Europa League 2014-15 - Pt.1

rwo power wrote:I think Gladbach did pretty well, they just had some bad luck against Sevilla. (I really hope they will reach 3rd place in the BL and directly go to the CL group stage next season.)

Gladbach have big European pedigree, this is my point. Gladbach have won lots of international trophies back in the day, they have no confidence issues, despite teams like Leverkusen having a better squad.

There's teams that just imprint a winner's attitude, BMG does that, even when they suck.

You couzld say the current Gladbach team ist quite special anyway - they managed to go onto a longer 'unbeaten' streak in the Bundesliga than even the famous Weisweiler Fohlenelf, so they have quite some confidence.

Also they have the covert advantage of not having any overt star players - meaning, they'll probably manage to hold on to the core of the team with just moderate salary increases. Which will give them the chance to build something special again.

As things go, they will mainly lose Christoph Kramer next season, and it seems that Max Eberl is already well ahead in getting the new signing for the next season done. Max Kruse is rumoured to be leaving, but I think he will think about this once more as BMG will get into the CL.

Thx for the feedbacks guys...

Viva ur especially right about the mentality thing, Leverkusen bottled it. Its such a strange thing and can be a mental block so big for some clubs. Thats why experience can be so important it seems, or history, it gives u a sense of confidence which can make a big difference.

rwo power wrote:It's not over until the fat lady sings. Wolfsburg only need to do a "Schalke vs Inter" from 2010/11, and they would go through. ^^

Get over it its done.Love seeing the Bundesliga getting a taste of its own medicine

Your 4th spot is in danger folks.Look out

rwo power wrote:It's not over until the fat lady sings. Wolfsburg only need to do a "Schalke vs Inter" from 2010/11, and they would go through. ^^

Since away goals are in place no team has ever turned around a 1-4 result.

BarrileteCosmico wrote: Since away goals are in place no team has ever turned around a 1-4 result.

Then it's obviously time to do it

S wrote:

rwo power wrote:It's not over until the fat lady sings. Wolfsburg only need to do a "Schalke vs Inter" from 2010/11, and they would go through. ^^

Get over it its done.Love seeing the Bundesliga getting a taste of its own medicine

Your 4th spot is in danger folks.Look out

Nice to see you posting again S.

That being said, the Bundesliga looks set to move up to second in the coefficient tables, their fourth spot is, quite justifiably, very safe at the moment.

As regards Wolfsburg's failure, I wouldn't ascribe the result to their mentality in Europe but to their tactical naivete. They refused to learn the lessons of the previous round in which Inter gave their back line a lot of trouble and were far too open once more. Even having gone into the break two goals down they permitted the situation to deteriorate further. Such aggression and ambition typically works well to progress in the earlier stages of European competition but in the final stages where it is rare for a side without excellent organisation to crop up, a bit more cynicism is required.

Still, I expect Wolfsburg to have learnt a valuable lesson for their Champions League campaign next year. Everyone gets thumped in Europe some time, it's inevitable, but it shouldn't be taken to reflect their overall quality. I do rather think that rwo's positive attitude is a bit futile in the circumstances though.

dostoevsky wrote:I do rather think that rwo's positive attitude is a bit futile in the circumstances though.

Well, if you start a match thinking you have no chance whatsoever, then you don't need to start at all and might be better off staying at home. There have always been strange results once in a while, so why not this time? Stay positive!

I'm not suggesting the players themselves should approach the match as if already defeated. Regardless of whether they can win the tie itself, Wolfsburg should be attempting to win the game at the very least. A fan's perspective is different though. A strong performance in the second leg to complete a satisfying season should suffice given the circumstances.

dostoevsky wrote:

S wrote:

rwo power wrote:It's not over until the fat lady sings. Wolfsburg only need to do a "Schalke vs Inter" from 2010/11, and they would go through. ^^

Get over it its done.Love seeing the Bundesliga getting a taste of its own medicine

Your 4th spot is in danger folks.Look out

Nice to see you posting again S.

That being said, the Bundesliga looks set to move up to second in the coefficient tables, their fourth spot is, quite justifiably, very safe at the moment.

Yeah,maybe my opinion is in reaction to the excellent season Serie A is enduring in Europe atm.

But thinking long term,if Serie A continues to make strides towards gaining back the fourth spot,its not going to,or probably will never catch the PL,lets be honest.The PL will buy their way out of trouble.PL and La Liga will continue to be the two best leagues for the foreseeable future.
Which means the real target is Bundesliga.I think the CL spot incentive couldnt have come at a right time for Italian teams to take this comp. seriously,not to mention EL will get a 65% cash boost in Prize money.So we can hope for similar performances from Italian teams in the coming years.

As far as the Champions league is concerned,no Italian team will probably match Bayern's performances but its the other competing German teams who imo are there for the taking.Dortmund now go into a rebuilding phase,the Schalke's and Leverkusen's on the other hand are never going to make a serious impact in the competition.I heard Wolfsburg's owner is going to slash funding to the club from 80m to 30m,so they're not exactly going to pose any serious threat either.

Now you look at Serie A,well,the CL performances overall definitely leaves a lot to be desired.But with Milan getting new owners,Inter and Roma sorting their shit out,Napoli always there or thereabouts,one can be optimistic going to the future.

I know its too premature of an opinion,but this year has certainly provided a start,an impetus to achieve bigger objectives.

S wrote:.I heard Wolfsburg's owner is going to slash funding to the club from 80m to 30m,so they're not exactly going to pose any serious threat either.

That's what BILD wildly speculated COULD happen if Piech wins the power struggle against Winterkorn regarding the future leadership of VW.
Piech is losing though.

S wrote:Yeah,maybe my opinion is in reaction to the excellent season Serie A is enduring in Europe atm.

But thinking long term,if Serie A continues to make strides towards gaining back the fourth spot,its not going to,or probably will never catch the PL,lets be honest.The PL will buy their way out of trouble.PL and La Liga will continue to be the two best leagues for the foreseeable future.
Which means the real target is Bundesliga.I think the CL spot incentive couldnt have come at a right time for Italian teams to take this comp. seriously,not to mention EL will get a 65% cash boost in Prize money.So we can hope for similar performances from Italian teams in the coming years.

As far as the Champions league is concerned,no Italian team will probably match Bayern's performances but its the other competing German teams who imo are there for the taking.Dortmund now go into a rebuilding phase,the Schalke's and Leverkusen's on the other hand are never going to make a serious impact in the competition.I heard Wolfsburg's owner is going to slash funding to the club from 80m to 30m,so they're not exactly going to pose any serious threat either.

Now you look at Serie A,well,the CL performances overall definitely leaves a lot to be desired.But with Milan getting new owners,Inter and Roma sorting their shit out,Napoli always there or thereabouts,one can be optimistic going to the future.

I know its too premature of an opinion,but this year has certainly provided a start,an impetus to achieve bigger objectives.

I certainly would not go so far as to say the PL is untouchable, it seems like the sort of hubris that got Serie A into trouble. The Premier League's extreme financial advantage is nothing new and there continues to be a degree of instability at the top that may affect the consistency of the European campaigns mounted by PL clubs.

I also think you're short selling the Bundesliga to a degree. Dortmund's 'rebuild' is essentially irrelevant as they may not even be playing Champions League football, whilst if they do make the Europa League, they still possess a squad that is highly capable of performing well. Let us not forget that they won their Champions League group and I consider a large scale exodus of stars unlikely. Schalke also won't be in the CL and should manage in the EL, particularly if Di Matteo gets booted unceremoniously out the door.

Wolfsburg meanwhile possess a very good side in their current state, regardless of whether they refuse to make a large dent in the transfer market this season. They possess depth in attack and their starting eleven is already impressive, though I believe they would be well served to improve upon Guilavogui.

I'm not suggesting that your assertions are necessarily unreasonable, however I believe the situation may be easily read in a far less flattering light for Serie A. It has been an immensely satisfying season for a fan of the league however we need to see performances like this in the Europa League and more regular appearances deep into the Champions League from Italian clubs become a habit not a pleasant surprise.

Yes, if I think of the way English BT pundits giggled when one joked that Liverpool now will try to 'avoid' Europa league, after the Utd loss, the saying "pride comes before the fall" comes to mind.

dostoevsky wrote:I certainly would not go so far as to say the PL is untouchable, it seems like the sort of hubris that got Serie A into trouble. The Premier League's extreme financial advantage is nothing new and there continues to be a degree of instability at the top that may affect the consistency of the European campaigns mounted by PL clubs.

I also think you're short selling the Bundesliga to a degree. Dortmund's 'rebuild' is essentially irrelevant as they may not even be playing Champions League football, whilst if they do make the Europa League, they still possess a squad that is highly capable of performing well. Let us not forget that they won their Champions League group and I consider a large scale exodus of stars unlikely. Schalke also won't be in the CL and should manage in the EL, particularly if Di Matteo gets booted unceremoniously out the door.

Wolfsburg meanwhile possess a very good side in their current state, regardless of whether they refuse to make a large dent in the transfer market this season. They possess depth in attack and their starting eleven is already impressive, though I believe they would be well served to improve upon Guilavogui.

I'm not suggesting that your assertions are necessarily unreasonable, however I believe the situation may be easily read in a far less flattering light for Serie A. It has been an immensely satisfying season for a fan of the league however we need to see performances like this in the Europa League and more regular appearances deep into the Champions League from Italian clubs become a habit not a pleasant surprise.

Premier League isnt untouchable but they're not exactly sitting on a tight rope either.Premier League's dip in co-efficients has been down to their CL performances as opposed to the non performances in EL.Its not like they've ever treated the competition seriously and will continue to look down upon it with arrogance as they always did.Like it or not,money will eventually propel them to the top.Real Madrid are a living example of it.

Regarding the Bundesliga,i may be underselling them atm,but in a hypothetical scenario where Italian teams treat European competitions with the same amount of respect as the Germans do,we can expect a close battle on our hands.Barring Bayern,is there much of a difference in quality between Italian sides and Germans ? I dont think so.

I'm not being bullish about Serie A's chances here but there are encouraging signs.Last year or so,i thought it would take more than a decade to get back that 4th spot but things have turned around drastically this yr.I'd say Serie A right now has sort of overcome their stagnation period.I see change around the corner.

But yes, a degree of consistency is expected from Italian sides.This season shouldnt become an anomaly.

In the end,its all a matter of opinion ofcourse.We can all have our own estimates but i suppose time will slowly decide things.

rwo power wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote: Since away goals are in place no team has ever turned around a 1-4 result.

Then it's obviously time to do it

Wolfsburg confirmed Kevin de Bruyne and Andre Schurrle will miss the Europa League match with Napoli.

http://www.football-italia.net/65470/wolfsburg-duo-miss-napoli

*sighs* They really want to rest them for Gladbach, it seems. Boo! Hiss!

Napoli: Andujar - Mesto, Raul Albiol, Britos, Ghoulam - Inler, David Lopez - José Callejon, Hamsik, Mertens - Higuain

Wolfsburg: Benaglio - Träsch, Naldo, Klose, Rodriguez - Luiz Gustavo - Perisic, Guilavogui, Arnold, D.Caligiuri - Bendtner

Wolfsburg start with Lord Bendtner as striker. Napoli are doomed!

Yup definitely watching that one for the neutral perspective.

Will be watching Fiorentina and Dynamo Kiev as well. That one is pretty balanced.

Early Bacca penalty puts Sevilla ahead.

Zenit have now gone from only needing to win 1-0 to needing to score three.

Zenit should not despair, Wolfsburg needs to score at least 4

Who was at fault for the pen?

Neto