11/23/24
April 26, 2007
Man Utd. Liverpool. Milan. I don't care, once it isn't Chelsea. All because I can't stand Jose *the special one* Mourinho
posted by Fence at 05:32 AM on April 26, 2007
My money is still on a Liverpool/Man U final.
posted by trox at 07:10 AM on April 26, 2007
I caught the ManU/Milan match and, as much as I dislike ManU, I must admit they looked very good in the second half. I was amazed at how much better they were than Milan in the second half. AC Milan probably felt quite confident based on Kaka's 2 goals, but I recall them rarely in ManU's half of the field after the break. That 90th minute goal by Rooney was ace (and I hate that bastard).... My dogs were begging to go out, and they wouldn't listen to me when I told them "just 2 more minutes, dogs" so I was standing at the door, looking over at the TV across the room when Rooney scored the winner. I took the dogs out, came back in and rewound the DVR to watch the end again. I'm with Fence of the other tie. There is a special place in hell for Mourinho and the Chelsea ownership as far as I am concerned.
posted by scully at 07:11 AM on April 26, 2007
I saw the Liverpool - Chelsea game and despite sharing the general dislike of the West London loadsamoney boys thought they were value for their win, creating the clearer threats on goal. But they weren't clearly dominant and only got that one goal, so I'm hoping the Anfield magic will see the 'Pool through. Not too bothered about the other tie, but what I've seen of Man U has been the kind of football that deserves to succeed.
posted by Abiezer at 07:57 AM on April 26, 2007
Man Utd - careless, but with the potential to win any game AC Milan - sublime when they're on it, sterile when they're not Liverpool - see above Chelsea - talent, but no magic; money, but no value I reckon the winner of the Utd / Milan game will win the final, and I reckon Utd have Milan right where they want them and a good attitude going into the return leg. Ferguson said roughly, "we need to go there and score and hope that will be enough." If they do, it will be. I'm not sure my heart could take a Man Utd vs Liverpool final. My gambling head would have to expect United to win, but my heart would break to see it.
posted by JJ at 08:06 AM on April 26, 2007
Liverpool will have to find something going offensively more than Zenden whipping in mediocre crosses to mediocre forwards if they expect to go through. I hate to agree with the U.S. (ESPN) announcers, who are generally crap, but I also think Gerrard needs to play more in the middle, as he seemed wasted out wide. With Essien and Ballack (who I'm not sure is necessarily an upgrade) back for Chelsea for the second leg, I think Liverpool will be lucky to go up 1-0 in regulation and roll the dice in extra time/penalties. With injuries that may keep Gattuso out and almost certainly will keep Maldini out, I think United will go through. The wild card, as I see it, is that Milan largely has a Champions League qualifying place all set (and they're not really going to move up in the Serie A table in any meaningful sense), while United are in a fight for the premiership and have a potentially tough match away to Everton this weekend. So Milan may be better rested for the second leg.
posted by holden at 10:30 AM on April 26, 2007
AC Milan probably felt quite confident based on Kaka's 2 goals, but I recall them rarely in ManU's half of the field after the break. That's conisistent with the stereotypical Italian style - get the lead and defend it. It's smart football but only the truly special teams can pull it off when they get to the business end of a top class competition. It's very difficult for players, when they're asked to concentrate on defending, to not let their foot off the pedal. Of course, moments of brilliance from Scholes and to a lesser extent, Giggs, can rip apart the best defenses. That 90th minute goal by Rooney was ace (and I hate that bastard) Now that really hurts, terrapin. I just received my Rooney Champions League shirt in the mail yesterday.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 10:32 AM on April 26, 2007
but my heart would break to see it. I'm scared for English football if that match happens. Those two tribes have some serious hatred for each other. Athens could get very messy. I would expect a couple thousand supporters to show up drunk, without tickets, and looking for either a win or a fight, and not real particular which. The ManU/AC match was terrific. The scoreline doesn't really favor either side, so the second leg should make for some really good football. We should relish these last two games. I think the final with be a repeat of the FA Cup final so the excitement will be lost for me. Considering the general opinion of this board I fully expect - and possibly deserve - to get hammered for this; I love me some Jose. A serious man-crush kinda thing. He is a great manager, usually good for a laugh, and very entertaining. I would h8 to see him leave the English game, and all of us who watch the EPL would lose if that happened. He is Bill Parcels with a tan and tailor. Imagine him as the coach of Team USA. The media here would gorge themselves on his press conferences. I think he is the one person on the planet that could make US soccer watchable and interesting to the masses.
posted by r8rh8r27 at 10:56 AM on April 26, 2007
With Essien and Ballack (who I'm not sure is necessarily an upgrade) back for Chelsea for the second leg, I think Liverpool will be lucky to go up 1-0 in regulation and roll the dice in extra time/penalties. I agree with all EXCEPT the Essien part. He is an upgrade to ANY midfield. IMNHO he is their best player, the one guy they can't really play without. Jose has to find a way to get Obie Mikel on the pitch more. If that means dumping Ballack, fine, but Essien is the key to Chelsea success.
posted by r8rh8r27 at 11:04 AM on April 26, 2007
Chelsea has such an embarrasment of riches--and egos--that I don't see them developing 'magic' until Mourinho and Abramovich figure out that spending over GBP10M for third choice wingers is the wrong way to win all the trophies. Given that the second leg is in the San Siro and Milan have two away goals, IMO the result of this tie is far from a given despite the quality of ManU play all season. Then again, my team is a distant fourth in the CL Fantasy League so what do I know?
posted by billsaysthis at 12:08 PM on April 26, 2007
I agree with all EXCEPT the Essien part. He is an upgrade to ANY midfield. IMNHO he is their best player, the one guy they can't really play without. I suppose it didn't come across that way, but the parenthetical comment was to be applied to Ballack only, not Essien as well. I could not agree more that Essien is a key player in midfield for Chelsea. I thought John Obi Mikel was one of Chelsea's better performers yesterday -- his beautiful ball to Kalou towards the end of the game should have resulted in a goal, but Kalou foolishly tried to pass instead of go for goal.
posted by holden at 12:52 PM on April 26, 2007
Well, thanks to the magic of endless repeats on Chinese telly I've just seen the Rags-Milan game and thought the second half showing by the Mancs was pretty fine stuff. Even with Milan shutting up shop they were finding a way through on a fairly regular basis. Why can't Rooney do that more for England, including the keeping his head bit?
posted by Abiezer at 02:15 PM on April 26, 2007
He makes some damn fine tackles too. I think a winged genie cleverly stole Momo Sissoko's skill set during the World Cup and gave it to Mikel. Sissoko has become a grease fire while Mikel is on the verge of pushing Makelele into retirement.
posted by r8rh8r27 at 02:52 PM on April 26, 2007
It's half-time* in the Champions League semi-finals. Who's your money on? * David Pleat commentating for ITV on the Man Utd game: "No need for them to panic here, after all, this is only the first quarter of a four half game."