Didnt see the goal to be honest..was watching the PSV - Spuds game.
1-0 to Everton.
Andy Johnson
1-0 to Everton.
Andy Johnson
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[EU] Champions League 2007/2008 (15 Viewers)
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My League Is Better Than You
'Best’ is a virtually impossible term to define. The one thing that is certain is that there are four big leagues in Europe, four leagues where the overwhelming majority of professional footballers aspire to play. (Those of you who look down on the Bundesliga may wish to note that the captain of Brazil and the World Cup golden boot winner play there, and at Euro 2008 Spain’s will probably be the only squad not to feature a Germany-based player).
Of these four leagues, each is superior in its own way. If you like fast football and intense challenges, England is for you. If it’s skill and intricate football you’re after you’re probably into Spain. Italy leads the way technically and tactically while Germany boasts the highest goals-per-game ratio and the biggest attendances of any league in the world. They all have something to offer.
But in terms of assessing a whole league’s quality, the Champions League isn’t necessarily the best indicator. Sure, it gives a rough guide. But it’s not a science. First of all, the Champions League is a cup competition and therefore not indicative of a league. Liverpool have outperformed United in recent seasons, Roma have bettered Inter – not so domestically.
Indeed, anyone who believes results in a cup reveal whose league is strongest may wish to consider this year’s FA Cup – by that definition the Championship is stronger than the Premiership. It’s not, of course.
Fans use European performances to back up the case for their championship being the greatest as and when it suits them. Right now, the English are proclaiming theirs is the superior competition – four out of eight quarter-finalists proves it. But flash back to 2004: the English were still maintaining the Premier League was the greatest in the world at a time when England had managed only one Champions League finalist in the 12 or so years since the competition began.
Additionally, the Champions League features only the very top teams. In my opinion, one of the reasons for strong English performances in recent years is that it’s consistently the same quartet taking part, and a very rich quartet at that. Italy may have Lazio representing it one year, Udinese the next; Spain has served up Deportivo, Villareal, Real Betis and Sevilla alongside the usual heavyweights.
These teams tend to come and go, even if they excel in their one or two seasons in Europe. One might suggest that the competition of La Liga is such that for these sides it’s impossible to combine a good European run with the domestic form needed to recapture that Champions League spot. Liverpool and Arsenal were fairly abysmal in the Premiership last season but still finished third and fourth without any problems.
And what about the rest of the league? English success in Europe has little to do with Derby County, Wigan or Fulham. If we’re judging whole leagues by Champions League performance then the Scottish Premier League, with Celtic and Rangers, could be adjudged roughly on a par with the Bundesliga.
Pitting eighth or tenth place from the respective leagues against each other would almost certainly reveal that’s not true. The recent mauling Bayern gave Aberdeen in Munich would back that up. You could argue that the comparison isn’t fair, that Bayern are European heavyweights. But then you couldn’t imagine Celtic ever finishing fourth in their domestic league, as Bayern did last year, no matter how poorly they played.
The fact is that some leagues are characterised by a few dominant teams year after year, while others see the wealth spread more evenly as teams flit between Champions League qualification and relegation dogfights. One makes for better European performances, the other - depending on who you support - for a more interesting and refreshing domestic campaign.
Either way, it’s hard to quantify exactly which would signify the 'best’ league. If AC Milan struggle in Serie A, is it because the competition is tough or because the Rossoneri are poor? I don’t know which is the best league in the world. In truth I don’t care as long as they serve up entertaining fare.
Logically, if players want to keep playing in and having a realistic shot at winning the Champions League (and I stress 'if’ because plenty of players have ditched regular Champions League participants from other countries in favour of sides in the biggest leagues not involved in Europe), there is no room for one dominant league in the world.
There needs to be between eight and a dozen sides with genuine European title prospects to accommodate all the world’s best players. Unless UEFA alters its rules drastically, they won’t all be coming from one country.
Goal.com
Excellent article..but just when you thought someone spoke sense..here comes Sir Red Face.
Ferguson Hails Premier League's Superiority
United are one of the four, along with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool - who booked their passage last night with a 3-0 aggregate victory over Italian champions and current Serie A leaders Inter Milan.
The four English teams go into the hat for Friday’s Champions League quarter-final draw at 12:00 GMT. They will be joined by one side each from Spain (Barcelona), Germany (Schalke), Italy (Roma) and Turkey (Fenerbahce).
But the fact that the four Premier League clubs who entered are all still involved demonstrates, says Ferguson, the quality of English football.
“I think the Premier League is the strongest in Europe,” he told United's television channel, MUTV.
“For a spell it was the Spanish league – I remember about seven or eight years ago they had three teams in the semi-finals and Spanish football was really strong, but I think the English game has now reached that level.
“You expect three of the four English teams to be in the semi-finals this year, unless they are drawn against each other [in the quarter-finals]. We now have a 40% chance of being drawn against an English team, which is a measure of the quality of this division.”
United have not been involved in an all-English tie in the Champions League, but whatever Friday's draw produces - which will include the potential semi-final pairings - he is ready.
Ferguson said: “Once the format changed and three or four teams from each country were allowed into the competition, it was inevitable that they would face each other at some point, so I’m always geared to playing against an English team. It doesn’t matter who we get in the quarter-finals. Knowing who you’ll get in the semi-finals as well is an incentive, but we’ll take what we get.”
Goal.com
'Best’ is a virtually impossible term to define. The one thing that is certain is that there are four big leagues in Europe, four leagues where the overwhelming majority of professional footballers aspire to play. (Those of you who look down on the Bundesliga may wish to note that the captain of Brazil and the World Cup golden boot winner play there, and at Euro 2008 Spain’s will probably be the only squad not to feature a Germany-based player).
Of these four leagues, each is superior in its own way. If you like fast football and intense challenges, England is for you. If it’s skill and intricate football you’re after you’re probably into Spain. Italy leads the way technically and tactically while Germany boasts the highest goals-per-game ratio and the biggest attendances of any league in the world. They all have something to offer.
But in terms of assessing a whole league’s quality, the Champions League isn’t necessarily the best indicator. Sure, it gives a rough guide. But it’s not a science. First of all, the Champions League is a cup competition and therefore not indicative of a league. Liverpool have outperformed United in recent seasons, Roma have bettered Inter – not so domestically.
Indeed, anyone who believes results in a cup reveal whose league is strongest may wish to consider this year’s FA Cup – by that definition the Championship is stronger than the Premiership. It’s not, of course.
Fans use European performances to back up the case for their championship being the greatest as and when it suits them. Right now, the English are proclaiming theirs is the superior competition – four out of eight quarter-finalists proves it. But flash back to 2004: the English were still maintaining the Premier League was the greatest in the world at a time when England had managed only one Champions League finalist in the 12 or so years since the competition began.
Additionally, the Champions League features only the very top teams. In my opinion, one of the reasons for strong English performances in recent years is that it’s consistently the same quartet taking part, and a very rich quartet at that. Italy may have Lazio representing it one year, Udinese the next; Spain has served up Deportivo, Villareal, Real Betis and Sevilla alongside the usual heavyweights.
These teams tend to come and go, even if they excel in their one or two seasons in Europe. One might suggest that the competition of La Liga is such that for these sides it’s impossible to combine a good European run with the domestic form needed to recapture that Champions League spot. Liverpool and Arsenal were fairly abysmal in the Premiership last season but still finished third and fourth without any problems.
And what about the rest of the league? English success in Europe has little to do with Derby County, Wigan or Fulham. If we’re judging whole leagues by Champions League performance then the Scottish Premier League, with Celtic and Rangers, could be adjudged roughly on a par with the Bundesliga.
Pitting eighth or tenth place from the respective leagues against each other would almost certainly reveal that’s not true. The recent mauling Bayern gave Aberdeen in Munich would back that up. You could argue that the comparison isn’t fair, that Bayern are European heavyweights. But then you couldn’t imagine Celtic ever finishing fourth in their domestic league, as Bayern did last year, no matter how poorly they played.
The fact is that some leagues are characterised by a few dominant teams year after year, while others see the wealth spread more evenly as teams flit between Champions League qualification and relegation dogfights. One makes for better European performances, the other - depending on who you support - for a more interesting and refreshing domestic campaign.
Either way, it’s hard to quantify exactly which would signify the 'best’ league. If AC Milan struggle in Serie A, is it because the competition is tough or because the Rossoneri are poor? I don’t know which is the best league in the world. In truth I don’t care as long as they serve up entertaining fare.
Logically, if players want to keep playing in and having a realistic shot at winning the Champions League (and I stress 'if’ because plenty of players have ditched regular Champions League participants from other countries in favour of sides in the biggest leagues not involved in Europe), there is no room for one dominant league in the world.
There needs to be between eight and a dozen sides with genuine European title prospects to accommodate all the world’s best players. Unless UEFA alters its rules drastically, they won’t all be coming from one country.
Goal.com
Excellent article..but just when you thought someone spoke sense..here comes Sir Red Face.
Ferguson Hails Premier League's Superiority
United are one of the four, along with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool - who booked their passage last night with a 3-0 aggregate victory over Italian champions and current Serie A leaders Inter Milan.
The four English teams go into the hat for Friday’s Champions League quarter-final draw at 12:00 GMT. They will be joined by one side each from Spain (Barcelona), Germany (Schalke), Italy (Roma) and Turkey (Fenerbahce).
But the fact that the four Premier League clubs who entered are all still involved demonstrates, says Ferguson, the quality of English football.
“I think the Premier League is the strongest in Europe,” he told United's television channel, MUTV.
“For a spell it was the Spanish league – I remember about seven or eight years ago they had three teams in the semi-finals and Spanish football was really strong, but I think the English game has now reached that level.
“You expect three of the four English teams to be in the semi-finals this year, unless they are drawn against each other [in the quarter-finals]. We now have a 40% chance of being drawn against an English team, which is a measure of the quality of this division.”
United have not been involved in an all-English tie in the Champions League, but whatever Friday's draw produces - which will include the potential semi-final pairings - he is ready.
Ferguson said: “Once the format changed and three or four teams from each country were allowed into the competition, it was inevitable that they would face each other at some point, so I’m always geared to playing against an English team. It doesn’t matter who we get in the quarter-finals. Knowing who you’ll get in the semi-finals as well is an incentive, but we’ll take what we get.”
Goal.com
Lippi Tipping Arsenal For Champions League
World Cup winning former Italy coach Marcello Lippi is tipping Arsenal to win this season’s Champions League.
The whole of Europe eagerly awaits the draw for the quarter-finals of the competition, which will take place in Nyon, Switzerland at midday today.
England have made history by becoming the first country to have four teams in the last eight, but Lippi has had his head turned by Arsenal.
"Any of the four could win the Champions League, but at this moment the way Arsenal play is the one I like best,” he told The Independent.
“It would be good for football if Arsenal could win. They play on the ground, they manoeuvre the ball, very, very well. It's very fast and very technical."
Lippi also had some words of praise for his close friend Sir Alex Ferguson who, after 21 years at Old Trafford, has built another excellent Manchester United side.
"Manchester United play great, great football and Alex Ferguson is the type of manager able to renew his team, and, every four to five years, to bring it back to an excellent level of top-class football,” the Viareggio-native said.
Finally Lippi, who won Europe’s premier club competition in 1996 with Juventus, says that the tournament was better when only the champions of each country participated.
"When I won it, it was the last year of the European Cup [when only domestic champions entered]. Then it became the Champions League and now it's possible that even a team that has finished fourth can win it. It was more beautiful, more significant when it was the European Cup," the Paul Newman-lookalike concluded.
goal.com
World Cup winning former Italy coach Marcello Lippi is tipping Arsenal to win this season’s Champions League.
The whole of Europe eagerly awaits the draw for the quarter-finals of the competition, which will take place in Nyon, Switzerland at midday today.
England have made history by becoming the first country to have four teams in the last eight, but Lippi has had his head turned by Arsenal.
"Any of the four could win the Champions League, but at this moment the way Arsenal play is the one I like best,” he told The Independent.
“It would be good for football if Arsenal could win. They play on the ground, they manoeuvre the ball, very, very well. It's very fast and very technical."
Lippi also had some words of praise for his close friend Sir Alex Ferguson who, after 21 years at Old Trafford, has built another excellent Manchester United side.
"Manchester United play great, great football and Alex Ferguson is the type of manager able to renew his team, and, every four to five years, to bring it back to an excellent level of top-class football,” the Viareggio-native said.
Finally Lippi, who won Europe’s premier club competition in 1996 with Juventus, says that the tournament was better when only the champions of each country participated.
"When I won it, it was the last year of the European Cup [when only domestic champions entered]. Then it became the Champions League and now it's possible that even a team that has finished fourth can win it. It was more beautiful, more significant when it was the European Cup," the Paul Newman-lookalike concluded.
goal.com
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