La Liga Española
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: All Empires Community
Forum Name: Sports and Sports History
Forum Discription: Talk about your favorite team or the history of your favorite sport …
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=21169
Printed Date: 25-Apr-2024 at 19:21
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: La Liga Española
Posted By: Majkes
Subject: La Liga Española
Date Posted: 11-Aug-2007 at 16:52
I've just watched Sevilla Real game first half. Real is only background for Sevilla. I know its only one half but lookin at Real squad they have no stars except Casillsa and getting old Raul. They bought some Pepe for 30 milions euro  and in the squad they have rather mediocre players. Their forward look bad and defence even worse. I'm afraid that even Schuster can not make much of it. Perez transfer politics seems to be total disaster. What do You think?
|
Replies:
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 12-Aug-2007 at 00:32
|
They picked up Javier Saviola, who was a solid striker for Barcelona last year. They already had Ruud Van Nistelrooy (one of the league leaders in goals), Robinho, and Canavarra. Personally I hope that FC Barcelona trounces them this year. Yo si le voy le voy al Barça! |
Posted By: Majkes
Date Posted: 12-Aug-2007 at 03:28
I think Barca won't have any problems with Real. They have Henry, Eto, Messi, Ronaldinho. It is dream team and Van Nisterloy is not playing. I don't know what is with him but He would be very useful in Real. Canavara is not as good as on the WC. Robinho is quite god but not as good as any of 4 Barca players. Their defence and middle is poor. Sergio Ramos and Balboa play on the wing. They are not good enough for Real. Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Helguera are gone. This is the end of Galacticos. Now we can call Barca like that.
|
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 12-Aug-2007 at 10:46
|
Unfortunately, I think that Real will be just fine. They managed to surge near the end of last season without huge participation from Beckham, Ronaldo, or Roberto Carlos. Although Madrid did start just lose to Sevilla in the Superliga cup... I'm also very excited about the progression of the young forward Giovanni Dos Santos, who scored in all of Barça's games during the Asian tour. |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 26-Aug-2007 at 08:44
|
New coach and many transfers in and out, it's gonna take them some time to learn how to play with each other. I don't know much about the new coach Schuster other than that he was a descent player and coached coached Getafe to La Liga's best defensive team last season. Adding Robben and Sneijder brings the Dutch feel to this roster along with Van Nistelrooy. With Robinho, Saviola and even Julio Baptista, does Raul still have a spot in this starting lineup? But Raul is such a homer and he has excepted that he is no longer the 'go to' guy for this team so he's been dropping back a little to help out the midfield. Actually both Sneijder and Raul has scored in their La Liga season opener against Atletico Madrid. Emerson's out. He never really fitted well in Madrid even under Capello. That leaves Diarra, Guti, Julio Batista, Gago for central and defensive midfield. This group is the key to their success this season. Defensively Diarra is lengthy and athletic but his ability to hold the ball or turning a good defensive play to instant counter attack is less than satisfying. Guti, Julio Baptista, Gago all can help out the offense but I don't see any one of them as a 'lock down' defensive midfielders. Where are you Makalele, Seedorf, Cambiasso, Geremi? But I think their back line has improved from last season. Roberto Carlos is gone but I thought he was getting old and predictable anyway. Sergio Ramos was a sweet surprise from last season and he will be a Blanco for years to come. I'm not sure that Pepe guy is really worth 30 mil but Metzelder and Gabriel Heinze with Cannavaro are pretty intimidating at least. If I was Schuster with this roster, my starting lineup would be; Van Nistelrooy Robinho Robben Guti Julio Baptista Diarra Sergio Ramos Heinze Metzelder Cannavaro Casillas with Raul, Saviola, Sneijder, Iguain, Gago, Pepe and Dudek coming off the bench. Woops, I forgot about Salgado but he's been so forgettable past few seasons. Raul and Saviola are still good enough to be stars of any other team in the world. Yes, Barcelona's front four is anybody's wet dream. But where do you put Deco? I'm not a huge Deco fan but he is great for what he does which is being the bridge between all their talented forwards/wingers and their defense. Remember this, Barcelona didn't win any trophy last year not because they didn't have enough talents upfront. Chemistry will be the biggest concern for this team. Almost too much talents for one ball to play with. Even with Eto'o and Messi's injuries, guys like Saviola, Guily didn't see much of the ball. And They didn't lose La Liga because Eto'o and Messi were hurt, they were still at the top by the time both got healthy. This Barcelona team does look more like the Galacticos and we all know what happen to the Real Madrid's Galacticos when Beckham and Owen joined them. I'm torned. Barcelona is my favorite team but Robinho is my favorite player. And Ronaldinho is the second favorite. It would be great for me if Robinho and Messi switched teams. I don't know. It would be crazy to think Real Madrid can have better season than Barca but that is exactly what happened last season. But in the end, winning La Liga requires more consistancy throughout whole season than winning Copa Del Rey or even Champs League. Winning the league is just much harder for a team who has to implement a new system with new coach and many new players. So maybe if they can have a couple of lucky game in the early rounds of Champs League, they might be able to put it together by the time later rounds come around, just like AC Milan last season. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 26-Aug-2007 at 17:04
|
WTF, Barca tied with Racing! They didn't start Henry or Deco but they both got subbed in 2nd half. I'm telling you Deco is the bridge of that team. But still, they had 76% possession and Racing was a man down after 67th min. But still Racing had more shots 14/13 and more on target 5/3 and they threatened a couple of times even after they lost a man. Henry did hit the post when he came in. Yes, yes, yes, it's just their first game and sometimes shots just don't go in and that's just the game of football and nothing you can do about it, they are gonna be fine, they are still the team to beat in La Liga and Champs League, blah blah blah........ But come on, haven't we heard that before? 'Oh, Ronaldo, Figo, Zidane, Beckham, Raul and Owen, they are the team to beat, they don't need Makalele, Cambiasso, Geremi, blah blah blah.........' How many trophies did Beckham win with Ronaldo, Figo and Zidane? Zero. What happened after the Galacticos got split up and Van Nistelrooy and Robinho arrives? La Liga title out of nowhere. Why NBA Dream Teams have been struggling past few years? Because they didn't have enough talents? It's hard to assemble a dream team and still keep them together as a team. Look at Yankees, they haven't won anything in 7 years. Are the Yankees of past few years have less talents than the Yankees dynasty of 90's? That Lakers team lost to Pistons had Shaq, Kobe, Karl Malone and Gary Payton, even though Malone and Payton had their best days behind them, but as the 3rd and 4th option for that team? There was no conceivable way that Lakers team could not only lose but get creamed by Pistons, a team full of the rejects and the reformed. A team is an organic entity, not a stack of big contracts, headlines and marketing reports. OMG, I'm slowly becoming Anti-Barca. I should read more about Franco as remedy. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 26-Aug-2007 at 20:51
|
I'm disappointed with Barca's first outing. They seem to be picking up right where they left off at the end of last season, with lack-luster play. I hope that Rikjaard gave them a thorough tongue lashing following the game. I was decently optimistic following their pre-season games. Fortunately this funk is happening at the beginning of the season rather than in the midst of a title chase. I think that as the season progresses the players will settle into their roles. |
Posted By: Caoimhe
Date Posted: 27-Aug-2007 at 09:35
 I think Barca will be alright this season especially if Henry plays anything near like he was at Arsenal. Real should have a good year this year will make an interesting league with them and a hopefully strong Barca challenging for the title. Real made some good signings in defence with Metzelder and Heinze and they already have Casilas and Cannavaro so they should be really strong there. ------------- During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 29-Aug-2007 at 10:31
|
Yes, Barcelona will be fine. I was just getting heated up for the new season. What's up with the broadcasting rights dispute in Spain? That's pissing me off even more. Greedy Bastards! I'm afraid that major football broadcasting coverage will slowly become more like Boxing coverage, Pay Per View, and have the same affect on the sport. They just hook you on it and take it away like a dope dealer. I've been lucky though. Between Gol TV, Fox Soccer Channel, Setanta, I'm getting Spanish, Italian, German, English, Dutch, French, Scottish, Brazilian, Argentinian, Mexican, American, Uruguayan, Paraguayan, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Bolivian, Guatemalan, El Salvadorian, Honduran League games. Also getting Japanese and Australian highlight shows. If I had Portuguese, Greek, Turkish and Russian League, I'd be complete. Of course there is always a game on my TV but between busy schedule and a girlfriend, I'm lucky to catch three full games a week. But all those don't mean much if i don't get my Real and Barca. It's just gonna be a great season. So many layers of rivalries, Real vs Barca, Robinho vs Ronaldinho, Robinho vs Messi, The Future of Brazil vs The Future of Argentina, Henry vs Van Nistelrooy, Puyol vs Cannavaro, Sergio Ramos vs Abidal...... Long Live Football! ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Ikki
Date Posted: 21-Sep-2007 at 16:35
|
Well after few match the things are very well for Real Madrid and we have luck in some new players: Snejder is wonderful!!, Metzelder and Heinze are very good defenders that work well with Cannavaro and Ramos, Raúl is come back (¡!), Van Nistelroy hasn't lost his supreme quality for goal and Guti now have more time in matchs... so, here we going! ------------- |
Posted By: Athanasios
Date Posted: 21-Sep-2007 at 17:00
I don't know but... Real Madrid reminds me something of 12th century's Byzantium. Capable roster , poor offensive ability As it seems this will be a good season for Real. ------------- 
|
Posted By: Ikki
Date Posted: 21-Sep-2007 at 17:13
|
Well after Capello Age, Real Madrid have many characteristics of the italia as phisical power, defensiveness etc But the german Bernd Schuster have gone with an offesive view of the football and many offensive guys. I don't want to say lies, RM is far from a good play for, for example, go until the semifinals of Champions League. ------------- |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 24-Sep-2007 at 12:35
Hey, how does that foot in your mouth taste? Bit salty? Don't be mad. If you wanna start a thread with such hateful title and post, you should be able to take one as well. Come on, truce?  ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 28-Sep-2007 at 18:48
|
Strange week for Brazilians in La Liga. Barcelona played two great games against two good teams(Sevilla 2:1, Zaragosa 4:1) without Ronaldinho in both games. With rumors of Ronaldinho being not happy with Rijkaard and possible jump to Chelsea looming, Barca actually looked better without him. I wonder if it will alienate him even more. Of course Spanish media will do their part. Messidona was amazing. So was Deco and Iniesta. As talented as Eto'o, Henry, Messi, Ronaldinho are it's Deco, Xavi, Iniesta are the guys typifies their style. They keep the ball on the ground in the midfield which sets Barca and La Liga apart from any other league. With Eto'o and Ronaldinho's injuries Messi and Iniesta sees more balls than ever and their attack is more focused than the first month of this season. If Ronaldinho is getting more alienated as the season goes on, I would rather see him leave for his own sake. Henry is looking better but more as the 'last passer' than the finisher. Overall this was a huge turn around week for them. Real Madrid struggled against Valladolid(0:0) and got lucky against Real Betis(2:0). Maybe the soccer gods are punishing me for getting nasty on Majkes. The Lords work in mysterious ways. I'm sorry, Majkes. Schuster rested Sneijder against Valladolid and their offense looked very disconnected. I have to give Valladolid some credit though. They really came to play. Real Madrid is Sneijder's team now like Barca is Messi's and Schuster proved that point by not playing him. However the next game against Betis they started Sneijder and Saviola and benched my boy Robinho but that didn't work much better either. Raul got lucky with a harsh penalty call but they still struggled. They finally brought in Robinho, Robben and Julio Baptista for Saviola, Sneijder and Higuain and the offense opened up. Julio Baptista scored a beautiful bicycle kick. So perhaps the lesson of the week was that they should play Sneijder, Robinho and Robben together. But where does that leave the homeboy Raul? As much as I think Raul is outskilled by Sneijder, Robinho, Robben and even Saviola, he's such a hard worker and a national hero. And even tactically he often gets calls that other foreign stars might not get in La Liga. I can understand what Schuster's doing. This is the most grueling part of schedule for all the Europen elite teams with Champs League games and midweek league games. He's just trying to rest some of his stars and experiment with his squad while his team still has some early lead in the standings. It's nowhere close to a crisis but the honeymoon is over. It's time to get to some real work. Villareal is continuing their success from late last season. They are 12W 1L 0D in last 13 La Liga games dating back to the last 8 game from last season. Their only loss was handed by Real Madrid(0:5). Carzola is making the fans say 'Riquelme, who?', and Giuseppe Rossi has 4 goals already. Other big club rejects like Jon Dahl Tommason and Robert Pires are contributing as solid veterans and even Cygan has been revived. Senna's been one of the most underrated central defensive midfielders in the world, a poor man's Seedorf. Can they hang with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Valencia, Zaragosa and Atletico Madrid for entire season? Injuries and depth would be key for the low budget overachieving teams. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 28-Sep-2007 at 21:19
|
Methinks it might be time for an actual Liga thread... Either way, I was very pleased with Barça's play this past week. I'm a huge Ronaldinho fan, but I share Kang's apprehension about his return. Barça thrives when players like Deco, Xavi and Iniesta control the center, and then set up the strikers. Just look at the number of total shots by Barcelona. They took 25 shots against Zaragoza, and were it not for the skilled play of their goalie, the score easily could have been 6-1 rather than 4-1. However, in most of their previous games, they mustered less than half of that amount of shots. I guess the biggest test will come this Tuesday when Barça faces Stuttgart , as Ronaldinho will be back. EDIT - I hope that Rijkaard will be quick to realize whether or not Ronaldinho's return is effective on Tuesday, and that he doesn't push his luck to keep the Brazilian happy. |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 01-Oct-2007 at 20:19
|
As soon as I said Henry looks better as 'the last passer' than a finisher, he had to go on and do a hat trick. The foot is served in my mouth. Good for him. Messidona scored a beautiful goal again. Now they've played three great games in a row without Dinho after struggling with him in the earlier games, more pressure is built for him to play even better when he comes back. I can see already, first bad game with him, Spanish media will say they are better without him. The thing is though they are better with less but more focused talents.
------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 02-Oct-2007 at 03:03
|
I think that Champions league games are not the time to experiment with reintegrating an "injured" teammate. I think that Rijkaard should stick with what has worked for Barça for the last three games, at least until/if they build up a lead against Stuttgart. After they have a cushion they should sub in Ronaldinho. At the very least, let him prove himself against some Liga opponent, where they have more time to recover from a loss/tie should it not turn out well. |
Posted By: Majkes
Date Posted: 02-Oct-2007 at 17:46
| Seems Real is not that poor as I thought so maybe we should change the title for Primera division or La Liga. |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 02-Oct-2007 at 18:19
|
I agree, Majkes.
------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: ulrich von hutten
Date Posted: 03-Oct-2007 at 09:25
|
On multiple demand, this thread was renamed.
Although nearly everyone knows, that spanish can't even play football..  ------------- 
http://imageshack.us"> 
|
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 03-Oct-2007 at 15:22
Tell that to Stuttgart... 
|
Posted By: Majkes
Date Posted: 03-Oct-2007 at 20:32
Yes they can. They just need few Brazilians or Argentinians in the squad.
|
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 03-Oct-2007 at 21:20
Who doesn't need some Brazilians or Argentinians? Maybe Bayern Munchen.  Just ask Rummenigge.------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Majkes
Date Posted: 04-Oct-2007 at 22:15
We would need at least 11 such players
.What is Your favourite team in Spain. Mine is Barca. hope they will win again this year. It seems Real and barca are the only clubs to have a chance for title. Who could overrun them? Maybe Valencia. Sevilla is in a worse form.
|
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 05-Oct-2007 at 04:58
| Vamos! Vamos Barça! |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 05-Oct-2007 at 21:33
What's my favorite team in Spain? That's a tough question because I must commit a mortal sin to answer that. I have to say both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Not being either a Madrista or Catalan myself, I just cheer for 'the Beautiful Game'. In overall, Barca plays more of that beautiful game currently and traditionally. So if I really have to choose one it would be Barca. However I loved that Real Madrid squad before Beckham got there. There was nothing like Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo at their best gelling together. Makalele, Geremi, Cambiasso, Roberto Carlos, Hierro provided excellent backfield, also Seedorf before he left. Raul, Guti, Solari even McNamanan all great players for them. I can't say too much about any team before 90's, but that Real Madrid squad is way up there with current Barcelona run and Capello's AC Milan featuring the Dutch Trio with Van Basten, Guulit, Rijkaard, Boban, Donadoni, Ancelotti, Bresi, Maldini, Costacurta, Desailly. This squad blew out Cruijff's Barca 4:0 in the Champs League final. That Barca team was not short of stars for themselves, featuring Romario, Stoichkov, Laudrup, Guardiola, Koeman. Being a fan of the beautiful game also make me to follow a player or a club that expresses the game in that style. That's why I such a geek about the Brazilians. Robinho is my favorite player of all time. And now days he alone makes me cheer for Real Madrid. If Robinho is playing for Barca, Barca would be my favorite team by far, not even close. I feel so bad for Robinho. The boy can't get a break. Making the transition from Brazil to Europe is never easy for an youngster, especially for a club like Real Madrid. Even Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho had less pressured transitional periods with clubs like PSV and PSG. And then Pele, god himself asked Robinho to stay with Santos in Brazil, Brazilian media acted like jilted lovers, his mother gets kidnapped in Rio. And after he arrives, Real goes through 5-6 coaches in his first year adding to the instability. He doesn't get to play much in WC 06 because Parreira is still scorned about how Robinho embarrassed his team Corinthians when Robinho was only 18. Real finally find some stability with Capello but Capello wanted to play more physical style and prefers Owen and Cassano over him. Robinho finally works his way up Capello's trust and be an integral part of their late surprise surge in La Liga to lift the trophy but they fire Capello and now his gotta prove himself all over with the new coach Schuster, even after winning Copa America with B squad and outplaying Messi last summer. My patience is about to run out. Real Madrid clearly a better team with Robinho on the field, but if Schuter prefers Sneijder, Robben, Saviola, Raul over Robinho, fine!  Just let him go somewhere else then! Alright, it's time to take a break for me. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 08-Oct-2007 at 20:42
|
Real managed to stay at the top for another week, though Barca is so ready to take over now. Van Nistelrooy is staying hot from midweek Champs League scoring streak. Higuain's goal was beautiful though. He got the goalie on one on one, faked to the right, goalie bites the dust, he just tapped it in with left foot, a playstation stuff. Barca looked great and what do you know, Ronaldinho played great even looked happy for a change. That give and go with Messi to set up Messi's goal was amazing. Deco played great game also. With Yaya Toure and Marquez out, those two little guys, Xavi and Iniesta operating in the central defensive midfield was so intricate too. Milito also played well in central defense leaving his usual left wingback to more talented Abidal. And Messi, he just leave you all mess(i)ed up. Valencia took one on the chin from Espanol. As I've mentioned before Espanol is known for doing this to bigger clubs. Tamudo was the ninja sniper again. Villareal lost but stayed at 3rd place with Valencia's loss. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 08-Oct-2007 at 22:56
| I was surprised that Barça blew through Atlético Madrid so easily. The Spanish media was playing up the Messi-Aguero angle most of the week, but it looked to me like Aguero had a quiet game. Thus far it looks like barça has integrated Ronaldinho back into the fold without suffering too much. They managed to maintain their high octane offense, and Ronnie showed his savvy with that nice give and go with Messi. |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 22-Oct-2007 at 22:22
|
Barca and Real missed Ronaldinho and Robinho from their national team duty. And both lost to Villareal and Espanol. I couldn't watch Barca game for that ongoing broadcasting contract dispute but saw the Real game. Villareal is definitely the third best team in La Liga and Espanol is known for being the giant killer so neither upsets were that surprising. I'm also glad that Tamudo is finally getting the national team recognition. Valencia's win over weakened La Coruna is a big win for them. Juaquin is finally living up to the expectation. Just imagine if they still kept Aimar to play next to him. Speaking of Aimar, Sevilla and Zaragosa are the two most disappointing teams this year. I've heard there is a locker room dispute between Aimar and D'alessandro. What a waste of talents on that team. Both are made to play well with each other if they can get over their egos. Speaking of egos, I gotta finish this post with two Brazilian egos. I was actually laughing when both Barca and Real lost this weekend without Ronaldinho and Robinho. Real looked like a midlevel Italian club without Robinho. It's kinda funny actually Real tied with Lazio in their Champs League game without Ronbinho and Lazio is precisely the midlevel Italian team. Their offense is unimaginative and their just try to bully Espanol physically but Espanol is not the team to be bullied around by a giant. Only time Real looked dangerous at all was when Sergio Ramos was pushing up and yes he scored the only goal for them. They were lucky that Barca lost also but the pressure is now on Real. So Robinho played an amazing game against Ecuador in Maracana which is the home of every Brazilian footballer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WsF1DncSgs&mode=related&search= The reports say Robinho threw a huge celebration party that night renting a mansion for the party for $15.000. Only time he was reportedly seen out side of the party that night was when he came out to pick up 40 contraceptives.  Robinho is denying such allegations by saying he's got 5 month pregnant girlfriend he's about to marry. I'm pretty sure Ronaldinho was there too and both (and Julio Baptista) missed the flight back to Spain in time for Friday training session. That's why they couldn't play both clubs even though they were back in Spain by the game time.Kaka also missed AC Milan's game and they lost to Empoli. I don't know if he was at the party though. Both Elano and Diego played for Man City and Bremen and led both team to victories this weekend. I don't know if Vagner Love missed his club game or not but I'm pretty sure he was at the party. Before I comment about the incident, I like to say first that what a party it must've been. One can only imagine. Yes, there is no excuse for missing the club duty for celebrating your national team with an wild party. What about all the other European national team players? They all played their Euro Cup qualifying games too. Some celebrated, some cried. But they didn't have fly long way back home/clubs. That itself is an excuse to rest the Brazilians for the weekend. I think that could have been the case for Kaka and AC Milan. I don't see Kaka in an wild party like that because he's known for being a devoted Catholic. Well, Argentinians made back on time. Their last game was on Tuesday, they had extra 24 hours to make it back to Europe. What about Elano and Diego? Well, I don't know about Diego, Elano actually didn't practice with Man City until the game day warm up. I guess what I'm trying to say is both Ronaldinho and Robinho have been getting alienated from their clubs all year long. Some were even speculating that if both clubs are better without them. And now they are gonna blame them for not being enthusiastic about being alienated? Yes they are getting payed millions to do their duties for their clubs and there is no other way around that fact. I can really speak for either of them but I see the tendencies from Brazilians that they value playing beautiful and playing happy just as much if not more than playing rich or playing to win. Brazilian national team hasn't played a home game in Maracana in 7 years. Most of this young Brazilian squad never were that yellow jersey in front of that crowd. And they played Joca Bonita, Futbol Moleque. For them that was the night of their communion in the cathedral to carry the torch of the saints. Most of them are lucky to make it out of favelas and live to see their 20th birthday. And only thing kept them alive was to wear that jersey in that stadium in front of that crowd playing that game in that style. So they partied their rocks off. So did the Soccer God. For Barca and Real, you can have all your Argentinians and Dutches, Brazilians are too happy to notice. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 22-Oct-2007 at 23:46
|
I agree Mu - having to fly around the world in a weekend puts a lot of pressure on the players. Mu - Do you think that the added pressure of traveling partially accounted for the losses for Barça and Madrid? Both are very international teams... Also, how does Deco's thigh injury affect Barça? |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 26-Oct-2007 at 11:59
When Deco got injured they brought in Gudjohnson in that game. And Gudjohnson also started against Rangers. Gudjohnson is no Deco's replacement on either position or talent level. I'm not saying that Gudjohnson doesn't have the skill sets or work rate to help out the midfield a little, but helping out and playing the spot for the most of game is two different animals. Ideal replacement would be moving up either Xavi or Iniesta to Deco's spot (though neither are Deco caliber both are very capable filling in that spot which is more of their natural positions anyway) and bring in a more traditional central defensive midfield. That would be Yaya Toure or Marquez. Both are injured. I don't know if they still have Edmilson or not, Kaysaar? I think he's still with them but hurt also. If they still had Von Bommel or Motta, they could come in for that spot too. But obviously none of those options are available. So bring in Gudjohnson is better option than Dos Santos or Krikic, least Gudjohnson brings in more size to throw around in the midfield. Of course, I would have done differently. I would have started Sylvinho in right wingback for Thuram and pushed up Thuram to play more defensive midfield or even go with 5 defenders and let Abidal, Sylvinho, Milito to take turns to push up on attack. I think that is better way to bolster both defense and the passing game gap created in Deco's absence. P.S. Next time anybody criticize Robinho and Ronaldonho's night life, they should simply say one word. 'Romario!'. Yes, if he didn't party all the time he might have scored more goals. Night life ruined Romario's career for sure. http://sify.com/sports/fullstory.php?id=14549411 ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 26-Oct-2007 at 15:39
|
Barça, like last season, seems to be suffering from a nasty bite by the injury bug. Hopefully they'll get it out of the way early this season so they can make a strong push later to challenge the upper-echelon of both leagues. Yes, they do still have Edmilson, but I believe he's injured too. After watching the Rangers-Barcelona game, I think it was evident just how much the blaugrana missed Deco in the middle. He'd have helped them spread out the Rangers defender and give them more scoring opportunities. |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 29-Oct-2007 at 19:06
|
Both Real and Barca won. But due to Valencia and Villareal losing to Sevilla and Zaragosa, Barca jumped up to 2nd place, starting to put pressure on Real. Real started Saviola and Higuain but neither made any meaningful contribution. When Raul came in he changed the game and scored the winning goal. Robinho was pretty quite most of the game but he sealed the victory with cheeky walk around tap in goal and sucked on his thumb. I think Saviola is more skilled player than Raul but gets lost out there trying to decide whether he's a play maker or target man. Least Raul gets involved in more plays and when he gets a chance he finishes better than Saviola. Guti's through ball to Robinho was world class. Sometimes I wonder if Guti is a starter in elite club like Real but he does do one thing better than anybody slse on this team; giving the ball back to Robinho. Barca benched Messi but they needed to bring him in to secure the win. Come on, don't tell me they can't beat Almeria with just Henry and Ronaldinho. Henry's starting to remind me of another former Anglo league top scorer ended up in Barca, Larsson. They should have got Adebayor instead, he would've been cheaper too. Yaya Toure came back and made Xavi and Iniesta's night little easier. Best game of the weekend was Valencia vs Sevilla. One of the most brutal La Liga game I've seen this year so far. Valencia tried to physically bully Sevilla but Sevilla was very vibrant despite losing their coach this week. Dani Alves is being his usual dangerous self. So was Kanoute. Good to see Fabiano is regaining his form too. Poulsen also was big part of their offense. Renato came in and contributed also. It might be little to late for them to turn the ship around for the La Liga title but with all the things that has gone wrong for them this season they are still in good shape for theri Champs League group and they can still grab one of the four spots for next year. They still have enough talent to be the dark horse in the knock out stage. In house fighting Zaragosa sunk hot streaking Villareal. Oliveira is scoring again and the other Milito played his best game so far. Both Sevilla and Zaragosa are still two most disappointing teams so far but wins against two good team this weekend show a little flash of hope. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 03-Nov-2007 at 18:24
|
Midweek games: Real Madrid 5:1 Valencia Barcelona 1:1 Valladolid Villareal 3:0 Levante Atletico Md 4:3 Sevilla Espanol 0:0 Murcia Zaragosa 1:0 Alemeria Some great and important games. Robinho played another masterful game. He set up the first minute goal by breaking down the defense dribbling towards the box drawing four defenders and laying it off to Raul who blasted it into the post. He also set up Van Nistelrooy's second goal and finished the gmae with his own goal in his usual cheeky way. Since his wild party in Rio and following suspension, he responded with 4 goals and 3 assists in 3 games. Not to disrespect Ecuador or Olympiakos but playing a great game against Valencia's defense is another level, though Valencia is going through a self imposed coaching crisis. I do think they ended up with right man in Koeman but do they really think that they can hang with Real and Barca with new coach? I just don't think you can blame Valencia's coach for being third in La Liga with that squad, now they are 6th. Joaquin is a descent player but he couldn't do much until Heinze was guarding him after the game was decided. Barca looked terrible against Valladolid. But I do give Valladolid some credit. They might be a new team in the bottom but they already beat Espanol and tied with Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna. They play tough against good teams. Bojan(Bojyan?, Boyan?, Bohan?) played center forward but I wasn't that impressed even though he hit the post once. Iniesta was almost invisible whole game. But one thing that baffled me most was Puyol on right back. I know he has played left back when he was younger and capable of pushing forward than most people give him credit for but why suddenly? When Valladolid broke through left flank the back line was moving one spot left to cover but Puyol was little behind covering back to center and allowed Llorente to have the first touch which bounce off of Valdez and went in. That shouldn't have been a goal if Puyol was playing his natural position. Barca was most threatening when thay move Bojan to flank and pushed up Ronaldinho in center forward spot. Xavi made very Decoesque through pass to Dinho and he finished with Romario like flip over the keeper. Ronaldinho, Messi, Henry, Eto'o all might be more talented than Deco and last three years all those four could been Footballer of the Year kind players, but Deco is Barca's team MVP in my opinion. I actually didn't like Deco when he first arrived in Barca. I thought he held the ball too much and fouled and get fouled too much. But I see now the beauty of Deco especially in his absence. That's just how he controls the tempo. Who's been responsible for serving balls to Ronaldinho, Messi, Eto'o last three years? Xavi and Iniesta are great at that too but Deco makes all those guys great. And his defensive contribution is also overlooked. When you get by a player in Barca's midfield, you can count on Deco to be there to either kick it out of bound or foul you. Which is not pretty but necessary in Barca's wide open game. He's like the best second defender on the ball, an insurance policy in the midfield. In that sense I compare him to Nedved at his best which is Footballer of the Year quality. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 13-Nov-2007 at 18:59
|
Robinho! Robinho! Robinho! He had quiet couple of games against Sevilla and Olympiakos but he struck again this week against Mallorca. Two goals and assist and he could had more. Goals were great but the assist he made to Raul for the tying goal makes me say, 'only Robinho'. Right before that goal, Robinho got the ball out on the left flank, he crossed it in but van Nistelrooy was double teamed. I looked over to my friend and said, 'Hey, next time he gets the ball on same spot he's gonna dribble it in himself. He's been crossing the ball in teamwork but when they are a goal down he's gotta call his own number. He wasn't free to do that in this team but the way he's been playing he now has earned the license to dribble it in even in crucial moment of the game.' Guess what happened next? Robinho got the ball on the left flank dribbled it into box past two defenders. The keeper came out and he dropped it off to Raul right in front of the goal, keeper out of position, an empty net. All the criticisms, scandals and struggles, he was just fight for his right to play his style. With all the coaches he went through in Real and all their efforts to turn him into more tactical Europen style, what eventually prevails is him being himself. They should have just gave him the ball first day he got there and said 'Get on with it. Do your thing!'. It's amazing, only a month ago some people are wondering if Robinho was worth a 30 mil asset. Robinho should tell them, 'Hey if I wasn't playing for Real past 3 years, I would be worth 80-100 mil by now.' Barca, Barca, Barca..... Okay, I'm not gonna go over Deco situation again but Puyol on right back again? I would dare them to put Puyol on Robinho when they play each other. Didn't Thuram play right back when he was with Juventus? Even Zambrotta can switch to right too. Why Rijkaard, why? Villareal put away surging Sevilla to stay within 1 point behind Real. Talk of D'alessandro moving to Portsmouth in EPL. I think that will be a good move for him. But if he wants to stay in La Liga he should consider Valencia or Villareal. He could help either team tremendously. ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 16-Dec-2007 at 14:52
|
NOOOOOOO!!!! My beloved Barça won against a struggling Valencia, but Messi is going to be out for about a month, missing about 7 games with a torn thigh muscle. All in all, I'm not that worried because Eto'o has played very well, scoring three times in the two games he's returned. Also, Barça's young strikers Giovanni dos Santos and Bojan Krkic should be able to partially fill his shoes. |
Posted By: Majkes
Date Posted: 23-Dec-2007 at 22:03
And that was decisive for today's loss to Real. Without Messi Barca played shit. They have tried to beat Real with their individual skills, no team work but Real defence was too solid. Ronaldinho was very poor today, in Real Raul was even more poor, I've noticed him playing after 60 minutes.
|
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 23-Dec-2007 at 23:10
|
I was surprised they started Ronaldinho. I think that given his lesser form, they should have started some of the younger players to give them the experience in such an intense game. I think that Rikjaard started Ronaldinho to try to show a solid front against all the Spanish tabloids, and I think it came back to bite Barça in the arse. |
Posted By: Catalán
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2008 at 19:49
| The only thing I think is that Atlético de Madrid needs a better defense. >.>. Scoring 4 goals to beat your enemy who scored 3 isn't normal, and it has happened in various ocassions. |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2008 at 20:13
| After speaking with some friends who watched el Clásico, they pointed out to me that to them it looked like Barça only fronted one striker for most of the game: Eto'o. Considering the amount of strikers on Barça's roster, there's not much of an excuse for that. Granted, Messi is injured and Henry and Ronaldinho are both fighting nagging injuries, but they still have some serious striking talent on their bench: Eidur Gudjohnson, Santiago Ezquerro, Bojan Krkic and Giovanni dos Santos. I don't see why Rikjaard didn't give some of the young players game time during the game when he (should have) noticed that his current lineup wasn't working. |
Posted By: Catalán
Date Posted: 08-Jan-2008 at 17:35
| Forlán and Agüero strike again. |
Posted By: Catalán
Date Posted: 14-Jan-2008 at 17:25
| Despite their horrible performance against Levante, Real Madrid's 7 point advantage over Barcelona and their 10 point advantage over Atlético de Madrid is going to be a bitch to reduce... |
Posted By: Catalán
Date Posted: 17-Jan-2008 at 22:13
Anybody want to place bets on who wins the Madrid derby? Real Madrid lost against Mallorca; I think Atlético has a good chance. 
|
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 18-Jan-2008 at 14:51
| I think I'm leaning toward Atlético Madrid winning the derby. Real seems to be hitting a rough period, and hopefully both Atlético and Barça can take advantage of this. |
Posted By: Catalán
Date Posted: 24-Jan-2008 at 17:50
| Apparently not. |
Posted By: Kaysaar
Date Posted: 25-Feb-2008 at 22:45
|
It looks like the Blaugrana have finally managed to sort out their problems to some extent. Strong showings against both Celtic and Levante, as well as being able to scrape out victories when Real Madrid lost have given Barça a great position from which to challenge for the Liga championship. It looks like the fantastic four have been beginning to gel and find their form. Henry has played well, and Messi has returned to his goal scoring form after struggling through an injury. Eto'o seems motivated by his selection's strong showing in the African Cup of Nations by putting up a hat trick against lowly Levante. Even Ronaldinho, who has struggled with his form since last season is showing both improvement and motivation. After spending most of the season trailing Madrid, sinking as low as nine points back of the leaders, my Barça thumped Levante this weekend to cut Madrid's lead to only two points. It looks like La Liga may have another close race for the championship. Barça has a pair of potentially challenging matches this week, when they play Valencia at home on Wednesday, and they travel to Madrid to play against Atlético Madrid. I think that Barça will stay behind Real Madrid for at least another week, as they play lowly Recreativo Huelva. ------------- |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 26-Mar-2008 at 03:10
|
http://www.calciomercato.com/index.php?c=46&a=75661 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/soccer/03/25/ronaldhino.inter/ http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=635004 Linking doesn't work for me anymore in this site. Anyway, breaking news/rumor/denial! Ronaldinho to Inter Milan this summer! Of course, Laporta came out and denied it immediately. But I think his days at Camp Nou is numbered whether his next home will be San Siro or not(even blue or red). One article list the price at 60 million Euro which is down from 80-100 Million Euro from last summer but it's not bad for someone who hasn't done much whole season. Inter wanted Messi first, of course, but Messi might be the most unattainable wish list item in the world right now(maybe Christiano Ronaldo just as hard). So I guess Ronaldinho is the next on Inter's list. He's probably more marketable than Messi still. Whoops, I mention Inter and first thought came to me is marketability. If Barca had little in-house controversies and chemistry issue this season, Inter's having a Chernobyl on top of Three Mile Island meltdown right now as far as chemistry goes. Apparently Barca wants Brazilian keeper Julio Cesar. But Inter rejected and now Barca wants Materazzi. That can only help Barca's defense which featuring Zambrotta and Thuram who played in Juve. I would take Maicon or Suazo if you wanna go little younger, Maxwell or Chivu will work, too. But it seems that Inter would rather just cash it out. Ronaldinho's gonna follow the foot steps of Ronaldo. I mean he wasn't bad for Inter but not as good was he's best days in Barca. But Ronaldo learned to how to play fat, except his knee didn't get the message. Will Ronaldinho learn to play fatter? Whether he will get fatter or more muscular, he will get bigger as he gets older. Speed and workrate will go down too. His ideal position will be back to the second forward spot, a more traditional number 11. Currently, that spot is Messi's. This is why I think he's got maybe one more season with Barca. As for Inter, they could have Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Figo, Cambiasso, Dacourt, Viera starting for them. It looks great on the paper and the jerseys in the stores. Inter's like every damaged goods last big payday. But Mancini seems to be on his way out and there is always that Mourinho talk. Either way I think Serie A will be much better next season. Actually it will be all depending whether Barca can lift a hardware this season, either La Liga or Champs League. Winning takes care of many issues. Who wants to leave the champions? ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |
Posted By: King Kang of Mu
Date Posted: 30-Jun-2008 at 09:36
|
Well, I was too late to write my congratulatory post to Euro 08 because the thread was closed. So I will write it here.
My ex is visiting me this weekend from New Orleans, so I had to juggle with my passion for Futbol and other people not understanding it. She used to put up a lot of fight. I mean not just about Futbol but sharing my passion and time with anything in general. Time heels the wounds. Now I'm just happy that she's happy and doing lot of good work down in New Orleans.
All the disappointments and resenments scattered in the time apart, all that I seem to remember is the passion. Then I thought maybe that's how the Spaniards feels now holding this Cup again after so many years apart. Maybe I will find a way to write about the actaul game in some other thread when i'm not drunk and emotional. But here is a tribue to the all the passionate lovers that reunited this weekend like the Spanish and the Cup, the first Spanish song I can remember.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plfYB9byFkU&feature=related - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plfYB9byFkU&feature=related
Hey
Hey!
no vayas presumiendo por ahà diciendo que no puedo estar sin ti tú qué sabes de mi. Hey! ya sé que a ti te gusta presumir decir a los amigos que sin ti ya no puedo vivir. Hey! no creas que te haces un favor cuando hablas a la gente de mi amor y te burlas de mi. Hey! que hay veces que es mejor querer asà que ser querido y no poder sentir lo que siento por ti. Ya ves tú nunca me has querido ya lo ves que nunca he sido tuyo ya lo sé fue sólo por orgullo ese querer Ya ves de que te vale ahora presumir ahora que no estoy ya junto a ti que les dirás de mi. Hey! recuerdo que ganabas siempre tú que fillas de ese triunfo una virtud yo era sombra y tú luz. Hey! no sé si tú también recordarás que siempre que intentaba hacer la paz yo era un rÃo en tu mar. Ya ves tú nunca me has querido ya lo ves que nunca he sido tuyo ya lo sé fue sólo por orgullo ese querer Ya ves de que te vale ahora presumir ahora que no estoy ya junto a ti que les dirás de mi. Hey! ahora que ya todo terminó que como siempre soy el perdedor cuando pienses en mi. Hey! no creas que te guardo algún rencor es siempre más feliz quien más amó y ese siempre fui yo. Ya ves tú nunca me has querido ya lo ves que nunca he sido tuyo ya lo sé fue sólo por orgullo ese querer... Hey (English)
Hey! It's wonderful to see you once again to see your smile and hear you call my name there is so much to say. Hey! It isn't accidental that we met your love is something that I can't forget so I wander your way. Hey! If one of us won't try to dry the tears tomorrow is the world of yesteryears let us live for today. Hey! Although we played a game of love and lost I wouldn't change a single dream because if you lose you must pay. It's true I've have so many others loves to share but I will close my eyes and you'll be there no matter where I go, you're ev'rywhere Er, Er... If you come back to me and see how much I care I only want to live if you are there to give your love to me. Hey! Don't let me spend another day alone remember all the happiness we've known lets relive yesterday. Hey! We've known a world of loneliness and pain we'll never make the same mistakes again may if only you'll stay. It's true I've have so many others loves to share but I will close my eyes and you'll be there no matter where I go, you're everywhere Er, Er... If you come back to me and see how much I care I only want to live if you are there to be with you I'd travel anywhere Er, Er It's true... ------------- http://www.allempires.net/forum/forums.html |