The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

Well from the last thread I learned that there's a decent amount of you that watch Soccer which is awesome, because I've been following it for around a year now, ever since a friend of mine started to get me to watch a few matches during the Copa de America. At the moment my favorite team is Arsenel, but I also support R. Madrid, Inter Milan, and Newcastle (Orioles complex).

Personally I love how the last batch of champions league matches were held at night since that meant that not only would they be broadcast on ESPN but they would also be shown at a decent hour as most matches in England start around 8 am on the weekends.

Anyway I figured that it would be worth it to start a Champions League thread in light of the fact that the first knockout round is over.
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Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

manchester united is gonna win it all, if not then Barcelona baby ;)

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[quote=Frost;431485]manchester united is gonna win it all, if not then Barcelona baby ;)[/quote]

Man this is what I hate about soccer. I only know so much that I can't reply to your Manchester declaration with an intelligent retort. Instead I have to respond with the typical bias "Manchester sucks."

I'm a total noob :(

Either way I don't like Manchester United mainly because everyone else seems to like them, which is ironic because at the moment I like R. Madrid who apparently have more supporters then anyone else in the world.

Mark my unfound words, THIS IS ARSENELS YEAR.

My friend that got me into futbol is an AC milan fan so it was funny asking him about the Arsenel/AC Milan match up, which went something like this.

Me: Hey did you catch the Arsenel vs AC Milan game?
Friend: I don't want to talk about it

Lol

Do you know when they're going to relese the matchups for the next round?

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

hell yea its arsenals year. Go Gunners, thats my team baby. Premier League and UEFA, only if we didnt get owned in FA.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[quote=Dirtbag359;431540]Man this is what I hate about soccer. I only know so much that I can't reply to your Manchester declaration with an intelligent retort. Instead I have to respond with the typical bias "Manchester sucks."

I'm a total noob :(

Either way I don't like Manchester United mainly because everyone else seems to like them, which is ironic because at the moment I like R. Madrid who apparently have more supporters then anyone else in the world.

Mark my unfound words, THIS IS ARSENELS YEAR.

My friend that got me into futbol is an AC milan fan so it was funny asking him about the Arsenel/AC Milan match up, which went something like this.

Me: Hey did you catch the Arsenel vs AC Milan game?
Friend: I don't want to talk about it

Lol

Do you know when they're going to relese the matchups for the next round?[/quote]

LOL i know what you mean, im european so when i first came here all i knew was soccer which i gotta point out i came here in 94 when there was no internet brodcast of football(soccer) games no goal tv etc.. so i had to watch american sports no other choice, i watched a bit of nfl games here and there and i was like wtf what is this shit, it sucks, you got breaks and timeouts every freakin 2 min, then i tried baseball i even went to a freakin orioles game,, maaaaaaaan the worse freakin sport ever, i'd rather watch golf even to this day than baseball, then i watched nba and i got into it hardcore im talking about back in the day when we had webber, howard, rod strickland etc.. but then around 2001 i started watching nfl games.. dont ask me why it guess it would have to do with some game where it was green bay vs i dont know who but i remember seeing favre play and how he acts especially when he scored a td and i was hooked, and of course started following the redskins and been loving it ever since, but im still a huge soccer fan, i even got the privilege of seeing real madrid play my hometown team Steaua(bucharest romania) in 2006 when i was in europe and thats when they had all the stars, beckham, roberto carlos, ronaldo etc.. but yea i know what you mean bfore i couldnt talk smak to cowboys fans because i didnt know shit but now its a diff story lol

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

Ever since Eric Cantona donned a Red Devils jersey have I been a Man U follower. They've looked pretty good this season, but with Arsenal starting to make their way back (looked like they were going to fall apart there for a while), it'll be a tough push to the end of the season.

As far as Champs League goes, it's up for grabs. Liverpool is built for European play, Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal are all playing great football. Roma knocking out Real Madrid was huge. Barca being completely dangerous themselves. The only teams that are questionable are Fenerbahce and Schalke, and both teams are capable of big time play. The draw will be interesting to see if any of the English sides will be paired up in the Quarterfinals.

One of my best friends from college is a huge Liverpool fan, so on the days we're both available, we get together for those matches. He's the one that really got me back into Soccer, especially Premier League soccer.

From what I've heard, Real/Barca matches attract more than 3 times the television viewership than the Super Bowl. And that's just for a regular season match...

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

Well if anyone is still watching, I am pissed about Arsenal. My team is tanking and we should have won but the fucking ref gave the worst call for a PK.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

im as big of a soccer fan as i am an nfl fan its cool that some people here are picking it up. thought it was a penalty at first look, second look a little iffy, but ive seen those go both ways. imo arsenal will never win the champions league, never have in their history, and never will. they are always lacking that bit of class. i am a huge barcelona fan, have been since about 2002 when they were doing terribly, and i can even admit that manchester united are favorites. great team, i doubted them earlier in the year but they have become so strong and balanced. barcelona are having a bad year this year, very inconsistant id be very surprised to see them win it, but im holding out hope.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

We'll find out today who will join Chelsea and Liverpool in the Semis. Man U has a 2-0 lead in aggregate, while Barca has a 1-0 lead, and both play at home. I can't see either team not advancing.

Being a Man U mark, Ronaldo and Rooney are coming on strong at the right time, for both a Champs League push as well as a Premiership push. Should be interesting...especially since Barca is going to be missing a key player or 2 (Ronaldinho and Messi out 6 weeks).

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

ronaldinho is hardly a key player for barcleona anymore, he has likely played his last game in blaugrana

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[quote=Big C;438578]ronaldinho is hardly a key player for barcleona anymore, he has likely played his last game in blaugrana[/quote]

Yea apparently he is fat and not getting chances due to his injury. There are rumors his agent is trying to get him out of his contract and I heard Man. City as a possibility.

Also henry was put on the market for 16mil pounds.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/soccer/04/09/ronaldinho.oust/]SI.com - Soccer - Spanish press: Barcelona prepared to let Ronaldinho walk - Wednesday April 9, 2008 12:09PM[/url]
Looks like AC Milan, Chelsea and Man City are the top runners at this point, but at 28, he's long from retirement, and just about anyone will throw their hat into the race for him.

As far as Henry goes, he'll probably end up back in the Premiership somewhere. Rumored to be linked to Man City or Tottenham.

Then you have the Real Madrid rumor of £125 million for Cristiano Ronaldo, which if Man U wins the double this year, there is a slight possibility of this happening. However, that number might be low if he goes on the market.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[QUOTE=hooskins;438608]Yea apparently he is fat and not getting chances due to his injury. There are rumors his agent is trying to get him out of his contract and I heard Man. City as a possibility.

Also henry was put on the market for 16mil pounds.[/QUOTE]

ronnie is more likely going to inter or ac milan

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[QUOTE=Big C;438731]ronnie is more likely going to inter or ac milan[/QUOTE]

Looks like AC Milan

[url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=525085&cc=5901]ESPNsoccernet - Europe - Ronaldinho agrees general terms with AC Milan[/url]

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

Good. Keep his ass out of England...

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I wouldve thought it would be interesting if he went to Man. City. Either way I don't really care I'm just pissed Arsenal has fucked things up for themselves.

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I'm starting to get pissed off about the Champions League. Now that my friend Juan is out of town I've had a hard time getting wind of when matches are coming up. As a result I've turned on the TV at around 4:00 twice now to see two games in the 88th minute. A few weeks ago with Liverpool/Arsenal and today with Chelsea/Liverpool.

If any of you guys saw the end of the Chelsea/Liverpool game, well it was amazing. Chelsea was down 1-0 going into the 5th minute of extra time, they get a throw in then a cross and one of the defenders tried to head the ball after the cross but the ball went straight into the goal.

I'll try to find a highlight, but I kind of felt sorry for the guy. That or I hoped he had done something really horrible and kharma was coming back to kick him in the butt.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[QUOTE=Dirtbag359;441801]I'm starting to get pissed off about the Champions League. Now that my friend Juan is out of town I've had a hard time getting wind of when matches are coming up. As a result I've turned on the TV at around 4:00 twice now to see two games in the 88th minute. A few weeks ago with Liverpool/Arsenal and today with Chelsea/Liverpool.

If any of you guys saw the end of the Chelsea/Liverpool game, well it was amazing. Chelsea was down 1-0 going into the 5th minute of extra time, they get a throw in then a cross and one of the defenders tried to head the ball after the cross but the ball went straight into the goal.

I'll try to find a highlight, but I kind of felt sorry for the guy. That or I hoped he had done something really horrible and kharma was coming back to kick him in the butt.[/QUOTE]

You have a .edu address right? So you should be able to watch full replays of the matches on ESPN360.com

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[quote=SmootSmack;441803]You have a .edu address right? So you should be able to watch full replays of the matches on ESPN360.com[/quote]

Holy shit!!! If thats true then you are my new hero.

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[QUOTE=Dirtbag359;441805]Holy shit!!! If thats true then you are my new hero.[/QUOTE]

Right now the Liverpool vs Chelsea match is available (the English feed). Just click on "Replay" (2nd tab on the right column), then search by soccer

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[quote=SmootSmack;441806]Right now the Liverpool vs Chelsea match is available (the English feed). Just click on "Replay" (2nd tab on the right column), then search by soccer[/quote]

It's true, you are now my new hero. I can now watch UEFA games as well games from Sierra A. And yes the Liverpool/Chelsea match is available in fact I'm watching it now.

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[QUOTE=Dirtbag359;441809]It's true, you are now my new hero. I can now watch UEFA games as well games from Sierra A. And yes the Liverpool/Chelsea match is available in fact I'm watching it now.[/QUOTE]

Just doing my job :)

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

SS it is not only replays, but full games! If you have a .edu you can watch espn channels live on the computer. So that's what we do during class lol. But yea crazy game. I hate both teams but Liverpool more at this point.

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[QUOTE=hooskins;441826]SS it is not only replays, but full games! If you have a .edu you can watch espn channels live on the computer. So that's what we do during class lol. But yea crazy game. I hate both teams but Liverpool more at this point.[/QUOTE]

Yeah it's live and on-demand.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

I have a Firefox Plugin called Online Kicker, which you can set up to alert you to scores from your favorite leagues, cups, tourneys and teams...
[url]https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/725[/url]

So, I saw Liverpool go up 1-nil, then saw Chelsea tie it...pretty crazy. Chelsea has a big advantage playing the 2nd leg at home. My buddy is most likely super pissed (huge Liverpool fan). Man U plays Barça today at Camp Nou. I'm hoping for a 0-0, 1-1 result, keep it close going into the 2nd leg at Old Trafford...

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chelsea really do play some stale soccer. liverpool very unfortunate to concede at the last second. im a big barcelona fan so im hoping we can get a win tonight, wont be easy for sure since we have had a pretty bad season. hoping not to concede any goals

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Hey did ESPN360 work for me because I was on campus last night. Because yesterday I didn't have to load anything and now I can't find a way to bring it up.

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[QUOTE=Dirtbag359;442233]Hey did ESPN360 work for me because I was on campus last night. Because yesterday I didn't have to load anything and now I can't find a way to bring it up.[/QUOTE]

You're accessing from Comcast now? Then it's not going to work, Comcast isn't an affiliate partner of so Comcast users don't get 360.

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I really really dislike Man U, but what a year. Champions League and the Premier League.

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I'm a huge Man U mark, but they got so freakin' lucky yesterday. If Drogba doesn't slap Vidic with 4 minutes left in Extra Time, he hits the 5th penalty shot and they win. Crazy, crazy match. Not sure what Ronaldo was thinking with the stutter step, but John Terry saved his ass. He had Van der Sar beat, but just let it go wide. Then Van der Sar knew which way Anelka was going and you have your Double for Man U.

That was probably Drogba's last match with Chelsea, and perhaps Avram Grant's as well, as Roman Abramovich has spent way too much money to come home empty handed.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

Ronaldo does that stutter step quite a bit on free kicks and PKs. I really don't like him as a person because he is extremely arrogant and a huge flopper(At least 5 times last game).

Anyways I attribute the stutter step to his personality and I am not surprised. Of course he is an amazing player, and my allegiance with Arsenal makes me a bit bias, but I really do not like him.

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Can't argue that he's not arrogant, or a flopper either, although I think he hasn't been as bad this year than in year's past.

However, there is no denying, that at 23, he's one of the top 3 players in the World right now, if not the best.

Re: The Champions League: First Knockout Round
 

[quote=hooskins;449588]Ronaldo does that stutter step quite a bit on free kicks and PKs. I really don't like him as a person because he is extremely arrogant and a huge flopper(At least 5 times last game).

Anyways I attribute the stutter step to his personality and I am not surprised. Of course he is an amazing player, and my allegiance with Arsenal makes me a bit bias, but I really do not like him.[/quote]

I was surprised how much (and how well) Ronaldo "river dances" when he goes up the sidelines. I was rooting for Chelsea, and even though I don't like Ronaldo, I still got a knot in my chest everytime he had the ball.

On a side note that was one of the greatest games I've ever seen. I feel terribe though for Terry, the guys going to get a lot of shit for missing that PK which is out of line considering the score would have been 2-1 at the end of regular time if Terry didn't step in front of that shot that he headed to safety.

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Terry's miss was the nail in the proverbial coffin for Avram Grant...