EL (the last 32)

[AlanK]

While I was rooting for Porto, I have to agree with those who say that they never looked capable of overcoming the first leg result.

I thought Sporting played well for awhile. I understand why Jorge Jesus wasn't pushing for a full-out effort in the EL, but I hate that attitude by anybody every time it comes up.

Saw capsule highlights of many games on uefa.com today. Had to blink in astonishment at Villarreal's winner my caption would be "Tomás Pina in NOT just another pretty face." Marca.com did me one better: "PePinazo in San Paolo." Which takes a bit of explanation. The word "pepinazo" apparently comes from the concept of a cannon shot of a projectile that had physical resemblance to a cucumber ("pepino") in the 19th century Carlist wars in Spain. So here, they co-opted Tomás Pina's last name by capitalizing the second "P" in PePinazo. Actually, the shot wasn't exactly howitzer-like, as you know if you saw the replay. Loses a bit if you try to "translate" (sic) literally--"a cucumber shot by Pina".

[rrey1]

For Borussia Dortmund, the second "classico" in early March and a [potential] DFB Pokal Final in May
are the only remaining chances to lay a boom on BAYERN.

Sure, they may say all the "right things" about participation in EL, but none of the remaining 15 EL teams
will elicit the same level of rivalry as the one with Bayern (may be, Liverpool because of the "Klopp factor",
or Bayer Leverkusen because of what happened between those teams recently).

This is why I put them as "half-motivated": they'll give it a try, but if they get a tough draw / bad referee / etc.
they won't regret too much of dropping out.

[Aliceag]

What I meant is that if the illegal Dortmund goal was not allowed - thus, the result being 0-0 at half time, for instance, the outcome could have been totally different. Now Imagine at minute 60 the score is still 0-0 and that the Borussia Player is sent off and they end up with 10 man...
I still don't find impossible that Porto could win that game 1-0 (good for Coeff), or even push a 2-0 and force an ET... They created enough chances for that to happen. So in a scenario with video referee I think the tie could have been much more balanced and with a more fair result.

Now, when you suffer an invalid goal already being 2-0 down, of course that hurts a LOT and killed most of the hopes Porto could still have. It was a game changer. Dortmund was also much more relaxed..

[SirHenri]

Dortmund's biggest motivation is to become the 6th team ever which is able to win all 3 european cups.

They had a huge and fine choreo before the first match.

[Zarastro]

What I meant is that if the illegal Dortmund goal was not allowed - thus, the result being 0-0 at half time, for instance, the outcome could have been totally different. Now Imagine at minute 60 the score is still 0-0 and that the Borussia Player is sent off and they end up with 10 man...
I still don't find impossible that Porto could win that game 1-0 (good for Coeff), or even push a 2-0 and force an ET... They created enough chances for that to happen. So in a scenario with video referee I think the tie could have been much more balanced and with a more fair result.

Now, when you suffer an invalid goal already being 2-0 down, of course that hurts a LOT and killed most of the hopes Porto could still have. It was a game changer. Dortmund was also much more relaxed..

A lot of "ifs" imho. First of all it is worth pointing out that Dortmund only started to relax when they scored the goal, which is only natural given the situation. Before that they neutralized Porto and they dominated Porto in the first leg. I find it hard to believe that Dortmund excellent offensive players would have failed to score, something that happened hardly ever this season. And no, Porto did not create so many chances that you could seriously believe they could have beaten Dortmund with this scoreline.

Btw which Dortmund player should have been send off? In both legs there was only one player who should have been send off without a doubt and that player played for Porto. There was also one instance where Porto was lucky to not be punished with a pk. Complaining about the referee although he missed such obvious calls and despite the fact that Dortmund was over both legs clearly the better team (First leg completely dominated, second a draw because Dortmund relaxed) is not really good spirit if you ask me.

Dortmund's biggest motivation is to become the 6th team ever which is able to win all 3 european cups.

They had a huge and fine choreo before the first match.

I certainly hope so but there is a long way left to go.

[matt]

What I meant is that if the illegal Dortmund goal was not allowed - thus, the result being 0-0 at half time, for instance, the outcome could have been totally different. Now Imagine at minute 60 the score is still 0-0 and that the Borussia Player is sent off and they end up with 10 man...
I still don't find impossible that Porto could win that game 1-0 (good for Coeff), or even push a 2-0 and force an ET... They created enough chances for that to happen. So in a scenario with video referee I think the tie could have been much more balanced and with a more fair result.

Now, when you suffer an invalid goal already being 2-0 down, of course that hurts a LOT and killed most of the hopes Porto could still have. It was a game changer. Dortmund was also much more relaxed..

A lot of "ifs" imho. First of all it is worth pointing out that Dortmund only started to relax when they scored the goal, which is only natural given the situation. Before that they neutralized Porto and they dominated Porto in the first leg. I find it hard to believe that Dortmund excellent offensive players would have failed to score, something that happened hardly ever this season. And no, Porto did not create so many chances that you could seriously believe they could have beaten Dortmund with this scoreline.

Btw which Dortmund player should have been send off? In both legs there was only one player who should have been send off without a doubt and that player played for Porto. There was also one instance where Porto was lucky to not be punished with a pk. Complaining about the referee although he missed such obvious calls and despite the fact that Dortmund was over both legs clearly the better team (First leg completely dominated, second a draw because Dortmund relaxed) is not really good spirit if you ask me.

She didn't say that Braga went through also thanks to controversial decisions of the referee...of course she mentions only the errors against Portugal's teams.

[ngfsmg]

What I meant is that if the illegal Dortmund goal was not allowed - thus, the result being 0-0 at half time, for instance, the outcome could have been totally different. Now Imagine at minute 60 the score is still 0-0 and that the Borussia Player is sent off and they end up with 10 man...
I still don't find impossible that Porto could win that game 1-0 (good for Coeff), or even push a 2-0 and force an ET... They created enough chances for that to happen. So in a scenario with video referee I think the tie could have been much more balanced and with a more fair result.

Now, when you suffer an invalid goal already being 2-0 down, of course that hurts a LOT and killed most of the hopes Porto could still have. It was a game changer. Dortmund was also much more relaxed..

A lot of "ifs" imho. First of all it is worth pointing out that Dortmund only started to relax when they scored the goal, which is only natural given the situation. Before that they neutralized Porto and they dominated Porto in the first leg. I find it hard to believe that Dortmund excellent offensive players would have failed to score, something that happened hardly ever this season. And no, Porto did not create so many chances that you could seriously believe they could have beaten Dortmund with this scoreline.

Btw which Dortmund player should have been send off? In both legs there was only one player who should have been send off without a doubt and that player played for Porto. There was also one instance where Porto was lucky to not be punished with a pk. Complaining about the referee although he missed such obvious calls and despite the fact that Dortmund was over both legs clearly the better team (First leg completely dominated, second a draw because Dortmund relaxed) is not really good spirit if you ask me.

She didn't say that Braga went through also thanks to controversial decisions of the referee...of course she mentions only the errors against Portugal's teams.

I guess you're talking about the ridiculous penalty that gave Braga the 1-1 in the 2nd leg, and you're right, but there's also an offside in the 1-2 for Sion minutes later...

[bugylibicska]

Terrible also for France seeing both teams eliminated. Luckily Portugal and Russia also failed, so that Russia probably will stay 7th in the ranking. Uness Dinamo makes wonders......

I wish Dynamo could make wonders, but that won`t help Russia.

[Thunder_PT]

A lot of "ifs" imho. First of all it is worth pointing out that Dortmund only started to relax when they scored the goal, which is only natural given the situation. Before that they neutralized Porto and they dominated Porto in the first leg. I find it hard to believe that Dortmund excellent offensive players would have failed to score, something that happened hardly ever this season. And no, Porto did not create so many chances that you could seriously believe they could have beaten Dortmund with this scoreline.

Btw which Dortmund player should have been send off? In both legs there was only one player who should have been send off without a doubt and that player played for Porto. There was also one instance where Porto was lucky to not be punished with a pk. Complaining about the referee although he missed such obvious calls and despite the fact that Dortmund was over both legs clearly the better team (First leg completely dominated, second a draw because Dortmund relaxed) is not really good spirit if you ask me.

She didn't say that Braga went through also thanks to controversial decisions of the referee...of course she mentions only the errors against Portugal's teams.

I guess you're talking about the ridiculous penalty that gave Braga the 1-1 in the 2nd leg, and you're right, but there's also an offside in the 1-2 for Sion minutes later...

I also thought the penalty was ridiculous because I was looking at the tackle which was clean. But right after there's a handball by a 2nd player and that's why the penalty was given.

Sion's 2nd goal is clearly offside, so Braga are the ones with reasons to complain.

[Dragonite]

In Aliceag’s defense, none of what she says actually comes from her mind.

In Portugal, after the real match ends, it’s “circus time”, let’s call it that for now.
What happens in this “circus time”? A lot of clowns in several TV programs pick specific instants of the match, and try to tell a different story of what allegedly would have happened if these “key decisions” had been different.

When it’s a domestic game, usually some clowns like Team A and the rest of the clowns dislike it, so they fight among themselves and some try to point the flaws in the others’ story and vice-versa.

However, when it’s an international game, they usually team up and they build a fantastic story where the Portuguese team would have won if “blah-blah-blah”.


They always demand perfection from the referee, but they are always ready to forgive the imperfection of their teams.


Clattenburg (the “evil referee”) hasn’t done anything to harm FC Porto compared to what others did, not even 0.1%.
An offside goal and a yellow card that maybe could have been a red, that’s nothing, FC Porto has much bigger problems than that!

Every time they blame the referee, they should say Peseiro 200-300 times if they were fair.

Peseiro has a much bigger responsibility in FC Porto’s defeats than Clattenburg.

And still, the fault it not entire his, he only arrived in January, his starting conditions were already far from perfect, thanks to five seasons of incompetent management, where FC Porto is adrift, waiting to find a new Mourinho or AVB (or for their return).


Despite the problems that FC Porto already had, he created a lot more.

He never intended to advance; his only concern was “avoiding an embarrassment”.
And it seems he (and the clowns) are convinced that this was accomplished!!!!

According to them, “an embarrassment” would have been what happened to FC Porto against Bayern last season, or what happened to Midtjylland against Manchester United now.

I think that what FC Porto did this season is 1000 times more embarrassing than what they did last season, of than what Midtjylland did now.

Winning one leg and losing the second, with an aggregate score of 4-7
Winning one leg and losing the second, with an aggregate score of 3-6
Losing both legs, with an aggregate score of 0-3

Which one is the worst/most embarrassing?

And this is just looking at the last stage, considering the rest of the campaign the answer becomes even clearer (if it wasn’t already evident)
First case: undefeated for 8 matches (5-3-0) or 10 if we include the playoff against Lille (7-3-0).
Second case: eliminated teams like Southampton, Club Brugge and Legia Warsaw to get this far
Third case: these two defeats without scoring were preceded by other two, so four defeats in a row without scoring a single goal

Again I ask, which one is the worst/most embarrassing?


Peseiro spent the 180 minutes trying to “avoid an embarrassment”, he wasn’t trying to win or even to score, just to concede the fewest goals possible, and he thinks that he was successful, but he failed miserably.




Sporting is different, I don’t see their season as a failure, I never expected them to eliminate Bayer Leverkusen anyway, the two defeats are natural. What’s strange is to see Bayer Leverkusen in the EL last 32 instead of in the CL last 16.

The other shocking results, beside FC Porto, were Schalke 04 (how could this poor Shakhtar smash them?), Napoli (perfect group stage and now can’t go further, against an opponent that they defeated twice in their previous clash) and Olympiakos (some years ago they defeated Anderlecht twice, now they couldn’t do it. Marco Silva is terrible in the EL, 10 matches and not a single win!!).

[SteffenM]

Again I ask, which one is the worst/most embarrassing?

Not sure I understand your point fully, but I would say at least
For Midtjylland, a minow, to win 1 leg and loose agg. 3-6 to a top 3 club in the world (at least according to brand and economy)
and for Porto loosing 0-3 to Dortmund, I would say neither is an embarrasment.
ManU should any day be gigantic favourites against Midtjylland and Dortmund should also be favourites, in a smaller amount though.

They could maybe have wished for better, but no way it is an embarrasment.

[og2002gr]

Again I ask, which one is the worst/most embarrassing?

Not sure I understand your point fully, but I would say at least
For Midtjylland, a minow, to win 1 leg and loose agg. 3-6 to a top 3 club in the world (at least according to brand and economy)
and for Porto loosing 0-3 to Dortmund, I would say neither is an embarrasment.
ManU should any day be gigantic favourites against Midtjylland and Dortmund should also be favourites, in a smaller amount though.

They could maybe have wished for better, but no way it is an embarrasment.

Space between ManU and Midtjylland is (meant to be) much bigger than that between Porto and Dortmund. Yet Midtjylland managed to take a win and score in both games, while Porto didn't.
That is what Dragonite finds as embarrassing.

Still I think he is a bit harsh against his team, because he was used to "another" Porto.
I know this feeling...

[Overgame]

You can lose 3-6 or 4-7 on aggregate after 2 good games. Look at Midtjylland, let's even forget who are the teams involved. You win the first leg 2-1 after a great game, your take the lead away during the second leg after 30 minutes, your opponent equalize just before half-time, take the lead after one hour but this opponent is just too strong and score a third goals with 15 minutes left. You give everything to scored a second goal, but on a counter-attack your opponent makes 4-1 with a few minutes left, killing your last hopes. They even score a fifth goal, but who cares ?

On the other hand, if you lose the first leg 2-0 without even being dangerous and you never seem able to be a threat during the second leg, only when your opponent is walking on the field with a qualification almost assured and still lose 0-3 on aggregate, this is embarassing. Now, if this happend for Midtjylland we can forgive them for not being able to compete against United but Porto not even looking dangerous at home against Dortmund, just no.

[ngfsmg]

I agree with Dragonite, Peseiro had 0 interest in passing to the last 16, he just didn't want to be humilliated by Borussia. Contrarily to what most people say, I think Sporting showed much interest in the game versus Bayer, despite the fact they used 2 or 3 subs, they played relatively well and at least they showed will to win the game. Bayer was simply much more efficient, and maybe they deserve it, after the goals they've missed in Lisbon and would have solved the problem.