2002/2003 Champion's League Campaign

[BLAUGRANA]

I've started this thread so we can have a specific thread designated ONLY to Barca's Champion's League campaign. We can use this thread to discuss Barca matches and results, player performances in the CL and other Barca related CL topics.

[BLAUGRANA]

Barca have recieved a favourable draw in terms of seedings for the Champion's League. We have been drawn in the first pot which also includes Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Valencia, Juventus, Arsenal and Inter. This means should we advance through the qualifying stage to the first round, we wouldn't face any of these clubs in the first round! Great news IMO as these are all top clubs and getting through to the next round will be crucial and profitable.

http://www.opta.co.uk/article.asp?id=98203&clid=215&cpid=9&Title=Gunners+and+Red+Devils+in+top+tier

[Olesen10]

Nice to hear!! Then we also get all the topmatches later in the round, which means all the knock-out matches gets more exiting!

[Roberto Abrego]

yes but lets see 1st if we qualify(I am 100% sure we will):D

[Roberto Abrego]

yes but lets see 1st if we qualify(I am 100% sure we will):D



this is the 900th post at this forum :)

[BLAUGRANA]

900!!! You poacher!!!

I agree with you. I think we'll qualify just like last season. IMO, we went far last season. All the way to the Semis!!! :D Here's to another successful CL and all the way to the final!!! :D

[Severus]

then ye lot shot blanks against your bitter rivals real madrid. what was so successful about that ?

[BLAUGRANA]

What was successful about it was that even though we faced stiffer competition throughout the tournament and had more injuries (not to mention injuries to key players), we went a whole hell of a lot further than your sorry Juve did. What's more, we had to go through the qualifying rounds too. We'll do the same this season. How were the crowd turnouts at the Delle FOGGY stadium??? There weren't any because Juve are so boring no one wants to watch them play.

[Roberto Abrego]

:D I remeber that the Leverkusen Game was postponed like 3 times!!!!

they rent Delle Foggy for 99 years hahahahah :D

[Roberto Abrego]

We also get farther than the 00/01 season,if we get Riquelme and another of the players that are romour to be playing with us next season,we will strengthen our squad allot and we will have allot of possibilities to get the CL or La Liga title.

[Severus]

Originally posted by azulgrana
What was successful about it was that even though we faced stiffer competition throughout the tournament and had more injuries (not to mention injuries to key players), we went a whole hell of a lot further than your sorry Juve did. What's more, we had to go through the qualifying rounds too. We'll do the same this season. How were the crowd turnouts at the Delle FOGGY stadium??? There weren't any because Juve are so boring no one wants to watch them play.

injuries ???? when we were eliminated by leverkusen we were missing del piero, thuram, montero, tudor, salas, trezeguet at 50 % ......

and these aren't key injuries ? against real all you were missing was rivaldo and you lot were clearly outclassed in every aspect.

and lastly, nobody remembers the semifinalists so you can keep your 2002 placing. atleast we won something this year ...........

:star: :star: :

[BLAUGRANA]

Yeah you will. Some preseason trophy or the Coppa if you're lucky. LVG is back and he's gonna bring Barca back.

I wasn't just talking about the Semis either. We were without players throughout the season at many different stages. Either way, the season was decent and the CL semifinal was good for Barca even though it doesn't mean anything. Actually, it does. It means more $$$ for the club.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by Severus


injuries ???? when we were eliminated by leverkusen we were missing del piero, thuram, montero, tudor, salas, trezeguet at 50 % ......

and these aren't key injuries ? against real all you were missing was rivaldo and you lot were clearly outclassed in every aspect.

and lastly, nobody remembers the semifinalists so you can keep your 2002 placing. atleast we won something this year ...........

:star: :star: :



Rivaldo is the most important player of the squad.....


we also miss P.Andersson!

[Severus]

and what about del piero, salas, thuram, montero, tudor ? are these not key injuries to 5 of the most important players on juve ?

i think your logic is a little ........... peculiar to say the least.

REMEMBER 5. NOT 1 !!!

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Severus
and what about del piero, salas, thuram, montero, tudor ? are these not key injuries to 5 of the most important players on juve ?

i think your logic is a little ........... peculiar to say the least.

REMEMBER 5. NOT 1 !!!

Barca had injuries throughout their campaign. Luis Enrique and Patrik Andersson are the two that come to mind, along with Overmars. Either way, both of our clubs went trophyless in terms of the CL. The most important thing now is the coming CL. I think Barca have a much deeper and more experienced squad this year and I expect good things.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by Severus
and what about del piero, salas, thuram, montero, tudor ? are these not key injuries to 5 of the most important players on juve ?

i think your logic is a little ........... peculiar to say the least.

REMEMBER 5. NOT 1 !!!


Swow since when had Salas being so important to Juventus???

[BLAUGRANA]

I think losing Rivaldo is a major blow to our CL campaign. I thought with he and the rest of the current lineup, we had a chance of winning it this year.

[Roberto Abrego]

I still think we have a chance but with Rivaldo our chances were allot better :(

[Bier]

I'm happy with Champs-Quarterfinals ... everything after is a great addition to a solid achievement ... sure I am as well dreaming of this cup and still in believe that we are to be considered to the hmmm. maybe 10 favourites. So if we make the last 8 it's gonna be a good achievement.
About Rivaldo ... this was one of the worst news ever in my life since I consider Rivaldo the best player ever to have touched a ball on this planet. Thankyou Rivo for all you've done to the club. :) I fear my dream of Rivo lifting the Champions League-trophy in a Barça-shirt won't become truth. Hmmm ... way for a new dream ... Riquelme lifting that trophy in a Barça-shirt. ;)
In the end I badly want a title this year ... maybe the cup at least ... finally that does not influence my love for Barça indeed. I love the club with and without trophies ... MAS QUE UN CLUB ! :star:

Speaking about Barça-Champs-League-experiences ... I've been to the fog match against Hertha Berlin (luckily my favourite Bundesliga side) in 2000 and had a good view on Luis Enrique's goal. Since my mate and me've been standing in the Hertha fans corner I had my Barça-scarf under my blazer and did not intend to show my love to Barça too much ... but when Luis Enrique scored the 1:0 and came celebrating the goal directly into our direction it was about the time to show loyality putting the Barça scarf out, screaming and celebrating the early lead. Luckily the fans around me were cool enough to accept that view Cule (there've even been some more then us two) alongside em and it wasn't the Hertha Ultras. ;)

[Roberto Abrego]

I would had prefered Rivaldo staying than LVG coaching us...

[nismo]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA
I think losing Rivaldo is a major blow to our CL campaign. I thought with he and the rest of the current lineup, we had a chance of winning it this year.
taking the positive out of a negative, at least this means barca get riquelme, who's is on the verge of becoming a G.O.A.T in a few seasons provided no major injury problems. IMO azulgrana, barca chances of getting euro cup shouldn't be diminshed that muich with rivaldo's loss, at least now maybe saviola can partner up with kluivert up front on a frequent basis with riquelme supporting the two.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Roberto Abrego
I would had prefered Rivaldo staying than LVG coaching us...

I'd rather have LVG!

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo

taking the positive out of a negative, at least this means barca get riquelme, who's is on the verge of becoming a G.O.A.T in a few seasons provided no major injury problems. IMO azulgrana, barca chances of getting euro cup shouldn't be diminshed that muich with rivaldo's loss, at least now maybe saviola can partner up with kluivert up front on a frequent basis with riquelme supporting the two.

What's a G.O.A.T.??? :confused:

I think Barca will be fine. Like Bier said before, we did well without Rivaldo for much of last season.

[nismo]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


What's a G.O.A.T.??? :confused:


Greatest
Of
All
Time

....more or less :D

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo

Greatest
Of
All
Time

....more or less :D

Duh! Oh yeah, I knew that. ;)

[nismo]

hey Zul
who you going to be supporting if barca meet inter in CL competition??

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo
hey Zul
who you going to be supporting if barca meet inter in CL competition??

It will be tough, but Barca. I really want Inter to do well this season though. I think barring injuries, Inter can win Lo Scudetto.

[nismo]

this CL
provided all the big team qualified like inter, man u , and barca
i reckon man u, inter, barca, and real, and maybe roma have the best chances of being crowned euro champs.
with arsenal, juve, ACmilan and valencia being the dark horses.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo
this CL
provided all the big team qualified like inter, man u , and barca
i reckon man u, inter, barca, and real, and maybe roma have the best chances of being crowned euro champs.
with arsenal, juve, ACmilan and valencia being the dark horses.

Interestingly enough, many of the top teams including Barca (if they qualify) can't be paired together in the first round.

[nismo]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Interestingly enough, many of the top teams including Barca (if they qualify) can't be paired together in the first round.
yeh
it's got to do with the seeding system
but most g14 teams won't be paired together, not until the 2nd group stage anyway.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo

yeh
it's got to do with the seeding system
but most g14 teams won't be paired together, not until the 2nd group stage anyway.

It's more G14 than it is seeding I think.

[Bier]

Would not be too good to see the G14's meet each other in round 1 ... I wanna see most of em kick ass (especially Barça) at the begin and enjoy their impressive play ... hmmm and I wanna see Real Madrid stuggling again!!! :(

[Severus]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Barca had injuries throughout their campaign. Luis Enrique and Patrik Andersson are the two that come to mind, along with Overmars. Either way, both of our clubs went trophyless in terms of the CL. The most important thing now is the coming CL. I think Barca have a much deeper and more experienced squad this year and I expect good things.

yes i realize that. but what i am trying to get across to you lot is that juve were missing these players for probably the most important game of the season against leverkusen. not throughout the course of the season.

comprende ?

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Severus


yes i realize that. but what i am trying to get across to you lot is that juve were missing these players for probably the most important game of the season against leverkusen. not throughout the course of the season.

comprende ?

Yes, we realize that. But what we are trying to get across to you is that Barca were missing these players for many important games throughout the season, not just one important game.

Comprende?

[Severus]

but i thought this all started with real-barca in the CL when you were only missing rivaldo ? not the whole campaign.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Severus
but i thought this all started with real-barca in the CL when you were only missing rivaldo ? not the whole campaign.

Yeah, but I changed it a long time ago to Barca's season as a whole.

[Severus]

yeah well lick my arse clean biatch, i was continuing what I STARTED !

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Severus
yeah well lick my arse clean biatch, i was continuing what I STARTED !

Typical clincher of a post from you.

[Azerkid]

Hahahahaha, i love it when stubborn Italians get mad because they cant get thier point thru :D

[nismo]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Typical clincher of a post from you.
hehehhe, it's a sign of desperation when they start to resort to lame insults

[nismo]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


It's more G14 than it is seeding I think.
the g14 is acting more and more like a mafia :D
could you believe that they were lobbying atuomatic entrance for euro cup winners!!! then we'd have the same teams playing year in year out

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo

the g14 is acting more and more like a mafia :D
could you believe that they were lobbying atuomatic entrance for euro cup winners!!! then we'd have the same teams playing year in year out

The whole UEFA/G-14 situation is a Catch-22. UEFA tries to keep them happy while the G-14 realize they could alienate themselves from the players and their fans if they get their own Superleague and have too many matches. I have to say that I favour UEFA because I think the G-14 is too motivated by money. It's not as bad as it could be, but there's still a bit of a standoff.

[nismo]

i prefer UEFA as well, as a superleague of any sort is no gurantee of success plus it could undermine the unity of european football as whole, which could affect the international scene to a certain extent. the g14 always reminds me of a secret society, wanting to fulfil their own amibitions instead of developing football as a whole.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo
i prefer UEFA as well, as a superleague of any sort is no gurantee of success plus it could undermine the unity of european football as whole, which could affect the international scene to a certain extent. the g14 always reminds me of a secret society, wanting to fulfil their own amibitions instead of developing football as a whole.

Well said. I think they're pretty sensible though and realize that w/o their national leagues and club sides, they would lose their core fan base. Look at Italy, CL games for many of the teams aren't even sold out.

[BLAUGRANA]

The CL qualifying draw is tomorrow. Here's to some easy competition.

[nismo]

watch out Zul, don't underestimate underdogs
rememeber inter vs helsinborg??
or inter vs alaves (even though it was a great performance of alaves half.)
but i'm sure both barca and inter will go thru unscathed......barca will miss riva's influence thought:(

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo
watch out Zul, don't underestimate underdogs
rememeber inter vs helsinborg??
or inter vs alaves (even though it was a great performance of alaves half.)
but i'm sure both barca and inter will go thru unscathed......barca will miss riva's influence thought:(

I think we'll be fine. The games are still three and five weeks away respectively. I'm sure LVG will have them fit and ready to go. Also, a new manager means they'll be fighting for places and will probably want to do well.

[nismo]

conversely, a new manager can have a fallout with a few players as well :D

[Bier]

The faster we forget Rivo's influence the better. He was a great player of the past.
Now comes Riquelme. ;)

[Bier]

Here's our draw for the 3rd qualification round:
We will either play FK Vadar or Legia Warzawa
That's so great! :star:

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Bier
Here's our draw for the 3rd qualification round:
We will either play FK Vadar or Legia Warzawa
That's so great! :star:

We beat a Polish side last year to qualify. Draw looks good. :D

[Bier]

Nothing to add ... great draw given the possibility that we could of been as unlucky as Inter.

[nismo]

piss easy for barca
a flurry of goals for sure.
8-0 aggregate.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo
piss easy for barca
a flurry of goals for sure.
8-0 aggregate.

I say 3-1 aggregate.

[Bier]

I say 10-0 on aggregate since I bet for a 5:0 at every single Barça-game. ;)

[Azerkid]

i say 5-1 aggregate for Barca.

[Juanele]

3-2 aggregate for Barça. Winning goal by a penalty.

[nismo]

the odds of barca and inter in the same groupstages???
10:1:D

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by nismo
the odds of barca and inter in the same groupstages???
10:1:D

Now that you're a converted Barca fan Nismo, who would you support!?!? :eek: ;)

[Roberto Abrego]

Its obvious that Barcelona will pass easily (prediction agg:6-1)

abut I doubt about Inter I think that Sporting will upset them
:( :silly:

[BLAUGRANA]

Barca's CL campaign begins this week. Legia Warsaw won't be easy, but Barca can go through. The squad seems ready and pretty settled with LVG and his system.

Cocu has called on the fans to get behind the team for this two leg affair.

[nismo]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Now that you're a converted Barca fan Nismo, who would you support!?!? :eek: ;)
i'm the opposite of you Zul
inter first barca second :D

[Azerkid]

If Inter Barca meet then I would go for Ajax :D ;)

[Roberto Abrego]

why?


Inter cant stop Barca!


Barca is to good for them... ;)

[BLAUGRANA]

UEFA.com's match report:

Barça and Legia are poles apart
Wednesday 14 August 2002
FC Barcelona 3-0 Legia Warszawa
Coach Louis van Gaal said FC Barcelona "can do better" after watching the Spanish challengers ease to a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Polish champions Legia Warszawa at Camp Nou.

Champions League success
Van Gaal, who led AFC Ajax to UEFA Champions League success in 1995, is eyeing further glory with Barça as they virtually assured themselves a place in the first group stage through goals from Frank de Boer, Juan Riquelme, in his first competitive game for the club, and Philip Cocu.

Early De Boer goal
The hosts had gone ahead as early as the eighth minute when De Boer, one of a legion of Dutchmen at the Catalan club, curled in a free-kick reminiscent of Rivaldo, who did not feature for Milan AC, his new club, in their third qualifying round first-leg match played simultaneously at the San Siro.

In-form Kluivert
With Patrick Kluivert in majestic form in attack, it looked as if more goals were only a matter of time. Kluivert, another Dutchman, was at the centre of all of his side's forrays forward, setting up chances for Luis Enrique and Javier Saviola, only to see them wasted.

Rare lapse
Legia hardly produced an attack worthy of the name, but young goalkeeper Víctor Valdés allowed Moussa Yahaya to head on to the roof of the net in a rare Barcelona lapse. Xavi Hernández then hit the outside of a Legia post with a free-kick, but at half-time Barça had just the early goal as reward for their domination and eleven shots.

Fresh impetus
The second half saw more of the same, with Barça continuing to prod and probe without quite finding the mark. Sensing his side needed a fresh impetus in attack, Van Gaal threw on Riquelme just before the hour. The move proved inspired as the €11m Argentinian struck a wonderful goal from range with ten minutes remaining.

'Happy with the result'
Kluivert wasted another gilt-edged opening before Cocu popped up at the end to ensure returning coach Van Gaal savoured victory on his latest debut at Camp Nou. "We created a lot of chances and that was the highlight, but we can do better," said Van Gaal. "But this is an example of how we should play against teams like Legia. We have scored a few goals as we have done during pre-season, so I am happy with this result."


Sounds like Kluivert set up a lot of chances. Sounds like his missed his share too though. Damn. We seem to lack that goal poacher type of striker. JFH anyone?

[BLAUGRANA]

This from the club's official website:


Barca cruise past Legia

Wednesday 14 August 2002 23:30 (BCN)

Barca took a giant step towards qualification for the Champions League proper with a convincing 3-0 win over Legia Warsaw in front of 67.078 people at the Nou Camp this evening. Frank de Boer got his team off to a great start when he hit home a 35-yard free kick after just eight minutes and Riquelme, who’d come on for Luis Enrique in the second half, and Cocu on the stroke of full time, finished off the job for Van Gaal’s team.

Youngsters Navarro and Valdés, who were making their official debuts, both looked confident, the defender rarely putting a foot wrong and Valdés making a great double save in the 72nd minute, virtually the only time the Poles came close to scoring.

.Barca looked especially dangerous in the first half and Luis Enrique and Xavi could well have added to the score before half time. However, it was the captain’s replacement, Juan Roman Riquelme, whose appearance had been greeted with ecstatic applause by the fans, who got the second with a perfectly struck long range drive after he’d sprinted across the Polish defence. It looked as if two would have to do, until the unmarked Phillip Cocu headed home a last minute Mendieta corner to send Barca off to Poland for the return leg in a fortnight with a safe looking three goal cushion.


Good to see Riquelme score. Sounds like it was a very good goal too. Also nice to see the youngsters getting a shot. Both did well from what I read.

[BLAUGRANA]

Squad reactions to the match from the club's official website:

Players' post match reactions

Thursday 15 August 2002 12:50 (BCN)

Barca’s three debutants spoke to the press after their fine performances against Legia had been singled out by boss Louis van Gaal.

Riquelme

“I’m very happy indeed and I’d like to thank the fans for their support – it’s just fantastic to play in the Nou Camp. The most important thing is that the team have taken a significant advantage in the tie, though there’s still 90 minutes to play yet.”


Mendieta

“3-0 was the result we wanted and having got it, we can go to Poland with a certain degree of security. I was very eager to make my debut at the Nou Camp and I want to thank the fans for their support, which is what we players really need.”

Valdés

”I felt pretty good during the game, which Legia made difficult for us by closing down at the back. I thought we showed a lot of patience and we got the result we wanted, which is the most important thing. We’ve got the tie pretty well sorted, but you can never be 100% sure in football when there’s still 90 minutes left to play. As for my continuing as first choice keeper, that’s something that the boss will have to decide on.”

[BLAUGRANA]

LVG's thoughts on the game. This from the club's official website:


Van Gaal satisfied with performance

Thursday 15 August 2002 12:35 (BCN)

Louis van Gaal was well satisfied with his team’s performance against Legia and after thanking the fans for their support, he gave special praise to youngster Vistor Valdes and new signings Riquelme and Mendieta. ” I’m very happy with the result and the best thing about the game was the way we created so many chances: we had more than 20 opportunities and took three of them. We’d been doing a lot of work on free kicks and corners in training and I’m convinced that De Boer and Mendieta will be making and getting plenty of goals like that all season.”

The fans

“I’d really like to thank the fans for their support tonight. It’s great that more than 70,000 people turned up, especially if you bear in mind we’re still in the middle of August. They knew how important this game was and they came and got right behind us.”

Valdés, Mendieta and Riquelme

“It’s always hard to single out players for a good performance, because the whole team worked hard tonight. Valdes took his opportunity and I have to say it wasn’t easy for me to leave put people like Bonano, or indeed Gerard or Reiziger. All I can say is that all the keepers were given the same chance to prove themselves during the pre season.”

“Mendieta was fantastic. He couldn’t have done any better. He marked their best player out of the game and went and set up chances for his teammates.”

“Riquelme looked good when he cam eon and scored a great goal. I think we’ll really get a lot out of him in the future.”


Looks like he could give Valdes a real shot this season. It'd be nice to see the homegrown lad tie up the keeper's post. Mendieta sounded like his old industrious self. I'm sure he ran like Forrest Gump all game and did well in the defense and the attack. Nice to see Riquelme scoring so early. If he keeps that up, he'll go a long way to becoming a fan favourite. FDB's free kick was from 35 yards out! It sounds like it was a gem. Don't forget about young Navarro. Sounds like he did well and looked comfortable. Great start to the CL campaign.

[Olesen10]

Great result!!!

Now we can go to Poland and relax a little before the next game...

[Roberto Abrego]

yes!but I wasnt pleased with the result against Legia with our team we can beat those guys like 7-0

[BLAUGRANA]

From the clubs official website:

De Boer happy with new system

Friday 16 August 2002 12:45 (BCN)

Frank De Boer is happy at the new position in a three man defence that manager Louis van Gaal is demanding of him: “it’s my favourite position as it let’s me take responsibility for building the team’s moves from the back.” It was a good win against Legia and De Boer was clearly pleased with his own goal scoring and the team’s performance as a whole: “it was a good result and if we can make sure they don’t get an early goal in Poland, we’re virtually guaranteed to go through.”

Riquelme and Navarro also came in for praise from the Dutch captain; “I thought Fernando looked very solid and relaxed. The most important thing is that he was clearly well prepared to make his debut. “ Regarding the possible competition for a place between Riquelme and Luis Enrique, De Boer commented: “Riquelme is more of a one-two player in th ebox, while Luis pplays a bit deeper.”


For me, FDB is the man at the center of LVG's 3 man defense. Like he said, he builds from the back and has a lot of experience in doing so. Nice to hear him praise young Navarro.

[nismo]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA

For me, FDB is the man at the center of LVG's 3 man defense. Like he said, he builds from the back and has a lot of experience in doing so. Nice to hear him praise young Navarro.
i have my doubts about his aerial abilities Zul, he can man mark and intercept passes and launch attacks, but he's not so great in the air.

[Juanele]

Originally posted by nismo

i have my doubts about his aerial abilities Zul, he can man mark and intercept passes and launch attacks, but he's not so great in the air.

De Boer is very good with a running start. So on set pieces on the offensive end he does very well for a short player. However, on the defensive end you don't have that opportunity to run and jump so yes his aerial abilities defensively is not so good. Intercepting passes and launching attacks are his good points, man marking is not. Actually he would be a better defensive midfielder than a defender.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Juanele


De Boer is very good with a running start. So on set pieces on the offensive end he does very well for a short player. However, on the defensive end you don't have that opportunity to run and jump so yes his aerial abilities defensively is not so good. Intercepting passes and launching attacks are his good points, man marking is not. Actually he would be a better defensive midfielder than a defender.

He's also physically very strong.

[Bier]

It's great to see my beloved Barça running an incredible show and making the Champions League with ease. Hell, even FDB performs well. ;) Sadly I did not see the goals yet. :(
Well, if we'd win every game this way, this is fine with me ;)

[Der lustige Rod]

Good result for Barca... now bring on Atletico! :)
Can't wait for the start of La Liga... :)

[Azerkid]

A late Mendieta PK sealed the deal, and put us through easily ;)

[Roberto Abrego]

yes very easy game but our realt test will come when we face A.Madrid!

[BLAUGRANA]

The troops went to Poland and got the job done. Now for the group stage. We are in a favourable seed tier with the likes of Bayern, Real, etc. This means we should get a pretty favourable draw. Draw is tomorrow. I can't wait to see who we get.

[BLAUGRANA]

Here are the pots and the seedings for the draw. This from Uefa.com:


Euro hopefuls await their fate
Wednesday 28 August 2002
The UEFA Champions League third qualifying round over, 16 qualifiers have now taken their place alongside the 16 sides already in the draw for the first group stage later today in Monaco.

Top seeds
Among the clubs to win through to the tournament proper this week are four previous European champions, FC Bayern München, Manchester United FC, Internazionale FC and FC Barcelona, who are all ranked as top seeds due to their club coefficient.

Draw explanation
The 32 teams in the draw have been allocated to four pots in accordance with the seeding principles, based on the UEFA list of club coefficients. Pot 1 will comprise reigning champions Real Madrid CF along with the top seven clubs in the club coefficient rankings. Pot 2 will comprise the next eight clubs in the rankings, and so on for Pots 3 and 4.

Computer draw
Teams from Pot 1 will be provisionally placed in the first position within their groups, teams from Pot 2 will provisionally take the second position in their groups, and so on. Once the draw has been completed, a computer draw will determine the final position of the teams within their group as per the draw procedure. These positions and the group will then determine the order of the home and away matches.

Six matchdays
The first group stage will span six matchdays, starting on 17/18 September. The remaining dates are: 24/25 September, 1/2 October, 22/23 October, 29/30 October, 12/13 November.

Clubs qualified for the UEFA Champions League first group stage
Pot 1
Pos Club Coeff.
1
Real Madrid CF (ESP) 147.233
2
FC Bayern München (GER) 133.495
3 Manchester United FC (ENG) 125.729
4 FC Barcelona (ESP) 116.233
5 Valencia CF (ESP) 106.233
6 Juventus FC (ITA) 91.334
7 Arsenal FC (ENG) 90.729
8 Internazionale FC (ITA) 88.334


Pot 2
Pos Club Coeff.
9 RC Deportivo La Coruña (ESP) 82.233
10 Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) 81.495
11 Liverpool FC (ENG) 79.729
12 Galatasaray SK (TUR) 78.362
13 AS Roma (ITA) 77.334
14 Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) 74.176
15 BV Borussia Dortmund (GER) 73.495
16 Feyenoord (HOL) 70.082
16 PSV Eindhoven (HOL) 63.082


Pot 3
Pos Club Coeff.
17 Milan AC (ITA) 69.334
18 PSV Eindhoven (HOL) 63.082
19 FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 59.979
20 FC Spartak Moskva (RUS) 59.645
21 FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS) 57.645
22 Olympiakos Piraeus FC (GRE) 55.058
23 AEK Athens FC (GRE) 52.058
24 AFC Ajax (HOL) 48.082


Pot 4
Pos Club Coeff.
25 Rosenborg BK (NOR) 47.737
26 RC Lens (FRA) 44.176
27 Newcastle United FC (ENG) 43.729
28 Club Brugge KV (Bel) 41.762
29 AJ Auxerre (FRA) 32.176
30 KRC Genk (BEL) 21.762
31 Maccabi Haifa (ISR) 18.666
32 FC Basel (SUI) 14.312

[Olesen10]

Good to see that Mendieta is having succes at Barca. He could be really important this season.

[hollowi]

Spanish football really rules, 4 teams in top 9! And three in top 5! I wonder if the other can pose a real treath this season's CL.

[BLAUGRANA]

Not too bad. If you look at what the other teams who were in our draw pool got, I'd say we got the best group. We have a bit of a tricky group. A fair amount of travel involved, but we took care of Gala last season in the second group phase. Win all 3 home games and we'll be fine.

Thursday, August 29, 2002
Champions League First Stage Draw


Group games to take place on September 17/18, 24/25, October 1/2, 22/23, 29/30 and November 12/13.
Group A
Team P W D L F A Pts
Arsenal (Eng) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Borussia Dortmund (Ger) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PSV Eindhoven (Ned) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AJ Auxerre (Fra) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




Group B
Team P W D L F A Pts
Valencia (Spa) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Liverpool (Eng) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Spartak Moscow (Rus) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FC Basel (Swi) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



Group C
Team P W D L F A Pts
Real Madrid (Spa) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AS Roma (Ita) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AEK Athens (Gre) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Genk (Bel) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



Group D
Team P W D L F A Pts
Inter Milan (Ita) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Olympique Lyon (Fra) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ajax Amsterdam (Ned) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rosenborg Trondheim (Nor) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



Group E
Team P W D L F A Pts
Juventus (Ita) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Feyenoord (Ned) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dynamo Kiev (Ukr) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Newcastle United (Eng) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



Group F
Team P W D L F A Pts
Manchester United (Eng) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Olympiakos Piraeus (Gre) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Maccabi Haifa (Isr) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



Group G
Team P W D L F A Pts
Bayern Munich (Ger) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Deportivo La Coruna (Spa) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AC Milan (Ita) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RC Lens (Fra) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



Group H
Team P W D L F A Pts
Barcelona (Spa) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Galatasaray (Tur) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Club Bruges (Bel) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[Bier]

Love this draw ... I think we got the easiest group. Now we need to take our advantage out of it. :star:

[Juan]

Yep, Barça got it easy. In fact, they could very well go undefeated to the next stage. Expect some opposition to that from Galatasaray and Lokomotiv, while an UEFA cup drop is the best I think Bruges can accomplish.

[Olesen10]

Almost perfect draw. Okay, we got Galatasaray (A lot of A'es!:)) but what the heck, we beat them last season and we are gonna beat them again!
But please don't let us get surprised by a team that we don't know, it's stupid to lose those kind of games...

[Azerkid]

Originally posted by Olesen10
Almost perfect draw. Okay, we got Galatasaray (A lot of A'es!:)) but what the heck, we beat them last season and we are gonna beat them again!
But please don't let us get surprised by a team that we don't know, it's stupid to lose those kind of games...

I agree, theres no need to get stupid results from easy teams

[illegal]

...

[illegal]

...

[Gpower]

Galatasaray's revenge will be bloody and we will kill all the Barcelona fans in Ýstanbul. If you don't want to die don't come to Turkey. If you come to Ýstanbul , you will die like Leeds United supporters in year 2000

ÝNFAZ_TEAM

[illegal]

GALATASAY 18POINT
BARCELONA 12point
muhahhahahahahhahahaha

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Gpower
Galatasaray's revenge will be bloody and we will kill all the Barcelona fans in Ýstanbul. If you don't want to die don't come to Turkey. If you come to Ýstanbul , you will die like Leeds United supporters in year 2000

ÝNFAZ_TEAM

This sort of posting isn't welcome here or anywhere on the WSB for that matter. There's talking smack, but you're going too far. You're essentially making death threats. You're also giving Turkish soccer fans a bad name. An apology is acceptable, otherwise you'll be gone pretty quick. It's your choice.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by illegal
GALATASAY 18POINT
BARCELONA 12point
muhahhahahahahhahahaha

Right. Kinda like last season when we qualified for the knockout stages by going into hell and then freezing it over. Does a 3-0 scoreline jog your memory??

[illegal]

AZULGRANA
COME ON ALI SAMI YEN HELL

[Gpower]

These threats are for fun. Galatasaray -Fans doesn't want to kill anybody and won't kill anybody. I apologise. In Turkey many fans like threat each other.

[Gpower]

And we wait Barca Fans they are our guests in 18 September.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Gpower
These threats are for fun. Galatasaray -Fans doesn't want to kill anybody and won't kill anybody. I apologise. In Turkey many fans like threat each other.

That's fine, but even in jest it's still insensitive to the fact that Leeds United supporters were killed when they visited. That to me is not funny.

Like I said, talking some smack is fine with me. Just don't go over the line. I've seen it happen on other soccer boards on the net and it gets very ugly. I know Turkish fans who then get verbally abused in a racially/ethnically sense. By all means though, so long as it's clean you can bring it.

BTW, welcome to the WSB illegal and Gpower. Our new Turkish forum is great and very lively. You should check that out too. And don't forget to post an introduction in the introductions forum.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Gpower
And we wait Barca Fans they are our guests in 18 September.

Thanx. Unfortunately I won't be able to make that trip. It's right around my birthday though. That'd make a nice gift. I would love to see the atmosphere there though. It sounds amazing and crazy all at the same time. I would also love to see Istanbul someday.

[Gpower]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Right. Kinda like last season when we qualified for the knockout stages by going into hell and then freezing it over. Does a 3-0 scoreline jog your memory??
Barcelona beat last year this ***king Fenerbahçe team 3-0 which collected 0pts in the Champions League.
I still remeber the f.cking refree in Nou Camp with 2 red cards, which were totally unfair.
I remember the "offside goal" from Luis Enrique in Istanbul, too.
But This year everything is different. Now we get rid of foolish manager Lucescu and our Emperor Fatih Terim is back in Ýstanbul.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Gpower

Barcelona beat last year this ***king Fenerbahçe team 3-0 which collected 0pts in the Champions League.
I still remeber the f.cking refree in Nou Camp with 2 red cards, which were totally unfair.
I remember the "offside goal" from Luis Enrique in Istanbul, too.
But This year everything is different. Now we get rid of foolish manager Lucescu and our Emperor Fatih Terim is back in Ýstanbul.

My mistake on that scoreline. Still, we won and got the job done when it counted. Here's the official standings/results from Uefa.com if you want to see where Gala ended up. OUCH!!! :D

We too got rid of our manager who couldn't get the job done. Now LVG is back and Barca are going to be a force again.

uefa.com > UEFA Champions League > All-Time Statistics > Grp UCL 2




Group B Pld W D L GF GA Pts

Barcelona 6 2 3 1 7 7 9
Liverpool 6 1 4 1 4 4 7
Roma 6 1 4 1 6 5 7
Galatasaray 6 0 5 1 5 6 5


Pld: Matches played W: Won D: Drawn
L: Lost GF: Goals for GA: Goals against
Pts: Points

Matches Result

Liverpool Barcelona 1 - 3
Galatasaray Roma 1 - 1
Roma Liverpool 0 - 0
Barcelona Galatasaray 2 - 2
Barcelona Roma 1 - 1
Liverpool Galatasaray 0 - 0
Roma Barcelona 3 - 0
Galatasaray Liverpool 1 - 1
Barcelona Liverpool 0 - 0
Roma Galatasaray 1 - 1
Liverpool Roma 2 - 0
Galatasaray Barcelona 0 - 1







All rights reserved. ©UEFA 1998-2002 - Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy - Contact UEFA

[Gpower]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Thanx. Unfortunately I won't be able to make that trip. It's right around my birthday though. That'd make a nice gift. I would love to see the atmosphere there though. It sounds amazing and crazy all at the same time. I would also love to see Istanbul someday.
Istanbul is really beautiful
Ali Sami Yen Stadium is a small stadium but the atmposphere inside the stadium is better than all stadiums in Europe.

[Gpower]

I don't give Barcelona a chance in Primera and in the Champions League. Deportivo will be the champion in primera and we will take the Champions League :)

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Gpower

Istanbul is really beautiful
Ali Sami Yen Stadium is a small stadium but the atmposphere inside the stadium is better than all stadiums in Europe.

Except the Nou Camp!

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Gpower
I don't give Barcelona a chance in Primera and in the Champions League. Deportivo will be the champion in primera and we will take the Champions League :)

Deportivo look good for La Liga, but then so do Barca, Real Madrid and Valencia again. It'll be tight.

You must mean the Mickey Mouse Champion's League!!! :D You lot should concentrate on the other 2 teams in the group as you'll be fighting them for 2nd place.

[Gpower]

so we'll see it who is going to take the first place in group H

[FC Barca11]

Originally posted by Gpower

Istanbul is really beautiful
Ali Sami Yen Stadium is a small stadium but the atmposphere inside the stadium is better than all stadiums in Europe.

Have you seen and heard the Nou Camp???? Its rated as one of the hardest venues in the world for a traveling team my friend.

But ahhh yes, the usual bantering from over zealous turkish fans :) You lot speak a bit too prematurely. Like Azu showed you, the statistics speak for themselves. As for Luis Enrique being offiside...thats extrememly questionable. Infact i dont remember who plays in the center of defense for galatasaray, but i think either Emre, Perez or Kokmaz played Enrique on. When Rochemback took the shot, I think it was Perez who played him on. So if anyone is to blame it'd be your defenders......or Mondragon for spilling the shot..... Take your pick :) When you play Barca, you're going to be playing a very very different team that'll be following different tactics. Only time will tell how good both teams are. But given Barca's history AND the fact that they beat you at the ALI Sami Yen stadium, Barca are definitely favourites.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by FC Barca11


Have you seen and heard the Nou Camp???? Its rated as one of the hardest venues in the world for a traveling team my friend.

But ahhh yes, the usual bantering from over zealous turkish fans :) You lot speak a bit too prematurely. Like Azu showed you, the statistics speak for themselves. As for Luis Enrique being offiside...thats extrememly questionable. Infact i dont remember who plays in the center of defense for galatasaray, but i think either Emre, Perez or Kokmaz played Enrique on. When Rochemback took the shot, I think it was Perez who played him on. So if anyone is to blame it'd be your defenders......or Mondragon for spilling the shot..... Take your pick :) When you play Barca, you're going to be playing a very very different team that'll be following different tactics. Only time will tell how good both teams are. But given Barca's history AND the fact that they beat you at the ALI Sami Yen stadium, Barca are definitely favourites.

With all the time you're spending here Gpower, I think you're really a Barca fan :eek: trying to spark some debate! :D


Your right about Barca being a different team. I think LVG will have them more organized and they'll be much more of a possession side than they were under Rexach. I also think the fact that much of the current squad went to Istanbul last season and got the job done means they will not be intimidated this time.

[Bier]

All I wanna add to this is:
If Istanbul is the only place we have to fear, we are happy fans! ;) :D

[Azerkid]

Originally posted by Severus
and what about del piero, salas, thuram, montero, tudor ? are these not key injuries to 5 of the most important players on juve ?

i think your logic is a little ........... peculiar to say the least.

REMEMBER 5. NOT 1 !!!

Sev, I think it useless arguing with us about last year CL, because we went to the Semis, and you losers didnt make it to the tournament stage.... and is it our fault that your players get injured???

BTW, Nice choice by bringing in that flukey loser Di Vaio for E27 million since Trezegay and Ronnie have the same things in common....INJURIES!!!

Anyway back to the group conversation, I think the best result that Galatasary will have is a possible draw with us, and other than that eveything is set. Ali Sami Yen does have a great atmosphere, at better than the one in Delle Alpi :rolleyes:

[INTER FAN/BG/]

BARCELONA WILL WIN THE GROUP WITHOUT ANY DOUBT!

[Sheva]

Originally posted by INTER FAN/BG/
BARCELONA WILL WIN THE GROUP WITHOUT ANY DOUBT!

Of course......
It's the worst group!!
would be interesting to see them playing a match with a real team...
like Real Madrid, Milan, Juventus, Bayern........

[INTER FAN/BG/]

DON'T FORGET INTER MILAN!

[Sheva]

Originally posted by INTER FAN/BG/
DON'T FORGET INTER MILAN!

;)

[Roberto Abrego]

FC Barcelona will win the group without doubt...

They will face teams like Juventus,Bayer Leverkusen,Real Madid on the 2nd round and Barcelona will beat them and show u guys how great we r!

[INTER FAN/BG/]

YEAH THEY MIGHT BEAT JUVENTUS,BAYER LEVERKUSEN AND REAL MADRID BUT THEY WON'T BEAT INTERNAZIONALE!

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Sheva


Of course......
It's the worst group!!
would be interesting to see them playing a match with a real team...
like Real Madrid, Milan, Juventus, Bayern........

Right, Milan is a real team. They've done what in the CL these past few years? In fact, they were quite lucky just to make the CL this season. Barca had a great CL campaign last season and I expect they'll do well again this time around. You'd do better concerning yourself with Milan and hope they aren't as hapless as they were last season in the Uefa Cup.

[BLAUGRANA]

Barca are on their way! Starting off the CL with a win. It sounds like two "soft" goals for the opposition (penalty and a deflected shot). Thrilled with the win though. Brugge were undefeated n the Belgian league after five rounds. Luis Enrique is still on fire and got a deserved standing ovation from the Nou Camp.


VISCA EL BARCA!!

[BLAUGRANA]

This from uefa.com. Match report for Barca's match today. Sounds like Barca were dancing out there. They sound as though they were majestic.


Brilliant Barça squeeze past Brugge
Wednesday 18 September 2002
FC Barcelona 3-2 Club Brugge KV
FC Barcelona claimed a deserved victory over Club Brugge KV in their opening Group H UEFA Champions League match at the Camp Nou, despite a late rally from the Belgian side.

Imperious form
Barcelona, on imperious form, seemed to be strolling to victory at 3-1, but a late, deflected strike by Gaëtan Englebert made for a nervy finish for the Catalan club.

Magnificent Barça
The first half was dominated by a bright, expansive Barcelona, under the guidance of Dutch coach Louis van Gaal. They changed the tempo of the game at will, with Xavi Hernández at the hub, conducting the Camp Nou orchestra. Chances fell liberally, and the hosts should have been home and dry at half-time. Brugge were not playing particularly badly - Barça were simply magnificent.

Paying the penalty
The only moment that upset the host's rhythm was the 22nd-minute penalty from Timmy Simons. Englebert was hauled down by the advancing Víctor Valdés as he sprinted into the box. A clear penalty, with which Simons made no mistake.

Dutch courage
Aside from this momentary blemish, Barcelona were inspired in the first period, attacking with verve and pace. Patrick Kluivert was outstanding in retaining possession, and could have had a first-half double himself. An early one-on-one was well closed down by the veteran Brugge keeper Dany Verlinden, before the Dutch striker went even closer when his first time 42nd-minute shot came back off the crossbar.

Goals galore
The Camp Nou was not to be disappointed however. Luis Enrique set the tone as he seized on to a mis-hit shot by Fernando Navarro to drive low and hard into the net. Brugge equalised, but Gaizka Mendieta then put Van Gaal's team back in front from a free-kick, curling it in from the edge of the box.

Moment of genius
But the moment of the half belonged to Javier Saviola, as the diminutive Argentinian jinked past four players and stabbed the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.

Chances go begging
Barcelona were not quite as vibrant in the second half, but they continued to dominate in every area of the pitch. Mendieta consistently found space on the right wing, and chance after chance was spurned by his team-mates.

Tactical substitution
In an attempt to kill off the game, Van Gaal brought on Argentinian summer signing Juan Riquelme for Luis Enrique, and Barcelona slowed the tempo. But their hopes of strolling to the final whistle proved short-lived.

Back from the dead
There seemed to be little threat from Brugge, who struggled to retain the ball. The few chances they managed to create came courtesy of long balls launched forward from the back. Olivier de Cock, Brugge's right-back, refused to concede the game as lost though and dragged his side forward with some surging runs. And with only minutes to go, Englebert cropped up to ensure a gripping finish.

[VivaBarcaInter]

From what I understand, the game was a little more comfortable than the scoreline suggests, Saviola's goal was pretty good. And of course, Luis Enrique scored again!!

A thing I don't like is that we are still conceding goals. Granted, Brugges scored from a penalty and a late consolation. But we aren't keeping the opposition out enough.

But we are scoring plenty! 2,2,2, then 3 in four games. Hopefully we can take this scoring form into the league and go on a long run of wins.

As far as Champions League, our next game is in Istanbul. Why do we always get these draws!!! Anything there would be good, and if we won the home game after that we'll be all but through.

[BLAUGRANA]

No worries here about Istanbul. Gala will be tougher this year, but then I think we will be too as we had plenty of injuries last season when we went there. We're gonna have to freeze "hell" over one more time. :D

BTW Viva, there is a CL thread in the European Cup Competitions forum where we can discuss the CL with fans of other clubs. I'll merge this thread with that one.

[VivaBarcaInter]

That's cool, wasn't sure if there was a thread, couldn't see one. But obviously I didn't look hard enough!

I think we'll do well over there, people will look at the score and think we weren't too good, but we've been pretty good the past two games attacking wise. We just need to get a bit more clinical.

[Roberto Abrego]

the guys were very impressive allot of passes I think we played well...but still the team needs to improve

but we can win the CL!

[BLAUGRANA]

You're right Viva. We do need to get a bit more clinical. Saviola is the most clinical player we've got IMO. Enrique has been of late. We also need to bolster the defense. A bit late for that now unless one of the Barca B's step up.

Yeah Roberto, in fact I read that at one point they strung 40 passes in a row together. It really sounded like we dominated the match despite the two goals. They both sounded a bit soft though.

[BLAUGRANA]

OK, so I just watched the video highlights of the Barca victory on uefa.com. OMG what a goal by Saviola!!! Great goal. Same for Mendigol's free kick. The keeper was frozen.

[Gpower]

We're waiting for the first match in Istanbul. We'll show Europe how to play football.

[FC Barca11]

Originally posted by Gpower
We're waiting for the first match in Istanbul. We'll show Europe how to play football.


yea, because you been champions of Europe how many times? ;)

Finally found the right msg board, thanks Azul. What a match between Brugge and Barca. The belgium club sure did put up a fight and our defense still have holes, but OMG what an offense we have!!!!! Real may have their strikers, but we sure have a few players up our sleeve. Once again, we were abel to get a glimpse of his amazing abilites. 4 defenders and a superb strike, what a mouth watering goal :D

[FC Barca11]

Saviola that is (forget that part) :D

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by FC Barca11
Saviola that is (forget that part) :D

Yeah, that was an amazing goal. Did you see the fans' reaction? He really is our goalgrabber and we need him to keep it up until Kluivert breaks his duck.

[gravesends]

We're no Club Brugge I'll tell you that much, you better not let us have the chances that they had. This Saviola kid I like, he is a great player I'm scared of him a little but we have Arif and he's been on a hot streak for both Galatasaray and the Turkish national team so watch out. Kluivert always seems nervous when playing against us. It's easy to get under that guys skin and it effects his game. I'll be glued to the screen during this one, our team is a very different one from last year.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by gravesends
We're no Club Brugge I'll tell you that much, you better not let us have the chances that they had. This Saviola kid I like, he is a great player I'm scared of him a little but we have Arif and he's been on a hot streak for both Galatasaray and the Turkish national team so watch out. Kluivert always seems nervous when playing against us. It's easy to get under that guys skin and it effects his game. I'll be glued to the screen during this one, our team is a very different one from last year.

I doubt i'll get to see it on TV cause ESPN 2 probably won't show it. Kluivert is due for a goal soon so I wouldn't count on him being "scared". I'd say hungry would be the likelier adjective. If we play like we did for the first 75 minutes against Brugge, we'll do well. You guys are tougher this season though so it should be good. I'll predict a 2-2 draw.

[gravesends]

Here's a little info I just got from my digital cable guide, ESPN 2 is going to air the A.C. Milan vs Deportivo La Coruna game on Tuesday not that anyone wants to see A.C. Milan. Deportivo I don't mind but Milan are too boring to watch. I'ts good that I have Turkish satellite so no matter what I never miss a Galatasaray game.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by gravesends
Here's a little info I just got from my digital cable guide, ESPN 2 is going to air the A.C. Milan vs Deportivo La Coruna game on Tuesday not that anyone wants to see A.C. Milan. Deportivo I don't mind but Milan are too boring to watch. I'ts good that I have Turkish satellite so no matter what I never miss a Galatasaray game.

Milan Boring!!!!!!

Milan is not boring!!!!!

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by gravesends
We're no Club Brugge I'll tell you that much, you better not let us have the chances that they had. This Saviola kid I like, he is a great player I'm scared of him a little but we have Arif and he's been on a hot streak for both Galatasaray and the Turkish national team so watch out. Kluivert always seems nervous when playing against us. It's easy to get under that guys skin and it effects his game. I'll be glued to the screen during this one, our team is a very different one from last year.

Barca is not Lokomotiv......


we have Luis Enrique ;)

Arif maybe hot in the superlig of turkey

but not against us for sure...

[gravesends]

Ask around and you'll find out that Milan are very boring to watch, Arif scored against Moscow by the way so he is on a scoring streak not only in the league, everywhere.

[INTER FAN/BG/]

That's true!

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Roberto Abrego


Milan Boring!!!!!!

Milan is not boring!!!!!

Boring or not, Depor will be real test for them.

[gravesends]

No Riquelme for tomorrow. I hope we can take advantage.

[Juan]

Tomorrow´s is easly the most important match for Barça in this group stage. Away from home, against the strongest side in the group (besides them, of course) and at the always difficult Ali Sami Yen. Tomorrow´s result will go a long way towards determinig Barça´s success in Europe this season, and recent form should cause confidence among Barça fans.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Boring or not, Depor will be real test for them.



yes they willl but I think we can upset Depor!

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by gravesends
No Riquelme for tomorrow. I hope we can take advantage.

He hasn't figured much for Barca in any game all season as he's been only coming off the bench. Just worry about Luis Enrique. Lucho is on fire right now!

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Juan
Tomorrow´s is easly the most important match for Barça in this group stage. Away from home, against the strongest side in the group (besides them, of course) and at the always difficult Ali Sami Yen. Tomorrow´s result will go a long way towards determinig Barça´s success in Europe this season, and recent form should cause confidence among Barça fans.

I'm predicting a draw. We went in and did the business last season under even tougher circumstances (more injuries, pressure). I think we can win, but Gala are stronger than last season from what I can tell.

[BLAUGRANA]

Here's to a good clean match Gravesends. May the better team win. I'll be working while you're sitting on your @ss watching the game! :D

[Juan]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA
[B]I'm predicting a draw.[B]

Me too.

[gravesends]

Nice goal from Kluivert, he made the most of our defensive mistake a little Mondragon mistake also. Kluivert must have read my post about him being nervous:). Not good being down 1-0 but I have faith in this team Terim will plan something out at the half.

[VivaBarcaInter]

No offense, since Gala are my favourite Turkish team, but we are kicking Ass!

2-0, and holding a Tough team in a tough ground. We actually look to be picking up steam. Unfortunately, AC Milan are picking up a HELLUVA lot more. 4-0 AT Depor!

[gravesends]

Man what a dissapointment, but I gotta give credit when due anybody who can come into our house and beat us 2-0 deserves respect in my opinion, good that Brugge and Lokomotiv tied. It is very rare that we get shut-out at Ali Samiyen, make the most of it :) Well back to the drawing board.

[FC Barca11]

OHHH HELLLLL YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

BARCA 2 GALA 0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm still in shock, i can't believe it. I just saw the result on my cell phone and am in shock!!!!! I did manage to catch the Ac Milan vs Deportivo game. And ummm, forget about Real Madrid, we should be keepin an eye out for Ac!!!!! 4-0 could have easily been 6-0. Milan really gave Depor a romping, but i dont care, BARCA WON!!!!!!! LUCHO IS ONLY SECOND TO GOD!!!!


:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Bier]

Originally posted by gravesends
Man what a dissapointment, but I gotta give credit when due anybody who can come into our house and beat us 2-0 deserves respect in my opinion
Thank you :) Your fairness is appreciated and will be remembered surely. :)

Did I already mention that Lucho is the best player in the world?! :star:
Great to see Kluivert score as well. This is a Barça I love again. Great that Van Gaal is back. I'm lost for words, I just can't believe it.
Sad thing what happened to Depor though, shows how important Valeron is to them.:(
Whatever ... VISCA EL BARçA !!! :star:

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by gravesends
Man what a dissapointment, but I gotta give credit when due anybody who can come into our house and beat us 2-0 deserves respect in my opinion, good that Brugge and Lokomotiv tied. It is very rare that we get shut-out at Ali Samiyen, make the most of it :) Well back to the drawing board.

Thanks bud. I have to admit I was very nervous going into the match. I didn't think we'd get pounded or even lose necessarily, but you never know. Anyway, my lack of faith was repaid as I dumped all the Barca players out of my fantasy CL squad and lost major points.

Sounds like we had a good match and withstood some pressure at the end. Nice to see PK nab a goal. He's been do and hopefully now with his 2 goals he's on his way. Luis Enrique is on FIRE!!! LITERALLY!!! Seriously, LVG much light a match and drop it down his shorts cause he's scoring goal after goal. He's gonna end up with 20+ goals if he keeps this up. Imagine Lucho running around with smoke coming out of his shorts yelling "Undele, undele, ariba, ariba!!!". Kinda like Speedy Gonzalez from the Bugs Bunny group. :D

Great CL start thus far for our Barca. We should be well on our way to the next round. Keep winning though cause winning and scoring goals means more $$$ and that's what we need.

BTW Graves, make sure your boys follow us out of the group so you can smash some of the other clubs.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by Bier

Thank you :) Your fairness is appreciated and will be remembered surely. :)

Did I already mention that Lucho is the best player in the world?! :star:
Great to see Kluivert score as well. This is a Barça I love again. Great that Van Gaal is back. I'm lost for words, I just can't believe it.
Sad thing what happened to Depor though, shows how important Valeron is to them.:(
Whatever ... VISCA EL BARçA !!! :star:

Valeron wasnt a difference!
he wont make a difference on a 4-0 match with AC Milan looking far more superior.....

[BLAUGRANA]

The Gala match was Luis Enrique's 250th for the club. What a servant he's been!!! Truly one of the greats of the modern generation. He's also had a great CL career for Barca.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Thanks bud. I have to admit I was very nervous going into the match. I didn't think we'd get pounded or even lose necessarily, but you never know. Anyway, my lack of faith was repaid as I dumped all the Barca players out of my fantasy CL squad and lost major points.

Sounds like we had a good match and withstood some pressure at the end. Nice to see PK nab a goal. He's been do and hopefully now with his 2 goals he's on his way. Luis Enrique is on FIRE!!! LITERALLY!!! Seriously, LVG much light a match and drop it down his shorts cause he's scoring goal after goal. He's gonna end up with 20+ goals if he keeps this up. Imagine Lucho running around with smoke coming out of his shorts yelling "Undele, undele, ariba, ariba!!!". Kinda like Speedy Gonzalez from the Bugs Bunny group. :D

Great CL start thus far for our Barca. We should be well on our way to the next round. Keep winning though cause winning and scoring goals means more $$$ and that's what we need.

BTW Graves, make sure your boys follow us out of the group so you can smash some of the other clubs.


i am really happy with the score we played well and we score some nice goals....and we r winning matches on the CL....

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Roberto Abrego



i am really happy with the score we played well and we score some nice goals....and we r winning matches on the CL....

Exactly. LVG really has the side gelling at the moment. It sounded like a very professional victory, like that of a real top European side. Hopefully we can keep this up and stay injury free as I see that as our biggest threat at the moment, like it was last season.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Exactly. LVG really has the side gelling at the moment. It sounded like a very professional victory, like that of a real top European side. Hopefully we can keep this up and stay injury free as I see that as our biggest threat at the moment, like it was last season.


we r playingn so well in the CL that I already forgot about Novelda and Copa del Rey...

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Roberto Abrego



we r playingn so well in the CL that I already forgot about Novelda and Copa del Rey...

Me too! :D I wasn't too disappointed in it in the first place though. To an extent, I think that loss was a good thing for this season. Until we are consistently challenging for the league and the CL, the Copa del Rey will have to wait.

[Roberto Abrego]

I think the best we can do is win La Liga tis season or the CL!

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Roberto Abrego
I think the best we can do is win La Liga tis season or the CL!

I'm not so optomistic. I'd be very happy with 2nd in La Liga and another CL semifinal place.

[INTER FAN/BG/]

i DON'T THINK THAT BARCA CAN WIN LA LIGA THIS SEASON BUT THEY CAN REACH THE SEMIFINAL IN THE CL!

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


I'm not so optomistic. I'd be very happy with 2nd in La Liga and another CL semifinal place.

me 2 but I wont like Real to win la liga!nor CL!

so I hope we win la liga.....but I now it will be very hard...

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Roberto Abrego


me 2 but I wont like Real to win la liga!nor CL!

so I hope we win la liga.....but I now it will be very hard...

Actually, I have to say that 4th place in La Liga will be good enough for me again. It's gonna be a long and tough season. I don't want to set our sights too high.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Actually, I have to say that 4th place in La Liga will be good enough for me again. It's gonna be a long and tough season. I don't want to set our sights too high.


I dont want to get 4th place again...but we r playing bad and we will get that probably :cry:

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Roberto Abrego



I dont want to get 4th place again...but we r playing bad and we will get that probably :cry:

Yeah, I'm just trying to be realistic. I think we're in a stage of rebuilding to an extent and therefore 4th place doesn't look that bad when you consider the quality of the other La Liga sides, especially those that have been quite powerful in Europe over the past 3 seasons.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA


Yeah, I'm just trying to be realistic. I think we're in a stage of rebuilding to an extent and therefore 4th place doesn't look that bad when you consider the quality of the other La Liga sides, especially those that have been quite powerful in Europe over the past 3 seasons.

yes but its not nice to get 4th place again...the only way I wil be happy with 4th place is that Real Madrid finish 5th ----->

[VivaBarcaInter]

Well, winning leagues is all about consistensy more than anything else, and I don't think Barca have that level of consistency yet. But we could win the Champions League. Consider that in past years, for all the great teams involved, the winners don't always play the greats. Real didn't play a decent team last season until they played us. If we concentrate, and get a lot of luck, we could go all the way.

But this whole thing is why I wasn't too happy to see us out the cup at the first hurdle. With other big Spanish teams concentrating on the League and the CL, we could have at least picked up a trophy to ease the fan's pain while we rebuild to league winning status again.

[BLAUGRANA]

A nice response to the Betis debacle today. Saviola and Kluivert providing the goals. The toughest away fixtures now under our belt and we're still perfect in the group. Hopefully now we can focus a bit more on La Liga. I've not seen highlights yet, but i'll check em out later.

[Bier]

Yeah ... looks like we're through ... and I still remember Van Gaal saying in a similar situation in winter 1999: "we need to finish second in our group, since we need to get rid of the top teams next round now that they face a crisis" :D :star:

[Roberto Abrego]

yes now with this win we can concentrate ourself on La Liga....

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Bier
Yeah ... looks like we're through ... and I still remember Van Gaal saying in a similar situation in winter 1999: "we need to finish second in our group, since we need to get rid of the top teams next round now that they face a crisis" :D :star:

I want to win the group as all the big teams are doing the same. I just saw the goals now. Very good goals, especially Saviola's. That kid is a gem and will be a great one for the future. It's nice to see him getting to play this season.

[Bier]

Yeah ... that Xavi assists was a great piece of crossing skills as well. :star: :)

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Bier
Yeah ... that Xavi assists was a great piece of crossing skills as well. :star: :)

I thought Mendieta's long ball really opened up the defense too. Well placed ball from that distance.

[BLAUGRANA]

LVG says that the team's motivation to continue to win matches in the CL group stage will be money. LVG:

'We have to win the three games we have left as well, though. There's a lot of money at stake and that's important for the club.'


With the current financial state in the game of football not to mention at Barca, money is very important. A win in the group stages (and even goals scored I think) gives the team more money. Also, I think with two of the three remaining games at home the squad will want to impress the fans. I'd also look for LVG to give players like Riquelme, Rochembach and Geo more playing time once we secure qualification.

[BLAUGRANA]

Riquelme is supposed to start for Barca against Lokomotiv as Luis Enrique is injured. My avatar worked! Hopefully it continues too and he scores a goal.

[funky6]

I'm really excited about Romy's champions league debut as a starter!I'm sure he''ll show he's one of a kind and the one that can change the whole Barça's game.At least let's hope he will be a starter!:D :D :D

I can't wait to see P.Andersson in the centre of our defence too!
Brugge qualifying for the second round would be great too!

[Bier]

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Futbol Club Barcelona has reached the second group-phase of the UEFA-Champions League with easy!

Barça 1 Lok 0
todays hero: :star: Frank De Boer :star: ( who gets critisized so much for mistakes needs to be hailed when doing good IMO )

Visca el Barça! Visca Catalunya! :star: :)

[soccer fanatic]

Originally posted by funky6

Brugge qualifying for the second round would be great too!

They are going strong, beating Galatasaray 3-1. Go Brugge.
Great city BTW, Brugge.

[funky6]

todays hero: Frank De Boer ( who gets critisized so much for mistakes needs to be hailed when doing good IMO )

Sometimes i wish fdb had the half abillity in his defending role that has when goes upfront to attack or in his brilliant passes that are the beginnings of many Barça's chances and goals.He's a defender though and that's why he has been criticised that much.



They are going strong, beating Galatasaray 3-1.

:shocked::shocked::shocked:Bravo!!!!Gala has been a real dissapointment thus far.Well,i don't mind:D

Not much to say about Barça's game.We took what we wanted and i'm really happy.Also happy about Roman's great debut and Oscar's comeback.

Ps2:)The fact that we are not in the favorites to win this year kinda reminds me of Madrid's 2000 triumph.I just have the feeling that we might achieve something rreally big without nobody understands where it came from.:D

[soccer fanatic]

Originally posted by funky6
[B]
Sometimes i wish fdb had the half abillity in his defending role that has when goes upfront to attack or in his brilliant passes that are the beginnings of many Barça's chances and goals.He's a defender though and that's why he has been criticised that much.


That is what made him big. He is an average defender but can really build up. He can still be good, but 3-4-3 is a bit hard for De Boer, he is past his prime. He has to have more or less a free role, helping out the others. He can read attacks, he is just to slow to stop them, he needs more time than he used to need, but there is no time when you play 3-4-3.

[Bier]

Originally posted by funky6


Sometimes i wish fdb had the half abillity in his defending role that has when goes upfront to attack or in his brilliant passes that are the beginnings of many Barça's chances and goals.He's a defender though and that's why he has been criticised that much.



:star: that's a perfect description of FDB ... many see his poor defending sometimes, but only view see his passing abilities. If we weren't crowded in this position anyway, I'd suggest to play him in defensive midfield.

[BLAUGRANA]

The match didn't sound too pretty, but the result is what matters. Another win in the CL which means more money and possibly more yet as we've qualified for the next round.

Sounds like FDB did well. He scored and made a few defensive plays from what i've read. Also sounds like Mendieta was running everywhere. Nice to see Riquelme, Bonano, Gabri and Rochembach getting some chances. Brilliant save by Puyol.

VISCA EL BARCA!!!

[Bier]

Originally posted by AZULGRANA
Brilliant save by Puyol.

That was one of the best freakiest actions I've ever seen. :star:
Bonano made a good save at the beginning as well (after an horrible misunderstanding of Fernando and Frank).

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Bier

That was one of the best freakiest actions I've ever seen. :star:
Bonano made a good save at the beginning as well (after an horrible misunderstanding of Fernando and Frank).



Here is Uefa.com's match analysis. High praise for LVG and his tactics along with our great PUYOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL!!!



Van Gaal's changes pay off
Thursday 24 October 2002
FC Barcelona spent an uncomfortable night under pressure from FC Lokomotiv Moskva before maintaining their 100 per cent record in Group H with a 1-0 victory – and securing their passage into the second group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Brilliant substitution
In the end, it was tactical heavyweight Louis van Gaal who turned the tables on Lokomotiv coach Yuri Semin with a brilliant 65th-minute substitution and reorganisation.

MATCH ANALYSIS
Lokomotiv's formation had been true to coach Semin's pre-match warning that they would try to emulate Barcelona's recent domestic opponents Real Betis Balompié and Real Valladolid in choking the creative life out of the Catalans. The Russian side attempted to use a 5-4-1 lineup when defending and then switch, quickly, to 3-5-2 on the attack.

Wide players' role
The core of Lokomotiv's tight-knit and miserly defence was the trio of Dmitri Sennikov, Sergei Ignashevitch and Oleg Pachinine. But at the heart of Semin's counterattacking strategy was the need for wide players Vadim Evseev and Milan Obradovic to convert speedily from orthodox full-backs in the five-man defence to threatening wing-backs on the attack.

Choice of experience
Van Gaal patently anticipated the tactic. With Thiago Motta's hamstring injury ruling him out of the left-midfield slot, and Fernando Navarro having played shakily in the weekend defeat against Valladolid, Van Gaal chose to reinforce with experience, in the shape of Phillip Cocu, rather than the expected Gabri García.

De Boer tested
But it was another home player whom Lokomotiv had obviously been instructed to test. In the knowledge that Frank de Boer's defensive form has been under close scrutiny, Semin asked Nigerian James Obiorah - Lokomotiv's scorer in their 3-1 defeat by Barça in Moscow earlier this month - and Brazilian Julio Cesar to push and run past the 32-year-old Dutch international whenever possible.

Key decision
That was Semin's key decision and that, also, was what turned the match in Lokomotiv's favour for the majority of the evening. The dividends almost arrived when Cocu, under pressure, over-hit a pass to De Boer, and Cesar flew past him only for keeper Roberto Bonano to save at point-blank range from a mishit shot.

Promising tactic
The tactic looked promising again when Cesar drifted past Gaizka Mendieta and hit the bar with a volley from Ruslan Pimenov's cross after 56 minutes. And when Cesar sent Obiorah round Bonano with only defender Carlos Puyol to beat minutes later, it was, again, a product of the width, pace and counterattacking which Lokomotiv's coach had preached to his players. Only a world-class block from Puyol saved Barcelona.

Crucial substitution
That was sufficient torment for Van Gaal. He introduced substitute Fabio Rochemback and put him in central midfield, withdrew Gabri to the right of Barça's back three, moved Puyol to the centre of defence and pushed De Boer to left midfield, leaving Navarro on the left of the defensive three. Given freedom, De Boer, a 1995 Champions League winner with Van Gaal’s Ajax, responded to his coach with the only goal of the match from Juan Riquelme’s in-swinging free kick eleven minutes later.

KEY PLAYER: Carlos Puyol (FC Barcelona)
Peerless throughout the match, Puyol marshalled Barcelona's overworked defence and kept the Spanish outfit in a position to win the match.

[BLAUGRANA]

Got this from tribalfootball:


Frank de Boer's winner against Lokomotiv Moscow was met with a mixed reaction from Barcelona supporters.
Constantly whistled and booed throughout the game, De Boer converted a 74th minute cross from Juan Riquelme to help Barca to a 1-0 win and qualification for the second phase of the Champions League.

"A professional must be confident, despite what the public says," said De Boer after the game.

"The whistles do not affect me, although I do not understand why it comes from my own supporters.

"The goal, I dedicate it to all of the supporters."

Barcelona trainer Louis van Gaal also said of De Boer, "I do not understand what is happening with De Boer.

"He is player of Barca. With this pressure, it is incredible that he scored and was so focused."

[BLAUGRANA]

I'm telling you, the kid is gonna be a great captain someday. Here are his comments:



"When the Lokomotiv player broke through all I could do is look where he was going to shoot and hide my hands and try to stop the ball with my body. When I saw that he hesitated before shooting I was able to throw myself in the same direction and make the stop."

"I think it was more important that the team qualified for the next phase."

"We did not have many chances, but we did score. It was very important that we kept a clean sheet at the back."

"The goal that Frank scored gave me much greater satisfaction than the stop I made. Frank's goal won us the game. I think that whistling at at a player is not good for anyone and I have to say that I have complete confidence in him."

"Now we have qualified we have no more pressure on us. Now we can concentrate on the next league match as every game is very important for Barcelona."

[Juan]

I´m a bit dissapointed by Galatasaray this far. Sure, they aren´t what they used to be, but I expected them to have less trouble than they´re having now.

[funky6]

I´m a bit dissapointed by Galatasaray this far. Sure, they aren´t what they used to be, but I expected them to have less trouble than they´re having now.

You must admit that they have been really overconfident and maybe arrogant.So there's no reason to be dissapointed at all.I'm glad Barça showed who's the boss of the group as it was expected ofcourse.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Juan
I´m a bit dissapointed by Galatasaray this far. Sure, they aren´t what they used to be, but I expected them to have less trouble than they´re having now.

Yeah, but Brugge are pretty scrappy little side. They've played well thus far in the CL and barely lost to Barca on matchday one. Yet somehow it's easy to feel that Gala have underachieved considering their past few European campaigns.

[Roberto Abrego]

Originally posted by funky6


You must admit that they have been really overconfident and maybe arrogant.So there's no reason to be dissapointed at all.I'm glad Barça showed who's the boss of the group as it was expected ofcourse.

I think that Club Brugge and Galatasaray players can be compared.....they werent overconfident the problem is they were not capable of ;)

and u r right it was time for Barcelona to demonstrate who's the boss :)

[Juan]

Was there ever any doubt?

[funky6]

Was there ever any doubt?

Ask the Gala fans.;)

[BLAUGRANA]

Both players along with other youth players and fringe players will get the opportunity to show their stuff vs Brugge.

[Bier]

"El Pais" shocked me today with titeling that Victor Valdes would return to Barça B ... but soon I found out how it's been meant ... Victor is supposed to play today alongside Tortolero :eek: , Geovanni and Dani for example. Hope especially the news of the chance that is given to Dani is true.

[funky6]

I don't know about Valdés returning to Barça B but i would definitely prefer Oscar as our goalie.I think we 'll
grab 3 points from this game,no matter who plays.

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by funky6
I don't know about Valdés returning to Barça B but i would definitely prefer Oscar as our goalie.I think we 'll
grab 3 points from this game,no matter who plays.

Enke is going to be the Keeper for the game.

[funky6]

:cool::cool:cool:

Our youngsters and substitutes proved that we can depend on them when ever we need them and i'm reeeeeallyha a hapy guy tonight.VG'S choice proved wise today and i hope he received JUAN MAGIC RIQUELME'S message with his great play and this pure class goal.

As for the second to qualify..after Gala's defeat everything will clear up in the last day.

Nothing more to say.Visca El Barça!

[BLAUGRANA]

Riquelmeeeeeee Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllll!!!

A very nice goal for JRR!!! I'm so happy for him as this will just make things better for him and LVG, who's policy regarding playing Riquelme seems to working. I just hope we soon see JRR and Lucho in the starting lineup together. :D A nice win for Barca as they fielded such a different squad. It's good win for them and for Enke. I'm glad he got another game. While I prefer Valdes and hopefully Pepe Reina for the future, Enke was a good signing. Sounds like Rochembach was the player of the match for Barca. Good to hear. Just one more victory before the next stage. Remember, every win means more much needed cash for the club.

VISCA EL BARCA!!!

[Bier]

Wow ... we are so impressive! Never before has a team won the UCL by winning every single game! ;) :D

[funky6]

Wow ... we are so impressive! Never before has a team won the UCL by winning every single game!

Don't forget that we have allways been a Club linked with records.:D:D:D

This has nothing to do with our current success in the first stage nor with our squad or anything but i have a strange feeling since the beginning of the season that we will definitely be in Old Trafford in May.And before you say i'm enthusiastic or overconfident i also have a feeling that we will do bad in La Liga.Anyway,it's just a feeling.But i've always been a little moonstruck.:D

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by funky6


Don't forget that we have allways been a Club linked with records.:D:D:D

This has nothing to do with our current success in the first stage nor with our squad or anything but i have a strange feeling since the beginning of the season that we will definitely be in Old Trafford in May.And before you say i'm enthusiastic or overconfident i also have a feeling that we will do bad in La Liga.Anyway,it's just a feeling.But i've always been a little moonstruck.:D

Imagine if we were to win the CL. You'd be a prophet then Funky. :D

[Juan]

Remember Arsenal, people. Remember Arsenal.

[funky6]

Remember Arsenal, people. Remember Arsenal.

What does the current situation of Barça has to do with Arsenal mate?We know our current situation better than anyone and we are not enthusiastic at all.

Besides,nobody is still waiting anything from Barça.People don't even talk abt our 5/5.Europe's football experts are too busy asskissing Madrid,Milan,Manure etc and they just suddenly remember Barça exists after Liga defeats.

So,please let us think about anything we like.:)

FC Barcelona.

[Bier]

Originally posted by Juan
Remember Arsenal, people. Remember Arsenal.
Oh right .. I remember ... after three years without titles they won 2 in one year. ;) :star: :D

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Bier

Oh right .. I remember ... after three years without titles they won 2 in one year. ;) :star: :D

No shit!!! Pardon my language, but I'm sick and tired of loudmouth Arsehole fans (not you of course Juan :D ) who think after winning a Domestic Double they rule Europe. It's ridiculous!
They still have a lot to prove in Europe and Dortmund proved that Arsenal just do not yet have that European pedigree needed to be a force. Don't get me wrong, they're a good side. I just think they still have a lot to prove. Besides, we're not getting carried away about Barca and the CL. Just having a little fun.

[Juan]

I said that because I remembered Arse bragging about an undefeted season, they lost against Everton and have done nothing but losing since.

[Bier]

It'll always be like this Zul ... We've seen that with Lazio, Roma and even with Deportivo. Most of them are smashed down to reality soon or later.
Many clubs try to add their name to the list of european glory but only few remain and make impact year by year.

[Roberto Abrego]

Arsenal will rertake their last season form again Van Bronckhorst and Pires just return from an injury,and not all teams are perfect we will return to ourwinning ways...


just as barca wich I think can contedn to this years CL...and we r playing better football than la liga...

[BLAUGRANA]

LVG says that Barca are going to go for yet another CL win versus Galatasaray and thus secure the maximum points from group play. Barring injured ployers, he should field a full strength side with Dani Tortolero and Oleguer Presas being the only B players.

Another win is very important despite our qualification. If Barca win, that's just more money in the bank.

VISCA EL BARCA!!!

[INTER FAN/BG/]

Don''t worry.Galatasaray will never beat Barca:D!For me Galatasaray are the word team in the world!

[INTER FAN/BG/]

Sorry for my mistake.The worst team in the world I meant!

[BLAUGRANA]

Barca victorious again! What a run in the group stages. Now we have to concentrate on the league and translating our European form to the league. We've got some much needed cash by winning all our games. We also gave some run-outs to some of the B and fringe players which could be helpfully later in the season if the injuries continue.

Nice to see 3 fringe players score tonight, especially Dani. Geo had a very nice goal too.

[Bier]

Gimme a D
Gimme an A
Gimme a N
Gimme an I

:star: DANI :star: scored!

I'm a happy man today ... Van Gaal now needs to give him a chance in league again!

And when Dani's record marking 50 goals made his way to captaincy next year he advices VG to get De La Pena back ... and then we have the best Barça of all times. ;)

Do I sound biased?

[Azerkid]

Originally posted by Bier
Gimme a D
Gimme an A
Gimme a N
Gimme an I

:star: DANI :star: scored!

I'm a happy man today ... Van Gaal now needs to give him a chance in league again!

And when Dani's record marking 50 goals made his way to captaincy next year he advices VG to get De La Pena back ... and then we have the best Barça of all times. ;)

Do I sound biased?

About Dani you are but not about De La Pena :D:D:D

[Juan]

Congratulations guys, you really did a great job in this group stage, winning all games. Hope you keep it up... not ;)

[BLAUGRANA]

Originally posted by Bier


Do I sound biased?

No, just drunk. :D

[BLAUGRANA]

Looking ahead to Friday's draw. This from Uefa.com:



Clubs qualified for the UEFA Champions League second group stage
Seeding Pot 1
Pos Club Coeff.
1 Real Madrid (ESP) 147.233
2 Manchester United FC (ENG) 125.729
3 FC Barcelona (ESP) 116.233
4 Valencia CF (ESP) 106.233


Clubs qualified for the UEFA Champions League second group stage
Seeding Pot 2
Pos Club Coeff.
5 Juventus FC (ITA) 91.334
6 Arsenal FC (ENG) 90.729
7 Internazionale FC (ITA) 88.334
8 Milan AC (ITA) 69.334


Clubs qualified for the UEFA Champions League second group stage
Seeding Pot 3
Pos Club Coeff.
9 RC Deportivo La Coruña (ESP) 82.233
10 Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) 81.495
11 AS Roma (ITA) 77.334
12 BV Bo