[quote=āRocko, post: 564029ā]
Agreed with all that.
Serious achievement for Spurs. Milan should have at least won on the night and Spurs will have to defend better in the next round. Newstalk were making an awful lot of the fact they kept two clean sheets against Milan but they enjoyed good fortune and they really should have conceded if Robinho in particular had shown more composure. Milan really lacked that bit extra in midfield, particularly in the first leg. Theyāve fallen a long way from the Ambrosini-Pirlo-Gattuso-Seedorf-Kaka combination that had excellent players playing disciplined but fluid roles in an excellent system.[/quote]
FFSā¦
if you want to see hpow far they have really fallen stick on a video of the 1989 european cup final against Steau and watch the midfield play if Colombo / Donadoni / Rijkaard and Ancelloti and the way Donadoni linked up with MVB and Gullit, more of the same was observed if i remember ( sid will correct me) in 1990 aginst Benfica and Roberto Evani replaced Donadoni who missed the game after the semi final ( i think) with redStar and the Red Star phsyio famously had to break his jaw as he lay unconsious to get air to his lungsā¦
Ah obviously that was a better team but Iām just talking about recent evolution. I mean Seedorf, Ambrosini, Gattuso and Pirlo are all still at the club so thatās why I made that comparison.
Ya, he was taken out for a penalty as well that wasnāt given. I switched between the 2 of them, Valencia had piles of ball, but in fairness Schalke were just a bit sharper up front.
Couple of corrections Mickee:
i) it was Alberigo Evani not Roberto Evani
ii) Milan beat Bayern Munich in the semi final in 1990, they may have beaten Red Star in an earlier round alright, they definitely beat them in the 88/89 season on penalties in Belgrade after the original second leg was abandoned with Red Star winning (due to fog I think).
I thought that was one of the Big Zās better European performances - I can remember 2 decent things he did in the second half - one nice little ball across the box with the outside of his right foot and the one-two with Robinho at the end, and itās certainly shut up former critics like myself who doubted that Zlatan could produce it on the big stage.
[quote=āmickee321, post: 564027ā]
Briliant stuff from Tottenham defensivly and fair play for grinding out a result .[/quote]
not quite the hammering you predicted either. I see 'Arry was even having a go at you in his post match interview.
[quote=āmickee321, post: 564027ā]
i said it before xmas when the draw was made an so it came to pass tonight that Milanās most aged son Pippo Inzhagi was ultimatly to prove to be their biggest loss as they simply couldnt buy a goal out there.[/quote]
B)
that is it right there. midfield was the problem, and has been all season for Milan. Seedorf, whilst having a decent game last night, is well past his best. And Milan were missing too many of their main midfield to trouble Spurs in any shape, Pirlo, Ambrosini, and a still injured Prince Boateng. Shoving Seedorf back into the holding role at least gave Silva back his central defensive duties which helped. But Milans achilles heel all season has been the link between midfield and the strikers. The attacking midfielders have scored fook all and usually its left to a forward 3 out of Robinho/Pato/Ibra/Cassano to get the ball and create and score between themselves, with Boateng being the only other player in the squad to have more than 1 goal this season outside of the strikers. Flamini is another player who does damn all in a game other than a tackle here and there. His passing is of the safe variety and never much of an attacking threat, and his defensive duties are not that of what you need from a proper defensive holding midfielder, his contributions being far too sporadic.
They have resolved some of the problems with Van Bommel and Cassano, but they will need further players to get in the summer to contribute in a much better way to the midfield. If the strikers stay, and the defenders, and an upgrade on midfield, then they have the bones of a very good side. Merkel is a good player, and should have started last night. Boateng was not 100% and it showed.
Merkel certainly has a bit about him and Seedorf proved last night he can still impress in a restricted role. But Iād agree on the limitations of Flamini. Thereās enough there in attacking options (though Iād be inclined to get rid of Robinho if last night was any indication of his composure in front of goal in important games) anyway but thatās a weak midfield. Van Bommel and the return of the injured and suspended players will strengthen it a bit but Pirlo, Ambrosini, Gattuso can only be squad players at this stage Iād say. They will still contribute but theyāre not going to play enough games on their own.
I wonder will Spurs fans come up with a CL alternative to St Totteringhams day now that they have gone further in the competition than FC Taliban? :lol:
They were a boring team to watch that year - Ajax should have beaten them, the two semis with Inter were muck and Juve played any football that was to be played in the final. Rivaldo was finished after the World Cup in 2002.
