Spanish La Liga Thread (BBVA)

censorthiis · Apr 21, 2007

Becks just came on for Higuain after being out for six weeks. Real Madrid 1 - 1 Valencia at the moment.

Edit: Ah, I can't believe this. 2 - 1; I actually want Valencia to win, but oh, I've never been so happy about a Real goal before. Beckham + Ramos =

ORez · Apr 21, 2007

Sweetest sub ever! Becks changed the frickin game! Fook Barca!

Faяouk · Apr 22, 2007

In my opinion Maradona's goal is better than Messi's. Maradona ran with the ball before the half way line and tricked all the English players and they were on the ground, then wonderfully passed through the goal keeper and scored. Messi's goal depended on speed more than anything, he took the ball and passed from one defender only then he kept dribbling forward no defender caught him until he passed through the goal keeper and scored.

What I'm trying to say is that Maradona showed more skills in the goal, Messi's game is mainly based on speed ... he pushes the ball forward and runs for it, no defender could catch him.

Sasha · Apr 22, 2007

kakarulez said:
well, in all this argument about kaka vs messi, at least we all know that kaka is faster, considering that he outpaced messi big time during the brazil argentina friendly

Not to take anything away from that goal. But in that friendly, Messi had been playing the entire game while Ricky came on as a sub only some minutes earlier. I still think Ricky's faster (Remember the run+goal against Celtic? That was in extra time. :eek:

), but you can't blame Lionel for not keeping pace in that video.

GreatKalu · Apr 23, 2007

Barcelona's hiccup at Villareal opens La Liga up. I watched the first half and fell asleep in the second but bucky missed the easiest of one-on-ones against Viera. Eto'o also missed some chances but Pires looked a bit of his former self. Pitty I missed the two goals from the yellow submarine ...

radioactivenerd · Apr 23, 2007

Sucks that we lost to madrid, but it was kind of expected. At this point in the season, i'm just gunning for a fourth place, hoping zaragoza and atletico dont pull anything out of the hat.
I really think were a better team than 4th place, but withthe injuries and being the only member of spain to play till the quarters in the UCL with that depleted squad has definitely hurt us just a little bit.
Atletico and zaragoza are perfect uefa cup teams. Id even back htem to win it next season if torres/aguero stay at atletico with maxi and petrov staying fit. Zaragoza can make a good challenge for it, with aimar and d'alessandro and the milito brothers if all four stay.

crazy4milan · Apr 23, 2007

madtherchot said:
Barcelona's hiccup at Villareal opens La Liga up. I watched the first half and fell asleep in the second but bucky missed the easiest of one-on-ones against Viera. Eto'o also missed some chances but Pires looked a bit of his former self. Pitty I missed the two goals from the yellow submarine ...

I was at a house of some rich people that support Barcelona (the in laws of my cousin) + grandma who also loves Barcelona, and as soon as Villareal scored the second, my brother and I went crazy...to a point that I believe we won't be invitated again.

WTH were those shots made by Ronaldinho and Eto'o in the 1st half? Messi again fails to have consistency.

Barcelona's record outside Nou Camp at least since December has to be one of the worse for a 1st place in la Liga in a long while (meanwhile Madrid's home record has to be one of the worse for a 2nd place ever).

menon_inc · Apr 23, 2007

radioactivenerd said:
Sucks that we lost to madrid, but it was kind of expected. At this point in the season, i'm just gunning for a fourth place, hoping zaragoza and atletico dont pull anything out of the hat.
I really think were a better team than 4th place, but withthe injuries and being the only member of spain to play till the quarters in the UCL with that depleted squad has definitely hurt us just a little bit.
Atletico and zaragoza are perfect uefa cup teams. Id even back htem to win it next season if torres/aguero stay at atletico with maxi and petrov staying fit. Zaragoza can make a good challenge for it, with aimar and d'alessandro and the milito brothers if all four stay.

Why exactly did Valencia sell Aimar? Was he underperforming?

radioactivenerd · Apr 23, 2007

menon_inc said:
Why exactly did Valencia sell Aimar? Was he underperforming?

Ah the reasons are numerous and speculative. While I would safely say that almost everyone in the Mestalla was sad to see him go, it was a trade-off between fantasy and practicality. He was a joy to watch when on song, and when playing well and protected by Albelda and Baraja. But he was injury prone, and would almost never play more than 5-6 straight games.

That hurt our team specially, becuase we really had no decent cover for him. Angulo was the only option as as support striker(better suited to wing play anyway), Silva was still developing last season. And nobody that could play in the hole, if that was needed. Consequently, every time he was injured, we would switch from playing with a hole player, to playing with def mids and wingers. switching from a 4-3-1-2 to a 4-4-2(or 4-2-2-2 if you will). Drastic changes in the team each time, and we could never really settle down and play as a unit.
he's had some injuries this season, but not nearly as much as when with us. It may have been the extra factor of playing in europe, maybe our medical dept just coulnt keep him fit, but the point is that apart from 3-4 game stretches at a time, he didnt consistently dazzle the way he did at River.
Of course i was angry when he was sold, as almost every mestalla supporter was, but I think most people realise that it was a decision laced with pragmatism. I do still sometimes wish he was with us, as we really dont create our own game any more. We can beat teams that come at us by breaking, but dont create much ourselves. Aimar would fix that problem. But only IF and when hes fit.
I'm just glad I bought my Aimar Valencia jersey while i could. Its a keeper. He definitely gave us some fantastic memories(Valencia-R.Madrid right after ranieri's sacking, champions league goal from 30 metres in 2001), but all too short-lived.
Sorry ive rambled...its not often someone asks about one of my less-publicized-by-media fav players

crazy4milan · Apr 23, 2007

radioactivenerd said:
Ah the reasons are numerous and speculative. While I would safely say that almost everyone in the Mestalla was sad to see him go, it was a trade-off between fantasy and practicality. He was a joy to watch when on song, and when playing well and protected by Albelda and Baraja. But he was injury prone, and would almost never play more than 5-6 straight games.

Aimar could have been among the best of his generation, it's just sad to see a player with such a good talent not being able to showing it regularly cause of stupid injuries (and that's a problem for Argentina in general, their new generation of players are mostly injury prone guys that have huge talent but lack of the needed consistency).

GreatKalu · Apr 23, 2007

crazy4milan said:
I was at a house of some rich people that support Barcelona (the in laws of my cousin) + grandma who also loves Barcelona, and as soon as Villareal scored the second, my brother and I went crazy...to a point that I believe we won't be invitated again.

A grandma who loves football? Cool family I must say

Hope they're cool enough to forgive you two :tongue:

crazy4milan said:
WTH were those shots made by Ronaldinho and Eto'o in the 1st half? Messi again fails to have consistency.

Barcelona's record outside Nou Camp at least since December has to be one of the worse for a 1st place in la Liga in a long while (meanwhile Madrid's home record has to be one of the worse for a 2nd place ever).

bucky + Eto'o really threw away golden chances in the first half. Messi had the occasional run + there was a pass/cross he made for Eto'o to head in but it (the cross) lacked real pace for Eto'o to create something out of it ... he also had to jump + stretch to get some contact to the ball.

It all comes down to the drop in overall standards of football in La Liga. Real Madrid has been pathetic (compared to their past achievements) since 2004 + had it not been for Barca (last two years) + Villareal (last year), we would've noticed this earlier. The close title race is more of a result of Barca's lower standards of play compared to the previous two seasons.

radioactivenerd · Apr 23, 2007

crazy4milan said:
Aimar could have been among the best of his generation, it's just sad to see a player with such a good talent not being able to showing it regularly cause of stupid injuries (and that's a problem for Argentina in general, their new generation of players are mostly injury prone guys that have huge talent but lack of the needed consistency).

Yup. Much as i love the play of a small-dimunitive playmaker, the sad truth is that htey cant usually cut it at the highest level against all opponents. Players like messi and aimar are phenomenal when on song, and their deft little tricks and twists and magic are something that people like drogba can only dream of....but in the end drogbva will be mroe successful, as he has 'enough' talent, and 'enough' physical prowess, unlike all the flashy playmakers that possess ball handling and dribbling skills in abundance, but no physical strength.
Messi of course seems to have more promise than Aimar, but do remember that Aimar was also setting the world alight when he was 19, with his performances in Argentina. It all depends on how Messi develops, and I hope he packs on some pounds. That will however take away from his dribbling+magic game a little bit, but hopefully not too much.

GreatKalu · Apr 23, 2007

^^ Exactly why Kaka' is class and we should never let him go. There's always the debate of football players becoming athletic Vs athletes made into football players ... Kaka' is both a natural football player + an athlete.

Passion for *9* · Apr 23, 2007

Aimar... LOL.

Ex-Maradona successor. Overhyped + overrated.

A few gimmicks + dribbles aren't everything in football. Especially when delivered with so little consistency. And injury-proneness is just a welcome excuse + coverup of their unwillingness to develop/improve other aspects of their game.

Messi will be the next flair player with a stagnating career.

Maldiniac · Apr 23, 2007

nice to know becks scored.wish real win the title and ronaldinho will leave barcelona to come to milan.

ORez · Apr 23, 2007

wtf was my comment deleted? :S becks didnt score he created one, thats it.

crazy4milan · Apr 23, 2007

madtherchot said:
A grandma who loves football? Cool family I must say Hope they're cool enough to forgive you two

Of course they are cool enough to forgive us! :tongue:

My grandma has always been a cule fan, the woman knows football well enough , I thought she only liked the tricks and goals (she loves Ronaldinho), and the occasional "that's a handsome boy", but a few days ago she went on talking some tactics, and she knows most of the players (at least she knows most of the players of her teams and their rivals). Actually my whole family knows at least the "passed the basics" stuff (offside rule, important teams, important players, important tournaments, "how could he missed that shot?" and "woah, bad kepper").

On Aimar, Messi and the rest of the argies, overall they are good players, but they are always going to suffer from the lack of athletic bodies. Maradona was tiny but he was strong (with or without the dope). On the other hand you have the likes of Redondo and Crespo who seem pretty strong, but they were/are injury prone, even Batistuta had his fitness problems (not as much as the others if I'm not mistaken, but he had them). Theres something that has to be tuned up in the Argentina's junior teams now that I think about it.

radioactivenerd · Apr 24, 2007

LOL what PASSION got banned?!?!?!??!?!?
WOW those trolls have some power!

DugiNesta · Apr 24, 2007

Spanish La Liga were the best most interesting league from the 5 big ones, I hope Valencia gets it. But it won't be that bad and if Barca get it, I just don't want Real to get anything :tongue:

vani_pirlo_21 · Apr 25, 2007

crazy4milan said:
Of course they are cool enough to forgive us!

My grandma has always been a cule fan, the woman knows football well enough , I thought she only liked the tricks and goals (she loves Ronaldinho), and the occasional "that's a handsome boy", but a few days ago she went on talking some tactics, and she knows most of the players (at least she knows most of the players of her teams and their rivals). Actually my whole family knows at least the "passed the basics" stuff (offside rule, important teams, important players, important tournaments, "how could he missed that shot?" and "woah, bad kepper").

On Aimar, Messi and the rest of the argies, overall they are good players, but they are always going to suffer from the lack of athletic bodies.

lol, same thing with my family... every saturday we have this family lunch and we sit together to watch football, it gets really loud from all the discussions going on

... we normally watch La Liga, but when Milan's on, we watch Milan

my grandma is becoming a Milan fan, she already knows who are Maldini, Kaká, Pirlo, Gattuso, Inzaghi and Dida without me explaining who they are and all... My grandma says Kaká's a very handsome fellow (today she said Eto'o was an atractive man and sounded quite good), does your grandma say that about Ronaldinho? :eek:

yeah... what a shame argies have that problem... Heinze's another example

I'm with you Dugi... GO VALENCIA OR SEVILLA OR ZARAGOZA!! :tongue:

Pipa · Apr 25, 2007

Barca Set for Hong Kong Clash

Wow ... I didn't know Barca was also coming !!

Good summer for me ... Liverpool is also coming.

JAJAJAJAJAJJAAJAJA ...

GreatKalu · Apr 25, 2007

Funny fact: While we were playing in a champions league semi final at Old Trafford, Barca was playing a friendly with Al Ahly

Astonishing fact: They were paid 2 million Euros to make an appearance :eek:

Have fun pipa!

Pipa · Apr 25, 2007

madtherchot said:
Funny fact: While we were playing in a champions league semi final at Old Trafford, Barca was playing a friendly with Al Ahly

Astonishing fact: They were paid 2 million Euros to make an appearance

Have fun pipa!

Yup .. they'll probably be paid around that much here also. 2M for one match ... but the HKFA will demand from Barca to play their star players for at least 60 minutes or so.

Faяouk · Apr 25, 2007

madtherchot said:
Funny fact: While we were playing in a champions league semi final at Old Trafford, Barca was playing a friendly with Al Ahly

Astonishing fact: They were paid 2 million Euros to make an appearance

Yep. And Barca won 4-0 in the end

Thank god my rivals had the worst ever celebration after a decade of the creation of their club. I was to attend the game and sit with the few Barca fans who came and I actually had the ticket, but once I knew [before a week] that the game would be at the same time of Milan's game, I sold my ticket for 180 LE after buying it for 50 LE.

Was funny how all of their supporters were crying in the end

Did they actually think they could beat Barca? They got humiliated and had the worst celebration ever!

Pipa · Apr 25, 2007

Faяouk said:
Yep. And Barca won 4-0 in the end Thank god my rivals had the worst ever celebration after a decade of the creation of their club. I was to attend the game and sit with the few Barca fans who came and I actually had the ticket, but once I knew [before a week] that the game would be at the same time of Milan's game, I sold my ticket for 180 LE after buying it for 50 LE.

Was funny how all of their supporters were crying in the end Did they actually think they could beat Barca? They got humiliated and had the worst celebration ever!

I suppose the team was all made of the reserves since the season is still going on ... or was there one or two star playings amongst them ??

Rex · Apr 25, 2007

madtherchot said:
Funny fact: While we were playing in a champions league semi final at Old Trafford, Barca was playing a friendly with Al Ahly

Astonishing fact: They were paid 2 million Euros to make an appearance

Have fun pipa!

Perhaps they are ready set to hand over La Liga title into Los Blancos' hand. :tongue:

Faяouk · Apr 25, 2007

pipa said:
I suppose the team was all made of the reserves since the season is still going on ... or was there one or two star playings amongst them ??

Dude they were paid to bring the stars, that's the whole purpose. First half they played with the reserves, second was with all of their stars.

Eto'o scored twice, and Ronaldinho signed on a camera with his marker.

Pipa · Apr 25, 2007

Faяouk said:
Dude they were paid to bring the stars, that's the whole purpose. First half they played with the reserves, second was with all of their stars.

Eto'o scored twice, and Ronaldinho signed on a camera with his marker.

. . . . . . . .

the season is not over and they already have the luxury of going to play a promotion game ...

GreatKalu · Apr 25, 2007

Rex said:
Perhaps they are ready set to hand over La Liga title into Los Blancos' hand.

I wouldn't mind that actually. My pathetic Barca-supporting pals went celebrating last night after Rooney scored ... Raul + Ruud could do me a huge favor

pipa said:
the season is not over and they already have the luxury of going to play a promotion game

Not only is the season not over, it's just reaching a grand finale ...

radioactivenerd · Apr 26, 2007

saviola to madrid

well agreed personal terms atleast....

this would fucking rock

Spanish La Liga Thread (BBVA)

Who will win La Liga and which two teams will complete the top 4?

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