite scared to play in the UCL with Juventus, making excuses about relative lack of funds compared to Barcelona, Bayern, Real (obviously). Allegri by contrast has been more positive and less afraid to lose, so he is willing to attack more. Conte has his weaknesses which may be revealed in UCL next season.

Even though it's 2nd Tier European Competition, the Europa League (better called the UEFA Cup in my opinion) has a lot of history and should be treated with more respect. The UCL place has almost become the bigger prize than the title itself, which is a shame. Congratulations to Ajax for reaching the final, the first European final since 1996, which was UCL against Juventus. I hope Ajax will win, lift the trophy, join the UCL once again and continue to improve - another team with great history. I hope for further strength in the Eredivisie, so wishing all fans of Dutch teams good luck in next season's European competitions, especially against EPL teams

I do think, though, that Juventus are flying the flag too much for Italy alone. Roma is keeping up with Juve in the league just about, but when it comes to UCL, they were well beaten by Porto. This is strange because league matches between Juventus and Roma are not so one-sided. Napoli are similarly weak where it counts in Europe despite being good in the league. I think a lot has to do with European experience, and being able to bring big performances for the big games. However, I also think that clever but rather shady transfer tactics by Juventus to take Pjanic from Roma and Higuain from Napoli made these teams a lot weaker. I can't defend Napoli or Roma but I hope that they develop the European "grinta" that Juventus have. I believe it all starts from a strong defence, goalkeeper to your back 3/4/5. Napoli and Roma can score goals, but they leak goals at the back. Juventus does not, that is the difference.

Post: #3270

What every good team needs in my opinion is a "dirty" mid. By that I mean defensive midfielders that gets a lot of tackles and totally disrupts build up between the midfield and strikers. Dirties up the opponents middle and offensive third. They can also pass well enough out of the back to get the ball to more creative attacking players.

Post: #3271

(05-11-2017 08:36 PM)realologist Wrote:  What every good team needs in my opinion is a "dirty" mid. By that I mean defensive midfielders that gets a lot of tackles and totally disrupts build up between the midfield and strikers. Dirties up the opponents middle and offensive third. They can also pass well enough out of the back to get the ball to more creative attacking players.

Perfect description of World champion Didier Deschamps. Maybe also of Mascherano. Busquets is classier, though equally mean.

Post: #3272

^Ngolo Kante.

Post: #3273

^ Yep, N'Golo Kante is 10 times the player Deschamps was, the latter was tactically perfect and could pass a ball to a more talented player, Kante can create ruptures on the other team by himself. Lotthar Matthaus, Paulo Sousa, Keane, Makelele, Gattuso or Vieira are all great examples of a dirty and at the same time classy defensive miedfielder.

Post: #3274

(05-12-2017 08:04 AM)Rocha Wrote:  ^ Yep, N'Golo Kante is 10 times the player Deschamps was, the latter was tactically perfect and could pass a ball to a more talented player, Kante can create ruptures on the other team by himself. Lotthar Matthaus, Paulo Sousa, Keane, Makelele, Gattuso or Vieira are all great examples of a dirty and at the same time classy defensive miedfielder.

First name that came to my mind

Post: #3275

(05-12-2017 06:56 AM)Chris Brown Wrote:  ^Ngolo Kante.

There's nothing wrong with Ngolo (Ngolo), indeed:





(Ngolo Ngolo in France means, to have a rough quickie: "Si je gagne, ce soir c'est 'Ngolo 'Ngolo dans la case avec ma femme")

As to Gattuso, he was worst than dirty on the pitch, a permanent danger for other players' legs...

But the all-times bad-guy football-assassin is of course, tooth-knocking Schumacher: