Results for tag: Champions League
Posted by:
Andy Gray
on Mar 15, 2011 at 08:52:14 AM
The other day somebody asked me what I thought were the three things you needed to win the Champions League. "Xavi, Iniesta and Messi," I replied.
Joking aside, Barcelona are of course the outstanding team in the competition this year, though their tie against Arsenal ended up being tighter than many would have thought. With 20 minutes to go, it was Arsenal who were going through, let's not forget, and Barca did benefit from a pretty harsh decision when Robin van Persie received his marching orders.
But those are discussions for another day and Pep Guardiola's men played really well over the two legs and probably deserved to go through. It sounds like an obvious thing to say, given they're the 2.32 favourites to win the competition, but they really are the team to beat.
You need...
Posted by:
Andy Gray
on Jan 10, 2011 at 09:17:37 AM
Winning the FA Cup with Everton in 1984 was one of the proudest moments of my career so I know what the competition means. For this reason, it always astonishes me that clubs put their league status so far ahead of the cup in their list of priorities.
It is extraordinary that managers don't want to win the FA Cup. This is one of the greatest club competitions, it is watched all around the world and players everywhere dream of walking out at Wembley.
I understand the importance of league and European competition but if I was the manager of a team that could not win the title, I'd be going all out to get my hands on silverware. The FA Cup is a perfect opportunity for mid-table teams to grab some glory.
I find it incredible that teams don't want to give themselves a chance to win ...
Posted by:
Andy Gray
on Oct 27, 2010 at 07:59:25 AM
A recent trend amongst football pundits and indeed fans is to argue that the standard of football in the Champions League is higher than that played at a World Cup. That's not necessarily wrong. With the exception of a handful of highly-talented South American players based in Brazil or Argentina, we see the world's best footballers turn out in the Champions League every other week.
And if the top players aren't currently playing in European football's blue-riband competition it's only a matter of time before they move to a club that is. How often do you hear a player saying he wants to be playing in the Champions League as a reason to explain why he's left his current club and chosen team x over team y.....
That of course is different to playing international football. Of course,...