The official Champions League 2011-2012 thread

[Kitsondinho]

Messi is just light years ahead of any player that I have seen in the last 40 years, and that includes Maradona, Cruyff, Platini, Moore, Beckenbauer, the real Ronaldo. I think Pele still shades it because of what he has accomplished at the international level.

Anyway, Messi's finishing last night was just nuts. The speed of thought and touch for the fourth after the one-two and save by the keeper was just astonishing. One-on-one with the keeper, you can always expect the left-foot scoop, so he then goes and dinks one in with the right!

The guy could end up with 60+ goals this season!

Fwiw the European record is 66 (Hungary) followed by Dixie Dean's 63.

Whilst having a look at this I found (and remembered) Mario Jardel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1rio_Jardel

166 goals in 169 games for Porto, 34 in 43 for Galatasaray and 67 in 62 for Sporting, he only played 10 times for Brazil.

He was shit at Bolton!

[FiNeRaIn]

Pele is a bit of a cock, he said something to the effect of " when he scores over 1,200 goals and wins three world cups, then ill talk about him"...wtf? What a shocking lack of class and football brain for a supposed legend. First off I bet messi has trebled his assists...and winning three world cups also requires the rest of your international team-mates to be of that standard....Argentina are good but he has had nowhere near the team-mates pele did at that time. Poor comment.

[Royal Rother]

Who reported he said that? Doesn't sound like the guy I've heard interviewed in the past.

If he did say that then he's a bit of a twat, which would be a shame.

[FiNeRaIn]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17297792

"When Messi has scored 1,283 goals like me, when he's won three World Cups, we'll talk about it." - Pele.

Thoughts now RR?

[Royal Rother]

He's a bit of a twat.

Which is a shame.

[sandman]

He's also a bit right.

[quote="FiNeRaInArgentina are good but he has had nowhere near the team-mates pele did at that time. Poor comment.[/quote]

No he doesn't have the same quality of team mates with Argentina that Pele had in his playing days with Brazil. He also doesn't have the same quality of players around him with Argentina as he has with Barcelona. Hence why he has struggled more at international level.

[Alan Partridge]

We're always hearing about what a great league the Premier is, but has it somehow slipped this year? Our teams have struggled not just in the Champions League but, of late, in the Europa. Maybe there have been signs in that the top clubs in the Prem get beat oftener than they used to. Should the likes of Napoli and Bilbao be finding the net repeatedly against our hallowed élite? How can our cream be so easily whipped?

The standard of pretty much all the teams apart from Man City and Spurs has gone down, plus how can a league be great if you know the top 6 before a ball is kicked? That's only increased to 6 from 4 because 2 sides have spent an absolute ton of cash on players. The standard is crap, ticket prices are a joke, the grounds are soulless it's a shit horrid league full of average players on massive money.

The spanish League is ok but lacks depth, it also lacks atmosphere due to a complete lack of away fans. Barca and Real are the 2 best sides in the world so they are always worth watching but outside of them it's not a great league.

Italian League zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The best LEAGUE for me is the German League. It's affordable, grounds are modern but a lot of them are still unique, the football is competitive and while Bayern would be favourites pretty much every year they aren't guaranteed to win it. Tickets are cheap, and the atmospheres are far > any other top league in Europe.

[Ark Royal]

Pele has always been a bit full of himself when this debate is on, but he can back it up. He single-handedly destroyed England in 62 and 64 and was trying stuff during Mexico 70 at the very height of international competition that was just from another planet: playing 1-2s off Bobby Moore's legs, instant volleys back from the centre circle, shots from his own half and the outrageous dummy against Uruguay in the semi-final, the like of which I have not seen since. He was the driving force in a Brazil team that had a wonderful front six, but arguably the worst back four and keeper - the woeful Felix - of any World Cup-winning team.

Messi is an astonishing player of sublime ability, but he still has doubters at international level; but he is still only 24. Frightening.

[Silver Fox]

When Messi scores an overhead kick while nursing broken ribs against the nazis then we can talk

[Simon's Church]

A 7-1 and a 7-0 in the space of a week, the fact that there is still such gulf in class is a bit ridiculous.

[Silver Fox]

Didn't Basel beat Man U? #bestleagueintheworld

[Maguire]

Pele should shut his chops. If Pro Evo had been around in the 70s he would've added all his goals on that to his tally too.

[sandman]

Madrid 1-0 up against CSKA at HT Higuain with the goal.

[Friday's Legacy]

chelsea back to 3-3 leading 2-0, enough to go through.

as i write that napoli get the away goal. bang on!

[Whore Jackie]

Ding dong at Stamford Bridge

[sandman]

2-0 Madrid, Ronaldo. Mistake from the keeper.

[sandman]

3-0 Benzema.

Edit 3-1

[Hoop Blah]

Cracking game going on at the Bridge, and a hell of a penalty from Lampard to draw Chelsea level.

[sandman]

Casillas having a 'mare and Marcelo showing his shockingly bad defensive "skills" in Madrid.

[paultheroyal]

Cracking game going on at the Bridge, and a hell of a penalty from Lampard to draw Chelsea level.

Agreed. Hope Chelsea go on to win.