Haha....it's called the Durand Cup. Gooooo Viva Kerala!!!!

O my god! You mean being the oldest competition makes the FA Cup also the most prestigious?!

Well, if there were 200 countries, people of 199 of them would think otherwise! CL is definitely the greatest and most prestigious competition after the World Cup. no question about that.

By a long distance? I think you're exaggerating there... does that mean that the Blackburn Rovers (6 FA Cup wins) are a more prestigious club than Milan (7 CL wins)!?!? I don't think so... of course I can feel the importance of the FA Cup but to say it "is the most prestigious trophy in the football world" is an overstatement in my opinion... especially when only a small part of the football world can participate in it!

Not to unnecessarily dredge up a tragedy, but I wonder if the stress that is placed on the FA Cup has any connection with the fact that English teams were banned from European competition for five years.

Nope, they can't be excused, especially for that, English fans are extremelly dangerous unfortunately, that will give you a piece of what it's like to live here for people like Kurt and myself

I think Kurt meant and I certainly meant it's the biggest 'national' trophy in the world, I don't know of any other national cup that seems to be played out with so much importance as the FA Cup...

A very good point there
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
FA may be England's most prestigious competition, but how can we call it "the most prestigious in the whole world" when only English teams can take part in it?!!!

Same point with the Champions League How can it be called the best in the world when only European teams can take part in it?!!!

Anyway as I said above I think he's talking about national cups.

They hunt you down for supporting a foreign club!??? ...


I agree with that.

More than likely. But I'd rather Villa win the FA Cup than England win the World Cup.


That may well be the case for other people. I was only about a year old when that happened, so it has no bearing for me. It's been big since alot further back than the late 80s as far as I know.


I think the European Cup was a great Cup, probably bigger than the FA Cup. But the Champions League? It doesn't even make sense. How is a team that finishes 4th be a Champion? Surely it should just be the league winners that enter, like the old European Cup.


They're not that bad.. Only when the football's on.

Well put it this way. A few thousand teams care about the FA Cup. And what, about 50 care about the Champions League? And even 4 of those that enter the Champions League still keep an eye on the FA Cup. The Champions League to me lost 99% of it's greatness when they decided to let the whole league enter it. If it was the winners of the domestic Cup and the League, fair enough. But why do 2nd, 3rd and 4th get to enter?

To give smaller teams a fighting chance? To make a balance between rich clubs and ones with a exciting future? Like Palermo, Fiorentina, Tottenham, Villareal, Sevilla, Zaragoza and so on...

That's what the UEFA Cup is for.

that sucks

EDIT: No Swearing Please

I'm not exactly sure what you're saying sucks. But if it's that teams like that getting into the Champions League, Milan are one of those now, a 4th place team.

Eh, I guess you're right....

And Jefrie (If that's even you're real name), you are becoming an annoying troll. Most of your posts are meaningless and sound retarded. Don't post if you don't have anything interesting to say.

because it's a club competition of all the best clubs in europe, the 3rd or 4th team in italy, spain or england are more often than not stronger than lets say the 1st or 2nd played team in hungary, or estonia serbia... and in adition the vast majority of the worlds best players play in europe. it makes more sense to give priority to the bigger hence stronger leagues because it increases the level of play of the competition.

That's one way to look at it.

The other is that UEFA couldn't bare not having a team like United in the Champions League, there's always the off chance they would finish 2nd and not get in, 3rd now Chelsea are around. UEFA won't be having that, it's so they get all the teams they want to enter.

Let's call it the 'Retarded League', it makes no difference... I don't get it though... isn't the fact that every single team has the chance to win the FA Cup what really excites you about it (besides it's history etc...)? So why is it wrong that the same thing happens in the '/Insert Desired Name Here/ League'?

Because the Champions League is trying to decide who the best team in Europe is? How can you be the best team in Europe, while not even being the best 3 in your country, THAT is what I find stupid, not the name.

The Champions League is deciding nothing... it's an objective perception what it represents... The same with the FA Cup... what does it represent? Who's the strongest? How can the strongest be in the lowest league? They are both Cup competitions... the league shows which is really the strongest team! Where everyone plays against everyone! A Cup competition consists of knock-out round where one single mistake might rule you out... in the league, the strongest will catch-up later on... you might win a cup just by luck, never will you win a league that way though!

The winner of the EPL is called the Champions of England, the winner of Serie A is called the Champions of Italy, etc.

The winners of the European Cup are known as the Champions of Europe. The winners of the FA Cup are NOT known as the Champions of England.

It's the most historic trophy in football. Football originally existed for this, THAT is why it was so big, and that is why it will always be.

As for the Champions League, it's not as good as it's former European Cup. Only league winners and the holders entered it. Without all the group stage crap to allow big teams to slip up and still go through. The Champions League is made for the giants of European football.

Yes they also call it a league when it's clearly a cup competition... don't get stuck to the name, look at what it really is...


In what sense? I think the European Cup surpassed the Champions League on that it kept the players motivated and competitive in all fronts cause they knew they might not get another chance to play in it if they don't win the league... it could very well be a one-off...

I'm not getting stuck on its name. When you win the Champions League, European Cup, whatever, you ARE known as the Champions of Europe, it's a well known fact.

That's what I said. The European Cup is way better than the Champions League, the Champions League is a tournement that tries to look after the big teams too much.

Yes but not the best team as you said earlier... not necessarily.

What are you talking about again? I got lost in the process!

I have to admit, I've forgotten what this was about.

So you admit you don't know what you're talking about!


...

I never know what I'm talking about.

Siamo noi .. Siamo noi .. I Campioni Dell Europa Siamo noi !!!!!!!!


p.s. This old Milan that you don't seem too convinced about .. The same one that came 4th in teh league Humiliated your EPL champions at the San Siro and pushed them to the wire at Old Trafford.

And Villa humiliated your Champions.

You can say it was a friendly, but then you're saying Villa beat Inter, without even trying.

It's not that I don't believe in this team, we have as much chance as anyone of winning the European Cup, because we can beat anyone in a knockout tie! I'm just very uncertain about what we can do in the league. Juve will be alot better than people think, Roma and Inter will be up their for sure. You never know what Viola are capabale of either. We did improve under R9 and Oddo, just not enough to challenge in my opinion.

I thought you were going to discuss the season ahead on this thread not these meaningless discussions about FA, CL, etc...

You were adding to 'those meaningless discussions' yesterday...

It started out as that, but y'know, things change.

R u crazy I was rooting for Villa !!!!

It was a friendly ... But play Inter in a champions league semi-final haha .. Now that is a game I hope you never witness

Well ... Again, this whole ordeal about the "lack of depth", I mean I agree !! we have a thin bench, we can all see that .. But in all honesty, we reached our targets last season. Milan reached 4th place, when people predicted that we might not even qualify for Uefa Cup Plus we had so much injuries .. Which makes me even more convinced that this team has guts and are the best around !

Viola, Juve, Inter, Lazio, Palermo, these will all fall beneath Milan at season kicks-off !!! Yeah .. Every team that plays with Milan know the 'Milan story'. They all know what this Milan team is made off ... Mere transfer of Sjnieder or Pato or Ronaldinho don't change the Milan psychology.

p.s. How the hell can you sit here and chastise me about Inter ?! We have always taught the merda how to play football .. ALWAYS, except last season .. But then again, we are European Champions, what r Villa

I think Milans main problem is that we can beat United, Madrid, Barca and whoever.. but can we beat the Siena's and Livorno's? I'm not so sure, we rarely slip up against the big teams, it's usually the lesser teams that cause us problems. Hopefully that will change.

Milan are European Champions.. Villa are.. Champions of Birmingham, which is clearly better than Europe.

You're right. but when those meaningless discussions got serious, I withdrew


So let's give it another change and get back to roots...

LOOOL .. Yup, Europe is part of Birmingham No wonder u were giving so much significance to the FA

Well the FA Cup may be huge, but not as big as the Birmingham Senior Cup!

Good point. I agree with it (only the bold part, of course )

We have players (Seedorf for example) who clearly don't give their best when they play against these kind of teams. they only shine when they think it's worth to! like Bayern game, Manchester game, etc. what are the reasons? I think they have won so much that they don't care about playing a good game against a second rate Italian team. that's why we don't succeed in Serie A. I think our current squad lack a little bit of motivation. just look the names. Mladini, Nesta, Pirlo, Seedorf, Gattuso, Ambrosini, Cafu, Inzaghi, etc. we have too many winners...

But to succeed at European level, we have the best squad IMO.

Interesting point! Not sure if I agree with it 100%, but it would certainly make for some interesting discussion.

I'm personally optimistic about this season. I think we've got a great balance within the team, and despite what others say, the age factor doesn't bother me - why should it? Team for next season (in my opinion):

----------------------Dida
_______________Kalac

Oddo-----Nesta-----Maldini-----Jankulovski
Cafu_____Bonera___Kaladze____Kaladze
Simic____Simic____Darmian____Favalli
Bonera___Diago____Diago______Serginho

-----Gattuso------Pirlo-------Seedorf
___Brocchi____Brocchi____Gourcuff
___Ambro____Ambro_____Serginho
_______________________Gourcuff

--------------------Kaka
___________Gourcuff

--------Ronaldo----------Gila
______Pato_________Inzaghi
___Aubameyang___Aubameyang

Plenty of depth there, although we're going to need a world class centre back to replace Maldini next season. If Gourcuff keeps up his good performances, he can become very useful this season (I'd love to see a Ronaldo, Pato, Gila trident with Kaka and Gourcuff behind - perfect for those teams who come to the San Siro and like to defend for 90 minutes. Carlo would never buy it though).

That's interesting. now I'm even more convinced we have 'enough' depth unlike what others says. we may not have Inter's or Barca's, but our depth is sufficient.

There's no reason to worry what will happen if three of four of our players get injured, because that's not gonna happen. last season we had World Cup, a shortened vacation and pre-season shortly afterwards. that cost us in the middle of the season but we got over it after the January break. it's very unlikely to happen again IMO. right now we have added Ronaldo and Oddo to the squad compared to last season, and we'll have Pato in our team from January.

So the situation is not that disastrous. not only this Milan, no other team in Europe can win five tournaments in one season nowadays (forget late 80's and 90's Milan). remember last season's Barca with all its depth and quality and how they ended up in every single competition, because they avariciously wanted to win all of them but eventually ended up with nothing. we can't make the same mistake they did, so why not to forget about Serie A and Coppa Italia and focus only on Supercup, World Club Cup and Champions League? I think that's what our management are planning to do. and let's remember that winning Supercup and World Club Cup is more valuable than Serie A. because Milan take part in Serie A every single year no matter what. but to get a chance to participate in World Club Cup and Supercup, a club must win the Champions League the year before. we cannot expect our team to win the Champions League every season, that's impossible. so now's the best time for the team to win what most of them have never won, World Club Cup.

Winning the World Club championship shouldn't be a huge factor, since the Serie A season, stretches on for much longer.

I would love for us to chase the double this season and get it. It would shut up every single 'pundit' who were all talking about Milan's undeserved trophy.

But somehow I'd think Carlo's after the Serie A. He takes Inter more seriously that most of us realize, and I reckon he's gonna chase it hard, and prove a point to the merda.

Maybe if we had R10 and Emerson, I'd say the double would be no issue. But right now, it looks like just one of the two. Keeping in mind that our squad will rely a lot on two 'untested' talents Pato and Gourcuff, Serie A looks more likely.

I dunno about you guys, but something also tells me that Pato was not completely a signing meant for the future. I expect Kaka to be nailed real tight in a European matches(everyone's scared of him now), and this means Pato will become lethal. Coz he's one of the few players on our team, besides Sergio and Cafu who can drift in and out of the flanks with great pace, and he's also got a really good shot.

Pirlo+Kaka+Pato+R99+Seedorf, would be really something. Gourcuff is a great player, but while I can't complain he slows down the pace of our game, he's not really into speeding things up either. His play seems well I dunno, very Franco-Spanish. All complicated taps and feints, when our own Andy P would probably give it a one touch pass releasing Kaka/R99.

I might be wrong, but then that won't be the first time.


****So what were we talking about?***

aubemeyang is back with the primavera squad and from what we've seen he isnt good enough for us, pato isnt even able to play for us right now so i dont see how you can include him in the squad. LOL when are digao and darmian ever going to play?

the point is we have a couple of injuries in lets say midfield which happens with EVERY team, what happens then. lets say brocchi and ambro are injured (not even first eleven players) all we have is gourcuff and serginho... it's so much that we dont have guys to cover several positions it's more quantity. and it's not like we need lots of signings 1 or 2 would do fine...

anyways when it comes to injuries many of you talk of last season as a one of but havent any of you noticed how injuries have gotten way worse over the past 3-4 years. it's been getting worse and worse... i mean it's great having all this experience but it comes at a price and thats injuries +fitness... i mean if having an older squad was so effective wouldnt more teams be mimicking us?

Take for example..

United 1-2 Milan

Maldini + Gatusso OUT, Bonera + Brocchi IN

United 3-2 Milan

Losing those through injury for ONLY 45 minutes cost us two goals, imagine losing them for a game or two, we'd be in serious trouble. We simply don't have good enough cover for them. As for Serie A, we really don't have a hope.

We're expecting our unimproved Milan team, who lost home and away to Inter, to beat an improved Inter team? Like last year, Inter will beat us both home and away on the way to finishing above us. But some people seem to think the Champions League is the only thing that matters, but a team like Milan should be able to compete in multiple competitions.

or at least make an attempt there really starting to trun into the liverpool of 05/06 and 06/07 in that they dont give a **** about anything else which doesnt make the fans happy...

it's simple "you reap what you sow". what worked last season 9winning the Cl) isn't going to necessarily work this season.

I dunno about Liverpool. In Rafa's first year he didn't take notice of the domestic Cups, but since then he's really gone for the domestic Cups (Made a few finals).

If that's the market of the Champions of Europe... then I am the Santa Claus.

Shame.

I imagine it will be much better next season.

Hey Santa can I have that thing I asked you to get me last Christmas!? Or maybe a new player for Milan!?? A good one! Thanks...

dst

But Nesta likes girls. Get over it!!

You haven't met me... I could very well be a super-hot Liv Tyler look-alike! You wouldn't want to ruin you chances with me, would you!?