JerseyAddict
Well-known member
Bzt you can't know it that second. So if you are a KILLER you **** the fuckin net and then look is it cool or not. This is bottling. As big as it gets.
Champions League Semi Final: Liverpool - FC Barcelona 4-3 agg.
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
LucasHernandez
New member
Call me crazy, but I honestly think that we (Atletico) would have fared pretty well against Liverpool in a CL final. Granted, they would probably hammer us severely at their own stadium, but in a neutral venue- I think we would have the upper hand...
Real Madrid, despite having a much worse and less organized defense than us, were able to effectively neutralize them in the final last season. I think we would have been able to snatch a tight 1-0 victory over them, although then again, it's a CL final- virtually anything can happen...
If you do a side-by-side comparison of each player in their respective position, there really isn't a massive gap in quality:
Defense (back 4):
Godin<Van Dijk (though I personally think Godin in his prime was a superior CB)
Gimenez>Matip (not even up for debate- even Hernandez, a natural full back, would make a better CB than Matip)
Lucas Hernandez=Robertson (okay, I have to admit I'm being a little biased here, but hear me out, both full back's are a lot closer in terms of quality than you think- Robertson may offer more in terms of offence, but I personally think Lucas is more reliable when it comes to defending).
F. Luis<Trent Alex Arnold (Luis in his prime was without dispute far better)
Midfield:
Saul>Wijnaldum (can honestly see Saul becoming a genuine candidate for the best DM in a few seasons from now)
Koke>Milner (pretty close contest here, but have to give it to good old Koke for his superior passing abilities)
Partey=Henderson (just about even- Partey has speed and agility on his side, though Henderson arguably fares better in terms of tackling)
Forward:
Antoine>Firmino (not much debate here really)
Lemar<Salah (same as above)
Correa<Mane (kind of unfair to Correa, as he tends to operate most effectively as a dual striker)
Swap Lemar with an excellent winger on pare with theirs (Neymar, Hazard, Dembele, Zaha, Richarlison) and I think we would be genuine favorites...
Had to delete my previous comment- wouldn't post for some odd reason...
Real Madrid, despite having a much worse and less organized defense than us, were able to effectively neutralize them in the final last season. I think we would have been able to snatch a tight 1-0 victory over them, although then again, it's a CL final- virtually anything can happen...
If you do a side-by-side comparison of each player in their respective position, there really isn't a massive gap in quality:
Defense (back 4):
Godin<Van Dijk (though I personally think Godin in his prime was a superior CB)
Gimenez>Matip (not even up for debate- even Hernandez, a natural full back, would make a better CB than Matip)
Lucas Hernandez=Robertson (okay, I have to admit I'm being a little biased here, but hear me out, both full back's are a lot closer in terms of quality than you think- Robertson may offer more in terms of offence, but I personally think Lucas is more reliable when it comes to defending).
F. Luis<Trent Alex Arnold (Luis in his prime was without dispute far better)
Midfield:
Saul>Wijnaldum (can honestly see Saul becoming a genuine candidate for the best DM in a few seasons from now)
Koke>Milner (pretty close contest here, but have to give it to good old Koke for his superior passing abilities)
Partey=Henderson (just about even- Partey has speed and agility on his side, though Henderson arguably fares better in terms of tackling)
Forward:
Antoine>Firmino (not much debate here really)
Lemar<Salah (same as above)
Correa<Mane (kind of unfair to Correa, as he tends to operate most effectively as a dual striker)
Swap Lemar with an excellent winger on pare with theirs (Neymar, Hazard, Dembele, Zaha, Richarlison) and I think we would be genuine favorites...
Had to delete my previous comment- wouldn't post for some odd reason...
Messigician
Senior Member
We smashed spurs 4-1 ffs. Easiest route to the final we will ever get. Great now we will have to contend with Liverpool, City, Juventus, and a rejuvenated Bayern and Real Madrid
Curious thing that in the Premier League, the traditional big clubs Manchester United and Arsenal seem to be on a terminal decline/malaise, respectively, and Chelsea too, what with their transfer ban until 2020 and managerial problems, won't be at the very elite level for a fair while. It's Man City, Liverpool and Tottenham (big new stadium, great manager, youth development) that look set to be the consistent threat over the next few years at least.
What's great for Barca (and Real Madrid if we're honest) is these English clubs collectively weaken each other as the best players that choose to go to England (those that can put up with the horrible weather!) are spread across 6 clubs, who are all super rich because of the disgraceful oil/state money from their foreign owners, so all can afford to offer crazy wages. It is simply impossible to have a concentration of the best EPL players in 2-3 clubs like in La Liga.
Conversely, Pochettino and to lesser extent Klopp/Pep have shown it is not just about having the best elite players at a club that helps win football matches, it is teamwork, spirit and determination instilled in players from the manager. In this latter aspect, Barca are far behind even if the individual quality of our players is still at the very top. These three EPL managers are also great examples of coaches that hugely improve their young players/players in general. For example, can you imagine how good Dembele would be given 2-3 seasons under Pep's guidance? Or Arthur? We haven't had a coach as good as those three in this regard since Pep.
What's great for Barca (and Real Madrid if we're honest) is these English clubs collectively weaken each other as the best players that choose to go to England (those that can put up with the horrible weather!) are spread across 6 clubs, who are all super rich because of the disgraceful oil/state money from their foreign owners, so all can afford to offer crazy wages. It is simply impossible to have a concentration of the best EPL players in 2-3 clubs like in La Liga.
Conversely, Pochettino and to lesser extent Klopp/Pep have shown it is not just about having the best elite players at a club that helps win football matches, it is teamwork, spirit and determination instilled in players from the manager. In this latter aspect, Barca are far behind even if the individual quality of our players is still at the very top. These three EPL managers are also great examples of coaches that hugely improve their young players/players in general. For example, can you imagine how good Dembele would be given 2-3 seasons under Pep's guidance? Or Arthur? We haven't had a coach as good as those three in this regard since Pep.
Last edited:
agnelcaesar80
New member
Devastated Devastated Devastated.... Can't get over the loss
malvolio
Senior Member
yeah, but they haven't won shit until now. they've had it easy(as mourinho pointed out) because expectations weren't as high, with them managing perennial bottler teams. let's see how they manage success in the long run.
league was man city's or chelsea's(until liverpool took the mantle of chelsea), with the other teams all scrambling for a top 4 position. when you look at it the title was always a 2 sided affair through different periods -> man utd - arsenal, man utd - chelsea, man city - man utd, man city - chelsea and now it is man city with liverpool as challengers(since they didn't win it).
malvolio
Senior Member
it has more to do with the way we conceded. they didn't have some fancy attacking play, or some wonder goal to show for it. we gifted them 2-3 goals by making stupid errors. lord origi and wijnaldum(a players who relegated with newcastle) managed to score against us, enough said.
+ as you rightfully pointed out, our attack was blunt. if we would have scored then it would have been game over.
ps: don't know why people are banging on an on about this myth that anfield is a hard/intimidating venue to play at. it's just like any other stadium but with more vocal fans that support their team for 90 minutes. marseille, belgrade, or some turkish stadium are way more intimidating.
Well of course aside from Pep the other two have won zero, it's certainly a different kind of pressure being expected to win something. Klopp will feel that more after he spent hundreds of millions since being there, Poch has spent comparatively fuck all so he still is free from that kind of pressure.
My point is that Barca are at a disadvantage with EV when the opposition dugout has the likes of Guardiola, Klopp and Poch standing there, extreme motivators that get the best out of their players and importantly, trust youngsters to play. The standards have been raised. EV can neither motivate his players or promote youngsters into the first team as he doesn't have the authority or conviction, instead taking the safety first approach with veterans. It's sickening. We need a manager that would have trusted Arthur and Alena more this season. EV is fucking us up in all kinds of ways.
raedkuwait
Senior Member
i still cant believe that we fucking botteld this for the second year in a raw with messi on our side, pls just fucking fire EV NOW
AzaR
New member
Tried structuring a response to this thread based on the 2nd leg performance but failed to do so.
Best thing i think we could do? Approach Klopp after the Champions League Final! Premier league title is looking unlikely , he wins the Champions league, what a high to end his Liverpool tenure on. We need a manager like Klopp, a coach the team will trust whilst playing good high pressure football.
Best thing i think we could do? Approach Klopp after the Champions League Final! Premier league title is looking unlikely , he wins the Champions league, what a high to end his Liverpool tenure on. We need a manager like Klopp, a coach the team will trust whilst playing good high pressure football.
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