23/24 UCL Knockout Stage

halamadrid2 wrote:
This is football 'eritage

Bro you play like shit every tie

How do you even enjoy this

Cant believe you even get outplayed by tucheliban

I thought the game was 60/40 with Bayern having a slight edge but thats given when they played at home. Bayern might not be so good as last year or before that but they have all to give for champions league. This tie so far has been a lot more open than with City. Its not like we went there parking a bus lol

Myesyats wrote:

halamadrid2 wrote:
This is football 'eritage

Bro you play like shit every tie

How do you even enjoy this

Cant believe you even get outplayed by tucheliban

lmao I know you're not talking about playing like shit

Myesyats wrote:

halamadrid2 wrote:
This is football 'eritage

Bro you play like shit every tie

How do you even enjoy this

Cant believe you even get outplayed by tucheliban

We are effective. Not overly attacking, not overly defensive just the right level. We are not going to run up and down with Kroos ffs. Our coach is more experienced than that.

Btw only City have scored more goals than us in the CL this season and that's because they love statpadding against the Copenhagens whereas we drop our level after going a goal up

halamadrid2 wrote:Imagine comparing limp master to Vini

Real Madrid fans on GL are quite a collective force.

Each of them individually have somehow managed to verbally reduce the image how bad the team was against this dreadful Bayern. Not a single criticism.

Terrible football today.

^^ they're always lying on this forum

I think our double winning season under Zidane was probably the most frustrating and underwhelming season I've seen from Real Madrid since 1999 in terms of sustainable performance level, but it was one of our most successful seasons in modern times, trophy-wise. I wish I could erase that season from my memory, but I can't complain about how it ended. At least, not in hindsight.

We churned out draws and narrow wins for at least 2/4 of that season, Gareth Bale was not only constantly injured, but also suffered from poor form and frequent clown shows when he returned, and the greater part of the football we played that season was so bad that I wanted to poke my eyes out on multiple occasions.

We regularly looked like a third division team up until around the winter break, but we somehow ended up winning the most important trophies against all odds. Barca imploded during the latter half of the season, while CR and the team finally started finding some form during the final stages of the CL, almost like in a script for an American sports show.

We all watch the sport for the sake of being entertained, but that season reminded me of the obvious fact that ultimately, it's the end result that matters most. I, for one, can admit that we haven't always been the most impressive club in the CL every time we've won it, but we usually seem to find a way to come out on top anyway. I think that's our strength, moreso than being a team that bedazzles everyone else with our superior brand of football.

In terms of entertainment value, Pep's last season at Bayern comes to mind. Bayern's performance against Barcelona in the CL was incredible to watch. I think they played awe-inspiring football, and they looked like the "better team" to me. But they lost. Man City have also had a couple of games this season where they ran circles around bottom table opposition in the league, but they ended those matches with losses, draws and narrow wins. Matches like those are my favorite ones to watch, but it's also comforting to know that Pep's artsy fartsy approach to football is inconsequential to what RM are doing. Because it's only great when it works.

Clutch wrote:

Myesyats wrote:

halamadrid2 wrote:
This is football 'eritage

Bro you play like shit every tie

How do you even enjoy this

Cant believe you even get outplayed by tucheliban

lmao I know you're not talking about playing like shit

At least i am aware we play bad. Anyway i think we played better vs PSG than whatever you present to the world

You play dogshit and always deflect, is that worthy of the self proclaimed 'most talented' team in the world?

Bellingham coming off with shit cramps also goes unnoticed somehow, and they're gonna give the balon dor to this pretender?

Myesyats wrote:

Clutch wrote:

Myesyats wrote:

Bro you play like shit every tie

How do you even enjoy this

Cant believe you even get outplayed by tucheliban

lmao I know you're not talking about playing like shit

At least i am aware we play bad. Anyway i think we played better vs PSG than whatever you present to the world

You play dogshit and always deflect, is that worthy of the self proclaimed 'most talented' team in the world?

Bellingham coming off with shit cramps also goes unnoticed somehow, and they're gonna give the balon dor to this pretender?

Pretender? Kid is barely twenty, came to the biggest club in the world and been carrying them all year, top scorer from midfield.

They should absolutely give it to him.

You know its true, legendary Ancelotti has 'the most talented team in the world' playing like Balton Wandererers and you pretend to enjoy it

So much cope

Get ready for the 15th...

Bellingham without tapins

Mr. 'Give him Ballon d'Or' in Champions League pic.twitter.com/Rd4fOXIIn9

— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) April 30, 2024

Vibe wrote:

Myesyats wrote:

Clutch wrote:
lmao I know you're not talking about playing like shit

At least i am aware we play bad. Anyway i think we played better vs PSG than whatever you present to the world

You play dogshit and always deflect, is that worthy of the self proclaimed 'most talented' team in the world?

Bellingham coming off with shit cramps also goes unnoticed somehow, and they're gonna give the balon dor to this pretender?

Pretender? Kid is barely twenty, came to the biggest club in the world and been carrying them all year, top scorer from midfield.

They should absolutely give it to him.

Bellingham has scored 4 goals since the turn of the year. He carried us in the first half of the season when Vini was out injured but he has not carried us since the turn of the year. I've actually been alittle dissapointed in Bellingham in these last few CL games. You'd expect him to put those balls that Kroos did seeing as he is the CAM but apart from that clever pass against Napoli I can't remember him doing anything noteworthy in the knockout rounds.

If we can play like shit and still come off with a tie, and now have the home advantage, just think of what we can do when, as Ancelotti says up the intensity!

As I said to young Valkyrja yesterday, we don't need to answer all the jealous commentary, we will just keep on Winning!

They're just trying to cope and make sense of their rival's success in a competition where they've been shitting the bed for almost a decade.

First it was the insane " winning the league is actually more impressive  than the CL" during the Zidane era. Now they're like " Madrid fans should actually feel bad about this because the football is not beautiful"

It's been in our DNA for decades (i.e. "Hasta el final vamos Real") but starting from around the time Ramos scored the astonishing header against Courtois in the 2014 Champions League final, I feel that the particular sensibility and reputation of being clutch, mental giants that fight till the very end and comeback time and again, has remained refracted into a crystalline focus like never before. It's crazy. It's not just "luck." It's talent, mentality, character, and heritage. It's greatness.

It pleases me to say, as a massive Novak Djokovic fan and obviously a massive Madridista, that I see a lot of correlation between the two.

They're both largely attacked/framed by mainstream media in an ignorant and malicious light, framed as ugly ducklings, battling and ultimately historically trumping parties that try to win ideological battles by taking either moralistic or aesthetic high grounds that are more often than not built and supported on, ironically, vile, evil, inarticulate, ugly footing. Both Djokovic and Madrid have cultivated a sensation that they are peerless mental giants in their sports that may not always "win pretty" but who are ultimately supernaturally clutch in big moments and are also quite shapeshifting and "formless", versatile in their winning identity.

Djokovic stabbing Federer in the heart at the 2011 US Open semi final and 2019 Wimbledon final despite facing annihilation, Real Madrid looking at Guardiola eye to eye, holding its stare, and Guardiola blinking first in the 2022 and 2024 Champions league knockout rounds. Djokovic seemingly throwing away sets against the likes of Tsitsipas, Berretini, Kyrgios, and Ruud in French Open and Wimbledon finals to suddenly turn a gear and inevitably win, Madrid throwing away leads against Juventus, Bayern, and Chelsea and then changing the lights. Djokovic and Nadal going the distance at the 2012 Australian Open final and Djokovic landing the knockout blow at the dying embers (despite the fact he really could have won in 4 sets) that Nadal arguably never recovered from, Ramos silencing an entire universe in one dying second (despite the fact Madrid really could have won within the 90 mins) that marked a resurrection. 92:48.

Djokovic coming from a situation where Federer had 15 more Grand Slams than he did and Nadal had 8 more and then going on an unbelievable spree that would see him practically collect all of the infinity stones of the tennis world and snap his fingers to become the master of the universe and have every record in the book. Nadal and Federer only making a comeback in the Djokovic era when Djokovic wasn't even really there for two years from the middle of 2016 to middle 2018 where Novak suffered from mental and physical struggles that, as per personal anecdotes from his wife, almost led him to retire and which led to a heartbreaking surgery that felt gut wrenching for him.  

Real Madrid watching FC Barcelona win in their golden age only to comeback and historically be more on top of Barcelona than ever before.

If Real Madrid win the 15th this year and end up having +10 CL and +9 La Liga advantage over Barcelona this summer, with Mbappe on the way and more domination in the horizon...

It will be the same feeling for me as when Djokovic annihilated Alcaraz and Sinner on the same weekend last November to become the sole record holder of the ATP Finals record, thus capturing the last big trophy category record that he didn't hold unilaterally on his own while also unlocking his 8th Year End #1 ranking and his 400th week as #1 .

Unparalleled Greatness.



From Hugh Clarke's essential Tennis analysis website:

"One of the interesting things about Djokovic is that he doesn’t garner the same buzz or appeal that Federer or Nadal did. I’ve often thought it’s because Djokovic’s style is the most subtle.

It’s hard to put your finger on exactly why his game doesn’t generate as much excitement or fandom, but I think there are a couple of possible reasons. Firstly, I think his greatest work is often buried within points: instead of an emphatic winner of blazing speed, spin, or court craft, he more often chooses to pick a “bread-and-butter” target that will force an error from his opponent.1 This gives the impression that he makes others play poorly, or is just “making balls”, rather than doing something freakishly good himself. An excerpt from last year’s Tel Aviv Final analysis:

“Corner defense married with controlled depth and subtle change-of-direction may not make for good highlight reels, but it allows him to effortlessly tear apart quality top-20 opposition without getting out of mid-gears.”

Of course, being able to consistently hit forehands and backhands crosscourt and down-the-line in a rote manner at will is ridiculously hard to do—most pros are uncomfortable with at least one of the four shot patterns at the top level—but it’s difficult to appreciate as a casual viewer just how well Novak can play these butterfly patterns.

Second, his court position, shot speed, and overall strategy are also buried between extremes. He doesn’t move forward or take it as early as the most aggressive players, yet he also doesn’t stand as deep as Medvedev or Nadal. He doesn’t hit it particularly hard or heavy, and he doesn’t vary his speed and spins all that much either. Part of this is reflected in the notion that his game trends toward containment rather than creation: he wants to be able to get his opponent’s best shots back without conceding as much ground as Nadal or Medvedev, and he wants to be able to get their best shots back with disciplined interest."

https://hughclarke.substack.com/p/the-movement-of-the-big-3-part-iii

Of course, the big difference between the two though is that what Madrid does is often more intangible because it's not as calculated and pristine in technique as it is with Djokovic, Madrid often play "badly",  and still win, and yesterday both Tchouameni and Ancelotti somewhat frustratingly alluded to a shapeless reactivity that could be seen yesterday, and that has been a hallmark of our winning ways. You get the sense that it doesn't necessarily have to be that way, and that we're talented enough for it not to. Similarly though, Djokovic often gives the same perception, of playing "within" himself, but there are moments (2023 had several) where he turns it on and he starts ripping balls at speeds higher than Sinner and Alcaraz themselves. I'd like to see that more from Madrid.

If any of us had a chance to put our club in Madrid shoes we'd do it in a heart beat lol regardless of how we play as long as one wins at the end.

Nevertheless you guys are taking this too serious lol most people think France are boring, people thought Spain golden period was boring, people thought Barcelona golden period was boring, City dominace in the PL is boring and United before them. That's just how fans are if it isn't your team no need for a full analyst on it. Neutral care about entertainment, not what a team they don't support wins, so the boring tag will always be there for any dominate team this isn't exclusive to Madrid. I literally still see comments come up with how boring Pep Barcelona was or Spain in 10-12.

Nice post The Madrid One

I definitely agree, its something about Real's experience, mentality n of course they have a stacked squad often underrated still, so they are able to consistently fall behind or get outplayed for periods, but still believe n maintain discipline to stay in games n eventually come out on top. That together with Ancelottis style prolly means a lot too that Real are able to play efficient/effective football matches without having to be great all the time or obviously good as said in the comparison with Djorkovics style...

Used to be Real's problem of not doing it in the league, but thx to Barcas troubles n now Mbappes arrival, Real wont have that problem anymore

Im more puzzled about how Bayern ended up here though, the team is so strange now, Kimmich isnt physically strong enough to be in MF so hes like TAA, an play making RB who cant defend, Upamecano n De Ligt is always out, Davies also, Mazuraoui is good but used to be RB now playing LB... Gronekta has regressed a lot... cant help but feel Bayerns squad is so good, if the next coach just stop messing around n keep everyone fit n just play normal, they will be back

No love for PSG n Mbappe still? Cant wait to see them smash Dortmund... Enrique not messing around n fielding a proper lineup again which is a relieve so PSG should get it done... the thought of the front 3 vs old Hummels I cant imagine how Hummels can handle Mbappe?

Come on PSG, smash Dortmund, then smash Real in the final if Bayern cant in the second leg

.....why is football directing so bad? Do we need a closeup every time a player has the ball on the wings? A wider angle would allow us to see where other players are.  Do we need  a closeup on players after every save or miss while a counter is happening on the other end? Why cut away from the action on the pitch to show us some wanker holding up a board when we can perfectly see the added time next to the scoreline?

This is the only sport where you routinely miss the live action on the field for no good reason.

This Dortmund team looks quite confident

Dortmund stepped n PSG didnt... Barcola being bullied, so thats a wake up call for him, needs to be subbed off if he doesnt improve second half... Only got Mbappe up front n not enough when Dembele gets crosses in... maybe get poacher Ramos on?

farfan wrote:.....why is football directing so bad? Do we need a closeup every time a player has the ball on the wings? A wider angle would allow us to see where other players are.  Do we need  a closeup on players after every save or miss while a counter is happening on the other end? Why cut away from the action on the pitch to show us some wanker holding up a board when we can perfectly see the added time next to the scoreline?

This is the only sport where you routinely miss the live action on the field for no good reason.

Thank you. I have been meaning to mention this everytime we play but forget. It grinds my gears having to miss sequences and only hearing the fans roar or boo for a good 10-15 seconds before it cuts back to the game