# 1L UEFA CL Semifinal | Inter Milan v Barcelona | 20 Apr 2010 | 20:45 CET

[Culé]

http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy162/saurabh36928/Intermilanvsbarcelona-1.jpg

Tuesday, 20 April 2010, 20:45, Barcelona Time

Click Here to convert to your local time (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html)

*****************

Where?

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/kammourewa/giuseppemeazza.jpg

Capacity: 80,074


*****************

About
F.C. Internazionale Milano

Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale or Inter, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. The term Inter Milan is sometimes used in the English language to refer to Inter.
Wearing black and blue striped shirts, they play in the Serie A and have 17 Italian titles to their name. Including the Coppa Italia (five wins) and the Italian Super Cup (four wins), Inter have a total of 26 national trophies. Outside of their homeland, the club have also had success in European and World tournaments; they won the European Cup in two successive finals in 1964 and 1965. They have also won the UEFA Cup three times in 1991, 1994, 1998 and the Intercontinental Cup twice also in 1964 and in 1965.

*****************

Current Form
(in the Champions League ONLY)

FC Barcelona

away DDWDD

F.C. Internazionale Milano

home DDWWW

*******************

Team Connections - UEFA.com

• Mourinho served as an assistant to the late Sir Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal at Barcelona from 1996 to 2000.• As Chelsea manager Mourinho oversaw a 5-4 aggregate defeat of Barcelona in the 2004/05 first knockout round but suffered a 3-2 overall loss at the same stage the next season. The 2006/07 campaign brought another reunion, this time in the group stage, with Chelsea finishing above Barça after a 1-0 home win and 2-2 away draw.
• Guardiola played in Italy between 2001 and 2003, making 24 appearances in Serie A for Brescia Calcio and another four for AS Roma.
• Eto'o spent five seasons with Barcelona from 2004. The Cameroon striker hit 109 goals in 144 league appearances, including 30 last season. In the UEFA Champions League he registered 18 in 43 games, scoring Barcelona's first goals in the final triumphs of 2006 and 2009.
• Motta made 96 league appearances for Barcelona between 2002 and 2007, scoring six goals. He was an unused substitute in the Blaugrana's 2-1 UEFA Champions League final defeat of Arsenal FC in 2006.
• Inter forward Diego Milito, 30, could line up against his 29-year-old brother Gabriel of Barcelona. The Argentinian siblings played together for two seasons with Real Zaragoza between 2005 and 2007.
• Only three sets of brothers have played against each other in UEFA club competition: Johannes (Celtic FC) and Atli Edvaldsson (Valur Reykjavík) in the first round of the 1974/75 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Ronald (PSV Eindhoven) and Erwin Koeman (KV Mechelen) in the 1988 UEFA Super Cup and John Arne (AS Roma) and Bjørn Helge Riise (Fulham FC) in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage.
• Quaresma spent 2003/04 at the Camp Nou, making 22 Liga appearances and scoring once.
• During his three-year spell at Inter, Barcelona striker Ibrahimović hit 57 goals in 88 Serie A appearances and six in 22 UEFA Champions League games.
• An unused substitute for Barcelona at San Siro in September, Maxwell was also with Inter for three years from 2006 to 2009. The Brazil full-back made 79 appearances in Serie A and scored two goals.
• Thierry Henry scored twice for Arsenal in a 5-1 win at Inter in the 2003/04 group stage. The France forward previously suffered a UEFA Cup semi-final defeat at Inter's hands when playing for AS Monaco FC in 1996/97.
• Former Barcelona forward Jordi Cruyff – son of Camp Nou favourite Johan – hit the opening goal for Deportivo Alavés when they became the first, and so far only, Spanish team to beat Inter in Milan, prevailing 2-0 in a UEFA Cup fourth-round tie in 2000/01.
• The second leg is in Barcelona on 28 April. The victorious team will advance to the final in Madrid on 22 May where they will play either FC Bayern München or Olympique Lyonnais.


*******************


Previous meetings - UEFA.com

• These two sides need no introduction having met last autumn in the group stage. They drew 0-0 at San Siro on 16 September before reconvening in Barcelona on 24 November, the Catalan side prevailing 2-0 through first-half strikes from Gerard Piqué and Pedro Rodríguez.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/kammourewa/BarcelonavInterMilanUEFAChampionsLe.jpg

• The clubs had previously met in the UEFA Champions League second group stage in 2002/03. Barcelona were 3-0 winners at the Camp Nou on 18 February 2003. Goals from Javier Saviola, Phillip Cocu and Patrick Kluivert secured a ninth successive victory in the UEFA Champions League proper, still a competition record.
• The return the following week finished goalless and both teams progressed to the quarter-finals, Barcelona as group winners. Yet Inter went further that season, reaching the last four.
• Inter's Javier Zanetti and Barcelona pair Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández played in both matches, with Andrés Iniesta an unused substitute at San Siro.

*******************

Match background - UEFA.com

• Inter are aiming to lift the European Champion Clubs' Cup for the first time since their back-to-back triumphs in 1964 and 1965. They can take heart from the fact they have never lost a home semi-final match in the competition.• This season the Italian titleholders are undefeated at San Siro in the UEFA Champions League, where they have registered three wins and two draws.
• Inter have played in seven previous semi-finals in Europe's elite club competition. Their record is four victories and three defeats:

2002/03 AC Milan: 0-0 (a), 1-1 (h)
1980/81 Real Madrid CF: 0-2 (a), 1-0 (h)
1971/72 Celtic FC: 0-0 (h), 0-0 (a, 5-4 pens)
1966/67 PFC CSKA Sofia: 1-1 (h), 1-1 (a), 1-0 (replay)
1965/66 Real Madrid: 0-1 (a), 1-1 (h)
1964/65 Liverpool FC: 1-3 (a), 3-0 (h)
1963/64 BV Borussia Dortmund: 2-2 (a), 2-0 (h)


• Besides losing two European Cup semi-finals to Barcelona's arch-rivals Real Madrid, Inter also succumbed to Madrid twice at the semi-final stage of the UEFA Cup in 1984/85 and 1985/86.
• The Nerazzurri achieved the first of their two European Cup successes by defeating Madrid 3-1 in the 1964 final in Vienna.
• Inter have lost just one of 17 home matches against Spanish clubs, recording eight wins and eight draws.
• They have a poor record in two-legged ties against teams from Spain, however, with four victories and nine defeats from 13 contests. The most recent occasion was against Valencia CF in the round of 16 in 2006/07 and brought an away-goals defeat.
• Inter coach Mourinho's record in UEFA Champions League semi-finals is mixed. He led FC Porto past RC Deportivo La Coruña in 2004 but fell at this stage with Chelsea in 2005 and 2007.
• Mourinho is hoping to lead Inter to the UEFA Champions League six years after winning it with Porto. Only Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970, Hamburger SV 1983) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (BV Borussia Dortmund 1997, FC Bayern München 2001) have won the European Cup as coaches of two different clubs. Bayern's Louis van Gaal, a winner with AFC Ajax in 1995, is also attempting the feat this time round.
• Holders Barcelona have recorded one win and four draws on the road in this term's UEFA Champions League. Their last away loss in the competition proper, qualifiers excluded, was in the 2007/08 semi-final at Manchester United FC.
• Barcelona have played in ten previous semi-finals and their record is five wins and five defeats:

2008/09 Chelsea FC: 0-0 (h), 1-1 (a)
2007/08 Manchester United FC: 0-0 (h), 0-1 (a)
2005/06 AC Milan: 1-0 (a), 0-0 (h)
2001/02 Real Madrid CF: 0-2 (h), 1-1 (a)
1999/2000 Valencia CF: 1-4 (a), 2-1 (h)
1993/94 FC Porto: 3-0 (h)
1985/86 IFK Göteborg: 0-3 (a), 3-0 (h, 5-4 pens)
1974/75 Leeds United AFC: 1-2 (a), 1-1 (h)
1960/61 Hamburger SV: 1-0 (h), 1-2 (a), 1-0 (replay)
1959/60 Real Madrid CF: 1-3 (a), 1-3 (h)


• Barcelona have failed to score in the last four semi-final home legs.
• The visitors' coach, Guardiola, was in the Barcelona side that defeated Porto in the 1993/94 semi-final, which was a one-off match. There was no semi-final stage in the 1991/92 competition.
• This is Barcelona's eighth trip to San Siro where their record is W2 D3 L2.
• Barça visited San Siro for the first leg of their 2005/06 UEFA Champions League semi-final against Milan and achieved a 1-0 success, Ludovic Giuly's 57th-minute strike the only goal of the tie.
• The Spanish club were twice successful in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals against Serie A sides, overcoming ACF Fiorentina in 1997 and Juventus in 1991.
• Overall Barcelona's record away to Italian opponents is W5 D6 L4. They have a strong record in two-legged ties against teams from the country, with six victories and three defeats.
• Barcelona lifted the European Cup for the first time after beating Italy's UC Sampdoria 1-0 in the 1992 final at Wembley. They lost the 1994 final 4-0 to Milan.
• The Blaugrana won last season's final on Italian soil, beating Manchester United 2-0 in Rome.


*******************

General Stats

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/kammourewa/intermilanbarcelonageneralstats.png

Head-2-head

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/kammourewa/intermilanbarcelonahead2head.png

Scoring times chart

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/kammourewa/intermilanbarcelonascoringtimeschar.png

Visca el Barça

[mhrelayyan]

dont know why you open a thread of a match and we still have to play another match before it , dont worry i will not open it before you , lool.

[Culé]

i wont be online next week,does that answer your question mate and about match thread go ahead i dont mind....after the UCL game u can start all the match thread and :)

[Loves To Spooge]

dont know why you open a thread of a match and we still have to play another match before it , dont worry i will not open it before you , lool.

yeh, i dont know how ill sleep tonight knowing this thread was created before we'd even played espanyol :laugh

[Culé]

Friday saw the handover of the trophy from the defending champions to the host club/city.
Some wonderful horse[bleep] comments made during the speeches:

Florentino: "If Barça reaches the final we will do our best to make the club feel at home."

Laporta: ""We publicly thank the elegance and fair-play of Real Madrid."

Cruyff: "The rivalry is on the pitch. Before and after things are different. If they had advanced to the semifinals and Barcelona had been eliminated, of course I would want Real Madrid to win."


Here are a few more that went undetected by the world's press...


http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/7543/uefacltrophymadrid3.jpg

Cruyff: "When I won Barça your first trophy, I grabbed the cup by one handle, like this. But when I won three as a player... you know I've won four total. You only won two, maybe three by next month. So you'll never catch me since you'll be gone in June."

Laporta: "Shut up and smile for the cameras."


http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/7446/uefacltrophymadrid2.jpg


Florentino: "This ceremony is bullsh*t."

Raúl: "Hey presi, your job is mine in three years."

Cruyff: "Tell your presi you've won more European Cups than he has."

Laporta: "Florentino, my bitch, smile for the cameras."

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/6264/uefacltrophymadrid1.jpg



Kaká: "We would've won Saturday if I had played."

C.Ronaldo: "Don't blame me. It wasn't my fault. I played better than Messi but the press always kisses his arse."

Gallardon (mayor of Madrid): "I can't look at that trophy. And Platini better not expect me to give it to them if they win it."

Florentino: "Don't worry, guys. Rooney and Ribery will be here next season. Defenders are overrated."

Cruyff: "Which one of you bitches wants to shine my shoes first?"
__________________

[mhrelayyan]

looooool at those comments cule , as for my comment on this thread i just want to make the barca forum organized thats it.

[Culé]

Ok sir as you say,i will repeat myself from now onwards please create match thread(whenever u feel like) and please confirm it that you will make them so that i wont waste my time preparing/creating one

[Loves To Spooge]

it doenst matter, its an internet football forum ffs, make the threads if and when you want ;)

[Culé]

He is the oldest on the forum(FCB forum) so LTS RESPECT is what i am giving out here ;)

[Loves To Spooge]

oldest goes for nothing

who are you aretha franklin? :D

[Culé]

hahaha just let him make match thread from now on,it anyways consumes a lot of time

thank u SIR

[C]

we are coming off of a pretty lack luster performance and the squad is tired, but we have ibra back. i expect him to start this game. inter did not play well against juve yesterday imo but pulled off the win. their defense was solid but their attack was wasteful.

[Dragonlord]

Inter is a team that doesn't concern me as much as a Man U or Chelsea or Madrid etc...

But considering that we've been looking a little tired lately, it is a cause for concern. Inter is chasing a title as well and has been through a lot of fixtures too.

There should be no excuses here. We should be hungry after that disappointment against Espanyol.

[Barcelinha]

jesus fvcking christ guys, stop arguing whos making the fvcking game threads! this is not kindergarden.

i think the espanyol game woke us up. this will be a good game and i even fancy us pulling a cheeky 1-0 win.

[Scholesy18]

You will go through if you get at least one away goal.

[mhrelayyan]

You will go through if you get at least one away goal.
this is exactly what should barca do , we must score at least a goal even a 1-1 will be good since 0-0 like last time would be dangerous this time

[Blaugrana87]

I just hope we don't underestimate them, the general opinion seems to be that barca will go through and in the 2 matches earlier this season we nearly played them off the park (eventhough we failed to score in the first match), hopefully the players won't take it easy. This time Inter will be prepared and they have had the time to fix everything that went wrong in the 2 matches earlier this season.

[Loves To Spooge]

Tough game to call.

a few players really look like they're running on empty, Messi in particular looks as though his legs are about to give way.

Could be a really tricky game

[Sparky]

:laugh at the bitching at match threads.

Anyway, I think Inter can keep a clean sheet here. Mourinho just needs to pick the right team.

[Loves To Spooge]

btw ibrahimovic has to start.

Ive been quite pleased with Bojan recently but no ******* way is he playing, he will get rag dolled by Lucio and Samuel, he just isnt physical enough to get the better of them

[Zeman]

Milan airports are closed.
Your team will have to do a 10 hours bus travel.

[Blaugrana87]

Milan airports are closed.
Your team will have to do a 10 hours bus travel.
It's closed on monday as well? And it isn't 10 hours from Barcelona to Milan surely?

Good point though, it will be quite a disadvantage. A long bus travel will only make the players tired.

[Zeman]

It's closed on monday as well?


YES

And it isn't 10 hours from Barcelona to Milan surely?

YES

Good point though, it will be quite a disadvantage. A long bus travel will only make the players tired.

YES

[Loves To Spooge]

can they not just sleep on the bus :D

[C]

im pretty sure the team is leaving today, they should be fine for tuesday in terms of traveling.

[Bossanova]

**** you VOLCANO

[C]

sport is saying that the team is leaving today at 1430 euro time on 2 different buses. they will spend the night in Cannes tonight and leave the next day for milan.

[SCP-87]

Olegario Benqueranca (Portugal) will be the ref

Mourinho is Master!

[VDV]

It's weird if Bayern potentially make it past Lyon, either team advancing has its advantages for the final. :) I will watch this match for fun, not caring too much who wins though maybe Inter might be a bit easier finalist.

[mhrelayyan]

barca team will use the bus for this 1000 km trip , first they will go to france and spend the night then continue to milan, this is a disadvantage for barca since the players will be tired , i dont remmember something like this happened before.

[Barcantina]

I think it will be a good thing, they can rest, no training, I know the bus ride is not that comfortable but at the same time it's not a shitty bus, I'm sure they'll have all the comfort possible on the way there. I'm glad for the tie at espanyol, it was an awakening call, we needed it when everything is now on he edge. Inter isn't really that good of a team, and morinho is nothing but a big mouth. One goal and they'll freak out.

[mhrelayyan]

the good news it seems it is a good bus and the players are having fun , see the pics :

http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/galeries/futbol/temporada09-10/04/viatge_autobus/galeria.html

[Barcelinha]

this is shite.

[C]

what id like to see

--pedro---------ibra-----------messi--
--------keita---toure--xavi------------
--max----puyol-------pique------alves--
----------------valdes-----------------

[mhrelayyan]

i think pep will use this :

pedro---------ibra-----------messi--
--------keita---sergio --xavi------------
--abidal----puyol-------pique------alves--
----------------valdes-----------------

[Barcelinha]

i hope Pep wakes the fvck up and plays Yaya.

if Abidal is fit, him too.

Ibra must play, but for the first time ever, he must fvcking play like his life depends on it.

i´m gonna be here for the game. dunno if it´s a good thing or not. but damn it, the whole morale down cause Real beat Valencia, and the fatigue from the trip, i´m not so confident anymore, :(

[El Capitan]

I think it will be a good thing, they can rest, no training, I know the bus ride is not that comfortable but at the same time it's not a shitty bus, I'm sure they'll have all the comfort possible on the way there. I'm glad for the tie at espanyol, it was an awakening call, we needed it when everything is now on he edge. Inter isn't really that good of a team, and morinho is nothing but a big mouth. One goal and they'll freak out.

I very much disagree with this, I think Inter will be a tough tough test, esp away. Do you think the clever work Pochettino will go unnoticed? If anything, Inter have the capability to do that better the Espanyol themselves plus they can actually score.

The long bus journey is a nightmare too because dont forget we have to bus it all the way back again, not ideal. Thank god we have Xerez this weekend :laugh



Messi must not...I repeat MUST NOT be used at all this weekend at Xerez, time for Barca B to step up.

[Barcelinha]

well, the Barca B babies can always step up. i´ve seen them winning vs. Lleida and they were quite good.

[El Capitan]

well, the Barca B babies can always step up. i´ve seen them winning vs. Lleida and they were quite good.

Did you watch that game in person? I want to see a match of theirs if possible...but this volcano ash thing means I may not be able to fly in for the semi final 2nd leg at the Camp Nou on the 28th :(

[Barcelinha]

ah yeah, mini estadi tickets are 11 euro or 17 euro for the good ones and we had nothing else to do. and yes, we wanted to see the babies in action, since we missed them last saturday!!

they play really well, very few mistakes, i wouldn´t say they´re a B team, more like a mid table team from la Liga. and Dalmau debuting for Altetic made a really good impression, he´s fierce on the right! deffo a future starter in 5 years time, if not less!

[Loves To Spooge]

Toure poses with a fan :laugh

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/Galeries/futbol/temporada09-10/04/arribada_a_mila/2010-04-19_VIAJE_07.JPG

Bojan looks like hes excited to meet Toure

[mhrelayyan]

barca bus reached milan 3 hours ago , pep will do a press conference with alves today.

[Barcelinha]

you can say the same about Yaya :handbags

[Johnnyboy]

from sportmediaset

http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/27.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_0_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/49.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_1_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/28.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_2_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/6.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_3_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/83.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_4_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/61.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_5_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/64.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_6_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/86.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_7_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/31.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_9_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/55.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_10_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/70.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_11_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/92.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_12_immagine.jpg


http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/bin/15.$plit/C_27_photogallery_2615_GroupPhotogallery_listphoto _itemPhoto_13_immagine.jpg

[Barcelinha]

nice pics, seen most of them in Sport and EMD

[SCP-87]

http://nafan.blogs.sapo.pt/arquivo/olegariobenquerenca.jpg

[Barcelinha]

how is that even allowed, seriously!!!!!!!!

[Johnnyboy]

how is that even allowed, seriously!!!!!!!!


Inter fix matches even in Champions league. So everything is possible for them.

[mhrelayyan]

http://nafan.blogs.sapo.pt/arquivo/olegariobenquerenca.jpg
i read that this ref is well known for giving a lot of cards , i hope it is for inter.

[mhrelayyan]

the most important thing i hope pep dont let milito play since he is too slow in moving and in passing , we need the strongest formation in defence and abidal will give us more strength in defending and attacking , hope that alves will not leave spaces behind him as always , and ibra to play better than last time we played inter.

[Ashraf]

Wth why would someone take pictures of Alves X_x ?

[mhrelayyan]

i read that morinho might play maicon in the right wing to add pressure on barca and to take advantage on his attaking skills like he did with juve , hope abidal is ready for this.

[El Capitan]

the most important thing i hope pep dont let milito play since he is too slow in moving and in passing , we need the strongest formation in defence and abidal will give us more strength in defending and attacking , hope that alves will not leave spaces behind him as always , and ibra to play better than last time we played inter.

Do you mean Milito or Maxwell?

Milito in central defence would be way less scary than Maxwell vs Maicon, Milito can actually defend & tackle :laugh

[Barcelinha]

Alves is hot, dawg! :P

i´ve had too much free alcohol last night to be nervous right now, but it´ll come...:holy247

[mhrelayyan]

Do you mean Milito or Maxwell?

Milito in central defence would be way less scary than Maxwell vs Maicon, Milito can actually defend & tackle :laugh

i mean milito his errors cost barca more than maxwell although in this match i hope max dont play too :ninja

[El Capitan]

i mean milito his errors cost barca more than maxwell although in this match i hope max dont play too :ninja


Really?? What match for errors? The Arsenal one where he got caught in possesion was arguably a foul, but apart from that and the odd stray pass he's way more solid defensively than Maxwell.


Puyol & Pique should start so no worries there, but Milito a good replacement and importantly good in the air (possibly vs Diego his brother). He's been like a new signing for us since he came back. Maxwell should play only if Abidal cant but I seriously wouldnt risk him. He's good cover yes and a decent squad player but not a patch on Abidal. Plus Maxwell can get hurt with pace more than Milito does (who, although not that fast, has much better positioning in the first place). Maxwell's forays up the pitch and naievety position wise leave us exposed on that side at times hence Mourinho playing Maicon at right wing to exploit that possible space. If Maxwell's not careful he'll get murdered cause he'll get nowhere near the Brazilian, whereas 'stay at the back' defenders (Puyol / Milito) or those with pace (Abidal) stand a better chance. Remember, even Juanfran made mincemeat of Maxwell when they last met and he's no Maicon...

[mhrelayyan]

even if not too many goals came from his errors but too many chances were created.

this is how inter will play :laugh

[C]

have to dvr this game again. will comment about it around 10 pm. hope we atleast get a draw with some away goals.

[forzaitalia25]

we are coming off of a pretty lack luster performance and the squad is tired, but we have ibra back. i expect him to start this game. inter did not play well against juve yesterday imo but pulled off the win. their defense was solid but their attack was wasteful.

This is Inter.

I don't think Ive ever known an Inter team to be so defensively strong than this one. Strangely i think many would agree that they are better off the ball than on, that's no discredit to some of their attacking players. They have world class players all over the starting line up. It's just their system which they program. This is going to be very close.

[El Capitan]

This is Inter.

I don't think Ive ever known an Inter team to be so defensively strong than this one. Strangely i think many would agree that they are better off the ball than on, that's no discredit to some of their attacking players. They have world class players all over the starting line up. It's just their system which they program. This is going to be very close.

Actually, I agree. Defensively Inter very good as evidenced by their performance v Chelsea. Lucio & Samuel are formidable and well as being clever and sly as hell (lets face it, every good defender need to be this).

It must be said though that Inter dont face many sides with the attacking nous of Barcelona, I think this first leg will be fascinating. In fact, I wouldnt be suprised if Barca appear more like the home side for the first 30 or so minutes and Inter happy to soak up pressure and counter using Sneijder or Cambiasso. But an away goal at Inter would be a massive result and I believe we will get at least one but I suspect actually we'll get 2.


I wish both sides a very good game, I admire Inter's play at times :clap

[Barcantina]

Inter players have to be careful not to get a yellow card today. They have Zanneti, Maicon, Samuel and Stankovic and we wahve Puyol, any of these players get a yellow card and they'll miss the second leg.

[plescar]

Vamos Barca !!!

[mhrelayyan]

Lucio & Samuel and zanetti have a yellow card so if they have one today they will miss the next one.

[paman]

This is Inter.

I don't think Ive ever known an Inter team to be so defensively strong than this one. Strangely i think many would agree that they are better off the ball than on, that's no discredit to some of their attacking players. They have world class players all over the starting line up. It's just their system which they program. This is going to be very close.


Fantastic analysis of Inter from what I've seen of them - it was particularly apparent in the Milano derby where they just harrassed, pressed, fouled, harried - anything really to break up the rythym and free flowing football that AC had been playing. It worked as well.

I've not seen such a tenacious up in your face team in the CL for a long while, even EPL teams arent as aggressive as i've seen Inter being!

You got it spot on about them being brilliant without the ball, even though they have world class talent in attacking positions.

The only thing that I would say is that if Barca do get a goal in San Siro - will Inter be able to change their counter-attacking philosophy and come out? And if they do will it not only leave gaps exposing their slow DC's Lucio/Samuel?

[heleveeta]

starting to get a little nervous.

hope Motta plays for inter, that will be good for barcelona...

i think samuel/lucio are hatchet men.

[mhrelayyan]

IMO the most dangerous player in inter today is sneider since he gives the creativity to their play , he need to be marked well and to be careful from counter attacks.

[Barcantina]

Tonight's Lineup:


------Valdez-------

Alvez -- Pique -- Puyol-- Abidal

Xavi ----- Busquets-----Keita

Messi----Ibra-----Pedro

[mhrelayyan]

pep said in the press conf. that i prefer to travel 1000 km by bus than to watch the semi final in tv.

[Loves To Spooge]

Tonight's Lineup:


------Valdez-------

Alvez -- Pique -- Puyol-- Abidal

Xavi ----- Busquets-----Keita

Messi----Ibra-----Pedro

that official?

[RCKB]

cant wait for this game.

[El Capitan]

that official?


Exteremly happy with that set up, although I'd expect Yaya to get some minutes as Sneijder may be a tricky one for Busquets to shut down...and he's needs to be shut down at all costs.

[Chazzy]

please don't play good.

[Barcantina]

Final and oficial one:

Valdez
Alvez pique putol maxwell

Xavi Busquets Pedro Keits

Messi Ibra

[Loves To Spooge]

Tonight's Lineup:


------Valdez-------

Alvez -- Pique -- Puyol-- Abidal

Xavi ----- Busquets-----Keita

Messi----Ibra-----Pedro

not official then

but you were almost right

exact same team except maxwell instead of abidal

[Barcantina]

I was hoping for Abidal, but it didn't work oh well, Im sure Maxwell will do the job, I have to say, his increase in playing time gave him much more confidence and he's really stepped up.

[scottdc]

1-0 Pedrito!!!!


Maicon makes the most absurd move, gives maxwell a free run, lovely ball to the middle of the box, crisp finish by pedrito

[tacko7]

come on barca

[Loves To Spooge]

that was piss poor defending from alves

[VDV]

Alves is getting raped so far 1st half

[Loves To Spooge]

tbh im not too pleased after getting that goal

alves has had a shocker. they've totally smothered messi AND ibrahimovic so xavi and co have rarely had the option to pass to them.

looking to fragile at the back for me

[chad4401]

tbh im not too pleased after getting that goal

alves has had a shocker. they've totally smothered messi AND ibrahimovic so xavi and co have rarely had the option to pass to them.

looking to fragile at the back for me

you guys are lucky its 1-1 tbh

[Loves To Spooge]

you guys are lucky its 1-1 tbh

wouldnt argue with that

alves has been getting his arse felt in this game. Need to get it together and sort his crossing out too

[Scholesy18]

The ref is too card happy.

[Loves To Spooge]

btw, maybe a bit harsh on alves at the goal because pedro should have tracked back too

[Scholesy18]

Man Sneijder pwns.

[Scholesy18]

2-1 Inter, Maicon.

[chad4401]

you guys are going down 2-1 maicon

[FCBM Chris]

that's the price you pay with so much attack. puyol=pwnt.

[chad4401]

and down you go 3-1 to Diego

[Loves To Spooge]

3-1

this is ******* awful

[Stephh<3]

why?!?!? noooo! 3-1 :(

[notorious]

Mourinho is different class. Barca have been made to look sh1te so far - not often that ever happens. Still, 1 more Barca goal and they will most likely go through as 2 away goals will be a big advantage.

[Scholesy18]

Fvcking helllllllllll:ninja

Has the long trip contributed, or absolutely sensational tactics?

[FCBM Chris]

Barca=schoolboy defenders

[The_Big_Easy]

Ibra off, Abidal on :blink:

[Scholesy18]

Mourinho is different class. Barca have been made to look sh1te so far - not often that ever happens. Still, 1 more Barca goal and they will most likely go through as 2 away goals will be a big advantage.
He is amazing, i knew if anyone had a chance against Barca it was Mournho's Inter. Buttttt they need to not conceed.

[FCBM Chris]

Barca=schoolboy defenders

[Stephh<3]

we need andres iniesta now!

[Madridista]

3-1 who the **** would expect that.

[Loves To Spooge]

the defending has been woeful tonight

but in fairness, milito was clearly offside at the third goal

[Zeman]

the defending has been woeful tonight

but in fairness, milito was clearly offside at the third goal

but he was alone vs Valdes in the first half whe the referee called a wrong offside.

[Jamiew]

It's obviously the travelling that's ****ed us up, because we've been really sloppy in possession.... like the players are tired. I guarantee you we'll hammer these at home, when our players have had a bit more of a rest.

[gtu2004]

It's obviously the travelling that's ****ed us up, because we've been really sloppy in possession.... like the players are tired. I guarantee you we'll hammer these at home, when our players have had a bit more of a rest.
saved

[Loves To Spooge]

busquets and keita have been murder in this half

[Loves To Spooge]

It's obviously the travelling that's ****ed us up, because we've been really sloppy in possession.... like the players are tired. I guarantee you we'll hammer these at home, when our players have had a bit more of a rest.

completely disagree

we've just been ****

i d ont see how sitting on a luxury coach could make the squad tired

[Loves To Spooge]

that was a stonewall penalty

disgraceful decision

[Jamiew]

completely disagree

we've just been ****

i d ont see how sitting on a luxury coach could make the squad tired

We've just travelled 20+ hours, after playing Saturday night.... they're clearly going to be tired.

And Inter have had all the breaks.

[Sparky]

Hahahahahahahaha

How was that not given?

[Stephh<3]

are you ******* kidding me, Pique?

I WANT BOJAN NOWWW!

[Loves To Spooge]

wow, just awful

id say pique and maxwell got pass marks, t he rest of them werent any good

Xavi and messi were very poor, shows him important it is that they play well

still, the 3rd was offside and that was a shocking decision by the ref not to award a penalty

[notorious]

What a result for Inter! Mourinho 1-0 Guardiola. Completely marked Messi out of the game, and made a brilliant side look average. Makes the tie very interesting going into the 2nd leg. Inter fully deserved the win. Barca will win at the Nou Camp for sure, just depends on whether Inter can score as to who goes through imo.

[chad4401]

inter gonna defend like hell at barca

[Jamiew]

Seriously, who paid the ref off?

I still stress..... Inter will not get the amount of luck they had tonight in the 2nd leg; we'll hammer them at home.

[Johnnyboy]

Told you match was fixed. Denied penalty and all decisions in Inter's favour.

[gtu2004]

pay Inter some credits lol

i couldn't watch the game but apparently from the comments all over the place, Inter had decisions against them as well.

[notorious]

You win some, you lose some. Can't just blame the ref. Inter outplayed you. You'll still go through imo.

[Johnnyboy]

Inter fixed the Chelsea's match and now the Barca. They're nothing but thieves.

[RCKB]

pot kettle ^^^

[Johnnyboy]

pay Inter some credits lol

i couldn't watch the game but apparently from the comments all over the place, Inter had decisions against them as well.


What decisions against them??? :ninja:ninja

[Loves To Spooge]

jesus. i cant believe alves and pique didnt get penalties

awful decisions.

gotta to brutally honest, i dont think we'll turn it around, they'll park the bus and if we dwell on the ball and **** around we wont get anything

[Loves To Spooge]

You win some, you lose some. Can't just blame the ref. Inter outplayed you. You'll still go through imo.

dont talk p*sh

inter played well and deserved to win, but 'outplayed us'?

give us peace

[Jamiew]

Even though we were bad, we still got passed their 10 man defence; Sergio missed from 6 yards; Pique missed from 2 yards.... we were denied 2 penalties.... plus, had half chances in the 2nd half. When the players are more fresh, we'll play a lot better than that..... oh, and hopefully a fair ref.

[Ashraf]

Milito was just outstanding today :D .

[Jamiew]

pay Inter some credits lol

i couldn't watch the game but apparently from the comments all over the place, Inter had decisions against them as well.

Inter deserved to win. But they had no key decisions against them. The ref was very Inter friendly.

[Blaugrana87]

How depressing....

That's all i have to say :(

[Loves To Spooge]

jesus man theres so much about that performance that is annoying though.

i thought xavi was poor, but at the same time i felt sorry for him being in there with keita and busquets, those two are great at holding onto the ball too long and then putting other players in trouble.

messi just had a sh*t game, he didnt get any space but when he did it just didnt happen for him, looks a really tired player.

Alves was murder, however he should have had a penalty

i thought pique got pass marks, should also have had a penalty (maybe karma for his blatant handball at stamford bridge!)

Puyol looked very slack.

Maxwell played well, set the first one up well

Pedro, very poor imo, great finish for the goal, but his touch, control and link up play are well short of the standards for that team.

[zeus3dfx]

I enjoyed this match.

Something about seeing this: "Internazionale 3 - Barcelona 1" feels really good. I like the underdog :laugh

I thought Zanetti and Maicon were outstanding tonight as well as Sneijder.

You could see Barca wanted to play their game but didn't have the usual expected space to do so, and I believe Ibrahimovic had one of his worst games ever in elite competition.

[Scholesy18]

When is Iniesta back. I think you guys could have maybe done with him. Ibrahimovic was totally non-existant.

[forzaitalia25]

We've just travelled 20+ hours, after playing Saturday night.... they're clearly going to be tired.

And Inter have had all the breaks.

10 hours plus you stopped the night in Cannes.

I'm pretty sure they would be traveling in luxury, staying in the best hotel. That's not really an excuse is it ? If they had to go Moscow by bus then yeah.

[El Capitan]

Nightmare first leg but not a total disaster. 1 more away goal would have swung it back in our favour but alas it was not to be....

My suspicions about Inter were right, theyre not the better footballing side per se, but tactically sharp and superb in defence (bar the 1st goal). We looked sluggish out there and passing wasnt as crisp as I would expect, looked tired & sloppy. But thats not an excuse to be used. Defence was poor and got caught out playing offside far too often for my liking (Pep MUST analyze this). Messi has a bad game, Xavi didnt but wasnt able to influence as per usual. Keita was esp pants, do not use in the second leg as a starter...use Yaya. Alves was shockingly bad. Pedro on the other hand was very decent and worked hard....

No Puyol for second leg mean Milito & Pique which is fine. I think we score at home but we must conceed 1 goal MAX. Inter will not come to score they play to counter just like tonight and will defend to the death. Personally I think we'll have to play the match of our lives to be able to make it to the final, I'm actually still confident we can do it.

As for Ibra, I'm lost for words...what a waste. And why didnt he head the gift he was given in the second minute :rolleyes:

How much did we miss Iniesta in a game like this?

[The Devil]

Key questions from me

1. Why do you seem to have no striker back up Pep seems to have no faith in Bojan or Henry in big games ?

2. Ibra why wont he head the ball ?

3. Why does he persist in playing Keita ?

4. Yaya brings strength to the midfield you are lacking why does he not play ?

[SirReal Madrid]

Inter deserved to win. But they had no key decisions against them. The ref was very Inter friendly.

An "offside" call against Inter....Should have been allowed. Bottom line is Inter deserved to win. Mourinho out thought Guardiola tonight and bottom line is Inter are a very good side who is clearly growing as a team in the CL. No shame in losing unless you thought yourselves overwhelmingly superior, in which case, I have no idea why. I expect a very tense game at Camp Nou with you guys going for many goals and Inter catching you on the counter. probably will be Etoo and Balotellis prime duties that night. Give Inter some credit, they deserve it. And perhaps Mourinho is the special one indeed. We'll see after the 2nd leg.

[Ashraf]

I enjoyed this match.

Something about seeing this: "Internazionale 3 - Barcelona 1" feels really good. I like the underdog :laugh

I thought Zanetti and Maicon were outstanding tonight as well as Sneijder.

You could see Barca wanted to play their game but didn't have the usual expected space to do so, and I believe Ibrahimovic had one of his worst games ever in elite competition.
Zanetti was awesome ofc :D , Maicon was okay except for the goal they conceded was a bit his fault imo , Milito was the bomb 2 assists 1 goal :D

[Johnnyboy]

Pep did a mistake taking out Ibra.

[zeus3dfx]

Zanetti was awesome ofc :D , Maicon was okay except for the goal they conceded was a bit his fault imo , Milito was the bomb 2 assists 1 goal :D

Milito had an unbelievable game. Zanetti is just on a different planet. Is that guy human?

[notorious]

An "offside" call against Inter....Should have been allowed. Bottom line is Inter deserved to win. Mourinho out thought Guardiola tonight and bottom line is Inter are a very good side who is clearly growing as a team in the CL. No shame in losing unless you thought yourselves overwhelmingly superior, in which case, I have no idea why. I expect a very tense game at Camp Nou with you guys going for many goals and Inter catching you on the counter. probably will be Etoo and Balotellis prime duties that night. Give Inter some credit, they deserve it. And perhaps Mourinho is the special one indeed. We'll see after the 2nd leg.

This. Better side on the night won. Although Barca will rip them a new one at the Nou Camp imo. Capable of beating any side in world football by 2 goals, Inter are no exception.

[nAz]

This is why Mourinho is going to become one of the best managers in football history.

I thought this Barca team would walk this game but he played it so well and hats off to Inter for not panicking after the first goal like a lot of teams would do.
I thought they just never allowed Barca to play and irritated the crap out of them, Messi, Xavi and Ibra were very poor but that isn't by coincidence, the Inter team were well drilled into stopping these players have time on the ball.

The second leg is going to be a cracker.

[El Capitan]

Fancy seeing you here Ashraf, staying online to have wank at our expense rather than go out with your mates? You must be popular :laugh

[Loves To Spooge]

ibra ******* blew

hes at least got to look for the ball and get involved, instead he stands around and concedes fouls, NOT good enough at that level.

[Scholesy18]

This. Better side on the night won. Although Barca will rip them a new one at the Nou Camp imo. Capable of beating any side in world football by 2 goals, Inter are no exception.
Early goal could make things tense for Inter. Longer it goes on and Inter will grow.

Barca will turn up the heat at home, they'll also have much more width, but i wouldn't rule out an away goal for Inter.

[Jamiew]

An "offside" call against Inter....Should have been allowed. Bottom line is Inter deserved to win. Mourinho out thought Guardiola tonight and bottom line is Inter are a very good side who is clearly growing as a team in the CL. No shame in losing unless you thought yourselves overwhelmingly superior, in which case, I have no idea why. I expect a very tense game at Camp Nou with you guys going for many goals and Inter catching you on the counter. probably will be Etoo and Balotellis prime duties that night. Give Inter some credit, they deserve it.

And that offside decision was like 40 yards away from goal, with Milito running on to it.... there's no guarantee he would have got a chance from it, because it was going well away from him. And that's not a key decision. A key decision would be, Eto'o being offside when crossing it in and Milito scoring from an offside position. A key decision would be, not getting 2 clear penalty decisions not going for you.

Did I say Inter Didn't deserved to win? Of course they did. They were quicker and more up for it. We were sloppy in possession and didn't do our pressing game.

All I'm saying is, Inter can count themselves very fortunate tonight with some of the decisions going their way. They had the rub of the green tonight. I highly doubt they'll get that amount of luck in the 2nd leg.

[Ashraf]

Milito had an unbelievable game. Zanetti is just on a different planet. Is that guy human?
He is probably not , 0 injuries 0 fatigue 0 mistakes :D .

[Jamiew]

ibra ******* blew

hes at least got to look for the ball and get involved, instead he stands around and concedes fouls, NOT good enough at that level.

I said this ages ago.

The guy.... is a lanky piece of crap!

[Loves To Spooge]

tell you what though, if we **** up at the camp nou and inter score its over

[SirReal Madrid]

What would be amazing is if Mourinho threw everyone a curve ball and didn't park the bus, instead going for the jugular. No one would expect it and Guardiola definitely would not prepare for that approach. perhaps a gamble like this can pay off handsomely. IMO, I see Inter going through. I thin Mourinho is a brilliant tactician and he seems to instill that confidence in his players. The players are no slouches either and will be prepared for the battle. Will be interesting to see things unfold. Most Barca fans already saw themselves lifting the trophy so it'll be curious to see how this story all ends. After the beatings we've been taking on and off the field this season, it'd be pretty surreal if we were the ones to win the league and Barca lost the CL title as well. Doubt this scenario will happen but its technically possible

[Jamiew]

tell you what though, if we **** up at the camp nou and inter score its over

I don't think that'll happen.... and even if it does, we're more than capable of getting 4 or 5 goals.

We even had a few chances tonight despite us being crap.

[Ashraf]

I don't think that'll happen.... and even if it does, we're more than capable of getting 4 or 5 goals.

We even had a few chances tonight despite us being crap.
With all due respect but Inter's defense is a lot better than that .

@SirRealMadrid
I think he will do that , Mourinho is not stupid to park the bus and give them the chance to be attacking for all the 90 mins .

[Scholesy18]

Guardiola just said it wasn't tiredness btw. So how did Inter beat them then? And that after going a goal down. But they didn't panic and pulled one back then 2 more. Great character.

[Johnnyboy]

Puyol is also suspended for next match after being influenced by the Inter players to get him booked. In fact he booked him after about 30 seconds of the Inter players ordering him to do it.

[Stephh<3]

I don't think that'll happen.... and even if it does, we're more than capable of getting 4 or 5 goals.

We even had a few chances tonight despite us being crap.

4 or 5 goals?! are you serious? we're pleying inter, i don't expect that many goals. i don't even think we will be able to go through anymore. :(

[Loves To Spooge]

I don't think that'll happen.... and even if it does, we're more than capable of getting 4 or 5 goals.

We even had a few chances tonight despite us being crap.

no chance we're ever getting 4 goals against that team.

especially with ibra up there, the onus is always on messi to score the goals and its too much to be honest, as long as inter can shut him and xavi out of the game again they'll have an excellent chance

im just so disappointed we dont have iniesta because Keita isnt really good enough when hes been pressured, far too easily dispossessed and dont use the ball well enough

[SirReal Madrid]

And that offside decision was like 40 yards away from goal, with Milito running on to it.... there's no guarantee he would have got a chance from it, because it was going well away from him. And that's not a key decision. A key decision would be, Eto'o being offside when crossing it in and Milito scoring from an offside position. A key decision would be, not getting 2 clear penalty decisions not going for you.

Did I say Inter Didn't deserved to win? Of course they did. They were quicker and more up for it. We were sloppy in possession and didn't do our pressing game.

All I'm saying is, Inter can count themselves very fortunate tonight with some of the decisions going their way. They had the rub of the green tonight. I highly doubt they'll get that amount of luck in the 2nd leg.

The better team one, period. There's really no arguing here. Mourinho and tactics worked a gem and players showed up. And besides, if you think you got it bad by being "robbed" imagine how Chelsea felt :/ Lets move on and enjoy the 2nd leg.

[Loves To Spooge]

The better team one, period. There's really no arguing here. Mourinho and tactics worked a gem and players showed up. And besides, if you think you got it bad by being "robbed" imagine how Chelsea felt :/ Lets move on and enjoy the 2nd leg.

mourinho is getting too much credit in my opinion, the better team did win, but if militos goal was chopped off and barca got either of those two penalties the tie would be in our favour

[Barcelinha]

i´m gonna read the previous pages when i´m less heartbroken, so for now, i´ll just say that we were both crap and robbed.

******* ****!

[SirReal Madrid]

Guardiola just said it wasn't tiredness btw. So how did Inter beat them then? And that after going a goal down. But they didn't panic and pulled one back then 2 more. Great character.
Good man Guardiola and he's right. It's scientifically proven that air travel takes a lot more out of you than sitting anyway. But this may well be the excuse people need. I already envisioned it in the event that they lost.

[YGeorgey]

Great character.

Mourinho's teams always have that.

With him Inter went from being a hopeless team in the CL like a team I know *cough* Real Madrid *cough*, to defeating arguably the best team in the World. I don't think that's all tactics, his winning mentality influences his players to great effect.

[BarçaChica]

Well we didn't deserve to win based on our performance but the ref and the side ref were a bit dodgy... wrong decisions whether it's too many cards and not at the right people to the imaginary offsides against Milito in the first half. 5th ref needed Platiniiiiiiiiiiii

Meh, I hope we'll be in better shape for the game in Camp Nou :D

[Ashraf]

i´m gonna read the previous pages when i´m less heartbroken, so for now, i´ll just say that we were both crap and robbed.

******* ****!
You robbed Chelsea last year so :P

[SirReal Madrid]

mourinho is getting too much credit in my opinion, the better team did win, but if militos goal was chopped off and barca got either of those two penalties the tie would be in our favour

Life has too many ifs though. It's not easy to even draw against Barca. I thought you'd win easily tbh. Thats why I think the credit is due. Youre the effing best team in recent modern football ffs! A 3-1 regardless how it happened is a damn good result and is testament to the team. Also, Im sure Mourinho took some pointers from the derby this past weekend as well. Definitely did his homework. Inter is in the driving seat and it's there's to lose. Lets see.

[SirReal Madrid]

Mourinho's teams always have that.

With him Inter went from being a hopeless team in the CL like a team I know *cough* Real Madrid *cough*, to defeating arguably the best team in the World. I don't think that's all tactics, his winning mentality influences his players to great effect.




Damn you , leave us out of this :) . But I agree totally. it's a mindset. Love or hate Mourinho he is undeniably a strong person with much leadership ability.

[Loves To Spooge]

You robbed Chelsea last year so :P

p*ss off :laugh

chelsea had one stonewall penalty denied when pique handballed, the rest were very debatable, and anyway Henry had a stonewall penalty denied in spain.

The fouls on alves and pique tonight were clear cut though, especially the tackle on alves, i h ave no clue how both the ref and the linesman managed to conclude that alves had dived

[SirReal Madrid]

Well we didn't deserve to win based on our performance but the ref and the side ref were a bit dodgy... wrong decisions whether it's too many cards and not at the right people to the imaginary offsides against Milito in the first half. 5th ref needed Platiniiiiiiiiiiii

Meh, I hope we'll be in better shape for the game in Camp Nou :D

Be careful what you wish for.

[Scholesy18]

Mourinho's teams always have that.

With him Inter went from being a hopeless team in the CL like a team I know *cough* Real Madrid *cough*, to defeating arguably the best team in the World. I don't think that's all tactics, his winning mentality influences his players to great effect.



True, honestly ain't that bad getting knocked out early (though i imagine it's different to you guys with the way last 5-6 seasons have gone:ninja). It's pretty refreshing to just be able to watch a game as a neutral rather than worry who you might face.

I enjoyed tonight's game.

[SirReal Madrid]

p*ss off :laugh

chelsea had one stonewall penalty denied when pique handballed, the rest were very debatable, and anyway Henry had a stonewall penalty denied in spain.

The fouls on alves and pique tonight were clear cut though, especially the tackle on alves, i h ave no clue how both the ref and the linesman managed to conclude that alves had dived

Refs are horrid all over. The away game against Stuttgart saved your @sses that night,over and over, remember? We'll never know but that may have been the difference between you being here now or not, you never know. Personally Im all for tech intervention.

[Barcelinha]

how about those sour grapes Scholesy? :handbags

[Loves To Spooge]

Refs are horrid all over. The away game against Stuttgart saved your @sses that night,over and over, remember? We'll never know but that may have been the difference between you being here now or not, you never know. Personally Im all for tech intervention.

stuttgart away? i dont really remember tbh, either way id always fancy us to tank a team like that at the camp nou

Not a team like inter though, far too organized.

I just hope they dont get all the breaks in the second leg and we get a bit of luck.

[Ashraf]

p*ss off :laugh

chelsea had one stonewall penalty denied when pique handballed, the rest were very debatable, and anyway Henry had a stonewall penalty denied in spain.

The fouls on alves and pique tonight were clear cut though, especially the tackle on alves, i h ave no clue how both the ref and the linesman managed to conclude that alves had dived
**** happens here and there , i am not discussing any particular incidents , just commenting on the word "robbed" .

[Jamiew]

Life has too many ifs though. It's not easy to even draw against Barca. I thought you'd win easily tbh. Thats why I think the credit is due. Youre the effing best team in recent modern football ffs! A 3-1 regardless how it happened is a damn good result and is testament to the team. Also, Im sure Mourinho took some pointers from the derby this past weekend as well. Definitely did his homework. Inter is in the driving seat and it's there's to lose. Lets see.

I personally thought Espanyol played much better than what Inter did tonight.... and yet, they only got a draw. Maybe if they got ref like Inter did, they would have won.

[The Devil]

Key questions from me

1. Why do you seem to have no striker back up Pep seems to have no faith in Bojan or Henry in big games ?

2. Ibra why wont he head the ball ?

3. Why does he persist in playing Keita ?

4. Yaya brings strength to the midfield you are lacking why does he not play ?


Any Barca fans give there opinions on my questions ?

[Ashraf]

I personally thought Espanyol played much better than what Inter did tonight.... and yet, they only got a draw. Maybe if they got ref like Inter did, they would have won.
Another Gumball ?

[Scholesy18]

how about those sour grapes Scholesy? :handbags
How is it sour grapes?:rolleyes:

Oh sorry better calm down, you're just baiting me.

You really are a pathetic poster.

[Loves To Spooge]

1. Why do you seem to have no striker back up Pep seems to have no faith in Bojan or Henry in big games ?

2. Ibra why wont he head the ball ?

3. Why does he persist in playing Keita ?

4. Yaya brings strength to the midfield you are lacking why does he not play ?

1. Bojan just isnt big or strong enough physically to compete with the inter centre halfs, Henry is a waster and is completely finished as a top level player, hes offered nothing this year

2. Because hes a tool

3. Iniesta is injured, but i still dont know because yaya would be a better option, Keita is murder, he dwells on the ball and invites pressure onto himself, busquets was the same tonight

4. Dont know the answer, he seems to prefer keita and biscuits at this point in time.

[YGeorgey]

Damn you , leave us out of this :) . But I agree totally. it's a mindset. Love or hate Mourinho he is undeniably a strong person with much leadership ability.

lol

I knew if I mentioned Inter's form in the CL in recent years, someone will say "lulz so r u" so I was just saving time. :laugh

[Jamiew]

Any Barca fans give there opinions on my questions ?

1. Why do you seem to have no striker back up Pep seems to have no faith in Bojan or Henry in big games ?

Because Bojan has been hit and miss this season.... Henry has been well off his game this season.

2. Ibra why wont he head the ball ?

Because he's a p r i c k.

3. Why does he persist in playing Keita ?

Because he can get you a few goals here or there.

4. Yaya brings strength to the midfield you are lacking why does he not play ?

I think Yaya's gone at the end of season. Although, I think he should play. But Pep likes to change it up.

[Lisandro]

mourhino !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go mourinho and inter go

had to be said

[Ashraf]

Come on , where are the Arsenal fans :D ?

[FCBM Chris]

the ref was not "baited" into giving Puyol a card. if he wouldn't have been a moron he wouldn't of had to foul him in the first place. complacency got the best of Barca. end of/

[Loves To Spooge]

Come on , where are the Arsenal fans :D ?

i take it you're one of these folk who pops his head in whenever barca have a poor game and just hides for the rest of the time? :laugh

what time does Madrids semi final kick off at?

[Jamiew]

To be honest, I think this lost might be a good thing, because this lost might wake them up and might make them think they're not unbeatable.

[The Devil]

the ref was not "baited" into giving Puyol a card. if he wouldn't have been a moron he wouldn't of had to foul him in the first place. complacency got the best of Barca. end of/


No no did you not see it was Samual Eto !! who baited the ref :laugh

[Ashraf]

i take it you're one of these folk who pops his head in whenever barca have a poor game and just hides for the rest of the time? :laugh

what time does Madrids semi final kick off at?
Sorry can't hide it :( .

[Loves To Spooge]

To be honest, I think this lost might be a good thing, because this lost might wake them up and might make them think they're not unbeatable.

i dont see how it could ever be thought of as a good thing. I thought the mediocre performance against espanyol would have done the trick

its probably going to see us out of the CL

[Scholesy18]

I think what you need to do second leg is stretch the game more. I think because it's at the Camp Nou you'll do this much better than tonight. If you do that, and get an early goal well not so sure Inter can come back like they did tonight.

Also noticed your pressing game was totally out of sorts tonight, not sure why.

[SirReal Madrid]

i take it you're one of these folk who pops his head in whenever barca have a poor game and just hides for the rest of the time? :laugh

what time does Madrids semi final kick off at?

Be careful because technically you can lose La Liga and the CL. Now that would be something else.

[Jamiew]

i dont see how it could ever be thought of as a good thing. I thought the mediocre performance against espanyol would have done the trick

its probably going to see us out of the CL

Espanyol have always been a horrible team to play against; we've always struggled against them, so that performance against them didn't bother me.

I think Messi should rest over the weekend so he's fresh for the 2nd leg.

[Ashraf]

Be careful because technically you can lose La Liga and the CL. Now that would be something else.
Oh man , that would make my year :D .

[Jamiew]

Oh man , that would make my year :D .

But if you don't, you can just spend another 250m euro.

[Madrid14]

<object width="853" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cGF7hPSyKsg&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cGF7hPSyKsg&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="853" height="505"></embed></object>

Chelsea had to put up with poor decisions last year. To be fair, almost everyone at Barca has taken it with better grace with the exception of The Chav.

How is it sour grapes?:rolleyes:

Oh sorry better calm down, you're just baiting me.

You really are a pathetic poster.

The whole "I was being lulzy" thing after posting a serious looking post is becoming rather tiresome. It just seems a cheap way for someone to avoid something daft they said earlier.

Usually a little Goleo smilie, hidden white text or a daft gif. indicates sarcasm/baiting/trolling/whatever you want to call it.

[SirReal Madrid]

But if you don't, you can just spend another 250m euro.

Yea and rake in the most profits out of all European teams like we did last year that we won nothing. Lets see, making money while building a team....hmmm, sounds like a plan.

[Ashraf]

But if you don't, you can just spend another 250m euro.
Ah come on , you spent on Ibra just for the sake of spending and matching Madrid in signings .

[Bossanova]

mourinho is MASTER

takes a crock team of old argies and italians and pwns 'the best team of all time in the history of the world'

haha

MASTER

[SirReal Madrid]

Ah come on , you spent on Ibra just for the sake of spending and matching Madrid in signings .

In all fairness, this bloke is right^ It was pretty much a "Hey look at me, I can spend too, I'm a big shot as well" from LaPorta. No digs here, just saying it how I see it. Whatever, both teams spend money. And lots of it. If they don't spend it, they use it to keep their homegrown talent from going elsewhere for bigger money! Lets face it. And both buy. Whether you buy a 12 year old in hopes that he becomes great or whether you buy an established star after he's proven himself, it doesn't matter. It's bought, period. Lets all stop from getting on our high horses right now!:drinkbeer

[SirReal Madrid]

mourinho is MASTER

takes a crock team of old argies and italians and pwns 'the best team of all time in the history of the world'

haha

MASTER
:rolleyes: Ummmm, just in case youre not being sarcastic....:nono

[Scholesy18]

The whole "I was being lulzy" thing after posting a serious looking post is becoming rather tiresome. It just seems a cheap way for someone to avoid something daft they said earlier.

Usually a little Goleo smilie, hidden white text or a daft gif. indicates sarcasm/baiting/trolling/whatever you want to call it.
Agreed. Funny thing is, she plays that card a lot. Not sure what her problem is, i've hardly trolled on here.

Grow up Linha.

[Ashraf]

In all fairness, this bloke is right^ It was pretty much a "Hey look at me, I can spend too, I'm a big shot as well" from LaPorta. No digs here, just saying it how I see it. Whatever, both teams spend money. And lots of it. If they don't spend it, they use it to keep their homegrown talent from going elsewhere for bigger money! Lets face it. And both buy. Whether you buy a 12 year old in hopes that he becomes great or whether you buy an established star after he's proven himself, it doesn't matter. It's bought, period. Lets all stop from getting on our high horses right now!:drinkbeer
We just spend on bigger names that's why everyone **** us , but when they spend on Ibra just to make a big signing and i dunno like 20-30m on a god damn cup tied Chygrynskiy they are okay .

[Bossanova]

mourinho is MASTER

destroys chelsea, and now barca

MASTER

[SirReal Madrid]

We just spend on bigger names that's why everyone **** us , but when they spend on Ibra just to make a big signing and i dunno like 20-30m on a god damn cup tied Chygrynskiy they are okay .

Whatever, I can care less. We arent a charity. If youre youth and youre not good enough youre not good enough end of. If youve proved youre good enough then you an take the step up to coming onboard. The idea is to put together a good side. I dont care if the players are grown in test tubes or imported from mars or whatever. Bottom line is fielding the best possible team. Sometimes you get a good crop like us in the 50's or in the late 80's or when Casillas and Co. came up or now with this Barca, and sometimes you dont. I think it's ludicrous when people take digs at us and compare us with Barca as if Barca have a youth team policy. It's coincidence. Nothing more. It's nnot like there will be a similar crop every 5 years or so.

[Ashraf]

Whatever, I can care less. We arent a charity. If youre youth and youre not good enough youre not good enough end of. If youve proved youre good enough then you an take the step up to coming onboard. The idea is to put together a good side. I dont care if the players are grown in test tubes or imported from mars or whatever. Bottom line is fielding the best possible team. Sometimes you get a good crop like us in the 50's or in the late 80's or when Casillas and Co. came up or now with this Barca, and sometimes you dont. I think it's ludicrous when people take digs at us and compare us with Barca as if Barca have a youth team policy. It's coincidence. Nothing more. It's nnot like there will be a similar crop every 5 years or so.
We have Castilla who are struggling in the 3rd division and yet ppl blames us for spending , how funny .

[Dragonlord]

no shame in this defeat. we were beaten fairly.

inter's probably going to park the bus at the camp and we're going to have to break them. i predict that we probably won't, and it will probably be 1-0 or 0-0.

Unless we pull off the best performance of the season. We're going to have to.

Well done to Jose and his boys.

[ada]

Watched the full 90 at the pub. Fair play to Inter, they did Barca well and truly. Probably a deserved scoreline. I thought Milito was immense.

[VDV]

I don't think that'll happen.... and even if it does, we're more than capable of getting 4 or 5 goals.

We even had a few chances tonight despite us being crap.
LOL, this isn't Arsenal's 2nd string defense starting but one of the 3 best defenses in the world.

Selling Eto'o was a a huge mistake, I told Ibes then and only wish he was here so I could tell him again ;)

Why Yaya didn't start this match, I do not understand. Biscuits is an average player, he wouldn't start in any of the top 10 teams in the world so I have no idea why he starts for one that won 6 titles last year.

[FCBM Chris]

there was only ever one Italian on the pitch btw.

[VDV]

No no did you not see it was Samual Eto !! who baited the ref :laugh
Eto'o is a typical German

[Loves To Spooge]

i think some of the madrid fans need to get off their high horses tbh

the funniest thing ever would be madrid spending £250m trying to buy success and winning the square root of f*ck all :D

[SirReal Madrid]

250 million doesnt = overnight success and is why weve signed players to 5,6 year contracts not 8 month contracts :/. Anyone that knows football knows this. And while wete building were raking profits. Not too shabby

[Ashraf]

250 million doesnt = overnight success and is why weve signed players to 5,6 year contracts not 8 month contracts :/. Anyone that knows football knows this. And while wete building were raking profits. Not too shabby
Don't pay attention to them , they have nothing to say so they will start whining about the 250m we spent , it's our money so **** off :salute .

[Zeman]

250 million doesnt = overnight success and is why weve signed players to 5,6 year contracts not 8 month contracts :/. Anyone that knows football knows this. And while wete building were raking profits. Not too shabby

Maybe you just needed to keep Sneijder and Robben who had 5,6 year contracts with Real too. But Valdano and Perez maybe dont know enough football to understand these guys are among best players in the world?

[C]

defense was terrible today. outplayed, and deserved win for inter. going to be tough to overturn this one, but its possible.

[Ashraf]

Maybe you just needed to keep Sneijder and Robben who had 5,6 year contracts with Real too. But Valdano and Perez maybe dont know enough football to understand these guys are among best players in the world?
Agreed about Robben , but Sneijder was banging a dutch actress every week and getting an injury every too so why on earth would we keep him ?

[Zeman]

Agreed about Robben , but Sneijder was banging a dutch actress every week and getting an injury every too so why on earth would we keep him ?

If you are watching Inter this season you'd know why. I wasn't a fan of him but he really changed my mind, he is being fantastic and for 15M it was a bargain.
I can't think of many AM better than him in the world right now and for sure to sell him to buy Kaka wasn't a smart move.

[Engerrland]

Sneijder > Kaka.

Oh wtf is up with Balotelli fella? he seems like a complete idiot.

[Ashraf]

If you are watching Inter this season you'd know why. I wasn't a fan of him but he really changed my mind, he is being fantastic and for 15M it was a bargain.
I can't think of many AM better than him in the world right now and for sure to sell him to buy Kaka wasn't a smart move.
You can't predict how he is gonna be next season , we bought a player in 2007 for 27m who started very good scoring 4 in his first 3 games then started to fade slowly , in the following season he was playing like **** and getting injured a lot and having a lot of issues with the girls , he got his chance in 2 seasons already i think it's very logical to offload him .

[Zeman]

Sneijder > Kaka.

Oh wtf is up with Balotelli fella? he seems like a complete idiot.

http://www.soccer24-7.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176759

[Madrid14]

Maybe you just needed to keep Sneijder and Robben who had 5,6 year contracts with Real too. But Valdano and Perez maybe dont know enough football to understand these guys are among best players in the world?

Sneijder - Went through a purple patch in his first few games, then after his injury in his last season got injured and came back overweight. His form in his final season wasn't that great either.

Robben - Injury prone as well all know. Fantastic player when fully fit, but it's a shame he's made of glass.

The above two would most likely have been benched behind CR9 and Kaka for the majority of this current season. I don't think either of them would have been happy to do so, especially with the WC coming up in a couple of months. I reckon that both of them might have wanted out as much as Valdano or Perez wanted them out (possibly even more so).

[VDV]

There is no way anyone can start over Robben this season with the form he's having, unless your name is Messi imo. Best signing of the summer imo.

[Johnnyboy]

Puyol suspended, 2 penalties denied, one offside goal, 50-50 decisions all in Inter's favour....... yet Barcelona don't know how to accept a loss. Barca should be ashamed for not knowing how to lose.....


(That's what honest, hypocrit Mou said after accusing many times the referees of plots against Inter ....... Mou is MASTER)

[paman]

fair play to Inter, Mou clearly knows that his team can match up in the attractive and passing departments, but he's made inter very "british" - agressive, snappy and tenacious, especially in defence. As others have said, Barca have always struggled with teams set up to counterpunch rather than create anything of their own - no style is perfect.

All in all, 1-3 isn't great. I would have taken 1-2 - but 1-3 is maybe stretching it a wee bit too much. Very much borderline i'd say if not Inter as favourites by a wee bit.

Still think that Barca are right in this tie, and that Pep will use this for some real inspirational "pep" talk!

I noticed how many people crawl out to hate on Barca for one of their few losses of the season - a bit purile really but hey ho.

[Madrid14]

There is no way anyone can start over Robben this season with the form he's having, unless your name is Messi imo. Best signing of the summer imo.

I have only watched the Bayern vs. Man U game, so I don't know anything about his form this season.

But I can pretty much assure you that Ronaldo would have started ahead of Robben regardless if we Perez could have seen into the future and seen that Robben would have had a good season.

Not only do I feel the CR9 is a slightly more complete and versatile player, you have to take into consideration all off-field bullshit that comes with buying a player for 96m.

And CR9 isn't exactly having a bad season either.

[heleveeta]

ugh. frustrated. inter deserved the win. maybe not the 3-1 win though...

let's be honest, no one is going to give barca this trophy, they finally have a challenge ahead. cant wait to see a response that is worthy of how great this team really is.

hoping and praying for a magical european night in barcelona on 4/28.
if (when) barca pull it out, it is going to be EPIC.

[VDV]

I have only watched the Bayern vs. Man U game, so I don't know anything about his form this season.

But I can pretty much assure you that Ronaldo would have started ahead of Robben regardless if we Perez could have seen into the future and seen that Robben would have had a good season.

Not only do I feel the CR9 is a slightly more complete and versatile player, you have to take into consideration all off-field bullshit that comes with buying a player for 96m.

And CR9 isn't exactly having a bad season either.
Ronaldo would start because of the money indeed but if you compare the two this season, imo Robben has had a better season. He's scored in a lot of important matches when we have needed a goal. He also unplayable in many matches whether he scores or not.

The thing is he can play LW and don't even try to tell me Kaka would start over him because he's been meh for about 3 seasons in a row including this one. Perez only sold Robben because he wanted HIS players to start, simple as. Political bs, on ability and form Kaka would be cleaning his shoes atm the way he's played for about 3 years.

[Madrid14]

Ronaldo would start because of the money indeed but if you compare the two this season, imo Robben has had a better season. He's scored in a lot of important matches when we have needed a goal. He also unplayable in many matches whether he scores or not.

The thing is he can play LW and don't even try to tell me Kaka would start over him because he's been meh for about 3 seasons in a row including this one. Perez only sold Robben because he wanted HIS players to start, simple as. Political bs, on ability and form Kaka would be cleaning his shoes atm the way he's played for about 3 years.

We're both going to be a little biased when it comes to comparing Robben and CR9's current form. Statistically speaking, CR9 just about edges Robben in terms of a goals to games ratio (27 in 30 games for CR9 and 19 in 30 for Robben).

The whole important matches (isn't every match important?) and being unplayable is also applicable to ol' CR9. Again, our bias towards players who play for our team rears its ugly head again.

I don't think that he would be considered for Kaka's position. Kaka and VDV have both been playing just behind the front two of CR9 and the Higocopter in an advanced playmaking position. The team currently doesn't have a great deal of width and I really don't think that Robben would excel in that position. I think someone else at Bayern (French and ugly looking) would be able to adapt to that position, but it appears that Perez has given up with him. I would like to see more width with the Madrid style of play, but I'm not Pelle or Perez/Valdano bringing in the players.

It's a shame that Kaka's previous form has escaped him. He's hardly a terrible player now, but he has some adapting to do. He doesn't look as quick as he used to be, the team doesn't revolve around him at Madrid and he still has to adapt to a new league. He seems like a smart guy, and he certainly has the ability to do well, but a mixture of the above three and the hernia problem hasn't helped him this past season. Again, I haven't watched a great deal of Serie A for a great deal of time now, so whatever happened at AC is beyond me. I want to see him do well for the sake of the team and the fact that he seems like a good guy.

[SirReal Madrid]

Double post

[SirReal Madrid]

I like both Robben and Sneijder but Sneijder wasnt helping his cause at all. There was even a point where he was so frustrated that he would tackle team mates from behind in training. It seemed too that football was 2nd on his mind. I think he was also going through a divorce if im not mistaken. He pretty much sealed his fate. I was disappointed when Robben left but at the time just tjought..well hell be injured more often than playing so might as well offload him. He and Bayern are lucky hes escaped injury. No one cam tell the future and the bittom line is. That they are no longer with us. Best of luck to both the rest of the way. Ntw, Jaka was a waste of money. We got sold damaged goods. I have a sportsman hernia like Kaka and it doesnt go away. Only constant exercise, proper stretching, and then even. At least he has some excuse unlike Benzema :/. Anyway, second leg should be good

[Frawan]

Anyway, second leg should be good
Ha, thanks for bringing us back on topic.

Pissed because not a single thing went our way. There were too many factors working against us (fatigue, tactics, ref) and honestly we played one of our worst matches all season while Inter played one of their best. Considering all that, 3-1 is not a terrible result, but it's gonna take a hell of a performance in Spain to get us to the final.


1. Busquets is not good enough to start for us. I'll say it as many times as it takes to get Yaya back in the lineup. Today possession got mucked up in the midfield and it was mostly his fault :nono

2. Guardiola should have made the first substitute earlier. We were getting outplayed in the second half and he waited too long to mix things up.

3. Traveling played a big role in our poor performance. I don't care what anyone says and I'm proud of Guardiola for not using it as an excuse, but it does make a huge difference. Speaking as a player myself, an away trip like that takes a tole on your mental state that's extremely difficult to work your way out of.

4. Pique is a phenomenon and should be recognized as such :nod Today was the same as Chelsea last season... he was the only one who seemed to recognize the intensity of the situation, he continually pressed forward with purpose and gave quick service.

5. The ref had a terrible match, but we can't blame Inter for that, nor should we overlook their fantastic performance. We weren't up for the challenge and they overwhelmed us. They pressed quicker and tighter than we did, broke through our defense time and time again, and even beat us in the middle of the pitch (which very few teams ever do).

6. I can't believe how smart and solid Zanetti is, especially for a 36 year old (this is probably an obvious point). I think I've said it before... Maradona's very first mistake for Argentina was stripping him of the captaincy.

7. Messi just looked tired... His concentration was shot and because of it he had zero creativity on the ball. He lost possession more times today than in any other single match I've seen.


I'm sure I could come up with more points but I'll leave it for now. I'm extremely disappointed by this result because my expectations were so high. Next week is going to be intense.

[Frawan]

Oh, and I dare anyone who doesn't want Fabregas to say he wouldn't have made a difference here.

[Culé]

JN9TwKMXF60

[Loves To Spooge]

Don't pay attention to them , they have nothing to say so they will start whining about the 250m we spent , it's our money so **** off :salute .

well get off our forum and we wont say it.

but lets face it, `madrid is a club that will try and buy success and either way it would be hilarious if they spent that huge sum of money and had nothing to show for it at the end of the season :laugh

[mhrelayyan]

very disappointed , we can easily say that the long trip is the reason but lets face it we we very poor in defending and attacking.

the first goal :3 defenders around milito and alves the stupid left sneider alone , alves is very poor since he came back from injury , very bad in defending and very poor crosses.

the second and 3rd goals are copies , we loose the ball in midfield and the counter attack easily break the stupid offside trap near the half of the field , dont know why we play like this against inter who have very fast players like etoo and milito.

Messi : THE WORST MATCH FOR HIM SINCE I SAW HIM PLAY , he could not dribble zanetti the 36 year old player.

ibra : i will not go for details , other than he is a waste , it was better to start with messi and pedro who was the best IMO in attack like we did against madrid.

pep takes off ibra and let no player in attack since messi stayed in his place and let pique be the attacker ?? WTF

puyol : why he got a yellow card before this match , he missed the 2nd arsenla match when he was red carded in the first match , so why he still have a card ???

i am not saying coming back from this match is impossible but it will be very tough since inter will play on the counter attack again which will make them score easily.

xavi after the match had a fight with morinho and said to him congrats that portugese ref , morinho replied cograts that ref last season against chelsea :ninja

[Fredo]

but lets face it, `madrid is a club that will try and buy success and either way it would be hilarious if they spent that huge sum of money and had nothing to show for it at the end of the season :laugh

If i agree with that, i dont think Barca can take the moral high ground after spending 70m on Ibra and a few other 20m transfers. Yes, you produce players but you also spend huge money on established players. With the amount you are spending, it is also normal you should be laughed at when you fail in a competition.

[Fredo]

puyol : why he got a yellow card before this match , he missed the 2nd arsenla match when he was red carded in the first match , so why he still have a card ???

I didnt get that either. Did he pick up a yellow while seating in the stand at Camp Nou? :laugh

[mhrelayyan]

I didnt get that either. Did he pick up a yellow while seating in the stand at Camp Nou? :laugh

the only explanation is that he got a yellow card and when he was sent off against arsenal the card stayed :ninja

[Culé]

If i agree with that, i dont think Barca can take the moral high ground after spending 70m on Ibra and a few other 20m transfers. Yes, you produce players but you also spend huge money on established players. With the amount you are spending, it is also normal you should be laughed at when you fail in a competition.

lol we are still in it and leaders in La Liga!so what are u talking about?Ask wenger to take a leaf out of madrid book and SPEND some moolah,cesc leaving this summer wont help ur cause aswell,ask wenger to take Henry for free and give cesc back

[El Capitan]

What would be amazing is if Mourinho threw everyone a curve ball and didn't park the bus, instead going for the jugular. No one would expect it and Guardiola definitely would not prepare for that approach. perhaps a gamble like this can pay off handsomely. IMO, I see Inter going through. I thin Mourinho is a brilliant tactician and he seems to instill that confidence in his players. The players are no slouches either and will be prepared for the battle. Will be interesting to see things unfold. Most Barca fans already saw themselves lifting the trophy so it'll be curious to see how this story all ends. After the beatings we've been taking on and off the field this season, it'd be pretty surreal if we were the ones to win the league and Barca lost the CL title as well. Doubt this scenario will happen but its technically possible


Why do you pressume you speak on behalf of Barca fans when you say this? Its not true, I regard Inter a very tough test indeed

[Ashraf]

Why do you pressume you speak on behalf of Barca fans when you say this? Its not true, I regard Inter a very tough test indeed
He said most of them but not all , your not one of this people he meant .

[El Capitan]

He said most of them but not all , your not one of this people he meant .

First of all, use a proper English sentence...and second of all let him speak for himself unless you're both a couple

[Culé]

First of all, use a proper English sentence...and second of all let him speak for himself unless you're both a couple

Epic :clap , not there fault mate have been saying this again and again they have a game per week so they HAVE to troll in Barca forum?Did Linha personally invited them here?i guess no

[mhrelayyan]

First of all, use a proper English sentence...and second of all let him speak for himself unless you're both a couple
forget about him , real fans are crap , at least barca are in the semi final , not watching matches from tv :laugh

[Loves To Spooge]

what a load of sh*t

none of us presumed we were going to the final.

truth be told i wasnt shocked Inter won, surprised they won by 2 clear goals but i had a sneaky feeling they might win.

going to take a collosal effort to break them down and win by 2 goals in the return leg. I for one think we'll narrowly lose out.

[Ashraf]

Epic :clap , not there fault mate have been saying this again and again they have a game per week so they HAVE to troll in Barca forum?Did Linha personally invited them here?i guess no
Saying that Milito was outstanding is trolling :laugh ?

[Johnnyboy]

Sorry Barca but Inter are going to win the Champions League. Moratti have bought this Champions League and after he wins it, he will retire from Inter.

[Ashraf]

Fancy seeing you here Ashraf, staying online to have wank at our expense rather than go out with your mates? You must be popular :laugh
All started with that crap , then the 250m bullshit which is totally irrelevant to this topic .

[El Capitan]

It all certainly looks set up for Inter to win this year...retaining this thing is not impossible. Remember, whenever we've had a 2nd leg at the Camp Nou we've won handsomely, scoreline like 4 - 0, 2 - 0 and 4 - 1. All of these would take us through. This time wont be easy but I think the 1st goal will be crucial. Tiredness isnt an excuse as Pep said in the post match interview, we simply must play better and with more urgency. If we get through this I'm on the 1st plane to Madrid.



On a side note, last nights Champions League match was the 1st time I forgot to wear my lucky Barca jersey and socks. I only wear it for cup matches. I also forgot to wear it in the 1st leg of the Copa Del Rey v Sevilla :ninja

[Johnnyboy]

http://www.tuttosport.com/calcio/champions_league/2010/04/21-65048/Stampa+Spagna:+%C2%ABInter-Barcellona?+Furto+all'italiana!%C2%BB


Stampa Spagna: «Inter-Barcellona? Furto all'italiana!»

Titoli duri della stampa catalana all'indomani della semifinale d'andata di Champions. "Sport": «L'arbitro portoghese amico di Mourinho ha dato il terzo gol in fuorigioco e si è mangiato un rigore su Alves». "Mundo deportivo": «Furto!». "Marca" e "As" fanno i complimenti ai nerazzurri: «Nerazzurri superiori»


MADRID (SPAGNA), 21 aprile - Titoli duri nella stampa catalana all'indomani della partita Inter-Barcellona sull'operato dell' arbitro portoghese Olegario Benquerenca, anche se nell'insieme la prestazione dei nerazzurri viene giudicata dai giornali spagnoli superiore a quella di un Barca sottotono. "Robo a la italiana" (Furto all'italiana), strilla a tutta prima pagina Sport, precisando che "l'arbitro portoghese amico di Mourinho ha dato il terzo gol all'Inter in fuorigioco e si è mangiato un rigore di Sneijder su Alves". "Furto", è il titolo che sbarra la prima anche dell'altro sportivo catalano, Mundo Deportivo, che in seconda pagina titola con maggiore precisione "Furto alla portoghese". "Il campione cade a San Siro vittima di una Inter senza complessi e di un arbitraggio indegno della Champions" spiega il giornale di Barcellona, sottolineando che "il 3-1 di Milito era illegale e che ci sono stati due chiari falli da rigore contro Piquè e Alves".

"L'AMICO DI MOURINHO" - Mundo Deportivo dedica una pagina all'arbitro portoghese sotto il titolo "Olegario, fedele amico di Mou". Anche la stampa sportiva della capitale spagnola, vicina al Real Madrid, grande rivale del Barca, non risparmia critiche all'arbitraggio. Marca, che titola in prima pagina "Mou si avvicina al Bernabeu", lo stadio del Real che ospiterà la finale il 22 maggio, rileva che "l'arbitro ha danneggiato i blaugrana". "Il calcio non si merita questo" titola nelle pagine interne, affermando che "il portoghese non avrebbe dovuto dirigere questa partita: oltre al fatto che ci sono arbitri migliori in Europa, il solo fatto che sulla panchina italiana ci fosse Mourinho era un motivo sufficiente per non designarlo ed evitare cosi possibili sospetti".

AS PIÙ ATTENTO, MARCA ESALTA L'INTER - L'altro grande sportivo di Madrid, As, rileva però che l'Inter "durante la maggior parte della partita è stata superiore al Barça" e "consapevole della sua potenza fisica", e parla di "una sconfita giusta" dei blaugrana. "Il campione è contro le corde" rileva El Mundo, mentre El Pais parla della "sconfitta più crudele" per gli uomini di Pep Guardiola: "il Barca, senza lucidità ed esplosività, cade a Milano davanti ad un' Inter molto brava". Marca parla di una "prestazione superba di Sneijder, Julio Cesar, Zanetti e Thiago Motta" rilevando che "il Barça è caduto nella rete di Mou", ma ricorda che il Barcellona di Pep Guardiola, arrivato stanco a Milano dopo un viaggio in pullman di 24 ore, nella partita di ritorno al Camp Nou "sa come rimontare un 3-1". "Si può fare", è convinto anche Mundo Deportivo, avvertendo che la partita di ritorno "sarà molto lunga" per l'Inter davanti a quasi 100mila tifosi catalani scatenati, fra una settimana.



Spanish media: Barcelona-Inter? Italian theft! "

Titles of the Catalan press hard after the semifinal round of the Champions. "Sport": "The referee Portuguese friend of Mourinho has given the third goal was offside and ate a penalty on Alves. "Mundo Deportivo", "Theft." "Mark" and "As" are compliments to Inter, "Nerazzurri more»


MADRID (SPAIN), April 21 - Titles in the Catalan press hard after the match Inter and Barcelona on the work of 'Portuguese referee Olegario Benquerencia, although overall performance is judged by the Inter Spanish newspapers than that of a Boat undertone. "Robo to the Italian" (Theft Italian), screaming at first sports page, stating that "the umpire friend Portuguese Mourinho has Inter in the third goal was offside and a penalty of Sneijder eaten on Alves . "Theft" is the title bar of the other sports also the first Catalan, Mundo Deportivo, and second page headline more accurately "Stealing the Portuguese." "The sample falls at the San Siro Inter without a victim complex and arbitrage unworthy of Champions," said the Barcelona newspaper, stressing that "the 3-1 Milito was illegal and that there were two clear penalty shot against Pique and Alves.

"The friend of Mourinho" - Mundo Deportivo devotes a page to the referee Portuguese under the title "Olegario, faithful friend of Mou. Even the sporting press of the capital, close to Real Madrid, Barca's great rival, does not spare criticism arbitrage. Brand, who headlines "Mou approaches the Bernabeu, the stadium of Real will host the final on May 22, notes that" the arbitrator has damaged the Blaugrana. "Football does not deserve this" headline on the inside pages, stating that "the Portuguese was to direct this game: besides the fact that we have the best referees in Europe, the mere fact that the Italian coach Mourinho was there was a sufficient reason not to designate it and avoid possible suspects. "

AS MORE CAREFUL, MAKE enhances the INTER - The other major sports in Madrid, As, however, for the whole "during most of the match was over Barca" and "aware of his physical power," and speaks "a defeated right" of claret. "The sample is against the ropes," notes El Mundo and El Pais speaks of "the most cruel defeat for Pep Guardiola's men:" the boat without lucidity and explosiveness, he falls in Milan before a 'whole lot good. " Mark talks about a superb performance of Sneijder, Julio Cesar, Zanetti and Thiago Motta "noting that" Barça fell in network Mou ", but remember that Barcelona Pep Guardiola, Milan arrived tired after a bus trip to 24 hours, in the second leg at Camp Nou "knows how to reassemble a 3-1. "You can do", is also convinced Mundo Deportivo, warning that the return game "is a long" for Inter in front of nearly 100 thousand Catalans supporters unleashed in a week.

[Zeman]

Anyone who can't accept Barcelona performance was poor yesterday and that Inter was the better team yesterday is a bad loser or a rubentino.

[El Capitan]

http://nafan.blogs.sapo.pt/arquivo/olegariobenquerenca.jpg

how is that even allowed, seriously!!!!!!!!


Should seen it coming :laugh

But fair play, Inter were better on the night and we had an off night for sure, despite the refereeing decisions.

[Johnnyboy]

Anyone who can't accept Barcelona performance was poor yesterday and that the 12 man team was the better team yesterday is a bad loser or a rubentino.

:clap:clap:clap:clap

[El Capitan]

^lulz

[El Capitan]

The players speak....

Puyol:

"It’s a bad result. Let’s hope the Camp Nou helps us turn the tie around”.

"We have to lift our morale, keep going and focus on the league match and on the return leg”.

"The referee has his job to do and we have to focus on playing”.

"On behalf of us all, I’d like to thank everybody who came and we hope we can give them some joy in the return leg”.

"We made mistakes when they had chances. It was a fiercely fought contest but we deserved a little more”.

"Complaining is for losers and we’re not losers”.

"We’ve got 90 minutes ahead of us and we have shown before that we can respond to adversity in the Camp Nou. We have to prove that we’re stronger”.


Alves:

"It’s no use complaining. We have to be mentally positive and if we’re strong we’ll sort out our problems”.


Piqué:

"90 minutes in the Camp Nou will seem like a long time. Let’s hope people come and support us because it all helps and I’m sure we’ll go through”.


Busquets:

"We didn’t play very well at times. We tried to control the counterattacks but they can always catch you out”.

"We’ve scored a lot of goals in the Camp Nou, especially recently”.

"We can’t talk about the referee because that’s all in the past now. We shouldn’t make excuses”.

[La saeta rubia]

Mourinho is no genius but a clever student of games.Messi was hassled as he is by South American teams.Mourinho probably studied Sabellas tactics for Estudiantes or Martinos work for Paraguay.He also put the clamps on Xavi as Estudiantes did for long periods.This tie is only at half time Inter are clear favourites now but Barca are still capable of winning 2-0 in the Camp Nou

[SirReal Madrid]

well get off our forum and we wont say it.

but lets face it, `madrid is a club that will try and buy success and either way it would be hilarious if they spent that huge sum of money and had nothing to show for it at the end of the season :laugh

Do you honestly think great teams are put together in one season:? I mean, really, answer me. Winning the league this year would be a huge huge bonus. We're building and that takes time. Money doesn't = success and everyone knows that, I'm surprised you don't. You have to work hard to be successful and I'm glad that we are proving to people that don't understand football that money doesn't = instant success. We are bringing in players to build a foundation and to be competetive for yearsss to come, not to win overnight! That's not how it works. I for one am relatively happy with our team considering it's almost a brand new team entirely and we have the best team in recent modern times in our league. We have 83 points already for crying out loud! One less than you. I didn't even expect to be this close to you after the signings. You guys are miles ahead of us imo and were managing to hang on closely. I'll be very surprised if we won the league and it would be cherished greatly. :Fingers crossed: