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acid911
QUOTE
Uefa Cup Even More Intrusive Than CL - Seedorf
Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf thinks the pressure on the Rossoneri will decrease now that they are top of the table, but doesn't think their absence from the Champions League will help them in the Scudetto race, on the contrary...



Now that Milan are back on top of the Serie A standings for the first time in over three years, veteran midfielder Clarence Seedorf thinks the pressure on the team will not be as intense as before.

Over the last two years, Milan frequently found themselves far from the top positions, so with each new game the pressure to avoid another misstep and fall further down the table was huge, as Seedorf confirmed.

"I can't even remember the last time we could prepare a match without thinking that, if we hadn't won, we would have been in trouble," he said.

The former Inter and Real Madrid star talked about the team's style of play in recent games, which has been criticised by some pundits.

"Some people say we don't play well? Clearly we have always generated very expectations over the years, but we are realistic. At the moment concreteness brings results. We had to find back our balance. This team has found back its group spirit, and the will to help each other out in defence," Seedorf explained.

The playmaker doesn't think Milan's absence from the Champions League makes them favorites above other teams for the Scudetto.

"That doesn't make it easier, the Uefa Cup is worse because we play on Thursday and there's one day less to recover. And it's not as easy as some people think...," he concluded.

Milan beat runners-up Napoli 1-0 on Sunday night thanks to a late goal by Ronaldinho (though some still maintain it was an own goal), and are currently on top of the Serie A table with a 1-point advantage over Inter and Udinese.

Source

That's a stupid excuse really, playing on Thursday. dry.gif If you want to recover than allow yourself to be rotated with the others. Besides, professional players shouldn't really give excuses - they're getting paid to play.
Tennie
Eh. It's also goal.com and therefore (at least to me) of dubious reliability. Especially since the article doesn't cite a source.
acid911
Indeed. But I do know for a fact that Seedorf certainly did open his mouth after our first place ascent. tongue.gif He's not the one to keep quiet, not on occasions like these. Whether he said it or not, UEFA Cup is no CL, there's a major difference in quality and difficulty of football between the two tournaments.

If anything it's a whole lot easier than the CL. wink.gif Ask Fiorentina after their 3-0 drubbing from Bayern!
Tennie
Haha.

Assuming the interview is in any way accurate, I think Seedorf has a valid point. From a physical point of view, it's got to be more difficult to play every 3 days instead of every 4 or 5.
dst
QUOTE (acid911 @ Nov 3 2008, 10:24 PM) *
That's a stupid excuse really, playing on Thursday. dry.gif If you want to recover than allow yourself to be rotated with the others. Besides, professional players shouldn't really give excuses - they're getting paid to play.

It's not that simple.

QUOTE (Tennie @ Nov 3 2008, 10:40 PM) *
Haha.

Assuming the interview is in any way accurate, I think Seedorf has a valid point. From a physical point of view, it's got to be more difficult to play every 3 days instead of every 4 or 5.

Tennie, where's your ava?
Tennie
Fishdoll? Relaxing in his whisky-filled fishbowl reading up on Renaissance art. Why?
TriniKing_CE
QUOTE (acid911 @ Nov 3 2008, 04:24 PM) *
That's a stupid excuse really, playing on Thursday. dry.gif If you want to recover than allow yourself to be rotated with the others. Besides, professional players shouldn't really give excuses - they're getting paid to play.

Believe it or not...I am not a big fan usually of when Seedorf opens his mouth rolleyes.gif
But I wasn't too upset on hearing this news (regardless of it was fabricated or not)
It not like he come out of the blue and made an excuse ahead of time that Uefa Cup makes things harder.
He is basicly responding to the media's constant speculation that that our scudetto quest should be easier this season as compared to our challangers due to our exclusion of CL this season.
Not to mention we have won all our games in Uefa Cup until now, so its not to say like they're slacking.
And rotation isn't really a choice of the players, but more the coach's decison. So in the event players play on the Thursday and then play on the same weekend's game, it would obviously give them less recovery time between games. (Now I understand their professionals and their paid well for what they do, but fact are facts...and he simply stated it as it is).

Hope you understand where I am coming from, I'm not trying to be confrontational, its just I usually don't agree when Seedorf speaks, but in this instance I think he wasn't 'too' out of place in what he said. wink.gif
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