Can anyone stop real madrid?

[thepremierleague]

You can't call Milan the second best team yet at all.

Deportivo are not that strong at home right now, Betis pissed on them 4-2.

Milan need to beat Bayern before they can claim to be the best challenger.

[rifkin]

If Bayern can squeak their way through this phase, they could challenge. It'll just take a while to sort everything out with the new faces, but once they do they certainly should be able to control any match.

[Darr]

AC Milan will stop them..... Rivaldo, Inzaghi, Nesta, Schev, Rui, and the rest will pound them at home, and give them a run for their money if they eventually meet...

[appoo]

Originally posted by Azabache
Madrid looks fine, but the way they play depends on ball controlling and dictating rhythm. If they play against a negative side like Inter (Cúper knows how to do Madrid), which will not play nor let Madrid play, then they'll have problems.

Isn't that what Bayern Munich tries to do them last year? They are famed for their way of disrupting the other team and countering quickly. Figo, Zidane, Makelele, Solari...they can play any way they want to, ugly, pretty whatever

[Azabache]

Bayern Munich is a boring, negative side, and if they had played Madrid in the finals last year, the result may not have been the same. Zidane certainly would not have had time to excercise his genius. B. Leverkusen, on the other hand, played Madrid straight up, and lost. You just can't give people who like to play both space and the ball.

[Fatal Flux]

I'd have to say either Arsenal or Milan. Though I'd like to see Madrid and Milan go head to head. A match like that would be great, IMO.

[Playable Back]

Try Byron Moreno

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[dmar]

The contenders IMO, are: Madrid, Depor, Bayern and Milan.

Originally posted by Azabache
But Madrid's transition from the back is suspect, and if Patrick Vieira decides that Makelele is not to supplant him in Les Bleus and denies him, then Del Bosque would have a distribution problem. Helguera can certainly do it, but that would mean leaving Hierro alone with Bergkamp and Henry....
This is sexy.

It seems you haven't seen Cambisso play... He's the one who distributes in Madrid. Makelele has never done that. He just defends and passes the ball to his couple in the midfield. And Cambiasso is a world class player who can surpass Vieira. Anyway, Arsenal-Madrid is a game I'd like to see.

Originally posted by Azabache
Bayern Munich is a boring, negative side, and if they had played Madrid in the finals last year, the result may not have been the same. Zidane certainly would not have had time to excercise his genius. B. Leverkusen, on the other hand, played Madrid straight up, and lost. You just can't give people who like to play both space and the ball.

The problem is that Bayern couldn't do it when it counted. The only way Madrid can loose this year is against offensive opposition.

[thepremierleague]

Originally posted by dmar
The contenders IMO, are: Madrid, Depor, Bayern and Milan.


You do realise 3 of them are in the same group and one will be knocked out, so they can't all be contenders especially after the first round.

I'd put Arsenal above Deportivo and Bayern easily. Milan need another good game against Bayern to prove how good they really are.

[InMotion]

If you are asking whether anyone can keep Real from advancing in the early stages, the answer is almost certainly no. But whether a team can play well enough to beat Real at any given time, I definitely think so. As others have mentioned, Real has the most current superstars and, more importantly, depth, but there are other quality squads who could be on at the right time and catch Real when they at their best.

I don't think there is quite the domination in soccer that we recently see in, say, basketball (Lakers with Shaq).

Arsenal or AC Milan and even other teams, if they advance, are capable of doing this, particularly as their confidence grows.

[n00bie deluxe]

Originally posted by InMotion
If you are asking whether anyone can keep Real from advancing in the early stages, the answer is almost certainly no. But whether a team can play well enough to beat Real at any given time, I definitely think so. As others have mentioned, Real has the most current superstars and, more importantly, depth, but there are other quality squads who could be on at the right time and catch Real when they at their best.

I don't think there is quite the domination in soccer that we recently see in, say, basketball (Lakers with Shaq).

Arsenal or AC Milan and even other teams, if they advance, are capable of doing this, particularly as their confidence grows.

Yes, that's true, but is there any team as deep as Real? As the season wears on, Real's depth will give them an even greater advantage of their rivals.

They could honestly rest their top 3 stars all the way through the 2nd group stage and still make it to the quarter final.

[dmar]

Originally posted by InMotion
I don't think there is quite the domination in soccer that we recently see in, say, basketball (Lakers with Shaq).

Arsenal or AC Milan and even other teams, if they advance, are capable of doing this, particularly as their confidence grows.

I prefer it to be this way. Victory is sso much weeter against this kind of formidable opposition.

[InMotion]

Originally posted by n00bie deluxe


As the season wears on, Real's depth will give them an even greater advantage of their rivals.

They could honestly rest their top 3 stars all the way through the 2nd group stage and still make it to the quarter final.

That's a good point. Certainly the way AS Roma is playing is only makes it easier for Real. But I think there are some exciting attacking teams out there -- Arsenal and Milan and Barcelona -- who would love to have a piece of Real and are capable of it.

[toonarmy44]

the only team that can stop real at the minute are arsenal. i'd really be interested to see how real would cope with arsenals free-flowing attacking football at highbury. From what i saw of Valencia against Liverpool they can certainly challenge. This could be there year italian teams challenge as well with the likes of Juventus and Ac Milan looking good. But Arsenal at the minute are the top contenders for sure.

Sadly Newcastle look like there out thanks to poor finishing and bad luck against Feyenoord

[Bauser]

There are only about 2-4 clubs who can challenge Real Madrid for the title. The European Cup hasn't had fewer championship winning candidates for years. The gap from the very best to those below is increasing.