UEFA Champions League - 2009-10

[LostDoggy]

Re: UEFA Champions League - 2009-10

It goes to show that The Special One is a very good coach, Cause on paper and 2 legs Inter had no right to win

[LostDoggy]

Re: UEFA Champions League - 2009-10

It goes to show that The Special One is a very good coach, Cause on paper and 2 legs Inter had no right to win

On paper it was always going to be a good game, but having watched both legs of the semi, I came away feeling that the game at the highest level is becoming more and more unwatchable, which is a real shame.

This despite Barcelona playing one of the most attractive brands of football for many-a-year. The blatant dive by the Barca player to get Thiago Motta sent off soured me on Barcelona this morning, so it was hard to cheer for them because at the end of the day, they, too, turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of cheats.

Then the Inter players spent the rest of the game falling over at the slightest contact and wasting time with their slow walks back to take any free kicks or throw ins. The referee was abysmal as well, almost seemingly trying to aid Inter in their time-wasting as he insisted on pedantic little details like going to talk to Mourinho to tell him off (when the Barca players were trying to get on with it), making numerous wrong calls on which way throw-ins and corners should have gone, and blowing his whistle every time an Inter player fell over whether or not a Barca player was near him. The disallowed goal towards the end for no real reason was the final straw. It was almost like he knew his red card was an error and he was trying to make it up to Inter for the rest of the game.

If football at the elite level consists of 89 minutes of falling over, bad decisions and time wasting, with a couple of goals thrown in here and there, it's rubbish. Who wants to pay good money or get up early to watch a bunch of highly paid cheats get into a contest of who can cheat better?

FIFA doesn't care -- it has gotten so big that its arrogance knows no bounds -- however, it should remember that until 150 years ago no one even played the game (in its modern form), and although supremely popular now, it could go the way of the dinosaur very quickly as many, many other formerly popular things have. Crowds in Italy and Brazil and Argentina (and other parts of South America) have fallen by over 70% in the last ten years, and more and more people are tuning out as they become increasingly disillusioned by the "professional" game.

I, for one, certainly won't be watching the final.

[angelopetraglia]

Re: UEFA Champions League - 2009-10

It goes to show that The Special One is a very good coach, Cause on paper and 2 legs Inter had no right to win

Agree that Barcelona had the edge in pure talent, but Inter have a very talented line up too.

Just some of the talent;

Julio Cesar - up there with the best keepers in the world. Currently 1st choice for Brazil. Say no more.

Maicon - again one of the best right backs in the world. Again 1st choice in his position for Brazil.

Lucio - Capatain of Brazil.

Zanetti - maybe getting a little old, but he his the most capped player ever for Argentina and one of the best leaders in world football.

Eto - The Cameroon captain is world class. Scored 107 goals in 145 starts for Barcelona. Say no more.

Sneijder - world class attacking midfielder and Dutch international.