UEFA Champions League 2012–13

[Asghar Agha]

Lol ur the one makin it a big deal. Here in US its common many ppl like irish italian and others came here generations ago and some still say they are from such and such and are proud of it. Some others not really. Personally i would hope we all pass down our culture many genrations. It all depends on the family
Anyway lets not turn this thread into something else

lol
but more serious, it's interesting that you guys in your continent will always talk about your origins; something that we do not see in Europe.

[Asghar Agha]

I have the feeling that RM will win this year.

[PouriaAkaBarut]

Madrid keeps bragging about 9 CL titles but 5 were won in 1950s where the competition was not what it is today. In the past 40 years they've won it 3 times

I had the same argument with a well respect RM fan and he made a good point saying that saying that in 50's the competition wasn't seen as "less tougher". So we can't really say they didn't deserve it. Who's maybe in 10years they might even make it tougher .. does this mean that Barcelona did not deserve it in the previous years ?

[palangheTM]

[EKBATAN]

is that ferdowsipoor? lol didnt know he was a juve fan

[EKBATAN]

I had the same argument with a well respect RM fan and he made a good point saying that saying that in 50's the competition wasn't seen as "less tougher". So we can't really say they didn't deserve it. Who's maybe in 10years they might even make it tougher .. does this mean that Barcelona did not deserve it in the previous years ?

no im not arguing the level of toughness in that decade, i personally dont think that this current era is necesarilly the best. i have seen some great football from back in the day too. what i mean is if u look at the teams that participated in that competition back then alot of them are unknown teams now lol...im just not sure how serious this competition was and 50s decade was right after the world wars where there was a hault in international competitions so football was on its way back up. Not saying they didnt deserve it but its kinda like the boston celtics winning like 8 titles in 1 decade back in the day where they were the only good team lol

[radin119]

loooool what is that pic of adel

[palangheTM]

Ibrahimovic cleared to face Barcelona ban is reduced from two to one

[Asghar Agha]

Ibrahimovic cleared to face Barcelona ban is reduced from two to one

I just saw it in the news. Excellent news.

[Akit]

Real will have a tough match with Galatasaray. Turkish teams can be very unpredictable and you never want to play away in Turkey

[PSGman#19]

I just saw it in the news. Excellent news.

Good news for barcelona

[palangheTM]

Quarter-Finals 1st leg

23.15 IRAN | 20.45 CET | 11.45 PST | 14.45 EST


Tuesday 2 April 2013



Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona

Parc Des Princes







Allianz-Arena











23.15 IRAN | 20.45 CET | 11.45 PST | 14.45 EST


Wednesday 3 April 2013


Malaga vs Borussia Dortmund

Estadio La Rosaleda




Real Madrid vs Galatasaray

......

[palangheTM]

‘You have no balls!’ - the definitive list of Ibrahimovic’s insults at Barcelona






The PSG striker has had some choice words for Barca and their former coach since leaving the Blaugrana - some of the scathing jibes between the two parties

By KS Leong

When Paris Saint-Germain were paired with Barcelona during the draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have experienced mixed emotions. Being one of the favourites to win the competition, the Blaugrana were the team most sides were desperate to avoid. However, more importantly for the powerful attacker, the tie means a chance to get his revenge over Barca.

After successful spells with Ajax, Juventus and Inter, Ibrahimovic opted to join Barcelona in the summer of 2009 in the hunt for the one major title still missing on his resume: the Champions League.

Things were not meant to be for the 31-year-old at Camp Nou, however, as he failed to live up to the high expectations in Catalunya. After just one season at Barca, Ibrahimovic moved on again as he returned to Serie A to ply his trade with AC Milan after falling out with Pep Guardiola.

Ever since his departure from Camp Nou in the summer of 2010, the Swedish striker has fired numerous verbal attacks at his former employers and their ex-coach. Zlatan's tirades towards Barcelona in the past have certainly done their part in adding another dimension of excitement to the encounter between PSG and the Liga giants.

The striker was unable to get his revenge against Barca with Milan last term, but he will be desperate to make amends this time around and guide Paris Saint-Germain to the semi-finals.

Below, charts the war of words between Ibrahimovic's camp and Barcelona's circle.

"Jose Mourinho is a big star ... he's cool. Mourinho is Guardiola's opposite. If Mourinho brightens up the room, Guardiola pulls down the curtains and I guessed that Guardiola now tried to measure himself with Mourinho."

– Ibrahimovic takes a jab at Pep by praising his closest rival and suggesting that the Barca coach was a 'Special One' wanna-be.

"It was a childhood dream [to join Barcelona] and I was walking on air. It started well but then Messi started to talk. He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed."

– The big Swede recounts how it all went pear shaped for him at Camp Nou.



- Ibra hails Leo, but spills the beans on how the Argentine had to be the team's main goalscorer.

"I told him [Guardiola] what a friend had said to me - 'you bought a Ferrari but drive it like a Fiat'. The chat seemed to go well but then Guardiola started to freeze me out."

- Zlatan must have realised then that Pep was neither a Ferrari nor a Fiat fan.
"Barca players were banned from driving their sports cars to training. I thought this was ridiculous - it was no one's business what car I drive - so in April, before a match with Almeria, I drove my Ferrari Enzo to work. It caused a scene."

– Ibra admitting that he was the bad boy in the classroom.

"I felt like crap when I was sitting in the locker room with Guardiola staring at me like I was an annoying distraction, an outsider. It was nuts. He was a wall, a stone wall. I didn’t get any sign of life from him and I was wishing myself away every moment with the team. Then Guardiola started his philosopher thing. I was barely listening. Why would I? It was advanced bullsh*t about blood, sweat and tears, that kind of stuff."

- Zlatan disclosing Guardiola's training and coaching methods that have won Barcelona 13 trophies in less than three years.


Focus Ibra, focus | Zlatan only interested in Pep's bald head and not the advanced bullsh*it

"If you have a problem with me, it's up to you to solve your problem. You are the leader, you are the coach. You can't have a good dialogue with 20 people, and then with the 21st, you look away. In my book, a great coach solves his problems. A small-time coach runs from them."

– Winning an unprecedented six trophies in one season - his debut season - wasn't enough to make Pep a big-time coach in Ibra's eyes.

"People say he [Guardiola] won six trophies, they are the best team in the world. I could have coached that team. With a squad like that, you should win, no doubt about it. They can play without a coach. They can have four out injured and still win, that's how good they are."

– Zlatan has high praise for his former Barca team-mates, but still no gold stars for Guardiola.

"He reminds me a bit of Mahatma Gandhi when he is preparing his team in his talks in the locker room."

- Ibrahimovic describing Guardiola's approach to locker room team talks.

"Guardiola wants to be perfect in public. Tiger Woods wanted to be perfect too, but nobody is."

- First Pep was Gandhi, now he's Tiger Woods.

"I had done a lot to adapt - the Barca players were like schoolboys, following the coach blindly, whereas I was used to asking 'why?' I like guys who run red lights, not pedantic and strict rules. So I tried to be overly nice, didn't dare lose my temper."

- Ibra didn't do very well in the end in his attempts not to lose his temper.

"Guardiola was staring at me and I lost it. I thought ‘there is my enemy, scratching his bald head!’. I yelled to him: ‘You have no balls!’ and probably worse things than that."

– The argument that took place in the locker room between Ibra and Pep after Barcelona's Champions League semi-final clash with Inter in 2010.

"You are sh*tting yourself because of Jose Mourinho. You can go to hell!" – Ibra continues his rant at Guardiola after claiming the Barca coach had "no balls!".
"I threw a box full of training gear across the room, it crashed to the floor and Pep said nothing, just put stuff back in the box. I'm not violent, but if I were Guardiola I would have been frightened."

– Guardiola taking the Gandhi approach to responding to verbal assaults and physical threats.

"He threatened to beat Guardiola in public. He said 'if you do not let me go I will paste him in front of the press'".

– Barcelona's corporate vice-president Carles Vilarrubi reveals just how "not violent" Ibra was.
"Ibra never really got on the same page as the rest of the team. Signing him was a mistake."

- Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta admits he made the wrong move bringing the big Swede to Camp Nou.

"Laporta said that they made a mistake when they signed me? That's not what he said before he signed me."

- Ibra takes a shot at the man who brought him to Camp Nou.

"There was only one person [at Barcelona] who wanted to get rid of me. I have never had problems with any coach before during my career. But suddenly I had a thousand problems and I had no communication with ‘the Philosopher’. No communication whatsoever. I don’t know what his problem was. I am 28-years-old and cannot afford to lose a year sitting on the bench and watching the weather."

- Ibra takes a shot at the man who forced him out of Camp Nou.

"The president said: 'Which club do you want to join?' I replied: 'Madrid.' Rosell replied: 'That is not possible. You can go anywhere but there.'"

- Did Ibrahimovic really think Barca would let him join Real, or was he just testing Rosell's patience?
"I want you to know that this is the worst piece of business I have conducted in my life."
- Barcelona president Sandro Rosell to AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani and Ibrahimovic's agent Mino Raiola upon finalising the striker's move to the Rossoneri, to which Ibra replied:
"It's the result of bad leadership."

I Am Zlatan | Ibra and Guardiola never could see eye to eye

“[I have] nothing to say. There was nothing personal. I just want to thank him for the year he gave us where we reached 99 points [in La Liga]. He played, he proved his quality and helped us reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. There is nothing more to say.”

– Guardiola deciding not to air his side of the story in the fractious relationship with Ibra, choosing instead to thank him.

"Before Ibrahimovic came here [to Barcelona] I thought he was a fantastic player. After getting to know him, I think he is even more fantastic."

- Guardiola praising his former striker despite being ripped apart in the player's book. Or is this just Pep appearing "perfect in public"?

"You have to get more out of the qualities you have. You have to be effective, especially if you come to a big club from another country. That is one of the details Ibrahimovic must learn because if you lose the ball as a forward in Italy it makes no difference. But if you lose the ball as a forward at Barcelona you're the first one to get running."

- Johan Cruyff, who first criticised Ibra as having "bad technique for a good player" when the striker was first at Ajax, maintains his stance on the Swede during his Barca stint.

“Why didn’t Cruyff tell Zlatan that he wasn’t suited to Spanish football before Barcelona signed him? I think Cruyff should be in a mental asylum with Guardiola, so they can sit there quietly and play cards together. They would be doing Barcelona a great favour.”

– Mino Raiola, Ibrahimovic's agent, hits back at Johan and throws Pep under the bus (or into the asylum) for good measure.

"If you don’t play a footballer after spending €65 million, then you should be sent to a mental hospital."

– Raiola really wants Guardiola in that asylum.

[palangheTM]

'I went to bed with the Old Lady' - Heynckes

The Bayern boss eased the pressure on his side by approaching the pre-match presser light-heartedly, but assured fans he has been doing extensive homework ahead of the clash
Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has given an insight as to how he has prepared for the Champions League quarter-final match against Juventus.

The Bavarians currently dominate the Bundesliga with a 20-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, while the Bianconeri

[EKBATAN]

man im nervous...this is THE most important game we've had in years. I'm happy we got full squad, confidence and Conte got tricks up his sleeve. I'm hoping its a good game with a flow, not harsh with tackles and such.

FORZA JUVE!