The Official Football (Soccer) Thread

[Lunatic]

Mourinho is such a fucking dick, every time he has a side play barca he sends them out to kick and foul them. No wonder his sides end up with ten men. Red card was debatable but he went over the ball and caught alves just below the knee.

Not debatable at all.. A pure reputation call.. Definitely not a straight red..

Intent was 100% for the ball, he misses and catches Alves' knee. A yellow at worst.

[Jome]

The most disgusting players on the field today were Adebayor, Pique, Alves, Pedro, Busquets & Villa. Not one is Portuguese. If anything, Pepe (Brazilian) was done unbelievably wrong with his sending off.

The only Portuguese player on the field was Ronaldo and you didn't see not one classless act from him today; no diving, complaining, etc

 

There's at least 2 Ronaldo-dives in each game I've ever seen, and today was no different.. lol @ your RM-biased list of disgusting players.. I'd include Ramos, Ronaldo, Pepe, Di Maria, & Marcelo on the list of disgusting players, dunno what Villa & Pique did wrong though.

Ronaldo, Busquets, Di Maria, Dani Alves & Marcelo should start a drama/comedy theater-show, would probably be a hit.

And if we count managers, throw Mourinho on the list as well.

Intent was 100% for the ball, he misses and catches Alves' knee. A yellow at worst.

Since when was it impossible to get a red card if your intent was to get the ball?

[Makaveli's Food & Liquor]

All these Madrid-Barca games have been a joke, it's just Madrid defending with the hope that Ronaldo can maybe do something on his own, while Ozil/Di Maria try to hold the ball up and the other 7 defenders make sure they stay in their half and brake up play in any way possible. Mourinho's ruined these games by simply playing not to lose, and all the bitching about the red cards is a joke, the Albiol/Di Maria fouls were definately Reds. Pepe's was really harsh but i guess if that Scholes tackle from the City/United game is a red card in England then that Pepe tackle's a red in europe These matches should've been great instead they're just soap operas with everyone overreacting to everything, Busquets/Ramos/Pedro/Di Maria/ Ronaldo/ Alves/ Marcelo and Arbeloa make these matches look like a fucking joke

Only good thing about this game was Messi's second goal, that was fucking awesome It reminded me of Henrys goal for Arsenal vs Madrid a couple years back. Messi's got 52 goals in 50 games now, that's just unstoppable

[Invincible]

Got to agree with Luna on this one and say that it was a harsh red card. It was only the fact Alves rolled around like he'd been seriously injured that got Pepe the red. The match as a whole was an embarrassment. From the way Mourinho set his team out to play (not 1 striker starting, how negative can you get?) and the play acting and sorrounding of the referee from both teams. The 1st half was probably the most uninteresting half of football I've probably ever watched due to Mourinho's negative tactics. There was not 1 genuine chance of scoring the whole half. I even made sure I got my break at work to watch it. What a waste of time that was. In the end, Messi saved this match from being 100% awful with 1 of his typical classy goals. What a player he is.

Does anyone get the feeling from watching Ronaldo play that he possibly regrets his move to Madrid? He genuinely looked extremely ordinary tonight and didn't particularly look up for playing at all. He must just regret that he didn't join Barca instead (not that they needed him).

[Lunatic]

The most disgusting players on the field today were Adebayor, Pique, Alves, Pedro, Busquets & Villa. Not one is Portuguese. If anything, Pepe (Brazilian) was done unbelievably wrong with his sending off.

The only Portuguese player on the field was Ronaldo and you didn't see not one classless act from him today; no diving, complaining, etc

 

There's at least 2 Ronaldo-dives in each game I've ever seen, and today was no different.. lol @ your RM-biased list of disgusting players.. I'd include Ramos, Ronaldo, Pepe, Di Maria, & Marcelo on the list of disgusting players, dunno what Villa & Pique did wrong though.

Ronaldo, Busquets, Di Maria, Dani Alves & Marcelo should start a drama/comedy theater-show, would probably be a hit.

And if we count managers, throw Mourinho on the list as well.

Intent was 100% for the ball, he misses and catches Alves' knee. A yellow at worst.

Since when was it impossible to get a red card if your intent was to get the ball?

The fact that u think there has been 2 ronaldo dives in every game you've seen of him just proves u hate him and make your mind up about him before every game he plays. U already talk about "what a cheater, diver, scum, crybaby" blah blah blah before u even watch the game

Ramos was disgusting. Pepe was sent off due to a reputation call. I didn't see nothing disgusting from Marcelo or Di Maria (a dive or 2)

There is no way that's a red card. What a terrible, terrible call.

[Javier]

El Classico I (La Liga game):  The One without Pepe as a defensive midfielder
Real Madrid straight up got schooled, they tried to put pressure in the midfield but failed miserably and gave Barcelona easy chances to score in which they did

El Classico II (La Liga game):  Real Madrid basically sets this one one to not lose.  And we start to see the important role Pepe has in these games vs Barcelona.  Especially with 10 players, they were able to show that a pressure defense works well against Barca.  In fear of playing with 10 in the 2nd half, they just decided to start with that in III.

El Classico III (Copa del Rey):  Real Madrid switches it up, doesn't just play defense but puts great pressure from the midfield up.  This worked amazing for one half in which they had some clear chances to score, but the team got tired quick in the 2nd half and at times very vulnerable to be scored on.  Lucky for Real Madrid was that Barca also got tired in ET because of their 2nd half effort.

El Classico IV (Champions Semi 1st Leg):  In this game, instead of starting out with pressure they used their defensive scheme from II to start the game, but then switched it up to the pressure defense of III's first half.  It was starting to work until the ref got easily swayed by Alves rolling around as if he was on fire.  Absolutely pathetic. 

[Lunatic]

It was starting to work until the ref got easily swayed by Alves rolling around as if he was on fire.  Absolutely pathetic. 

Exactly. The ref stole this one with that decision. It doesn't take a genius to see the dynamic of the game completely changed after a terrible red card call.

Pathetic.

Yet all the headlines will forego this and just praise Messi 

[wcsoldier]

Lol at anyone backing up this Italian style of football played by the Real ... I know they get destroyed 5-0 by playing their usual style , still with all that offensive talent , you should be ashamed to play like the Squadra Azzura ... This  was a total no match from Madrid ... and Pepe is a well known bitch I couldn't care less about him getting a red card

The hilarious thing is some of these players are still supposed to play together for the Spanish national team ... LOL

[Javier]

Lol at anyone backing up this Italian style of football played by the Real ... I know they get destroyed 5-0 by playing their usual style , still with all that offensive talent , you should be ashamed to play like the Squadra Azzura

That's unfair to ask of a team to play like another team in which some teammates have been together since they were on the B Squad. 

[wcsoldier]

I understand this ... I know for teams like Madrid it's all about winning NOW and there is no middle term to long term approach BUT I'm not sure playing (in fact not playing) this way for some years to come against Barca is the solution either ... it might work for national games here and there ( Real pressing was way more agressive in the Copa Del Rey final because they could get away with more fouls and contacts ) but in Champions league game where the refs are more severe , don't think it will be the solution ... in yersterday's game Madrid players were passive so their chances to get loose balls and create fastbreak opportunities were very limited

Then you could see Barca made some adjustments by playing Messi on the right side of the attack (his OG position) , knowing the solution against these kind of D comes from attacking from the sides

And from a image and marketing point of view , it's not a good move ( I know as fans we don't worry about that) for Real either ... they are not going to gain fans and sell  more of these famous forwards jerseys to the average fans by playing like this

[Javier]

I feel that the media has been the main one dissing a defensive scheme in the sport.  In practically every other sport, defense is appreciated and respected.  I prefer to let football evolve.  The sport has gone through a good number of changes in the past 11 years.  And teams shouldn't try to change their identity to please some fans that prefer one way of playing the sport. 

[Furor Teutonicus]

It was starting to work until the ref got easily swayed by Alves rolling around as if he was on fire.  Absolutely pathetic.  

Exactly. The ref stole this one with that decision. It doesn't take a genius to see the dynamic of the game completely changed after a terrible red card call.

Pathetic.

Yet all the headlines will forego this and just praise Messi  

The red card was fully deserved. If you don't see that the fact that it was intentional you must be blind. A few minutes earlier Pepe was hit pretty bad by Alves (or someone else), and my friend said 'wait up, Pepes revenge will follow'... and then boom... Pepe even realized that he fucked up when he tried to hide from the ref right after the foul. This was not accidental.
Yeah Alves acting was ridiculous, but that doesn't make it less of a red card.

And Di Maria is a rat too. No need to defend your Portuguese heroes. We've seen in the last few international tournaments how ugly they can be.

ANd Messi is the only one who deserves praise after this game. These Iberians are all the same- and I'm not English

[KURUPTION-81]

The more i see the tackle the more i think it was a red, it was high and no where near the ball.

Mourinho comments suggesting there is a grand scheme involving uefa to ensure barca win is ridiculous.

I dread the day he takes over at united, great manager but he is scum and its no wonder his sides are involved in conflict all the time as they take their lead from him .

[Get It Off Ya Chest]

All the headlines will read "Messi fantastic!" but the ref STOLE this game. Messi was absolutely INVISIBLE before Pepe got a terrible red card call. In these recent 3 Barca-Madrid games, Pepe has kept Messi very quiet. That bullshit of a red card decided this tie.

Disgusting

Not true, Messi was showing class even before Pepe got sent off.
Also, Di Maria was diving about, as well as trying to get Alves sent off after every challenge.
You're biased view on this game's unreal. However, a player who's been criticised here that I'd defend is Adebayor. Imo he did nothing wrong in the game.

I'd love to see players such as Busquets (who's behaviour was particularly disgusting), Pedro, Di Maria etc. play even just a handful of games in the SPL, they'd get absolutely broken !

[Furor Teutonicus]

The more i see the tackle the more i think it was a red, it was high and no where near the ball.

Mourinho comments suggesting there is a grand scheme involving uefa to ensure barca win is ridiculous.

I dread the day he takes over at united, great manager but he is scum ad its no wonder his sides are involved in conflict all the time as they take their lead from him .

Well it seems to be true that Pepe didn't really touch him:



But you can't blame the ref, Pepe deserves it for his stupidity. The ref can't study the situation over and over, and the way Pepe went for the ball, it looked brutal. Real always tries to destroy Barca with foul play, and that's what they get.

I mean, we're talking about Pepe. He's a lunatic and now he got what he deserved.
I call it justice because he usually comes away with actions like this.

Maybe the red card was cruical, but Barca was the better team anyway. Real couldn't get shit together @ home. What could they expect @ Camp Nou? Honestly, I don't know how they should've adavnced anyway with this tactic-