quarter final opponents (2 Viewers)

HelterSkelter

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2005
19,104
#1
unless uefa has some standard which implies that we wont be able to get a particular team,we'd get one of the following teams :

-barcelona
-milan
-lyon
-arsenal
-inter or ajax
-villareal
-benfica

ive got a feeling that we generally tend to struggle in knockout matches where we go in as favourites.last year we went in as favourites against liverpool and they kicked as out,the previous year we were favourites against deportivo and they knocked us out,this year we were favourites against bremen and they almost knocked us out.maybe its complacency,but imo we tend to struggle when we go in a match as favourites

so even though this sounds crazy,i hope we get barcelona.because playing against a big team probably gets the best out of us.also,we would be the underdogs for this game so that would help get rid of the pressure that the 'favourites' tag brings.just last year when we knocked out madrid.it was one of the best tactical performances by capello in the entire season imo.

id prefer facing a strong team over a weaker team.
 

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Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#4
I think it's quite obvious we want to avoid Barcelona in the next round, as even our best performance of this season would probably not be enough to beat Barcelona over two legs. Another team we would want to avoid in the Quarterfinals is Arsenal considering they have the firepower to rip our overrated defense apart and now have some confidence in Europe after shutting out Madrid two matches straight. Perhaps Lyon would really run us into the ground with their quick passing and prowess on freekicks and set pieces, so I think avoiding the Frenchies would be the best option at this stage, because, with the way we are currently playing, we would lose 9-2 on aggregate, similar to Bremen's worthlessness about a year ago.

The best bet for success would be drawing Villareal due to the fact we always fair well against Spanish sides and if you eliminate Riquelme you have a certain win. Benfica would be another "easier" draw. However, if you lot watched the matches against Liverpool, you would know Koeman has built a sound team at the back and a very dangerous side on the counter, led by captain Simao Sabrosa and our favorite castaway Fabrizio Miccoli. They are a strong side as well and could cause us several problems if we indeed play like shit again, which is almost certain with Capello in charge.

The fact of the matter is anybody we draw will cause us problems, and with our current form I sincerely doubt we will soundly beat anybody we play. We must hope that old lady luck is on our side with Capello in charge as we will simply not win this tournament because of brilliant tactics or an adept mind stearing our boat along...this trophy will be won by the hard work of our PLAYERS and more of the luck that we saw last night.
 

rokkstar

Junior Member
Feb 2, 2005
471
#6
I agree with axl...

At this stage, any team can win the tournament.... be it based on form, luck or strength...

It is better if we draw a good team, say Barca or Lyon, so that our Juve can rise to the occasion and put in a better effort and progress through the following stages on a consistent high. Heck, it's gonna be 5 matches altogether if we can manage to get thru to the finals!

From what i see recently, Juve has been undermining other teams (i.e. Bremen, Parma), and lack of concentration. Also the decision-making of Capello has also had an impact on the teams performances. I mean, how do you put a player who just got off an injury to play for you?

From the previous match, I can see on the players faces the determination and motivation of wanting to win the CL soo much. So now, It does not matter if we even draw milan at this stage, we need to perform at the peak optimum level which I know this team can.

Forza Juve.
 

sateeh

Day Walker
Jul 28, 2003
8,020
#7
Right now we are possibly one of the worst forms between the final 8.

-i dont mind getting any team, even if it was barca.. like maba said we fair well against spanish teams and even against tthis great barca side..mybe going on as "underdogs" would do us good, and the players with the coach would take the team against us more seriously.
-getting any inter or milan would be interesting.
-virreal or benfica, i think benfica r going to surprise any team they get.. virreall are a bit weaker.
-arsenal are doing well and could be very dangerous only cuz they have all the confidence in the world in CL games at the moment.But they aren't playing very well, and they weren't the best of two teams against real imo.

so for me i dont care really who we get, to win the CL u need to meet the big teams at one point or another.
 

baggio

Senior Member
Jun 3, 2003
19,250
#12
Talk of fearing an opponent is not going to get us anywhere. Fact is, if you want to win a tournament like the Champions League, you've got to approach every game like a final, irrespective of who the opponent is. And just for the record, I'd much rather beat a Barcelona, Arsenal or Milan along the way to glory. Rather than set a Champions League record by beating a Villareal or a Benfica by high aggregate scores if at all. No matter, who we get in the next round, I'm pretty sure, if we make it to the semis or even the final, we'll eventually be facing a team capable of taking us on. If I were to pick an opponent, I'd say Arsenal, because they for my money are playing the football best suited to Europe. To beat them, we'd need to alter our tactics and gameplan, something that would be welcome as far as I'm concerned.
 

Gep

The Guv'nor
Jun 12, 2005
16,420
#15
Either way we'll struggle. We are not in good form physically compared to the rest, We are slow, Weak the list goes on. Milan/Barca/Lyon/ even Arsenal have more on an engine in the middle of the park than us, Unless we pull our fingers out, we're going out!


..........OH! And Ibra stayed behind for extra shooting training while the others showered up! That a fact.
 

Tino

Il Tedesco
Feb 1, 2005
2,059
#16
I hope we will not play against Lyon! cause they have such a good offense, and Juve cant play against such teams! (as we saw against Bremen!)

Milan is to early I think
Barca too

I hope for Arsenal or Benfica!
Both are good opponents to go to the semifinals!
 

mikhail

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2003
9,576
#17
Moggi D'Messiah said:
... even Arsenal have more on an engine in the middle of the park than us...
Now that's just rubbish. They have Silva and Fabregas - compared with Vieira and Emerson. There's no comparison.
 

JCK

Biased
JCK
May 11, 2004
123,561
#18
mikhail said:
Now that's just rubbish. They have Silva and Fabregas - compared with Vieira and Emerson. There's no comparison.
Probably on paper, but have you seen these kids play, they are fast, motivated and willing to give more than they can handle. Compare that Emerson and Vieira, slow, getting a fat paycheck at the end of the month wether they do their job correctly or not and above all playing without even caring if they lose at home against Pistoese (with no disrespect to Pistoese fans).

Denco mentioned it many times that Emerson and Vieira are not compatible with each other, on paper they are the best central midfielders probably but together they don't combine. It is as simple as this, this combination is wrong. On the other hand Silva and Fabregas are playing well together and thus are producing much more than Emerson and Vieria are.
 

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