Inter and AC could easily have met in the 2003 final had they avoiding each other in the semi finals.
Heartache for Valencia, they seemed to completely dominate as well. Would be nice to see Benfica win it out now after the way they lost the League title and Europa Final last season. Huge strength of character to come back stronger this season. They seemed to limit Juve to very little.
Contrasting games but both had their dramas and were compelling viewing, with Seville sneaking through the side door at the last gasp and Benfica standing up in style to the pressure.
Like PSG and Bayern, Juve are yet another team who have won their league title hands down, going out before their fancied time in the knockut stages.
I only saw the last ten mins of Juve v Benfica. Clattenberg had his hands full to say the least, and I'm not sure he got it all right.
My mate was at Seville last week for the first leg and said it was brilliant. Fans bring their own food and his son was allowed in for free to sit on his lap.
There's a lot to be said for the human touch. Quite the loan move for Mbia, looking forward to a big European final while his underachieving QPR teammates slug it out in the Championship playoffs.
That away goal really is too cruel a rule sometimes.
Apart from the card for the Benfica 'hand ball' (Salvio?), I thought Clattenberg handled that last 10 minutes part of the game well, the latino pressure pot was ready to explode if a player got hit by a fly. But even to the end, at the last Juve attack, Benfica kept their defensive cool to play a high line and catch Juve offside a couple of times. The previous 80 minutes was just my type of euro competition, 2nd leg football.
And I think that 'hand ball' yellow card, rules out that Benfica player from the final. But (stupid) rules are (stupid) rules.
There are many who would say that the playoff final is the biggest game in world football! Not me, though.Originally Posted by DeLorean
And Gary Megson fielded a weakened Bolton side to face Bayern because he felt playing some other global nonentity a few days later was more important than a European Q/F(?).
Well it is a massive game I suppose, but of the four clubs that will make the semi finals, QPR are probably the only ones who wouldn't have settled for it at the beginning of the season. It seemed a formality that they would go up automatically. They'll be going into the playoff games with a fear of failure now more than anything else. It will be more relief than euphoria if they go up and Mbia still gets to reap the benefits if they do!
Practically none? Surely completely none?!?
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
It could potentially have happened, but chances would always have been very slim. Obviously they weren't drawn against one another (I presume they could have been), but both Manchester United and Manchester City entered the 1968-69 competition, for example; United had won the previous year's European Cup, whilst City had won the league in England.
Ah yes, okay! I get it now.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
I think when Notts. Forest won it twice in a row they beat Liverpool in the second year. So there was a possibility of two teams from the same country playing each other if one of them had won it the year before. The chances of both these teams being from the same city (which obviously isnt the case with Nottingham and Liverpool) is even slimmer. I can only see:
1961-2 Sporting and Benfica were both in it, but Sporting lost to Partizan Belgrade in an early round
1963-4 Milan won it the year before, but this year they lost to Real Madrid, who went on to lose to Inter in the final
1989-90 Milan won it the year before and went on to retain it, Inter went out in the first round
Chelsea beat Arsenal in the quarter final under Ranieri. I'd say that and AC Inter in 2003 and the only times it's happened so, granted they weren't finals.
In a welcome break from the english leagues' play off mania( aka milking hope), the secret is out, the EL final on this evening, nevertheless it manages to generate huge tv audience interest, despite a near media total blackout and it being relegated to the 3rd and 4th tv channels. Though it will be doing well to match the figures who watched last year's drama in Amsterdam.
Benfica have been very impressive in this year's competition, my half vote will be for them to win it.
Half time in the EL final and we are left with oldest cliche in football ringing in our ears, from Andy Townsend "I've seen them given", referring to a very valid penalty claim. This is a very interesting contest, between 2 of the best in their division, with a flurry of activity in the last 10 minutes.
Benfica really owed the second half despite coughing up that massive chance to Bacca. The commentators kept glorifying Rakitic even though he was pretty non existent on the night, that one super (if slightly speculative) pass aside. Overall I feel a bit for Benfica but given I don't really like the CL drop outs being in it I'm not too pushed. Unfortunately for Sevilla CL qualificathion for the winners will come a year too late.
Rakitic, needless to say after my comment, got motm
Maybe it was the commentators who got to choose the motm
He's a tough nut, Rakitic, I'd have him in my team. Football is a cruel game, all those Benfica fans having watched a title winning performance, with chance after chance created, had to witness a couple of powder puff penalties that ultimately doomed this performances and all that went before to get them to the final.
Benfica had a tough CL experience losing out with 10 points, they were too good for this EL competition but that wasn't enough to win it.
Well they lost out to Olympiakos so I've little sympathy for them. If they were in one of those group of death's like Napoli were, then fair enough. I like Rakitic too, looking forward to seeing him at the WC. He was anonymous last night though, mainly due to Benfica's dominance for long spells. He probably got the assist of the season as well, that night against Real Madrid for Bacca's goal... worth a look below (on 3:13) for whoever hasn't seen it. Benfica never really created enough for all their possession and territory, although a lot of the Sevilla defending was last ditch stuff.
Why do you think your sympathy has anything to do with it?
Benfica outplayed Olympiakos in the crunch game and would have beaten them on any one of a 100 other nights. That's a tough experience to lose out on advancing to the knock out stage that way. Whether you feel sympathy for Benfica is another matter.
If I say, 'ah tough experience for Sulejmani to come off so early', you might retort 'well I have no sympathy for Sulejmani because he obvioulsy doesn't do a proper pre-match warm up.'
Or 'did you see those shattered Benfica fans with their hopes drained?' and you retort 'well I have no sympathy for them, their team just didn't do enough on the night'.
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