The Soccer Thread

[Guest]

It's a pretty big one - second leg of a champions league quarterfinal.

 

Arsenal scores first with Bendtner getting it.

[Guest]

Wow. And only two minutes later, Messi ties it up.

[wvcbxl]

Is this barcelona arsenal game on espn2 a big matchup?

 

It's currently live on three different channels available here, so yeah, it's pretty big.

[jersey cubs fan]

It's a pretty big one - second leg of a champions league quarterfinal.

 

Arsenal scores first with Bendtner getting it.

 

How many legs does a quarterfinal have? Is it one of those things where they just take the total goal differential after 2 games?

[Guest]

It's a pretty big one - second leg of a champions league quarterfinal.

 

Arsenal scores first with Bendtner getting it.

 

How many legs does a quarterfinal have? Is it one of those things where they just take the total goal differential after 2 games?

 

Yeah. Two games, one at each team's stadium, and whoever wins over the two legs advances. Away goals is the tiebreaker.

[Guest]

Messi with a sick chip to complete a hat trick before halftime.

[shnsajax]

Messi with a sick chip to complete a hat trick before halftime.

 

Does Messi think he is the POTY or something?

[jersey cubs fan]

It's a pretty big one - second leg of a champions league quarterfinal.

 

Arsenal scores first with Bendtner getting it.

 

How many legs does a quarterfinal have? Is it one of those things where they just take the total goal differential after 2 games?

 

Yeah. Two games, one at each team's stadium, and whoever wins over the two legs advances. Away goals is the tiebreaker.

 

What's the next tiebreaker?

[Guest]

Messi with a sick chip to complete a hat trick before halftime.

 

Does Messi think he is the POTY or something?

 

I feel bad for Wayne Rooney because he's going to have to score about 15 goals while leading England to the World Cup title and then score at the same pace next year to beat Messi for POTY.

[Guest]

It's a pretty big one - second leg of a champions league quarterfinal.

 

Arsenal scores first with Bendtner getting it.

 

How many legs does a quarterfinal have? Is it one of those things where they just take the total goal differential after 2 games?

 

Yeah. Two games, one at each team's stadium, and whoever wins over the two legs advances. Away goals is the tiebreaker.

 

What's the next tiebreaker?

 

That's it. They would go to overtime and if it's still tied (assuming no more goals are scored since that would change the number of away goals) it would go to penalty kicks.

[shnsajax]

Messi with a sick chip to complete a hat trick before halftime.

 

Does Messi think he is the POTY or something?

 

I feel bad for Wayne Rooney because he's going to have to score about 15 goals while leading England to the World Cup title and then score at the same pace next year to beat Messi for POTY.

 

Thats still not might be enough. Messi's goal total for this calender year is stupid. And every one of them is a highlight reel shot.

[Guest]

Four for Messi.

[shnsajax]

Four for Messi.

 

Should have taken him out in the 5th minute.

[wolf stansson]

He processes the game at a different speed than anyone else and has the agility to translate what he dreams up to reality. I never saw Maradona or Pele play. I saw Zidane, Ronaldo, handsome Ronaldo and all the other world class players of this generation.

 

I'm not saying Messi is better than Zidane, but I am saying he probably will be. He just plays two gears higher than everyone else.

[shnsajax]

He processes the game at a different speed than anyone else and has the agility to translate what he dreams up to reality. I never saw Maradona or Pele play. I saw Zidane, Ronaldo, handsome Ronaldo and all the other world class players of this generation.

 

I'm not saying Messi is better than Zidane, but I am saying he probably will be. He just plays two gears higher than everyone else.

 

I think you mentioned as long as he stay healthy. I remember Maradona in the '94 WC at the end of his career and he still had the ability to change a country all by himself. Then of course he got caught with dope and was suspended and Argentina fell apart. I think he is the most creative and natural goal scorer since him and will surpass him at some point. He is the most efficient player I have ever seen. He doesn't waste a chance. Even if he misses he is on goal and putting pressure on the keeper.

 

I want to see how the marketing engine is going to work on him this summer in the States. He is everything MJ was, Lebron, Tiger, Federer, Manning, and Pujols are except much bigger on the global scale. He should become a household name in the US this year.

[USSoccer]

He processes the game at a different speed than anyone else and has the agility to translate what he dreams up to reality. I never saw Maradona or Pele play. I saw Zidane, Ronaldo, handsome Ronaldo and all the other world class players of this generation.

 

I'm not saying Messi is better than Zidane, but I am saying he probably will be. He just plays two gears higher than everyone else.

 

Two years ago I thought he was missing something from his game-the ability to be selfish and just dominate on his own. I thought he deferred too much.

 

I'm an idiot. What a player.

[CubInOK]

He processes the game at a different speed than anyone else and has the agility to translate what he dreams up to reality. I never saw Maradona or Pele play. I saw Zidane, Ronaldo, handsome Ronaldo and all the other world class players of this generation.

 

I'm not saying Messi is better than Zidane, but I am saying he probably will be. He just plays two gears higher than everyone else.

 

I think you mentioned as long as he stay healthy. I remember Maradona in the '94 WC at the end of his career and he still had the ability to change a country all by himself. Then of course he got caught with dope and was suspended and Argentina fell apart. I think he is the most creative and natural goal scorer since him and will surpass him at some point. He is the most efficient player I have ever seen. He doesn't waste a chance. Even if he misses he is on goal and putting pressure on the keeper.

 

I want to see how the marketing engine is going to work on him this summer in the States. He is everything MJ was, Lebron, Tiger, Federer, Manning, and Pujols are except much bigger on the global scale. He should become a household name in the US this year.

 

Not if Argentina look like they did during qualifying.

[wolf stansson]

Not if Argentina look like they did during qualifying.

I love Argentina. I think they're arguably the most talented team in the tournament, but unfortunately they have a moron at the helm. Maybe in 4 and 8 years they'll have a decent keeper and back line.

 

A manager who knows how to fit superstars around him and not one who's trying to fit him with other superstars is the difference between Barca and the underachieving Albiceleste. One team wins trophies, one barely qualifies.

 

 

That doesn't mean I'm ruling out Argentina completely. It just means I think the manager and the team are too bipolar to trust.

[shnsajax]

Not if Argentina look like they did during qualifying.

I love Argentina. I think they're arguably the most talented team in the tournament, but unfortunately they have a moron at the helm. Maybe in 4 and 8 years they'll have a decent keeper and back line.

 

A manager who knows how to fit superstars around him and not one who's trying to fit him with other superstars is the difference between Barca and the underachieving Albiceleste. One team wins trophies, one barely qualifies.

 

 

That doesn't mean I'm ruling out Argentina completely. It just means I think the manager and the team are too bipolar to trust.

 

Even if Argentina don't perform real well, he can create a couple of moments that everyone will remember. The Champions League final is on a Saturday a month before it kicks off too. Of course Messi still has to make, but I am just saying. 4 hat tricks in the 1st 3 months this year.

[TruffleShuffle]

when was the last time that someone was so far and away the best player in the world?

[shnsajax]

when was the last time that someone was so far and away the best player in the world?

 

Maybe fat Ronaldo back in between 96-98. Maybe the most physically dominating forward ever.

[CubInOK]

I've got a friend that's trying to tell me that Rooney is better than Messi. Heh.

[wolf stansson]

when was the last time that someone was so far and away the best player in the world?

 

Maybe fat Ronaldo back in between 96-98. Maybe the most physically dominating forward ever.

Zidane was better. I'm sure you could find a quick slice of time where Ronaldo was the guy, maybe even a segment of a couple seasons, but if you look back on his era and have to take one player, it's got to be Zidane.

 

I think Messi is the best player in the world. I don't know how big the gap is to the next player though. What makes him worthy of the praise he's been getting this year is his youth, consistency and brilliance. His youth because obviously to be this good at 22 means we could have 10 more years of this, which is exciting. Consistency because if you look at his main competition, Rooney and Ronaldo, they haven't had it. 3 years ago Messi was in the conversations as best in the world. At that time I thought Rooney was the most overrated player in the world. This year, Ronaldo has lost a lot of his luster. Mainly because of injuries, a somewhat distasteful transfer saga and the fact that Messi's teams have been more successful. Teams are a key word there, though. Messi plays on the most talented club team in the world (yes that's mainly because he's on it, but still) and not only that, but the team plays a system with personnel that specifically caters to his strengths. He also has the best club manager in the world. Pep's strategy, man-management and in-game adjustments are so far, above reproach. He is one of the great leaders from a coaching standpoint, in all of sport. So I guess what I'm saying is that in soccer, memory is short. Messi is the best, but the gap is hard to measure.

 

Marc Stein had an interesting question on twitter yesterday. Where is the gap bigger? Messi v his contemporaries or LeBron vs his? He answered Messi and that seems to be the consensus, but I disagree. I think it's LeBron and I think you look no further than Messi's form with Argentina to prove it. He doesn't have the space that Daniel Alves provides. He doesn't have the maestro's in the midfield like Xavi and Iniesta. Veron is great but a poor facsimile of those two geniuses. He doesn't have the manager that caters to his strengths like Pep. If you switched Rooney and Messi, would the outcome of their respective club our country's be any different? I'm not so sure.

[Guest]

Rooney's starting today.

[Guest]

Someone might want to inform Bayern Munich that playing defense in the first five minutes of a game is probably a good idea.

 

Sick goal by Nani and now it's 2-0.

Edited April 7, 2010 by soccer10k