vipnerd Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 I simply can't wait ... it is as good as it can get ... My final 4:Man UJuventusValenciaAC MilanDi Stefano recalls a rivalry steeped in history By Darren Bentley MANCHESTER, England, April 4 (Reuters) - Alfredo Di Stefano believes Tuesday's Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Manchester United will provide another fascinating chapter in the shared history of two of Europe's greatest clubs. "We are talking about a really historic confrontation here between two clubs that have had great affection for each other for a long time," Di Stefano told Reuters in an interview. Di Stefano, who starred for the glittering Real side that won five successive European Cups between 1956 and 1960, was in Manchester this week, overseeing the delivery of the European Cup trophy from the holders to Old Trafford where this year's final will take place on May 28. When the draw was made for the quarter-finals last month, many regretted that Real and United were paired at this stage of the competition. The prospect of a first European Cup final between the two at Old Trafford would have been the dream final. Still, the fact they are meeting again had Di Stefano fondly recalling the first game between the teams in competition nearly half-a-century ago. Recalling the 1950s when Real reigned supreme, Di Stefano spoke with great affection for United's "Busby Babes" team of the era, so many of whom were to lose their lives as a result of the 1958 air crash at Munich. United manager Matt Busby was building a team to challenge Real's position as the first true giants of the fledgling European club competition game. Real won the inaugural European Cup in 1956 and met Manchester United in the semi-finals the following season. Real won 3-1 at home with Di Stefano scoring their second goal in the first leg. The second leg in Manchester ended in a 2-2 draw to give Real a 5-3 aggregate victory and they went on to defend their title beating Fiorentina 2-0 in the final in their own stadium a month later. Di Stefano, who will be 77 in July, sees many similarities in both of today's star-studded squads to that golden era which still retains a special place in soccer folklore. "I think it says a great deal that people still talk about the games we played against each other so long ago, because they made history in their own right. "We have had the good fortune to play them in the European Cup and friendly matches down the years and here we are again, with both clubs top of the tree in their respective countries." United avenged the 1957 loss by beating Real in 4-3 on aggregate in the 1968 semi-final before going on to beat Benfica in the final at Wembley. The stars of that United team were Denis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton, although Law missed the 1968 final through injury. Indeed, individual stars have been the jewel in both club's crowns down those trophy-laden years. REAL INSPIRATION Di Stefano was the inspiration behind Real Madrid's five successive European Cups, scoring in each of the first four finals and adding a hat-trick in the fifth - a 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park in 1960 in one of the greatest games of all time. He believes that today's stars such as Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo - proudly carry Real's tradition of rich individual greatness into the new era. "Real has always strived to maintain its traditions and what you can say about the current team is that it has been built on the foundations we laid at that time," he said. "It is a continuation of our triumphs that the club has built over the years, starting in the 1950s. "Good players fit in anywhere. I have never heard of a good player that has not fitted into a good team - and with both Real and Manchester United we are talking about teams that have not changed much throughout the years. "When we played in the 1950s, there were so many players on each side that could decide matches on their own. "Now, in 2003, we can look at the two teams and say exactly the same. To compare individual talents between the 1950s and present day may be dangerous, but the over-riding principle remains." Di Stefano, who many people still consider to be one of the greatest players of all time, added: "I see this as a 50/50 tie. "The two clubs are both aware of each other's history, but the one thing I believe we can guarantee is that they will both be spectacular matches." LAW REGRETS Former Old Trafford striker Law, who said recently he expected United to be competing in the Champions League "for the next 50 years" is also licking his lips in anticipation of the battle of the two European heavyweights, the first leg of which will be held in Spain on Tuesday. "It's just unfortunate that we have drawn each other at this stage," said the 63-year-old Scot. "It would have been a perfect final to have Real Madrid play Manchester United at Old Trafford, but it was not meant to be. "A little bit of luck could decide the outcome, but I believe whoever wins this particular tie will go on and win the Champions League." Which is what has happened every time they have met in Europe. Real beat United and became European champions in 1957, United did likewise in 1968 and Real kept the sequence alive when they beat United in the 2000 quarter-finals en route to the eighth of their nine successes. _______________Champions League Draw Was Fixed, Says Ferguson LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has begun the psychological warfare before Tuesday's Champions League clash with Real Madrid by saying the quarter-final draw was rigged. In the Sunday Mirror report, Ferguson also accused world governing body FIFA of favoring the European champion. "It was a nice draw for the Spanish and Italians -- I think they picked it themselves," Ferguson was quoted in the report. "The three Italian teams have avoided each other and so have the three Spanish. How do you think that worked out? "I can tell you -- UEFA don't want us in the final, that's for sure. I don't know why they have given the final to Old Trafford because they don't want us to get there." The three other quarter-final draws paired AC Milan with Ajax, Inter Milan against Valencia and Juventus versus Barcelona. In his astonishing outburst Ferguson said FIFA was being soft on Real Madrid's Brazilian fullback Roberto Carlos after he was sent off for barging referee Alon Yefet in a friendly between Brazil and Portugal last week in Lisbon. "I think the fact that Roberto Carlos hasn't been dealt with shows everyone the power Real Madrid have," said Ferguson. "FIFA won't make a decision because they are waiting to see what Real say first. That shows the influence they have. "I expect him to play against us (on Tuesday) simply because it's Real Madrid. If he played for any other club then he would be banned. There's no doubt about that." Portugal's Abel Xavier was banned from international football for nine months after manhandling the referee at the end of the Euro 2000 semi-final against France. Returning to Tuesday's eagerly anticipated clash in the Bernabeu, Ferguson added: "All I can hope is that we have a really top referee, and again in the second leg." _____________________________________________UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2002-2003 champions .......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutogame Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 those are my picks as wellsemifinalsmanchester united - juventusac milan - valenciafinals ac milan defeats manchester in englandFORZA MILANYoure a juve fan you bastards already won the serie Ayour mvp this season is nedved --- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicman Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 anyone see ferguson's declartion about the matchups being rigged?no matchups between italian teams and no matchups between spanish teams.is there a regulation that forbids teams from the same country to meet at this stage of the competition?anyway, i hate both teams. i also hate milan and inter. and juventus and barcelona. i want the dog to win: valencia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipnerd Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 Fergusson's comments regarding Roberto Carlos had the effect he wanted ... he's suspended for now ...Check what Sir Alex says about this year's Champions ...Champions League bigger than World Cup, says Ferguson By Kevin Fylan MADRID, April 7 (Reuters) - Champions League matches such as Manchester United's quarter-final clash with Real Madrid now provide a spectacle even bigger and better than the World Cup, according to United manager Alex Ferguson. "If you look at the stats in the last World Cup it doesn't come close to the Champions League in terms of entertainment, goals or excitement," Ferguson said on the eve of his side's quarter-final first-leg meeting with Real at the Bernabeu. "I think the European Champions Cup is now bigger than the World Cup. All the best players are in Europe now." Real Madrid have a celebrity look about them this season with Ronaldo and Raul in attack, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo in midfield and Roberto Carlos in defence. Manchester United can boast the English game's biggest name in David Beckham and Ferguson said his side could now also add to the top class international picture. "When you get a collection of players like Figo, Zidane and Ronaldo it's really a World Cup selection," Ferguson said. "It makes it more like a world competition. "We ourselves can provide Juan Sebastian Veron, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs. It's an amalgamation of different nations." Ferguson also said that top European matches provided something different from the domestic game. "You know teams so well in domestic matches there's a certain mundane effect," Ferguson said. "In Europe the game comes alive -- there's a suddenness to it and the atmosphere is different." Referring specifically to the Real Madrid game, he added: "The important thing is for Manchester United to play properly. If we play the way we hope and expect it will be a fantastic game." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutogame Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 roberto carlos is only suspended for international gameslike brazil needs him in stupid friendlies anyway.....hes gonna play against MANU tommorow but it doesnt matter cuz manu is gonna win anywayalso roberto carlos pretty much sucks this yearhis game is goin away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipnerd Posted April 8 Author Report Share Posted April 8 Originally posted by sutogame roberto carlos is only suspended for international gameslike brazil needs him in stupid friendlies anyway.....hes gonna play against MANU tommorow but it doesnt matter cuz manu is gonna win anywayalso roberto carlos pretty much sucks this yearhis game is goin away You are right Suto ...Here are some interesting stats ... Real Madrid v Manchester United - statbox LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - Statbox for Real Madrid (Spain) v Manchester United (England) Tuesday, April 8, KO 1445 EST Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid Champions League quarter-final, first leg Head-to-head record: Played: 6 Wins: Real Madrid 2, Manchester United 1 Draws: 3 Previous meetings: Real Madrid 3 Manchester United 1 1956-57 European Cup semi-final Manchester United 2 Real Madrid 2 1956-57 European Cup semi-final Manchester United 1 Real Madrid 0 1967-68 European Cup semi-final Real Madrid 3 Manchester United 3 1967-68 European Cup semi-final Real Madrid 0 Manchester United 0 1999-2000 Champions League quarter-final Manchester United 2 Real Madrid 3 1999-2000 Champions League quarter-final Real have been far from convincing at home in the Champions League this season with just three wins in six games. But their record in Madrid in recent years is good overall and only two of the last 24 European visitors to the Bernabeu stadium have gone away with a victory. Real have never lost at home to an English club but four of seven matches have been drawn, two of them by United on their last two visits. United have been good travellers in Europe this season with four wins in seven, including the brilliant 3-0 hammering of Juventus in Turin. They have been heavily dependent on the scoring record of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has netted 12 times. But they may be concerned that they tend to fare badly in Spain. Last year's quarter-final victory away to Deportivo Coruna was their first in Spain, their only win in 14 games. Real's record v English clubs: P17 W6 D6 L5 F25 A21 Real at home to English clubs: P7 W3 D4 L0 F14 A7 United's record v Spanish clubs: P29 W8 D11 L10 F44 A47 United away to Spanish clubs: P14 W1 D5 L8 F14 A29 Enjoy ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crobra Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 Originally posted by sutogame roberto carlos is only suspended for international gameslike brazil needs him in stupid friendlies anyway.....hes gonna play against MANU tommorow but it doesnt matter cuz manu is gonna win anywayalso roberto carlos pretty much sucks this yearhis game is goin away What happened to Man U winning?Roberto Carlos took care of Beckham quite well on the wing, and Madrid put on a clinic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipnerd Posted April 9 Author Report Share Posted April 9 Originally posted by crobra What happened to Man U winning?Roberto Carlos took care of Beckham quite well on the wing, and Madrid put on a clinic. Not only did he take care of him on the wing ... but his constant push forward was the key element to unbalance Man Us defense ... In Madrid's 1st goal ... Figo appeared on the left ... in the second goal it was R. Carlos who slid in the middle of the field to get back the ball which Zidane used to find Raul ... The midfield was the key in the game ... Man U was lost and Real knocked their goals at the right moment ... when it was Man U who was pushing closer ...Still ... the away goal could prove enough if Man U plays at Old Trafford like they play in the EPL ... that is vertically towards the goal ...BTW ... on Wedenesday April 23rd (2:30 pm EST) ESPN2 will show the return leg of this quarterfinal ... no game shown on Tuesday April 22nd ... United do have a ray of hope, says Ferguson MADRID, April 8 (Reuters) - Manchester United face a huge task to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League after a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid on Tuesday, Alex Ferguson recognised. The United boss believes that Ruud van Nistelrooy's second-half goal, plus the prospect of a packed Old Trafford for the return, will give his side at least a faint chance of making it through, however. "Away goals are important and it is one of the hopes that we still have," Ferguson said after a Luis Figo chip and two goals from Raul had set Real up for a convincing win. "I think Real Madrid can play as well away from home. They are a very good team, but I think that we can play better that this at Old Trafford. "For the second leg we have a very hard game, but our one ray of hope is the away goal and if we score early on it could be very interesting. "This is now a massive challenge for us to turn this one around but there is always a great atmosphere at Old Trafford." United will be without Gary Neville and Paul Scholes for the second leg after the two players picked up yellow cards. "I think we can cover the Gary Neville situation with John O'Shea, but Scholes is a definite loss," Ferguson said. "We hope Juan Sebastian Veron will be fit for return leg." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnice35 Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 I said it before the tourney started, Real Madrid was going to win it all......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutogame Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 looks like the sleeping giant is awake now........that mustve been reals best game this season because they havent been that impressive and aside from zidane theyre all schmuks....the first 2 goals ---barthez could have saved them but hes a moron..the 1st goal neville jumped towards figo but he didnt want to block the ball with his back and barthez thought it was going out or some shit2nd goal-off the manu turnover--totally barthez's fault--he just dropped3rd goal that ball passed by two defenders one was RIO(50 MIL MAN) and they didnt try to divert the ball rather they just watched it go by them...........------------------------------------------------------------nice job ref loading up the man u players with yellow cards but no card for that homo hierro for knocking RVN down twice-------------------------------------------------------------next game scholes and neville are outveron might be fit by thenand they need to win 2-0 to go on and if madrid scores 1 in englandthe final score has to be 4-1(so manu really needs to shut them out)thats gonna be a rough game cant wait....missing in action yesterdayroy keane and nicky butt didnt even show up to that game....REAL 3 MANU1MILAN 0 AJAX 0seedorf out for the season FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKbarca 1 juve 1inter 1 valencia 0...............cant believe these scores i dont want to see inter,ajax,barca and real in the final 4 that would be horribleso manu,acmilan,juve and valencia have to have some killer games in 2 weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipnerd Posted April 10 Author Report Share Posted April 10 Originally posted by sutogame looks like the sleeping giant is awake now........that mustve been reals best game this season because they havent been that impressive and aside from zidane theyre all schmuks.... I agree with you ... Real demonstrated their real power ... few teams can play with the offensive skills they posses ... the exceptions being Arsenal and perhaps this same Man U ... I disagree thou with your experssion they are all schmuks ... Raul was impressive as always ... but this Real team is simply amazing ... in the bench they have still the likes of Morientes, Guti and McNammanam ... quote:_________________________________________________the first 2 goals ---barthez could have saved them but hes a moron..the 1st goal neville jumped towards figo but he didnt want to block the ball with his back and barthez thought it was going out or some shit2nd goal-off the manu turnover--totally barthez's fault--he just dropped3rd goal that ball passed by two defenders one was RIO(50 MIL MAN) and they didnt try to divert the ball rather they just watched it go by them...........___________________________________________________They certainly miss Schmichael ... I don't like Barthez either ... The fact that Keane, Scholes and Butt were disappeared has to do with the outnumbers Real brought forward ... on most attacks you had Zidane, Figo Raul, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Makalele and Salgado pushing forward ... the outnumbering came in the constant one twos they palyed as well as the taking their opponents one on one ... something Man U never did ... in a couple ocassions Van Nilsterooy was left with only Hierro to beat and in both occasions he turned to the right to open up for Beckham ... Man U plays more one on one in Old Trafford ... the player I missed the most thou was Giggs ...Veron will bring to Man Us midfield the movility and verticality they missed on Tuesday ...Still ... this Man U team is capable of turning it around on the second leg ... Real is a different team when it plays away ... and is certainly soft on free kicks and corner shots ...Inter won 1-0 ... but this Valencia side can turn things around ... I followed both of today's games on internet radio ... and the spanish media considered the result unfair throughout the game... Valencia does miss Kily Gonzales ...Barza played intelligently in Turin ... was lucky to grab a point ... this forces Juve to score at the Nou Camp ... and without Trezerguet can prove very difficult ... still Barza has defensive difficulties having Puyol out of next game with two yellows ... they will need to move Reizenger to the right and place Motta:confused: to the left ...Milan has been heavily criticized for not being aggressive enough in Amsterdam ... if Ajax scores Milan will have it tough ...My predictions after the first leg ...BarcelonaValenciaMilanMan Utd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghhhhhost Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 i told u guys a couple of threads back not to discount Real Madrid...with the caliber of talent on that team..they werent goin to go quietly...did anyone see Lazio get their ass handed to them by Porto...it was fuckin sad to watch.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutogame Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 i told u guys a couple of threads back that lazio wont win the uefa cuptheyre a good team but they dont fare well in europeand getting beat 4-1 is too much for a team that has the players lazio hasceltic-portouefa cup finalthats gonna be some game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipnerd Posted April 11 Author Report Share Posted April 11 Originally posted by sutogame i told u guys a couple of threads back that lazio wont win the uefa cuptheyre a good team but they dont fare well in europeand getting beat 4-1 is too much for a team that has the players lazio hasceltic-portouefa cup finalthats gonna be some game As bad as the tie in Glasgow was for Celtic ... I believe they can still manage to get to the final ... Larsson missed a penalty and the Boavista goal was an own-goal ...Sad note for Celtic thou is that the game with Rangers will be only three days after the return leg in Lisbon ...Should Porto and Boavista reach the final ... would be the first ever all portuguese European final ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipnerd Posted April 11 Author Report Share Posted April 11 This is someone who knows ...Man United Can Beat 'Dream' Real, Says Wenger LONDON COLNEY, England (Reuters) - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is backing arch-rivals Manchester United to beat Real Madrid and qualify for the Champions League semi-finals. United were beaten 3-1 in Tuesday's quarter-final first leg at the Bernabeu after a mesmerizing performance by their Spanish hosts in the opening 45 minutes. "They were special," Wenger told reporters on Friday. "But I still think Manchester United can beat them at home because they looked very vulnerable defensively. "When United had a real go at them, they looked vulnerable at the back. The difficult part of the task is to stop them scoring a goal." The Arsenal boss admired Real's start to the game as the holders, inspired by Wenger's compatriot Zinedine Zidane, skillfully unknitted United's packed defense. "Some of the football Real Madrid played in the first half was just a dream," Wenger said. "It looked like even when you have 10 men at the back, they just pass it in a relaxed and calm way...they don't get out of first gear, but they still create the chance. And that's top quality." Asked if he wanted United to win the second leg at Old Trafford on April 23, Wenger said: "I want English teams to do well, of course." But he also acknowledged that with United and Arsenal on 67 points each at the top of the premier league, with six games left, an extra distraction for United in Europe would not harm his own team's chances retaining their title. ---------------------------------------------------------Need to add they have to play each other ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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