With CL coming up, getting that little bit of confidence and belief back will do them the world of good. Predictions for CL final this year? I have a feeling Barca might sneak in there along with a surprise. Maybe even Chelsea or Arsenal. RM and Bayern *should* be there but you know how CL always throws up a surprise.
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
2014/15 Association Football (Soccer) thread
- Thread starter SuperScizor
- Start date
- Status
To be fair I see Borussia Dortmund still losing from Juventus.
I don't see Barcelona strong enough to beat Real Madrid or Bayern München, as Real Madrid is a really dominant force and did beat Barcelona earlier this season and Bayern München is a very good team anyways.
I don't see Chelsea winning yet, but maybe 1-2 years from now and then maybe. Their team is really good, with enough defensive reliablity and much creativity in the offense.
To be fair I don't see Arsenal winning Champions League in a long time. They're simply just not good enough to beat München, Real Madrid or Chelsea.
juve arent as strong in europe as they should be so that fixture is still up for grab. Munchen, madrid should get to semi's, I just wonder how Chelsea's squad will hold up after getting through some of their rounds. Barca should still make it fine and be an underdog to win but have around Chelsea's chances to win I would say. Bayern and Madrid are clear favorites, barca and chelsea come next for me
It's known that Juve isn't strong in Europe but still, I see Juventus going through the round instead of Dortmund. Don't let the 4-2 of today fool you. Weidenfeller is a bad keeper nowadays, our defenders play like rookies and if it wasn't for Reus we would've drawn or even lost. We just won in the final 20 minutes against a club like Mainz, a team we should relatively easily win from.
My favourites for the Champions League are obviously München and Real Madrid but I think Chelsea has a better chance than Barcelona. More like I see Chelsea winning from Barcelona. But considering Messi + Neymar is becoming better and better every match it's debatable.
But dortmund played strong earlier this season in champions league while struggling in the bundesliga. Although its hard to judge that to be fair
I just feel RM might start to tire and they already suffer from injuries, but the smart money would still be on them. Barcelona is a great dark horse to back, esp. with players improving their understanding, they can only get better from now imo. Chelsea I can see being there but again their top players have played many minutes and some small injuries are starting to creep in which is a worry. Bayern are strong and I can't really imagine them losing to anyone, even RM, but that's why I'm not backing them. You never back who you really think will win coz they never do!
Arsenal is kinda a joke answer, the midfield is too weak without Ramsey or Wilshere in top form and they're both injured. I'm excited for Wilshere coming back though, a lot of people have kinda lost faith in him (again) but if only he stops getting injured he will prove to be a player of the highest quality, there's no doubt in my mind he'll be first choice when fully fit.
Arsenal is kinda a joke answer, the midfield is too weak without Ramsey or Wilshere in top form and they're both injured. I'm excited for Wilshere coming back though, a lot of people have kinda lost faith in him (again) but if only he stops getting injured he will prove to be a player of the highest quality, there's no doubt in my mind he'll be first choice when fully fit.
congrats chelsea you are as good as sunderland
HBK
Subtlety is my middle name
Dortmund have been like a different team in Europe, their poor domestic didn't seem to affect their Champions League campaign. Juventus are the exact opposite, they've been great domestically, as they always are, but not as much in Europe. I expect Dortmund to edge through. City will be hard to beat at the Etihad but Barça has enough firepower to muscle their way into the next round. As for us, we should be able to beat PSG at home and get a draw, at the very least, in Paris. All the other ties are pretty obvious.
lel rooney was offside for herrera's goal and he dived for the penalty
man u need refball to beat preston
man u need refball to beat preston
"Its called destiny"- Man United fans convincing themselves they didnt cheat to get 2 goals
wasn't a penalty in my book, but i can understand why it was given. phalanx if that happens anywhere else on the pitch the player hurdles the challenge and goes to get the ball, rooney decided just to flop to the ground after jumping over the challenge. if you ask me, thats simulation.
don't get how people can think the 1st goal was offside. rooney doesn't touch the ball and is nowhere near the keeper's eyeline to be classed as interfering with play. preston's keeper reacted too slowly to the ball thats all.
don't get how people can think the 1st goal was offside. rooney doesn't touch the ball and is nowhere near the keeper's eyeline to be classed as interfering with play. preston's keeper reacted too slowly to the ball thats all.
Rooney could plausibly touch the ball, then he is offsides, because he therefore is interfering with the play because he significantly impacts how the keeper has to play the shot, because he has to be alert to the possibility of rooney deflecting the shot.
Unfortunately, the rule leaves an immense amount of what interfering with the play is up to the referee, so we see enormous inconsistency on whether these types of cases are called.
HBK
Subtlety is my middle name
So excited for tonight's games; there really is nothing like the feeling of Champions League nights. Maybe it's just me, but the Champions League is even more exciting than the Euro or the World Cup. Like the difference between ultimate team and seasons on FIFA.
Yeah CL nights are the best. The World Cup was better as a kid but I prefer CL now!
away goals are far too silly as a rule for me to actually enjoy the champions league as much as I could.
UCL PLAYOFFS HYPE!!!!
alright so this is my opinion on the remaining teams:
UCL Playoffs Viability Ranking Tier List
S rank: Reserved for teams that are the pinnacle of the UCL metagame. These teams are able to perform a variety of roles very effectively, or can just do one extremely well. Their use has low risk involved and high reward exerted.
Bayern München
Real Madrid
A Rank: Reserved for teams that are fantastic in the UCL metagame, and can sweep, support, or wall* significant portions of the metagame. These teams require less support than most others to be used effectively and have few flaws that can easily be compensated for when compared to their positive traits.
*Chelsea only
A+ rank
Atletico de Madrid
Barcelona
Chelsea
PSG
A rank
Borussia Dortmund
Manchester City
A- rank
Juventus
B Rank: Reserved for teams that are great in the UCL metagame. These teams have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the tier.
B+ rank
Arsenal
Schalke 04
B rank
Bayer Leverkusen
Shakhtar Donetsk
B- rank
Monaco
FC Porto
C Rank: basel has no chances rip :[
FC Based
edit: @ below, i had forgotten porto, thx for reminding me lol
alright so this is my opinion on the remaining teams:
UCL Playoffs Viability Ranking Tier List
S rank: Reserved for teams that are the pinnacle of the UCL metagame. These teams are able to perform a variety of roles very effectively, or can just do one extremely well. Their use has low risk involved and high reward exerted.
A Rank: Reserved for teams that are fantastic in the UCL metagame, and can sweep, support, or wall* significant portions of the metagame. These teams require less support than most others to be used effectively and have few flaws that can easily be compensated for when compared to their positive traits.
*Chelsea only
A+ rank
A rank
A- rank
B Rank: Reserved for teams that are great in the UCL metagame. These teams have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the tier.
B+ rank
B rank
B- rank
C Rank: basel has no chances rip :[
edit: @ below, i had forgotten porto, thx for reminding me lol
Last edited:
don't doubt based basel's ability to beat english teamsC Rank: basel has no chances rip :[
FC Based
get past porto (you forgot to list them btw)
man city in quarter finals (>)
arsenal in semi finals (>)
chelsea in final
maybe its because leeds aren't in the cl but i dont know better football experiences than being with all your mates in the pub watching england play (and win) in a world cup
other than going to the games obv
Arsenal>Juventus
HBK
Subtlety is my middle name
1-1, just as I expected. Ivanovic's goal was a real beauty, great cross from Terry(can't believe I'm saying this) and a nice flick from Cahill. Courtois was easily the MOTM tonight. Good result for us, a nil-nil draw at home is what Mourinho will probably go for. I didn't expect Bayern to win by a landslide tonight but I didn't expect a nil-nil either. Lol what if Shakhtar win 1-0 in Munich!?
- Status