Tuesday, April 29, 2008
correction for ivan: its not "football is about making others look good", but "football is about making your teammates look good". man utd has certainly made barca and chelsea both look good recently, and that wasn't exactly nice.
Anonymous misfired at 4:52 AM
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Saturday, April 26, 2008
sharin football
kengbang touched on the future.. i am a history student i will analyse the past..
defence is the best attack
manchester surprised me.. first was the line up.. rooney and park on the wings.. in the final third ronaldo was employed as a lone striker.. second.. i thought i will finally see two good attackin sides firin at each other.. however manchester treated me to an italian style defence lesson.. even liverpool was not as defensive at camp nou last year..
did ferguson won tactically.. yes he was until messi was substituted.. rijkaard salvaged the situation.. realisin that the english outfit was there to defend he decided it was pointless to risk his best player.. from that point onwards.. abidal and zambrotta did not join the attack.. it did not make sense puttin in more effort to crack such a good defence and made yourself vulnerable to counterattacks.. with fewer numbers upfront and playin more vertically.. barca peformed better statistically and were in control for the second half surprisingly.. in poker terms rijkaard did a showhand.. he staked the whole season on just one game at old trafford(anyway 21 is an entertainin film).. he left xavi messi and etoo out of the squad against deportivo.. with manchester claimin to attack next week.. barca should enjoy more space if manchester keep their promise..
yes its gettin boring.. we always thought attack is the best defence.. even barca gave up attackin at last third of the game.. on another note they failed to score a goal for the last 360mins of football.. like the champs leg games the uefa cup fixtures produced 0-0 and 1-1 draws.. only four goals were scored.. two were own goals.. deportivo plays 5-4-1 formation.. i begin to question.. are these games worth watchin..
Ivan misfired at 5:41 PM
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Thursday, April 24, 2008
in the midst of exams i still managed to watch parts of both champs league matches, from the few minutes i saw of both matches...
Chelsea: Though Cech has made some high profile errors this season, he is still probably one of the best keepers around. He kept Chelsea in the tie singlehandedly, both literally and figuratively.
Liverpool: Safe to say, all their hopes rest on the shoulders of Torres and Gerrard, though that's not saying much.
Verdict: Chelsea to come up with the goods, probably through Drogba, if he comes good. 2-1 possibly after extra time at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester United: Prefers teams that play a high defensive line against them(read: EPL), as they like to play the ball into the space behind the back four and in front of the keeper. Team strategy seems to be focused on rapid counter attacks, especially through the flanks and then cutting the ball back into the six yard box. They like to play long balls into the areas near the corner flags, and make use of the pace of their players. Most of their players are fast, not only ronaldo, rooney, and tevez.
Barcelona: Their players have adequate technique to play the passing game, but they did not play as adequately as they adequately could. In terms of threat, Messi is their main man, Frank Rijkaard substituted him to protect him for the return leg where an away goal will do it for them.
Verdict: On Barcelona's day, their passing combined with the threat of Messi, can probably tear apart any defence. But I doubt they will get their act together adequately enough, especially after taking into account their form this season. Their passing might(tentative) be pleasing at times, but I am sure Frank Rijkaard will approach the return leg more cautiously. This defensive mentality will do no favours for Manchester United's counter attacking deep balls into space. A tight game is on the cards. 1-1 at Old Trafford, especially if Barcelona's defence can hold it together and not make any defensive mistakes. But this tie has many match winners, and a single moment of individual brilliance can split this match wide open.
Avram Grant and Frank Rijkaard, 2 under pressure managers to face off in Moscow?
Ken misfired at 9:56 PM
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we talk about a titanic clash..
accordin to football websites.. the underdog later is barcelona.. i went to check up some puntin resources.. many felt manchester will definitely score but will not win.. the heavy boat seems to be barcelona on the level plate.. this is gettin confusin.. you cannot miss this game..
Ivan misfired at 12:03 AM
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Tuesday, April 22, 2008
sharin football
the last four champs leg games were all home wins.. if later there is another home victory.. it will be quite impossible for barca to win at camp nou..
it may be a team sport.. but a moment of magic from one guy can change the game.. lets hope this kind of thing does not happen..
Ivan misfired at 11:16 PM
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Monday, April 21, 2008
thought ronaldo played quite badly despite hitting the post. keep dribbling to weird positions and lose possession. totally outshined by, errr, bentley and later nani.
and giggs should seriously consider retirement. scholes still quite off-pace la. carrick more wen.
manutd should play anderson to giap barca midfield and disrupt their fluency. i hope messi wouldnt be playing on the left to have a run at wes brown... or maybe fergie would wanto stick owen hargreaves there so that he can justify his 18 mil price tag...
Anonymous misfired at 4:23 PM
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sharin football
fustrated.. no doubt..
united and barca both produced draw games yday.. blackburn was leadin and decided to pack players in the box.. they asked for it.. givin scholes so much space.. united should have won if brad frediel was not playin.. barca managed to play some rare excitin football because espanyol was not the team they were in 2007.. their defence is shaky and lost so much composure.. barca tried very hard but still cannot reproduce the fast and smart ball circulation.. there was no magic..
player.. player.. player to watch..
tevez.. he is the epithomy of fightin spirit.. i have this feelin he will not perfrom on wednesday if milito marks him.. it is not because milito is capable of handlin him.. they are fellow argentine and milito is much senior.. tevez will give him chance..
united defence is really strong.. how i hope vidic and ferdinand play for barca.. i am very confident evra can handle messi.. i do not even need to mention ronaldo.. this team is invincible..
toure.. barca best purchase this season.. last night i was surprised how he won the midfield.. his vision surprise me at times.. he is the key to stop scholes..
zambrotta.. my most hated player... he has the best stats on fm but he is not even better than belleti in real life.. last night he surprised me.. he made clever runs and had some good shots.. i didnt expect when barca is crisis this man begin to shine.. he should give an edge to barca on the right flank..
player.. player.. weakest link..
wes brown.. maybe o'shea or neville will play.. but i hope brown plays then barca can win..
puyol.. he was injured last night.. i hope he is dead..
the left striker for barca.. no one can fill this role.. maybe henry.. he is really a boring player..
Ivan misfired at 1:51 AM
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Thursday, April 17, 2008
sharin football
this is barca schedule which should make things interestin.. football on tv lately is puttin me to sleep.. yes you are right i caught liverpool games..
this weekend they will face espanyol in a derby they hardly will win.. then they host great mancheste feelin lucky if they keep a clean sheet.. barca then begin their away games at the riazor to unsettle in form depor.. next european dreams should end at old trafford.. they will not enjoy labour day.. in the space of four days they will be torn asunder by valencia and madrid..
Ivan misfired at 11:36 PM
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Sunday, April 06, 2008
yep. let soccer be the light at the end of this gruelling period.
oh may may may may may.
Anonymous misfired at 4:43 PM
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Saturday, April 05, 2008
yupz people hope exam ends soon...
hope i can play again...
n that my knee lasts...
gd lucks for everyone mugging for exam...
JiayouZ
Tan misfired at 2:03 AM
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