Ole Ole! Finally after a couple years of struggling, italian soccer is back. Juventus and Milan look like they'll reach the semis at least, and my favorite to win the tournament is Milan. Their performance against Depor was astounding, and think about their team. Nesta was incredible, especially with that last-ditch bicycle kick stopping a clear goal. That was amazing. When Rivaldo gets on form, they'll be unstoppable, and they've probably got more depth even than real. Juventus is destryoing everyone, and Inter is doing their determination game in Eurpoe to squeak out wins and get the needed points. Roma-ehhhhhhhhhhh, but the rest of them have been unstoppable. Roma always gets off to bad starts, and they're not done yet. I see Inter going at least to the quarters. Soccerage said this would be Italy's year, and I bet it will be. At last....
Yeah I agree. I like Milan out of the pack. Although Milan doesn't have Figo or Zidane, they have a very balanced team. I think the advatage that Milan has over Real is their defense. They closed down any space within seconds. Depor couldn't get any shots through. And think when Shevchenko comes comes back, you have goal scoreres all over the field. I think that if Milan continues to play with such enthuthiasm and energy. And not lose interest, they'll be unstopable. Roma will be lucky to get out the group. I think they'll need help from Madrid.
Inter better watch it. Lyon and Ajax away will be very tough games. Lyon destroyed Rosenbourg. Roma are lucky they are against one very poor team and another average team for second place.
same old stuff we hear every year... *yawn* Milan were good agianst depor .But they beat depor the last time they played there and didn;t reach the next round.. big deal Juve are beating everyone?? yeah if you class Dynamo kiev as "everyone" .LOL Milan more depth than Madrid? no,no ,no I dont think so . Roma always have a bad start?? hmmm they must also have a bad finish as well because they've never won anything in europe.. This year is italys year??? same thing we hear every season. ROFL One good day and your jizzing yourself with excitement .
Certainly Kiev isn't what it used to be but i never heard of them losing like this. They had beaten Newcastle in the fist game. Milan performance was something though.
Yes, but Rosenborg then face Ajax, and will lose, and then they'll be feeling so low to Inter that they'll lose at the San Siro. So Inter will get at least three more points. They can beat Lyon at home, and either win or tie at Lyon and Ajax away. THey'll be through no doubt..
Of course it's a little bit early just yet to make such bold predictions and such. However, i think all Arsenal supporters are in the same frame of mind right now.(God knows i'm hearing it enough from 'em) The Team to beat still remains to be Real madrid though.
OK, why do you think they don't have more depth than Real. I'm not saying they have a better squad than Real but I certainly feel they have just a smuch depth if not more. Let's compare: Goalkeepers: I think this position is even. Abbiati is better than Cassillas but Dida and Cesar are about even. Defenders: This area Milan has it all over Real. Laursen and Roque Junior would probably start for Real, enough said. Midfield: This is tough to call, but again I think it is even. Serginho, Ambrosini, and Dalla Bona are comparable to Solari, MacManaman, and Celades. Forwards: Another tough call, Tomasson, Boriello, Sheva, Pippo, and Rivo against Guti, Portillo, Raul, Morientes, and Ronaldo. I can't give one group the edge over the other.
Of course all this is a matter of opinion. But IMO Casillas is better than Abbiati. This is not as big difference as you might think. I give you Nesta but Hierro is still class. He lacks pace but leadership and understanding the game wise he is second to none. With Helguera moved back there to support the central defense it is suprisingly solid. No way does Laursen or Roque Jr start over these two.
It is not as close as you think. Starters Nesta > Helguera Maldini > Hierro Kaladze > Robero Carlos(He's not much of a defender, he's a better winger though) Simic = Salgado Bench Laursen, RJ, Costacurta, Helveg, and Chamot for Milan. And Bravo, Minambres, and Pavon for Real. Milan clearly has a better bench.
LOL, talk about biased. Is Maldini a central defender these days? Also you have take into the account on how the teams play. Madrid will leave more space at the back because of the defenders role in attack, prime example is RC. When RC defends he is a very good defender.
We are strictly speaking defenders here. Out of all those players where does Real have a better defender? Kaladze is a great a defender who has really improved going forward this year, he is nowhere near as good as RC going forward but RC is nowhere near as good as KK is defense, maybe I'll call it even. And Maldini has been playing in the center of the defense for years now. He doesn't want to play on the left anymore.
Do you think Maldini is still a great defender? The few times I have seen Milan play Maldini was always the weak link there, he seemed to be the one making the mistakes. He was a great defender, a legend, but nowadays (apart from a steller game or two) it appears to me he is living off his reputation.
This year Maldini has been back to the great Maldini we have known before. That is due to the fact that Nesta is there. He now can go forward a little more because Nesta is always back there to cover him. Last year, which was probably his worst of his career, the Milan defense had so many injuries it didn't help him. And then Maldini got injured for a long portion of the season which didn't help him either. I'm not saying he is one of the top five defenders in the world again but he is certainly better than Hierro.
Certainly better? Why do you say that? He might be better but it is not a big difference. Hierro had a tremendous WC and if his form continues then one has to consider him among the tops again. Actually among the back four of Real Madrid the weakest player, IMO, is Salgado. Anyways, I believe your point was about depth. And here I agree with you in that Milan's depth at defender is greater than Real Madrid's. But perhaps you should exclude RJ and Chamot from there, with them added it detracts from their team rather than adds
I think we can agree on this. But do you remember this summer when Real were trying to sign RJ? That doesn't say much for there defense.
Spartak: Roberto Carlos is almost easily bettter than Kaladze. Also, of the midfield for Real Madrid you left out several key members such as Zidane, Makelele, Cambiaso, and Figo, who are their starters. You also left out Milan's: Gattuso, Seedorf, Pirlo, Rivaldo, unless you're talking just about depth. In conclusion for what I think, Milan's defence is better, but Real's offense is better. THat would mean, again, in my opinion, whoever wins this season will go down to the teamwork, as well as coaching staff , luck and injuries. Either one could pretty easily win it. Nesta has made such a huge difference it isn't funny. I LOVED that bycycle kick clearance against Depor. That was just out of this world! Don't underestimate Hierro or Real's defence. They ahven't allowed a goal in the CL yet.
I think this is debatable. IMO, Kaladze is one of the top 5 center backs in the world. But he doesn't play this position for Milan. I don't think you can argue that RC is a better defender than Kaladze. RC does other things well but defending I have to give it to KK. I was just naming there respective bench players. Where I believe both benches are pretty much even. I would have to say Real's starting midfield right now is better than Milan's but that could change as the season goes on and Milan gels even more. This Milan midfield has only played 4 games together, Real's has a year under their belt so they should have more cohesion.
By himself, Hierro gets exposed a lot. Real Madrid's defenders are good, but not if you only considered their contribution to defense...
Well soccerfan I was in Milan and although Inter are a very dangerous team they are not very strong. Great passing, that fast little bitch Crespo and relativally good players who can go past a man. On the other hand easy to steal the ball from and just not very strong as a whole, giving stronger teams (like Ajax and Lyon) a good chance to beat them.
IMO... 1. Abbiati isn't better than Casillas. 2. You forgot Flavio in the mid and Helguera or Guti could play there, too. 3. Real Madrid has been playing with practically the same 11 guys for 2 years and they are showing great compenetration.