(05-19-2018 12:14 PM)Loco Bearcat Wrote:  

(05-17-2018 10:17 AM)VA49er Wrote:  

(05-17-2018 08:53 AM)Loco Bearcat Wrote:  

(05-17-2018 08:39 AM)VA49er Wrote:  Spanish teams have now won 8 out of the last 9 major club European competitions in the last five years. Pretty dominant. However; having said that, Go Liverpool!!!

La Liga has been dominant in Europe however Real Madrid and Sevilla have won 6 of those 8, with Real Madrid winning 3 CL and Seville 3 Europa....while Barcelona and Atletico have won only 1, Hala Madrid!

No doubt Madrid has done well. I think Zidane has done a great job rotating players, particularly Christiano Ronaldo and that's paid off in CL but hurt in La Liga, at least this season. I'll admit Madrid has done a much better job in that regard than Barca. IMO, substandard rotations is what cost Barca the treble this season. Aging team playing every three days with limited rotation equals silly loss to Roma, etc. Hopefully Valverdi learned that lesson. Time will tell.

Zidane rotation worked well last year in La Liga due to the depth of the squad with Pepe, Morata, and James. Barcelona have actually struggled the past few years in the Champions League going out in the Quarterfinals the last 3 seasons due to lack of rotation, plus playing their starters in Copa Del Rey where Zidane plays the bench in the Copa. It would help if La Liga stretched out the Copa Del Rey over the season. I will give credit to Barcelona on winning the league because it looked like Real Madrid was going to win after the Spanish Super Cup and the loss of Neymar.

IMO, the copa should be one game against each opponent each round. This double leg stuff is for the birds and tires out the teams that play in all competitions, etc. Also, one game would allow for possibly more upsets.