Re: Spurs Fixtures Yeh it is a pity, but its more of a pity that Inter signed Rafa as their coach....
Re: Spurs Fixtures To be fair, you were right on this one. Bale absolutely ripped him to shreds. The crowd were singing "Taxi for Maicon".
It's an interesting group in general with only Bremen out of the equation now I think. I can't see Spurs win at Twente not even with the brilliant Bale (I'm not saying spurs are crap, just that Twente are very strong at home). Twente will have to get something at Inter first of course but that's not entirely impossible judging on Twente v Inter. Wouldn't it be hilarious if Inter failed to get through to the next stage.
Re: Spurs Fixtures Compared to someone like Lahm he doesn't seem to understand how to defend his zone correctly, opting instead to be drawn in to a 1:1. That said, Inter didn't defend as a team and made it easier than it should have been.
Re: Spurs Fixtures But to be fair to Maicon he is no Ashley Cole and never has been. Jose must have been laughing his head off at the poor organisation on display last night compared to how well Inter set up against Robben for example. I was actually reminded of how Arsenal used to get routinely stung by Ronaldo.
Re: Spurs Fixtures Shouldn't get carried away here. Inter kinda sucked in the previous 2 CL group-stages as well (under Mourinho). As good as Spurs looked, if the 2 teams met again in the KO stages I could totally see Inter winning, especially if they have a healthy Milito. Well, lets not forget what happened whenever Mourinho and Rafa met in the CL (even when Mourinho had much more money and talent at his disposal he couldn't buy a goal).
Re: Spurs Fixtures I would say he is the most balanced full-back about in terms of his ability to contribute at either end.
Re: Spurs Fixtures There is no denying it. Rafa has turned Mourinho's European Champions into a complete mess. He lost UEFA Super Cup to Atletico Madrid[It was only ONE match], is third in the league and second in their Champions League group after conceding 6 goals over two matches to a first timer in the competition. If only throphies were handed out for knock-out stage matches huh?.....
Re: Spurs Fixtures My point stands though: Inter were in as much if not more trouble in the previous 2 CL group-stages. umm... they are. Forgot 2005 already? Benitez/Liverpool were the main reason Mourinho didn't win CL with Chelsea.
Re: Spurs Fixtures Not really. Rafa's Inter are in a relatively easy group but still managed to botched while Mourinho was in group with Barca. So trophies are handed out for winning knock-stage matches? okay?!
Re: Spurs Fixtures Most considered this to be the group of death, plus they haven't botched anything yet. A win against Twente at home and they are through with one match to spare. Mourinho's team struggled (just 8 points) in a group with Werder, Panathinaikos and a club from Cyprus I never heard of until then. Yes. Are you intentionally being a dumbass? Serious question.
Re: Spurs Fixtures Cole is the kind of guy who has shown he can defend 1:1 / isolated situations against the Ronaldo's for season after season. Maicon is not that good a defender.
Re: Spurs Fixtures But there is no denying that Mourinho's Inter would have been exposed like Inter were did against Spurs. There is only one dumbass here and it certainly isn't me. You said "they are. Forgot 2005 already? Implying that trophies were won for 2 leg knock stage matches since you referred to Rafa's Liverpool knocking out Chelsea with that famous "ghost goal". So I ask again; Liverpool were given a trophy for knocking out Chelsea?
Re: Spurs Fixtures You're aware that Twente, Spurs and Inter all were the highest ranking team in their respective pot for the draw?
Re: Spurs Fixtures Maybe. But I also think the Eto'o/Milito combo will be more dangerous under Rafa. sigh Nobody was talking about Liverpool winning trophies. Someone pointed out that Jose must be laughing at Rafa's lack of managerial ability, especially on the defensive side and I responded by saying 'yet Jose's team couldn't buy a goal when he went up against Rafa in the CL'. Then you started talking about trophies for God knows what reason. But, yes, trophies are handed out for winning KO matches. Spain won a nice one last summer for beating Holland in something that occurs after the group-stage... I believe they call it the KO stage.
Re: Spurs Fixtures And this matters because? It's between Spurs and Twente to take the 2nd spot from this group. Even though Inter lost against Spurs, I'd expect them to win the next 2 games...I dont think the players have settled into Rafa's tactics.
Re: Spurs Fixtures Yeh, thats a world cup final, just like any other Cup final...But why did Spain get involved in this. The previous poster was clearly referring to the SINGLE CASE where Liverpool beat Chelsea in a knock-out match. Like I'm not going to defend Chelsea's record in the competition, but luck or the referees have been quite biased against them (particularly that Barca Vs Chelsea 2nd leg..Tom Ovrebo..4 clear hand-balls, 2 clear penalties, not a single yellow or red card..I wonder how much Platini paid him?) Anyways, back to the topic of this thread. Spurs group and Arsenal's group are the closest atm. So far Munich, Chelsea and Madrid are through after 4th matchday. And my prediction for the remaining 13 spots: Man Utd; Valencia; Barcelona; Copenhagen; Marseille; Lyon; probably Benfica; Inter; Spurs (if they beat Twente); Arsenal; Shakthar (unless they lose to Braga) and Milan (Ibra, Pato; Robinho and Ronnie should be more than enough to win the next 2 games)
Re: Spurs Fixtures This matters because it is evidence of the fact that this is the strongest group in the CL draw this season. The seeds reflect the UEFA club ranking which is based on past results. They don't make these seeds up you know.
Re: Spurs Fixtures I know what the UEFA club ranking is, calculated through past seasons coefficients and progress through UEFA competitions. I never disagreed with your point, I agree that your UCL group is the toughest I've seen in a while. Feel bad for Werder Bremen, they've always had a top European side in their group in the last few seasons.. 04/05: Inter 05/06: Barca 06/07: Barca and Chelsea 07/08: Real Madrid 08/09: Inter then 10/11: Inter, Twente
Re: Spurs Fixtures Seems to me he was trying to argue that the Liverpool x Chelsea matches didn't really matter. Why else bring-up the point that a trophy wasn't handed out that particular night? I mean, who cares? We're talking about 2 CL semifinals, Rafa won both of them over Mourinho.
Re: Spurs Fixtures No, but he's a fair bit better going forward I'd say. Cole at the start of his career was good going forward and poor in defence, now he's improved his defence to be the best defensive fullback in the world, but his attacking is no longer so strong. Maicon is certainly a very competent defender, Bale just made him look like a mug.
Re: Spurs Fixtures To be honest even in the glory years Cole was never that good individually going forward but he provided a key link for Henry and Pires to overload the defense on the left. He is really good with ball at feet. Highly technical. But he never could cross to save his life. I never understood why Chelsea tried to use him that way. Maicon as you say is an excellent attacker and decent defender.