Barbara

FML why would I be anxious... having butterflies in my stomach for a friendly match? That's the power of two giants clashing. Also I've been expecting this matchup since we were both in the UCL SF last season. I'm growing crazy (and swollen on the face because of the surgery) at the second!!!!! Can't 10pm be here already?

Eden Hazard is a gem!!!!! By far my fave Belgian ever born!!!!!! x

the 2:00 mark goal, not even Messi did that dribble. Thanks a lot for the vid

I don't think he has the personality to be either. But I do hope he stays a long time with us

I think no one will come... as they shouldn't

10pm match for me Not complaining at all. But I'm anxious as heck I would love us to win. I don't think it adds to RM to beat us - especially if they're with their first time (or close to that) and we're some mixed team. But I think it would mean a lot for us to beat them. As everyone is giving lineups, I'll give my two cents, that aren't as good as 2 and a half, but still. What I think we should play Cech Azpili - Cahill - Terry - Cole Ramires - van Ginkel Kevin - Oscar - Hazard Torres This way we have Moses, Ivanovic, Mata, Lamps (if fit), Lukaku and Schürrle for the second [ps. I come undone with the depth of this squad, it's orgasmic] What I think Mourinho will do Cech Ivan - Cahill - Terry - Bertrand Ramires - van Ginkel Schürrle - Mata - Hazard Torres

you change avatars as much as I do I'm a RM fan since I was 16 and trust me, that was looooooooong ago I love most of the players there, I really dislike some of the and their attitude and Florentino Peréz is crazy

hey, Raphael, thanks a lot for that, it was only better than Nour's part I bolded. I feel like my opinion counts! yes, dear, come and tell me how much I'm not a decent RM fan as well. It was so hard to answer those questions around here. Should have asked my brother to answer instead! Humpf, next time we face RM, Inter or Flamengo - who knows? - I'll edit: or in a completely change of mind, send me your questions, your worst ones, I'll use my wit

I like your name so much! Perfect just the way it is

you're brilliant, mate. That's all

^^ Thanks for that, Jay. I really like this from Kevin: 'If you see a couple of goals that we scored it's really that... you see what we practiced at training comes back during the game." Mourinho is known to practice a lot of drills by zones and by a combo of two different positions. So he practices drills between wingers and full backs; between CB and DM; between DM and the rest of the midfield; between AM and strikers; between FB (attacking) and strikers. There are chemistry drills, but there are also what we called in Portuguese (don't know the name in English) 'rehearsed [or practiced] play' which the squad practices a lot to try to see it happen also in the match, but their movement and actions are decided by the manager (it's not about becoming familiar with each other, but executing what the manager decided should be the play). So for example when a winger or a FB crosses the ball in the box, the striker or the other AM know where to position themselves because that's how they practiced. Or when during a corner or a free kick the one taking it puts in a place where one of the other guys should be, or passes it to a player that will assist a third one. Or during the attack where to position himself compared to the opposition defence and where to move the moment of the pass, etc... We can see that clearly during last match. After Torres tripped on the ball, he infiltrates in the box (you even have this shot in the vid above). André positions himself behind Torres waiting for the pass, it's funny because you see him taking a mid-step ahead, but then he sort of retreats that one half step... it's like he wanted to move forward, but then decided to stay there (although that could also be a case of what in sports training it's called imminence [which is one of the rules to improve pace and reach through pro-activeness and brain training because you're preparing your body to sprint instead of reacting and surprising your muscles and brain, so you're just ready to sprint - or jump, or whatever - and those milliseconds actually improve your speed or depending on the situation your timing to meet whatever you have to meet]). If you look a bit to the side Mata is doing sort of the same movement. One may say it's a coincidence or just the natural thing to a football player to do, but then we see André moving forward to position himself to either do a 2-1 or to expect a stray ball from a potential rebound from the goalkeeper. This is all trained on practices. Those guys spend about 20 minutes (according to Mourinho and Faria, as of course, I've never watched a training session led by Mourinho, but I've read and watched plenty about their training routines) practicing that kind of thing. Then the chemistry is the part where they naturally move to certain positions and they got used to each other's movement and the 'rehearsed plays' are the ones where Mourinho defines where they should move to if that situation presents to them. We see Mourinho celebrating the 4th goal against Indonesia (the one Bertrand takes the free kick). Cahill who is behind the penalty mark assists Terry with a header. Why would Mourinho celebrate a goal (showing a #1 on his hand btw) - the fourth nonetheless - against such a weak side? Because it's yet another play they practiced and could convert into goals in a match. Mourinho said in one of his interviews (I guess already in the US) that they had scored goals they practiced... and now Kevin is repeating it. It's important to practice those things, not only the free ones where the players just get familiar with each other's movement, but also the ones the manager set up for them and decide where they should position. Those small details are crucial because sometimes they win us the match, it's one more thing to add to our game and I really am happy when I hear that they're scoring from plays they practiced. That's the way to go, and that's one of the things that make Mourinho The Special One.

am I the only to think he didn't say it in a bad way? I've watched the interview - don't know if you had read or watched - and it was so clear he meant to clarify which Ronaldo he was talking about instead of jabbing Cris. Sometimes I feel like the press twist words and take things out of proportion. So when he says the real one I see it as a simple clarification about which Ronaldo he was talking. now let's supposed his intention was ill... is the name (or word) Ronaldo some sort of special thing? Let's suppose he did really meant to say the brazilian Ronaldo is the real Ronaldo? How does that even make sense and supposing it does, what does one being the real Ronaldo add to their career or reputation? Yeah, exactly, nothing. So he wasn't belittling Cris or exalting Ronaldo, he was just clarifying which Ronaldo he meant. As if being a real Ronaldo or a wanna-be-Ronaldo makes any difference... also Ronaldo's name is Ronaldo, whereas Ronaldo is only Cris' middle name, so someone could even look at it this way, that the real Ronaldo is the one named Ronaldo, not the one with the middle name Ronaldo - but even that is stretching it imo... he just want to put them apart.

Chelsea will play Real Madrid in the International Champions final this Wednesday. It’s a rare event when Chelsea face the Spanish force from Madrid - in official matches, it has only happened three times! Tomorrow the two giants will play each other again, and even if it’s only a friendly it might be more than usual the pre-season game. The match is going to be played in ungodly hours in Europe – 2am UK time (9pm local time) – but still many fans will probably lose part of their sleep during a weekday to see the clash between José Mourinho against his former team – the same being true to Carlo Ancelotti against Chelsea. Yet whilst Ancelotti left Chelsea over two years ago, the Portuguese has only just left the Spanish side and his exit was surrounded by locker room issues, media wars and mixed feelings between Real Madrid fans. It’s fair to say nobody knows this Real Madrid squad better than the Blues manager. Except for the new signings arriving this summer, Mourinho has worked with that squad for the past three seasons. The Special One said he’ll keep the strategy used so far in Chelsea’s pre-season which means he’ll use a different team for each half of the match. So fans expecting to see Chelsea on full throttle may have to wait until the last pre-season match – against Roma next Saturday – or even the Premier League debut against Hull City on August 18. The Opposition Chelsea have done well against Spanish teams in official matches (W15, D11, L9). As aforementioned, Real Madrid have been managed by José Mourinho for the last three seasons, giving the Portuguese an advantage. But Carlo Ancelotti has already been changing the philosophy and style left by the Portuguese, and even though Mourinho knows most of the players, they may present something different to Chelsea. Ancelotti is invested in recovering Kaká – who was mostly overlooked by José – and has used the Brazilian in both matches for the International Champions Cup. Madrid have hardly operated under the radar this summer; bringing in players such as attacking midfielder Isco, defender Daniel Carbajal and defensive midfielder Asier Illarramendi. Isco has done remarkably well in previous matches - in particular against LA Galaxy - but against Premier League opposition in Everton (whom Madrid faced earlier on in the competition), he hardly set the world alight. Ancelotti’s team is more focused on ball retention and possession than Mourinho's counter-attacking ploy, yet with di María’s speed, Özil’s and Isco’s assists and Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals, they will no doubt prove lethal should they break at any opposition. It’s going to be a good test for Chelsea’s defence, but Real Madrid should feel the same way about Blues’ attacking force with Kevin de Bruyne, Mata, Hazard, Moses, Oscar, Schürrle, Lukaku, Ba and Torres. The Teams Chelsea Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Mark Schwarzer, Henrique HilárioDefenders: Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, John Terry, César Azpilicueta, Ryan BertrandMidfielders: Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata, Oscar, John Obi Mikel, Kevin De Bruyne, Marco van Ginkel, Eden Hazard, Victor Moses, André SchürrleStrikers: Fernando Torres, Romelu Lukaku, Demba BaManager: José MourinhoExpected formation: 4-2-3-1Real Madrid Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Diego Lopez, Jesús ColladoDefenders: Pepe, Sergio Ramos, David Mateos, Marcelo, Fábio Coentrão, Álvaro Arbeloa, Daniel Carbajal, Nacho FernándezMidfielders: Luka Modric, Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil, Isco, Kaká, Casemiro, Ángel di María, AlexStrikers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Álvaro Morata, Jesé Rodríguez, Denis CheryshevExpected formation: 4-2-3-1Facts and Stats Chelsea leads the head to head with two wins and a draw.Every time the teams faced each other there was a trophy at stake - with Chelsea grabbing it in the first two occasions (UEFA Super Cup 1997/98; UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup 1970/71).Both managers have already trained the opposition previously, both winning the national league once.Real Madrid ended second to Barcelona in La Liga last season and reached the last four of the Champions League - whilst Chelsea won the Europa League and finished third in the league behind the Manchester clubs. All matches played between the teams were tight with one goal advantage (1-0 or 2-1), as well as a goalless draw.Last time the teams faced each other Chelsea won 1-0, in 1998.Odds Madrid: Evens Chelsea: 21/10 Draw: 5/2 TV Coverage The game will be Chelsea TV in England, Fox Sport in the US and Al Jazeera in the Middle East. There will be a match feed provided by TalkChelsea's official twitter account.

In one of my first posts in the thread I pasted part of his interview where Mourinho says he'll play different teams on first and second half. It makes me excited - not horny. It's just people thinks sex is the only thing that would make a girl distracted during football. Such a sexist opinion Sex during movies, footie, whatever is overrated. if I go to the movies, I want to watch the movie, if I'm watching football, I want to watch football. Let the score to the strikers... or in our case to whoever is merciful enough in our squad to nestle the ball in the net. I'm from the country where people breathe football, as shown in my profile. But you can find guys who don't like football even in Brazil. My boyfriend doesn't like sports in general. Poor thing will die someday without having truly lived This team exposes us in so many ways that is not even funny. Mikel is heck slow, di María will eat him for breakfast... or maybe Cris will too, if plays centered. Mata also doesn't mark anyone, doesn't tackle, doesn't defend at all and it's also very slow... so if Isco, di María or someone else intercepts the ball, we're screwed which is why I think this is the kind of game where Oscar should start, and then as this is a friendly, I don't really care if it's in Mata or Kevin's place. We need to play a faster DM so I think Ramires + van Ginkel is a must because Lamps if he plays, is coming from injury, Essien is slower and Mikel is definitely slower than slowness. One could argue that if we use both Rami and MvG together then we expose ourselves in the second. I don't think so because I don't think Cris and di Maria will play both halves. Also one out of Marco and Rami has been playing about 60 minutes every match. I'd say keep Rami as the guy's breath is endless! He could run through three consecutive matches before he stopped to sip some water

I'd use Moses in the second half and bring Oscar to the first (to add to the defending and also because Moses is quick and he might 1) face tired players in the second if Carlo doesn't change the defence; 2) might face bench warmers I'd also start Torres instead of Lukaku but for the love of God, I wouldn't start Ba. I agree about everything else.

fixed it for you thanks for that and the translation, mate Cheers

brilliant doesn't even start to cover, Lex. Are there older ones? I want to read all of them if they already exist.

Well thank you I also find it weird when a man doesn't like football, but I've known this guy for 27 years, so I decided to take the risk I'm the author of the saying: 'if a man doesn't like football, be careful because something is seriously wrong with him'. It's like @killer1257 said. In Brazil is quite rare finding the man that doesn't like football, so I'm super suspicious when I meet one of them...

boyfriends come and go, football stays forever Also, it's not my problem he doesn't like football. There must be something wrong with him! And I only asked him to reschedule the date from a Sunday night to a Monday night, so it's all good... at least for me

@, you're perfect, love. You flourished it perfectly. Thanks a lot

please... do you think I'd have sex during football? There are rules and the rules say, when football is on nothing else matters... although I admit I was distracted, but no sex during football. That'd be a sacrilege. Football time is sacred My teams >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> my boyfriend. He learned it quite well this weekend

and what about the performance mode? Wouldn't it help? Or was it only possible to make in the old server? #dummy

Chelsea beat Milan and will face Real Madrid in the final The Blues travelled to New Jersey and played against AC Milan at the Metlife stadium in front of nearly 40,000 fans - and they weren’t disappointed by the busy match. The team, led by manager José Mourinho, won 2-0 with Kevin de Bruyne scoring the opener and André Schürrle scoring his first goal in Chelsea blue late in the game. Mourinho's side will now face Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup final, next Wednesday. The match will feature Mourinho and Carlo Ancelloti against their old teams and will probably be the most challenging meeting in Chelsea’s pre-season campaign. After playing a number of Asian "all-star" teams, the Blues weren't intimidated by the superior quality of the Italian side, and pressed the opposition throughout the whole match. From the very beginning the London club peppered Abbiati’s goal and the first chance was a screamer by Oscar that wide. The Brazilian had yet another chance later, but it was also off target. Four minutes in, Ivanovic had a great chance. Hazard received the ball out wide and his mazey dribble allowed space for an inventive flick by the Serbian defender, but the Italian goalkeeper was smartly down to his right to save it. Just six minutes later the Serbian had yet another chance - this time with a header - but the ball dropped a foot wide. Meanwhile Milan tried to counter-attack, but Chelsea’s pivot and defence had little difficulty in stopping their attempts. As the clock hit the 20th minute, Marco van Ginkel tried his luck from range, and whilst his partly-smothered shot fell neatly into the path of Demba Ba, the Senegalese was deemed to be offside. It was not until the half-hour mark that Milan finally offered some danger to the Blues, but Cech was there to stop the initial effort with Ivanovic clearing the stray ball; denying the onrushing Mario Balotelli Mere moments later, Kevin de Bruyne gave the advantage to the English team. Marco van Ginkel recovered the ball and passed to Oscar, who passed to Hazard with one touch. The Belgian sprinted towards the Italian goal, finding his countryman entering the box in the right side. De Bruyne shot with class, leaving Abbiati motionless as the ball nestled in the bottom corner. 1-0. After the goal the Stamford Bridge side controlled the even match more. Hazard, Oscar and de Bruyne were in charge of most of the actions, distributing the ball and keeping possession. Milan didn't react although they tried. The double pivot of Essien and van Ginkel stopped any attempt by the Italians, who just couldn’t make the ball reach the dangerous duo of El Shaarawy and Balottelli. Although the Blues led by only a solitary goal, they were never dangerously threatened by the opposition during the first half. As in all matches so far this pre-season, Mourinho made a lot of changes as the team came back for the final half. Schwarzer, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mata, Moses and Torres came in, but of all the replacements it was Victor Moses, the Nigerian international, who added something else to the match. Moving forward constantly Moses had a few chances, passing to his teammates on a few occasions and finishing by his own in others. In one of his attempts he dribbled past the opposition and even though he didn’t have much of an angle, he shot against the Italian goal, leading Torres to complain as he waited for the pass near the penalty mark. In one bizarre play, Torres tripped on the ball, falling down, but he immediately recovered, standing up and passing by the player marking him, and then another and another as he entered the box. About to pass by the fifth opponent he tried the assist, but Milan’s defenders were able to clear the danger. The Spanish turned provider for his colleagues a few times more, but never found himself in the position to finish to the goal. By the middle of the second half Milan blitzed Chelsea’s box and the Italian side tried to hit Schwarzer's goal several times in a row, but Chelsea’s defence was well-drilled and protected their goalkeeper. Standing almost as a wall, they didn’t allow the ball to pass by them. The Londoners were under pressure for a few minutes, as Milan tried their best shots, but the Blues resisted firmly and without exposing themselves they finally remedied the situation, resuming control of the match. André Schürrle came in for Hazard at the 68th minute and the international German had two clear chances of goal. First he was assisted by the man of the match Moses, but his shot was wide. A few minutes later, he received the ball in the middle of the box from Torres, but he finished weakly and poorly, without offering any real danger to Abbiati. But the wasted chances didn’t bring him down and he kept presenting himself to his comrades until he finally received yet another assist by Moses, finishing it beautifully in the goal already during extra time. They say the third time is the charm. And there wasn’t time for anything else as Chelsea secured their place in the International Champions Cup final against Real Madrid. The match is scheduled at 2:00am (UK time) on the Thursday. Match facts AC Milan: Abbiati, Antonini (Zaccardo 45’) Zapata (Poli 68’), Silvestre, Emanuelson (Constant 68’), De Jong, Muntari, Montolivo (Nocerino 55’), Boateng (Pacifico 75’), Balotelli (Pentagna 45’), El-Shaarawy (Niang 55’). Manager: Massimiliano Allegri. Booked: Antonini, Silvestre. Chelsea: Cech (Schwarzer 45’); Azpilicueta (Terry 45’), Ivanovic, Cahill, Bertrand (Cole 45’); Van Ginkel (Mikel 65’), Essien (Ramires 45’); De Bruyne (Moses 45’), Oscar (Mata 45’), Hazard (Schurrle 65’); Ba (Torres 45’, Lukaku 85’). Manager: José Mourinho Booked: Ivanovic. Goals: De Bruyne 29'. Schurrle 90+2' Man of the match: Victor Moses

a girl doesn't kiss and tell... oops