UEFA Cup

[jem88]

So who would you say are the top 10 players in the world and what team do they play on?

What jobs do all the players do that aren't a Striker or Goalie?

I think the best player in the world based on the last several seasons is Cristiano Ronaldo (full disclosure- I'm a Manchester United fan.)

In no particular order, my top 10:

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Fernando Torres, Xavi, Zlaten Ibrahimovic, Franck Ribery, Michael Essien, Nemanja Vidic, Andrei Arshavin, Kaka

A young one to watch: Yohann Gourcuff. I'm pretty sure I've posted this before, but this goal is all the reason you need to become a fan of the greatest sport in the world:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdVzzvMEG08

edit: one more thing - I think Wayne Rooney will be taking residence at the top of that list in no time. He just needs to stay injury-free for a couple of seasons and be played in his best position as a supporting striker.

 

[jem88]

I thought Berbatov's penalty yesterday was one of the most disgraceful ones I've seen. It's one thing to be languid, but you better make sure you bury a penalty in the FA Cup semis. This guy is Veron pt.2. One of Sir Alex's few transfer mistakes in my opinion. I'd much rather go with Carlos Tevez (who did have a bad game yesterday but proved last year that he can partner very well with Rooney.)

 

[xWraithx]

anyone in here rate Clint Dempsey? 7 Premiership goals so far this season after being on the bench for much of the early season and working his way and cementing himself into the starting lineup for an upper-mid table Fulham side

 

[jem88]

anyone in here rate Clint Dempsey? 7 Premiership goals so far this season after being on the bench for much of the early season and working his way and cementing himself into the starting lineup for an upper-mid table Fulham side

I do. He's always struck me as a pretty handy player whenever I've seen him. I'd say Fulham is just about the right club for him. He seems to have adapted better to European football than Landon Donovan did.

BTW, why is that Fulham has been such a hotbed for North American players? Dempsey, Bocanegra, McBride, Keller, Radzinski, Peschosolido, etc.

 

[RESIN8]

Barca was very lucky today. Very lucky.

Finals should be good.

 

[Alumni2k11]

I like Arsenal when it comes to European soccer. Too bad they decided to not show up yesterday.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Anybody but Man U, "ABMU"

 

[RESIN8]

I like Arsenal when it comes to European soccer. Too bad they decided to not show up yesterday.

You think you like Arsenal. Check this out.

Gunners fan hangs himself after United victory
May 6, 2009
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An Arsenal fan hung himself following his team's 4-1 aggregate drubbing by arch-rivals Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, police said.


Empics
Arsenal lost 3-1 to United in the second leg of their semi-final tie.
Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan living in the capital Nairobi's Embakasi neighbourhood, hanged himself in his Arsenal shirt after the match.
"We were watching the match at Bamba 70 pub, and when Arsenal was defeated, Suleiman just walked out in protest and he was crying," Calvin Otieno, one of his friends, said.

"We didn't know he was going to hang himself until this morning when we received the reports and came here to find his body at the balcony," Otieno said outside the deceased's home.

Arsenal slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, capping a disappointing season for the Gunners who were already out of the Premier League title race early in the season.

 

[Kobal]

Barca was very lucky today. Very lucky.

Finals should be good.

Indeed. Gus Hiddink is a very good coach. His game plan is solid and Chelsea's vet players executed it almost perfectly.

As for the final, I'll predict no winners in 90 mins. And I hope Barca win. I'm a Liverpool fan.

 

[daschoo]

You think you like Arsenal. Check this out.

Gunners fan hangs himself after United victory
May 6, 2009
Comment
Email
Print
An Arsenal fan hung himself following his team's 4-1 aggregate drubbing by arch-rivals Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, police said.


Empics
Arsenal lost 3-1 to United in the second leg of their semi-final tie.
Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan living in the capital Nairobi's Embakasi neighbourhood, hanged himself in his Arsenal shirt after the match.
"We were watching the match at Bamba 70 pub, and when Arsenal was defeated, Suleiman just walked out in protest and he was crying," Calvin Otieno, one of his friends, said.

"We didn't know he was going to hang himself until this morning when we received the reports and came here to find his body at the balcony," Otieno said outside the deceased's home.

Arsenal slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, capping a disappointing season for the Gunners who were already out of the Premier League title race early in the season.

that is absolutely mental!!!
the chelsea game last night was hilarious, especially drogba losing the plot at the end. great to see anelka being eliminated after his diving.

 

[gazmc_06]

That game yesterday was an absolute disgrace.

I have never seen a worse performance from a Ref, he pretty much single handedly cheated Chelsea out of the final lol.

 

[RESIN8]

That game yesterday was an absolute disgrace.

I have never seen a worse performance from a Ref, he pretty much single handedly cheated Chelsea out of the final lol.

I have to admit that was a hand ball at the end. The second call that drove Ballack mad was pretty much back.

Chelsea had a great plan and the refs allowed more EPL style play than La Liga. Chelsea had many chances over 180+ minutes to seal this thing up. Drogba himself had many chances.

 

[gazmc_06]

Of course, Chelsea should have ended the game from open play, they missed several great chances. However, the handball from Pique was a stone wall penalty as was Adibal's trip on Drogba, it's very hard to beat Barcelona in general...beating them and the ref is even more difficult.

 

[daschoo]

Of course, Chelsea should have ended the game from open play, they missed several great chances. However, the handball from Pique was a stone wall penalty as was Adibal's trip on Drogba, it's very hard to beat Barcelona in general...beating them and the ref is even more difficult.

really don't buy into the referee was cheating to ensure barca went through, not saying you're saying that but i've seen a lot of folk making that claim today. of the five penalty claims i would have given 2 of them with the benefit of replays. the abidal foul on drogba was only a foul in my opinion because of the shirt pull which i think the ref can be forgiven for missing and the pique handball claim. although it was ball to hand i thought that was their strongest claim as you have to ask why his hand was out there because to me thats not a natural postition for it to be. the red card for abidal was a joke as for my money anelka dived, certainly there was no contact and you could argue that pique(?) had come across so he wwasn't the last man(admitedly he wouldn't have been on the park if the ref had given the penalty for the shirt pull on drogba) the referee was poor yes but thats three huge decisions he got wrong 2 against chelsea and one for so i wouldn't say he was corrupt. in saying that i hate chelsea so i guess you could argue that i would say that

 

[RESIN8]

Of course, Chelsea should have ended the game from open play, they missed several great chances. However, the handball from Pique was a stone wall penalty as was Adibal's trip on Drogba, it's very hard to beat Barcelona in general...beating them and the ref is even more difficult.

I know I just wanted to put a Pittsburg Steeler fan spin on things. You know the whole thing Steeler fan said after every other fan wondered why Holmes didn't get whistled for "Excessive Celebration".

 

[daschoo]

I know I just wanted to put a Pittsburg Steeler fan spin on things. You know the whole thing Steeler fan said after every other fan wondered why Holmes didn't get whistled for "Excessive Celebration".

that by the way is a rediculous rule. heaven forbid somebody does something entertaining!

 

[gazmc_06]

really don't buy into the referee was cheating to ensure barca went through, not saying you're saying that but i've seen a lot of folk making that claim today. of the five penalty claims i would have given 2 of them with the benefit of replays. the abidal foul on drogba was only a foul in my opinion because of the shirt pull which i think the ref can be forgiven for missing and the pique handball claim. although it was ball to hand i thought that was their strongest claim as you have to ask why his hand was out there because to me thats not a natural postition for it to be. the red card for abidal was a joke as for my money anelka dived, certainly there was no contact and you could argue that pique(?) had come across so he wwasn't the last man(admitedly he wouldn't have been on the park if the ref had given the penalty for the shirt pull on drogba) the referee was poor yes but thats three huge decisions he got wrong 2 against chelsea and one for so i wouldn't say he was corrupt. in saying that i hate chelsea so i guess you could argue that i would say that

Your anti-Chelsea view is to be expected and it shines through here lol.

I thought two of them were definite penalties (Pique handball and Abidal's trip) and the one on Maliuda was a very good shout as well. Abidal should have been off in the first half so the sending off was pretty much the ref fixing one of his earlier mistakes....too bad he made 3 other FAR worse decisions that cost Chelsea another shot at the champions league.

 

[UKCowboysFan]

The referee was either biased or incompetent.

Had it been Barcelona v Any team not from England, I would automatically assume the latter.

The problem is, with UEFA's open dislike of English clubs I find it hard to rule out the former.

I would not be at all suprised to see the same thing happen to Man Utd in the final.

It was obvious as soon as the first penalty wasn't given that he wasn't going to give Chelsea a penalty. The offence was clearly in the penalty area, so either it's not an offence so you let the game continue, or it's a penalty. how he decides to give a free kick on the edge of the area is beyond comprehension.

I'm just suprised he didn't let Messi pick the ball up in his hands & carry it over the line.

 

[RESIN8]

that by the way is a rediculous rule. heaven forbid somebody does something entertaining!

I know that Warren Sapp comes of as an idiot, but one thing he said was true. In the NFL it's all about the shield. The player is not allowed to market his entity. I guess signature celebrations are one of those things the NFL takes offence too.

I've actually seen less in your face celebrations get flagged. Like Florida/Vandy which cost Vandy the game.

I do hate the Cris Carter first down celebration though. I can deal with a TD celebration, but a first down celebration is lame.

 

[daschoo]

did anyone watch the hamburg v bremen uefa cup semi final second leg last night? that is one of the most bizarre things i've ever seen. a scrunched up ball of paper that someone had thrown on to the pitch ended up costing hamburg the tie.