For winning the champions league, 0-3, pretty convincing! Oh, and MCdread, congratulations as well. Have a beer on me :goodjob:

Yeah, congratulations! :)

Especially to a certain guy who's probably already drunk. ;)

I doubt we will see him posting till tomorrow :D

Congrats on winning, looks like we were all mostly right in the Euro competition.

hell yeah! Loved that game. A lot of people thought it was bad, but I loved the high pace, the attacks of Monaco and the disciplined team play of Porto. Like a well oiled machine. :D :beer: Cheers! :D

Very nice game. It was better than last year's final...well..any final can be better than Juve-Milan :lol:

Thank you all. We played like sh*t for most of the game and were a bit lucky, but then again, they hadn't exactly many chances. The linesman also helped us a bit in the offsides, but a win is a win, and we are *****ng european champions and that's it!!! :D
Now if you excuse me... See ya tomorrow!!

well, that was faster than expected right Matt? ;)

I doubt that last part ;) EDIT: @MCD
Anyway, what I particularly liked about this match, or better yet, the whole CL season, is that a good organized team can outdo the spanish and italian stars. Let's see what Mourinho can make something out of Chelsea...

You should already be incapable of posting. :p ;)

exactly, this year's championsleague is a beacon of hope for football

well, that was faster than expected right Matt? ;)

Okay I was wrong... :)

:goodjob: Porto

I'd like to say that I'm really disappointed by how the game was tonight. For me, it was not a pretty game at all, and BTW we lost it. :(

And once again the referees were quite lame, refusing several actions for inexistent off-sides. And Giuly out too soon, don't even know if he'll make up for the Euro in a few weeks. :(

Anyway congrats Porto ! Even though it wasn't spectacular, you surely are an excellent team (didn't see their matches). But you can't prevent me from thinking that, like last week's match (red card for Barthez), something wrong happened. :(

BTW, don't want to forget the one positive thing : "minor" teams can do fantastic matches and beat teams involved in stock exchanges. :king:

well, the linesman sucked, that's for sure, but there was nothing wrong with Barthez' red card. It was a foul, a penalty and a red card. It wasn't his fault last season against Real Madrid either hm? The man is just bad at admitting his mistakes, and there's no reason to attack Collina over it. He's the best referee around.

Anyway, if the linesman would've been better, it would've been a different game.

The ref wasn't too good, Monaco didn't take their chances, Porto took theirs...and how!

A pleasing game, which I watched with a German friend...we both agreed Porto as a team were really very good...I just wanted Morientes to do something to rub it into Madrid.

Congrats Dread! A fine feeling, to be:
Champions of Europe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A fine feeling indeed polymath, one that you already know too of course. ;) Just returned from the street celebrations. What a night to be a Porto fan, it is amazing to realise that I already watched twice my somewhat small club becoming Champions of Europe!

Congratulations Porto. :goodjob: Alenichev was quite good. :D

Parabens Porto !

I'm pleased to see that I was not the only one in rage with the refrees and linemen, but any way, it was a pretty good game wining by the best team (and by far) : 3 shoots, 3 goals !

Bravo to Monaco : to make a good game, you need two teams, and this year you made great games !

Well played Porto!!! :goodjob:

A fine feeling indeed polymath, one that you already know too of course. ;) Just returned from the street celebrations. What a night to be a Porto fan, it is amazing to realise that I already watched twice my somewhat small club becoming Champions of Europe!

Well I'll let you off for posting again, since it looks like you were out celebrating for quite some time :D

But you can't prevent me from thinking that, like last week's match (red card for Barthez), something wrong happened. :(


Well, losing one of your defining players within 20 minutes (Giuly) is never good.

Damn I didnt play some money on it lol GO FC PORTO :D

But I agree with most of the persons here, some wrong offsides could make the game go the other way, Monaco started very well :) FC Porto Had the luck on their side :)

I am Very Happy For FC Porto, GO Portugal ;)

Next The Euro 2004 :D

Far too much consensus, here, so I'll be a bit churlish...

Firstly, I'd suggest that the key players on the Porto side were the two chaps running up and down the side with the flags. If you wrongly get let off time after time when your offside trap is beaten, then of course you're going to look as if you've got a good, well organised defense.

Secondly, I though Porto were pretty negative, and quite prepared to be cynical when Monaco were running at them. The first goal didn't come from anything particularly creative, rather it was some sloppy defending, and Porto made little effort to do more than defend afterwards - unfortunately, Monaco were just not skilled or creative enough to break them down (though I'll caveat that by referring to the appalling linesmen's decisions again).

Thirdly, I honestly didn't think it was that high quality a game - I'm not disputing the two teams' right to be in the final, but I seriously cannot conceive of either team being as good as Arsenal or AC Milan.

I suspect there is a kind of blind eye being turned to the negativity, uninspiring play, and dependency on bad decisions just because a relatively "small" team won the competition - I doubt many posters would have shown the same magnanimity towards Real Madrid or Bayern Munich if they had played like that in the final....

Thank you all. We played like sh*t for most of the game and were a bit lucky, but then again, they hadn't exactly many chances. The linesman also helped us a bit in the offsides, but a win is a win, and we are *****ng european champions and that's it!!! :D
Now if you excuse me... See ya tomorrow!!

Lucky were we?
Who here doubts of the worthiness of FC PORTO?!?

Oh and sorry for the time but... you get the point ;)

Far too much consensus, here, so I'll be a bit churlish...

Firstly, I'd suggest that the key players on the Porto side were the two chaps running up and down the side with the flags. If you wrongly get let off time after time when your offside trap is beaten, then of course you're going to look as if you've got a good, well organised defense.

Secondly, I though Porto were pretty negative, and quite prepared to be cynical when Monaco were running at them. The first goal didn't come from anything particularly creative, rather it was some sloppy defending, and Porto made little effort to do more than defend afterwards - unfortunately, Monaco were just not skilled or creative enough to break them down (though I'll caveat that by referring to the appalling linesmen's decisions again).

Thirdly, I honestly didn't think it was that high quality a game - I'm not disputing the two teams' right to be in the final, but I seriously cannot conceive of either team being as good as Arsenal or AC Milan.

I suspect there is a kind of blind eye being turned to the negativity, uninspiring play, and dependency on bad decisions just because a relatively "small" team won the competition - I doubt many posters would have shown the same magnanimity towards Real Madrid or Bayern Munich if they had played like that in the final....
FC Porto didn't win Real Madrid or Bayern because they didn't make it till they meet us :p Mnchester, Depor (moralized by sending out the previous holders) and others did and that didn't make them win...
This year we have only lost against Real Madrid and AC Milan, that's the fact!!! :D
(and some Port teams after we have ensured the championship :ack: )

If Porto didn't play better perhaps it was because we didn't need to. As any other Port club, Porto plays better after start loosing and that didn't come to happen.

Truth is Mourinho will go to the best paying club in Europe and we are being targeted to loose all the defense and a good part of the midfield! Porto have not the best Player in Europe, but have a bunch of Very High quality players (Ninja Derlei, 19's Brazilian Carlos Alberto, Deco, Maniche, Costinha, Vitor Baia, all the defense...).

Trully I wasn't seeing Monaco winning the game...

I suspect there is a kind of blind eye being turned to the negativity, uninspiring play, and dependency on bad decisions just because a relatively "small" team won the competition - I doubt many posters would have shown the same magnanimity towards Real Madrid or Bayern Munich if they had played like that in the final....

That's what made the game great, the teams being small and making lots of mistakes. You named the wrong teams in your post too: Bayern doesn't play great football, not entertaining football at least, and the only reason Real Madrid plays nice sometimes is because of individual class, and I happen to like the team effort more. See, if Arsenal plays at its best against AC Milan that plays at its best, it's a far better final (they have both team effort and individual class). No doubt. But AC Milan played one hell of an ugly final last year, and Arsenal can't seem to get their act together when they need to.

You named the wrong teams in your post too: Bayern doesn't play great football, not entertaining football at least, and the only reason Real Madrid plays nice sometimes is because of individual class, and I happen to like the team effort more.

I think you misunderstood what I meant when I quoted Bayern and Madrid - I was using them as examples of big teams who would be judged more harshly than "smaller" teams such as Porto and Monaco. I wasn't meaning them to be held up as examples of flowing attractive football per se.