ioag
"He" didn't have the toughest of paths to the semi though did he?

BTW, I appreciate you checking on what's up with me.

Nope. We battered them in the States in preseason this year though.

I hate playing Mourinho's teams. Our record against them is crap.

We've only beaten them twice. Once in the league and once in the CL when he was at Inter.

I'd like to see you guys play them in the CL.

Only if we hammer them. The mere thought of his smug face after them beating us is too much to bear.


Nicely balanced article by Barney Ronay in the Grauniad (I thought):
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/apr/30/chelsea-atletico-madrid-champions-league

Only bit I don't really get is "They are an inspiring team built from parts and off-cuts and a core of excellent mature Spanish players."

It's wrong on many counts, esp the mature Spanish core.

First, the core isn't all that Spanish if you consider men like Godin, Miranda, Tiago, but yeah there are quite a few of them.

Mature however, it seems like a polite way of saying 'old(ish)', though he might simply mean experienced, but even sticking to the Spanish theme it's still misleading:

The oldest Spaniard in the squad is reserve keeper Aranzubia, and just 2 others have already hit 30:
Villa's 32, and captain Gabi - missing last night - is 30.

Then come Juanfran (29), Raul Garcia & Mario Suarez (27), Adrian (26), Diego Costa (yeah, I know, but 25 fwiw), Koke (22) and Manquillo (19).

Anyhow, having watched them now for a full season and seen some of the players who've stepped up at key moments, I'd like to invite those who thought their squad was too thin to take another look at it. They could certainly do with better cover in some positions (e.g. LB, striker), but all in all the squad's v nicely balanced and has plenty of different options.

No one expected them to be where they are at this stage in the season and it's a massive achievement imo, but they were always fancied to be much closer to the big 2 in Spain than anyone else in a long time.

I must admit, I didn't think they had the squad to keep the pace. I know what you're saying but haven't they used quite a small amount of players this season? Correct me if I'm wrong.

It'll be a marvellous achievement if they win La Liga and the CL. I don't know about you but I think winning La Liga would be the bigger achievement. I tipped them at the start to be dark horses for the tournament given what they're capable of against the best teams, and they've shown exactly why they were the last second seed we wanted - most of our fans wanted them over PSG - but keeping pace in La Liga I thought would be beyond them at the start.

Glad I was wrong on that count because it's refreshing to see someone other than the big two in Spain.

another comeback by valencia on the cards

valencia are back level on agg already

henrik

juve will beat them in the final anyway

You wish Peks. Just need to hang on now!!

Okay, that hurts

sevilla v benfica in the final

valencia last kick of the match too

Wummy

Season has been a bloody disaster on all fronts. Even my local team here has been flirting with relegation since the start of the season! The takeover issue at Valencia isn't the most uplifting either. ugh!

Peks

Sod off Sevilla

Si ser sexy fuese un delito, te pasarías la vida en la cárcel

Unlucky Wummy. It was for the greater good though.

Bielsa has been appointed as the manager of Marseille.

casillas in goal against espanyol and valladolid

madrid priorities as usual are CL over La Liga

Diego Lopez never mind son

When choosing between those 2 I can't imagine there's much reason to think they'll let you down. It's not like choosing between blades and pinto

The top-bottom divide in the PL seems to be getting bigger every season, we could have 6-7 teams finish on around 70 points or more (unheard of) with the same amount finishing on 30-something points. The ease with which the top teams can pick up points against the bottom half is surely not good preparation for tough European ties where they have to be prepared to play as the underdog. There seems to be a lack of emphasis on defence as well, with a spate of high-scoring big games in recent years and poor defensive records in general.

#forthplaceisatrophy