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Champions League Thread


Madmax
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Meeting Atletico without Courtois and Costa would give us a huge advantage. Everything's already been said about the Courtois situation and I think that the contract clause should be respected but hope Costa will be fit, never nice to see players missing such big games with an injury.

As long as we win the CL, I would not mind Courtois ruled out by our board, Costa and Godin injured and some of our Spain laonees breaking Cristiano's leg before the final,

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LOL. Look at PSG, Napoli two years ago. Do not have experience of playing games with high stakes. Came to Chelsea with 3-1 lead and capitulated. Cinderella stories happen ofcourse. Experience is not a certainty but at the top level in last 10 years you see the same clubs coming to the end of Champions League stages - Barca ManU Chelsea to name three

Is this because of experience or because, crucially, those teams have had a combination of world class/great managers, great squad and some luck?.

Would Barca have dominated the competition the way they did if they didn't have Guardiola, Messi,Xavi and Iniesta all at the peak of their powers? replace them with highly experienced average players and manager and they wouldn't have won anything (without unprecedented ridiculous amount of luck anyway).

And if experience is so important then how come teams like Porto, Benfica, Arsenal et al often fail to achieve anything meaningful (like getting past the 2nd round or reaching the semis and final) in the competition despite their vast experience coming from consistently qualifying for and participating in the competition year in year out?

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Simeone says Costa's injury is not that serious. Probably looked worse than it is in reality - but still an awful sight.

Still may miss at least the 1st game with us.

I'm a bit torn about it because I really want Atletico to win La Liga this season, but if they really lost Costa for any amount of time it's our gain.

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Is this because of experience or because, crucially, those teams have had a combination of world class/great managers, great squad and some luck?.

Would Barca have dominated the competition the way they did if they didn't have Guardiola, Messi,Xavi and Iniesta all at the peak of their powers? replace them with highly experienced average players and manager and they wouldn't have won anything (without unprecedented ridiculous amount of luck anyway).

And if experience is so important then how come teams like Porto, Benfica, Arsenal et al often fail to achieve anything meaningful (like getting past the 2nd round or reaching the semis and final) in the competition despite their vast experience coming from consistently qualifying for and participating in the competition year in year out?

Arsenal the last few years have faced Milan, Barca, Bayern Bayern in the Round of 16. Not a good example that. Benfica and Porto, yes, but they're also depleted every year by sales of their key players.

Again, turning this argument into experience is the only important aspect is pointless, that was not what i meant at all. the other factors like quality and luck is important but take Chelsea (2012) for example. Even when we were the worst side in the competition, the team had the know-how to hang on during a tie and win it in decisive moments

Atletico have been a machine this season but how many games have they played the last few years with the stakes anywhere close to a Champions League semifinal match? Not many. Even PSG in the quarters had the quality and the luck in the first leg but in the last 2 years they've played just 4 games of real high stakes (Barca QF in 2013 and Chelsea in 2014). In the 2nd leg, PSG capitulated. Stamford Bridge is a tough place to visit in such situations and they couldn't hang on. Experience and mental strength is not exaggerated at all

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http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2014/04/13/primera/1397406020_380114.html

Atlético president Enrique Cerezo repeats: "Courtois will only play when we reach an agreement with Chelsea.

Think his tryin to bring Chelsea into trouble with Uefa, why does he have to make it public?? An agreement was reached early on in the season when Atletico agreed to pay 5 million to us so there is no need for re negotiation at all its business

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Arsenal the last few years have faced Milan, Barca, Bayern Bayern in the Round of 16. Not a good example that.

Not on the topic of your discussion but that is entirely their own fault for failing to finish top of their group.
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