Throwdowns > Closed

LetsPlay2 said 02/14, 02:21 PM
To clear it up a bit:

Leverkusen v Barcelona
Lyon v APOEL
Zenit v Benfica
Milan v Arsenal
CSKA Moskva v Real Madrid
Napoli v Chelsea
Basel v Bayern
Marseille vs Internazionale

My choice is Chelski versus Napoli.

Chelski is ripe for a defeat in their two-legged match-up with Napoli. They just lost to Everton (COYB!!) and in their last ten EPL matches have only managed to beat Wolverhampton and Sunderland. The lone striker, Fernando Torres, is completely lost.... Their captain (If you still want to call him that) is a major distraction.... And their creativity only seems to rely heavily on Mata.

Don't forget that Napoli survived the group of death, along with Bayern. They are a resourceful team that will wait for their chances.

All the pressure will be on Chelsea, who feel as though they should win. Napoli is the lesser known Italian side looking to pull the upset. Chelsea and Arsenal are the only two remaining EPL sides in the world's preeminent club tournament. Who knows.... Maybe Drogba saves the day. Maybe Lampard and Torres find their form. But, I think if Napoli can manage to contain Juan Mata, I think they win ha

LetsPlay2 said 02/14, 04:33 PM
Admittedly, there's not a lot seperating these 2 games. Both involve Italian teams taking on teams from London. Both matches involve one of the last remaining EPL teams. How Arsenal and Chelski perform will say as much about them as it does about the state of the league they are a part of.

But, whenever watching a match that I don't have a rooting interest in, I usually go for the underdog. Amongst these four teams, Napoli is the best underdog. ACM boast stars like Ibra, Pato, Boateng, and so on.... while some fans of the game would even have a hard time naming the starting XI for Napoli. The disparity of the teams is apparent when you look at the total market values of each team. According to transfermarkt.co.uk, Chelski is total market value is 381 mil Euro, while Napoli is only worth 194 mil Euro, for a difference of 87 mil E. The other match has a much smaller disparity (ACM 266, Arsenal 313, for a difference of 47 mil Euro).

If AC Milan beats Arsenal, I can't think that too many people will be shocked. ACM is atop Serie A. But if Napoli beats Chelski, it will send shockwaves through the EPL, Serie A, and the Champions League.

LetsPlay2 said 02/15, 11:42 AM
It would be a good thing for soccer if Napoli beat Chelski. No doubt.

Why does anyone bother to watch March Madness? For the upsets.... for the underdogs! You couldn't make me watch most La Liga or Scottish PL games. Why? Because the same two teams almost always win. What's the fun in that?

The culture of soccer is changing. The days of the mega-spenders is quickly drawing to a close, mostly due to the FFP rules. A new era of academies and growing your own talent is coming about. Some are out in the forefront of this movement (Barca, most Bundesliga teams, etc) while others are lagging way behind (Chelski in particular). Napoli over Chelski would be an indictment on how Roman Abramovich (and the EPL as a whole) has spent to build his squad, and praise a team that is build more frugally.

Arsenal/AC Milan is just a match-up of two perennial contenders. Both not afraid to open up the checkbook to buy another player. Whatever happens in this round, they'll probably both be back again next season. For Napoli, this is their shot. It might not come around again for another couple years.

Forza Napoli! I'll be rooting for them. You can keep that other match!