Well, now that the "5 most important games strike" is over (osa, bilbao, depor, betis and valencia), i think most people here understand that this current team has no chance of winning a league tournament (well beside the kids...), so now we got the real deal.
The CL.
The only competition we have a slight chance of winning.
i think game will be decide on what line up luxa will show up for this game.

Zidane was simply awesome in the first leg in Madrid, and I am sure he will be extremely motivated against his former team and will want to exercise the ghosts of our 3-1 defeat in Turin two years ago.

I completely disagree with this statement. Playing tricks and all those turns and flips is not what one us that game. I think zidan game was and still is very slowing and damaging for this team. Further more, zidan has not play in good level for long time, now, after coming back from injury and not playing 3 games, I just don’t expect him to show up big.
IMHO, it is a mistake to play him and I’ll play solari instead of him. Now I know some people are saying he (Solari) is much more effective coming from the bench, while I disagree with that, I still think he will contribute to the game much more then zidan.
We also don’t have salgado, which pretty much closed down our options on the right side since figo is now playing a more center role in the team. Bravo and beckham are just not good enough and I’m sure most of the attacks will come from the juve left side. If I had to choose I’d bench beckham and put either guti, solari or juan fran.

Since Vanderlei Luxemburgo took charge at Madrid (LFP and UCL):

With Raul starting: P8 W8 D0 L0.
Without Raul starting: P4 W1 D1 L2.

Call him out of form, out of flavour, whatever you want, but there is no doubt Real Madrid play with fighting spirit when our beloved captain is on the field. You take this player out of RM, and we don't play with even half a heart.

Well, you can argue with numbers. I was “shouting” to bench him and I still think he is not playing in a good level, but I guess his mental factor for this team is important, so I guess starting him is a good option.

Regarding the key players, they come from the two ends of our team. Casillas and Ronaldo.
Casillas will be very busy on Wednesday night and we need him at 120% to keep us in this competition. He is the most important player of real Madrid this season (which says a lot about the team).
Ronaldo, who played much better against Valencia, has, IMO, his last chance of standing up and showing that he is still the best striker in the world (on form). A bad game for him with us not advancing and I think it is pretty sure we will not see him next season in real Madrid.

As for our chances to advance, well now with iker back, we have 40% chance to advance.
You can call me pessimistic or realistic but that’s my thoughts.
I expect juve to pressure from the beginning (although they don’t have nedved), and I expect them to score first also. The rest is up to real Madrid players, if they can squeeze in one goal, we will have a good chance of surviving the rest of the game while being attacked all the time by juve. All this talks about controlling the ball and game is all bullshit, it is good to write it, but we don’t have the manpower to do it on the pitch. In the end, it is a constant attack on our goal.

My formation:
--------iker-------
bravo--hel---sam-RC
---guti---gravy----
figo-----------solari
------raul----------
------ronaldo-------

HALA MADRID!!!!!!!

 

a) I completely disagree with this statement. Playing tricks and all those turns and flips is not what one us that game. I think zidan game was and still is very slowing and damaging for this team. Further more, zidan has not play in good level for long time, now, after coming back from injury and not playing 3 games, I just don’t expect him to show up big.
IMHO, it is a mistake to play him and I’ll play solari instead of him.

b) As for our chances to advance, well now with iker back, we have 40% chance to advance.

HALA MADRID!!!!!!!

a) So if Zidane wasn't awesome against Juve, what was he? Average? Pretty much everybody on XT agreed he was the man who ran the show! It wasn't just fancy flicks and party tricks, the man actually put in some defense-splitting balls and was a constant threat! Play Solari ahead of Zidane in a UCL game?

b) Again, very harsh. Dude, we are going into this game with a 1-0 advantage and are facing Juventus who have not scored more than one goal all season in Europe. How do we only have a 40% chance of going through, exactly? I respect your opinion sagyv, but I strongly disagree with it. I would say we have a 75% chance of going through considering the fact we will probably score which means Juventus will need three goals to progress!

 

a) So if Zidane wasn't awesome against Juve, what was he? Average? Pretty much everybody on XT agreed he was the man who ran the show! It wasn't just fancy flicks and party tricks, the man actually put in some defense-splitting balls and was a constant threat! Play Solari ahead of Zidane in a UCL game?

b) Again, very harsh. Dude, we are going into this game with a 1-0 advantage and are facing Juventus who have not scored more than one goal all season in Europe. How do we only have a 40% chance of going through, exactly? I respect your opinion sagyv, but I strongly disagree with it. I would say we have a 75% chance of going through considering the fact we will probably score which means Juventus will need three goals to progress!

a) well, each person in XT is entitle to his own opinion and still i doubt most people thought he was our best player. the score said it all, flicks and magic, but just one goal from a setpiece. i'm sorry, but i had enough of waiting from our players to "show up", let's have some consistency, something zidan lacks greatly in the last year or two. So yes, solari ahead of zidan.
b) i wrote the game plan as i think it will be, juve will pressure us from their left side from the begining and they will score first. forget about us controlling the game in torin, please don't be naive, they might not have the "brain" of nedved in the game, but they have a much more powerful midfield then ours in terms of controling the game pace. i doubt we will control the game. i hope i'm wrong, but once juve score first, the pressure will be on our side. capello will have no problem in taking the game into a penalties shoot out.

 

forget about us controlling the game in torin, please don't be naive, they might not have the "brain" of nedved in the game, but they have a much more powerful midfield then ours in terms of controling the game pace. i doubt we will control the game.

Only problem is, this is exactly what you said ahead of the first leg.

And we all know how that turned out.

 

How do we only have a 40% chance of going through, exactly? I respect your opinion sagyv, but I strongly disagree with it. I would say we have a 75% chance of going through considering the fact we will probably score which means Juventus will need three goals to progress!

Exactly. We have to score just one (and i'm sure we will) and Juve will have to score 3, what's not likely.
I don't take the match as won already, but our chances are for sure much better than Juve's. Question is, can we take advantage of that.

 

Beckham is a Real injury doubt

ENGLAND captain David Beckham believes he could be doubtful for Real Madrid’s decisive Champions League clash against Juventus.

Beckham was substituted in the second half of his side’s 1-1 draw in Valencia which saw Barcelona, 1-0 victors over Osasuna, increase their lead over the Galacticos at the top of La Liga to eight points.

"Today I woke up and I could feel my back," said Beckham. " I didn’t have full movement before the game started. We’ll have to see how it is tomorrow and take it from there."

Barcelona, too, have injury problems ahead of their visit to Chelsea, with midfielder Rafael Marquez suffering a muscle strain in his right leg




sport.scotsman.com

 

also


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4322673.stm

 

Yeah!!

Let's hope Beckham can't play!

 

Zidane, Casillas, Figo and Gravesen were our best players in the first leg.

They, along with Ronaldo, will need to be on top form if we want to survive Turin and move onto the next round.

 

should be interesting. Juventus will be without 2 starting players in Nedved and Blasi. Nedved obviously the more serious as he is the key for juve. But has missed him for two games now and with del piero behind the forwards, it seems we are at least showing better form in terms of attacking.

I personally dont see juve going through. not scoring an away goal will do no favours at all. When you have the stars that Real do, its almost certain a goal will be scored in Turin. And i believe thats all you will need in the end, just an away goal.

I just hope that Del Piero, Zlatan and Trezeguet link up well and make it a better game than the last one. If juve go out, at least make it a good game for everyone to watch as such.

btw, i also thought zidane had a good game in the first leg.

 

Call me stupid, but I would really hope Beckham makes it! He has enough experience in the CL and we need his free-kicks and the winning formula in the first leg, his corners!

I'm really worried about playing Raul and Zidane as both havn't played for about 3 games and the thing is, they never perform well in the their first match after an injury, anyways lets hope I'm wrong

How should we play on Wednesday night? Play the ball to Ronaldo and hope for the best!


HALA MADRID :star:

 

How should we play on Wednesday night? Play the ball to Ronaldo and hope for the best!


HALA MADRID :star:

I Agree. But we need Guti for that. He somehow gives those perfect assists for R9. Just the way he likes them. And I really hope Raul or Owen makes it to game. Raul would be better. And beckham needs to sit down. Let RC or Zidane take those freekicks.

This game wille be fought on midfield, and we all know beckham can't handle that. And it's too much for gravy to handle on his own, so bring in Guti.

Btw good to see R9 showing some skills last night

 

Only problem is, this is exactly what you said ahead of the first leg.

And we all know how that turned out.

you're talking as if the game ended in a 5:0 win to madrid.
it was only 1:0.
let me remind you, the first 25 minutes with nedved, where all juve.
further more, in the 1st half stat, juve had more shots on goal then real madrid.
anyhow, maybe it's the beer, but i just don't remember us controling all the game for 90 minutes.

hey, and if when we win and i'm wrong, i'm always happy...

Btw, great news about beckham not playing...
Nothing personal against him...

 

Btw, as much i can understand from an AS translated page, guti just "backed up" my thoughts...
he said it is up to the trainer to decide who should play, but he thinks that logically, players that were fit and played in the last 14 days are wise choice then players coming back from injury, who are not in full shape because they didn't play the last games...

 

Yyyyyyyyyessssssssssssss Crapham Is Out!!!

Hala Madrid!!!

 

Call me stupid, but I would really hope Beckham makes it! He has enough experience in the CL and we need his free-kicks and the winning formula in the first leg, his corners!

And you're right. We will have a lot of troubles breaking Juve's defence and with Beckham's passes close to the box it could be much easier.
Without him it's possible, our strikers will be cut of or will rarely get a chance to score.
Obviously Juve knows, that 1 our goal in the match actually reduces their chances for the continuing of the CL to a minimum. They will close the space on their half perfectly and we won't come very close to their goal imo.

 

And you're right. We will have a lot of troubles breaking Juve's defence and with Beckham's passes close to the box it could be much easier.
Without him it's possible, our strikers will be cut of or will rarely get a chance to score.

gimme a break here...
who is exactly suppose to head this balls? ronaldo who is terrible in the air or raul who just come back from injury?
guti and solari has a much better vision for in game passes then beckham and they both have a quality which he don't have - technical ability. the ability to actual dribble the ball passed someone and not loose or pass the ball back.
the only thing he is maybe better then those two is his work rate. guti some can be "lazy" in games, but in terms of dangerous to juve, he is much more then beckham.
and please don't bring the FK situation, beckham have not been doing well in this area also, and our team has, let me see, RC, zidan, figo, solari and even ronaldo covering this area.

 

I hope Raul/Owen are fit :scared:

have a bad feeling we will need to score at Juve and having players of that ability with experience at every level of the game is a plus in my book. :thmbup:

 

I agree that we will need to score at Juve, but I don't see why that can't be done. All the reservations that people have for this leg are pretty much the same ones they had for the last leg but that turned out okay.

I never expected Real (or Juve) to put the series away in one game. It was always going to take two games worth of effort so as long as Real has the same play during this next leg, Juve will be hard pressed to advance.

 

I will feel much more comfortable seeing Guti with gravy then becks. Last match in Real we played good, but we somehow lost the battle of midfield (which isn't a suprise with becks) when Nedved was in. I just hope the strikers can make it. R9 needs some assistance.

btw I can't watch the game. The first game of RM that I won't be watchnig this season I have an exam. Maybe I can make it to watch the last 15 minutes

 

This is the big game, the game that will put us really up there or really down. The game that will determine wether some players stay or go. 'The hurricane' is what im gonna call it. Its win or lose. 90 minutes.

This game cannot get any better, we saw a great "first half" of football. More like 'White football'. Zizou and co. gave a lesson to juve, but only managed a 1-0 win.

The Spinal cord is the most important element of this game: Ikerman, 'El Ogro', Zizou y 'el fenomeno'. These 4 need to have the game of there lives, if they all do, the game is in the bag, especially if Ronaldo can give his big game like he did at Old Trafford with his hat-trick. Real Madrid needs to also count on Raul, the guy gives something to the team, since his injury, the team hasnt been the same. If he gives that psycholigcal boost to the players, not sure but sure there is something special he gives to the team, something that might be seen in the dressing room...

I think we will give Juve another lesson of football, and we will go through. We cannot loose there again, i say if we get a PK, give it to Zizou.

HALA MADRID! Y TODOS LOS MADRIDISTAS!

P.S. I actually want Chelsea to get eliminated tomorrow. I hate Barca but i want to meet them and eliminate them........ :fero:

 

everyone will be fit for the game.

 

everyone will be fit for the game.

Go Woody

 

Go Woody

loool. shit. I forgot that one.

 

everyone will be fit for the game.

Fo sure? even crapham?