Champions League final.

[Phil]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 773353.stm

 

 

 

Well thought I'd get this topic in, whilst the board are up :P

 

 

 

Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1.

 

 

 

Lots of drama, Lehmenn getting sent off, ref giving free kick instead of advantage.

 

Eboue dive for the first arsenal goal. Offside for Eto'o's goal?

 

 

 

One thing I can say is the ref was complete rubbish tonight.

 

 

 

Barcelona looked on top all night though and I think they deserved the win. If it had been 11vs11 all match then it would've been a different story. Also some great subs from Barca. Larsson just brought that bit extra they were needing. That guy is a real legend.

[tintmangbpack]

I couldn't watch the game live (I was at work), but I plan to watch when I get home. From what I heard the ref was terrible. I was a liitle disappointed that Lehmann got sent off, I wanted to see the teams go at it in full strength, even though Messi was out. I thought Arsenal's defense did a good job but they could only go for so long. All in all It sounded exciting and I can't wait to watch it when I get off work.

 

 

 

So much for wearing my Arsenal Jersey for good luck.

 

 

 

Darn, now I am even more impatient for the World Cup to start.

 

 

 

edit- Did you see the possesion time for each team and shots for each team. It would have been a miracle for Arsenal to win.

[WiEts0]

umm, i think the referee made a little mistake, Barca made a goal but the referee gave red to Lehmann and the goal didnt tel...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(im dutch my englishg is bad :wink: )

[How2PK]

The ref was complete...well..[cabbage].

 

 

 

He should've never send Lehman off. The ref KILLED the match, where he could do differently. People aren't here to serve the rules, rules are here to serve the people. He should have given some decent interpertation, instead of purely going by the books. And Eboue should never gotten that free kick, it was one of the worst schwalbes(sp?) I've ever seen.

 

 

 

I think Barcelona didn't deserve to win, Arsenal started out better than Barca, got a little bit in the match, and after 20 minutes the match got killed. Barca didn't take advantage of that, they were playing unefficient football, hardly got any good chances. Arsenal was the better team, with 10 men against 11 almost the entire match. They played smart and very good, they never realy got into big trouble and even managed to get one on one with Valdes a few times; too bad they couldn't finish it. Larson and Belleti made the difference for Barcelona, and their 'greatest player' Ronaldinho was playing useless football most of the time. Van Bommel, Oleguer, Marques and Deco were crap as well. Barcelona were better the last 15 minutes and they could finally take some advantage of their situation.

[ronnie_kloet]

wel the guy who was intetrviewed said:

 

The ref killed the match lol

 

 

 

How2Pk did you come up with that by urslef?

[geohood]

The ref stuffed up the game, its true. :(

[Scars]

Yeah,Arsenal were so much better when it was 11 vs 11.Unfortunately the ref decides to give Lehmann the red.

 

 

 

Eboue clearly dived.Superb marking on Campbell tho :)

 

 

 

Puyol & Marquez were all over Henry,but no cards for them.Once Henry tracked back & got the ball but the ref still gave him a yellow card?Wow.

 

 

 

Then come the subsitutes,Larsson made the difference & then Belleti finished it.

 

 

 

The Ref was really poor.

[Rizla]

Being an Arsenal fan, i'm gutted.

 

 

 

I thought we dominated the game until the sending off, and even after that (at least until half time) we looked like the more threatening team.

 

Not sure what to say about the red card, at first i thought it was 1-0 and Lehmann would probably have got a yellow card, and now i think that's probably the decision the ref should have made. Sending off a goalkeeper 20 minutes into the champions league final will just kill the game. After that it was only going to go one way - Barca would take the lead then play keep ball.

 

I was pissed off at the way all the Barca players were crowding around the referee asking him for a red card, it's disgusting to watch.

 

Then came Eto'o to score a goal which now looks like it was offside, at a time when we really looked comfortable defending and hitting them on the break. After that it was pretty much one way traffic and i don't think we even touched the ball in the last 10 minutes of the game.

 

I did think the ref was a disgrace. I'll admit Eboue's free kick didn't look like it should have been given, but he certainly made up for that with decisions against Arsenal throughout the game.

 

I'm trying to be as neutral as i can, but i really think Arsenal deserved more out of that game. We had the better chances and really should have scored more than once. I firmly believe we'd have beaten them if it was 11 Vs 11.

[Rizla]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 993994.stm

 

 

 

"I would have liked to have taken a few more seconds before I made a decision," Hauge told a Norwegian newspaper.

 

 

 

"If I'd done that, I could have given a goal and given a yellow card as well."

 

 

 

It's not like anyone was rushing him, why didn't he just do that instead of ruining the biggest game in club football?

 

 

 

Edit: Sorry, i forgot, there were a few people in red and blue striped shirts rushing him to get his card out.

[tintmangbpack]

I watched the game last night, and I think the ref blew it. He should of let Barca play the advantage instead completely ruining the game by sending Lehmann off.

 

 

 

Even though Barca won I thought Arsenal was the better team, ad had they played full strength the entire time, I believe they would have won.

 

 

 

I don't envy the amount of hate mail the ref is going to be getting.

[Bubsa]

Pretty shambolic final, with some great football in it, but the point is: The best team in the tournament won the tournament. So, regardless of all the shinanigans in the match, I'm happy with the result.

[kav]

The ref ruined the best match in club football. All we wanted was a free flowing game of attacking football. We got a start and stop game. Where we never had the freedom to attack because the ref wasnt strong enough to let play go on. It would have been much better for the match to get Jens stay on. I would have loved to see an 11 man Arsenal attack Barcalona with everything they have. I doubt any team in the world could have resisted it. And it wasnt just that either. Can anyone explain why Henry got a yellow? He won the ball, and then the guy kicked Henry, and Henry gets the yellow?

 

And the goal by Eto'o was also offside. Uefa should have known this was coming. The exact same thing happened against Chelsea. Even the reff who was in England vs Portugal would have been more fair.

 

But even though we lost. I have never been prouder to be an Arsenal supporter. Last night we showed energy, enthusiasm and passion. Something which has arguably been lacking most of the season.

 

And there are so many good points from the match too. I cant wait to see Toure, Eboue, Hleb, Fabregas, Reyes, in a couple of years now. They will be truly world class.

 

 

 

And where was the Barcalona magic? where was their fast free flowing football that they are so famous for? our defence didnt let it happen. They gave it everything, but when your down to 10 men they would have scored sooner or later.

 

 

 

I think man of the match was Freddie, He showed he hasnt lost anything. Hes still the fast skillfull winger, who gives everything whenever hes on the pitch, he may have been poor most of the season, but hes earned mine, and a lot of other peoples respect.

[Bubsa]

And where was the Barcalona magic? where was their fast free flowing football that they are so famous for?

 

You know only too well that doesn't happen when it goes 11 vs 10, especially in a final. With Arsenal defending so resolutely, and counter-attacking pretty well too, there was no flowing football, as the build up had to start in the final 3rd.

 

 

 

My man of the match was Kolo Toure. My God, that man is immense. He used to just have recovery pace to get him out of trouble, but now he never makes a mistake! His positioning and anticipation is second to none of all the world-class defenders.

 

 

 

New season, new stadium, new nucleas of a squad. I'll tell you now, as a Mighty Red, I cant wait to go to Ashburton Grove next season. What a crackerjack of a game that will be.

[Ianbur]

I was pissed off at the way all the Barca players were crowding around the referee asking him for a red card, it's disgusting to watch.

 

That statement is so funny coming from an Arsenal fan. I remember the Arsenal players crowing around a ref when they had a penatly given against them, and forced him to change his decision.

 

 

 

I didn't think the ref was that bad. Yeah, he made a couple of stupid decisions, and fell for Eboue's blatant dive, but he got the big decision right. Lehmann simply had to walk, going by the laws of the game. It ruined the game as a contest, but he had to go.

 

 

 

After Arsenal failed to hold out, typical Arsenal go into whinge overdrive. Referee was "horrendous", according to Henry, who decided to blame everyone but himself after choking in the biggest game of the season. Wenger naturally chipped in, forgetting that the ref gave Arsenal a goal, and Eto'o was onside.

 

 

 

But it has to be said, it was a great effort from Arsenal. They did well holding out for so long against Barca, they didn't really look like scoring until the last minutes. It was a great run to the final too, they played really well all Champions League. Just a pity they can't take a defeat.

[How2PK]

I didn't think the ref was that bad. Yeah, he made a couple of stupid decisions, and fell for Eboue's blatant dive, but he got the big decision right. Lehmann simply had to walk, going by the laws of the game. It ruined the game as a contest, but he had to go.

 

 

 

No, he didn't had to go. In the break I was watching the comments by the Belgian T.V. and they had a live phonecall with their leader of refferees assosiation (or w/e you call that) of Belgium, and he told he had two options:

 

 

 

1. Give the goald and Lehman a yellow card. Everybody wins.

 

2. Deny the goal, give a free kick, and send the keepr of. Everybody loses.

 

 

 

How2Pk did you come up with that by urslef?

 

 

 

Of course, I came up with that. It's not like it's such a hard thing to conclude, is it?

[Ianbur]

I didn't think the ref was that bad. Yeah, he made a couple of stupid decisions, and fell for Eboue's blatant dive, but he got the big decision right. Lehmann simply had to walk, going by the laws of the game. It ruined the game as a contest, but he had to go.

 

 

 

No, he didn't had to go. In the break I was watching the comments by the Belgian T.V. and they had a live phonecall with their leader of refferees assosiation (or w/e you call that) of Belgium, and he told he had two options:

 

 

 

1. Give the goald and Lehman a yellow card. Everybody wins.

 

2. Deny the goal, give a free kick, and send the keepr of. Everybody loses.

 

 

 

How2Pk did you come up with that by urslef?

 

 

 

Of course, I came up with that. It's not like it's such a hard thing to conclude, is it?

 

He commited a professional foul, denied Eto'o and goalscoring chance and was the last man. That equals a red card in football. The ref blew up straight away, what happened after was irrelevant.

 

 

 

You say Lehmann should have been booked at the goal given. He commited a red card offense, not a yellow, and should have went off with the goal standing.

[Danabis]

I didn't think the ref was that bad. Yeah, he made a couple of stupid decisions, and fell for Eboue's blatant dive, but he got the big decision right. Lehmann simply had to walk, going by the laws of the game. It ruined the game as a contest, but he had to go.

 

 

 

No, he didn't had to go. In the break I was watching the comments by the Belgian T.V. and they had a live phonecall with their leader of refferees assosiation (or w/e you call that) of Belgium, and he told he had two options:

 

 

 

1. Give the goald and Lehman a yellow card. Everybody wins.

 

2. Deny the goal, give a free kick, and send the keepr of. Everybody loses.

 

 

 

How2Pk did you come up with that by urslef?

 

 

 

Of course, I came up with that. It's not like it's such a hard thing to conclude, is it?

 

He commited a professional foul, denied Eto'o and goalscoring chance and was the last man. That equals a red card in football. The ref blew up straight away, what happened after was irrelevant.

 

 

 

You say Lehmann should have been booked at the goal given. He commited a red card offense, not a yellow, and should have went off with the goal standing.

 

 

 

If you want to play it exactly by the book, yeah. But incidents like that are at the ref's discretion, and anyone with a little common sense would have given the goal and the yellow.

[How2PK]

He commited a professional foul, denied Eto'o and goalscoring chance and was the last man. That equals a red card in football. The ref blew up straight away, what happened after was irrelevant.

 

 

 

You say Lehmann should have been booked at the goal given. He commited a red card offense, not a yellow, and should have went off with the goal standing.

 

 

 

Dude, how stubborn can you be? I quote somebody who actually EXACTLY knows the rules. And you still think you know it better? I don't think there's much point in discussing this with you any further, because you just won't listen to anybody else no matter what they are saying.

[richpoepaap]

Pretty shambolic final, with some great football in it, but the point is: The best team in the tournament won the tournament. So, regardless of all the shinanigans in the match, I'm happy with the result.

 

A guy who can take things like they are...

 

Maybe the referee was rubbish ( I can agree with that one), and maybe Lehman didn't deserve the red (sorry, but honestly I believe he did) and surely if it would have been an 11 vs 11 final it would have been a completely different game, but what's the point in complaining?

 

I must say I enjoyed it, and frankly, I think Arsenal can be very proud of what they achieved. They held with 10 vs 11 f

 

or a very long time, and even suceeded to score! IMHO, that's quite an accomplishment. Barcelona won eventually, and deserved, so let's give it a rest.

 

Best team won.( did anyone notice that the past two years the team that defeats Chelsea wins the tournament :D )

[Atticux]

Pretty shambolic final, with some great football in it, but the point is: The best team in the tournament won the tournament. So, regardless of all the shinanigans in the match, I'm happy with the result.

 

 

 

Agreed. You'll never top last years final.

[Rizla]

I was pissed off at the way all the Barca players were crowding around the referee asking him for a red card, it's disgusting to watch.

 

That statement is so funny coming from an Arsenal fan. I remember the Arsenal players crowing around a ref when they had a penatly given against them, and forced him to change his decision.

 

 

 

I didn't think the ref was that bad. Yeah, he made a couple of stupid decisions, and fell for Eboue's blatant dive, but he got the big decision right. Lehmann simply had to walk, going by the laws of the game. It ruined the game as a contest, but he had to go.

 

 

 

After Arsenal failed to hold out, typical Arsenal go into whinge overdrive. Referee was "horrendous", according to Henry, who decided to blame everyone but himself after choking in the biggest game of the season. Wenger naturally chipped in, forgetting that the ref gave Arsenal a goal, and Eto'o was onside.

 

 

 

But it has to be said, it was a great effort from Arsenal. They did well holding out for so long against Barca, they didn't really look like scoring until the last minutes. It was a great run to the final too, they played really well all Champions League. Just a pity they can't take a defeat.

 

 

 

I'm not going to waste too much time arguing with you because i've done that in the past, but i will say this:

 

 

 

1. A Man United fan has absolutely no authority to criticize other teams for influencing the ref, or to criticize players for whining. You have a team consisting of Gary Neville and Christiano Ronaldo, they should be sponsored by Kleenex with all the crying they do.

 

 

 

2. Henry choked? Were you even watching the same game everyone else saw? For 60 minutes that bloke put his heart and soul into the game, was tracking back all over the pitch and did more running in those 60 minutes than the whole of the Barcelona team did in the entire 90. I don't think he could have done much more, and was unlucky not to be on the score sheet.

 

 

 

3. You should have gone to specsavers before you watched the replay of Etoo's goal.

 

 

 

4. I'm an Arsenal fan, and i can accept that we lost the game. I'm only gutted about the way we lost it, especially as i think we were the better team for a large portion of the game, even with 10 men.

[Bubsa]

Pretty shambolic final, with some great football in it, but the point is: The best team in the tournament won the tournament. So, regardless of all the shinanigans in the match, I'm happy with the result.

 

 

 

Agreed. You'll never top last years final.

 

 

 

Hehe, memories will live on forever :D

 

I think the two teams, regardless of the controversy and how they reacted to it, played some pretty great football. In that regard, they are a credit to football. Great match to watch!

[Oy_the_Great]

It's a pity the ref didn't give the advantage to Barca when Lehmann assaulted (it was a serious fault, a red card didn't surprise me at all) Ronaldhino. That was a serious mistake, but if Arsenal would've won the game after all, few people would be so agitated about it.

 

The ref did, IMHO, fine the rest of the match, even when he gave a free kick in the 36th minute to Arsenal when Puyol didn't really did anything wrong. It was the sideline ref who raised his flag, so the ref must've believed that it really was a fault.

 

 

 

Being a neutral viewer, I really enjoyed the match and though I always support the underdog, which was Arsenal without Lehmann, I must say Barca deserves the trophee.

[lucasesco]

ahhh barcelona rockzors my boxors! what can i say?

 

 

 

eto'o, dihno, larsson, marquez, deco, guily, puyol.. the list can go on forever.

 

 

 

Best team best ever best forever.

 

 

 

kkthxbai

[Bubsa]

eto'o, dihno, larsson, marquez, deco, guily, puyol.. the list can go on forever.

 

What, even beyond the squad? :shock: