They did it! Chelsea held by CFR Cluj!
By stvasile
@stvasile (7306)
Romania
October 1, 2008 3:44pm CST
And trust me, they didn't build walls in their own box all match long, as small teams do oftentimes.
CFR played a brave game and were very near to produce a massive surprise, when Trica hit the post when there were only 15 minutes to be played, then Perreira stretched Cech. Anelka missed a great chance too, and the match ended as it began: 0-0.
A huge point for CFR on their first appearance in The Champions League group stage. They produce another surprise after beating AS Roma 2-1 on Olimpico.
Now it's another tough match at Bordeaux, let's see what the boys from Transylvania (although most of them are foreign players) can do next. For now, they made us proud of being Romanian!
A huge point for CFR on their first appearance in The Champions League group stage. They produce another surprise after beating AS Roma 2-1 on Olimpico.
Now it's another tough match at Bordeaux, let's see what the boys from Transylvania (although most of them are foreign players) can do next. For now, they made us proud of being Romanian!3 people like this
10 responses
@ananth_kamma (675)
• India
1 Oct 08
well, i thought Chelsea could win it easily. i am really surprised at the result. cfr is performing well in there first champions league. they are placed next to Chelsea in group A. with there performance they are making Bordeaux chances difficult. they are placed along with Chelsea with 4 points. with there performance they have proved that, they are tough team to beat in home. we have to wait and see how they perform in away matches. if they do perform in the same way they will knock out bordeaux for sure. then there will be close contest between roma and cfr for the second place.
2 people like this
@zatak07 (699)
• India
2 Oct 08
hi ananth..ya i'm surprised too, but its just ok...as they are still at the top.
Thanks for the wishes yesterday that you posted.
the thing that concerns me more is the injury of Drogba as i was waiting for him to bounce back i hope he'll recover well.
1 person likes this
@pawnee (187)
•
2 Oct 08
They played well, and with big hearts but...
The ref was from another planet giving them free kicks every time they dived, it was like watching my mates playing 5-a-side! they hacked like noobs too, taking out drogba was the worst. I think it would of still of been a hard game anyway but, without that ref i think the game would of been different.
Anyway, chelsea are still sitting pretty so, all good.
2 people like this
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
2 Oct 08
It's true that the referee whistled a bit for the home team, but I don't think he had a decisive influence on the game. None of those free kicks put Cech's goal in peril, CFR had its great opportunities from cursive game phases.
I think Drogba's injury was really stupid. He wasn't hit straight in, he got injured because of the way he fell...
There is no danger for Chelsea, of course, I think they will easily win the group.
@zatak07 (699)
• India
2 Oct 08
ya it came as a surprise for everybody, i was not able to watch the match as my tv channel telecast only tensports.
I really got furious when i notice that Anelka missed a gr8 chance again, shi*!! i never like him ever since he join Chelsea, as you might already know from the news that he was unhappy cos he was not in the line-up against Stoke city...i support Scholari..he can leave if in jan if he's not happy...he missed agr8 chance against Manu...it would be a good riddance ...if he's unhappy being left out then he should prove & justified it with his performance
The more concerning thing is that Chelsea are plague with injuries again...
ya cheers to CFR Cluj!!!
1 person likes this
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
2 Oct 08
If you want to watch live football (or sport generally) online, I present you the following site:
http://www.myp2p.eu/index.php
You will need to install a few players (SopCast and TvAnts are used the most), but the site has a guide on how to set up your PC for maximum performance, and you can download the software for free. You don't need to pay anything for the transmissions either. It's all free. That's how I watch Premiership games.
I'm sorry for Drogba, I hope his injury is not that bad. It was a stupid injury...
@ram_cv (16513)
• India
2 Oct 08
Just when everybody thought Zenit would be the surprise package, Cluj and Famagusta seem to be the actual surprise packages. Now that Cluj has held on against Chelsea, the road becomes tougher for Roma. Roma still face both legs against Chelsea, so this group is already looking interesting.
On the other hand Famagusta's win also puts them in a great spot to qualify ahead of Werder Bremen in the next round!!
Cheers!
Ram
@stormragetz (567)
• Singapore
2 Oct 08
Well, Chelsea do have several key players missing, such as Joe Cole, Michael Essien, Carvalho, Ashley Cole, and most importantly, Deco. These players are essential to the team, and they are the key to Chelsea's successful run in EPL.
That being said, CFR is really a great underdog, fighting all the way with top teams. Although I doubt they will last their incredible form, it definitely adds some drama to soccer.
And they have a cool logo too haha!
1 person likes this
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
2 Oct 08
The key players missing for Chelsea is really not an excuse for them playing like that. At one time, when Lampard was shown in a close-up, the anchor presenting the game said something like "We now have the equivalent to the yearly budget of all our league on screen".
What I want to say is the value of Chelsea's players in the field yesterday was huge compared to that of CFR players, even without the key players. Drogba or Bridge played really bad.
The logo has something to do with the team's name and history. CFR stands for "Caile Ferate Romane", that is The Romanian Rail Roads.
@boccadbest (156)
• Malta
2 Oct 08
I have to agree with you. Famagusta and CFR are doing great!
The Cyriots are in 1st place together with Inter in the GROUP B
next two mathches in Group B are:
Inter - Anorthosis
Anorthosis - Inter
1 person likes this
@bloodsheder (136)
• Singapore
2 Oct 08
This just shows the quality of champions league football which all clubs would want to play in. Great job by CFR, now they are almost close to qualifying.
1 person likes this
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
2 Oct 08
They don't think of qualifying yet. Their goal is to get the 3rd place that leads to The UEFA Cup. The following matches against Bordeaux are decisive to get the 3rd place. Once they get that place, every point more is like a bonus. The second place would be historic, as no Romanian team (namely Steaua Bucharest, the only Romanian team that has participated before in this Champions League format) made it past the group stage.
