Champions League

[troublesome2004]

Capello’s thoughts on the game

“The first half of the game was even, but then we conceded a goal that was avoidable. The same goes for the second half.” Fabio Capello was quick to give his opinion on the game at Highbury, above all his disappointment at the two dismissals at the end of the game: “The game could have gone either way right until the ninetieth minute, but obviously it would have been easier with 11 on 11. The result’s unfortunate but now we have to start thinking about Treviso. Am I optimistic about the return leg? Always…”. Whilst the result may be flattering to the Gunners, the bianconeri coach nonetheless gave them credit: “Arsenal played some great football; we were able to create 2 or 3 chances but Tourè was fantastic…up until four minutes from the end of the first half the game was even, but obviously when a team like Arsenal shut-you-out it’s difficult to find space, and they are great on the counter-attack. The fact that they have had ten days rest also gave them something extra.”

source: juventus.com

 

[Sebastian]

Lyon 0:0 Milan
Inter 2:1 Villareal

didnt see the matches but seems like lyon missing juninho was a big handicap. i hate milan but i think they will go through now.

dont know about inter and villareal. everything is possible.

 

[The.Menace]

Games tonight weren't that good, arsenal played great yesterday and it was fun to watch.

 

[Jibster]

Lyon have a decent chance of going through now. Any score draw would take them through and they'll have Juninho back so Milan better not give away any free kicks. I don't think the Villareal - Inter tie is gonna be that important, if Bacra get through they'll knock the winner out.

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

^Inter or Villa will play Arsenal or Juve

Barcelona will play Milan or Lyon

 

[Jibster]

^^^Really? didn't realise that. Gotta think Arsenal should reach the final then. If they do they'll have one of Milan, Barca or Lyon (don't fancy Benfica). No wonder they're such short odds! lol

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

Yeah Arsenal will probably reach the final, a Barca vs Milan semi final seems like it should be a final..or a Barca vs Lyon..

 

[Jibster]

How tasty would Barca vs. Arsenal be with the style of football both teams play?

Makes you glad Chelsea aren't still in it!

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

True...i would prefer Lyon vs Barcelona though.

 

[DPG iz all I C]

How tasty would Barca vs. Arsenal be with the style of football both teams play?

Makes you glad Chelsea aren't still in it!

Totally agree.

 

[DPG iz all I C]

Well AC and Villareal are through.

AC were a bit lucky but i suppose they deserve it after last seasons final.

Villareal were the better team on the night, Riquelme was superb as usual. Matteratzi is an animal i hope he gets atleast a 6 game ban.

On to tonights games.

Juve-Arsenal will be a tight game. Juve haven't lost at home in ages while Arsenal havent conceaded in the CL in their past 7 games. Off the pitch i hope all Arsenal fans remain safe as the Italians are cunts to the travelling support.

Barca-Benfica: should be a comfortable win for Barca but they haven't been playin to well domestically and aren't scoring as much, so i hope Benfica go to the Nou Camp and attack.

 

[DPG iz all I C]

Arsenal are through, great performance. Nedved deserved to go.

 

[Duke]

Benfica was shit. Barca didn't really play as good as they can but pulled it off rather easy in the end.

Didn't see much of the Arsenal game. Looked kinda boring tho

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

BOOO at AC Milan...I wanted Lyon to go through

Arsenal vs Villareal - This might be close..few people are saying Arsenal will sail through..i dunno

AC Milan vs Barcelona - Barcelona hopefully

 

[troublesome2004]

This was sad night for every Juventus fan. We are eliminated from CL, we failed to score not even once in two matches against Arsenal (which currently struggling for 4th position in Premier League but playing their best season in Europe in many years), our team showed weakness at the end of a season (what wasn't often in many previous seasons). Furthermore, we lost some of our best players for the couple of next season CL matches. Also, Del Piero is on his way from Juve because of undeserved treatment that he's recieving from Capello. For the same reason, maybe even Camonaresi.
We are wounded but we didn't fall. 29th title in Italian championship will try to heal our wounds. Hopefully, it will. Here are thoughts from some participants of tonight's game:


Capello

“It was a difficult game, played with aggression and determination by both teams. Arsenal were very focused and tried to exploit their threat on the counter-attack, whilst in the second half we were able to put them in some difficulty but weren’t able to capitalise on that”. Although the result wasn’t completely satisfactory for him, Fabio Capello couldn’t fault the effort of his players: “We have to accept the defeat gracefully. I gave my compliments to the team because they played against a team that, if they maintain their fantastic form, will be difficult for anyone to defeat. Playing against a team like Arsenal, who sit in their own half and shut you out, especially when they have a 2-0 advantage, will always be tough.” The coach then went on to explain the reason for Kovac’s inclusion ahead of Thuram: “Kovac is more accurate with the ball at his feet, so I chose him to feed Ibrahimovic who could then either hold the ball up himself or lay it off. Zlatan showed huge desire, competing for everything; a few times he got things wrong but that was down to the opponent that he faced.”

Chiellini

“We gave everything to try and overturn the 2-0 deficit but unfortunately we couldn’t score. We tried with all our force, knowing that a goal would have heaped the pressure on our opponents and could have changed the outcome of the game. We gave 110% but unfortunately that wasn’t enough.”

Giannichedda

“We gave it everything until the final whistle, continually searching for a goal. Unfortunately we weren’t able to find it. Wenger’s squad played a great game, defending well and hitting us on the counter-attack. If we had scored in the first half maybe the result would have been different, unfortunately, both through hard luck and their great play, we weren’t able to.”

Bettega

“We are very disappointed to have been eliminated from the Champions League, a competition that we all hold dear, but we met a team that, after two legs, deserved it more than us. Arsenal, a great team, in a great run of form merited their qualification. We have lost a good opportunity, but as a true juventino, I have to say that our fans wasted the chance to support their team in a delicate and difficult moment. Our season moves forward with an important objective of a 29th scudetto, and I hope we won’t be alone, but with the support of our famous twelfth man.”

 

[Duke]

Arsenal - Barca for the final. Should be a tight game.

 

[hizzle?]

I'm sad OL didn't go through...

meh... i'll still chant "Qui ne saute pas n'est pas Lyonnais, Olé Olé"

How was the Inter-Villareal game, I heard some Inter players weren't really fair play? if so, i want videos...

 

[Jibster]

Anyone else noticed

Spanish > English
English > Italian
Italian > Spanish?

Italian sides seem to struggle with the English style of high tempo football with lots of pressing, whereas the Spanish can match us partially then exploit the space we leave.

The Spanish sides struggle to break down the Italian sides deep defending. For this reason i think it'll be an AC vs. Arsenal final, because Arsenal seem to have out-Italianed the Italians with their counter attacking, hence them beating Real and i think, Villareal.

 

[tHuG $TyLe]

I really think Villareal (hopefully also) will shock Arsenal..

Barcelona to win it all.

edit:

I didn't see much of Juve vs Arsenal last night, but i heard Juve were poor and didn't create many chances, this true?

 

[k69atie]

apparently so, i didn't see it either and have only been told bu arsenal fans.