Where football is officially ruined? Anybody watching the Barcalona V Real Madrid match must know what I'm talking about. Players falling to the floor grabbing their faces after seemingly not being touched? The dive by Di Maria was also very impressive and don't get me started on Mascherano screaming at the ref along wth his Barcalona pals to get Arbeloa booked for doing nothing and I'm writing this at half-time!!! Great fight at half-time though, but at least that was a bit manly compared to the bunch of prebuscent girls playing football for the first 45 minutes. Thd footballers of old must be turning in their graves. Dare I say it, I'd almost prefer Man United to win it if either of these two play like this in Wembley
I think it's an automatic booking if the player you tackle rolls over 5 times. Must be a new rule in spanish football.
This game is appalling. I remember Jorge Valdano calling our game with Chelsea '**** hanging from a stick', wonder what the Madrid favourite thinks of this? Their behaviour is a disgrace, and found it funny in the first half when Mascherano was having a go at Alonso who was basically telling him to do one. To be fair i don't blame Mourinho for setting his team up this way, the way the Barca players surround the ref (puyol in particular) shows they will also do anything they can to win. I watched Villarreal vs Sevilla the other day. Giuseppe Rossi looked great but the english commentators were openly mocking the level of diving and play acting.
Has anyone noticed there are 3 former Liverpool players in this match consisting of possibly the 2 best teams in the world at the moment. Masch for Barca, Alonso and Arbeloa for Real Madrid. Masch was always a hothead not surprised to hear he was shouting his mouth off. Alonso ever the professional though! I would like to have him back, if only for a few seasons whilst we get back on our feet.
I found the level of play acting quite funny to watch. They have been doing it for years, why is this a turning point?
That realy was a shocking game wasn't it? Now the world has finally seen that part of the Spanish game that rarely gets given light. Barca were a total disgrace. How many of their players went tumbling holding their faces? I was annoyed at Masch, what a tosser he is. Getting in the refs face, and as has been said, rowing with Alonso. It was embarrassing as a football fan. I thought Real were sold down the river. I thought about 90% of the play acting was Barca when they realised they were having problems breaking through Madrid's back four and covering midfielders. I'm not keen on Jose, but I fully support him on this one. Interestingly the one player in the Barca team who doesnt seem to dive is Messi. What a player he is! The final will be a bit of a dilema. I don't want this cheating team to win it and be crowned the best in Europe, along with Spanish football. I do want our league to be shown as the best, and to be fair with exceptions, United players don't dive - and i'd love our league to win reflecting that. However its United! Here's for hoping Real pull it out the bag!
I think it's our rough attitude to the game of football that makes us the best league in the world. You only have to look as far as Stoke to see you can be physical and not foul people, there is no need to dive and it just makes you look like a huge pussy. The main problem isn't the players diving though; it's the referees that give them the freekicks for diving. I very rarely see someone actually booked for diving, it's once in a blue moon - and you have to think; if technology was introduced, would we see a fall in diving? I think video playback would revolutionize the game and stop diving once and for all. I do agree with Jose, Barca just had the referee wrapped around their little finger. It's much like Man United and their pressing antics. Man United are currently the best team in Britain (as much as it pains me to say it) and Barca are currently the best team in Spain, so the respective governing bodies look kindly upon them and seem to give them special priviliges. After all, if the governing bodies can create a team like Barcelona who seem to be unstoppable, think of the amount of money the Spanish Football Governing body is making because of individuals like Messi? Absolutely loads!
Last night was the night that proved Man United have a snowballs chance in hell of winning the champions league.Barcelona will eat them alive.They will make bits of Carrick and Scholes.
The diving is terrible to watch but you're right in the fact that they can also play great football and in Barcas defence Mourinhos wind up tactics before the game also sickened me, can't 2 teams just play a game without all this crap? Messi is brilliant but if Xavi and Iniesta get going Man Utd will be in trouble, imo of course.
You forgot about David Villa and Pedro.David Villa hasn't been scoring like he was previously,but ''form is temporary class is permanent''.He's liable to explode at any time. From what I've seen,Liverpool should definitely make a move for Ibrahim Affeley,He's class.I personally don't think Man United have much chance against Barcelona.They're just too good.
Messi is so good it's scary. He walked through the madrid defence/midfield with ease. Sign him up John W.
Record signing of 135m wouldn't surprise me, scary thing is that'd be a dip in the pond for John Henry and co. They spend that on 1 or 2 players for the red sox regularly.
I've been saying for years that they should simply set up a commitee to investigate diving and faking injury after the game is finished? If you're deemed to have dived - 3 game ban - no appeal allowed, their word is final! That would sort it out fairly quick!
Affelay only moved to them in january so there is no chance of getting him. Busquets, Di Maria and Alves are the most unsportsmanlike players I have ever seen. It's just embarrassing watching them do it over and over again.
The playacting began with Mourinho's press conference. Did Pepe deserve to be sent off? No. Did Real deserve to win? No. Was the tension a surprise? No. Did Mourinho have a large part in ramping up that tension? Indubitably. Now Jose's playing the conspiracy paranoia card because his negatory tactics failed. The world's against him and apparently Uefa do everything they can to ensure Barca get to the CL final. That's why they've won it three times to Real's nine and why they were forced to travel overland last year to play Mourinho's Inter. That was a clear and unfair advantage for the Catalans. I hear Jose wanted to make it a level playing field but Inter were prohibited by a Uefa edict from travelling overland for the return leg. It's just so unfair, sob sob sob. Oh, how I laughed. Well done, Messi, for delivering a touch of pure genius the so-called genius Jose was unable to.
there is just as much in the prem, players pretending to be injured to get the opponent booked. All teams do it, the continentals just roll a bit more but the intent and results are usually the same. Barca tried to play football, Real didn't, how you can go all defensive with the players they have is beyond me, they failed because Jose's tactics had no room for error, the way Real were set up they were always going to lose IF they conceded a goal and never looked like getting one, Messi scored a nice second a bit like owens against Argentina The result was a victory for the neutral every day of the week
According to FIFA UEFA to roll this out to all elagues and divisions would be a mammoth task. one of the things holding up a lot of revolutional changes is the money to implement it accross the board. It's coming but not soon
