UEFA Champions League 2012/13 - Matchday 2

Sticky it

di 2/10 Valencia Lille 20.45
di 2/10 FC Nordsjælland Chelsea 20.45
di 2/10 CFR Cluj Manchester United 20.45
di 2/10 Juventus Shakhtar Donetsk 20.45
di 2/10 Benfica Barcelona 20.45
di 2/10 BATE Borisov Bayern München 20.45
di 2/10 Spartak Moskou Celtic 18.00
di 2/10 Galatasaray Sporting Braga 20.45
wo 3/10 Dinamo Kiev Dinamo Zagreb 18.00
wo 3/10 Anderlecht Málaga 20.45
wo 3/10 FC Porto Paris Saint-Germain 20.45
wo 3/10 Ajax Real Madrid 20.45
wo 3/10 Zenit Sint-Petersburg AC Milan 18.00
wo 3/10 Arsenal Olympiakos Piraeus 20.45
wo 3/10 Manchester City Borussia Dortmund 20.45
wo 3/10 Schalke 04 Montpellier 20.45

Not many tasty games tonight. Tomorrow looks way better!

I'm at Mestalla ready for Valencia v Lille.

I guess I will watch Juventus vs Shakhtar Donetsk, seems like the best game today... will flick thru the Barca game now and then...

Valencia CF: Vicente Guaita, Aly Cissokho, Victor Ruiz, Carlos Delgado, Antonio Barragan, Fernando Gago, Alberto Tino Costa, Andres Guardado, Jonas Goncalves, Sofiane Feghouli, Roberto Soldado.
Subs: Diego Alves, Joao Pereira, Jonathan Viera, Nelson Valdez, Daniel Parejo, Cristian Portugues, Jose Gaya
Coach: Mauricio Pellegrino

LOSC Lille
Mickael Landreau, Franck Beria, Aurelien Chedjou, Marko Basa, Mathieu Debuchy, Benoit Pedretti, Idrissa Gueye, Florent Balmont, Ryan Mendes, Dimitri Payet, Nolan Roux.
Subs Steeve Elana, Lucas Digne, Tulio de Melo, David Rozenhal, Gianni Bruno, Ronny Rodelin.
Coach: Rudi Garcia
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Itlay)

This has to be the worst round of CL games ever.

None of this can hold a light to the Ryder Cup

Valencia leading 1-0. Ref having an inconsistent match. Definitely not a homer.

Arsenal have really let everyone down selling RVP to United. He always gets goals the fucker so it doesn't matter how shit their midfield is.

Weird how strikers like Berba and Hernandez go from class to ass under Fergie.

Puyol 😨

Bayern

Board is dead.

What happened to Bayern I thought they dominated everyone?

Murray wrote:Bayern

I thought this was supposed to be the worst night in Champion's League history. Try telling that BATE Borisov supporters. Perhaps this vindicates Platini's vision years ago when the competitions were expanded. By allowing the weaker nations a chance, they gained experience and proved that they are in the competition on merit. Bayern came a cropper tonight. Others will too. It makes it more exciting and shows that so-called minnows should not be taken lightly any more.

Jonas admitted that his 'wonder-goal' was not meant as a shot. He meant to cross for Soldado, in which case it was an awful cross. Far too honest for his own good. He should have said that he meant it as a shot on goal!

Murray wrote:Bayern

EMP wrote:

Murray wrote:Bayern

I thought this was supposed to be the worst night in Champion's League history. Try telling that BATE Borisov supporters. Perhaps this vindicates Platini's vision years ago when the competitions were expanded. By allowing the weaker nations a chance, they gained experience and proved that they are in the competition on merit. Bayern came a cropper tonight. Others will too. It makes it more exciting and shows that so-called minnows should not be taken lightly any more.

If Platini's vision was to cheer up a few thousand Bate supporters while the rest of the world switched off then yes, he has been vindicated by that game. It does not in any way make the competition more exciting for me. I would rather see Roma, Deportivo, Liverpool, Spurs etc than the Bate boys.

The one good thing about having so many uninteresting games is that it is easier to decide which games to watch and there is less switching between them. Tonight is Porto - PSG or Man City - Dortmund, with an eye on the scores for Milan, Real Madrid and Arsenal. Who is actually going to watch dynamo-dinamo except their supporters?

bayern

have to say its a deserved victory, still we utterly dominated them in the first half, they just played for counters

the 2nd half was different, they had more clear chances

who cares, we will destroy the frog eaters

110% wrote:

EMP wrote:

Murray wrote:Bayern

I thought this was supposed to be the worst night in Champion's League history. Try telling that BATE Borisov supporters. Perhaps this vindicates Platini's vision years ago when the competitions were expanded. By allowing the weaker nations a chance, they gained experience and proved that they are in the competition on merit. Bayern came a cropper tonight. Others will too. It makes it more exciting and shows that so-called minnows should not be taken lightly any more.

If Platini's vision was to cheer up a few thousand Bate supporters while the rest of the world switched off then yes, he has been vindicated by that game. It does not in any way make the competition more exciting for me. I would rather see Roma, Deportivo, Liverpool, Spurs etc than the Bate boys.

The one good thing about having so many uninteresting games is that it is easier to decide which games to watch and there is less switching between them. Tonight is Porto - PSG or Man City - Dortmund, with an eye on the scores for Milan, Real Madrid and Arsenal. Who is actually going to watch dynamo-dinamo except their supporters?

If the world switches off, then it wants predicatble football with no chance of breaking through. BATE's achievement should be what football is about. If people refuse to watch it's their loss. BATE should not be underestimated. They have a good chance to reach the knockout phase and that will make it more interesting won't it? They achieved on merit and if they continue more will watch them; they've earned some respect and should be given it - even Kroos gives them some credit. I'll bet their are a few Germans and others regreting not tuning in to that match now.

110% wrote:

EMP wrote:

Murray wrote:Bayern

I thought this was supposed to be the worst night in Champion's League history. Try telling that BATE Borisov supporters. Perhaps this vindicates Platini's vision years ago when the competitions were expanded. By allowing the weaker nations a chance, they gained experience and proved that they are in the competition on merit. Bayern came a cropper tonight. Others will too. It makes it more exciting and shows that so-called minnows should not be taken lightly any more.

If Platini's vision was to cheer up a few thousand Bate supporters while the rest of the world switched off then yes, he has been vindicated by that game. It does not in any way make the competition more exciting for me. I would rather see Roma, Deportivo, Liverpool, Spurs etc than the Bate boys.

The one good thing about having so many uninteresting games is that it is easier to decide which games to watch and there is less switching between them. Tonight is Porto - PSG or Man City - Dortmund, with an eye on the scores for Milan, Real Madrid and Arsenal. Who is actually going to watch dynamo-dinamo except their supporters?

I think as long as there is at least 1 game for people to watch in a matchday, it does not really matter does it? Is it more important for English or Spanish fans to have even more than 2 simultaneous games a day to watch, or that fans in Ukraine & Croatia to have at least 1 game on? I am with Platini on this one, squeezing in a few more champions from different leagues has been a brilliant success.

The only argument against this move was the difference in quality between the leagues, and results like these make a mockery of that argument. As these clubs get more experience in the CL, and the corresponding revenue, this gap will only reduce further, which is awesome for European football as a whole - which is what UEFA should be representing.

IMO it would be a good idea to gradually move towards not more than say 2 clubs per league, once the quality gap starts reducing.

bluenine wrote:

110% wrote:

EMP wrote:

Murray wrote:Bayern

I thought this was supposed to be the worst night in Champion's League history. Try telling that BATE Borisov supporters. Perhaps this vindicates Platini's vision years ago when the competitions were expanded. By allowing the weaker nations a chance, they gained experience and proved that they are in the competition on merit. Bayern came a cropper tonight. Others will too. It makes it more exciting and shows that so-called minnows should not be taken lightly any more.

If Platini's vision was to cheer up a few thousand Bate supporters while the rest of the world switched off then yes, he has been vindicated by that game. It does not in any way make the competition more exciting for me. I would rather see Roma, Deportivo, Liverpool, Spurs etc than the Bate boys.

The one good thing about having so many uninteresting games is that it is easier to decide which games to watch and there is less switching between them. Tonight is Porto - PSG or Man City - Dortmund, with an eye on the scores for Milan, Real Madrid and Arsenal. Who is actually going to watch dynamo-dinamo except their supporters?

I think as long as there is at least 1 game for people to watch in a matchday, it does not really matter does it? Is it more important for English or Spanish fans to have even more than 2 simultaneous games a day to watch, or that fans in Ukraine & Croatia to have at least 1 game on? I am with Platini on this one, squeezing in a few more champions from different leagues has been a brilliant success.

The only argument against this move was the difference in quality between the leagues, and results like these make a mockery of that argument. As these clubs get more experience in the CL, and the corresponding revenue, this gap will only reduce further, which is awesome for European football as a whole - which is what UEFA should be representing.

IMO it would be a good idea to gradually move towards not more than say 2 clubs per league, once the quality gap starts reducing.

EMP wrote:

bluenine wrote:

110% wrote:

EMP wrote:

Murray wrote:Bayern

I thought this was supposed to be the worst night in Champion's League history. Try telling that BATE Borisov supporters. Perhaps this vindicates Platini's vision years ago when the competitions were expanded. By allowing the weaker nations a chance, they gained experience and proved that they are in the competition on merit. Bayern came a cropper tonight. Others will too. It makes it more exciting and shows that so-called minnows should not be taken lightly any more.

If Platini's vision was to cheer up a few thousand Bate supporters while the rest of the world switched off then yes, he has been vindicated by that game. It does not in any way make the competition more exciting for me. I would rather see Roma, Deportivo, Liverpool, Spurs etc than the Bate boys.

The one good thing about having so many uninteresting games is that it is easier to decide which games to watch and there is less switching between them. Tonight is Porto - PSG or Man City - Dortmund, with an eye on the scores for Milan, Real Madrid and Arsenal. Who is actually going to watch dynamo-dinamo except their supporters?

I think as long as there is at least 1 game for people to watch in a matchday, it does not really matter does it? Is it more important for English or Spanish fans to have even more than 2 simultaneous games a day to watch, or that fans in Ukraine & Croatia to have at least 1 game on? I am with Platini on this one, squeezing in a few more champions from different leagues has been a brilliant success.

The only argument against this move was the difference in quality between the leagues, and results like these make a mockery of that argument. As these clubs get more experience in the CL, and the corresponding revenue, this gap will only reduce further, which is awesome for European football as a whole - which is what UEFA should be representing.

IMO it would be a good idea to gradually move towards not more than say 2 clubs per league, once the quality gap starts reducing.

Maybe it is me, but I look at that group phase and I can only see 2 fixtures that look really interesting out of all the possible matchups. Those are Juve-Chelsea and Real Madrid-Man City.

Of course teams like Bate are getting better, because of the money they earn, and they then screw the rest of their home leagues who then cannot compete with them (so it remains to be seen if it is good for European football as a whole). It really doesn't make the competition more exciting for the average fan though, which is what EMP was claiming. You are practically admitting that with saying only 1 interesting match was enough. I remember a time when nearly all the matches were interesting, but now it feels diluted.

110% wrote:

EMP wrote:

bluenine wrote:

110% wrote:

EMP wrote:

Murray wrote:Bayern

I thought this was supposed to be the worst night in Champion's League history. Try telling that BATE Borisov supporters. Perhaps this vindicates Platini's vision years ago when the competitions were expanded. By allowing the weaker nations a chance, they gained experience and proved that they are in the competition on merit. Bayern came a cropper tonight. Others will too. It makes it more exciting and shows that so-called minnows should not be taken lightly any more.

If Platini's vision was to cheer up a few thousand Bate supporters while the rest of the world switched off then yes, he has been vindicated by that game. It does not in any way make the competition more exciting for me. I would rather see Roma, Deportivo, Liverpool, Spurs etc than the Bate boys.

The one good thing about having so many uninteresting games is that it is easier to decide which games to watch and there is less switching between them. Tonight is Porto - PSG or Man City - Dortmund, with an eye on the scores for Milan, Real Madrid and Arsenal. Who is actually going to watch dynamo-dinamo except their supporters?

I think as long as there is at least 1 game for people to watch in a matchday, it does not really matter does it? Is it more important for English or Spanish fans to have even more than 2 simultaneous games a day to watch, or that fans in Ukraine & Croatia to have at least 1 game on? I am with Platini on this one, squeezing in a few more champions from different leagues has been a brilliant success.

The only argument against this move was the difference in quality between the leagues, and results like these make a mockery of that argument. As these clubs get more experience in the CL, and the corresponding revenue, this gap will only reduce further, which is awesome for European football as a whole - which is what UEFA should be representing.

IMO it would be a good idea to gradually move towards not more than say 2 clubs per league, once the quality gap starts reducing.

Maybe it is me, but I look at that group phase and I can only see 2 fixtures that look really interesting out of all the possible matchups. Those are Juve-Chelsea and Real Madrid-Man City.

Of course teams like Bate are getting better, because of the money they earn, and they then screw the rest of their home leagues who then cannot compete with them (so it remains to be seen if it is good for European football as a whole). It really doesn't make the competition more exciting for the average fan though, which is what EMP was claiming. You are practically admitting that with saying only 1 interesting match was enough. I remember a time when nearly all the matches were interesting, but now it feels diluted.

BATE may well be the big team of Belarus, but let's remember that they were horrendous when they first appeared in the Champion's League. They needed time to develop and so do these ties that have to create a new history. It is not just one match that I am arguing about, I'm pointing out that there is now a potential for upsets that make it more intresting. Before yesterday we would not even mentioned BATE. It is increasing competition within the CL and that must surely be a good thing. BATE is not only better, but may be more than just a one-off surprise team. I think they make it more interesting not less. Valencia play them next and will give them a new found respect. How is that a bad thing? Let the big boys dispatch them on merit rather than past reputation. If if had been limited to the big teams it would be truly boring. Bayern know better than to underestimate BATE now and recently Appoel proved that they were there on merit. How did they dilute the competition?

omg what a great match

city-bvb

i have no hope for dortmund, they look shit, they aren`t compact as team at all, and thats key in europe

i hope klopp fields 3 midfielders


bender-kehl-gündogan

kuba---reus---götze

lewa is some kind of SHIT right now

this EL player from milan looks like a real deal, scored plenty of goals in the last games

thats the future for italy, have trust in the youth, veratti looks also very good

XI for Madrid:


Casillas; Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Khedira, Xabi Alonso; Callejón, Kaká, Ronaldo; Benzema.

F*cking hell.

3-2 Milan now, there's definitely more goals in this one.

--------------weide

pisc--humm--subo--schmelzer

--bender-gündogan

kuba--götze--reus
--lewa

vs.

Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (C), Nastasic, Clichy, Garcia, Yaya, Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko

---unnerstall

uchida-höwedes-papa-fuchs

--höger--neustädter

pukki-holtby-draxler

----hunter

bench: affelay, farfan, matip, barnetta

well affelay is just shit so far, played just 120 min for barca, and now schalke seems to much for him no he clearly needs time after his long term injury, but so far he is wasted money, farfan is a little bit injured

i like the attacking options from schalke, great bench

15 germans will start, and just 2 or 3 englanders

money is killing english football