The Dream European Cup. Now underway!!

[Lucky Toma]

My dad's just been around to visit and we got talking about some of the greatest club sides of the past fifty years.
Got me thinking - lets have the Dream European Cup on here.

We'll pick eight of the greatest post-war club sides (impossible to include pre-50s because, lets face it, it was a completely different game back then) then once they are decided upon I'll put them into the hat and we'll have the quarter finals onwards, debating each game (and why a team would triumph) until we find an overall winner.

I'll start us off with some shoo-ins -

Real Madrid 1956-60

Ajax 1971-73

Bayern Munich 1974-76

AC Milan 1989-90

Barcelona 2009-11

So there are three other spots up for grabs.

Personally I believe a Liverpool side has to be included. And their late 80s side was the greatest team I have ever witnessed in the flesh. But of course they werent eligable to play in Europe. So should it be their late 70s team? Or early 80s?

Regardless, what other three teams shoud be included?

 

[Mikem93]

Re: The Dream European Cup

Hate to say it but the rag team of 99 would probably merit a place in there, can't really comment on any others because I never say them play

 

[Bulldoglikeapproach]

Re: The Dream European Cup

Hate to say it but the rag team of 99 would probably merit a place in there, can't really comment on any others because I never say them play

Have to agree. If we're being honest there has to be one ManUre team. Can't decide which team was better though: a giggs, beckham, scholes, keane midfield or an attack force of rooney, tevez, ronaldo, nani.

 

[Lucky Toma]

Re: The Dream European Cup

Yup fair enough, the 99 side nearly made the automatic placings anyway so they can go in.

What about the Liverpool teams? 77, 84, or the 88-90 side (that werent eligable but surely would have achieved great things on the continent)?

Another possibility is the Juve side of the mid-80s. Thoughts?

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Re: The Dream European Cup

Disagree about the 99 Rag team. They were completely outplayed in the final and got extremely lucky in Fergie time.

The best teams, (look at the list) are those who over a three year period did the business. 99 was a one off.
Liverpool in the mid to late 70's was the real deal for me - even winning the Cup in Rome's back garden.

 

[Lucky Toma]

Re: The Dream European Cup - Now under way!

Okay the list has now been compiled and the draw has been made (genuinely got eight pieces of paper and scrunched them up).

The quarter-finals of the Dream European Cup are -

Manchester United 1968 v Liverpool 1977

Inter Milan 63-65 v Ajax 70-73

Bayern Munich 73-76 v AC Milan 88-90

Barcelona 08-11 v Real Madrid 1956-60 (I laughed my tits off when I realised these were the last two in the hat. What a tie!)

Lets start with the all-English affair.

The teams -

United - Stepney, Brennan, Foulkes, Sadler, Dunne, Crerand, Charlton, Stiles, Best, Kidd, Aston

Liverpool - Clemence, Neal, J. Jones, Smith, R. Kennedy, Hughes, Keegan, Case, Heighway, Callaghan, McDermott

It throws up some fascinating individual battles. Who would be top dog in the centre mid? Stiles or Case?
Would Joey Jones be able to handle Best? Could Sadler neutralise Keegan?

Who would win do you think? And, ideally, why?

 

[TTTCITYBHOY]

Wtf,no Celtic 1967.
Won EVERY competition they entered that year.
The 1ST British club to win it.
The 1ST team to win it with 11 players from the same country.(probably still 1 of a few tbh)
Simpson,Craig,Gemmell,Murdoch,McNeill & Clark,
Johnstone,Wallace,Chalmers,Auld & Lennox.
25th May 1967.
Celtic 2 Inter Milan 1.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syPPrz6t1PQ[/youtube]

 

[Damocles]

Herrera's Le Grande Inter would wipe the floor with most by all accounts. Luis Suarez is the one player who I supremely regret never watching properly due to lack of footage. Can never seem to find full games, just highlight reels.

According to very respected people in the game such as Sir Bobby Robson, he was the finest passer of the ball that has ever been produced, including the Xavis of this world.

Facchetti is another one.

Would like to see any full games if anybody has a clue where I can find them.

 

[Soulboy]

Herrera's Le Grande Inter would wipe the floor with most by all accounts. Luis Suarez is the one player who I supremely regret never watching properly due to lack of footage. Can never seem to find full games, just highlight reels.

According to very respected people in the game such as Sir Bobby Robson, he was the finest passer of the ball that has ever been produced, including the Xavis of this world.

Facchetti is another one.

Would like to see any full games if anybody has a clue where I can find them.

I'm old enough to remember Luis Suarez and he was the type of player that raised the hairs on the back of your neck.

Never seemed to give the ball away, always had time, always played it positively. Throw in his absurdly handsome persona and even I had a man crush on him when a youngster!

It's strange how he's never mentioned as a "great" and that can only be because in the World Cup he was overshadowed by the Brazilians (and West Germany!).

 

[Lucky Toma]

So err......Liverpool 77 v Man U 68? The players have been warming up for hours now. Any thoughts guys? :)


(And apologies TTTCityBhoy. I did take into account that Celtic beat Inter so should be included but - rightly or wrongly - that great team of Glaswegians just didnt make the cut. Was very close though and if its any consolation I'm currently putting together a 'Ten coolest teams of all-time' for my website and they are number four on my list)