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UEFA Champions League: Your Running Commentary

 

If you are looking for exciting UEFA Champions League match-ups you won’t find a better pair of Round of 16 match-ups than the ones on offer today, as Manchester United visits Real Madrid (2:45pm, Fox Soccer Channel) and Borussia Dortmund takes on Shakhtar Donetsk (2:45pm, MSG+/Fox Soccer Plus).

Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson renew acquaintances at the Bernabeu, where Cristiano Ronaldo will be facing off against his former club in what should be an offensive showcase. In Ukraine, Borussia Dortmund will be looking to overcome some injuries to their defense to try and beat a Shakhtar side coping with the departure of playmaker Willian, as well as the rust that comes with being in their league’s winter break.

Both matches should offer tons of scoring chances, and some great goals, as four of the best attacks in Europe go at it.

If you will be watching today’s action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

  1. LOL, RM fans are getting inpatient. they did clap for Giggs’ entrance as a sub. i did not know they had that kind of class.

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  2. Not a bad first half result wise. United were fortunate to not concede more. Both Evra and Rafael have been terrible Rafael is playing like the rash and overly aggressive player he was as a teenager not the player he has played like all season. Evans and Ferdinand are getting dominated in the air. Jones should be off at halftime his passing has been poor and hasn’t been good enough defensively to make up for it. Welbeck, De Gea, Rooney and Carrick have been the only players to play decent so far for United. It is great that we already have an away goal but, we will concede more goals if we keep playing like this.

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  3. Dortmund are the best side to watch in the CL. Such a great team dynamic, like Barca but more fun to watch. No Messi, Xavi, or Iniesta, but Goetze, Reus and Gundogan are all so young. Hope they stay in Germany instead of succumbing to play for some kick-n-rush EPL side.

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  4. Wonder what would happen if Gus Johnson and Ray Hudson called a game together. That much energy might cause a tear in the fabric of the universe.

    Man U is lucky to be in this game.

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      • You can get grouchy all you want but it doesn’t change the problem with the point that you, after all, brought up and stressed in the first place.

      • Yeah, that, OR we get your hypersensitivity to any disagreement with what you see as Gus Johnson’s perfection in the realm of soccer play-by-play. Or just with you, perhaps, I dunno.

        Anyway, I never claimed to be either so advanced or worldly. I just responded realistically to your claims that Gus was. You get that that was rather exaggerated, right.

        I actually thought he did a fine job, myself, and I doubt many would disagree.

  5. Man U 1-0 .. i still don’t think they will advance to the next round but i am ok with that as long as they don’t let the EPL crown slip away like they did last year.

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  6. “I do think it’s worth giving credit that every pronunciation of a players name or clubs name, Gus has knocked out perfectly.”

    Evidently you’ve missed him trashing the pronunciation of Özil’s name. (Just did it again.)

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      • Yeah, I agree with that, pretty much. But then of course that’s also an argument against making the kind of claims (about any commentator) that I responded to here.

      • There wasn’t an argument or debate, there was a statement that you chose to play contrarian and split hairs.

        ..and again, for “argument or splitting hairs” sake, my statement was factual at the time.

        I neglected to remember there were trolls like you that need to be right, for the sake of self-gratification.

      • Nope: you exhorted us all to hail Gus Johnson’s perfect pronunciation on every name, every time out, when that was in fact quite exaggerated. I pointed that out, citing a clear and repeated example, and you began calling me an Internet contrarian with no point to make, saying I was sniping from the sidelines, or claimjng i was splitting hairs, and now labeling me a troll. All just because I didn’t agree with you.

        Rest assured, I will never again point out the error of your hyperbolic claims here. It’s obviously far too upsetting to you.

    • the broadcast I’m watching has Martin Tyler & Gary Neville on commentary, so I can’t comment specifically on Gus today, but pretty much every name has different pronunciations because they have different language of origins. So long as the play-by-play uses some acceptable pronunciation, I think the most important thing is to stick with one and be consistent. That’s one of my biggest demerits on Taylor Twellman, along with his copious overuse of the phrases “little things” and “look at that”, is that he will say one guys name 3 different ways during the course of a game. It just reeks of unfamiliarity and insecurity, and for me really spoils the broadcast. Ok, rant complete.

      P.S. I can’t wait to watch a replay of this game to hear Gus on the call. Love that guy.

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      • Totally agree with the twellman comments, overall i think Gus is good but has started off a little slow and awkward, warren barton too. Dont feel as tho they are comfortable or enjoying game. Il give them time but i still think the bein lineup of schoen and hudson are the best

        Btw the game is pretty good too! Two incredible goals so far

      • Awesome game! Makes me think: well damn, if Real Madrid are 16 points worse than ANY team in the world, that is a scary thought.

  7. I do think it’s worth giving credit that every pronunciation of a players name or clubs name, Gus has knocked out perfectly. Simplistic as that is for most, it’s a pet-peeve of mine when commentators jump into the booth (or sport) and clearly aren’t prepared and lack the respect it deserves…that isn’t the case with Gus, evidently.

    Can’t recall where I read/heard it but from what I remember, on top of the extensive studying of the game/history, Johnson apparently joined a mens pub league to help learn the game even further by playing it.

    Good things so far from an announcer I loved in American football. It’ll be perfect so long as he doesn’t say, “Gooooooooooooaaaaaaaallllll” and is just himself.

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