Lazio? Overrated? How??? They've been practically bankrupt, and no one expected them to do anything at ALL last year. That they made it to the semis of the UEFA cup and finished fourth in SerieA shows that they overachieved, not that they're overrated. You're thinking of Roma. With a star-studded lineup they could barely finish midtable last year. Oh, and whoever said Chelsea were overrated....what? Don't teams deserve a chance to prove that they are not overrated? Chelsea have done well over the past 5 years, and if we finish 6th in the league this year and get knocked out of our CL group, sure, we're overrated. But so far, so good.
I agree totally about chelsea, had a great start. I dont think they are over rated by many though, most sensible people seem to understand that they need time to gel, and that they shouldnt be expected to go and win thhe top prizes this year, and that perhaps the fa cup and a top three league position is more realistic. Made a great start though, and Ranieri is doing well. From an England perspective I would like to see J cole play a little more, and force his way into the england, I just hope he isnt wasted at chelsea with all their midfield talent, but then again, the season has only just begun.
I LOVE la liga, I'm not biased against it. I just think its odd that the entire league's European Cup total is bolstered by Madrid, perhaps the greatest team in history. For a league with so much history, so many great players and great sides the large majority of them haven't lived up to Madrid's staggering standards, yet are held in high regard overall because of Madrid's success. I wasn't speaking in terms of Uefa Cups/CWC/Fair Cups, no. As mentioned before Barcelona have done hardly nothing for as big, popular, and domestically successful as they are. The same can be said of many of Liga's bigger clubs. Everything else you said was true, but doesn't totally relate to what I'm stating.
Ifs and buts - however Liverpool would certainly have dominated the European scene at that time -they were the best club side around.
They buy one of the best young players around and only play him for 15 minutes at a time, how is he supposed to develop? I'm sure they brought him so nobody else could have him.
I dont know, it worrying, especially at a time when Sven seems to have pushed J Cole even further from his plans. He criticised his performance against Croatia, but who can blame Joe for trying too hard to impress. It must be difficult, because he is clearly one of the most talented youngsters we have, but he is struggling to get into the side because of experience etc. I think eventually his ability will shine through. Personally, I think he will take Lampards position at Chelsea. Lampard is having a great start to the season, but he is not that great, and I get the feeling that he is only doing so well because he is one of the few players who are already settled at the bridge. Veron hasnt had the bst of starts, again, so perhaps Cole could even begin to vie for his place, as a regular starter. I have noticed that Cole has been coming on for Duff a lot, at least until Duff moaned about it, but Cole will never be a regular there. The players who stand directly in front of him are veron and lampard, and I believe he has the quality to challenge their starting places, and once hes a regular in the Chelsea side, he can be for England, on that nightmare left flank...
Oioioi! Yes indeedy. A great shame that those two teams never met. Subjective of course, but that 1988 Liverpool side was a clear match for the AC Milan side of the same period. The attacking triumvirate of Barnes, Rush and Beardsley, the passing of Molby, Houghton covering the midfield … <sigh>
I'd have to say based on last year's performances, probably Real Madrid. Sure, they won La Liga, but people were calling them the best team EVER. They may have been the best offense ever, but their defense left them wanting against Juventus in the Champs League. Not to mention the fact that they had to wait until the last week of the season to actually win La Liga, until then, they had been just keeping pace with Real Sociedad, only a point or two ahead of them for the last 10 weeks of the season. If Madrid were as good as advertised, they would have won a triple (Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champs League). They are a great team, I love to watch them and cheer for them, but they weren't the "galacticos" that they were advertised to be. We saw their flaws. We can look at this question a lot of different ways (history of the sport, last year, going into this season, within each domestic league) so there probably isn't one definitive answer.
It has to be River Plate, no question about it. This season their record is 2-3-3 and they are in the 13th place thanks to their last game in which they beat the team that is in 20th place.
I don't want to like them. They are a snivelly bunch of diving nobodies. I hope they all die of Syphillis.
Concerning what? Overrated is when a club has great sides and doesn't seem to bring home the silverware ever or very rarely. I love The Arsenal, but we SUCK ASS in Europe. I don't know why. 2001/2002, our last Double..we had a great side and should have been at least in the CL Finals...don't know what happened there. Barcelona, MASSIVE stadium, tons of rabid fans, lots of cash, great players, and 12 less league titles than Real Madrid! Europe whips your ass too. I just don't get it. FC Barcelona is also midtable considering that you got Ronalinho and that great Turkish GK...i'm scratchin my bald head over here on that one. Newcastle Utd gets honorable mention. They have a very good side, year after year after year and empty trophy cabinets...what gives!
If you look at the Champions League standings, I believe Barca is in the top 10 overall (uefa.com doesn't have it on their website that I can find), but in their Champions magazine, they listed the top 200 clubs in the European Cup/Champions Leauge and Barca's in the top 10. Despite that (and as much as it pains me),I would nominate Barca as the most underachieving club in Europe. There should be more la liga and european titles. Over here--the MetroStars? Chivas? Tony