Thanks to ESPN2, we got to see Real Madrid (aka the World All-Stars) verse Manchester United (aka English National Team ft. Ruud Van Nistelroy). From Minute 0 to Minute 90, this game doesn't fail. It is one of the greatest games I have ever seen, but it is by far the best game played since August. The first goal is pure class. Luis Figo shows why he is truly better than Beckham. Pure genius. Shows his read of the game. Anyone who didn't see it missed out. It wasn't the most beautiful goal ever, but it definitely is one of the smarter ones scored. Figo chips it over Barthez from left side of the 18 yard box, about 12 yards from the endline. Barthez was on his line and still got pulled. It is beautiful! Second goal by Raul wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. Third goal (also by Raul) was a pretty good shot. There was some defensive problems, but it showed once again Luis Figo's excellent read of the game. Tendancy inside the 18 yard box is to keep going with the ball. Figo didn't. He spotted Raul open about 24 yards out. Raul rips a shot which splits two defenders (one of which is blocking Barthez view partially) and finds side netting. Very nice. Another keeper to show the U14s I'm working with. Fourth goal was well set-up and showed good awareness by Nistelroy. (Not pretty, that's for sure.) This game was played amazingly well by both sides. Sme shoddy defending from ManU was the only complaint (and the shot that Ronaldo sent wailing over the crossbar) about the play. Otherwise, this game is pure genius. It is some of the best Football played. Also, big boos go to the refs who missed two PKs for Real Madrid. TWO! Both are definite fouls too. Huge props to Raul for his nice run down the right touchline with two defenders on him. He showed how basic dribbling can pass two defenders nicely. No tricks. He just kept the ball within a foots touch and he was able to break away from both. This game was amazing. I just can't get over it. I recorded this game and man am I glad I did!
As nice as it was watching Madrid beat up on Manchester United, I didn't think this was a particularly good game. Figo's goal could have been an off-target cross. I thought this was one of his best games in a long time, but he's scored better goals. Manchester United did very little throughout the match. After the first goal, they totally conceded everything but the defensive third. It's not a great game when only one team comes out to play. The only reason this game had drama was because there's still another leg to play. Ruud was the only player on their side who was really playing well. Beckham and Keane did nothing whatsoever. Zidane was out of this world, but Butt wasn't marking him and he rarely faced much pressure when he was just holding the ball. Raul's goals were good, nothing more. Ronaldo, I don't know. He just cannot finish off anything. He'll dribble through a few players then hit the shot horribly, hold the ball well then blow the pass, etc. Harlem Globetrotters: soccer version.
Lawmill, I don't know what game you watched but I thought it was fantastic. I'm a United fan and we were humbled by a great Real Madrid team. The first 10 minutes United ran hard and even created some chances but didn't really play well. Then the goal! Figo's goal was no misshit cross. It may as well have been a free kick. Neville chased the ball inside and left Figo all alone to tee it up and embarrass Barthez. Raul's goals were classic. First the turn at the edge of the box. I'll admit Barthez should not concede so much place at the near post, and Ferdinand should have slid into the tackle, but credit Raul. His second, brilliant! And he can thank Figo for the pass. There is no doubt the play on Ronaldo was a penalty, but after seeing the replay on Guti's I think the referee got it right. Guti never plays the ball, but instead lets it run past him and looks for contact. And what about Barthez, the clown, handling 5 yards outside the box? What made this a game was the way United fought back. They were unlucky not to get a second. At half-time I thought Sir Alex would bring on another striker and drop Scholes into midfield. Keane was MIA and Nicky Butt was overwhelmed. Going home with a two goal deficit is better than going on the road, but an early goal is vital. I hope the return leg can measure up!
"Figo's goal was no misshit cross. It may as well have been a free kick." This is not exactly a convincing argument. He hit it on the roll and looked surprised that it curved enough to drop into the goal. "Raul's goals were classic. " I didn't think there was anything special about either of them. Raul is a world-class finisher; those were average goals for him, a quick turn in the box and an open shot outside the box. Real Madrid put on a show, nothing more. After the first goal, Manchester United conceded the game. This game could've easily been 5-0 if the two penalites had been given and Ruud got a 2nd yellow for acting.
ahhhh The totally "unbiased" view of a yank armchair real madrid fan.. lmao manure had afew decent chances.I thought they could've bagged another away goal.
"ahhhh The totally "unbiased" view of a yank armchair real madrid fan.. lmao" Biased towards whom? I'm being much less complementary toward Real than the Manchester United posters here. If by armchair you mean travelling halfway across the world to see Ronaldo's debut in person, knowing the team and its history pretty damn well, and owning a lot of team merchandise (which is lot harder than your routine of walking over to the local JJB and pulling stuff off the rack) then you've got me figured out perfectly. And I'm sure that you speak Spanish just as well as I do. Instead of addressing my points, you're resorting to personal attacks.
You have obviously forgotten what you wrote if you think you were less complimentary to Real madrid than the others.. Harlem globetrotters of football??? lmao As for calling you an armchair fan... Do you or do you not watch a vast majority of games on TV?? If the answer is yes than you are an armchair fan...Not a personal attack..just a FACT.
¿Maybe he was less complimentary to Manchester because most of their players didn't play that great at all this match?
Once again proving that SKILL is the MOST important thing....REAL MADRID Figo didn't look too surprised to me...you really think that Figo 'mishits' many crosses? I don't care how ordinary Raul's goals were, the guy is a he-man chest beating goal scorer with exquisite skill. I particularly liked how foolish the naive English defenders looked. "You mean they're not going to boot it down to the endline and whip in a cross?"
It was an entertaining game, but not the best game. Real Madrid has been playing liked this in the last few months. I would say this is a "typical" Real Madrid game. They had came together!!!!
I knew you'd stick your head out here. Shall we talk about Deportivo or Juventus? Hey don't let the fact that Madrid's opportunities came from major defensive mistakes get in the way of your rant. You prove just how clueless you are every time you post. The United defender who had the worst game was French by the way. There was nothing to suggest that United can't get a 2-0 win at Old Trafford, which as AFCA pointed out is what they'd have needed if it had been just 1-0, United had bags of chances but they won't be so forgiving at Old Trafford. I suppose this is your way of making up for the fact that you weren't able to gloat about how the 'technically superior' Turks whupped English ass.
There was nothing to suggest that Madrid can't score at least once in Manchester either, and that's where those 3 goals will come in handy (Manchester will need 3 goals to tie, 4 to win) Meh, anything can happen. Hopefully the next time it'll be with a better Manchester, and Madrid playing as good as they did this week, then it could really become 'the best game this season'.
I've no doubt about that but no-one's shouting about the inadiquacies of Real Madrid. We're seeing plenty of it about Man Utd though and especially their English contingent (Some people never learn) The fact is when Real got their first Man Utd had just spent the last 12 minutes peppering the Real goal with shots and continued to do so until the next goal. Some people here seem to think that United were completely outclassed, they weren't and the game shows that, 3-1 was flattering. The game at Old Trafford will be very interesting indeed...
And with 2 rather definite penalties turned down, I didn't think 4-1/5-1 would have been an incorrect scoreline.
IMHO, Real Madrid should have won 4-1 or 5-1. The English were dissappointing, specially in the 1st half. I can spare their offense, but their defense plainly didn't exist. They let us play. Raul, Figo and Hierro were superb. I don't see ZZ playing as good as everyone says. I have seen him play better. Actually, United's goal comes from a mistake by him. He was trying to play too beautiful football, but not very practical. The referee was awful. In Manchester, I hope we see a better Ronaldo. It will be an ideal match for him. We already won at Old Trafford 3 years ago with a much worse team, so it can be done.
Not to mention they could've been playing with ten men had they decided to red card Barthez for slapping that ball down outside the area, and it could've been even uglier... one of the other reasons this game was harldy one of the best of the year.... too one-sided for that.
Glad I saw it too, but I'd agree with Lawmill that it was not a great game. Only one team truly showed up. It seemed for much of the time like an exhibition game - and as good as Madrid is, they are not sooo much better than United. Zidane and Figo were strolling through midfield like hot dog vendors in Central Park. The first Real Madrid vs. AC Milan game in the group stages....now that was pure quality. IMO the best game of this year's champions league so far.
It's my favorite game so far, Figo's shot, the other three goals, some of Zidane's and Raul's touches. Ruud got a well earned goal while single-handedly taking on the Real defense. Unfortunately, I only taped the second half, as I didn't reset the clock on my VCR for Daylight Savings.
You guys can rant and rave all you want, the fact remains that Man U got their backsides whipped..... and there ain't nuthin' better than that!!
Actually, I thought the butt-whomping they got at Man City was much, much better on these grounds. So in short, RM/MU wasn't even the best "Man U Getting Their Asses Handed To Them" match of the year, IMO.
Yes, i do like it when Utd get a beating of that sort-tends to bring their fans back to earth with a rather large thump. As for the game it was an entertaining game for sure.Zidane et al pulled off almost as many tricks as they messed up and on the telly it did look oh-so-clever of them. Fact is that regardless of what they "could" have scored they can still quite easily be knocked out in Manchester. The traveling form of teams in Europe is quite notorious for being unpredictable and an early goal from Utd could......well, who knows what will happen? As i watched from my armchair-yes, sinner, i am relegated to middle age and the ol armchair these days -i can say i have seen more ruthless displays from Prem teams on fox this year. Ruthless as in puting the game beyond doubt. Real may have won the "tactical" and "fancy football" battle, but, the quater-final is still very much undecided. A few years ago Chelsea ran barca ragged at Stamford Bridge and came away 3-1 winners at this very same stage of the champs league. It got ugly after that.
And the way Bolton ran them ragged... well.. 1-1 was a shocking result in that game, even 3-1 to Bolton would have flattered United. You see United have these off days then return to get results like Juventus 0-3 United (That one's for Bolas) and United 4-0 Liverpool.