Roma 2-0 Frenchies. Totti.

I like Rosenberg.

Like I said in another thread, if there's one thing you can guarantee, it's that Inter will fail miserably in the CL.

you and ur swedish players

great news, i take it inter will be a 2nd place which means theres a high chance they get paired up with one of the other teams i despise, man liverpool, real madrid,juve etc!

I think teams from the same country don't play each other in the first knockout round. no chance of Juve-Inter or Roma-Inter.
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I don't feel like mocking Inter, considering where we are playing ourselves, but it'd be nice to see them draw a team like Barca and get humiliated a bit

I'd love to see Inter win it. I'm right behind all the Italian sides in the CL. It's just embarrassing how they seem to be our best hope, and yet come 2nd in that easy group.

2nd place sides: Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid (barring a massive ****-up from Juventus), Lyon/Bayern Munich.

Not all of them obviously, but that's a pretty tough set of teams. Could possibly (hopefully) add Arsenal to that if they lose in Portugal tomorrow night.

Compared this with the 1st teams: Roma, Liverpool, Barcelona, Man Utd (highly likely), Juventus, Bayern/Lyon.

Doesn't appear to be much of an advantage finishing 1st, other than playing the second leg at home (a debatable advantage too).

I'm starting to really like Menez. Smooth setup for Totti on Roma's second! Gourcuff was good too but not so efficient.

Normally I'd agree with you, astafjevs, but I just cannot support the cugini. I'll cheer my heart out for Materazzi (or Toldo or whoever) when they play for the Azzurri but can't bring myself to cheer for them under other circumstances. Have no problem supporting Roma or Juve (Fishdoll - a long story - is a big fan of Chiellini in particular) or Lazio or whoever, but not these guys.

Agreed. I'll support Napoli before I do inter or Juve in the CL (or anywhere for that matter).

I like alot of Inter players, so I wouldn't mind them winning it. Especially with Jose as manager.

It never crossed my mind I could actually support Inter...can it be..no.

Surprising. Any reasons as to why you guys wouldn't want them to do well in the CL?

I thought it was because I'm Italian, and want Italian clubs to be successful in Europe as they're representing us. Unless any of you guys are from Italy too.

Not I. The more Inter stuff it in Europe, the further the evidence that there ain't no 12th man for them outside of Italy.

The teams I hate most are the likes of Birmingham, Man United and West Brom (Because they're the most supported clubs, other than Villa in the area). So for me, it's the fan interaction and 'bragging rights' which tend to make you hate a club. Inter? I know of very, very few Inter fans and those that I know are very decent people who I have no problem with, I like their coach, I like alot of their players.. I'm not from Italy, nor Milan, so I don't have a problem with their fans. So I don't see why I would dislike them in any way to be honest.

I hold a US passport though I qualify for an Italian one. In footballing terms, I consider myself much more of an Italian than an American.

Generally, I'll fight to the death/argue for/defend Italian football to anyone -- and that's something that one really has to do in the US, where the best coverage is by Sky Sports' redheaded US stepchild, Fox Soccer Channel (which proudly proclaims - sorry, Kurt - that the EPL is 'The Greatest League On Earth'). My banners are all Italian ones, ditto my jerseys (mostly Milan, 1 Azzurri, though I do have a Rui Costa Benfica jersey as my one 'exception to the rule' item).

Why don't I support the cugini? Well, I know where they play and where they're based, but in a lot of ways I don't consider them an Italian team. There are weeks when no Italian player is fielded for the cugini, for example. Secondly, I just don't like them, their owner, or their coach. Then there's the whole issue of who was really behind calciopoli and who was its principal beneficiary. They're...the cugini and to me they're consigned to the 9th circle of footballing hell along with Chelsea, Real, Porto, and a couple of other teams I really really dislike. (I'd use a less delicate Italian term for them but other boardmembers have objected to it).

Will I support Materazzi (to use an example) playing for the Azzurri? Absolutely. Got into a fair few arguments in the summer of 2006 because of it. Will I cheer on Roma and the Gobbi this year? Yep, I sure will, despite the long rivalry with the Gobbi. I can at least respect their play and the fact that they've got a strong Italian core. [Fishdoll, for what it's worth, is going on cookie strike for the duration of David Beckham's sojourn in Milan and will be wearing a Chiellini jersey. He's going Zebra for 3 months.]

So no, I don't support the cugini, not even if they were to be playing against, say, Chelsea or Real. It just wouldn't be right to me. I'd even take the months of 'italian football is boring and on a downward spiral and has no good players' stuff from the press and friends rather than see the cugini win the CL.

Agreed.

10ster if you don't support Becks and the other old boys, and support the Gobbi instead, I will personally make you walk a very slippery plank, over a pool of sharks who are going to find you very scrumdidlyumptious indeed!!

Oh, I'll support the team, even if it has Mr. Posh in it (and - no offense, Kurt - that is a really embarrassing thing for me to do). Fishdoll, however, is quite firm in his decision to go on cookie strike and go Zebra for the duration of Beckham's stay. He says any threats about shark pools will be met with raids on pirates' rum supply.

Didafan is getting turned on by this lusty pirate speak.

Juninho is truly one of the most unique players ever and absolutely the best free kick taker to have ever existed period. No one else can even come close. Such a joy to watch. I just wish he was much younger than he is right now. It would have been great if Gourcuff and him played together in the same team. I'll make it happen in FM!! That's what FM is all about. It makes your wet dreams come true... It's dildo for the guys.

Jack Sparrow has no-dress for Didafan in his cabin...

Fishdoll has peppered hickory smoked bacon in his cabin. And etchings too.

As for Lyon...Juninho is an amazing free kick taker. He really is. The rest of the team, though? They play dirty football. Lots of nasty little fouls.

I'll admit that aside from Juninho, I couldn't name another player on the Lyon team. I think they have to be among the most anonymous of Europe's more elite squads.


Sorry, Cap'n, but Fishdoll won Didafan over with the bacon. *stomach growls*

That's one hell of an advantage

I'm sure you know Karim Benzema. Maybe you've hear of Mathieu Bodmer before as well. The former OSC Lille captain who played against us in 2006/2007 CL season.

As for that whole "Should I support the clubs from my country" story I may only say, that I don't support Bayern either. I can dislike them much better than teams other countries.

Inter is italian? Well, I'd say in a technicall manner. But I don't see anything italian in them.

As Tennie said, I'm just right with her on this one. I don't have a problem holding the side of any italian team, Roma, Fiorentina, Napoli, even Juve. But there is a line and Inter surpasses that line. All the reasons mentioned by Tennie make them cross my line.

Lyon? Well, Cris and Govou are pretty much famous.

They'd be the team I'd most hate to see win it if it was not for Liverpool. They are the two things I hate, arrogant and disrespectful!

And most of all I don't want Mourinho to win it!

To rephrase Kurt:

I don't really like any Inter players so I don't want them winning it. Especially with Jose as a manager.

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By the way, I think the reason Inter have been doing bad in Europe this season and the previous ones is because they are not feared. In Italy, most teams enter the field with fear and they let Inter impose their game... and you can never win with that attitude!

PS Another class goal by Ibra! Sweet shot!!

PS2 Cluj's goal was great! Did you notice, all three goals in that game, were scored by Ivorians.

Funny. I had the same exact sentence typed, down to the last word and fullstops. The only difference being I spelled inter as 'inter'. Coincidence? No.

FYI, the Gobbi are resting both Chiellini and Del Piero (or at least those two are starting on the bench) in their CL game. So is Marchisio -- is he considered a regular starter these days or is he only starting some games because of their injury crisis?

However, Grygera, Molinaro, Manninger, Nedved and Amauri ARE starting this one (and I'd expect to see them starting Sunday).

Poulsen and Sissoko were the preferred players, but Marchisio has really imposed in himself in recent weeks

Zenit keeper mistake, gives it straight to Raul, 1-0.

2-1 aalborg

Madrid 3-0 Zenit. Raul opened, Robben scored a great chip over the keper, Raul gets his 2nd.

Juve 0 - 0 BATE (Del Piero played a chunk of the second half)
MU 2 - 2 Aalborg
Porto 2 - 0 Arsenal (sorry, Locke!)

another goal by gila, suprise suprise! meaning la viola will be in the uefa cup

Yay for the Viola! (Habitant, you probably would have been amused at me teaching the group of dignified 60 year old ladies sitting next to me at the Franchi the translation of "Udine Udine Vaffanculo". Gotta like the team for that if nothing else. I couldn't stop laughing when they started chanting the English version.)

haha awesome

Oh, the beacon of goodwill that you are.

Hey, I was being a polite visitor! They noticed that I understood perfectly well in Italian and asked me to translate it!

Raul is class! And Robben is amazing, it's a shame he's injured so often.

from uefa.com.



I was at the game. The Lyon players were really pretty nasty about their fouls too.

UEFA are such dicks. Players are doing this all the time. No fine for Sissoko for doing the same against Zenit? They should be more concerned with banning Rooney for his stamp, yet he'll probably get away with it.

I think the key for Juninho and Cris is that they publicly admitted to doing it. The Rooney incident is supposedly going to be reviewed (not sure anything will happen though.)

Rooney will get into trouble I reckon, and rightfully so. Whether he meant it or not, it was a dangerous thing to do. I really wish he'd stop letting his anger get the best of him.

i'm sure he did it on purpous, i've seen him do similar things several times, and he has a short fuse, so this doesnt surprise me.

+1.

He's a rather tempestuous personality.

He's a complete hothead, which is why I want to vomit whenever he and Pele are mentioned in the same breath.

He's called the white Pele right? The adjective takes care of things...