Not hating, just recalling that Ronaldo did his best to sabotage Portugal's WC hopes with two glaringly reckless choices in a crucial match. Only the ref's and FIFA's looking the other way saved him from himself.
That was lucky for him. Not sure how crucial the match was since they already had a top 2 place wrapped up . The match was kind of meaningless actually and so was the next one (hence, Ronaldo intentionally suspending himself). The key moments in that group occurred much earlier. Namely the late goal for Portugal in Israel and the Ronaldo hat-trick in Belfast. It was fun watching them struggle in such an easy group but in the end they were 6-2-0 in 2013 and two "crucial" hat-tricks for Crissy.
if it bothers you so much you might want to limit yourself to the madrid and portuguese forums. the rest of us will continue voicing our concerns that ronaldo's win had more to do with messi's hamstring than anything he did himself ... all year long
You're missing the scenario: if CR7 had gotten a proper suspension for the kung-fu kick or for the deliberate yellow vs. Israel, he would've missed not only the meaningless Luxembourg qualifier (what he wanted anyway) but also one or both of the Sweden playoff matches too. A fully Zlatanized Sweden could've very well knocked out a Portugal sans CR7. But FIFA decided to loosen the rules a bit...
It doesn't bother me, I'm not a hater, just don't like excuses. Kung-fu kicks, Messi hurt, FIFA extending the voting deadline, too much hair gel, socks too tight, tan too dark, always diving, runs too much, Portugal goals were easy taps in and don't matter, CL goals were only in "easy" group stage, no trophies, sister is ugly, girlfriend shows too much leg, he looks homo in the underwear ads, etc... I always congratulated Messi when he won and will continue to do so as a fan of the sport if he can stay healthy and wins another Ballon d'or or two in the next few years.
This is the Barcelona forum, where we tend to view things in rose colored glasses. I'm guessing the LPB (Real Madrid) forum wears similar type of eye-wear. If you're looking for non-biased opinions on the guy with a giraffe neck and punchable face you may want to try a more neutral part of the forum like the 'Beautiful Game' or 'FIFA and Tournaments' sections because we are haters and like love to hate on anything/everything associated with LPB and we don't apologize for doing so.
Just curious for no particular reason. (Okay, slight debate on another message board [UK-based] that I occasionally visit.] Thibaut Courtois Name at least five better goalkeepers over the past 2-3 seasons. Or are there five?
Courtois? Can't name five better keepers, as Courtois belongs to the group of very best current goalies. (That said, I'm ok with the evident Ter Stegen deal)
Certainly would be worrying if we conceided more than 1 goal at Camp Nou. Even if we win 4-2. City has scored 100+ goals this season, most of them at their home. Jesus Navas & Silva vs Iniesta & Xavi, Messi & Masche vs Aguero & Zabaleta, Fernandinho vs Alves. Should be a wicked match.
Didn't quite understand that red card near the end. Still, good result for Barca, great weekend for LPB.
I'm more worried about the first-leg. The only way the second-leg finishes 4-2 is if Barca got a good result in the first-leg. No way does Barca get 4 goals against the parked Man City team bus. But damn... Yaya would be the perfect fit for this Barca team. PS...am I the only one who was cheering for Atletico last night? Just don't see that as a great result for Barca at all.
^^ maybe if they are out of the title race early, they roll over for you in the last match? Last thing you want is for them to have to beat you in that match to have a chance at the title. If it's a choice between handing it to Barca or us, I think you know who they'd choose.
Well, and also Atleti might play Madrid 3 times in the near future so its good for Barca if their form remains good in the short-term. I don't truly believe that AM will be within 3 points top spot after 37 league rounds anyway. Or even within 10 points for that matter.