atl madrid controlled hyenas

Good match Frank,deserved their win tonight and hit the woodwork 3-4 times and a stonewall peno not given,tough team for anyone to beat.

THERE best forward Costa was injuried Pa, great fans as well,

Told anyone that would listen that they were great bet at 38 at the start. Have i backed em?? No!! Did i back Barca?? Yes

Quality side and will win the CL imo,Simone done some job there.

Woundn,t be too knowledgeable regarding their team but as you say it was like they had 15 men,only a point behind Barca as well in the league which is saying there is no fluke about it. First 10-15 minutes they absolutely tore them apart and could have been 3 up, couldn,t believe what i was seeing.Great fans indeed (laughed at them all pogoing at the end) and certainly seems a belief and confidence there,out of whats left like to see them win it.

^ AM are a point ahead of Barcelona in the league.

Not sure what Tito Martino has done to Barcelona, they spent the last 25 minutes hoofing long balls up - bizarre.

Would love to see them win. Simeone has done some job. They are incredibly hard to beat.

Thought they were a great bet at ~ 20/1 at the start of the knock-out stage, what with Barca & Real at the business end of the market when Atletico were clearly their equals but severely under-rated.

Did I back it? Did I fcuk!

Good article on them by the excellent ZonalMarking website (written 10-Jan-2014) which includes the following:

"Essentially, Atletico are the opposite of everything you expect from a Spanish side. The current footballing identity of Spain is based solely around keeping possession of the ball, an approach justified (and popularised) by the fact their national side is probably the most dominant in the history of the game.

Tackling, however, is precisely what La Liga’s joint-leaders Atletico excel at. Inspect the statistics from Atletico Madrid’s season so far, and you find they’re distinctly unimpressive in terms of possession (10th best in La Liga), pass completion rate (7th), or shots per game (6th). (Away from home, they have the fourth-least possession in the league.)

But their statistics without the ball are remarkable. They make more tackles than any other side, have conceded fewer shots than any other side, and have conceded the fewest goals in La Liga. At Barcelona’s peak, they conceded the fewest shots and goals because they dominated possession so heavily. Atletico concede the fewest shots and goals despite not looking to dominate the ball, and instead focusing upon stopping the opposition in their tracks.

To underline how unusual it is to see a title challenger with these tackling statistics, it’s worth looking at the most prolific tacklers from the other four major European leagues: Werder Bremen are 11th, Toulouse are 11th, Parma are 9th and Crystal Palace are 18th. The league’s most prolific tacklers are, ordinarily, midtable sides or battling relegation, not top of the league.

Positionally, Atletico’s approach is relatively simple. They stay very compact, with centre-forwards David Villa and Diego Costa dropping deep to prevent the ball being played through the centre of the pitch. More importantly, they remain extremely narrow, with the wide midfielders Koke and Arda Turan tucking inside into the centre of the pitch.

The peculiar thing is that in a pure positional sense, Atletico’s approach is similar to that of possession-based sides – packing the centre of the pitch to dominate that zone. They’re simply doing it in a completely reactive way, positioning themselves there to break up passing moves, rather than create them."

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2014/01/10/atletico-madrid-proving-tackling-can-be-a-quality/

nice post db,

Backed them at 100+ before a ball was kicked. Joke of a price and an embarrassment. Made my trade now as i worry about them with Real as Real historically have their number. Great side and well worth having a few sheckels on Miranda and Godin to pop up at prices in the final few games. Always great value. Two great goal scoring centre halves. Same as Mangala at Porto and in fairness old Pepsi seems to be getting his act together again at Real but markets have not copped it rally. was 19's the other night, has a fair few scored this season. At those prices you only need 3 max a season for profit and anything else is just mustard.

Anyone looking ante post for the worl cup.

Uruguay, Chile and Japan.

Value. All the top sides are overrated and i see Holland and England falling in the groups.

Chile best attacking side out there, play with a pace very few can match. Played Germany in Germany recently and it was the unluckiest 1-0 defeat i have seen. They gave the Germans the run around.

not to sure about Japan TIME but the other 2 wont be far away,

Japan are an excellent footballing side,Under rated because their Japan.

I see Chelsea have a clause in their loan agreement with Atletico Madrid for their goalkeeper Courtois that Atletico have to pay Chelsea £3m if they want to play him in a match against Chelsea so if Atletico get Chelsea in the semis that's £6m which the club has already said they don't have.

Atletico have sold Aguero and Falcao in recent years for near on 40+ million profits. They won a Europa league and a Copa Del Rey and they have not spent silly money. Villa for 6 million and getting the likes of Sosa and Diego in on short term contracts. They are telling fibs if so. I would not pay it mind. They would beat Chelsea with or without Courtois.

Timeforchange, re those WC Outright bets, what price would you make your 3 outsiders currently ?

I still fancy Spain, particularly if Diego Costa, Koke and Javi Martinez are in or around the team as they will give them that bit of athleticism and power the Barca lads seem to lack these days. I wouldn't read much into the Confederations Cup last season.

I think that Germany team may have a bottle problem and they lack a centre-forward. I wouldn't be overly enamoured with the quality of footballer coming out of Brazil these days and Argentina have a dodgy spine to their team bar the forwards, who might not gel or get the supply.

Tricky i suppose Reb.

At the moment they are 28's Uruguay 46's Chile and 200's Japan.

Looking at the groups i think Uruguay will progress with Italy, i think their groups is factored into their price, would be 20's in a different group. Having won a Copa America they know how to win a tournament. Defensively they are sound with the likes of Godin, Lugano, Fucile, Pereira and Caceres. Midfield they lack a bit of guile but have plenty of steel  with the likes of Egidio Perez, Walter Gargano and Alvaro Pereira. There is the likes of Nicolas Lodeiro, Cristian Rodriguez and Gaston Ramirez (if fit) to add a bit of class. A proper midfield though and very hard.

The coup de gras is up front with Forlan, Suarez, Abel Hernandez, Cavani and Stuani.



Chile are the standout for me. Should be no more than 28's. Unreal footballing side. I think they will do the Dutch and knock them out. If you watch Universidad De Chile (La U) the style of football is only something we can dream of.

Players like Isla, Mattias Fernadez, Charles Aranguiz, Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas make them a joy to watch. The one flaw is defensively they do concede. I just hope they score more.



Japan, the price is an insult, no more than 66's, good side who play with a great tempo. If they could defend at all i  would have them even lower. A real decent play. I think they will g through with Colombia at the expense of Ivory Coast (OTT) and Greece.

PS look at Uruguay's population, it shows it can be done and done regularly.

Weather and pitches will play a part, if your not good technically you have no chance. It will be sapping over there and should not be an issue for any of the above.

Timeforachange, there is lots of merit in your opinions on Uruguay, Chile and Japan. I imagine you're hammering away at Chile if you make them as low as 28/1 currently given that 50 is available. I had backed them pre-draw but the draw wasn't kind. Even if they can better the Dutch in Gp B they will very likely have to play Brazil in the last 16. If they can top the group, then everything changes and they could go far but topping the group is a big ask.

I have a habit of looking for teams from left field - I'd keep an eye on Croatia as a reasonable outsider though, again, the draw wasn't kind to them. As I have said elsewhere, the odds rarely lie these days. I remember when I worked in London in the 90s having a bet on Colombia over a year prior to the event, to win the 94 WC. I backed them at 33 and by the start of the tournament they were as low as 7/1 in places. Although a loser, it was one of the best bets I've ever had. I remember feeling sorry for myself as they failed to live up to expectations and exited at the group stage; my disappointment at their performance was put into stark perspective when one of their players (Andres Escobar) was shot and killed back in Colombia before the end of the tournament.

Forgetting about my pocket and talking of Uruguay's population, I'd love to see them winning it (although I've also backed them at 40s). They have an elected President who is a most impressive human being, Jose Mujica. Not many presidents like him, around.


Your forum name has me thinking....

I just feel sometimes as stated you have to take a view. I was banging on about Colombia then also mate, god i remember it. They ran into a Hagi inspired Romania and lost to the US, the weight of expectation was too much for them i feel. That was the tournament which made me look at Hagi in a completely different way. He orchestrated that quality Romanian side like a condutor with the likes of Dumitrescu, Popescu and Raducioiu all playing their part. He was 29 and the more i have watched him he was one of the most underrated players ever to play the game.

The other memory of that tournament for me was Stoichkov and Letchkov, ah hristo in his pomp was some player.

I know very little re Jose Mujica, i will have to have a look and read up on the gentleman.

I agree re Croatia, they could have knocked Spain out in the last euro's a very competent side on their day. I think some of the big guns like some have stated are a bit flaky. Germany do lack bottle, Argentina are not great in defence for me and Brazil, i don't know, i am not convinced.

Quick note, Godin and Miranda scored in successive games.

I look at these lads (I don't follow Spanish football closely), the likes of Arda Turan, Tiago and Diego.... players I know from old and the way they play; always very talented footballers but wouldn't have had that mobility, physicality and workrate. This is definitely an unfair accusation but I'll put it out there...

Anyone think they are juicing at Athletico?

neill, no idea if they're "juicing" at Atletico but I'd like some of whatever Timeforchange is on !  His post of 10th April 13.22 was as impressive as any heads up I've ever seen on here. Godin and Miranda (both defenders) scored against Getafe and Elche respectively in A.M.'s two matches subsequent to his post.

Well done, Timeforchange.

WD TFC, just noted that now reb

Good thread, don,t look the same team at all tonight,Mourinho doing his job well.

you sumed the game bang on.pa

Only watched the first half Frank,twas a bags,their last game captured my imagination,this was the opposite. Suppose there is a lot at stake now in their defense but it was hard going,still hope they go through.
Maybe tonights game will be better.

Tonights game should have been the final if at all possible, the 2 best teams left in europe, but the advantage of them meeting in the semi is we get to see 2 games.

Madrid should be on a high after last week and so should bale. Madrid will attack from the start and need to score and have an advantage of more than 1 goal  to have any chance to qualify for final imo.

First g.s. on here G. bale 8/1 for an interest.

i cant help feeling that liverpool are a 1/2 to beat chelsea on sunday Pa, chesea cant won the league now and they will rest players for the liverpool game, the big one now is the 2nd leg v al madrid.

Ancellotti really is a fine coach. Seems to do well wherever he goes. I think top players appreciate his light-touch style. He was also very clever keeping DiMaria instead of Ozil if indeed that was his call.

You're probably right about Sunday Frank and hope you are,its a long time coming to them.
Better match tonight,Real really need the 2 goal cushion and Bayern done enough in the 1st half to say they could sneak one,finely poised.

They need to shoot ffs , this trying to walk the ball into the net might backfire , Munich are to casual...

Munich have become predictable , same old same old...Madrid deserved to win...

They did Wr,game died a bit in the 2nd half, hard not to see them scoring in Germany.

munich will take them to the cleaners next week, GET ON.

one goal for real madrid in germany next week and it will be mission impossible for bayern munich, gareth bale special hopefully di maria better than ozil

If Madrid can hold Bayern for 30 mins next week then Bayern will have to start to push forward a bit and then Madrid will have a few chances to break quickly, which is where they excel. Love to see an all-Madrid final.

I read that West Ham owner David O'Sullivan's son tweeted Mourinho's "19th Century football" comment after Chelsea's bus-parking performance on Tuesday and a journo said it to Jose at the after-match press conference. Jose was not too impressed.

That was a really high-class football match last night, it is a pity it wasn't the final. I'd find the game in Munich impossible to call.

What I would say though is that Bayern need to sign a striker whose first instinct is to make runs in behind defenders. Someone in the mould of a young Samuel Eto'o, a Drogba or a Torres or Michael Owen of old. This would stretch defenders creating more space for the ball players. This type of player can be hard to find as they often don't have the all-round game to play at big clubs, but when they are found they are gold dust.

Neill d , spot on , the lack of killer instinct though the middle is the problem , very pretty to watch , but no payoff where it matters...

Muller has a great killer instinct but for some reason Pep seems reluctant to use him in that advanced role. I don't think I've ever seen a game with Muller where he didn't have at least one chance in front of goal. Very under-rated player IMO.

He is a little clumsy on the ball and that could be something Guardiola holds against him as ball retention seems to be his mecca. I think he'd be most effective as an orthodox striker as well and agree he might be their best bet up top.

B.MUN scored 84goals in 31games in the BUNDESLIGA this season and thats taking there foot of the pedal in the last few games, a double on b.munich to beat R.M  and liverpool to beat chelsea[who wont be trying to hard] i belive is the way to go.

Frank , even Utd scored against them away , so not to sure about taking their foot off the peddle , I think they have been beaten a few time in the league recently also , so maybe in racing terms , they are over the top...

THEY had the league won afew weeks back W.R.  i not put anyone wanting to back Real but they are a lay in my book.

Frank , even still , maybe that win win mentality has lessened a little , which could set them back ...I just thought Real had worked out how to play them the further the match went last night , I laid Real ...

Bayern will more than likely beat Madrid but IMO they will need to score at least 3 goals (possibly even 4) to qualify for the final. A 2-1 defeat will be enough for Real to go through.

Thats it in a nutshell DB,hard not to see Real not getting one either on the basis of the first match. At 4/6ish to go through for Real that is skinny enough looking all the same. The bet for me is Bayern HT/FT at very near 2/1.
Hoping to see the Athletico against Barca rather than against Chelsea last time on Wednesday,that would be a cracker. With both teams around evens to qualify hard one to call,think Chelsea will have to be more attack orientated which could suit Atletico. Mourhino is doing everything right lately so a no bet. Hope it is a Spanish final as it would be at least a very decent game.

5/1 now for real madrid

Interesting to note that fernando torras wages is 8times more then the average wage of the alt madrid.

Delighted to see Atletico get over the line today having looked decidedly nervy the last few weeks

Always nice to see a dominance like that of Real/Barca broken

I'd say it killed a fair few season-long accas though

I'll second that, db1974.

Didn't think they were going to do it after after that freakish goal from Sanchez but they showed great character in coming back (and Godin scored again !). The injuries to Turan and Costa in particular have dealt a big blow to their hopes of beating Real next week. The price on Real lifting the trophy contracted from 1.62ish to 1.52ish in the immediate aftermath of Costa's injury.

I hope they can do it again.

Nice to see money does,nt allways win out, i hope im wrong but i cant see them beating Real,  atl madrid must be Mentally tired by now, Real look a good bet .