AC Milan vs. Barca (1/2 CL, 1st leg)

Originally Posted by rahul.acm

first of all who the fuk is telling that lyon is not a good team? they were and are a good team, capable enough to beat the $hit outta any team!

second, we did play bad against lyon! I'm comparing this performance to the one against bayern! on what basis are u trying to say that lyon wud have had kicked barca out!

third: u r saying we beat them comfortably! if inzaghi wudn't have scored th goal we wud out of ucl. his goal came at the 88th minute and we were very lucky to have the ball come on pippo's feet. we were 'LUCKY'

i think u r trying to brand me wid some1( u know who it is) u hate . just because i have a different mentality. i'm starting to know how this forum works!

First of all, I am not trying to "brand" you with someone, and no I have no idea who you are referring to. If the "some other people" part got you to think so, then fall back on earth and stop thinking that someone is out there to make you look bad on purpose or whatever nightmares you might be having. Those "some other people" are basically 3/4 of the people here who think that we have to have a hurricane-like performance against even one of the strongest teams in Europe at the moment, and if we don't, then we are crap and Barca will roll all over us. I was referring to all those people and not one single person, so stop thinking you are being stalked or singled out or whatever ... if it makes you feel special, be my guest, otherwise stop fooling yourself.
Then, I am not sure what is that logic of yours, and not only yours, that says that Milan has to beat with an amazing performance every single team out there, even if its a very, very strong one. Comparing perfomance vs bayern with that vs Lyon? Look, if that's your logic then I guess we don't have anything to discuss here 'cause comparing different games and opponents, each of whom is strictly unique, simply makes no sense. But then again, what makes you think that in that 4-1 win vs bayern we did play the best Bayern team, isn't possible that they just had a bad day and that's why the dif in class was so obvious?
And in the end, where did I say that we beat Lyon "comfortably"? I would love it if you show me that before putting words in my mouth or trying to distort the meaning of mine.
Peace

lol lots of first of all)))))))

Well first of all u should know that footbal is about 90 minutes +injury time a game ,so u have the right to score in any minute .

So second of all im sleepy.

Third:good night

Hottie i like your optimism, shame the real world doesn't work that way

Stam is out for the next 2-3 weeks according to Channel4, i'm sure there'll be a more detailed report on the official site tomorrow. That's a huge blow for us, especially if Cafu isn't fit either.

I strongly believe most of the people in this forum want and more so believe Milan will win the tie against Barca. Discusssion is based on how best we can beat them. Any team that makes it to the CL semi final are no slouches.

As with most people on this forum, I believe we played the next best team(Milan being #1 and the best of course) in the Champions League in Lyon. And i agree with most of you that had Barca met Lyon, Lyon would have handed them a footballing lesson.And guys and gals, Milan will not play Barca like we played Lyon in the second leg.

What we have in Barca and Milan are two very well matched teams, in terms of style of play and by virtue of useless stats which I was able to identify. Below are the positions of both Barca and Milan in their respective leagues:

OVERALL HOME AWAY
GP W D L GS GA W D L GS GA W D L GS GA GD P
1 Barcelona 31 21 6 4 70 27 12 3 1 41 15 9 3 3 29 12 43 69

OVERALL HOME AWAY
GP W D L GS GA W D L GS GA W D L GS GA GD P
1 Juventus 32 24 7 1 61 20 13 3 0 29 6 11 4 1 32 14 41 79
2 AC Milan 32 22 4 6 70 26 14 1 0 41 11 8 3 6 29 15 44 70

Stats are unimportant in games like Semi finals, but i just wanted to point out how almost even the teams are. Though I think we have an added advantage in experience, defence and midfield.

By the looks of the league schedule, Carlo is stuck between a rock and hard place. Naturally with the Champions League being more important, I wonder how and whom he will play against Inter, the weekend b4 the big tie.

By the way Zlatanov, I dig your Xmas tree formation; however, what if instead of using in the first leg, employ it in Camp Nou(believing we have a secure 2-0 or 3-1 win at the San Siro), when we can dominate and stack the midfield and hit them quick on the break.

Personally my point of view isn't the tactical side of how we differed in playing Bayern, Lyon or how we'll line up against Barca. My thoughts are on how badly we played, how we gave the ball away with needless passes and how the opposition wasn't tracked or tackled fast enough. Both of these things have nothing to do with tactics or the opponents, it's just down to poor football.

For instance there were times when a defender was passing to a midfielder and the midfielder was instantly tackled. Now that isn't the midfielder's fault, that's the fault of the defender for playing him into trouble in the first place. These things should happen because the defender is at the back and can see everything in front of him, so he should know what is a good pass and what isn't. To some it'll seem a small thing, but to me it's not something an experienced player should keep doing.

to zlatanov:

i misread ur post regarding the the level of comfort we beat lyon with (I apologize for that)

how do i gather attention with that post? even if i do, its negative.

truce hah

Originally Posted by Jim_UK

Personally my point of view isn't the tactical side of how we differed in playing Bayern, Lyon or how we'll line up against Barca. My thoughts are on how badly we played, how we gave the ball away with needless passes and how the opposition wasn't tracked or tackled fast enough. Both of these things have nothing to do with tactics or the opponents, it's just down to poor football.

For instance there were times when a defender was passing to a midfielder and the midfielder was instantly tackled. Now that isn't the midfielder's fault, that's the fault of the defender for playing him into trouble in the first place. These things should happen because the defender is at the back and can see everything in front of him, so he should know what is a good pass and what isn't. To some it'll seem a small thing, but to me it's not something an experienced player should keep doing.

I have to disagree with you Jim. It's true that from one game to another we could see a better or a worse, less concentrated Milan side but, ultimately, a team plays as good or as bad the opposition lets them to. I am sure that the Milan side from Tuesday would have been just as successful and imposing on the Bayern side we met 2-3 weeks ago. And I am sure that the Milan that beat Bayern 4-1 would have had very much the same problems as the one on Tuesday.
We made a number of mistakes on Tuesday, especially in defence in the first half, and we ourselves created lot's of opportunities for Lyon. However, let's be more objective on that - Lyon players were like hawks on every Milan player that played with the ball or was even close to it. Everyone was closed down by 2 Lyon players and this is what made out players nervous and made them make foolish mistakes. Against Bayern, there was no such thing - spaces were more than ample all over the field and our players were left to operate as they wished and be the first to reach the ball, most of the time. And I believe that we just happened to play Bayern on a bad day they had. IMO, was it another day, another Bayern would have played us and most probably would have made life much more difficult for us.
Comparing how we played vs bayern and vs Lyon is not just comparing us vs two different teams, two dif football phylosophies, but more importantly it's comparing two absolutely unique situations, two very, very different games and that just makes little sense. What I mean is that if Bayern plays Lyon now, I wouldn't be surprised at all if bayern is the final winner and be so with ease. Yet comparisons and common sense indicate that if we managed to beat Bayern with 4-1, pretty comfortably at that, and we managed to beat Lyon only in injury time so to speak, then Lyon should be able to defeat Bayern ... but that's not how football in real life works for every game is influenced by an enormous number of different factors and that's what makes it strictly unique. How we play/perform (read concentration, stamina, etc), is only one of those factors, just one of many.

Originally Posted by rahul.acm

to zlatanov:

i misread ur post regarding the the level of comfort we beat lyon with (I apologize for that)

how do i gather attention with that post? even if i do, its negative.

truce hah

you don't need to apologize for anything. And that post was not aimed at you personally but at the idea that we should fear Barca or whatever the point was. I quoted your post only because it was the closest one at hand .
All I want you to understand is that I am not singling you out or anything like that. There are a lot of people who enter in arguments over here and it happens to anyone and all the time. My phylosophy about these things is that just because you disagreed with someone over something and maybe some heated words were exchnaged, I don't see it as a reason to "follow" someone, stalk him/her, attack him/her or whatever just because once upon a time we had a "scuffle" so to speak. Nor am I ignoring anyone's posts no matter how "bad" the scuffle was ... I say this because this is a common tactic used here .
I have said before and I will say it again - I judge and attack posts, not people ... and even alex22 doesn't make exception to that although he is having a hell of a time figuring that one out There isn't a single person here I agree with ALL the time, just like there isn't anyone I have disagreed with ALL the time. Peace

Originally Posted by Rosso6

By the way Zlatanov, I dig your Xmas tree formation; however, what if instead of using in the first leg, employ it in Camp Nou(believing we have a secure 2-0 or 3-1 win at the San Siro), when we can dominate and stack the midfield and hit them quick on the break.

That makes a lot of sense. Still, I, unlike others, don't think that this tie will be solved by one team outscoring the other by a big margin - I don't think we or Barca could get a home win of 3-0 or similar. Should something like that happen it would be down to one team having an incredibly BAD day or a mistake(s) from the refs, or some other factor that would be difficult to predict.
Given all things normal, I think it would be away goals that will decide the tie and that's why I prefered a X-tree for the home game.
Plus, I think barca at Nou Camp would be difficult to contain as they would rush forward in numbers. I think the best defence for a situaton like that is offense and a 2-striker system would make keep them busy at the back and won't let them commit large numbers in attack.

I hear u Rahul, I'm right here brother... lol
Who is going to ban u? Chill man...

i think u r trying to brand me wid some1( u know who it is) u hate coz we think the same. i'm starting to know how this forum works!

Finaly!!! Some understanding...

Wow, all these heated discussions and great posts, and matchday is still 2 weeks away...
I like what hottie said about football being 90 minutes + injury time. Some people at school told me Milan was lucky for scoring so late. Yes, we were somewhat lucky, but a football match is 90 minutes, not 87!

What most conerns me is about the Barcelona match is the Inter match. Obviously the Champions League is more important, but 2nd spot in the Serie A could be at stake which could save us a headache with the Champs League qualifiers. And there is also pride. Can you imagine losing to Inter 2 times in a season? For Inter fans it would be the best moment of their lives, which is kind of pathetic, considering we've beaten them about the last 8? times before. This isn't about Inter but I would definetely love to see a victory, for pride and for psychological reasons as well.

The most important goal for the match vs. Barca at the San Siro will be keeping a CLEAN SHEET. Even if we don't score at home and don't allow any goals, 1-0 at Barca an we're through. 1-0 at home would be a perfect result for me, then a goal at the Nou Camp and Barca need 3.

Like Zlatanov, I am sick of some thinking Barca is unbeatable. We did get past Lyon, one of the best organised teams in Europe. And who cares if it wasn't pretty to watch? Are we not allowed to have a scrappy victory? Barca is a good side, but how are we worse? Hopefully Carlo will take care of all motivation (For my matches Queen's We Will Rock You always seems to motivate me )

This will be a great semifinal matchup, my heart will probably not beat for the whole game. Anyways, FORZA MILAN!

P.S. Rahul, you are relatively new here. Don't worry, there are usually tons of arguments, most of the time no one gets banned. Don't take it personally, sometimes it is intersting and good to argue

Originally Posted by alex22

I hear u Rahul, I'm right here brother... lol
Who is going to ban u? Chill man...


Finaly!!! Some understanding...

well, unlike you, Rahul, some people do need to feel important and for them this is the only way.
Sash, don't you have more important matters to attend to?

Cut with all this philosophies and tactical bullsh*t... U are saying that the reason that we played bad against Lyon is because on every our player they had two, and against Bayern we had plenty space to act. Well man it's not an explanation, it's like u'll say "we lost because the opponent scored more goals". Did Lyon had 22 players on the pitch?? I don't think so... And cut the crap that u attack only posts and not people, u insulted me personaly many times.
We were totaly outplayed by Lyon, and we only won because we were lucky. We looked good the first 20 min in france, only because Lyon was afraid and took their time to start playing. And that subs "that turned the game" or whatever, didn't turn anything. Pirlo was complete sh*t and that's why he was substituted and Ambro didn't help much. As I already said Serginho did his best moves before Maldini entrence, and after Maldini entered the game our left flank creat NOTHING!!!!!!! We played last 10 minutes mostly through Costacurta (kind'a reminded me Pancaro against Deportivo), and both goals that was scored in the dying minutes were thanks to luck (one after desperate long ball and second thanks to awful mistake). People here don't realize how important Stam is, his absence was crucial both against Lyon and Juve few weeks ago.
Through out the game we failed to produce any pressure, I couldn't believe to see lyon holding the ball and passing it easily in the midfield like they are playing against Tolouse or something in the french league. We were crap, Serginho made 2-3 good moves in his flank and that's it!!!! That mostly the only thing we had to offer in attack.
Our midfielders looked helpless with the ball, afraid to approach the centre circle because there were like 3 lyon players waiting. So cut the cr*p like u are some great tactitian, no need in those long posts of yours where u are explaining the subs and how we should play Barca.
We need two main things for Barca game: to revive our right flank with Cafu or Stam, and we need to get our midfield back in shape. That's the reason we looked so overran by Lyon, cause we were slow and there wasn't enough movement in the flanks. 6 out of 8 goals we scored in 4 last matches in the CL were assisted from the flank (that long ball by kaladze in 88 min may considered as from flank), it just shows u how important to play with wings. And how do u get that? By pressing in the midfield making the opponent to concentrate in the centre and creat free space in the flanks. So Stam or Cafu return will be crucial.

I think we are (at least slightly) stronger than Barca on paper; they have Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto'o as their most lethal weapons and we are as strong as they are in this department. As for midfielders, Deco's ban is really good for us, as he is the true unsung hero in Barcelona in my opinion, we should try to utilize that to the utmost. Pirlo kind of worries me, as he hasn't been in top form recently, and we don't have a good replacement for him, so substituting him basically means a change of tactics. (Vogel/Seedorf/Gattuso/Ambrosini can play in that POSITION, but not the ROLE, maybe Rui Costa is the closest one, but I am not sure he can be relied on). Our defense is much better than Barcelona's, even with Puyol; and Dida, half of what he used to be, is still better than Valdes. And what's the most important, Ancelotti is better than Rijkaard. (A lot of you may disagree with me, but I always like Ancelotti a lot. )

The key to success is not really a secret. Gattuso and co should concentrate on neutralizing Ronaldinho; I am not sure of our disciplinary status, but some yellow/red might be necessary sacrifice. I am hoping that Maldini can contain Messi; or through Serginho's fierce attacks. Stam's injury will be very detrimental to our defense, and I am hoping that he will recover as soon as possible. Somehow, I fear that if Cafu plays, we might have big problem in his zone. If Ronaldinho turns out too easy to be taken care of, Gattuso should spend his extra energy to provide Pirlo with more help so that Pirlo can be free(r) from hassles from Barcelona midfielders, whoever will be assigned to bodyguard him.

We need to get the game under our control as soon as possible; as Barcelona is a young team, we can make everything easier in possibly the first 20 minutes; but if they have their game, it will be harder to predict. Ancelotti may need to make some VERY EARLY and VERY BOLD changes to get the game back to the right track, which doesn't seem to be his style though.

I am confident that we will qualify, and if we don't concede any goal in the first leg (0-0, 1-0, 2-0 are all VERY good results), we will definitely go to Paris. We are much more experienced than Barcelona, and at this stage, experience is the most important assets.

I can only think of so much right now. Forza Milan!

Its not nice to see every1 over confident, but its also nice to see any pessimists..

Seeing as italian always love statistics, here is some bad news:

in the ancelotti era (well since 2002-03) here are the games that we played home first, then away in knock out stages

02/03:: Semifinal:: Milan 0-0 Inter, Inter 1-1 Milan
03/04:: Quarterfinals:: Milan 4-1 Depor, Depor 4-0 Milan
04/05:: Quarterfinals:: Milan 2-0 Inter, Inter 0-1 Milan (we were then given a 3-0 win)
04/05:: Semifinals:: Milan 2-0 PSV, PSV 3-1 Milan

We really should not count the Inter games because it is our home stadium as well. We really struggled badly in the away games against Depor, and PSV.

I hope Milan will not let the heads go as especially this season, our form isnt that consistent away from home.