CL - What Round of 16 pairings do you want to see?

exactly luis for liverpool and arsenal, you'd have to choose Seville and Porto respectively, you wouldn't want to play RM, Barca, Inter or milan before these. not saying these games are easy, they aren't but the others would imho be harder

Of course. I never said that seeing the other possible choices we wouldn´t look as a more favorable opponent.

The champions/2º of the 3 big countries are obviously the stronger teams either in players and in budget(not even close this one).

The thing that gets on my nerves(nothing personal against any of the posters here don´t get me wrong on this) is being writen off because a bad game and after winning the group. True we haven´t played a super match so far, true we had a terrible 30 minutes at Anfield but to go further to say we are a not so good team because of that is saying too much IMHO. When a team reaches a good level of experience they start to control the games rather that going for the full attack/show that the neutrals obviously like more.

We were qualified at the top of the group and that is pretty important i think, and as we can all see in the pots distribution that gives the chance to avoid THEORICALLY the stronger teams.

So far i think the only ones that look solid as never beeing in doubt their advance was Inter(looks very good this year), Arsenal(after a strong start they let the top place slip and will get a thougher draw because of that), United(almost full points) and Barça(never a doubt about the top team in their group).

In the last years the champion is usually a more pragmatic team and the one who can control the tempos of the game in his favor.

Anyway there is a long time till we reach the next matches and we will see how the teams fare at that point.

Following the conclusion of the Champions League group stages, we offer a sneak preview into next Friday's draw for the first knock-out round.
In a spot of bother: Arsenal, Liverpool, Roma
Having finished second in their respective groups, The Reds and The Gunners will almost certainly face one of the Serie A or La Liga giants. What is more, they will have to play the second leg away from home. Roma will avoid Inter and Milan, but can still face Barcelona, Real Madrid or Chelsea.
Have it easy: Chelsea and Manchester United
These two will perhaps have the easiest of the draw among the big teams. They avoid Liverpool and Arsenal as they cannot face Premiership teams, and also the big guns from La Liga and Serie A, Madrid, Barca, Milan and Inter all finishing first.
Poisoned chalice: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan and Inter
One would think that finishing first would have benefits, but with Arsenal and Liverpool upsetting the form book and lurking as pot B opponents, there will be some nervousness. Being able to play the second leg at home will be a welcome bonus, of course.
Hard-earned luck: Porto and Sevilla
By beating Liverpool and Arsenal in their respective groups, they have managed to finish first and avoid most of the European giants. They will have an easy draw on paper, but will themselves be the easiest opponents in pot A, and red hot targets for the pot B teams.

And then the rest: Lyon, Schalke, Olympiakos, Fenerbahce
As for the rest, it simply could not get worse. Apart from the team from their group, they can face all the other first placed teams.

Real Madrid - Liverpool
Milan - Schalke
Barcelona - Roma
Internazionale - Arsenal
Sevilla - Lyon
Manchester United - Celtic
Porto - Olympiacos
Chelsea - Fenerbahce

Jaime wrote:Real Madrid - Liverpool
Milan - Schalke
Barcelona - Roma
Internazionale - Arsenal
Sevilla - Lyon
Manchester United - Celtic
Porto - Olympiacos
Chelsea - Fenerbahce

I'd rather we have a trip to the unlucky country - Germany in the form of Schalke!

Pretty Boy wrote:

Jaime wrote:Real Madrid - Liverpool
Milan - Schalke
Barcelona - Roma
Internazionale - Arsenal
Sevilla - Lyon
Manchester United - Celtic
Porto - Olympiacos
Chelsea - Fenerbahce

I'd rather we have a trip to the unlucky country - Germany in the form of Schalke!

Nah, I'd rather have a big name team. I think the players respond better plus it makes for a great atmosphere. I'm not scared of Liverpool and Torres is scared of Casillas.

Jaime wrote:

Pretty Boy wrote:

Jaime wrote:Real Madrid - Liverpool
Milan - Schalke
Barcelona - Roma
Internazionale - Arsenal
Sevilla - Lyon
Manchester United - Celtic
Porto - Olympiacos
Chelsea - Fenerbahce

I'd rather we have a trip to the unlucky country - Germany in the form of Schalke!

Nah, I'd rather have a big name team. I think the players respond better plus it makes for a great atmosphere. I'm not scared of Liverpool and Torres is scared of Casillas.

Torres is a little girl who's only scored once against RM in tonnes of games, only thing is that Rafas team are very disciplined and tactically good, and with the likes of Marcelo and Diarra going AWOL it doesn't help.

Jaime wrote:

Pretty Boy wrote:

Jaime wrote:Real Madrid - Liverpool
Milan - Schalke
Barcelona - Roma
Internazionale - Arsenal
Sevilla - Lyon
Manchester United - Celtic
Porto - Olympiacos
Chelsea - Fenerbahce

I'd rather we have a trip to the unlucky country - Germany in the form of Schalke!

Nah, I'd rather have a big name team. I think the players respond better plus it makes for a great atmosphere. I'm not scared of Liverpool and Torres is scared of Casillas.

Two of Europes Titans coming head to head, it would be a great couple of games.

I think Real would be more scared of getting a result against Liverpool than vice versa, the bulk of the Liverpool team are used to reached Champions League finals, the same can't be said for Madrid, although even in Diarra (who i'm aware has been pants) is still a seasoned European Champions League player.

Christmas Genius wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Pretty Boy wrote:

Jaime wrote:Real Madrid - Liverpool
Milan - Schalke
Barcelona - Roma
Internazionale - Arsenal
Sevilla - Lyon
Manchester United - Celtic
Porto - Olympiacos
Chelsea - Fenerbahce

I'd rather we have a trip to the unlucky country - Germany in the form of Schalke!

Nah, I'd rather have a big name team. I think the players respond better plus it makes for a great atmosphere. I'm not scared of Liverpool and Torres is scared of Casillas.

Two of Europes Titans coming head to head, it would be a great couple of games.

I think Real would be more scared of getting a result against Liverpool than vice versa, the bulk of the Liverpool team are used to reached Champions League finals, the same can't be said for Madrid, although even in Diarra (who i'm aware has been pants) is still a seasoned European Champions League player.

Erm....Casillas won the Champions league when he was 19. Yeah, I'm sure he'll be really very daunted by all of this. Raul, Guti, and Salgado have all won the CL on multiple occasions. Van Nistelrooy, Saviola, and Cannavaro have all reached the semifinals.

robben to the semis too.

Yeah, Robben has lots of experience of losing to Liverpool in the CL

Barcelona seems doomed to either Torres or Fabregas. They always draw English teams under Rijkaard.

Zizinho wrote:Barcelona seems doomed to either Torres or Fabregas. They always draw English teams under Rijkaard.

they'll be ok then they wont be under frank by the time of this match

By the time of the draw? You think the board id going to sack him before the derby?

not necessarily the draw but by the time of the match, hence they wont draw and english club and the powers that be will see it as an omen to sack him.

Valverde to replace him? Or the mighty Marco van Basten?

Jaime wrote:

Christmas Genius wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Pretty Boy wrote:

Jaime wrote:Real Madrid - Liverpool
Milan - Schalke
Barcelona - Roma
Internazionale - Arsenal
Sevilla - Lyon
Manchester United - Celtic
Porto - Olympiacos
Chelsea - Fenerbahce

I'd rather we have a trip to the unlucky country - Germany in the form of Schalke!

Nah, I'd rather have a big name team. I think the players respond better plus it makes for a great atmosphere. I'm not scared of Liverpool and Torres is scared of Casillas.

Two of Europes Titans coming head to head, it would be a great couple of games.

I think Real would be more scared of getting a result against Liverpool than vice versa, the bulk of the Liverpool team are used to reached Champions League finals, the same can't be said for Madrid, although even in Diarra (who i'm aware has been pants) is still a seasoned European Champions League player.

Erm....Casillas won the Champions league when he was 19. Yeah, I'm sure he'll be really very daunted by all of this. Raul, Guti, and Salgado have all won the CL on multiple occasions. Van Nistelrooy, Saviola, and Cannavaro have all reached the semifinals.

When was the last time any of them reached the final?

Any manager or player will tell you, reaching the semi-final is a huge step down from experiencing what a final is all about.

Mentally the current crop of Liverpool players are in the right place in this European competition this is undeniable after reaching 2 finals in 3 years, and whatever your loyalties or bias, the fact is the same cannot be said for Real Madrid, so whether you want to dress it up as 'so and so has played in a semi though' you do that, the fact remains mentally Madrid are not on the same confidence level as Liverpool in knowing how to execute a European campaign in recent years.

MvB or Moron-io surely. Valverde has started a good project why leave now, can't see it tbh.

even though my team(marseille) got knock out, here is my mock draw...

Liverpool-Sevilla
Fenerbahce-Real Madrid
Olympiakos-Chelsea
Arsenal-Milan
Lyon-Inter Milan
Schalke-Manchester Utd
Roma-FC Porto
Celtic-Barcelona

summer sizzler wrote:even though my team(marseille) got knock out, here is my mock draw...

Liverpool-Sevilla
Fenerbahce-Real Madrid
Olympiakos-Chelsea
Arsenal-Milan
Lyon-Inter Milan
Schalke-Manchester Utd
Roma-FC Porto
Celtic-Barcelona

Good choice

Pretty Boy wrote:
Poisoned chalice: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan and Inter
One would think that finishing first would have benefits, but with Arsenal and Liverpool upsetting the form book and lurking as pot B opponents, there will be some nervousness. Being able to play the second leg at home will be a welcome bonus, of course.

Delighted about that bit, wasn't sure if it's guaranteed or not...now even if we get a tough tie we just have to get a score draw so that the other team cannot come and park the bus at Camp Nou.

Christmas Genius wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Christmas Genius wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Pretty Boy wrote:

Jaime wrote:Real Madrid - Liverpool
Milan - Schalke
Barcelona - Roma
Internazionale - Arsenal
Sevilla - Lyon
Manchester United - Celtic
Porto - Olympiacos
Chelsea - Fenerbahce

I'd rather we have a trip to the unlucky country - Germany in the form of Schalke!

Nah, I'd rather have a big name team. I think the players respond better plus it makes for a great atmosphere. I'm not scared of Liverpool and Torres is scared of Casillas.

Two of Europes Titans coming head to head, it would be a great couple of games.

I think Real would be more scared of getting a result against Liverpool than vice versa, the bulk of the Liverpool team are used to reached Champions League finals, the same can't be said for Madrid, although even in Diarra (who i'm aware has been pants) is still a seasoned European Champions League player.

Erm....Casillas won the Champions league when he was 19. Yeah, I'm sure he'll be really very daunted by all of this. Raul, Guti, and Salgado have all won the CL on multiple occasions. Van Nistelrooy, Saviola, and Cannavaro have all reached the semifinals.

When was the last time any of them reached the final?

Any manager or player will tell you, reaching the semi-final is a huge step down from experiencing what a final is all about.

Mentally the current crop of Liverpool players are in the right place in this European competition this is undeniable after reaching 2 finals in 3 years, and whatever your loyalties or bias, the fact is the same cannot be said for Real Madrid, so whether you want to dress it up as 'so and so has played in a semi though' you do that, the fact remains mentally Madrid are not on the same confidence level as Liverpool in knowing how to execute a European campaign in recent years.

Whatever, we'd still beat Liverpool.

FG - RM players have no confidence probs withe urope, it comes from having won it more than anybody else wven if 5 of them are dodgy. Playing for the scum brings confidence in itself and frightens other teams ffs its why they win the league with loads of sh¡t, like last season

The-Frankinsense-Tavern wrote:FG - RM players have no confidence probs withe urope, it comes from having won it more than anybody else wven if 5 of them are dodgy. Playing for the scum brings confidence in itself and frightens other teams ffs its why they win the league with loads of sh¡t, like last season

And this from an atletico supporter.

Jaime wrote:

The-Frankinsense-Tavern wrote:FG - RM players have no confidence probs withe urope, it comes from having won it more than anybody else wven if 5 of them are dodgy. Playing for the scum brings confidence in itself and frightens other teams ffs its why they win the league with loads of sh¡t, like last season

And this from an atletico supporter.

exactly to believe otherwise is foolish.

The-Frankinsense-Tavern wrote:FG - RM players have no confidence probs withe urope, it comes from having won it more than anybody else wven if 5 of them are dodgy. Playing for the scum brings confidence in itself and frightens other teams ffs its why they win the league with loads of sh¡t, like last season

I'm not sure whether you've even engaged your brain here Frank mate.

Because a team has a history of winning, does not mean that the current team have the tools to deliver what has been done in the past, in fact i would suggest the pressure from board down, including fans makes focuses on playing football even more difficult.

If for example you consider the managers, project managers, one (Rafa) has a record of delivering his European projects from start through to finish (finals) with a proven process and methodology, whereas with Real Madrid this isn't the case, for every stage they may or may not reach is a new adventure and they have no recent precedent to use as a good platform to prepare.

Absolutely ridiculous to suggest because as a club they have won a number of trophies in their history means they automatically know how to accomodate this years competition., otherwise shouldn't Notts Forest have the know how on how deliver qualifying and reaching a European competition.

Come on Frank you're smarter than this

@Christmas Genius

So the players that have won or reached the final of the CL -- do you think they forgot how to do it?

Jaime,

It's not about individual players, its about the collective.

If the unit or major part of the unit knows how to deliver collectively this is what is referred to as a 'winning formula'

Now i'm not suggesting you don't have this, but what you don't have is any proof or collateral that you have this, the most recent competition of any value you won was the league under Capello, hes since departed and your club has undertaken a new programme with new people heading this programme, as a result new players have come in, this current Real Madrid team and management have not proven they are capable of delivering a successful programme collectively, irrespective if one or two players / management have been there done that.

Make no mistake, this does not mean Real Madrid aren't capable, but when you compare this with a proven collective process / method from top to bottom of getting to European Finals the smart money would be on Benitez.

FG - if it were any team other than RM or Milan the i'd tend to agree, but i think your underestimating what their name alone does to teams.

@CG

I think our biggest disadvantage comes from Schuster's lack of experience in these sorts of situations, as a manager, more so than the players. All of the players have participated in high profile domestic, continental, and international matches with the exception of two or three. Benitez has been to European finals with Valencia and Liverpool. I think it makes a big difference with the tactics, player selection, and substitutions...less so with the players performance on the pitch.