2013

[No_20]

Ribery is NOT a top 10 player.

Hes out of form currently. On form easily.

NO.

[IronChef]

Not really. Arsenals passing/possession numbers are dwarfed by Munich/Barca and they're behind plenty of other teams as well, including Man City/Southampton/Roma/Swansea.

[Man of Steel]

Ribery is NOT a top 10 player.

Hes out of form currently. On form easily.

NO.

He had surgery recently. Just four months ago he was a top 3 contender for the Ballon D'Or, after being considered the best player on a treble winning side. A few months is all it takes to go from top 3 to out of top 10?

[Ted Lasso]

So to recap our reaction to the semis, the first night, parking the bus was ruining football. The second night, possession dominance became not just a borefest to avoid but a great weakness, and the bus-parkers of the night were actually morally superior.

I include myself in that intellectual imbalance, but let's not forget that a team which takes Guardiola and Barcelona's ways even boringly-further and consciously uses possession as a form of defence, specifically counter avoidance, has won the most recent World Cup and Euros. Not to mention everything Guardiola has achieved.

[TomJoad]

So to recap our reaction to the semis, the first night, parking the bus was ruining football. The second night, possession dominance became not just a borefest to avoid but a great weakness, and the bus-parkers of the night were actually morally superior.

I include myself in that intellectual imbalance, but let's not forget that a team which takes Guardiola and Barcelona's ways even boringly-further and consciously uses possession as a form of defence, specifically counter avoidance, has won the most recent World Cup and Euros. Not to mention everything Guardiola has achieved.

Moral victories mean **** and football always wins, yes, but there are several important diferences between both games.

Most important one: Chelsea did not score a goal because (among other reasons) it was not his intent to score in open play (at the very least they do not show any intention to do so), whilst Real Madrid did show intent to score in the counter any time they had the posession (and they actually scored). Real Madrid parking the bus is arguable. Chelsea's not.

And frankly, I don't know why a 0-0 at the Calderón is such a good result against Atlético. Kudos to Mou if he wins at the Bridge, but right now many are questioning if playing for a 0-0 away draw was worth it.

[Ted Lasso]

Most important one: Chelsea did not score a goal because (among other reasons) it was not his intent to score in open play (at the very least they do not show any intention to do so), whilst Real Madrid did show intent to score in the counter any time they had the posession (and they actually scored). Real Madrid parking the bus is arguable. Chelsea's not.

The important distinction is not about intention, it's about resources. Real Madrid have all the counter-attacking talent in the world. The iffy part for them was the bus. Chelsea, on the other hand, have a desert up front without Hazard.

[Baphomet]

So to recap our reaction to the semis, the first night, parking the bus was ruining football. The second night, possession dominance became not just a borefest to avoid but a great weakness, and the bus-parkers of the night were actually morally superior.

I include myself in that intellectual imbalance, but let's not forget that a team which takes Guardiola and Barcelona's ways even boringly-further and consciously uses possession as a form of defence, specifically counter avoidance, has won the most recent World Cup and Euros. Not to mention everything Guardiola has achieved.

Just reading the last few pages has caused me to become invested in a tie that I previously had no real stake in. Mr Grant Hill's sour grapes and condemnation of Madrid has incited a desire within me to see them win the whole tournament.

[DD12]

Ribery is NOT a top 10 player.

Ribery is ten times better than Neymar.

You were saying neymar was top 10 and ribery is not. I bet you were saying Robinho was top 10 too a couple of years ago.

Football is a game of men buddy. Clowns like Robinho, ronaldinho can only do little. Players like ribery, cr etc will always be better than those clowns.

[MaliBrah]

Ribery is NOT a top 10 player.

Ribery is ten times better than Neymar.

You were saying neymar was top 10 and ribery is not. I bet you were saying Robinho was top 10 too a couple of years ago.

Football is a game of men buddy. Clowns like Robinho, ronaldinho can only do little. Players like ribery, cr etc will always be better than those clowns.

ronaldhino was actually good though , he lived up to the hype and won everything unlike robinho and I can't really judge neymar right now. Ronaldhino was amazing

Ribery is better than neymar right now though.

[J-Mezzy]

Ribery is easily better than Neymar. I'd put James Rodriguez and Hazard ahead of Neymar as well to be honest.

[EArl]

Neymar is young. I expect him to make some noise in the world cup. I was impressed with the way he beat the crap out of spain. It was humbling.