Uefa Cup

[davidmphill]

Originally Posted by alexmac

Absolutely mint.

Although, I don't like their fans as they only decide to turn up to the big games. Saying that, the atmosphere in the Riverside sounded class tonight.

Pride of the North East eh Alex?!
Small town in Europe, Small town in Europe!

[alexmac]

I have got to admit, it is some achievement. I really hope they go on the win the UEFA.

I bet the FA are absolutely raging that they have as good as appointed Big Phil now... Somehow I think 'Big Steve' has just improved his credentials somewhat.....

[Sherman Blue]

Incredible .. what an amazing game
+ a winning bet , can't ask for more than that!

[archaeus]

I am so dissapointed by the result, atlthough Steaua lost the qualification on its own hand by defending with 11 players for almost 60 minutes. I just cant understand what happened form the 30 mins mark, i was re-seing the Boro-Basle game and couldnt believe my eyes. I know how to lose and i congratulate Boro for such a great performance for a club that didnt win any major trophy in it's 100+ years history. I also congratulate Steaua for doing such a great performance, for pulling the Romanian football from the mud that it was into, they should not dissarm as they have a good chance to play CL football next season.
Well done Steaua, godd luck Boro in the final
P.S. level night at betting onto this game

[gatenby]

Just got in from the Match myself. WOWWWWW!!!

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

What a match, and what a atmosphere. It was amazing. Once mac got one goal back i knew we could do it. The amount of chances we were creating after goal we were bound to get something. I myself didnt put any bets on tonight, didnt fancy any, but my mate put one in running for Boro to qualify at 10/1! £5 on it.

Cant believe it. I just hope we can go on and win it now

I do however feel sorry for all the steaua fans. They must have thought they were certainly through with 30 mins gone. Same with Basel! But we did it!

:c ow

[MrFerguson]

Originally Posted by gatenby

Just got in from the Match myself. WOWWWWW!!!

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

What a match, and what a atmosphere. It was amazing. Once mac got one goal back i knew we could do it. The amount of chances we were creating after goal we were bound to get something. I myself didnt put any bets on tonight, didnt fancy any, but my mate put one in running for Boro to qualify at 10/1! £5 on it.

Cant believe it. I just hope we can go on and win it now

I do however feel sorry for all the steaua fans. They must have thought they were certainly through with 30 mins gone. Same with Basel! But we did it!

:c ow

Congrats mate, cracker of a game must have been unreal to be there.

Best televised game I've watched since Man U vs Bayern way back.

Good luck in the final!

[davidmphill]

Originally Posted by MrFerguson

Congrats mate, cracker of a game must have been unreal to be there.

Best televised game I've watched since Man U vs Bayern way back.

Good luck in the final!

What, not even Milan v Liverpool!?

[MrFerguson]

Originally Posted by davidmphill

What, not even Milan v Liverpool!?

Know what mate, i fell asleep during that, was absolutely bollocksed...woke up just in time for - the penalty shootout

[davidmphill]

Originally Posted by MrFerguson

Know what mate, i fell asleep during that, was absolutely bollocksed...woke up just in time for - the penalty shootout

It was a decent game!

[adythom]

what happened in the Boro' v Steau match?

I put the telly on to watch and all it showed was a re-run of the Boro' v Basle game

[SecondSight]

Boro/Steaua,

There is no word in the English dictionary for it coming back twice. Its must be a first in the history of European football.

Just like November 1942 (outside Stalingrad), the Red Army broke through the Romanian ranks and the cause of world history changed.

I hope alot of you got on Boro to qualify as I said above and put Viduka to score as I mentioned above. Needless to say it was a very profitable night for SecondSight.

I do also feel for Steaua fans they must be in shock, Boro lost a semi final on Sunday and it hurt me. I am sure they will bounce back next season. I was tearing my hair out in January and now the world has changed football can be a strange game.

[gatenby]

Originally Posted by SecondSight

I do also feel for Steaua fans they must be in shock,

Yeah, i felt for the Steaua fans like. They must have thought they were well and truley through with 30 mins gone!!! And comming out the stadium, at the south stand, the fans did something whcih iv never saw away fans do. They burst in to applause and congratulated the Boro Fans. They were saying good luck etc to some fans, shaking hands. So all credit to them.

[Fen4e]

betting on Boro when losing 0:2 @ 20 - PRICELESS

[tibinho]

I can't believe it. I am so disapointed. It was 0-2 min 30. I look at Steaua from when i was little and i've never seen doing something like that(going with all the players in defense, not have a middle line) not even when PSG beat us with 5-0. I do not believe it.

Also i'm not against BORO but to be honest i don't see them beating SEVILLA. In away matches BORO dosen't play almost nothing. But in the end it is a final You could never now.

Congrats to BORO.

c'mmon Steau in CL next year.

[SecondSight]

Eindhoven will not be an away game for Boro, it's a neutral venue, but there will be upto 20,000 Boro fans travelling, even though they have been given only 9,200 tickets, to try and make it more like a home game. Boro will be hoping the local Dutch fans support them as underdogs and they have 2 famous Dutch players in Hasselbaink and Boateng.

I see the Bookies have made Seville quite strong favourites at 8/13 to win the trophy (1.61), I think it will be closer than they think.

[red deg]

Replying this to gaterby's oppinion about the Romanian supporters, and not only. The ones that shook hand with the Boro fans were Romanian supporters of Steaua from England and those that came from Romania, but with a certain level of education. The fans here in Romania have an expression "may the neighbour's goat die!" and I doubt they would shake your hand, it is fcuking difficult for them to understand this is just a game.

About the game, I am a Romanian supporter but I am not at all dissapointed about the final result. If Boro would have won with 2-0 I would have been dissapointed, but when you have 2-0 and lose 2-4 against Boro, not Milan or Juventus (sorry but Boro is a poor team) there is no way you can say "May the best team win" because M or J really are really 3 classes above Steaua, but Boro is not. When playing against a team who's only purpose is to score playing with 4-5 forwards, who's middle line has no pace , a team against whom you can always score on counterattack if you keep at least 3 man on the middle-attack, a team who has 2 DEFENDERS, I might say that YOU FULLY DESERVE TO BE A LOSER.

Steaua with 4 defenders received 3 or 4 goals in 9 games in UEFA, Steaua with 8 defenders received 3 goals in a half. If Steaua were to have the Basel trainer on this match we would be going to Eindhoven to another final. How can you possibly be so unaware and repeat the same bankrupt tactic as Basel, how can you not see that Boro is poor in the back, how can you not play with fast strikers, how can you introduce unexperienced players when you see this is a "best psycho game", how can you leave as an only forward a player who is exhausted and cannot run, how can you play like this, just waiting for them to come and cut your had, well.......... ask Steaua. And the only thing they can answer is they do not know... but they do, there is too much pressure on them by the nazi boss Becali who dreams of a champion league final and this is the result.

So, may Sevilla raise the cup in Eindhoven! Boro showed nothing except for deteremination and bravery and this is not enough for an European cup final.

Best.

[archaeus]

Good point

[red deg]

My picture for this site is the exact same thing that happened in the Steaua's game in the semifinal. One of them is doing the job and the rest of the team is: defending him so nothing wrong could possibly happen, asking if there is something they can do about him to help - just asking, encouraging him, giving good advices, yealling at him if he is wrong and so on.

So, well done Boro.

[red deg]

Originally Posted by archaeus

Good point

OK archaeus, thank you. I'll now take a look on the Romanian football and make some "adjustments" on your commentaries. If they are there, didn't look yet.

[SecondSight]

I know Middlesbrough is my team, but I can't accept people saying that they are a poor team, its happened a few times on here. They maybe would struggle against the best of the Champions League, but for the UEFA Cup they are a good side. The evidence is beating Stuttgart, Roma, Basle and Steaua Bucharest.

They also won their group stage this year and did last season finishing above AZ, Lazio and Villareal. Their home record is 10 wins out of 12 in the last 2 seasons in Europe. I will be surprised if any other team as good a home record.

In the league they have beaten Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United this season all teams with much bigger financial resources and squads. They have played 60 competitive games this season and despite this and having to play a FAC semi (biggest Cup Competition in the World) in between the Steaua games their slow players found the energy to run rings round Steaua in the last 60 minutes of Thursday's match. I think that deserves a bit more respect.

On second thoughts its probably best if they are called a poor side that way they will be underestimated again and again and again