[CL] Maccabi Haifa 0-1 Juventus, Nov 3rd, 2009 (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter JCK
- Start date
Bordeaux will go for the win for sure. Draw is also fine for them. But losing won't be a disaster for Bordeaux and that's what makes this match a pressure-less for them.
This can mean, as you said, that they can enjoy their game and beat us comfortably. But, less possible, it can also mean that they won't be giving 100%, as Juve will (hopefully) and in the end it might be the reason why we'll win the game.
This can mean, as you said, that they can enjoy their game and beat us comfortably. But, less possible, it can also mean that they won't be giving 100%, as Juve will (hopefully) and in the end it might be the reason why we'll win the game.
Anyway, except for the 2nd leg home advantage, being 1st or 2nd might not make much difference at all.
Real Madrid might easily end up 2nd, Chelsea, if they lose in Porto, might end up 2nd, Barca might end up second, Lyon might end up second...even ManUtd might end up second if Wolfsburg win their last 2 matches.
In any case, some of the group favorites might easily end up 2nd and except for that 2nd leg advantage, being 1st or 2nd might be the same (as it was last year when big teams like Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter etc ended up 2nd in their groups, while Panathinaikos were group winners).
Real Madrid might easily end up 2nd, Chelsea, if they lose in Porto, might end up 2nd, Barca might end up second, Lyon might end up second...even ManUtd might end up second if Wolfsburg win their last 2 matches.
In any case, some of the group favorites might easily end up 2nd and except for that 2nd leg advantage, being 1st or 2nd might be the same (as it was last year when big teams like Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter etc ended up 2nd in their groups, while Panathinaikos were group winners).
That is a great summary, Alen, as always +rep. I thought exactly the same. It was good to see us were able to control the tempo and hold possession. As I mentioned in a previous post, there were times when Maccabi pressed us really hard and played in a very high tempo. But then we were able to slow them down quickly and kept things under control. Had we not successfully in doing that at that time, the situation would have been very different.
I praise Diego (in overall) and Poulsen (in the second half) for that effort. Diego did very well in holding the ball and winning fouls, just like Alex did. Poulsen did well in the second half to control the tempo and so did Melo. However the latter needs to be more careful not to give the ball away too often in the dangerous zones.
Another thing that we need to sort out is to effectively maintain/distribute our fitness level throughout the match. We took risk by playing the majority of the first half in a very high tempo but then quickly became tired in the end of the first half and let Maccabi fought back strongly. Had we not got the (a bit lucky) goal of Camo, we would have had a much more difficult second half.
Again very good points! Hope that we will go for the winnder. If we play for a draw, we would probably end up with a lost, given how good Bordeaux are in taking the smallest possible opportunities.
I praise Diego (in overall) and Poulsen (in the second half) for that effort. Diego did very well in holding the ball and winning fouls, just like Alex did. Poulsen did well in the second half to control the tempo and so did Melo. However the latter needs to be more careful not to give the ball away too often in the dangerous zones.
Another thing that we need to sort out is to effectively maintain/distribute our fitness level throughout the match. We took risk by playing the majority of the first half in a very high tempo but then quickly became tired in the end of the first half and let Maccabi fought back strongly. Had we not got the (a bit lucky) goal of Camo, we would have had a much more difficult second half.
Again very good points! Hope that we will go for the winnder. If we play for a draw, we would probably end up with a lost, given how good Bordeaux are in taking the smallest possible opportunities.
3 points. Slightly more assurance in our play, and whilst we conceded a few chances , we certainly made more opportunities than our opponents.
We need only a draw againt the Germs to and we are through. With that in mind, we should go all out against the frogs, send a message to europe...something along the lines of..
'we might be ready technically, but WE ARE READY FOR WAR'...
My biggest interest from the game last night was Caceres. The right back slot is by far our weakest link, and slowly but surely, the uruguayan seems to be endearing himself to me when he plays there. He has pace, can tackle, likes to get forward and is capable of producing decent crosses...potentially, he is a definite improvement over Grygera, and possibly also Zebina. With the form of the czech hardly encouraging, and zebina constantly corpse like, we should give Caceres a run in the side, see what he can do when he has a sense of consistency...
I only saw the first half...i am interested to know what others thought of Caceres???
We need only a draw againt the Germs to and we are through. With that in mind, we should go all out against the frogs, send a message to europe...something along the lines of..
'we might be ready technically, but WE ARE READY FOR WAR'...
My biggest interest from the game last night was Caceres. The right back slot is by far our weakest link, and slowly but surely, the uruguayan seems to be endearing himself to me when he plays there. He has pace, can tackle, likes to get forward and is capable of producing decent crosses...potentially, he is a definite improvement over Grygera, and possibly also Zebina. With the form of the czech hardly encouraging, and zebina constantly corpse like, we should give Caceres a run in the side, see what he can do when he has a sense of consistency...
I only saw the first half...i am interested to know what others thought of Caceres???
My opinion about him hasn't changed. I acknowledge the fact that the boy can improve a lot in the future, but right now i don't feel safe at all with him. Against the better wingers he'll get skinned all the time because he's immature. He runs for the ball without thinking if there is a chance to get it or not. Many times, it happened 2-3 times tonight too, he won't get the ball and he's either losing his man or forced to make a foul in a dangerous position.
We should use our RBs smartly. Against some teams Caceres will indeed be the best choice at RB, but against some other teams, playing an undisciplined (tactically) player like Caceres will be a suicide by Ferrara.
Tonight though, he was one of our better players. That's for sure.
We should use our RBs smartly. Against some teams Caceres will indeed be the best choice at RB, but against some other teams, playing an undisciplined (tactically) player like Caceres will be a suicide by Ferrara.
Tonight though, he was one of our better players. That's for sure.
