If anyone is interested, you can listen to the entire Clasico match live on BBC Radio. Link:

BBC - Radio 5 live

Benzema AND Adebayor on the bench. Di Maria up top, with Ozil and Ronaldo in support.

Any predictions? I've actually got an inkling on a 0-0 draw, with both teams really, REALLY pissed off at each other, and a nasty, contentious, and sometimes ugly affair. Copa del Rey style haha

EDIT: ooh, Mascherano is playing....I might have to think 1-0 to Real now just for that.


EDIT AGAIN: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA a red card for a sub GK during half time, now a red card for Pepe for a POSSIBLE yellow card offense, but never red. WAY TO GO BARCELONA. KEEP CROWDING THAT REF!

Alves leaves on a stretcher then comes back on. Mourinho in the stands. LOL. What a farce of a game! We could use some new conductors right now!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/5live/sport/img...la_540x299.jpg

Madrid's defense blew! IMO i feel Ramos and Marcelo are not consistent and both especially Ramos have anger issues. Carvalho IMO puts in some Smarts w/his experience but also looses his cool.

And i know Kaka and Higuain are coming back but wtf seriously? This is a BIG game with a lot of pressure and it tends to happen Di Maria and Ozil completely shut down for long periods of time IMO......the way Kaka and Higuain played this past weekend IMO they deserved a change......AND THEY CAN keep a cool head in games like these.

anybody else feel this or am i just being biased cuz im a Kaka fan?


OK done lol.....Forza Milan!!!

Referees once again, ruin a match. Why send the man off when the match was flowing so well? a yellow cardable offense yes, but straight red? never. Suddenly i'm having flashbacks...

Red, if that was a match that was 'flowing'...I have no idea what you called the Arsenal / Barca 1st leg. That was possibly one of the most pig-ugly, stop/start, angry matches I've ever seen. Disgusting.

Both teams attacked, ugly challenges were all over yes, but a straight red man? seriously? why the fvck dont referees allow the matches to finish with even numbers? a full side against Barca is a struggle, 10 men pretty much gifts them the match.

lol dude, i wasn't criticizing the red card at all. read my post beforehand, the ref got wound up like all hell and gave the red when he should have pulled the yellow. it was absolutely ridiculous, and yes barca smelled blood after pepe got sent off. best part? alves off on a stretcher, returns seconds later. wtf??? stupid dani alves!

did madrid really attack? i mean..barca had 70+% OF POSSESSION. all of madrid's attacks petered out as ronaldo couldn't hit a free kick to save his life, and adebayor will be better remembered for smacking...er...someone in the face.

ugly, ugly, ugly. thank goodness for messi providing that OMGWTFNOWAY goal to make it 2 to the visitors.

still, for the ref -
SAME OLD BARCA, ALWAYS CHEATING!

Carvalho is probably Madrid's best defender, we were still wishing we had him at Chelsea, but David Luiz has stepped up. You're right about Sergio Ramos though, he tends to be hit or miss, and Marcelo can be caught ball watching a lot. Shame Pepe was sent off, because he hassled Barca's midfield the entire game during the Copa del Rey final. I think Higuain and Kaka should have started. Love Özil to death, but Kaka has more experience in Europe, and in Clasico's for that matter, and probably would have been a better choice, with Özil coming in off the bench as a substitute.

I feel Mourinho was trying the tactic that won against Barca with Inter, which was being willing to concede possession, keep the shape, and try to hit on the counter attack. During the first half, Barca seemed to be playing for the second half by keeping the score 0-0 until halftime, and when the chances come, cut the tired legs of the Madrid defense and finish, and they did.

This next leg at the Camp Nou is going to be a Barcelona keep away, but Madrid HAVE to leave it all on the field. Instead of playing for a counter attack, I would attack Barca straight up and test their back four right away. Iniesta should be back, which is bad news for Madrid as they needed to win this first leg. Conceding two away goals and having to play Barcelona at home is asking a lot of any team, but Madrid have to play as if their lives depended on it.


In regards to this, I'm sure if you guys remember, but we were sent on our way by Barcelona and questionable officiating 2 seasons ago when they went on to win the Champions League. Didier Drogba is remembered for calling the officiating a f*cking disgrace, and it was. I feel Arsenal were cheated as well in their match with Barca this season.





Anything can happen, but it looks to be a rematch of Barca and Manchester United in the final at Wembley, in which case immediately I'd become a Barcelona supporter.

^ its going to REALLY tough for Madrid nxt week. No Pepe....which is the ONLY thing IMO that makes Barca work harder. Di Maria and Ozil (both great players) need to be on the bench as well....they just don't have the experience.

i also agree PHELAN.....everytime Barca feel pressured by any team and fouls come up they SWARM the red like little ANTS and majority of the time a red card follows.

I would have liked to have seen Mou vs Ferguson but 98% sure it won't happen.

I am by no means a CR7 fan but he said something i feel 100% is true!


"It's always the same with them [Barcelona]. This is the fourth consecutive season that something like this has happened. [Jose] Mourinho is right, just look at what happened with Arsenal, Chelsea and Inter," said Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of the game."

Barca always sways the Ref's calls in big games by their swarming tactic.

Lionel Messi and Jose Mourinho mask Barcelona shame - ESPN Soccernet

Oh my god...could it be? People are finally realizing that Barcelona, for all their tiki-taka footballing, are a team filled with arrogant, prissy little cunts???

I mean, god DAMN Victor Valdes reacted faster than he would saving a free kick! Straight out of goal and into the ref's face waving an imaginary red card. They ALL do it. And meanwhile Alves is squealing like a little girl on the pitch, gets stretchered off, then pops up AND COMES RIGHT BACK ON. Where have I seen THAT before?

Same old Barca, always cheating. Hell, even El Capitan (Cesc Fabregas) does it. Oh wait...he wants to go back to Barca. :facepalm:

God help me, Adebayor actually said something that makes sense:
BAH!

Oh, and Arsene? Shut up AND FOCUS ON FIXING YOUR OWN TEAM. Wenger rejects conspiracy theories

After having time to digest and analyze yesterday's tie, I have to agree with the points stated here. I'm not overlooking the fact that players on Real's side did a little bit of diving themselves, but the overreacting of Pedro, Sergio Busquetes and Dani Alves was a disgrace to the game. There was an instance in the first half where Pedro was looking to make a run down the flank and on the replay, clearly changes direction to intentionally run into Arbeloa, then fell to the turf clutching his face; with Pep Guardiola throwing his arms up and Mourinho looking on in disgust. Busquetes attacking Marcelo from behind and going down clutching his face when the Real Mardid player used his arms to shield Sergio on his CHEST. And of course the challenge on Dani Alves which caused Pepe to be sent off. If memory serves right, Pepe did not have any cautions before making this challenge. A straight red with no cautions would have to be one of two things: a player intentionally trying to physically hurt another, or the last man fouling a player during a goal scoring opportunity, its that simple. And to be fair to both teams, Angel Di Maria and Pepe took a dramatic dives themselves, but in these cases, their entire team didn't crowd the official asking for the player to go into the book.

I have no doubt the protest from the players influenced the official to go straight to his pocket and have sent Pepe off, which some whisper was done only to bring the numbers level, as a Barca player was sent off just after halftime. All in all the game turned into a very ugly display of poor sportsmanship from both sides, ruining a potentially great matchup.

I agree with Mourinho here:


José Mourinho rages at 'plot' to put Barcelona in the final | Football | The Guardian

The Chelsea game left a bitter taste in my mouth for UEFA officials. I can remember at least 2 solid instances during that game where there were clear penalty kicks, but they weren't called. Van Persie given a straight red for kicking a ball? What is this madness?

Regardless of if you love or hate United, you can respect the fact that for the most part, Sir Alex will not tolerate none of the nonsense of diving and flailing around looking for a free kick. He used to tell Ronaldo when he was at United, as long as you have this shirt on, there will be none of that. I can respect that about him.

If I was a Real Madrid player, I would go to the Camp Nou with such a fire in my belly I would hardly be able to contain myself. Looking at elimination even if Barca draw means you have nothing to lose. I would press high up the field and attack them right out of the gate. No zonal marking, put a man on a man and pressure them every time they touch the ball. I wouldn't let them sit back and play keep away with 1,000 passes, lull you to sleep then hit you with that killer final ball. Test the resolve of their defense straight away. Inter did that last year, and they carved out a result. For all Barcelona's accolades, defensively, they are not that strong. Their strength is in their ability to dictate the game. I think should they advance to the final with United, Sir Alex will do this with Rooney, Hernandez and Nani.

I wish I could be a Barcelona supporter. They have it pretty easy.

^ well put jon.

in unrelated news: VVV Venlo go ga-ga for toy-box prodigy, 10-year deal for toddler - ESPN Soccernet

bwaaahahahahahahahaha!!!!

I just finished watching the match (still on the road). I thought it was a red card. Alves was a coniving cnut (shocking!), but the challenge was reckless.

Thoroughly enjoyed the match yesterday. We came out scorching hot, almost carving out a chance in the first 30 seconds of the match. ManUre looked defeated from the get go, the Schalke game apparently zapped every ounce of energy they had.

A few things I took from the match:

Koscielny's game has grown 10 fold. He was strong in the tackle, stuck to his man like glue, stayed with runs, got forward on a few occasions, hes going to be a force in the years to come. I'm wondering if he could slide to the right to make room for Verms.

Where the fvck did Ramsey come from? From last week to this one, something happened, he had a statement to make and with Fab on the bench, he certainly did just that. Very solid in possession, didnt give the ball away, passes were spot on and a very well taken goal, the kid made me proud today.

Wenger made a statement of his own today, that we can beat a top club without Fab in in the lineup. It seems hes already preparing to ship him out, if Ramsey can stay healthy and if we can buy cover, I feel comfortable with him going and with the amount of money he'll bring to the club for signings. One thing was missing though, the cheeky passes that Fab always seems to get just right, the creativity wasnt quite what it is when Fab is on the pitch. But I digress, i've resolved to see him go, it'll be better for the squad I think, w/o all the tapping up and rumors and comments in the papers/news.

Lastly, Sczes is our keeper for the future. His positioning yesterday was perfect, he ran out a few times, but when he realized he underestimated the balls, he tracked back and got back on his line, a good showing really. He also seems really vocal at the back, I always see him shouting instructions, always great to see from a keeper.

BTW, its bullshyt that FIFA isnt investigating the Vidic BLATANT handling in the box, easily should have been a penalty and a sending off.

1. I've liked Kos since he joined us. Lots of hatred for buying a kid who was in Ligue 2 only two years ago, but he has the ability to get the insanely tough tackles timed right. Problem is, he needs to work on his defensive position so he doesn't need to rely on his tackling. Kos just gets a lot of shtick for B'ham CC lulz

2. Where'd he come from? He never left bro :tup: Ramsey and Wilshere are the new tag team. Did you see the cheeky pass he put over the top to Wilshere (who then uncharacteristically bobbled his first touch)? There's a bit of Fab left in Ramsey. No homo.

3. I really, really hate to start thinking of the squad without Fabregas, I still think there's a chance he'll stay and try one more time, especially after us shelling ManU after five tries and getting the elusive 1-0 win we've been clamoring for (win any way we can, one-nil to the Arsenal style will suit us just fine if we have to). Ramsey can be a spark plug, but I think if we over-rely on him he'll burn out just like Wilshere sort of has. Kid's tired. Ramsey / Fabregas tandem would be killer.

4. Duh. :tup: Tuesday Club seems to have it in for him though, they want an experienced GK like Reina, and Szczesny pushing for the position as a reserve GK. Not sure if I agree with that.

5. Absolutely. Vidic hid it well though, didn't he? Only RvP saw it and was like "WTF!!!" but nobody else reacted. It happened fast, but the assistant HAS to see something like that.

6. Jon@AAMComp: You're welcome. :tup:

7. Eggh...the home shirt really is kinda blah. Also, I find it amusing that Cesc, Clichy, and Arshavin, the three players who might leave, are in the official press release photos. Hmph, where's Jack, Theo, and Robin??

8. Anybody see at halftime Eboue did...well...what Eboue does, and tried to give Jack a hug? Jack had a total "gtfo" face and pushed his arm aside. The kid's a battler, nice to see he's all business until the full 90 is up.

Cheers for that. :tup: 3 points off the pace, heading to Old Trafford Sunday to close the gap. Well, try to close the gap. Goal diff is identical, so should we win the game and not concede, we'd be top of the table on goal difference. What an end to the season this is going to be.

Faylun come at me br0. Meet DEFENSE

Team: F.C. Barcelona Inter
Name: bERnArD1Nh0 r8edr03
Ranking Points Summary:
Performance Points: 3 23
Team Star Rating: -3 5
Final Result Points: 1181 1446
Current Skill Level: 11 13
Rank Points to Next Level: 19 154
Match Stats:
Score: 0 4
Total Shots: 3 7
Shots on Goal: 2 6
Possession: 45% 55%
Passing Accuracy: 80% 80%
Tackle: 28% 75%
Cards: 1 0
Fouls: 2 0
Corners: 2 1

Team: Chelsea Inter
Name: MANNYHR r8edr03
Ranking Points Summary:
Performance Points: 7 24
Team Star Rating: 0 0
Final Result Points: 1156 1317
Current Skill Level: 11 12
Rank Points to Next Level: 44 83
Match Stats:
Score: 1 2
Total Shots: 3 7
Shots on Goal: 3 4
Possession: 44% 56%
Passing Accuracy: 71% 80%
Tackle: 53% 61%
Cards: 2 0
Fouls: 2 2
Corners: 1 2

Team: Inter Milan
Name: r8edr03 JDUB1123
Ranking Points Summary:
Performance Points: 36 6
Team Star Rating: 0 0
Final Result Points: 1260 1221
Current Skill Level: 11 11
Rank Points to Next Level: 40 79
Match Stats:
Score: 2 0
Total Shots: 7 4
Shots on Goal: 4 2
Possession: 64% 36%
Passing Accuracy: 80% 78%
Tackle: 84% 47%
Cards: 0 0
Fouls: 2 1
Corners: 1 1
Thanks for playing FIFA Soccer 11 and good luck in your next match!
Manage your club online here.

You go girl.

:rofl2:



This sucks. I don't want another Barca/Man U final :(

Higuain got robbed.

gc4rr > r8edr03 :tup:

i don't even play online anymore lol...i use fifa 11 to hide the pain of losing 4 trophies this season by setting it to easy and getting theo walcott to toss in 12 goals in one match :rofl2:

I do that on semi-pro lol, i've already played 250 matches, Nasri is rated at a 93 and RvP a 92 :tup:

its near impossible for a defender to pull the ball away from Nasri, I dont even hit the skill move trigger that much, he just automatically shields the ball and drags it into uncontested areas, i love it.

I must say, i'm not a fan of the automatic skill progression system, I miss being able to earn points in matches and spend them on raising my attributes manually.

lol play me!

http://icanhascheezburger.files.word...if?w=500&h=250

:rofl2:

wtf blue, exclusively Inter now???

haha did you go to my playercard and see? Im pissed all those losses should be 0 :mad:

3 of them were when I was doing co-op and one my friends internet disconnected me when I was solo :mad:

Going to the Timbers vs Union match tonight.

wanted to go to red bulls / galaxy tomorrow but can't afford tickets right meow. will just head to the pub to watch it :tup:

also - i have decided that the 125th home jersey looks dumb. i've spent my money on buying my japanese hometown jersey instead haha

I'm indifferent on the 125th kit. I'll probably buy it because I'm a huge sucker, but nothing about it screams "OWN ME!"

In other news, the Timbers have an AMAZING atmosphere. I wish I lived here-- I'd be at every home match.

^ portland is always awesome for sports games :tup: but i'm super excited for NY to come into town. if anything for the arsenal brigade to roll out to home depot stadium, last year henry didn't play due to injury

i'm going to wait for the prices to go down on the 125th. at least this years was retro again from the weird speed stripes...but the 125th doesn't make me think "oh yeah i can spend $100 on that".

blue - i thrashed someone in fifa today haha: arsenal 3-0 inter

he dc'ed b/c i got nasri in on goal, basically replicated his porto goal and they rage quit rofl


EDIT - holy SH*T bayern just pimp slapped St. Pauli! 8-1!!!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3..._7915026_n.jpg




:woot::woot:


:vuvuzela:

Well there was a chance we could slip past United to retain the title, but we were outplayed and outclassed by the better team yesterday, simple as that. Tough one to take, but such is the game of football. United will be champions again. Considering the fact that in December we were looking at falling out of automatic champions league contention, I'm ok with finishing 2nd in the league.


And congrats to Milan batman, but I'm more of a Roma man myself. :tup:

whats all this mass exodus talk I hear around the Chelsea camp? could it be true? Essien to Milan?

In Arsenal news, i'm shocked to be reading that after this seasons trophyless travesty, Nasri might not sign a new contract. Wow, one of our most talented midfielders possibly leaving along with Cesc? Fvck I hope Wenger has a good plan in place.

We're linked with this supposed German wonderkid Goetze, watching a few videos, he seems like he plays alot like Nasri w/o the scoring ability, hes still young so he might mature into something great in a few seasons. But damn, I was sh!tting bricks at the thought of losing Fab, but Nasri now? oh damn.