Posts Tagged Champions League
2009 Champions League Final ~ Barcelona vs Manchester United (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on March 7, 2012
It’s May of 2009 and Sir Alex Ferguson is closer than ever to achieving his long-standing goal: winning two successive Champions League trophies.
Having beat Chelsea on penalties in 2008, Manchester United appear to be an ever stronger team this year around.
They have tremendous experience in Van der Sar, Ferdinand, Giggs and Scholes, as well as dynamic talent in Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez.
United comfortably brushed aside Arsenal in the semi’s, and if they can now beat Barcelona, surely they’ll go into history as one of football’s greatest teams.
But there are also voices saying similar things about Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Their possession-based playing style is winning admirers from all over the planet, and all that’s lacking to confirm their status as a truly brilliant team is that silver trophy. Ol’ Big Ears.
Barcelona are plagued by defensive problems though. Abidal is suspended. Dani Alves and Maxwell are injured. Can Cristiano Ronaldo – the holder of the Ballon d’Or – take advantage?
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2009 Champions League Quarter-Final ~ Barcelona vs Bayern (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on February 25, 2012
This match confirmed the growing suspicion around Europe that Barcelona, this season, were something truly extraordinary.
Certainly, Barcelona had been synonymous with quality football for years, with Ronaldinho regularly setting Champions League nights alight with his magic moves. And when Pep Guardiola sold off Ronaldinho and Deco, many feared that Barcelona would lose some its charm, its creative touch. Instead, the team started playing better, more disciplined, more aggressive, more collective, more dominant, than ever before.
FC Bayern, on this night, were nothing more than willing victims.
2008 Champions League Round of 16 ~ AC Milan vs Arsenal (16m Highlights)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Highlights on February 14, 2012
This match, to many, looked like a foregone conclusion. Arsenal, the team known for its chronic lack of success in Europe, playing against AC Milan, one of Europe’s most successful sides. History would predict a clinical victory for the Italians.
One might argue that patterns are there to be broken, but did Arsenal even have the quality to create an upset in San Siro? The Milanese were, after all, the reigning champions of Europe. And in Kaká they had the world footballer of the year. In Maldini and Nesta a defensive duo of immense quality and experience. In Pirlo and Gattuso a perfect midfield pairing. And the veteran Inzaghi and the young Pato seemed a guarantee for goals.
Arsenal really had no chance.
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1994 Champions League Final ~ AC Milan vs Barcelona (49 min HL)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches, Highlights on February 8, 2012
The wait had been long. The two dominant sides of the early 90′s had evaded each other for far too long.
Sure, AC Milan had triumphed over Barcelona in 1989 UEFA Super Cup, but Cruyff’s Dream Team was still in its infancy then.
Five years onward, AC Milan and Barcelona finally clashed, in the most suitable of occassions: The Champions League final.
Milan, however, was no longer the side it had been. The three Dutch stars – Rijkaard, Van Basten, Gullit – were gone. Captain Baresi and the new talent Lentini were injured. And under Capello, Milan’s play wasn’t as impressive as it had been under Arrigo Sacchi.
Barcelona on the other hand looked better than ever. They had just won La Liga for the fourth time in succession. And in Romário, the Catalans had the world’s greatest goalscorer.
It was with casual self-confidence therefore that Cruyff declared that Milan were a shadow of their former self and that Barcelona would easily win…
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2005 Champions League Final ~ AC Milan vs Liverpool (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on January 30, 2012
Finals are all too often tedious affairs. Restricted by nerves and scared to make mistakes, contestants in a final frequently opt for a risk-free strategy. The result is a rather uneventful, anti-climactic end to a competition.
But there are some exceptions to this rule. Games where the tension that comes naturally to a final is spurred to new heights by sequences of incredible drama.
Chief among these exceptions is the 2005 Champions League final.
Pitting a strong AC Milan side – starring a young Kaká behind Crespo and Shevchenko – against a combative Liverpool side built around Steven Gerrard, it was a classic Italy vs England battle. Class versus fighting spirit. Which would come out on top?
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2003 Champions League Quarter-Final ~ Manchester United vs Real Madrid (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on January 25, 2012
There was a time when the word Galacticos only had positive connotations. When it wasn’t yet dripping with irony and the image of expensive failure.
When Zidane, Raul, Figo, Makelele, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo, all dressed in white, appeared unstoppable.
Indeed, in 2002, Real Madrid had won the Champions League. For the 2002/03 edition, they were overwhelming favourites to triumph again.
But Manchester United wouldn’t be Manchester United if they were just going to accept defeat. Even if they had lost the first game 3-1 in the Bernabeu, there was always a chance of a turn around on Old Trafford. Even with David Beckham, in the peak of his ability, limited to a second half cameo.
2005 Champions League Round of 16 ~ Chelsea vs Barcelona (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on December 12, 2011
This is the return game of the tie that lay the seeds for the rivalry that still dominates European football: Mourinho vs Barcelona.
José Mourinho had won the Champions League with FC Porto in 2004 and was quickly snapped up by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to head his new project. Receiving the reigns over one of the most expensive collection of players in history, Mourinho instilled a strong discipline and excellent organization that made Chelsea the best team in England.
But Abramovich wanted more than just domestic glory. His real aim was winning the Champions League. Small problem: Chelsea’s first obstacle in the KO phase of that tournament was the best footballing side in Europe: FC Barcelona.
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2009 Champions League Semi-final ~ Chelsea vs FC Barcelona (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on November 10, 2011
T
his game is a disgrace.
At least, that’s how one of the losing team’s players described it afterwards. There’s no denying that the referee played a major role in this classic game between Hiddink’s robust Chelsea and Guardiola’s tiki-taka Barcelona.
The diffence between the two teams couldn’t have been clearer than in the first leg played in the Camp Nou. To deal with Barcelona’s inevitable dominance of the ball, Hiddink decided to leave the ball completely to Pep’s team, and instead focus on controlling space. Or ‘parking the bus’ to use a less friendly term. Not a bad choice given that Chelsea’s squad is packed with tall, heavy and strong players. Hiddink’s strategy proved successful in the Camp Nou, where Barca failed to break Chelsea’s wall: 0-0.
But to progress to the final, the English needed a win at Stamford Bridge. The confrontation that ensued is a modern day classic that still has consequences for how the two teams are perceived today. The scenes that occured after the 90 minute mark are an absolute highlight in Champions League history.
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