Barca : but the game before that we stopped them having one single shot on goal in 2 matches .. we lost last 2 times bcz we wanted to beat them in their game.. doubt sir alex will try that and will opt to more the system we used before facing barca which they failed to crack facing other good clubs who sit back making them look clueless Real : Are you a nut ?.. we had no fixed back 4 & GK bcz of injuries and had to rotate them and even shift our mid to play thier .. now with all coming back, your argument look simply stupid Juv- I can name only 3 players in that team who can play for UTD first 11 .. UTD in general do well facing Italians Shakhtar - horrible defending Dortmund - hhhhh .. are you saying that bcz they outplayed City? ..city that was outplayed by Ajax ? or Real who are struggling in their league facing crap clubs this season .. they are a good club .. BUT UTD are way a better side Bayern - team getting old .. UTD far better
I may of disagreed with most of irdan's original statements, but some of your comments are just plain wrong. First point, I can name three players from Juve's central midfield alone that could push for a place in United's first 11 at the minute, Pirlo, Vidal and Marchisio, I would probably have Asamoah too, and that's before even starting on defenders such as Chiellini, Lucio, and Bonnuci. Second point, I think it's slightly arrogant to say United are a "way better side" than Dortmund, they have a great bunch of players that work perfectly as a team and will definitely be a match for whoever they play, they outplayed City in the second game while resting a lot of their key players like Gotze, Lewandowski, Subotic, Bender and Kehl, they should not be underestimated! Third point, how long is it since you watched Bayern? They are far from getting old, in fact they are a much younger squad these days than they have been in recent years, players like Badstuber (23), Alaba (20), Contento (22), Muller (23), Shaqiri (21), Martinez (24), and Kroos (22) are all regulars, even most of their more experienced regulars aren't exactly past it, Schweinsteiger is 28, Lahm 29 (seems like he's been around forever), Neuer 26, Gomez 27, Mandzukic 26, Gustavo 25, Rafinha 27, even Robben and Ribery are only 28 and 29, I think Tymoshchuk and Pizarro are their only over 30s that make regular appearances.
Good thread this is now. I might have a little punt on Dortmund winning..they look solid. And Swarbs..point taken however I'm used to seeing Utd batter teams not do a "Chelsea or Liverpool". Shwan...
I think you and Shwan should meet and have a fight about it Seriously though, I can't see beyond Barca winning it again.
I'm used to seeing us batter teams too, but if we're absolutely honest that is always a strategy that has worked better in the PL than in Europe. When we tried to batter Real and Milan in seasons past we ended up putting some plenty of great goals past them, but conceded more in the process. Even in 99 when we battered Juve it was because we had to after conceding two goals in the first 11 minutes. And in 07/08 we didn't beat Barca and Chelsea by going all out to batter them, but by restricting them both to only one or two chances whilst creating plenty of our own. Tbh I think whatever team wins the trophy this year they won't do it by battering opponents, but by playing smart and keeping it tight, whilst probably riding their luck quite a bit at times.
sorry 3 players i feel are more classy than UTD :are Chiellini, Buffon, Pirlo the rest are simply good/v good nothing special .. i really can't see them that special to start in Real or Barca side.. i know JUV bcz Juv is my 2nd fav team after UTD, and watch their games in weekely bases regarding Dortmund, is not arrogance .. they were sh!t in CL last season with almost same squad, ending up last even behind Olympiacos who outclassed them beating Dortmund 3-0 .. this year they do look better but again they faced out of form REAL and CITY who couldn't beat Ajax.. aside from Gotze, the rest are really good/v good players regarding Bayern, Badstuber is out of form and look like **** recently, and the rest you mentioned are just good, I don't think they can start at any club like Real or barca .. Schweinsteiger & Lahm & Robben & Ribery are only classy players .. but Bayern biggest problem is that don't have good CBs .. that was their problem for some period now.
people seem to forget that they end up last in their group last season with almost same team.. even behind Olympiacos who outclass them and beat them 3-0 I think Real bad form & city looking crap (not even able to beat Ajax) did flatter them a bit this season
Now all the crap teams are out, its possible of any of the remaining teams (except Arsenal) could go and win it. So expect the unexpected in the final.
Me neither, United can't get to grips with Spanish sides, unless they are in meltdown like Barca 2008
at least we didn't finish last UTD were complacent bcz we were in 3 finals out of last 4, with Sir Alex picking younger side for CL who did lots of mistakes but this season he opted for stronger side .. Dortmund had lots to prove and was outclassed by all clubs in their group CL is becoming more and more difficult and tbh 6 out of those remaining 16 teams have equal chances to win it Bayern, Dortmund , Barca, Real, UTD, Juv with some luck, even Arsenal , PSG, Milan and Shakhtar do have a chance ... look to last season even a club who was in a bad form like chelsea did win CL.. so to rule out UTD was not smart tbh .. at this stage all big teams have a similar chance
are they? as far as i know they are doing far better in Liga compared to previous season, with already big gap at top of table and messi in the form of his life (very close to break Muller record) .. so where is the meltdown PLS? regarding UTD can't beat spanish clubs only in metldown .. well, we can beat Barca if we sit back and counter, like you & inter did or like we did 4-5 years ago with Barca having zero chances in 2 matches in a semi final .. in last 2 finals we opted for more attacking formation and that had cost us... you can't beat barca in their game ..
I watch Juve play a lot, and if you think Vidal wouldn't walk into United's first 11 then you must be watching a different team to me, Marchisio and even Asamoah would be pushing for a starting place too. Dortmund were hugely disappointing in the Champions League last season, they are the first to admit that, but the way they performed in Europe was nothing like how they played domestically the past few seasons, this season they are performing as they were expected to last year and they are more than a match for any team even with a lot of young players in their lineup, Hummels, Subotic, Gotze, Bender and Piszczek would all be players United could do with, Lewandowski may still end up becoming a United player if the rumors are to be believed and Reus has been amazing since rejoining Dortmund. Badstuber has been off form, but their lack of top class central defenders is why he will be such a huge miss for them, I do doubt if you know anything about the Bayern players I mentioned though because Kroos and Muller are top class players, Martinez is a player everyone wanted in the summer, Alaba is player who's reputation is growing fast and Shaqiri is a hugely talented young winger who has already tore United apart when he was at Basel.
I rate vidal, agree he is more ready to play straight to UTD, but i think Anderson or cleverly on their days are not that far and they are younger so still will be developed into better players, regarding Marchisio and even Asamoah similar to other UTD mids tbh, fletcher, anderson, Cleverly or Young and nani when Asamoah play at left .. although Asamoah is a different type of players from what UTD have, so may be you have a point, although Anderson did showed similar qualities at times sadly he kept getting injured so there is no consistency Dortmund are a strong side, and sure can beat UTD, but I just think our side have more chance on beating them, with more cutting edge players alike of Rooney, valenica, RVP, vidic..etc. beside our style which I think can kill them in the counter .... regarding Bayern, they are great side but even thier fans admit there CBs are not that good and i disagree on Kroos and Muller they are very good players but sure will not be in my list of top 5 players in their position in the world ..
Vidal is only 1 year older than Anderson, 2 years older than Cleverley, and as much as I like those two players they are not on the same level as Vidal, he is slightly better at driving forward than those two and he's easily better when it comes to defending (Juve use him as more of an attacking midfielder now but he was originally a very effective defensive midfielder), 1 or 2 more years of coaching will not bridge that much of a gap in ability in my opinion. Also, you can't really compare Asamoah to Young or Nani because he is more of a box to box midfielder who is playing as a wing back/defensive wide man rather than a winger, he may not be quite as tricky as those two but he is in a totally different league when it comes to his defensive work, he also has great delivery in to the box, something Nani is incapable of doing on a regular basis.
agree vidal is much more balanced .. but Anderson if he keep his form that we seen from him in last weeks, he can do as well imo .. in anyway the difference is not that huge and remember UTD play in better and more competitive league agree on Asamoah as i told you, it is simply hard to compare him to any UTD player, Juv formation itself is different from UTD, Nani can score more though anyway, if vidic is back, UTD can be rock solid at the back, and our strikers & wingers will make all the difference facing JUV.. as i don't think their strikers are the best and with the way they are playing with wing backs, there will be plenty of spaces to be exploited by our wingers
Shwan can't read. In 2008 when united were too scared to cross the halfway line in 2008, Barca finished 17 pints behind real. They were the worst Barca side for ages. They were in meltdown in 2008. When they have been at their peak they have embarrassed united. Like real and the galacticos did
