He means when you were the prognosticator extraordinaire and declared that there was no way ever Liverpool would beat Barcelona in last year's CL. Then of course when Liverpool did, you were nowhere to be seen. Mind you, we did have a lot of fun with those wonderful predictions - all backed up by superbly wonderful opinions that dismissed everything that didn't agree with yours. And you never returned. As expected.
Samarkand, I was mainly just trashing your team because I don't like them. As for having fun, don't think for a moment that I didn't find much amusement in that thread myself. The reason I didn't return was because: 1. The thread was abruptly closed. 2. I don't log in to Bigsoccer on a regular basis. 3. I don't want to read posts hailing Liverpool's success for fear of falling physically ill. Needless to say, I was quite pleased to see the hapless scousers finish the season trophyless and hopefully they can repeat this term. No hard feelings, eh?
what a crappy poll, where's rosenborg? yeah, I agree ronaldo carried milan to the cl last year.... once milan "unleashes ronaldo on europe" (not my words, an actual translation from channel4) with his new and improved thyroid, if you thought milan was good last year with gila leading the line, well, you ain't seen nothing yet. In all seriousness barca are my favorites.
Law of averages only works when the teams in question have balanced assets opposite each other. In free enterprise sports where teams are allowed to spend unlimited amounts its fair to say that their case for winning is as strong as ever. I don't think Milan will do the repeat but they arguably have the best starting 11 in the tournament.
I picked Chelsea because I'm assuming they'll seal those holes on the back line, but Milan is prefectly designed for the champions league because they play to the other team's weakness and can either press or counter. Kaka isn't the guy who makes Milan's squad so sucessful. It's Pirlo and Seedorf that make them so good. Teams like Arsenal and Roma will do well, but they won't win it because they're pressure teams and they wear themselves out over the span of a game. They play beautifully, and Roma vs. Arsenal would be the most entertaining game in the tournament, but eventually some coach will be willing to play ugly ball and counter a pressure team and beat them. I'm just hoping Liverpool doesn't make it far because they're style of play is so boring and uncreative it makes me sad.
i would LOVE madrid to win it, but i gotta agree this is a fresh team and they will get far just don't feel they'll win it this year. i would love for an 'underdog' team surprise everyone and take it this year. not necessarily an 'underdog' team but sevilla will pose a serious threat this season in europe. i'm really pulling for lyon too, after showing such superb form the previous two seasons, i hope they can get a little bit further this year. that and i hope they really bend barca over and put them in their place on matchday 1 even though i voted for madrid, my money's on sevilla (at least i kept it spanish haha)
Just to refresh your memory ...... Marcello Lippi led Juventus to 3 consecutive CL finals just over a decade ago. The results were: 1996: Juventus 1 Ajax 1 (Juventus won on penalties) 1997: Borussia Dortmund 3 Juventus 1 1998: Real Madrid 1 Juventus 0 The CL may be the toughest competition around, but that does not mean that a team like Milan or Liverpool cannot emulate Juventus (in a somewhat similar way) and reach their third final in four years. It may be difficult, but it is eminently possible. Don't give me that crap about the law of averages.
An addendum to my above post: If Milan reaches the final next year, it will their fourth final in six years. In 2003, Milan defeated Juventus in the final via a penalty shootout (and, interestingly enough, Marcello Lippi was Juventus's coach that year also). Marcello Lippi has taken Juventus to four finals -- he won it in 1996, and lost it the next three times in 1997, 1998, and 2003.
Barca with their Fab 5 front-men will be the team to beat. Man Utd need to improve their away form in Europe to be a contender. Arsenal need to show that without Henry they can cope in Europe. Liverpool look better than last year but may concentrate on the Premiership more. Chelsea look strong on paper but seem to have a few problems currently. The last 8 will probably be dominated by English and Spanish sides again. One of them will go the distance, probably Barca.
now that Chelsea have fixed our problems at the back, i think we are the team that wants it the most, especially after always making it to the semis!! although im still puzzled by Ballack not being included into the squad, i think we will take it.
I voted Barcelona. They really have a fantastic mix of players this year and their defense has gotten better, not to mention the unfathomable young talent + experience in offense with Ronnie, Deco, Henry, Eto'o, Gio, and Messi. The German teams do not look convincing this year… Stuttgart is a big question mark to me, but unlikely to get in Barcelona and Lyon's way. Schalke won't cause trouble for Chelsea or Valencia, IMO. Bremen may turn up the heat on Real Madrid, though. I expect Liverpool, Chelsea, Valencia, Arsenal, Sevilla, Milan, Man. United to cruise through the group stage. After that, it's anybody's guess. That's why UEFA not determining playoffs is cool. At this point one can have no idea.
I agree on Stuttgart. But I also think Bremen is a shadow of last year's Bremen and won't offer any surprises this year. I see Lazio as a clear favorite here. On the other hand I see Schalke as a serious contender that will be highly competitive. I think Valencia, Chelsea and Schalke will go down to the wire. The key may end up being who can steal points on the road. As far as German teams are concerned, it's a shame to not have Bayern this year. They are one of the best in Europe right now IMO. I only see Barca, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid and Arsenal as stronger.
I'd love to see Barca make it far because they will be playing beautiful football throughout their whole campaign, but their defense or lack thereof will be exposed at some point. Every team that has made it far in the CL has been able to put in air tight defensive performances and I have my doubts about whether or not Barca could do it with those players.
As the poll is open until the end of November the form of the teams in the Group stages should affect peoples favourites. It is possible that one or two fancied teams may even be eliminated by then.
How arent Lazio in the top 15 options??? We wont win it but we're still better than the likes of Porto. Anyway I voted Inter maybe its cos I have a soft spot for them but I think this will be their year. Between 4 teams only for me Inter, AC Milan, Real Madrid or Barcelona. The winner will be of those 4, rule the rest out