That's fine. I am not sure who hyped Gremio or our league to you then. The reality is different. Most analysts have been criticizing the level of football being played in the domestic league for the past few years.
I know mate, I was saying that even before the game. As I said I'm not into the hype, I was just trying to explain where it comes from. In a Moroccan football forum and another one based in France I was telling people that it won't be as easy for Gremio as they expect. I watched the last Libertadores games and I wasn't impressed by Gremio as a team.
Then those people are just completely unaware of reality. That's a very uninformed opinion. Brazil's NT has really very little to do with the quality of the domestic league in Brazil. Another issue I haven't mentioned is that Brazil has many teams that are fairly big profile. We don't have 2-3 top teams that hog most of the talent in the country. We don't really have "super teams".
If you're a soccer purist (i.e., old man from way before corporate interests and private investment funds starting buying clubs, back when many of the players were homegrown), the competition to follow is the Libertadores.
by definition a hype isn't the reality, it's an exaggeration. Football fans usually follow a couple of leagues and international competitions so they can only build their image of a league they don't follow from NT, medias and international club competitions. Brazil having a legendary NT in football history + the number of times we hear a Brazilian team won the Libertadores (5 times out of the 10 past) + the number of players in Europe coming from Brazil are building a strong reputation for the Brazilian league. If you add the market value comparison most outsiders will expect Gremio to be 1 division stronger than Pachuca especially if they have never seen a game of both teams before.
Yeah, and they are wrong on all fronts. So I hope I explained it clearly and it makes sense. Plus, the number of players in Europe means they are not playing in Brazil. Players like Dani Alves, Marquinhos, Marcelo, Coutinho, left Brazil either very young or were even unknown.
& I can say what measure you used to say Al Ain is the most popular making it far in the AFC CL ? and Al Jazira easily top 3? sorry but you were totally off on that btw Ahmed Khalil wants out from the club not sure if he is really injured or its a Coutinho act, some say he will go to China
What time of year do you propose that happen? UEFA clubs aren't going to want to play 4 games in 3 countries (2 at home, 1 away in a Semifinal, and 1 away in a Final) in the middle of their season.
The betting odds from Intertops think Real Madrid is more likely to win while down 1-0 than before the game started.
18 - Real Madrid attempted 18 shots against Al Jazira, more than in any other first half of a game under Zinédine Zidane (18 vs Roma in CL - all competitions). Fruitless. pic.twitter.com/cp13ZjLkXc— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 13, 2017
Hey @Nico Limmat remember when UEFA was maintaining a ridiculously long shutout streak in this tournament?
Go! BTW The defending on the first goal was atrocious. Best from UEFA? LOL. Real Madrid is in real crisis.
Didn't even realize this competition was taking place until today... so Europe v South America again. Ho hum.
Both Kashima and these guys have something to tell their grandchildren. The blown opportunity on the breakaway was horrendous. Let's see what odds Bwin puts on the Final. With RM's lackluster finishing, I'd say only a 3-1 favorite on Saturday. Pachuca at 1.1-1 IMO. It's all up for grabs.
I'm gonna go out on the limb and say much higher than that. Oddmakers always dare people to bet against Madrid and Barcelona.