Champions League Final

[Smoothly Does It]

Who's going to win?

I'm not saying I want Arsenal to win, but I want Barcelona to lose :rolleyes:

[lunar]

I wouldn`t describe myself as an Arsenal fan, by any means, but having English clubs as champions of Europe for two years on the trot would be pretty special. 8) Would be better if it was Wolves, but, errrrr, maybe not.

[infoxicated]

I'd take Arsenal. :)

They're the only premiership club I don't mind watching, although that really is mostly because of Henry and fast Freddie. I guess I should tune in tonight in case it's the last time we get to see both of them play for Arsenal.

After the officiating debacle that was the superbowl, and some increasingly bizarre decisions I've seen in matches I've watched over the last couple of months, I've become quite disenchanted with watching overhyped team sports.

[Hellfire_WZ]

Going down the boozer tonight with a load of Gooners. Considering I'm a closet Barca fan this should be interesting... ;)

[lunar]

I`ve been coming round to a view like yours too, Rob. In soccer, Chelski`s bought trophies have really made me lose interest in the premier league. With all these international allstar teams competing against each other, it just doesn`t seem to matter who wins. Even the successful manyoo team of the 90s were a real team who grew up with each other, no matter what people think of them.

A couple of things which should be borrowed from American football are some form of team salary cap and stricter contracts, which would take some of the absurdity out of the transfer market and help bring back team spirit. Also the three challenges per game rule against certain decisions by the officials should be introduced to soccer, in particular if UEFA insist on picking incompetent referees. In games of massive importance like the Champions League final I think it`s essential. Last night the referee basically ended the game around 20 minutes, no matter how hard Arsenal tried they were going to lose after that. He could easily have given the goal and a yellow card, and as his duty is to make a good game, rather than be a little dictator, this is what he should have done.


One good thing about the game, and which bodes well for England in the World Cup, is that I noticed there`s no longer a FIFA and UEFA directive to disallow all headed goals by Sol Campbell. :)

[Lance]

oh. oh! I can't believe my ears. Did I just hear someone suggest that international football borrow something from american football? ;D

[xEik]

As the only WOZone member who lives in Barcelona, the only thing I've got to say is

:D

PS: I'm awfully late because I've recently found a better job but I cannot check the 'Zone from there as I did in the previous one. This, combined with the fact that I currently have no internet connection at home, means that my oportunities to post right now are scant.

PPS: You have got to love how countries have their own "reality distortion field". Here, no one had the slightest doubt the red card was deserved, while I'm quite sure it was not the case in the UK. ;)

[infoxicated]

I didn't see it, but that goalie is a cock, so I'm inclined to believe it was deserved. :)

[Hellfire_WZ]

The letter of the law states that a foul on an attacking player when you are the last man results in a red card as it denies a goalscoring opportunity. So he should have gone. I think the argument is that Deco immediately followed up and put the ball in the back of the net, so it WASN"T preventing a goalscoring opportunity. So he could have been booked and had the goal stand. Lehmann was still the last man though.

[lunar]

If Barca hadn`t put the ball in the net after, then he would have had to have gone off, yes. But in this situation he had a choice, imo, to keep the game alive infront of an audience of millions, or end it, and he made the wrong decision. I think a good referee enables people to play the game fairly, a bad one just blows his whistle and enforces his own ego on the game.

Nevertheless, where we stand inside the "reality distortion zone" is not irrelevant for any of us. ;) As a Barca fan I would have been very happy to see the opposition`s goalie walk at that moment.

Arsenal fans can`t grumble too much about the ref generally either. After all, the free kick Campbell scored from was after a dive worthy of an artistic merit score and the whistle-happy referee missed that too.

[Hellfire_WZ]

Oh yeah, I pissed myself laughing when Eboue did that. Perhaps Ivory coast could enter him in their high diving team for the next Olympics, they've got gold winner on their hands there! :)

[Smoothly Does It]

Bit late replying to myself, sorry, but I was gutted that Barca won, Arsenal played better and were robbed in the final 10 minutes IMO. Turned the game off after the second goal, knew it was over. La Liga and the Champions League this season :frown: