Semi final draw for Champions League

First topic message reminder :

Bayern Munich v Barcelona
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Come on Dortmund

Ent wrote:

MockingJay33 wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:I get the feeling Barcelona's tiki-taka football is "so last season" and Bayern's physical yet intricate and fast paced football is the way to go for the next two seasons. For me, if Xavi represents Barca's style then Muller represents Bayern. He's a physical presence but is rapid and technically sound. Plus, he's fantastically German.

So last year Chelsea play tough defence and fast break offense to beat Barcelona and the whole World says it's anti football. Bayern do it and it's the way forward?

You must be joking.

Have you forgotten what actually happened in the Chelsea tie?

They sat in their box for 180 minutes giving up 40+ shots and flukes their way through.

What would you suggest we do when down to ten men and with two centre backs who had one good hamstring between them?

I quite like seeing Barca challenged but they have fitness issues all over, including the worlds best player, and have been slightly mugged by refs. I want Madrid to win the thing personally, an El Clasico final at Wembley would have been something special too, but I am happy to be regarded as some Barca sympathiser if thats the way it has to be. Im enjoying a team being treated with reverence for scoring from set pieces, nice to see this skill noted.

Bayern simply too much for a Barca team who looked a shadow of their former selves.

Im enjoying a team being treated with reverence for scoring from set pieces, nice to see this skill noted.

haha, yeah. And those reffing decisions.

Bayern magnificent though

Good luck trying to improve that Pep.

Can that be improved?

Outside of those two decisions Bayern outplayed barce comprehensively.

Don't forget Bayern had a stonewall penalty turned down in the first half. And for me, I might be biased (but I'm trying not to be), the "foul" on Alba wasn't a foul. Muller has absolutely no reason to move out of the way.

The Special Juan wrote:Don't forget Bayern had a stonewall penalty turned down in the first half. And for me, I might be biased (but I'm trying not to be), the "foul" on Alba wasn't a foul. Muller has absolutely no reason to move out of the way.

If that's not a foul I dunno what is TSJ.

He's bloody body checked him haha, Grant Holt would've been proud of that

Yeah, I think Alba has to be a foul.

Alba should have been sent off as well so swings and roundabouts

Barce had 4 shots all evening

Gregers wrote:Alba should have been sent off as well so swings and roundabouts

C'mon man.

Magnificent performance from Bayern, not a bad day's work, sign one of the best young player's in the world in Gotze then hammer the world's best in the last few years, 4-0.

GSC wrote:

Gregers wrote:Alba should have been sent off as well so swings and roundabouts

C'mon man.

Haha thought youd like that one. I would like to point out that I really like barce but wish they developed a plan b when it gets tough. Bayern went in with a plan and destroyed them as they never change from incessant passing.

Also I have money on an all German final...

Be interesting to see if/when Bayern make the final if maybe they have a hoodoo over them.

Lost 2 finals they should have really been winning in recent times, gotta be in the back of the mind

Bayern were very good and were bang on the Deplete, Punish, Destroy mantra, but a fit Messi and Carles Puyol in the defence (no way Puyol would let those goals come about) and the game is different. Let alone offside and blatant foul. Goal side officials really are a bunch of sh*t.

Robben was fantastic, I'm happy for him that he's back to these performances and at a side that has grown to be so strong.

Barca will come again, they will be spending and they'll have a better year fitness wise and a better year for having a healthy manager

Olly wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:Don't forget Bayern had a stonewall penalty turned down in the first half. And for me, I might be biased (but I'm trying not to be), the "foul" on Alba wasn't a foul. Muller has absolutely no reason to move out of the way.

If that's not a foul I dunno what is TSJ.

He's bloody body checked him haha, Grant Holt would've been proud of that

Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. It's not like he stepped into Alba, but I suppose he did cut in front of him. What goes around comes around.

I love how the offside is being talked about as if it was blatant and clear cut, very tight especially in real time

MockingJay33 wrote:

Ent wrote:

MockingJay33 wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:I get the feeling Barcelona's tiki-taka football is "so last season" and Bayern's physical yet intricate and fast paced football is the way to go for the next two seasons. For me, if Xavi represents Barca's style then Muller represents Bayern. He's a physical presence but is rapid and technically sound. Plus, he's fantastically German.

So last year Chelsea play tough defence and fast break offense to beat Barcelona and the whole World says it's anti football. Bayern do it and it's the way forward?

You must be joking.

Have you forgotten what actually happened in the Chelsea tie?

They sat in their box for 180 minutes giving up 40+ shots and flukes their way through.

What would you suggest we do when down to ten men and with two centre backs who had one good hamstring between them?

Not claim you played as well as bayern?

I don't think injuries can be blamed for tonight's poor performance. They have zero squad depth, especially at the back.

Ent wrote:

MockingJay33 wrote:

Ent wrote:

MockingJay33 wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:I get the feeling Barcelona's tiki-taka football is "so last season" and Bayern's physical yet intricate and fast paced football is the way to go for the next two seasons. For me, if Xavi represents Barca's style then Muller represents Bayern. He's a physical presence but is rapid and technically sound. Plus, he's fantastically German.

So last year Chelsea play tough defence and fast break offense to beat Barcelona and the whole World says it's anti football. Bayern do it and it's the way forward?

You must be joking.

Have you forgotten what actually happened in the Chelsea tie?

They sat in their box for 180 minutes giving up 40+ shots and flukes their way through.

What would you suggest we do when down to ten men and with two centre backs who had one good hamstring between them?

Not claim you played as well as bayern?

Ent'd

The Special Juan wrote:I don't think injuries can be blamed for tonight's poor performance. They have zero squad depth, especially at the back.

Eh, quite a few teams would struggle with their 5th CB in.

GSC wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:I don't think injuries can be blamed for tonight's poor performance. They have zero squad depth, especially at the back.

Eh, quite a few teams would struggle with their 5th CB in.

Who were they missing? Puyol yes but Mascherano's a dreadful CB anyway. If they're struggling that badly put Biscuits at CB.

Puyol hasn't been the same player for about 2 years though, they need at least two centre backs in the summer, Puyol is past it, Pique is overrated and Mascherano would be much better at giving them a bit of bite in the midfield. Bartra is a decent prospect for the future. Missing out on Thiago Silva was a huge blow.

If Barca do spend money this summer, I can see them going for Kompany.

Or Hummels if everyone's having a piece of Dortmund.

Well whoever said Barca would win is a complete idiot.

Admittedly 4-0 was a surprise, but Bayern were 100% going to win. It was there night from the get go. So my money is on an all German final at Wembley!

Prediction for tonight then:

Dortmund 1-1 Madrid

NickisBHAFC wrote:Well whoever said Barca would win is a complete idiot.

Admittedly 4-0 was a surprise, but Bayern were 100% going to win. It was there night from the get go. So my money is on an all German final at Wembley!

I don't think it was that obvious at all, Bayern were just really fired up. They were missing their top scorer and his replacement was a much less mobile forward, Barcelona are also a team that can suffocate the best of sides.

I still think Real Madrid will beat Dortmund, while Dortmund beat Real Madrid in the group stages, Madrid and Mourinho are on a mission to win the Champions League and Dortmund were opened up quite easily by Malaga, who aren't a great side. Dortmund aren't as good as Bayern, they know that two of the star players in Lewandowski and Goetze are leaving, that must put added pressure on the side as well. I see a Madrid-Bayern final, as I predicted a while back, but who wins that is anybody's guess.

I've said this for a while that Barcelona, with this team were going to be found out by more than just Madrid this season.....it's been coming. Puyol should just retire, Mascherano is an embarrassment, Sanchez is the worst £30m striker i've ever seen, David Villa has unfortunately lost so much to his game since his second leg break, Xavi's long standing achilles injury has just made him look half the player, who now can't control games in the middle of the park. Valdes is possibly the worst goalkeeper at a 'top club' in europe and is an absolute liability, hence why Barcelona are getting rid of him in the summer. I'm not over-reacting here, this is the reality and who is the person who could see this happening with his very own eyes.....Guardiola. Who leaves a club like barcelona because of stress or along those lines of needing a break.......no one. He saw what was happening to his great players and they were struggling to beat teams they would have easily done so in previous years. This is the sign of a great manager by getting out ASAP before the situation worsens and keeping your managerial reputation at it's peak, ala Mourinho at Inter.

Barcelona must surely be looking at Kompany or Vermaelen, who we know is unhappy. A striker of more physical prowess is also surely a requirement because they have no plan B whatsover and their style of football just appears to be failing, more than succeeding, at the top level of european football.

As for Madrid, I just think their name is written on the trophy. It's typical Mourinho.

Valdes is possibly the worst goalkeeper at a 'top club' in europe and is an absolute liability, hence why Barcelona are getting rid of him in the summer.

They actually tried very hard to keep Valdes, he's choosing to leave because his contract expires. He's also on record as saying that a year at Barcelona is like 3 years anywhere else because of the sheer pressure, which could go some way to giving an alternative explanation for Guardiola's departure.

Barcelona must surely be looking at Kompany or Vermaelen

Kompany...yes, but if I was Barcelona I'd stay totally clear of Vermaelen who has been a pretty awful defender for a few years now and despite being captain has been dropped at Arsenal. He'd give them all the same problems that Pique does by charging up the pitch.

I think Kompany would be an excellent signing and then they should move Mascherano into the midfield as he is just as capable of doing the same passes Busquets does, but also adds a bit of steel to their midfield.

I just think what has unfolded with Barcelona in the last year or so at the top level was known to Guardiola, hence why he got out. Again we won't know whether Guardiola is a great manager or just wins with extraordinary teams, whereas Mourinho has taken over mediocre to relatively good sides with failing players and transformed them into geniune trophy winning sides, through his sheer ability and man management. I think that's a big difference between the two. Guardiola had time out during his sabbatical to pick and choose his options and he certainly saw this coming with Bayern and the opportunity to inherit an already domestically dominant side and who has more than the potential to challenge every year in the Champions League.

Regardless of them wanting to keep Valdes or not, there better off without him. Reina or Vorm have been constantly rumoured to be replacing him.

So happy to see the biggest cheaters in world football beaten last night. Apart from a complete collapse of Bayern at tr nou camp they are virtually through.

Still fancy Real to win the whole thing.

A lot of people are spouting off how Bayern managed to keep Messi quiet last night was a defensive masterclass. I don't think it was, Messi was obviously unfit and that's why it was so easy for them to keep control of him.

Vermaelen is awful.

The rumours of Barcas demise have been greatly exaggerated

GSC wrote:Vermaelen is awful.

The rumours of Barcas demise have been greatly exaggerated

I agree on the first part.

I think Barcelona obviously aren't as good as they were from 09-11, Puyol has essentially gone now, he's never going to reach his previous heights. Xavi has unfortunately declined a lot over the last two years, while he still churns out a lot of passes, they're not as cutting or as incisive anymore, he's just not quite as good at finding space. They've become overly reliant on Messi as they have made several poor signings over the past couple of years with people like Fabregas, Song, Sanchez often struggling to make the first team and key players like Puyol and Xavi aren't being replaced.

But, I think their decline has been exaggerated, they'll definitely come back next year just as strong, if not stronger. If they can sign a world class centre back, they'd be in a great position to win the Champions League again and the nature of their academy is that they're probably set for the next 20 years with world class player after world class player coming through, and even if one slips through their fingers, they've created such a family at Barcelona, that they always want to come back. This current side isn't as good as the one from 2-4 years ago, but it's certainly still a world class side.

Clearly Barca aren't quite the team they were a couple of years ago - lack of squad depth in defence, a few players getting old (Puyol most significantly) and a few big signings failing to really establish themselves.

Still good enough to be in the CL semi-final, but a few teams are now able to cope with their tactics and have the physicality to over-power them.

One issue they have is money - can they legitimately go out and spend in the same way that Man City can do? Doubt it, as otherwise they'd still have Yaya Toure as their midfield anchor rather than the inadequate Busquets (and if ever there was a player who has had more success with less ability, I don't know who it is).

MockingJay33 wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:I get the feeling Barcelona's tiki-taka football is "so last season" and Bayern's physical yet intricate and fast paced football is the way to go for the next two seasons. For me, if Xavi represents Barca's style then Muller represents Bayern. He's a physical presence but is rapid and technically sound. Plus, he's fantastically German.

So last year Chelsea play tough defence and fast break offense to beat Barcelona and the whole World says it's anti football. Bayern do it and it's the way forward?

Look at the match stats of Chelsea Vs Barca at Stanford Bridge:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17673812

Now look at the match stats of Bayern Vs Barca at the Allianz:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22254778

How can you even compare the two?

NickisBHAFC wrote:Well whoever said Barca would win is a complete idiot.

Admittedly 4-0 was a surprise, but Bayern were 100% going to win.

Obviously forgot Arsenal went there and won 2-0 this season....

100% going to win....

One issue they have is money - can they legitimately go out and spend in the same way that Man City can do? Doubt it, as otherwise they'd still have Yaya Toure as their midfield anchor rather than the inadequate Busquets (and if ever there was a player who has had more success with less ability, I don't know who it is).

Toure is a pretty poor holding midfield player though, he's great if you want a big presence in midfield but I think he'd be pretty shoddy at playing in the position Busquets plays. They should really be playing Mascherano there, he'd allow them to win the ball back higher up the pitch and not have to start attacks with the centre backs every time.

Speaking of Toure, he's probably the most overrated footballer in world football right now. Last year he was very good, but this year he's been pretty awful, he doesn't do a lot of defensive work, but neither has he offered much going forward, I think his and Silva's huge drop in form have been the reason City haven't been very good this year.

I'm glad Barcelona's joke of a defenses finally got their comeuppance. Nothing against them personally, it's just that I have been saying this for two months and began to think I was imagining holes.

Madrid/Dortmund is an interesting tie. I think real should just edge it. But the semi finals consist of the best four clubs in the world. It really is Anyone game

Strong rumors Bayern have signed Lewandowski too

Here's a question: Heynckes for Chelsea?

I'm surprised Bayern would want Lewandowski because in my opinion, or what I've seen of him, he doesn't appear to be 'genuine' world class but then his record is very impressive, again scoring 23 goals for Dortmund this season. Replacing Gomez is obviously the plan and bringing in Lewandowski as a like-for-like makes sense, if the fee is reduced to due his contract expiring. I would still rate Falcao & Cavani ahead of Lewandowski but Bayern obviously want a proven goalscorer domestically, and a cheaper option, whereby they inflict hurt upon their biggest rivals.

Can't see Heynckes at Chelsea because he stated he did not like having to play second fiddle to the hierachy at Bayern with Beckenbauer & Sammer intervening in club matters, which is what Abramovic will do. I believe he will also retire anyway, especially if they win the Champions League. I can see Pellegrino in the job to be honest.

- - - - - - - - -Lewandowski/Mandzukic- - - - - - -

Ribery/Shaqiri - - - - Goetze/Kroos - - - - - -Muller/Robben

------- - - -Schweinsteiger - - - Martinez - - - - - - - -

Alaba - - - - -Badstuber - - -Dante/Boateng - - - - Lahm

- - - - - - - - - - - - -Neuer - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Scary. I'm sure also that once Guardiola takes charge there will be another marquee signing of his choice.

The real question: Standout German talent of this era?
Schweinsteiger for me. Since Lampards decline, for my money the best box-to-box midfielder in world since at least the 2010 World Cup.

Lahm has also been, the best right back I think for five or six years now.

Lahm for me. Quietly the premium FB in world football, adept both at the back and going forward

A German club hasn't won the Champions League since 2001. We all know that drought is coming to an end very soon, be it this season or next.

Bayern def should've beaten Chelsea last year. Not sure I could say the same about the Inter game

Tonight's prediction for me.

Dortmund 1-1 Madrid.

As said Dortmund struggled to deal with Malaga on the break, so i can 100% see Real scoring. But i can also see Dortmund taking the game to Madrid. So im going for 1-1. With Madrid winning the 2nd leg fairly comfortably.

NickisBHAFC wrote:Well whoever said Barca would win is a complete idiot.

Admittedly 4-0 was a surprise, but Bayern were 100% going to win. It was there night from the get go. So my money is on an all German final at Wembley!

How much did you win?

I couldn't see Madrilennas getting past Bayern a week ago. As a Madrid fan I can say I had a very empty feeling after I saw the Munich match. though I do give Madrid a better chance of defending all of those goals than the joke Barcelona put up.