Yeah because people weren't sure about the effect Tuchel was having. Now it's clearer he's doing a decent to good job.
Brondby aside. They were all tough games against big teams full of excellent players, and Utd just made the knockout rounds by being the second best second placed team. It was one of the toughest routes to a win by any team.
Hard disagree. Dinamo Kyev were better than inter or juventus, by a lot
It was definitely very difficult, I'm not disputing that. Just adding a little more context for the two knock out phases. Inter, for all the great players it had, just wasn't a very good team while the great Juventus team of previous years was a little past their best.
Juventus were actually really good after changing manager, but yeah, i wouldn't call them great either
Yeah we fully rotated for the home leg of a CL semi final and won 4-1. We were good but that was probably the easiest run I've ever seen.
Neuer. Even the away leg which you won if not for him would have been 5 6
Because they beat the defending champions Real?
They beat real madrid, pissed a group with arsenal and took Bayern to the brink. I remember that side, it was a great side, certainly better than anything from serie A that season
It was a good side that had a decent run to the champions league semi finals one year and did nothing of note after they lost their best player. Shevchenko is the only player from them that had what could be called a good career after that.
They were great that season though. The season before they humiliated barcelona and actually gave juventus some serious trouble before their inexperience and naivete let juventus take control of the tie
You can’t seriously be telling me those three are quality opponents.
Technically because they got to the semis they were one of the best 4 teams. But they weren't a better side nor did they have better players than Juventus or Inter.
We were pretty poor that season (despite finishing 2nd) but i can't recall any infighting, if anything the atmosphere was too far the other way.
No matter how often you say this it will never change the fact the actual best player in the world in 1999 actually won the FIFA award.
Not exactly C.L - but to get an easier way to a final than we had the year we won the Europa League isn't possible. Every decent team in the tournament were knocked out by fairly small Clubs:
But having better/worse players doesn't necessarily make you a better/worse side. It's a combination of things. The Dynamo Kiev of that period was a terrific side, better than some of Europe big names, even if it had just one player who will go on to do big things.
As a result of what they did in the Champions League that season they had to be considered one of the best teams in the world. Who cares if they were light on names when they were running rings around most of the best teams in Europe? They were actually unlucky not to win the entire thing. Bayern were second best in their semi-final and fortunately survived through a wonder goal from Basler and a heroic display from Kahn.
When we played you you were in the midst of a run of winning 8 out of 9 in the league which began with you beating us, a run which set up a title decider between the two clubs in May. It might not be have been the greatest Chelsea side ever, but it’s laughable to suggest that going up against the champions of England in a great run of form is some kind of free pass in a European Cup quarter final. Especially when the supposedly superior Real got to have a quarter final against fecking Spurs.
That's what sets the 99 team apart, getting out of the group alone was a massive task for either of the three teams.
Christ, you'd swear they were playing superb football all the time, sweeping all before them and hammering everybody for years and were unlucky not to win the thing on numerous occasions.
I don't think we were better than Real Madrid that season to be honest.
The starting point here is that they were a better side than Inter and Juventus in 1998/99. Aside from both Italian sides ending up in mid-table that year, Inter were extremely dysfunctional, unbalanced and top-heavy, relying heavily on one player, while Juventus had become a shadow of the force that had dominated Europe in the mid-1990s.
Inter and juventus were having a very poor year. They didn't even qualify for the next CL, and barely made it to the UEFA Cup. Great players don't make a great team. Look at real madrid two years ago, and now. Pretty much the same players. Much different results
Kaladze was solid for Milan too. Luzhny had too many years behind him by the time of the Arsenal move, playing full seasons since 1986 and they bought him after he had already started picking up serious injuries.
Being a flash in a pan team doesn't mean that team wasn't really good in a particular season. Which is the only thing that matters if the discussion is about whether facing them in that particular season was part of a tough run in.
This. Cannot state it enough. Extremely tough road to the finals, while winning the league and FA Cup that season. Easily one of the greatest football teams (and seasons) ever.
About the same as PSG 2020 : Dortmund,Atalanta,Leipzig
And if the final is with Atletico then absolutely hands down the softest. Even this aged Real Madrid. Not that I'm saying we'll get to the final or win it.
Klopp aint happy with his fixtures, everyone is against him the poor little lamb.
Our run 1999 is toughest ever. Bayern and Barca in group stage. Then Inter filled with stars and best Ronaldo ever (who didn't play though), best Juve side ever with Zidane and again Bayern.
Zidane wasn't really fit IIRC but yes, a tough run.
