The UEFA Champions League 2011/12 Thread

[Arnau]

Man united is always the champions in england and none bothers!!

Even Rayo who doesn't pay wages to his players and cut Sandoval's (coach) 70% is a joy to watch. Who did heard about Athletic before they outplayed United (best team in EPL)?

Besides Madrid, Barça and Málaga all teams in spain are bankruptcy, shame we don't have sheikhs like Premier League. In Italy for example you can only enjoy watching Juventus, Napoli counter attacks and Roma next season.

 

[4ndr3i]

Can't tell you about those other teams because over here they only broadcast Barca and Real's games. And it's the same story over and over again.

And i agree with you on the Juve part !

 

[Arnau]

The only similarity between Scottish and spanish league is that it's a 2 horse race but the level and football quality is much better here. in Argentina there is a different champion every 6 months but still sucks.

 

[Sir Calumn]

I would much rather follow the Argentine league than the Spanish league. I have absolutely no interest in the Spanish league whatsoever, all the other big European leagues I at least follow a bit, but I just dont give a damn about the Spanish league outside of watching El Classico. The rest of the world feels the same, villages in Africa and campuses in South Korea tune into spain a few times a year to watch El Classico, the rest of the time they are glued to the Premier League.

Man united is always the champions in england and none bothers!!

Even Rayo who doesn't pay wages to his players and cut Sandoval's (coach) 70% is a joy to watch. Who did heard about Athletic before they outplayed United (best team in EPL)?

Besides Madrid, Barça and Málaga all teams in spain are bankruptcy, shame we don't have sheikhs like Premier League.

a) False, for the last 8 years each season there have been a MINIMUM of three teams, sometimes 4-6, reasonably capable of winning the EPL.

b) You dont have Sheikh's? Who the hell is Abdullah Al Thani then? Anyway, has it ever occured to you that the REASON everyone invests in the EPL and not the Spanish league is because there is actually a chance of generating interest in an EPL club outside of the top two, and there is actually a bit of international recognition?

 

[Arnau]

I wrote málaga is rich! shame we don't have a sheik in every team like EPL teams.

a) False, a bunch of teams capable of winning EPL but at the end only United does. Since Premier League format: 12 titles United, Arsenal 3, Chelsea 2 and Blackburn 1. 1 horse race.

 

[Sir Calumn]

It's how many teams are capable that actually matters, that's what makes it exciting. Also, Chelsea have won it three times, not two. Besides, that's three different champions in the last eight seasons with possibly a fourth this season. I would be the first to admit that, in the first ten years of its existence, the EPL was not the best and most exciting league in the world, as it is now.

EDIT: and since we're being pedantic, only one EPL club is owned by a Sheikh. EPL: One Sheikh. La Liga: One Sheikh.

 

[Arnau]

EDIT: and since we're being pedantic, only one EPL club is owned by a Sheikh. EPL: One Sheikh. La Liga: One Sheikh.

Right, rich owners i mean, like Abrahamovic. Bastards doesn't sell team there, my english is so awkward. Let me give the last demagogue fact, since EPL format: 4 different champions in England, 5 in Spain (Barça, Madrid, Valencia, Depor and Atletico).

 

[Jaboldinho]

Lol, at sheikhs buying EPL clubs because they have a chance. They go to the EPL, because EPL is the biggest brand.

 

[Sir Calumn]

I am not arguing that the EPL has been the best and most exciting league in the world since its inception, merely that it has for around the last 8 years. I think the La Liga of the 90s was far, far better from a neutral football fan point of view than the La Liga of the 00s. The Spanish league has been, and still is, in decline, whilst the EPL has been in the ascendancy.

 

[Arnau]

in the mid of 2000s EPL was the best, best players and managers (Benitez's Liverpool, Mou's Chelsea, Man united and Arsenal) but now Spanish league is the best and most exiting league.

 

[Sir Calumn]

I cant believe you dont see the difference between having (arguably) the two best teams in the world and having the best league in the world.

EDIT: I agree that the top EPL teams of 2005 were better than they are now, but that's not the point, the fact that they have got slightly WORSE has made the league BETTER, because it is more exciting, more competitive, more quality spread throughout the division.

 

[Arnau]

The gap between madrid barça and the other teams is huge but that doesn't mean they sucks, it would happen in every league of the world if you put these 2... Osasuna for example is very good, they actually beat us.

 

[Sir Calumn]

I dont believe for a second that a) Barca and Real could have got so strong were they in the EPL and b) if Barca and Real were suddenly transferred to the EPL, they would dominate it the way they do La Liga.

 

[Arnau]

and i'd like to see top EPL teams playing in grounds like Reyno de navarra, Pizjuan or San Mamés.

 

[Filipower]

That can't possibly be conceived. Yes Athletic gave United a whoop-ass but the context is ENTIRELY different from a week-in-week-out league type of competition. Real and Barça are arguably the best teams in the world but there not nearly as far out from other top European sides as they are from the rest of La Liga. And even that doesn't say much, because if the likes of Valencia or Atlético were in another league and they played Barça or Real in a European tie, it would be much closer. It's just not comparable.

 

[Ebonix]

This is what I missed when I wasn't visiting SG. The good old back and forths people can have!

The thing is, both of you have points. Arnau, for the most part, Man Utd do win the league most years; however; they rarely win the league 10 points clear two months in advance of the season end (Infact, I don't think they've ever done that). Every season in the Premiership has such a dramatic closing couple of months, you've only got too look at the season where Newcastle came close to winning the title, that's probably the best example of what the English Premiership brings to the table.

The problem with La Liga's coverage in England is Sky Sports. I've never put Sky Sports on on a Sunday night to find Bilbao Versus Sociedad, it is literally Barcelona versus Opponent A followed by Real versus Opponent B week in week out. Even when they play each other Sky make it into a 3 hour extravaganza like it's the World Cup Final. The Spanish league was always an interesting one for me, one where keepers don't really seem to be the best which leads too some excellent and hilarious goals.

I don't think its a matter of comparing the leagues to decide which is best, each has it's own individual appeal, quirks and negatives. If every league in the world were the same, football just wouldn't be so interesting.

 

[Sir Calumn]

That can't possibly be conceived. Yes Athletic gave United a whoop-ass but the context is ENTIRELY different from a week-in-week-out league type of competition. Real and Barça are arguably the best teams in the world but there not nearly as far out from other top European sides as they are from the rest of La Liga. And even that doesn't say much, because if the likes of Valencia or Atlético were in another league and they played Barça or Real in a European tie, it would be much closer. It's just not comparable.

Also Athletic may be shining in EUROPA, but the records of Spanish clubs other than Real and Barca in the CL has been really pretty poor in recent years. Yes, I am aware this has been a terrible year for English clubs in Europe, but up til this year pretty much every English club for a while to have got into the CL have made a decent stand, whereas the Spanish clubs other than Real and Barca just capitulate year after year.

I don't think its a matter of comparing the leagues to decide which is best, each has it's own individual appeal, quirks and negatives. If every league in the world were the same, football just wouldn't be so interesting.

But undoubtably some leagues are far more interesting for the neutral to watch than others?

I agree with you about the Sky coverage of La Liga, but I think that is BECAUSE of the devide between the top two and the field, and the lack of interest in Spanish football outside the top two. In fact this illustrates my point very nicely, and I can bear personal witness to this from extensive travelling - all over the world, countries show a huge amount of EPL games, even games between really unglamourous clubs on rainy weekday nights, but 95% of the places I have been to show absolutely no Spanish games that dont involve Real or Barca, including some Spanish speaking countries!

 

[Jaboldinho]

That can't possibly be conceived. Yes Athletic gave United a whoop-ass but the context is ENTIRELY different from a week-in-week-out league type of competition. Real and Barça are arguably the best teams in the world but there not nearly as far out from other top European sides as they are from the rest of La Liga. And even that doesn't say much, because if the likes of Valencia or Atlético were in another league and they played Barça or Real in a European tie, it would be much closer. It's just not comparable.

Of course they're not as far out from other European sides as they are from the rest of La Liga. But I'd say they're pretty much as far ahead of the average EPL team as they are of the average La Liga team.

 

[Filipower]

Yes but the Average La Liga side starts at 3rd, the average EPL side starts at 6th.

 

[Arnau]

3 of those average teams are still alive in Europa League. Valencia beat Stoke easy and so did Athletic with Manchester United.