UEFA Champions League 2018/2019 Round of 16

[flattythehurdler]

@myboyblue

I always liked Angel

I like him a lot more now.

[Sidney]

Sparta Prague had put out Marseille who reached the previous final and won the next season.

Benfica were a decent team from that time too. They trounced Arsenal in extra-time at Highbury.

Myself and @mickee321 have written a lot over the years about pre-mid 1990s European football being a lot more even throughout the continent.

It’s quite sad how economics has destroyed the European Cup chances of teams outside of no more than five leagues, actually.

Even at that, Italy, Germany and France are only just about hanging onto the coattails of Spain and England and it’s only specific massive clubs (Juventus, Bayern Munich) or petrodollar funded clubs (PSG).

[Sidney]

This video started playing automatically on my YouTube after me playing the clip a few posts above.

It’s really bugging me what the song from 3:50 on is. Sounds like a 1980s or early 1990s indie band, a bit like The Cure.

@farmerinthecity or @Fagan_ODowd?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOruUYsq9-I

[mickee321]

@Sidney

Sparta Prague had put out Marseille who reached the previous final and won the next season.

Benfica were a decent team from that time too. They trounced Arsenal in extra-time at Highbury.

Myself and @mickee321 have written a lot over the years about pre-mid 1990s European football being a lot more even throughout the continent.

It’s quite sad how economics has destroyed the European Cup chances of teams outside of no more than five leagues, actually.

Even at that, Italy, Germany and France are only just about hanging onto the coattails of Spain and England and it’s only specific massive clubs (Juventus, Bayern Munich) or petrodollar funded clubs (PSG).

that’s a great post and has gotten me inspired again
we had a great conversation one night about how the fall of communism was really detrimental to european club football i remember
kaiserslautern is a great one - did they win the bundesliga in 1991 - i remember Bohs ran them close in a European Cup early round game, this would have been around the time when RTE Radio one would have a wednesday night football special with the likes of Bohs at home to bordeaux or cork playing galatasaray

[mickee321]

@Sidney

Getting rid of Rabiot has been a massive positive for Paris. Absoolute poison in a dressing room.

agreed
we called him before
they beat celtic 12-0 or something a few years back and i think @Big_Dan_Campbell was calling him a classy player as he ran around Scot Brown and Wayne Biggins in the Celtic midfield,

[Ashman]

Did bohs play Kaiserslautern the year they shitcanned Aberdeen . Roddy Collins was boss . They played in Tolka early and got a fortune from German tv .

[mickee321]

@Ashman

Did bohs play Kaiserslautern the year they shitcanned Aberdeen . Roddy Collins was boss . They played in Tolka early and got a fortune from German tv .

no - i think Aberdeen was 2000/2001 - kasiserlautern would have been in the 90’s nut you are right it was a wednesday afternoon they played them

[mickee321]

@Sidney

Soemthing that is much forgotten from that season’s European Cup campaign is that Barcelona were on the verge of going out in the second round against Kaiserslautern. They scored in injury time and got through to the newly created group phase, which wasn’t branded as the Champions League - but it was exactly the same format as the 1992/93 competition, which is commonly thought to be the start of the “Champions League” era. They were put out in the second round in 92/93 by CSKA Moscow after throwing away a 2-0 lead at home in the second leg. Moscow went into that group with Rangers and Marseille.

that was a wonderful competition
The Rangers / Marseilles game in Ibrox was spectacular with Rudi Voeller
were Bruges also in that group?

[Batigol]

They won it later. Mid 90s and immediately after being promoted

[Ashman]

Bruges were in that group . Daniel amocachi was their spearhead .

[Ashman]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_F.C.

They played Kaiserslautern that year ok . They got big bucks .

[Sidney]

@mickee321

that’s a great post and has gotten me inspired again
we had a great conversation one night about how the fall of communism was really detrimental to european club football i remember
kaiserslautern is a great one - did they win the bundesliga in 1991 - i remember Bohs ran them close in a European Cup early round game, this would have been around the time when RTE Radio one would have a wednesday night football special with the likes of Bohs at home to bordeaux or cork playing galatasaray

Kaiserslautern won the Bundesliga in 1991 and 1998. They won it in '98 as a newly promoted team.

Bohs beat them in Germany in the second of a UEFA Cup tie around September 2000. 1-0 on the night but Kaiserslautern had won the first leg at Tolka Park, 3-0 I think. I’m sure Glenn Crowe scored the winner. I actually saw a lot of the game where Bohs won live as we received German satellite TV at the time. The first leg was live on RTE. Hadn’t Bohs eliminated Aberdeen in the previous round?

German satellite TV was great for watching European games in the days before live internet streaming.

Hamburg v Celtic in 1996, Schalke’s UEFA Cup semi-finals and finals in 1997 and Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich in the quarter-final of the Champions League were games I saw which few people here had access to.

[mickee321]

Bruges - that’s oustanding
the blue and black kit
the old stadium, the hooliganism
There was a great menace about Belgian clubs - Anderlect in the old Vandenstock stadium were always formidible opposition - police dogs and armed batallions patrolling caged in away fans

I remember Melchester Rovers had a trip to play a Belgian side after Andy maclaren signed for them from Glenrath Celtic

[Batigol]

There used to be something so exotic about the European Cup. All these great players that you never got to see but once or twice a year. I remember the first time I saw Roberto Carlos for example. I’d never heard of him until I saw him absolutely THUNDER a free kick off the crossbar in a semi final.

All of the Clubs from different countries used to have such a distinct style too. Most clubs were still loaded with native players for the most part.

And then, to top it off, Champions from 8 or 9 leagues were realistic contenders.

[Sidney]

@Ashman

Bruges were in that group . Daniel amocachi was their spearhead .

Was he? I honestly have no recollection of him playing for them in those matches.

That group was bloody torture as it really seemed like Rangers were destined to get to the final.

They stole a point at home to Marseille, then had a lucky win away to CSKA Moscow in Germany, Scott Nisbet scored a ridiculously lucky winner at home to Bruges on Paddy’s night and then they got a draw in Marseille in the penultimate game.

They fluffed their lines in the last match but it didn’t matter. There was a whiff of suspicion that Marseille had bribed Bruges to lose in the last match - Marseille scored after two minutes - but I don’t think it was ever proven, I’m not even sure if there was anything to it.

[anon78624367]

Was it that team from 93 that got a french league taken off them?

[Sidney]

Valenciennes. It was the last or next to last match in the league. I think it was the Sunday before they played Milan. I honestly think yer man Bernard Tapie who owned them thought he was untouchable because the whole thing seemed very cavalier. He had ambitions for the French presidency and all. He was a massive figure in France at the time.

[mickee321]

Was it valenciennnes bernard tapie bribed?

[Sidney]

Yeah

[mickee321]

Sorry im late
Saw it there