Of course, they may even end up being better. It's undefinable really. I just loved the aura of the Pep years, not just cos they were winning everything or the whole tiki taka thing but something else that I can't quite put my finger on but which somehow transcended trophies: from the style of play through to the La Masia thing, even the unicef shirts. Now we're just back to the merry-go-round of big name transfers, high powered sponsors, etc. Nothing wrong with that but for me they're now no different from any other mega club.

aaah! so true...



they've been tainted by petrodollars

:eek:

I wouldn't want to pretend that Barcelona were some kind of whiter than white team. A lot of the good will towards them was obviously a bi-product of Mourinho's arrival at Real. We all know Barcelona had a reputation for being as dirty as any other team in La Liga which would've most likely continued had Mourinho not made Real so unlikeable that even their own players and board were complaining about it in the end.

But who now doesn't honestly miss the pure ugliness of those Mourinho/Pep-era Classicos? Not that they were ever as ugly as that shirt.

Also, some fairly respected journalists, Tor-Kristian Karlsen, Gabriele Marcotti and Philippe Auclair, have compiled a list ranking their 50 best players of 2014. No major surprises, although they acknowledge the recent form of players like Aguero and Sanchez means they should've probably been ranked higher than they were. Anyway, the list:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
3. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
4. Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)
5. Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich)
6. Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
7. Diego Costa (Chelsea)
8. Luis Suàrez (Barcelona)
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain)
10. Angel di Maria (Manchester United)
11. Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)
12. Javier Mascherano (Barcelona)
13. Neymar (Barcelona)
14. James Rodriguez (Real Madrid)
15. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
16. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
17. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
18. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
19. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
20. Paul Pogba (Juventus)
21. Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)
22. Nemanja Matic (Chelsea)
23. Pablo Zabaleta (Man City)
24. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
25. Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)
26. Carlos Tevez (Juventus)
27. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona)
28. David Alaba (Bayern Munich)
29. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
30. Sergio Aguero (Man City)
31. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
32. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
33. Yaya Toure (Man City)
34. Arturo Vidal (Juventus)
35. Mario Götze (Bayern Munich)
36. Diego Godin (Atlético Madrid)
37. Edin Dzeko (Man City)
38. Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
39. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
40. Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
41. Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
42. André Schürrle (Chelsea)
43. Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea)
44. David de Gea (Man United)
45. Radja Nainggolan (AS Roma)
46. Vincent Kompany (Man City)
47. Vincent Enyeama (Lille)
48. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
49. Carlos Bacca (Sevilla)
50. Frank Lampard (Man City)


Only two English players make the 50, depressing and IMO a bit unjust in terms of Rooney.


http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/se...y-aston-villa/

Well let's see how Dortmund do tonight. Could be a good one.

holy fuck! i had forgotten we have midweek bundesliga! bless you and all your descendants.

and dortmund ahead 1-0 vs. wolfsburg!

wiziwig here i come.

FUCKS SAKE! My stream changed the channel to, get this, fucking Liverpool-Bournemouth (Who? Exactly) in the shitty league cup. Was a really good game so far too.

it's on BT sport 2 - about to start 2nd half 1-1 now. :(

it's on BT sport 2 - about to start 2nd half 1-1 now. :(

Yeah I remembered that I can watch bt sport online cos I have bt internet. Derp.

Anyway, Dortmund threw that one away. A couple of thoughts-Subotic is so shit. And I totally see what you mean by not having a clinical finisher to get the goals. Whilst Immobile's goal was a great one it took him long enough.

fucking defense! yeah. subotic-- can't say i fault him, he's been playing without rest while everyone else has been injured. normally he's well above average.

immobile was top scorer in serie a last year! while he's no lewandowski, by all accounts he should have been able to cover on that role-- instead he has been intensely constipated in the goal department. crisis of confidence or something else, i don't know-- but the thing is that he has been missing chances like crazy. today looked like his comeback, but dammit man, as a real fan you should be able to googletranslate this: en la puerta del horno se quema el pan. fuck!!

btw, debruyne has been really great lately. i know he didn't really deliver at the world cup but he's a big reason wolfburg has bolted ahead of the rest for 2nd.

Have a friend who works for the press and there are strong rumours inside Anfield that Rodgers is getting sacked and being replaced either by De Boer or ... get this ... Benitez! Not saying it's happening but that's the rumour.

Nah I don't believe it. The chairmen can't be that impulsive...can they?

I heard about Benitez a few weeks back and didnt think he'd go back. But it turns out his wife and kid still live in Liverpool and he goes back during the week. He could choose to live anywhere and he chooses Liverpool. Odd.

Yeah, Benitez must want to go back, and a large section of fans still love him ... "fact". I still think they should give Rodgers another season at least but if Benitez is available and wants it, it wouldn't be a terrible idea ... "fact". If I had to say who I thought was a better manager between Benitez and Rodgers I'd have to say Benitez ... "fact". It'd be harsh on Rodgers though ... "fact"

All that quoting got me paranoid that I had said something like that. Fact.

Haha. I was just quoting Rafa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO4JkUCaYi0

Fanbloodytastic.

Just re-watching the 2002 Champions league final with Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen featuring THAT Zinedane goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crDzasp1-60

Every.Single.Thing about that is perfect from that impossible cross to that volley. Muh dick just got heard.

Football porn

just woke up to find werder bremen beating dortmund 1-0 at halftime (nice goal too). highlights show they had other good chances.

i have no idea how this will end, but damn!

(and klopp in an opel commercial. poor fucker.)

==

bremen 2 dortmund 1. oh damn.

Jesus wept.