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UEFA Champions League Final: Your Running Commentary

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Italian champions Inter Milan take on German champions Bayern Munich in today's UEFA Champions League final in Madrid (2:45pm, FOX).

Jose Mourinho will look to win his second Champions League title and go out as Inter manager in grand style (assuming the rumors are true about him joining Real Madrid). Bayern Munich will look to keep it's high-powered offense rolling as it tries to knock off the favored Italians (not that there are any Italians in Inter's starting lineup).

If you will be watching today's final, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below (I'm driving back from Princeton and may start up a live commentary if I can get back in time, so look out for that). Also look for SBI Twitter updates on the match.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

  1. The Milito second goal shows why we need a decent forward going to the WC. Imagine if Ching was going one on one with a defender. He would hold up the ball and look for help. We need forwards who can go one on one and make things happen. Other than Jozy, who else among the striker corps can do that with confidence?

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  2. This is the Champions League final. Why shouldn’t it be hard-fought or a tough battle. Bayern looked like they didn’t even care to be there. Just my opinion, but for such a big stage you think there would have been more hustle to win the game. The last 15 minutes were the best of the game. It’s like Bayern woke up and realized that were playing soccer.

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  3. I’ve watched plenty of them and I’m sorry it was not an entertaining match for me. Sounds like some people liked it though and that’s all good. Just for me, it was a very flat game.

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  4. You mean against Monaco in the final with one of the richest teams in Portugal with expensive brought in players…?

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  5. I agree with you actually that it is our tactic. however, we don’t play it as well as Inter do…

    Against Brazil and Spain it did work, but I think the teams we are playing against will be much more prepared. Plus Spain missed a dozen chances.

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  6. you get that this is our tactic, right? this is what we did to Spain last summer (maybe not as intense on the bunkering, but yeah)

    this is how all teams facing superior midfields and attacking power play. it’s the only way you can. the only major teams that don’t play this way at times are Barca and Arsenal. which works great when your midfield and attack is the best in the world (see: Barca) but when it’s not? meet Arsenal.

    remember all the people clamoring for the US to hire Guus Hiddink when he left Russia? this is his style. for all but the very best, it’s in the quiver, or it should be.

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  7. What are you talking about? There were chances throughout the match and Inter did phenomenally well to hold on. There have been plenty of Champions League Finals less entertaining than that. You probably didnt watch them, though.

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  8. Milito is going to be a great sidekick to Messi at the world cup. I found issue however with the analyst’s calling him the best finisher in the world. That title belongs to Drogba.

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  9. Yeah, I had the same thoughts. But, he did a pretty good job. He definitely did his research and preparation well.

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  10. I actually think Wynalda’s pretty good, he knows the game, has strong – ok sometime debatable – opinions. The second US was knocked out in 2006 he was calling for Arena’s head, which was by US soccer commentator standards – unheard of.

    Anyway, none are great, but of that group I’d take Wynalda – though with his new day job maybe he has to be more careful about what he says…

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  11. That had to be the most boring Champions League final ever… Watching Bayern knocking the ball around all game was not fun. Not a good debut for the champion’s final on network tv.

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  12. I’m not saying the commentators should talk down to fans, but how about acknowledging the international nature of the teams and tying the game in with the World Cup next month?

    Over the years, I’ve had several people express surprise to learn that (for example) there are non-Italians playing for an Italian club team.

    Fox could easily show a graphic with a little flag next to the players name showing where they play internationally. Surely I’m not the only person to think of this?

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  13. If Fox would see fit to put him on a bit more soccer coverage, all the better. It certainly seems like he could pick it up and do it as well as he does the NFL.

    However, that’s probably wishful thinking. Fox won’t think of him for soccer until the Final rolls around again next year.

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  14. Bruce: “I think Bayern is now the team to beat [in Europe].”

    Really? Shouldn’t Inter, the team that just won the final, be the “team to beat”?

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  15. Yeah, I’ve been hard on Menefee not being a soccer guy, but right now he’s doing better than Wynalda and is leaps and bounds better than Arena. The guy can coach, no doubt about that. But he makes a terrible commentator. I wish ESPN and FOX would stop the gimmickry and let him coach his team.

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  16. Amazing that Curt Menefee’s postgame comments are much better than anything Bruce Arena and Eric Wynalda manage to spit out.

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  17. I liked ESPN in that I knew that I would have a Tuesday and a Wednesday match every CL matchday, unlike Fox where they’d juggle is on the stations, and FSN (the only Fox Sports channel I get) wouldn’t show more than one live match per matchday, usually only on Tuesdays. And in the early fall and spring they’d get bumped by baseball on FSN.

    In terms of the final, ESPN definitely had better studio coverage – better pregame, better halftime, better postgame. Menefee, Arena, and Wynalda barely talked much at all. It seemed like Fox was more concerned about getting ads on during those times. Oh, and Menefee isn’t a soccer guy (though he has at least done enough research to fake it, being able to call Jose “The Special One”.) ESPN at least had soccer guys all around, and they’d have their own commentators rather than have to pull from another feed.

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  18. Only 96 comments?

    Game on ESPN got over 200.

    Fox needs to give back Champions League to ESPN.

    I know ESPN does not always cover soccer the way it should, but the fact is the sport grows and dies with ESPN not FOX. I had friends ask me what a Fox soccer channel was…These were friends who watched the ESPN final every year

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  19. “not CL mind you”

    Let’s face it, Champions League is more important than domestic leagues. Jose proved that at Chelsea – winning domestically wasn’t nearly enough.

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  20. In the words of a great man “Worst Champions League final ever.” – Comic book guy.

    Wasn’t worthy of being in HD and national television.

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