UEFA Champions League 2015/16

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

Well again I call it just pure luck in draws.
Real were better than Roma Wolf and City and at worst had an equal game against AM.

Was Chelsea better than Barca or Bayern in 2012?

It's a lot harder to be better than Barca and Bayern that it is to be better than Roma and Wolfsburg.

That being said, Chelsea weren't even better than Benfica that season. So I'd say they just about edge the most undeserved CL winner competition.

 

[BBZ8800]

See I think there have been teams, particularly us, who have demonstrated that the CL is about consistency and domination. That's why the fluky ones are so annoying, they take away from teams that earned it. The CL winner isn't always the best team in Europe overall but they are usually the best team in the tournament or upset the best team in Europe or the tournament.

Yes, but this opinion is slightly Barcelona-based, or Barcelona 2009-2011 opinion-based.
That team was one of the rare teams who was by far the best and who actually won.
But then, in 2009, we will say that we were by far the best and that we actually won, but then, we had this crap also:

We were superior and the best, and yet we needed that crap...

For example, let's check how many CL winners were champions of their country in the last 20-ish years, 1996 to 2016:
1996: Cl: Juventus, League: Milan
1997: Cl: Dortmund, League: Bayern
1998: Cl: Real, League: Barcelona
1999: Cl: Man. Utd, League: Man. Utd **
2000: Cl: Real, League: Deportivo
2001: Cl: Bayern, League: Bayern **
2002: Cl: Real, League: Valencia
2003: Cl: Milan, League: Juventus
2004: Cl: Porto, League: Porto **
2005: Cl: Liverpool, League: Chelsea
2006: Cl: Barcelona, League: Barcelona **
2007: Cl: Milan, League: Inter
2008: Cl: Man. Utd, League: Man. Utd **
2009: Cl: Barcelona, League: Barcelona **
2010: Cl: Inter, League: Inter **
2011: Cl: Barcelona, League: Barcelona **
2012: Cl: Chelsea, League: Man. City
2013: Cl: Bayern, League: Bayern **
2014: Cl: Real, League: Atletico
2015: Cl: Barcelona, League: Barcelona **
2016: Cl: Real, League: Barcelona

11 times teams who weren't domestic champions=won a CL
10 times teams who were domestic champions=won a CL

We are angry and sad currently, and we are trying to make it as Real's title is totally undeserved, insane luck which never happened in a history etc.
But then again, League winner is a team who plays the best for 10 Months.
In a CL, a winner is a team who is in best form in February-March-April-May.

I have checked now Real's results this spring, they have 16-1-1 (16 wins out of last 18 matches) this spring.
With a CL title and 12 wins in a row in La Liga.

Also, a lot of people are saying how we demolished them 4:0 in autumn, but then again, they got back (like we did in the last season), and they won 2:1 at Camp Nou and (almost) annulated 10-points advantage in the last 3 Months.

Again, we all hate them, but they had better motivation and a much better momentum (and formation) in the last few Months.
We had Neymar who has gone MIA, they had Bale, who was insane in the last few Months for them.
We had Messi who wasn't sure whether he wants to play or he wants to go home and watch Tv during decisive CL matches.
Plus, Messi for some reason played in and through the middle.

Also, an interesting fact:
-- in the last 4 seasons, ONLY teams with a more direct approach won titles
2013: Bayern before Pep's possession style
2014: Real with direct football over Pep's possession
2015: Barca with direct football over Pep's possession
2016: Real with direct football over Bayern's+Barca's more static style (we played less direct this season, for some reason. Messi in the middle for example)

This season:
Barca:
+ we were better over 12 Months
- we were horrible during the spring
- we lacked motivation and hunger

Real:
+ they were horrible in the 1st part of the season
+ they were better than us in the 2nd part of the season
+ they were way more motivated
+ they were/are on a hot streak
- they were lucky with Cl draws

I am personally concerned now about that "motivation" part.
Our team is very old right now and with too many players who won too many trophies (Messi, Iniesta, Busi, Alves, Pique, Masch).
Currently I am afraid that Real's team (except Cr7) has much younger and more motivated players for upcoming years.

This is not a doom and gloom post, but maybe we are facing a new cycle.
I was in favor of buying oldies to strengthen the team around Messi, but since we crumbled now and lost all motivation which we had, it is time now for splashing tons of money for younger players with lots of motivation and fresh blood.
I would even sign Pogba right away, a guy whom I hated the most 1 year ago.

Our current team needs new energy and batteries.
For La liga matches (over 10 Months, with lots of time to recover and rest) we are fine even with this team, but imo, for a CL glory, our team will need new blood, and new physical energy and motivation for spring of 2017 and 2018.

 

[Altomonte]

Great analysis. It is important to keep our objectivity and to try being unbiased - although that's difficult. We certainly did not show enough intensity during the first 25 or so minutes of the Atletico games. Simeone's strategy was simple: Overwhelm Barça with highest possible pressure in the beginning, score the first goal, and then defend.
Against Real it did not work (or he did not try hard enough). Being 1:0 behind he could not apply his Barça / Bayern strategy.
We all agree that Barça has the best team, capable of playing the most beautiful game, but we are not always matching the fighting spirit of our opponents.
Coach Zidane has certainly made Real a better team, instilled new confidence in Ronaldo & co., and made them work harder.
It will be tough to win La Liga and the CL next year if he keeps it up.
We certainly will not be able to send 6 of our top players to South America just before the Clasico.

 

[Nucky]

Congrats to Real though they didn't deserve it.. Pure luck, offside goal..

 

[Neeraj]

Combination of a heavy night of tequilas and that game made me want to vomit my stomach out. It was mainly that game though.

 

[El Flaco]

 

[TornAndFrayed]

It's not hard for a barça fan to be objective when describing RM's successful campaign: It was so crappy it challenges 2012 Chelsea, although in very different ways.

Just imagine if barça won the CL next year in similar fashion. That win would stand absolutely dwarfed by our previous achievements in all aspects: football content, opposition quality, ref help, consistency with domestic comps, and most of all, legacy.

Franquists and not-so-cool kids won't care but the stench won't go away anytime soon.

 

[Devils]

I'm still stunned at what happened. I was at a bar in Madrid and was with the Atletico fans l. When Carrasco scored everyone went mad with happiness and most real fans were devastated. Almost everyone was predicting Atletico to take it at that point.

But when Juanfran missed, the horror of what was about happen set in and everyone knew it was over.

Unfortunately I predicted this to happen as soon as Atletico lost to levante.

Walking to the hotel last night was a nightmare. Real fans celebrating, danching, chanting and singing everywhere.

What a nightmare.

 

[Total-Football]

i dont understand how anyone can be a supporter of real Madrid to be honnest .. outside the people from Madrid itself

 

[Devils]

Champs of Europe but you can't be the best in the world if you can't even win your own league

There's absolutely no chance Madrid are the best team in the world. Even Real fans would agree to this.

-We bottled it
-Bayern bottled it
-PSG bottled it
-Juve got fucked over by refs

Real got the easiest draws and I give them full credit for taking their chances, but by no way was this CL campaign an indication of overcoming the best.

We overcame the best last season. We beat Atletico and Real domestically and beat Juve, Bayern, PSG in the CL.

Anyone who got in our way got stomped last year, Real just avoided everyone and faced a team they know that fears them and has consistently lives under their shadow through history.

That's not undermining Real's win, yes they are champions of Europe, but by no means are they the best team in the world.

 

[xavi_the_Boss]

I don´t think we lacked motivation.We played more matches then them with all this Supercups and the CWC and all CDR matches.

 

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

There's absolutely no chance Madrid are the best team in the world. Even Real fans would agree to this.

-We bottled it
-Bayern bottled it
-PSG bottled it
-Juve got fucked over by refs

Real got the easiest draws and I give them full credit for taking their chances, but by no way was this CL campaign an indication of overcoming the best.

We overcame the best last season. We beat Atletico and Real domestically and beat Juve, Bayern, PSG in the CL.

Anyone who got in our way got stomped last year, Real just avoided everyone and faced a team they know that fears them and has consistently lives under their shadow through history.

That's not undermining Real's win, yes they are champions of Europe, but by no means are they the best team in the world.

Atletico also bottled it

 

[Aryagorn]

Chelsea 2009 says hi. That 1-1 in London was a lucky result. Chelsea were better than us in that game and we played like shit. We still got through. It can happen again.

And we dominated the first leg but did not get our win.... The likes of Ballack shouldn't even be eligible to play the second leg! Thierry Henry fouled like crazy in the D box but the penalty was not called in Camp Nou?

 

[Pablo Escobar]

Atletico also bottled it

Really, for who is used to some recent Atletico displays against mandrill f.c. may see this weird, but after more than a decade of seeing them get violated in their derby it's like saying the sky is blue.

And even in that one season they actually played something, they were stolen by refs in 2006/07.

The only things that bugs me is Barca fans that cheered for Atletico against Bayern, if you would've lived to see what Atletico is made out of, you clearly would've wanted to rip that TV screen when Muller missed that penalty.

And we dominated the first leg but did not get our win.... The likes of Ballack shouldn't even be eligible to play the second leg! Thierry Henry fouled like crazy in the D box but the penalty was not called in Camp Nou?

Same in 2012, we should've WALKED TO MUNICH.
That Chelsea was totally subpar, again, that missed penalty made the difference ( and for them Robben's in the final + Bastian missing just like Juanfran ).

 

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

And we dominated the first leg but did not get our win.... The likes of Ballack shouldn't even be eligible to play the second leg! Thierry Henry fouled like crazy in the D box but the penalty was not called in Camp Nou?

But our bad luck would usually have continued into the second leg. That one time, our bad luck in the first leg was balanced out by our luck in the second.