3 Italian clubs in the Semi-Finals CL : AC Milan, Inter, & Juventus. With 1 left Spanish club : Real Madrid alone to battle a spot to reach the finals. It's 100% surely that in the finals, at least 1 Italian club will be in the finals.

Considering the Italian Football over the past years, there were no single Italian clubs reached the last 4 in European CL.

FIGC should be pleased with the current great news. Maybe the Italy national team will be motivated from these results so far.

CATENACCIO LIVES ON ! (H)

Great for Italian football. :)

And besides Roma have beaten Madrid earlier in the competition, Juve have beaten both Depor and Barca, Milan have beaten Madrid and Depor, Inter have beaten Valencia....thus, so far Italy hold the edge.

Many of you will whine and groan about the fact that Italian teams played too defensive. But the truth is - ManU beat Madrid 4-3.....whats the point in scoring 4 if you're gonna let in 3 ? you might as well win by a single goal and keep a clean sheet.

Milan and Juve both played attacking football during the first rounds of the competition, but now its down to the wire and this is the time where Italian teams tend to defend and hit back on the break.

And guess what - It works.

It pay not be pretty but its sure as hell effective.

Champions League football is not meant for people who just expect goals and nothing but. Its for people who can truly appreciate other aspects of the game.

All you people who said that Italian football was dying - EAT THIS.

:rockman:

Italian football was never dying and was never dead.

I thought Juventus will beat Madrid, but now I am sure they will cause of their poor performance in the match against Man. Utd. They conceided 4 goals - I don't think thats acceptable for a team like Real Madrid. Plus they got beaten by Barcelona and Real Sociedad just recently. Nah, they are going down for sure. Go Juventus!

It sucks though that Vieri injured his knee, he will be out for a while. Not good for Inter, he is the best striker in Italy and in the world in my opinion.

Catenaccio :rockman:

yeah........we may be playing 7-2-1, but at least we win(H) :crazyboy:

Hey internazionale, you should not have posted this yet, because some people didn't watch the games yet, but whatever. I've seen them, so it's OK. ;)

it is good for italian football.. after so many years out of the CL spotlight finally something good has happen.. 3 out of the last four teams are italian great achievement...;)

The serie a has always been regarded as the "worlds toughest league". Most players have have played in italy have said that they feel that if you can do well in serie A, you can succeed in any league.

Of course, the teams havn't quite lived up to that reputation in the last few years, but that label has always been applied to the serie A by the general fotballing world.

3 Italian clubs in the semi final and still a Spanish club is going to lift the trophy. (H) :rockman:

I think Juve will beat Madrid.

They let in 4 goals. FOUR. One of which was an own goal. It was pathetic defending.

They must improve their defense, because they won't be able to score 5 against any top serie A club, esecialy juve. And even if they do beat juve, they still have to play a serie A club in the final, and one of the milan giants at that.

Milan and Real Madrid = football

Juve = boredom

Inter = pain

you = sour grapes

Hey Yash you get the rematch you wanted now.:D

Originally posted by Can't stop the rush...
Hey Yash you get the rematch you wanted now.:D


damn right :rockman: whatever the result..its gonna be a great game :).

The best Offense vs the best Defense (H)

it has always been at this level....

Originally posted by ricardo
Milan and Real Madrid = football

Juve = boredom

Inter = pain couldn't agree more

Italian football is back. True. Whether you like it or not it's back. I don't like Italian football because of the way they play. 10 men behind a ball is not fun to watch. IceBlu said what's the point in scoring four when you'll let in 3. Well excitement. Seven goals in one game, that's excitement. 3 Italian clubs in the semis is a bit flatterd in my opnion. Only Juve deserves to be there because they eleminated Barcelona fair ans square. The other two were so extremely lucky, but still they're there so congrats to them. Now I think that none of the Italians will win it, because I believe that offensive football has the edge over defensive football and therefor Real will win the CL.

@ForzaInter: True, Real Madrid takes 4 goals, but actually 2 of them were own goals. And why did Manchester score ¨4¨ goals? Right, because Manchester ATTACKS. I don't think you can say that from Italian teams. The only thing they think about is DEFENDING. Just wait, and the see Real Madrid lift up the Cup.

Originally posted by americangreg
@ForzaInter: True, Real Madrid takes 4 goals, but actually 2 of them were own goals. And why did Manchester score ¨4¨ goals? Right, because Manchester ATTACKS. I don't think you can say that from Italian teams. The only thing they think about is DEFENDING. Just wait, and the see Real Madrid lift up the Cup.

ok, if manchester united won 2-0 in spain do u actually think they would of tried to score the way they did in OT......NO. and if you think so then whatever you say will not be worth reading b/c its so obvious that manchester needed all those goals just to advanced which why they attacked like they did....and hey....Juve are gonna play defensive and will have a better chance of winning than anyone else has had.....cause how the **** you gonna play attacking football against the BEST ATTACKING team in the whole world.....Juve have a hell of a lot better chance than Man Utd had against Madrid b/c they are very sound defensively

Originally posted by ricardo
Milan and Real Madrid = football

Juve = boredom

Inter = pain
lol .. spot on.
AC Milan are the only team in Italy that I could bare ... and they go and sign Inzaghi :kader:

anyway we'd had about 2 years with no Juve or any italian team past group stages, those were the good days you could just relax and enjoy. Now there's gonna letigious decisions and playing and ill minded players.

The best we can hope for is a AC Milan v Real Madrid final for the sake of football. Cos Juve are pretty sick but Inter are just pathetic.
:hump:

What did Newcastle win lately? :hump:

As a matter of fact I like Newcastle but guys like you make me laugh when you say Juve are boring. So don't watch their games.

Originally posted by mark77
As a matter of fact I like Newcastle but guys like you make me laugh when you say Juve are boring. So don't watch their games.
I never said they were boring.
and dont worry ... I only watch them when I really really have to. when they play NUFC for ex

EPL teams < Serie A teams......enough said

Originally posted by tottiiii
EPL teams < Serie A teams......enough said
;) .... yeah .... whatever :mrpimp: :rolleyes:
:crazyboy: :-paul: :lui: :bob: :dragan:

Originally posted by ShearerM4
;) .... yeah .... whatever :mrpimp: :rolleyes:
:crazyboy: :-paul: :lui: :bob: :dragan:

hey its cool

Yep Italian Calcio is getting strong again...Juventus is class, milan is almost as good, and Inter really doesnt desearve to be where it is:kader:

btw Portuguese football is ressurecting too:rockman:

"You don't deserve to be there" is the usual phrase losers and envious people do. Juve and Milan (expecially Milan) played both very attacking football in the groups stages. Still, you can't just attack and attack - you could still lose 2-5, 1-4 and similar, even if you're leading. Balance is what counts - btw, Newcastle, Barca - I've seen far better teams around. Even Bayern and on some days Borussia are stronger than them - Milan kicked both out.

The defensive style of the italian teams will be a tough challenge for Real.

I don't mind other people think that attacking football is the "true" excitement football. People have free opinions in this forum. One thing for sure : the history of Italian Football is rewritten again in European CL this season.

Why do u guys dislike defense so much ?

as far as im concerned i love to see a good defensive performance rather than 6 goals a game coz after a point it doesn't really matter how many a team scores. When 2 quality teams are playing i would enjoy watching a game with 5 goals just as much as i would like to see a tight game where a team wins it by a single goal.

I see it this way - When your defense lets in a goal, you have Scored . yes your score is -1 , when you score one goal its back to 0. When you let in 2 goals your score is -2 and so on. So its just as important to prevent the defense from leaking goals as it is to attack and score some.

Catenaccio is an art only Italian teams can pull off.

Like i said , i like watching good defenders do what they do best - Defend. Thuram's performance against Barca for instance. He used his pace, he used his height and strength to great effect...it was a joy to watch.

It may not be a glamorous job, but its a necessity especially in the champions league.

I thought the premiership was bad with Liverpool putting me to sleep every time I watch the highlights. Looks like I'm gonna be dozing off too in the last 5 games of the champions league.

I like to see goals come from good offensive schemes or from excellent solo efforts - NOT from defensive tactical errors. If football were attacking only, each team would play in the opponent's midifield only, 11 men against one keeper. Come on! Football is a balanced game; good defending is equally important as good attacking.

defnence wins. If you score 5, the other team can always score 6. If you stop the other team from scoring, you can't loose.

Of course if your 12 years old and only care about seeing lots of goals.....

The idea of football is to score. Not sit back with men behind the ball waiting to spring counter attacks or sit cautious.

Defensive football = unattractive and boring football. All there is to it.

I wouln'd say Inter defend well, they put a lot of people near the goal but Valencia had a lot of chances to score

If you compare Juve and Inter games you'll notice Buffon only had a pair of good saves while Toldo was without any doubt the man of the match

The idea of football is to win, not to score. You need both - a good attack and a tight defense. Sure, defensive movements are easier to perform and to teach, so when tactics are important, defensive tactics comes first. The way Inter played is not a good catenaccio (btw, "catenaccio" means 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 in Italy, yet I know it means just "defensive tactics" around the world), it's just 10 scared men just in front of the penalty area with a brave goalie between the post. Milan's game in Amsterdam or Juve's game in Barcelona are good examples of defensive tactics. Ajax seldomly came to Milan's penalty box in Amsterdam, this means good tactics.
Attacking football doesn't just mean to have 3 forwards of 1 striker, 2 wingers and 1 AM. It's not about schemes, it's the mentality of the team, it's its capacity to perform good attacking tactics without leaving a 20 m break between defense and midfield.
Attacking football doesn't mean goals. Milan has played attacking football for most of the season, yet Inter has scored a lot of goals more.

Originally posted by vince15
couldn't agree more

Funny for a German supporter to complain about defensive football. :p

Milan attacked pretty hard against Ajax. Juventus-Barca was the way it was because Juve were down to 10 men so they pretty much had to defend and play the counter. Also they had Trezuguet injured. Inter lost Vieri in Valencia early in the match. Italian teams have become more attacking sides since the 1990s, but these matches did not show that because of the situations in the matches. Inter though...Cuper is the coach, what do you expect. ;)
Its mostly just Spanish fans being bitter anyways. Let them cry. :D

I'm Northern Irish, Premiership fan, England play the long ball far too much.

Defensive football is boring. It's crap. It's unattractive. Liverpool are so boring it is unvelievable. So boring, the football programs put them on last to save viewers from falling asleep.

I'm a fan of football. I want to watch wingers galloping down the wing, quick one touch passes, skillful teams. Not men behind ball hoofball.

At the end of the day, look at Brazil and Argentina's history. Attacking and brilliant. Now look at England, Italy and Germany's history. I don't need to say anything because it's obvious.
Simple. Enough said.

Me too I'd love that every team should play only attacking football. But that's not the reality. If you want to win, you have to be carefull in defense. The Italian national team of the last years are less attractive than Juventus. You have to admit that.

"The best form of attack is defence"

Massively used quote in marshall arts. This is the case. And it obviousley works. But the fans ****ing hate it.

Originally posted by voetballiefhebb
At the end of the day, look at Brazil and Argentina's history. Attacking and brilliant. Now look at England, Italy and Germany's history. I don't need to say anything because it's obvious.
Simple. Enough said.

what about Italy's and Germany's history ? both maybe less attractive to watch than Brazil or Argentina, but both have been World Champions on more than one occasion.

Originally posted by americangreg
@ForzaInter: True, Real Madrid takes 4 goals, but actually 2 of them were own goals. And why did Manchester score ¨4¨ goals? Right, because Manchester ATTACKS. I don't think you can say that from Italian teams. The only thing they think about is DEFENDING. Just wait, and the see Real Madrid lift up the Cup.

this idiot dont know ****. there was only one own goal in the match. beckhams touch before the line made it his second goal. get glasses mate.

Originally posted by IceBlu
what about Italy's and Germany's history ? both maybe less attractive to watch than Brazil or Argentina, but both have been World Champions on more than one occasion.

Germany have never won a world cup. West Germany have. :D

Hell, England won the w...sorry. West Ham won the world cup.

Italy have won it 3 times. 1934, 1938 and 1982. Only once in the last 21 years. The way everyone talks about them, you would have thought they won every world cup. Even Hungary made the final twice. :)

Originally posted by voetballiefhebb
Germany have never won a world cup. West Germany have. :D

Hell, England won the w...sorry. West Ham won the world cup.

Italy have won it 3 times. 1934, 1938 and 1982. Only once in the last 21 years. The way everyone talks about them, you would have thought they won every world cup. Even Hungary made the final twice. :)


Baggio's missed penalty was the only thing that seperated Italy and Brazil in '94. ..... 21 years sounds like a lot of time, 5 world cups ago is a better way to see it. The last edition in South Korea/Japan was a f*ckin farce and i don't even take it into account in my books.

Argentina won it only twice, the last coming in 86....

Germania Ovest won it 3 times too ... so its 7 - 6 in favor of Brazil and Argentina ;) nothing much to choose between them...

and as i said i don't even rate the last edition of the world cup....so its 6-6 in my books ;)

You can argue all night long but i think defense is just as important as offense.

If every team played with 5 strikers/forwards , and games ended with 8 goals every time, they would be as meaningless as charity games.

Thats the last i'll say on this topic.

Defence is as important as offence. Nobody is questioning that. However, attack is much more exciting from a fans point of view. Plus, Real Madrid's gung-ho attitude can't be all bad judging by their trophy cabinet.

well you dont defend much when you have Raul, Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, Roberto Carlos and players like that

What is the object of football? To win
How do you win? By scoring
How do you score? By attacking

:D

Originally posted by voetballiefhebb
What is the object of football? To win
How do you win? score more than the other team
How do you score? By attacking

:D

you score 1 goal doesnt mean you win......you need to score more than the opponent , which is why defending is important to winning also

I blame Inter for all this heat on the Italian sides.
Milan played attacking games all through the CL and so did Juve when they actually had the strikers healthy or not down to 10 men.

Originally posted by northstar
I blame Inter for all this heat on the Italian sides.
Milan played attacking games all through the CL and so did Juve when they actually had the strikers healthy or not down to 10 men.

oh who cares.....why u blaming them,,,,cause Juve isnt getting enough credit for advancing or something.....all three teams deserve to be their ...italian teams are known for their defense...and now 3 teams are in the semi finals and are getting blamed for playing defensive....if Madrid ends up winning i dont even want to think about how much bull**** is gonna be posted on here

the point of football is NOT to score, it is to WIN.

i'd rather win 1-0 than loose 5-6.

Let's all play like Liverpool then. :rolleyes:

I agree, i like attacking football much better, watching teams lay back puts me to sleep.

Originally posted by tottiiii
oh who cares.....why u blaming them,,,,cause Juve isnt getting enough credit for advancing or something.....all three teams deserve to be their ...italian teams are known for their defense...and now 3 teams are in the semi finals and are getting blamed for playing defensive....if Madrid ends up winning i dont even want to think about how much bull**** is gonna be posted on here

I just wanted to cause some **** and bug the Interistas. :D
I prefer Inter wins over Milan in the other semi.

exactly.

heres one more fact -

98 CL final - Juventus vs Madrid

Juve dominated the entire game but who won ? Madrid ...due to one lapse in Juve's otherwise brilliant defense.

And you guys talk about 'deserving' ... :rolleyes: hypocritical i say.

bottomline - when ManU wins with 2 goals in stoppage time, no one complains...when Madrid squeaks through with a cheeky goal no one complains.....when Juve win, people bring up crap like 'boring game' , 'defensive' , 'referees' and other stuff like that.

just face it - most of you are biased in your opinions. Where was Madrid during the 80s , early 90s etc ? oh thats right most of you don't even care to remember. You people have seriously short memories.

all you guys keep saying is that Real have won the CL/ European Cup 9 times.... howbout the fact that 6 of those 9 came in the 60s ? after that they didn't do sh*t till 97-98. It was completely dominated by Dutch . Italian and German sides for the most part. Juve reached 3 consequetive finals betwen 96 and 98....which was not so long ago :rolleyes: ... if you can recollect the 60's (newsflash you weren't alive in the 60s, howbout you remember the 90s when all of you were very much alive !).

double standards.

fkn helll da master of all juve fans has done it again. good ponts man. her have a beer to go with those coz ill drink to dat.

Dutch. :D

They play attacking football whilst containing the football.

Ajax total football. The most memorable tactic in the world of footy. :D

Dutch. :D

They play attacking football whilst containing the football.

Ajax total football. The most memorable tactic in the world of footy. :D

gg double post :)