Round: Semi-Finals Venue: Olympic Stadium, Athens Rules: 90 minutes, followed if necessary by extra-time (original rules with multiple goals possible in 30 minutes) and then if the scores are still tied a penalty shoot-out * Note - If you think the game will go to extra-time please choose that option (at the bottom end of the poll) and then you can say what you would choose for the score at full-time in normal time/90 minutes in the thread, as well as give details of how you'd see extra-time going Line-ups: (diagrams in following posts) Barcelona 08-09 - Victor Valdes; Dani Alves, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Eric Abidal; Yaya Toure; Xavi, Andres Iniesta; Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry. AC Milan 93-94 - Sebastiano Rossi; Mauro Tassotti, Alessandro Costacurta, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini; Zvonimir Boban, Demetrio Albertini, Marcel Desailly, Roberto Donadoni; Dejan Savicevic; Daniele Massaro. Voting deadline - 27th May 2015 (1 week from now) Main thread: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/1989-2014-fantasy-world-club-cup.2012816/page-22 Feel free to discuss the match and how you think it would play out, and then after you vote for a scoreline feel free to provide reasoning. If considering substitutions, please check the players were at the club in the relevant season and then you are free to consider 3 substitutions selected from the whole squad for each team, in the scenario you envisage
Barcelona 08-09 line-up: (With arrows of Messi and Eto'o indicating that they could swap/interchange positions, as well as that Messi would come infield quite a bit when playing from the right wing)
I'm finding this one very hard to make a call on to be honest (feels like this AC Milan side is well equipped for this sort of match) but as confirmation of the scoreline I'm choosing I can say I've gone for 2-2 in normal time and then Barcelona winning it with an extra-time goal 3-2. More detail to follow later. Other thoughts welcome along with the votes from everyone of course.
3 days left for votes in this semi-final. Yeah, so as far as my vote goes I was really undecided actually, but it's more a case that I could see the game panning out in various ways rather than that I think the draw after 90 minutes is easily the most likely. I could see Barcelona doing something similar to what they did in the 2009 Final, but I could also see AC Milan doing something along the same lines as what they did in the 1994 Final. So whichever side conceded the first goal would I feel be in big danger of the other team taking a comfortable-ish win if they added a second. But overall I'm picking a draw based on my uncertainty, and the idea that both attacks can respond to going a goal behind against the respective defences. In general Barcelona were the more fluent/frequent scorers, so even though Milan have the better defence and even though they are well capable of putting on a great and effective display in a one off game against a possession team, I felt I should go with Barcelona edging it. So I'll say Iniesta breaks free from Desailly to play in Messi into the inside right channel and he dribbles at high speed before shooting past Rossi for the opener. But then I'll say Savicevic shows a nice touch to turn away from Pique and play in Massaro to equalise before Milan string together a move that ends with Boban and Donadoni working the ball to Massaro for another goal. But Barcelona get an increasing grip on the second half once Xavi and Iniesta's tiki taka wears out Desailly a little and Xavi slides or slightly lofts a ball through for Eto'o to race in and nudge past Rossi to take it to extra-time. I'll say Eto'o gets the winner too after Baresi's last ditch tackle on Henry results in the ball running to him around the penalty spot.