It was far tougher last year. Especially since Bremen have been terrible lately. Incompetent is a strong word. I think he's made a few important mistakes and has generally been underwhelming. Playing a high defense with an aging back line is an obvious example.
I meant they are cruising despite being in the toughest of the 8 groups by far. Bremen might be struggling in Germany but I bet they would still advance in any other group (look at Group B to see how the other 'struggling' German team is doing).
Bremen are BOTTOM of the group. Even Twente (who have not been anything special) is at this point ahead of them, how can you say they would advance in "any" group? Does your delirium know no bounds?
Because they are a #2 seed. Replace the #2 seed with Bremen in each of the other groups and you'll see its not crazy to say they would have a good chance to advance in any of them.
Evidently, being a higher seed isn't helping them. The fact remains they are BOTTOM of their group so far and need to step up if they want to qualify to the EL. Which team currently in second place has been worse than Twente?
Obviously that's tough to say. Maybe Schalke and Copenhagen. What's been clear so far is Twente is a tough place to play. Probably more like a #3 seed than a 4 seed, while Spurs are more like a 2 seed instead of #3 in terms of level-of-difficulty. That's partly why the high seed didn't help Bremen.
Fair enough. I agree Twente is no pushover and can be a tough nut to crack. That said, I still disagree that Bremen would have qualified playing like they have so far in the CL. Of course, you only play what the other team allows you to play so I admit any opinion on this would have a lot of subjectivity. Last year Inter was also underwhelming in the group stages so the litmus test will be the knock-out round.
loser just lost 3-0 against werder... i m just backing up my opinion with facts!! I think Mancini is even better than Benitez. or Roy Hodgson even though both don't have CL, but they are more credible than Benitez, the one time lucky winner, a has been who has been given many chance in Liverpool and now Inter.
I don't know why people are so astounded about the result. Inter is not the first team loosing a group match after already collecting enough points to reach the next round. And Werder is a club, that can reach such results if the players see, that the opponent let them play and on Tuesday they also worked as a team. It is clear, that Benitez has a tough job in a post-CL-winner-season, but blaming him for that match so massively, come on.
I've been critical of Benitez in the past but this is a bit OTT. Your comments suggest that you missed his achievements in Spain. I think he's crap at certain aspects of overall management, but he is also strong in others. Having said that, he's had a shaky start with Inter.
Inter seriously look like they need to buy an entire new team in the Winter. With the injuries they have, Milito looks like he isn't in Rafas plans. He could be gone in January. I still dont know why he was appointed at Inter. You couldn't honestly look at his final days at Liverpool and put him into a team who had just won the treble and think he could maintain that glory.
lol @ BocaFan. hehehe, this loser thinks that now he is BIGGER than Moratti. Back me or Sack me. hahhahahahha. he won world cup club trophy against poor African team. if i m wrong, why would this loser sacked? http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2010/12/20/2269716/rafael-benitez-inter-sack-reports-intensify
Managers get fired all the time. Not all of them were crap. It's just easier to fire the manager than 23 players. So yeah, you're still wrong.
hahahaaha true. in my opinion, the most overrated managers are 1. benitez by long distance 2. sam allardyce 3. pep guardiola (good coach but just lucky to inherit a very good barca team. foundation was done by frank with only change of ronaldinho replaced by messi, then henry by villa) underrated 1. leonardo 2. david moyes 3. martin o'neill
loser just got sacked!! even leonardo got sacked a season, not half season. hahahaha, go back home, benitez. you ruined Liverpool and now Inter. you failed once, it's your luck, you failed twice on the same job, it's consistency on your skills, you got no skills, a failure!!!
inter 4 win out of 4 games with leonardo, not that i should be happy as I am a milan fan thru and thru but it's great to see some real competition rather than winning it so easily without some pressure. a great champion welcomes challenges
"Foundation was done by Frank". lol The only guy Riijkaard brought in that helped Pep was Eto'o. The rest came from Barca's youth system or bought after Frank left the club. Plus you can't overlook the fact that Xavi never reached his full potential under Riijkaard, while Barca as a whole underachieved for most of the Riijkaard era. Try again.
I find Benitez to be tactically astute (though personnel/player quality matters much more than tactics), but he doesn't seem very capable of commanding the loyalty of his players. It appears as if extending the olive branch (and treating players with kid gloves) is more likely to pay long-term dividends than being overly strict. It's a bit surprising that he even had major issues with his own compatriots (Alonso and Riera) while at the helm of FC Liverpool, which doesn't happen very often in the case of managers (as there tends to be national solidarity if both the coach and the footballers are working in a foreign country). Van Gaal arguably has a similar personality to Benitez - he appears to be a no-nonsense coach, which is of course of some importance, especially if there are serious discipline issues, but could also backfire, as more sensitive types are likely to be alienated.