Most of my friends support Olympiacos... it's already started!

Milan got it easy.

We have CSKA Moscow (away in the 2nd leg!) then we play the winners of Spurs vs Shakhtar. Villa vs Spurs in the last 16? That would be superb!

The First leg is in Bremen on February 18/19, second leg at San Siro on February 26

That's a shock! Why?

Bremen's defense has been (so far this season) even more porous than Milan's. The attack hasn't compensated for it either. I do generally like Bremen but they've got issues this year. We could've gotten more difficult opponents.

Yes indeed Bremen has a dreadfull defense. It all depends on wether Rosenberg, Diego and the others catch a good day.

Is Tim Wiese still in goal for Bremen?

Yep.

Is he that bad as so many have made him out to be?

The Portuguese term 'Frango' would probably fit for Wiese. He's a decent enough keeper, but is prone to some really shocking lapses. Add to this a really serious 'I am a god' attitude. Probably spends more on hair gel than Cristiano Ronaldo.

So he's a mix of Hilarious Gomes and Cristiano Ronaldo!? What did he do to deserve being him!?

Kurt, as for Villa's draw, CSKA will be in their off-season. The Russian league breaks for winter. This could be a really good or a really bad thing - there may be fitness issues for their players. Akinfeev is a cracking keeper though. Really quite good. Gonna be really effing cold in Moscow in February though.

I was looking at that off-season thing, but CSKA won the competition in '05 and Zenit in '08 so it can't be that much of a factor. Take into consideration that Villa started the season in mid-July, we could start to see the effects of a long season set in. Another downside is the 2nd leg is in Moscow, but this could turn in our favour if we take a lead over there. I'd love to see how they try and cope with our counter attacking pace when they are forced to attack us.

I'd almost rather go out to CSKA than get knocked out to Spurs in the last 16, that'd be horrible. Spurs get the home leg 2nd as well.

I really can't wait for the home leg! European nights are really special, even the group game against Ajax was incredible. I'm so looking forward to it already!

i remember this one well, i was quite annoyed....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDzEc0IGuck

I remember this! Remember thinking at the time how is that possible and why did he roll over in the first place?!

Bremen are in trouble .. They were a force to reckon with two or so years down the line, but right now .. There is not much to fear.

I think Milan got it easy too

Diego is alone... and he's almost everything for Werder attacking-wise. We limit him, we limit Werder... and that's not so hard to do judging from the games I've seen.

Well I've said that we'll get through Werder but...it isn't just Diego. Pizarro, Rosenberg and Özil. They are too very dangerous. Yes, Diego is a key player. But we should not neglect them.

I agree with Fillipo. This Werder might not be as good as the one of 2004 or 2005 but they shouldn't be underestimated. If they have a good day they can beat any team. And against Inter Özil showed that he's capable of replacing Diego. As well as Pizza he should always be considered a thread. Bremens defense though has HUGE problems.

UEFA CUP 2008/2009: THE OFFICIAL LIST
2/2/2009
MILAN - The list is of 25 players:
GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Abbiati, Kalac; DEFENDERS: Maldini, Kaladze, Zambrotta, Jankulovski, Favalli, Senderos, Bonera, Darmian, Pasini, Antonini, Nesta; MIDFIELDERS: Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Flamini, Beckham; STRIKERS: Pato, Inzaghi, Seedorf, Kakà, Shevchenko, Ronaldinho.

I didn't know we had 6 strikers...

Pasini? Why not Strasser? Or Cardacio?

Why is Gattuso there? What kind of list is this?

Yea but Seedorf certainly isn't one...
WTF happended to Boriello though!?

FYI, Boriello suffered another setback...sadly
he'll be out for another 1 month if I'm not mistaken

Ah well, you might as well get used to it .. The website will always refer to these players as forwards

They're attackers, not strikers.

Anybody who has no defensive responsibility is considered as an attacker.

The changes to the UEFA Cup list were the additions of Beckham and Nesta and the removal of Emerson and Borriello. I really feel bad for Borriello, as he's gone from one injury to another.

Yes...I wonder if he's going to put us through an Ambro cycle. Just when we've given up on him and brought in a good replacement, he regains full fitness.

Milan wants Gattuso to be in the squad, if somehow we manage to miraculously win the UEFA Cup. This way, he'll add another title to his list of wins in Milan. I see no other reason, even if he gets fit towards the end of the season, we better save him for the last four crucial Serie A matches.


2 months, as a matter of pure fact.

Well Gattuso is a key player for Milan .. Hence it is only natural he will be drafted in the UEFA list for Milan.

And about Borriello ... As much as I want him back, and believe Milan would be even more dangerous with him upfront .. I have my reservations about him making an impact this season.

They've named the refs for these games early.

English referee Mike Dean is calling Bremen-Milan (to be played on Feb. 18).

Guys who really follow the English league - is this a good thing or a bad thing?

EDIT: We have a Romanian referee named Tudor for the return leg.

And english referee for a german team,..

Mike Dean is a decent ref, wouldn't worry about him making any bad decisions, one of the better ones in the EPL.

Win the damn thing, I wanna see Paolo lift it!!!

That and the european super cup would be a nice finale.

Well, on the bright side of things, Bremen isn't playing particularly well this season. They make our defense look....like it was when Tassotti-Baresi-Costacurta-Maldini were our backline. (Bremen's defense is REALLY leaky).

Why the explanation, you think we're so dumb? It cheered me up.

Still, Diego is top-fit for that match, and Özil + Pizarro are also in form. Nothing more then a warning, but..

Looks like Carlo will turn his sights toward this now that he's declared the Scudetto out of reach.

And this probably means Abbiati will start between posts now, not Dida. I could be wrong, though.

But if we kind of finish 2nd, and reach the UEFA Cup final, suddenly I'm not sure of the Brazilian starting. Whoever does, I hope puts up a good show, we'll need this win now, not the least because it's the last in this format, we haven't won it, and it'll be a gift for Paolo. Suddenly, this doesn't look so bad now. Go win this, boys!

The last trophy Paolo ever stands a chance of winning, and I'll be happy if he doesn't win it. The World of football can be mean.

Huh? Meaning? I just slept a couple of hours after the match, so maybe that's the reason, but you don't want Maldini winning this, or won't mind if he doesn't? I, personally, feel he has won things other players can only dream about while they sleep. And he's also won what other players can't quite dream about. That and more.

So basically, I'd like us to win, and win it good, but if we don't it won't nearly bother me as much!

No, nothing to do with that.

There's a certain other club in the competition, who're facing CSKA Moscow in the next round.

If so, that would be a slap in the face, considering that he's held his own in the competition so far (emphasis on "so far"). Besides, there's still a Champions League spot that Gobbiati and crew have to work for.

Kurt: You're saying you would be happy if Paolo DIDN'T win the UEFA Cup?

Why, of course, how could I forget that. That certain other club sure has it's work cut out in these next few weeks. If they play as EPL 3rd placers, then they'll do rather fine. But it's the only other match beside Milan that I'm interested in, once the UEFA Cup circus comes back to town.


Agreed. Still a long way to go, but I hope if Milan has to deliver in the UEFA Cup, go till the end, then players like Dida and Maldini and Ronaldinho stand there in the spotlight, instead of Seedorfs, Abbiatis and Emersons.


No, he means he'll be happy if Paolo didn't win it, but Aston Villa did. Oh, he's a sly little Kurt, huh?

I had a different four letter word in mind..but oh well...

From the very beginning it was obvious we're not good enough for the Scudetto. thank we still have a cup to play for

Clod.

Inter were the favorites but in reality if we lose the scudetto it will be because we failed to beat the worst teams, not because we were inferior to the best. We would be more than good enough if Nesta was here... obviously.

Completely agreed. I have always believed in the saying title is won against small sides.