UEFA Champions and Europa League 2015/16 Thread

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Thu 02 Jul 2015, 2:46 am

First topic message reminder :

It begins for the English today as West Ham face FC Lusitans in front of a sold out Upton Park this evening. The team will be a bit mixed. Randolph, O'Brien, Tomkins, Burke, Page. Jarvis, Oxford, Poyet, Amalfitano. Zarate, Sakho.

by Duty281 Sat 28 May 2016, 10:37 pm

Awful game of football.

Extra-time in any game is farcical, yet the governing authorities do nothing to remedy it.

Hope Bale's OK for the Euros.

by nadeem2099 Sat 28 May 2016, 10:41 pm

YES WE ARE THE DESERVED CHAMPIONS YET AGAIN! 11 TIMES EUROPEAN CHAMPS.

by **Hero** Sat 28 May 2016, 10:43 pm

nadeem2099 wrote:YES WE ARE THE UNDESERVED CHAMPIONS YET AGAIN! 11 TIMES EUROPEAN CHAMPS.

Fixed it for you Nadz

by Mad for Chelsea Sat 28 May 2016, 10:46 pm

Wasn't a great game TBH, but a fine achievement for Real.

Come to think of it, when was the last time a major football final (CL, WC, Euro) was actually a game of high quality?

I mean, I quite enjoyed the Spain-Netherlands WC final until I realised it was supposed to be a game of football instead of some bizarre hybrid of Karate, Judo and Synchronised Diving, but...

by kingraf Sat 28 May 2016, 10:51 pm

La Undecima ticked off. Ronaldo barring a catastrophic rest of the year should get another Ballon d'Or. High fives all round I suppose.

by Ent Sat 28 May 2016, 10:52 pm

Pleased for ronaldo, gutted for atleti.

by kingraf Sat 28 May 2016, 10:59 pm

Hero wrote:
nadeem2099 wrote:YES WE ARE THE UNDESERVED CHAMPIONS YET AGAIN! 11 TIMES EUROPEAN CHAMPS.

Fixed it for you Nadz

All these flavours and you choose to be salty

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Sat 28 May 2016, 11:19 pm

Think Atleti deserved it but then they didnt from the first half so, you know, penalties is a cruel mistress and there has to be a winner.

I wanted to see Bayern v Real, but I think that being saved for Ancelotti might be even sweeter.

by dangerous_mouse Sun 29 May 2016, 12:11 am

Hero wrote:Getting fed up of this SuperBowl style pre show that's going on at matches nowadays.
A game in Italy between two Madrid sides yet they book an American to sing a song called New York.

Glad you said that, I was starting to think I've somehow missed all the pointless pre game pop sh1t all these years. Have to say I can't stand it either but unfortunately it's a sign of things to come now that SOCCER is getting so popular in the states, we must all bow to the Americans.

Separate point but anyone else think that was a Bale goal?

by **Hero** Sun 29 May 2016, 1:00 am

kingraf wrote:
Hero wrote:
nadeem2099 wrote:YES WE ARE THE UNDESERVED CHAMPIONS YET AGAIN! 11 TIMES EUROPEAN CHAMPS.

Fixed it for you Nadz

All these flavours and you choose to be salty

I usually enjoy watching Real, but the cynical tackles and theatrics from Pepe left me with more of a sour than salty taste in my mouth.
The history books will record an 11th win, the memories though will remain of the better team losing and the victors resorting to some unsavoury moments.

by Ent Sun 29 May 2016, 2:33 am

Was a close game decided by penalties.

That's what it'll be remembered as.

by Hammersmith harrier Sun 29 May 2016, 9:09 am

It's about time the tournament had a name change, the now current Champions haven't won their league title in four years, hardly deserved winners.

by Guest Sun 29 May 2016, 10:30 am

So what if they haven't won La Liga in four years. Not the first or the last to do so. It's a cup competition, they can't be undeserved winners, just because the name of the competition doesn't suit the eventual winners picard

They impressively negotiated their way through to the final, took on a great Atletico side, & then beat them on penalties. Deserved winners, because they overcome every situation they faced in the tournament & won it. End of.

by Ent Sun 29 May 2016, 6:57 pm

They sustained a title challenge until the final day of the season, not like they were taking advantage of a crappy league performance and resting people.

They deserved it, atleti were extremely unlucky but that's life.

by GSC Sun 29 May 2016, 8:24 pm

Does it really matter anyway?

by **Hero** Sun 29 May 2016, 8:27 pm

If a side finishes 4th yet then somehow wins the Champions League etc the surely that's more of an achievement tha a side finishing top and going onto winning it? They've overcome more odds than what's expected of them.

by Ent Sun 29 May 2016, 11:08 pm

No because they can rest people for the cl ties, whereas usually in a team challenging they've to play their best side or close to in every game.

by Guest Sun 29 May 2016, 11:22 pm

Ent wrote:No because they can rest people for the cl ties, whereas usually in a team challenging they've to play their best side or close to in every game.

Rafa Benitez didn't get that memo in 2008/09.

by Atila Mon 30 May 2016, 2:12 am

Hammersmith harrier wrote:It's about time the tournament had a name change, the now current Champions haven't won their league title in four years, hardly deserved winners.

It was 15 years for Liverpool. Last title won in 1990, Champs League won in 2005.

Just think, if Spurs win the Champs League next year, there would be a 56 year gap since they last won the league title.

by Jermaine2015 Mon 30 May 2016, 7:08 am

kingraf wrote:La Undecima ticked off. Ronaldo barring a catastrophic rest of the year should get another Ballon d'Or. High fives all round I suppose.

You're seriously deluded if you think Ronaldo gets anyway near the Ballon d'Or ahead of Suarez. Ronaldo was dreadful in the CL final. Did nothing, come to think of it 4 CL finals and aside from the first 20 minutes against Chelsea, he's gone missing in every final. Running around without his shirt on pretending he was the difference was embarrassing when Bale put him in the shade...again.

by Stella Mon 30 May 2016, 9:05 am

Wasn't Ronaldo injured for most of the match? Suarez deserves a ballon d'or but Ronaldo shouldn't be to far behind. I also think that helping your team win the CL definitely helps your cause.

by **Hero** Mon 30 May 2016, 9:16 am

He might have been anonymous in the final but he scored 16 goals in the Champions League this season, top scorer in the CL for the 4th season running.
Suarez got a bagful certainly for Barca and they won La Liga, the Balon D'or isn't just for La Liga (though it's certainly felt like it has been for the past few years).

by Fernando Mon 30 May 2016, 11:05 am

The problem i have with that is 11 of them came in the group stage against Shaktar (5) & Malmo (6). He only scored in 1 game from the Quarter finals onwards and that was the return leg vs Wolfsburg.

Id be surprised if he won the Balon D'or tbh it should be going to a biting Uruguayan but never know with Uefa.

by Hammersmith harrier Mon 30 May 2016, 11:09 am

Fernando wrote:The problem i have with that is 11 of them came in the group stage against Shaktar (5) & Malmo (6). He only scored in 1 game from the Quarter finals onwards and that was the return leg vs Wolfsburg.

Id be surprised if he won the Balon D'or tbh it should be going to a biting Uruguayan but never know with Uefa.

Context is everything in these things.

Berbatov was the Premier League top scorer in 2010/11 but i'm fairly sure he scored in less games and scored less important goals than Hernandez.

by Ent Mon 30 May 2016, 11:10 am

Not sure what Suarez has done to deserve it tbh.

Sticking in 3 when you are 2-0 down from the first leg is kind of a big deal.

Summer tournaments to come, plenty of time to earn these awards.

by Ent Mon 30 May 2016, 11:14 am

Don't agree he was anonymous for most of the final either, Carrasco was the only attacker that shone and a missed penalty was the most notable contribution from any of the forwards playing. Was a very tight game in which defendes won out. Altetico are experts at shutting ronaldo down and fair play to them for it.

by Fernando Mon 30 May 2016, 11:18 am

He was anonymous for the final he comfortably fitted in Juanfran's pocket for the majority yet. All i remember about Ronaldo was his pen and his missed header in e.t.

Bale played pretty well so no excuses for Ronaldo really he went missing in the big game.

by Ent Mon 30 May 2016, 11:25 am

Bale was pretty poor imo and limping around giving atleti free reign for most of extra time.

Benzema was pick of the front line imo and he wasn't great. Like I said defenses won out.

Ronaldo got a single one on one with juan fran and left him for dead before bale scuffed a free shot from the edge of the box, but I guess agendas rule the roost when it comes to judging games.

by theslosty Mon 30 May 2016, 11:32 am

Don't feel there has been a clear frontrunner for the Ballon d'Or this year, with the players around him Suarez should be expecting to score that number of goals anyway. But even just by watching Barca play I couldn't really say he is the best player in the world. Ronaldo consistently struggles against better defences and has for a while now, anyone who believes he is the world's greatest is delusional.
Neymar hasn't been great since Christmas while Messi has been playing well enough without doing anything that spectacular.
Griezmann would have been a good shout especially with the Euros in France around the corner but that final will have done his chances harm.
Perhaps the award could finally go to a midfielder or defender this year but there aren't any obvious contenders.

by Ent Mon 30 May 2016, 11:36 am

So in conclusion not deluded if you think ronaldo is the best?

by Hammersmith harrier Mon 30 May 2016, 11:38 am

Considering that Real and Barcelona consistently win by Cricket scores, comparatively speaking Vardy, Kane and Aguero have done just as well if not better scoring wise than Suarez in my opinion.

by Ent Mon 30 May 2016, 11:44 am

Premier league was crap this year though.

Rough with the smooth, can't dismiss Suarez this season just don't think he merits wpoty.

by **Hero** Mon 30 May 2016, 11:46 am

To say it's deluded when he's scored over 50 goals once again in a season and been a key part in a CL winning side, it's not all just about the big day, still have to get to the final in which he played his part.
Certainly a tighter race than normal though this year, can see the Euros playing a deciding factor as to who it goes to, if Griezmann or Pogba have a good tournament then they could be in the running.

by Ent Mon 30 May 2016, 11:53 am

Not sure serie a will have enough pull to get pogba the votes, griezmann maybe- will that pen miss live long in the mind?

Scoring winning penalty in cl final is pretty memorable.

If one of the big boys has a blinding summer tournament they'll prob clinch it, just hope they are all fit.

by kingraf Mon 30 May 2016, 2:05 pm

All Ronaldo has to do is not bite someone in the Euros and he should cruise it. 51 goals. 15 assists. Leading scorer in Champions League. Boom!

by theslosty Mon 30 May 2016, 2:23 pm

I feel a lot of you are just passing judgement on Ronaldo based on his stats rather than watching him play. His goalscoring has always been incredible but I think there are more dangerous forwards than Ronaldo right now. He's an extremely good finisher but doesn't create that many chances.

by kingraf Mon 30 May 2016, 3:06 pm

That average of an assist every three games comes from osmosis then?

by theslosty Mon 30 May 2016, 3:23 pm

When you're in a team scoring that many goals, playing as your team's primary forward - you are inevitably going to pick up some assists.

If we were going on assists alone then Ronaldo would be more creative than a player like Iniesta - I don't know about you but that doesn't sit well with me.

by Guest Mon 30 May 2016, 3:59 pm

debating something which will be awarded in January 2017. pretty pointless as of right now

by **Hero** Mon 30 May 2016, 4:47 pm

LiamB wrote:debating something which will be awarded in January 2017. pretty pointless as of right now

It's generally given though on what the player has done in the tail end of this season compared to what they do in the opening months of next season.

by kingraf Mon 30 May 2016, 5:15 pm

theslosty wrote:When you're in a team scoring that many goals, playing as your team's primary forward - you are inevitably going to pick up some assists.

If we were going on assists alone then Ronaldo would be more creative than a player like Iniesta - I don't know about you but that doesn't sit well with me.

Okay so Ronaldo led the team in goals and assists because he's selfish?

by Stella Mon 30 May 2016, 5:15 pm

Will Vardy be in with a shout if he scores a few in the euros?

by GSC Mon 30 May 2016, 6:59 pm

by theslosty Mon 30 May 2016, 10:59 pm

kingraf wrote:
theslosty wrote:When you're in a team scoring that many goals, playing as your team's primary forward - you are inevitably going to pick up some assists.

If we were going on assists alone then Ronaldo would be more creative than a player like Iniesta - I don't know about you but that doesn't sit well with me.
Okay so Ronaldo led the team in goals and assists because he's selfish?

Did he lead Real's assist count? Fair play if so but Bale and Benzema must have been at least very close.

I never mentioned anything about him being selfish, as a matter of fact I do think he's selfish as he clearly values his own achievements far above those of whichever team he's playing for. But that wasn't the point I was making.

Ronaldo's scoring rate is incredible and lot of it comes from his finishing ability with both feet and in the air and his unparalleled ability to get into goalscoring positions.
However, most of his goals are laid on a plate for him, Real may not always function as a unit but generally every team-mate around him is in the bracket of world class. When that many chances are being created for you the goals should always be coming.
He struggles when Real are less dominant and is required to fashion openings for himself. I understand he wasn't fully fit on Saturday but certainly in the last two years his performances against top sides have been less than impressive. This even includes some of the better La Liga sides. The Wolfsburg hat-trick is often used to counter this, and while he still deserves a lot of credit for dragging Real through that tie, his goals came from poor marking from corners and a defensive wall that somehow allowed an otherwise harmless free kick to sail through it.
I'm not saying he's got no creative ability but there are definitely other players in the world that cause more danger to top defences. From what I've seen Bale tends to beat more players and create chances these days.

by monty junior Tue 31 May 2016, 10:01 am

Gonzalo Higuian had a more impressive season than just about anyone, his 36 goals in Serie A was a record in a league where teams don't leak 6 or 7 to the top sides they really struggled when he didn't play, one man team. More impressive than Suarez' total. If he scores a few in the Copa America and Argentina wins it he should be right up there, his goal the other night Shocked

by nadeem2099 Tue 31 May 2016, 11:25 am

Every sane football fan knows Higuain > Suarez. Napoli will be the team to watch out next season in the champions league. With players like Koulibaly, Jorginho and Insigne, they could be the dark horses.

by **Crimey** Tue 31 May 2016, 11:27 am

No way, I don't think Higuain would have been able to drag Liverpool the way Suarez did. Higuain is a fantastic finisher, Suarez is just fantastic at near enough everything.

by **Hero** Tue 31 May 2016, 11:32 am

Crimey wrote:No way, I don't think Higuain would have been able to drag Liverpool the way Suarez did. Higuain is a fantastic finisher, Suarez is just fantastic at near enough everything.

Apart from biting and racism Wink

by Hammersmith harrier Tue 31 May 2016, 11:34 am

Football will have hit rock bottom if Suarez is ever voted world player of the year.

by Guest Tue 31 May 2016, 11:49 am

Hero wrote:
Crimey wrote:No way, I don't think Higuain would have been able to drag Liverpool the way Suarez did. Higuain is a fantastic finisher, Suarez is just fantastic at near enough everything.

Apart from biting and racism

No, he's also good at biting and racism although I concede John Terry is a bigger racist.

Football will have hit rock bottom if Suarez is ever voted world player of the year.

Why, we've already given it to a player who may or may not be a tax cheat and one who is a prima donna the likes of which the planet has rarely seen. On purely footballing merits, Suarez deserves to be footballer of the year.

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