page 8 says inter wins 3-0

3/11/2008 1:49:36 PM

any betters on torres getting another hat trick?

3/11/2008 1:51:15 PM

I'm guessing 1-1 today.... Inter scores first, and while they're pushing for the 2nd, Torres gives them the dagger

3/11/2008 2:27:58 PM

i hope this game isnt boring...

3/11/2008 2:30:26 PM

if Inter put as much energy into playing as they do appealing for fouls... they may have scored by now

3/11/2008 3:13:38 PM

haha, classic italian league banter...this is why i never watch the serie a

3/11/2008 3:14:14 PM

Inter got real cute with their passes before Kuyt nailed that dude in the sac.

3/11/2008 3:20:32 PM

Inter has had about 20 injuries so far

3/11/2008 3:26:25 PM

im pretty sure i jinxed this game with my comment earlier

3/11/2008 3:27:09 PM

it isn't as boring as it would be if the Italian team was the one protecting the 2-0 lead... at least Liverpool are attempting SOME attack

3/11/2008 3:28:06 PM

wow, once again they got cute, if cruz i think it was lets that ball through, its 1-0 inter with a player right behind him who wouldve slotted that in

3/11/2008 3:29:09 PM

HAHAHA GET OFF THE FIELD BURDISSO

GET OUT OF THE CHAMPS LEAGUE ITALIAN TEAMS

ONLY ROMA TO GO NOW

3/11/2008 3:52:31 PM

That was an awesome sendoff for Burdisso.

3/11/2008 3:53:31 PM

i hope liverpool at least attack a bit with the man advantage, and not play super defense


yikes, apparently the only goal that might be scored from this game is off defensive error. this is a sloppy boring game, COME ON ONE OF YOU TEAMS

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 3:59 PM. Reason : j]

3/11/2008 3:57:08 PM

This game will finish 9 on 8.

3/11/2008 4:02:58 PM

theres Torres, there go inter


PEACE!

3/11/2008 4:05:30 PM

TORRREESSS!! See ya Inter

3/11/2008 4:05:35 PM

First time ever that 4 English teams have gone through to the quarterfinals

3/11/2008 4:06:54 PM

god, so this is the inter milan that people have been talking about being so great...i havent been impressed with them one bit. they prob made more complaints to the ref this game than total goals theyve scored in the competition


gerrard shouldve made it 2-0 just now

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 4:10 PM. Reason : d]

3/11/2008 4:08:18 PM

stankovic was lucky he didnt get sent off too, that game was boring as hell

3/11/2008 4:39:03 PM

i really hope the 4 english teams get paired with each other

3/11/2008 4:45:36 PM

more like STANKovic

3/11/2008 4:48:27 PM

Vieira should just hang up the boots

3/11/2008 4:50:25 PM

Quote :

"i really hope the 4 english teams get paired with each other"

I definitely want to see Arsenal-Chelsea or Chelsea-ManYoo -- so it guarantees one of them out and I'm tired of seeing freaking Chelsea-Liverpool in CL

3/11/2008 4:51:42 PM

YNWA

3/11/2008 7:12:33 PM

Arsenal/ManU/Liverpool/Chelsea Semifinals

3/11/2008 8:19:59 PM

[NO]

3/11/2008 8:20:54 PM

[YES]

that would be a dream semifinal, the epl is the best league to watch in terms of action. might as well have some more Big 4 games

3/11/2008 8:21:48 PM

man, you guys should watch some more soccer

3/11/2008 8:22:31 PM

oh i do, italian league is on fsw, and its boring as hell and the players are far too dramatic.

3/11/2008 8:27:08 PM

ronaldo fans aren't allowed to make that statment

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 8:29 PM. Reason : ]

3/11/2008 8:27:38 PM

ronaldo has cut that back a lot...but you dont see a jamie carragher going down crying, rolling around, and gettin pissed when the ref ignores him dive...

you will however see this from the likes of way too many players in serie a.

3/11/2008 8:31:08 PM

to put that on one league is ridiculous...

3/11/2008 8:32:16 PM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wcCw9RHI5mc

3/11/2008 8:35:36 PM

fiorentina advances to the uefa cup quarters after downing everton in a shootout

3/12/2008 5:26:32 PM

sucks for everton, they were dominating. i hate pk's to end games, always have, always will. honestly, i liked how the mls had that 1v1 shootout thing they had a few years ago...there was more skill involved in that than guessing

3/12/2008 5:34:22 PM

aha we did that 1v1. in club for a season

3/12/2008 5:58:26 PM

i used to do that with my gk coach back in high school

3/12/2008 6:04:03 PM

see, I always hated the 1v1 thing the MLS did. in fact, i think it actually alienated true soccer fans and kept them from ever gaining interest in the league. i still remember the very first MLS game that went into a 1v1 shootout. it was ridiculous. i think each team had to go through all 11 players before they decided a winner.

3/12/2008 6:50:32 PM

as opposed to penalty kicks? i really wish fifa would get rid of the penalty kick, unless under certain situations(i.e. hand ball stoppin the ball goin over the line, gk taking out the last man in the box, bad tackle that hinders a clear shot opportunity). most PKs called piss me off cause its a player who might be on the side of the box area and gets taken down, where the best he was gonna do was barely get a cross in or the ball would roll out of bounds...but now he gives his team an easy chance to score

the penalty kick just doesnt weigh out with most of the fouls committed in the box

3/12/2008 7:03:03 PM

That's leaving a lot of interpretation to the center official (was this a definite goal scoring opportunity, etc) which will inevitably lead to more complaining.

I've always thought the best solution is either a) move the PK back closer to the top of the box or b) add officials behind each goal

3/12/2008 7:31:51 PM

adding officials would be the best for the overall game..ive always felt there should be 2 refs that patrol each half...but from sounds around the world, it doesnt appear there would be enough refs to support adding more officials

3/12/2008 7:36:00 PM

As a referee, I would say that the current system is pretty close to ideal. Fouls in the box have to be harder and more clear than regular fouls just because they're in the box to warrant calling it. Most referees make sure they're 100% sure there was a foul before they call it. Fouls that happen in the box are not always called just because they're in the penalty area. It's developed into a fairly decent process. Of course it will always be subject to human error just as every sport is, but overall it's mostly fair.

PKs are a different story. It's mostly a system designed to assuredly end a game. If two teams can play through 120 minutes without a side being declared a winner, then there must be some other way to determine one. It would be hard to justify playing anymore time just because the players are so tired from playing that long and PKs are a logical choice. It involves goalkeeper skill and composure in front of goal. Despite the fact that it's easy to score goals, it's incredibly fair to both sides.

3/13/2008 2:22:59 AM

^ agreed on all accounts

3/13/2008 2:02:10 PM

Yeah, but because penalties are almost always going to be converted into a goal... winning a PK is sometimes more important to players than trying to score during the run of play. Even if referees correctly spot every foul in the box and disregard every flop, the quality of play will suffer because even if there's a remote chance a player can steal a PK and get a goal, it will still happen.

That's why I think moving it back would be more effective

3/13/2008 2:36:36 PM

I'd say that causes defenders to play tighter and less sloppy near the goal. If PKs were made harder then I would expect to see more defenders being more careless around goal and even taking people down on purpose to prevent a goal from being scored in the normal run of play. Kind of like when someone has a wide open lay-up in basketball and a defender fouls them to prevent the easy basket. I really wouldn't like to see that happen where defenders are given more leeway because most games already favor the defenders. As much as I hate diving, I think a system that the SPL(?) has where they can review a game and if a player takes a dive they suspend or fine him or whatever would work better. Penalties really aren't as sure of a thing as you make them out to be. I'd say they're converted around 75% of the time which is a good percentage for what they're supposed to be for, I think.

P.S. I was pretty drunk when I wrote that other post. Surprised it came out so well.

3/13/2008 4:11:51 PM

The reviewing fine/suspension policy works great for professionals -- but I'm also including the increasing trend in high school/higher level classic play to simulate fouls. It's extremely irritating as an official in these higher level games to see kids imitating pros and diving around the box looking for calls.

3/13/2008 4:42:36 PM

I agree. That's why I try to get a good idea of what kind of style a player has early in the game to help with making calls like that. It helps to have good ARs too.

3/13/2008 8:44:33 PM

which seem to be a rarity round these parts

3/13/2008 9:52:25 PM

Quarter-finals

Ties to be played April 1 or 2 and 8 or 9

Arsenal v Liverpool

AS Roma v Manchester United

Schalke 04 v Barcelona

Fenerbahce v Chelsea

Semi-finals

Arsenal/Liverpool v Fenerbahce/Chelsea

Schalke/Barcelona v Roma/Man Utd

3/14/2008 9:43:38 AM