Argentina vs. Panama

Crespo blasted by Fiorentina president

http://goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2009/05/24/1283162/fiorentina-chief-diego-della-valle-blasts-hernan-crespo

Going to Genoa now.

Posted from  United States

Agree Alexa,
I have a feeling it will be a cagey final. They roar before the game, ala Guus Hiddink. Then they talk about great tactics.

Todd,
I do dream about a 3-2 for Barcelona too. I wish this happens
1 – Someone like Vidic or Carrick scores (0-1) around 15 mins
2 – Messi rips apart (1-1) around 32 mins
3 – Messi screams one again (2-1) 41 mins
4 – Tevez comes in (only way Tevez can get game time) 45 mins
5 – Tevez scores (2-2) 78 mins
6 – Messi scored from a counter attack beating 5 united player (3-2) 86 mins.

On a side note, I liked the line ups too. I like it over mine where I always try to play 2 #5s (because of my bias towards a 3-5-2).

Posted from  United States

Coloccini may be moving to Seville

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11680_5349259,00.html

That will be great for him. Spain is better for him and he will get into CL also. He will have good players around him allowing him to play the role of the squad player.

Posted from  United States

Albo:
It was sad to read the things you wrote…sad to read that Roman is again involved in trouble with other players. I am so tired of him. I have given up on him.

MaxiLopez:
I agree with your line up. My only change would be no Heinze. I would play Papa or maybe even Insua in stead. Heinze belongs to the past, in my opinion.

Debasish:
I have watched quite a few Newcastle games this season, and you are right: Coloccini has been poor in almost every game. If you consider the money Newcastle paid for him, it is not at all surprising that he has been considered a major flop.

Alexa:
I can assure you that Man Utd is NOT a team like Liverpool or Chelsea. I have watched almost every Man Utd game over the last 3-4 years. They are a fantastic team. They are even better than Liverpool and Chelsea in defence IF they want to just sit back and defend, like they some times do. They have the best centre back pair in the world in Ferdinand and Vidic. No one even comes close. The frightening thing is thet when Ferdinand has been out and Evans plays in stead, they are almost just as good. BUT they can attack and create chances in any way possible in a game of football, so their attacking abilities are far superior to Liverpool and Chelsea. They do not have any weaknesses at all, the way I see it. We all know Barca have some….Barca’s way of defending corners and free kicks around the box, are at the same level as a junior team, to name one thing. Man Utd is the best team in the world in my opinion, because they are a complete team with no weaknesses. I like Barca better and would take them over United any day, they play wonderful football that we dream about, but they are too dependent on Messi, Xavi and Iniesta and they can ONLY play the Barca way…they never have a plan B. Even without Rnaldo and Rooney, Man Utd would still be a top class team. Couse their manager is a winner, he knows how to win and he does whatever the situation demands to get the result he wants. Man Utd is the best counter attacking team in the world, BUT they still know how to play possesion football if that is what it takes. Their team is filled with winners that are born to deliver the goods in big games.

The game tomorrow……In my opinion it would take a miracle for a Barca without Marquez, Abidal and Alves to beat Man Utd tomorrow. Man Utd are used to play in these big games and the players will handle the pressure a bit better than Barca’s players, I am afraid. Man Utd never lose a final, do they? The ONLY way Barca can win is if they score the first goal, if United score the first goal(wich I am sure they will) it’s all over because United will sit back and play on counter attcks with Ronaldo and Rooney. If Barca score first, they can play on the counter attacks and it would be interessting to see how United deals with that. But I am afraid United are too strong in defence for Barca to get the first goal.

Messi….(I almost don’t care about Tevez at all tomorrow, that is how much I love Messi and wants him to sucseed)…this is the biggest game of Leo’s life! He will never, apart from a WC final, play in a bigger game in his life. This is the biggest game you can play as footballer, at club level. It’s a bit strange to say about a 21 year old, but chances are big that he will never get to play such a big game again for the rest of his life. My favourite player in the biggest game of his life…it makes me so nervous that I can hardly breathe. Our Lionel against Ronaldo. The two best teams in the world this season. The twobest players in the world go face to face. How will he handle the pressure? Will he flop, like he usually does against english teams(no goals in 10 games against english teams)? Is he a true winner? This is the biggest club game on this planet. This is what seperates legends from good players. My God, I would cry rivers of joy tomorrow if Barca win and Messi scores and plays a great game….It would be amazing, like a dream. What can I dream about in the future if my dream comes true tomorrow?(apart from winning the WC, wich of course is bigger). My football heart desperatly needs a win like this. A win with one of my boys playing the star role in the big final. When was the last time that happened????????? It would be WONDERFUL AND GREAT if he could show us all that he can deliver in the real big games against the best oponents, at the highest level…..but I am sad to say that I think it would take a miracle for him to do that. And when it comes to Barca and miracles….it has already happend…at Stamford Bridge some weeks ago, with that blessed norwegian ref…and miracles do NOT happen twice, I am afraid. I kinda do not have the currage to even hope for it to happen. Me and my teams and my players ALWAYS lose these type of games, and that has destroyed me. And if they win it’s never spectaculare or with one of my boys in the star role, it’s always luck or a stupid ref. It makes me sick. I promisie you all this, all of my friends on this wonderful blog, if the miracle happenes tomorrow you will get to see a whole new Rune in the future…not the pessimistic and negative(or realistic?) Rune, but a Rune with real hope and joy in his football heart.

Nice posting everybody.

MaxiLopez, I like your lineups too.

Posted from  United States

Rune I give you a glimmer of hope. Manchester United might be good but how dominate were they over another possesion team called Porto? everyone seems to forget that Porto gave Manchester all they could handle. I would rate barcelona far superiour to Porto and so yes I give barcelona and Messi a very good chance. I only hope that man united come in over confident and try to attack unlike what they did last year and then we will have a beautifull game.

Posted from  United States

Henry and Iniesta are both apparently healthy to play and did a full practice the other day. That should help free up space for Messi.

On a negative note, Sylvinho will be matched up with Ronaldo. We are going to miss Alves greatly, I fear.

Young player of the yearin Serie A – think it’s a tossup between Pato and Zarate. Based on who’s been more of the star for their team, I’d say Zarate.

Also balloteli — he’s outrageously talented.

Posted from  United States

Rune — Man United are not Chelsea and Liverpool, but they played like Chelsea and Liverpool the last time they went against Barcelona. They might go hard against barca becuase of Barca’s back line, but I think that it’s more likely that they will come out with their cagey lineup, and try for the stale mate. They aren’t that brave in big games.

Posted from  United States

The odds might be against Barcelona winning this final but my sense tells me otherwise. The key to barcelona’s victory lies at the hand of an overconfident Manu like toddutah noted. The only way to stop barcelona’s style is by zonal marking with virtually all players 3/4 behind the half pitch line which is what manu did last year. An overconfident manu will come out, play regular defensive tactics, and man mark messi leaving space behind which will be exploited by Barcelona’s forwards. I imagine Barcelona scoring from a counter but if Barcelona is left to play their beautiful and unique style it will be quite a breathtaking match. Im not going to predict the victor for this game but one thing is certain, this is a match between what is bad in the game of football and the hope for the future of the game.
Barcelona is the hope for the future of clubs that play amazing aesthetic football. Clubs that belong to its fans who elect management rather than some multi-billionaire.

Posted from  United States

firstly, maxi i like your line ups. Secondly, albo was sad to read that stuff about Riquelme, just think if he had the right mentality he would be no.1 in the world.
And tomorrow, i know Barca will win. And Messi will lift the CL cup, yesssssssss.

I know you don’t like all my posts day1star, but I hope and pray you are correct.

What concerns me most is Barca’s defense. Hopefully we can score early and force Man U to attack more aggressively than they’d like – that in turn will open the field for us.

Alexa:
You are right in what you say about Man Utd being a bit less brave in the big games. That is what makes them impossible to beat in big games like this. They will comw out in 4-5-1, with Ronaldo as the striker and Rooney and Park as side midfielders. Carrick, Anderson and Giggs/Scholes in the middle, and we all know their back four. Our biggest consern is of course Barca’s defence, with so many players out. One thing that every single football fan in the whole world knows and understands about the game tomorrow is that United will score. It is impossible for them to play 90 mins against such a defence without scoring. I just wish we could say the same thing about Barca……I am afraid Barca will again find it very hard to create chances against a top class english team. But if Barca can score the first goal, they have a chance. A small one.

The full list for the Toulon tournament in France is as follows:

Agustín Marchesín y Esteban Andrada (Lanús), Germán Pezzela, Esteban Espíndola, Diego Buonanote, Santiago Galucci, Mauro Díaz y Leandro González Pérez (River Plate), Hugo Nervo y Franco Jara (Arsenal de Sarandí), David Achucarro y Leandro Martín (Boca Juniors), Héctor Cardozo (Estudiantes de La Plata), Alejandro Gómez (San Lorenzo), Lucas Kruspky (Independiente), Gerardo Bruna (Liverpool), Lucas Trecarichi y Diego Perotti (Sevilla) Germán Pacheco y Ever Banega (Atlético Madrid).

Posted from  United States

What time (west coast) is the game tomorrow?

Posted from  United States

MION
didn’t TRECARICHI chose to play for italy??

sorry MION my bad … i misunderstood TRECARICHI for FORESTIERI

check this out between CR7 & LM10 (funny)
http://www.dirtytackle.net/2009/05/dt-exclusive-final-showdown/

RUNE,
I know Heinze seems pathetic sometimes, against fast dribblers/opponents, on 1 VS 1 situations. But I said it many times, in specific conditions, protected by a compact midfield, he can be good (especially in the air). It’s never the case at Real Madrid. Why? Cannavaro, golden ball, can’t have become suddenly a ghost between summer 2006 and autumn 2007, for example.Of course that Heinze is elder than in 2006, but he’s still the same player, with the same qualities & disadvantages. His injury didn’t affect him much and he was well considered in 2006 by his today’s detractors. To answer you about my lineup, when this 3-5-2 switches into a 4-men-defence, he is the one who defends on the left. You can’t deny that Heinze always press very well his flank (remember Coloccini against Germany 2006?). Don’t forget that when Argentina has the possession, he isn’t the left fullback, he becomes central defender when on the otherside of the field, the right fullback becomes right midfielder. Pekerman knew Heinze’s qualities/inconvenients in 2006 and used him perfectly with a very similar system. Pekerman is really a good tactician.

We have what we have in defence. I personnaly consider we have very good central defenders (De Michelis, Samuel, Gonzalo, Coloccini, Garay, Pareja,…Heinze). If people hate them, then they should keep supporting Barca and stick to it. I’m not saying this to you RUNE as I know you are a true and open-minded argentinos.

In my opinion, MU is like Chelsea and Liverpool, in terms of futbol quality. They just have Rooney & CR7. That’s the difference. MU’s efficiency is so impressive.

I really hope Barca are going to win. I’m with them. Talking about the Catalans, some “fans” of “Messi’s national team” want us to play like them and forget about our traditional way of playing that have made our futbol identity for more than a century. Argentina’s futbol can be more creative, clever, beautiful, poetic, emotional than any other dreaming 11 such as Barca’s. By the way, I’m your fan Pekerman 2006, forever.

Posted from  United States

So, I am getting ready for one of the biggest disapointments of my football life. A beutiful dream will be killed and crushed tonight. I will be at a place without internet conection during the game, but I guess that’s a good thing for all of you in here….I won’t be able to bother you with all my negative and pessimistic shit I am so nervous and out of it today…..and I don’t understand why…I know deep in my heart that sorrow will come my way so why be nervous? It’s that little naive and annoying glimmer of hope I guess…..We really need to see our star player deliver the goods in such a big game, that will give us hope before the next summer.
Ok, Good luck to all of my friends in here! May the force(the gods of argie football) be with us. See you in here tomorrow. I’ll be here to lick my wounds.

Rune
Don’t feel so bad. You are not alone. There are plenty like you. There is hope. We all like to see great football. Hence we like teams like Barcelona and Argentina. I will be honest and I have a similar feeling like you. I am just hoping tomorrow (or after the game) we all will come here and have a party!

Posted from  United States

Wow I am so less pesmistic. Xavi, Iniesta, Henry, Messi, Toure? All of these players can make a difference. This is not a one man team by any stretch and I have great hopes for the win. Maybe Manchester are slight favorites but many of you talk as if they are huge favorites. The missing defenders can be a blessing in disguise for Barca because now the ones who are playing will be concentrating on defending. I love Alves but Puyol will stay home on the left side. The only way to stop Barcelona from scoring is playing nine or ten men behind the ball and if Manchester dont do that then Barcelona will score at elast two goals. Also dont forget that this is a rested Barcelona. When they played Chelsea that were on such a run of big games. I tihnk Messi will play great and with Energy. These guys are only human and a little rest and they will be at the top of their games. We all know that Messi was about 80 percent last year when they played and in those two games who was the best player on the pitch. Wait until Evra and company see Messi this year.

Also I would start the game out wiht a shake up if I were Guardiola. Manchester is preparing for a certain line up and ceratian players to be in certain postions. We all know that Mesi can shine anywhere on the filed and with it being so important to have possesion I would start out with Eto on the right and Messi in the middle slighty behind Eto and Henry. Let him and Inesta and Xavi form a nice triangle and see how Manchester deals with it.

On Heinze I agree that he has served the NT well and has sometihng to offer but with his pace so slow it is to much to ask to have him out on the flanks defending what is very ofter the opposing teams fastest player . We shoudl not have to defend knowing that our left defender is going to get beat. I beleive that Monson or Insua would do better out there. I guess we will just have to watch this season and see which defenders are playing the best.

On Riquelme . One of my favorite players of all time. I have his jersey and wear it often. What we call talent is a mixture of physical , mental, and emotional. All of the things that we complain of Riquelme are what made him what he is. When the coaches told him to play a certain way he ignored them and played his way. This is why he became the slow magician that we all love. I do not critisize him now for being what he has always been. Riquelme we love you and wish you the best as you fade into the sunset. What makes you who you are will most likely make your departure a very difficult and painful one.

I am not getting into the same old debate of our problems in backline since I am now under an impression that the team selection is done with non-footballing reasons with no intention of winning the cup (may be with over confidence that we will win the cup).
So as tonight Messi and Tevez clash we will see that Messi does the magic while Tevez will be more decisive.
The beautiful game will win, I have never felt so much confident about tonight that before.
I was nervous during the WC06 against germany, during the Bolivia game, in copa’07 final , 05 confederations cup final , I was equally nervous during chesea barca this year, against manU last year but this time I am calm.

I hope the complete NT coaching or selection staff get into harmony and put up a performance for qualifying… do it for the football if not for the fans.

On a final note on Riquelme… you were fantastic, amazing . Wish we could have seen you succeed.

Posted from  Australia

New thread up for CL final. I’m stuck at work so I’ll be off the web entirely until later this evening.

Posted from  United States