UEFA Champions League 2015/2016

[Notorious Big]

It's a combination of factors why English teams aren't doing as well as they did in the past. United and Chelsea certainly aren't as good as they were when they dominated a few years ago but remember also that one of the worst Chelsea teams won it with Roberto Di Matteo and a poor City side made it to the semis this season. We've produced better teams than the one that made it to the final in 2006. I think Real, Barca and Bayern will always feature heavily in the closing stages because of the long running monopoly they hold in their leagues and the fact that overall the local competition is a little bit easier. I still find it strange how Real have emerged as eventual winners but it's the luck of the draw.

I just want to say that things with PL competition and CL happend before and that English teams could cope with that.For example United won CL in 2008 and they had to fight until last day of the season for PL trophy.Chelsea just didn't have chance to win PL in 2012 and to go to CL place and they put everything in CL.Same with Arsenal in 2006.And in that domination other teams didn't do so well.Real were knocked in round 16 about 6 times in a row,Ateltico wasn't near this level.Bayern was also worse than now.And CL is like that.The winner and finalist aren't the best teams in Europe at the moment.Remember Porto in 2004,Liverpool 2005,we weren't so good in that 2006,even Inter in 2010.

 

[sammy89]

I don't know about you guys, but to me, Real Madrid squads always look like a hodgepodge of random players driven forward by the weight of expectation and previous reputation. Barca and Atleti look like way more well thought out sides IMO

 

[Jury]

Even the ****ing trees hate him.

 

[SomGooner]

I can't help but feel sad for Arsène. F*cking Di Matteo, Luis Enrique and now Zidane have all won a trophy Arsène couldn't and will never win. FFS

It's amazing what you can achieve when stars align for you.

 

[General]

I feel more sorry for Simeone tbh. He's made it twice in the space of a few years and lost it through no real fault of his own. Chelsea and the Wayne Bridge debacle will always remain a sour point for me and the reason I cannot completely sympathise with Wenger.

 

[SomGooner]

I feel more sorry for Simeone tbh. He's made it twice in the space of a few years and lost it through no real fault of his own. Chelsea and the Wayne Bridge debacle will always remain a sour point for me and the reason I cannot completely sympathise with Wenger.

Don't forget about Almunia conceding two goals, and BOTH through his f*cking legs. I hated that tosser and his fake blonde hair.

It's been 10 years already, but feels like yesterday in terms of the pain and the frustration I feel every time the champions league final comes around.

 

[Makingtrax]

Even the ****ing trees hate him.

It's a thing called 'awareness'! That's what makes him such a good defender.

My first thought was - if that had been Gabriel, it would taken his head off.

Then I thought nah, he wouldn't be on a CL open-topped winners bus

 

[Jury]

It's a thing called 'awareness'! That's what makes him such a good defender.

My first thought was - if that had been Gabriel, it would taken his head off.

Then I thought nah, he wouldn't be on a CL open-topped winners bus

His face just before he ducked But yeah, outstanding reactions.

 

[BobP]

Watched the game again and picked up on some things which could explain why Atletico weren't able to win:

Real Madrids midfield is a bit off in playing Modric, Kroos and Casemiro. Who there is a line breaker? Who there occupies space in between the lines in advanced areas? Modric and Kroos are renowned playmakers and Casemiro adds a certain defensive element to the midfield but what we see is a team devoid of any penetration when in possession. They turn into ourselves, with all 3 of the midfield players seeking to get on the ball and not bothering to make themselves an option to pass too.

This weak possession game saw an odd role reversal, with Atletico taking on more possession. This isn't the game Atletico are used to. In the first half they struggled to take on this role and it was only once changes occurred at the interval that they were able to imprint themselves more appropriately. They switched to a 433 or 4141 which saw them adopt a more stable base for their possession game. I feel if they had made those changes earlier, they could have won the game.

What astounds me is that it seems Real have been having these problems for most of this season, so you'd think Simeone would have been privy but maybe he opted to go with what he was more comfortable with.

 

[eye4goal]

With a better bench I think Atletico smash Madrid in extra time in a reversal of what happened 2 years ago. I feel they started slowly to make sure they don't run out of energy too soon. Its interesting how they go about strengthening the team in the summer, and whether Simeone can add more imagination to their play without losing their style.