Look his team and look my team, my defense...
win = miracle :)

Looking at how the matches are planned i think that:
- RC Strasbourg Alsace will pull a win, unless Strood abandons the home league. Strood has horrible play times both champions league days.

- Lost Keys United will win over Real Astorga. I think that it is the better team, but they also have a better match plan. In the first match Real Astorga will have an advantage as LKU have to play a league match 3 hours before the their match. But in the second match RA has to play a league match under an hour before the champions league match!

- Cambuur will win. I think they are the strongest team of the two but they also have perfect matches planned, almost as if they made the match-planning algorithm intelligent in this case!! And FKZ has a league match under one hour before the first champions league match.

- I think Hapoel will win. I think they have the stronger team, but this one is so hard to tell. Neither of the teams have real bad planned matches. Maybe there is a slight advantage to Hapoel Haifa, but i don't think it will be the deciding factor as it will be in the other matches.

Hi Mikkel.. Have to agree 100% with your predictions about all of the games.. especially concerning my team! I saw what having bad luck with the timing of your games can do to a team (you would of got through had the timings been different I'm sure).

Throwing my League games wont necessarily help me (look at FC Manchester of United.. they played a b team in the league games around the same time as the Champions League and still didnt get through). Think I have a better plan.

This Champions League is so hard to predict.. looking at the squads Cambur & Hapoel must be favourites for the title.

You have a good tactics Kezza, your team won today in the away match, so at home only a tie is recomended. (i'm just kidding, of course your team must win at home and to do this they must the highest concentration all over the 90 minutes)

Thanks MacikaG.. the keeper having a MOM game helps too! :op

Yeah.. not taking anything for granted yet.. I'm sure it'll be a hard game at Strood Temple!

3-5 Not Bad :( with my young team.

Great day for the dutch teams ib the champions league which put all three of them as favorites to take 3 of the 4 spots in the semi final.

Cambuur and Lost Keys united that were also favorites before did what they needed to do and almost promised there places in the semi final. FC Beawulf who had a tougher match against my team did also great with a draw and scoring 4 goals at my home (unfortunately, may I say). I have to believe that it is not over yet but thats puts them in a great position for the second leg.

FC Beawulf knocked out a great favourite for the title: Hapoel Haifa! Cambuur almost was knock outed by itself. After winning at home with 3-0 and leading at the return halfway with 1-3, it substituted 3 players. FK Željezničar managed to win the game with 6-3! The difference was made based on away goals...

We will see if Strood City-RC Strasbourg Alsace and Lost Keys United-Real Astorga will be as spectacular as those two games. :)

Lost Keys demolished Real Astorga. Not as predicted 8-0, just only 7-0. Cambuur has a big luck again like last round. 3 dutch team in the semi final... Fortunately next year it won't be possible, because only 2 team can participate in the Champions League.
Strood City made it again, they won twice 3-2 over the French team.

The journey of Hapoel Haifa in the champions league ended today. Maybe I was a bit favorite but I don't think its a shocker since FC Beawulf is also a great team.
After 4-4 in the home game I decided on a brave tactic with 3 strikers (well, to be honest it was not so brave since that was also the tactic suggested by the analysing tool) but it didn't work out.

Anyway, although I have a team that could have even gone further I still quite satisfied with what we achieved, espacially since my team started at the qualifing rounds and in the playoffs for the group stage we had a very tough draw so when we got throw I was already pleased.

Good luck to the four teams left and see you next year (I will probably be here again starting at the 3rd round of the qualifing stage).

Today I made a mistake I won't make again. I decided to give a key player some rest at half time and substitute him for a youthfull player that could get some extra xp that way. Consequently a 1-3 lead vanished and became a 6-3 defeat. Fortunately that was just enough to still reach the next round...

well well well each round has had a shock of a result... I think the semi final will have one too (hopefully it'll be an English team winning through to final ;o))

Good luck to everyone in Semis.. all 4 teams are good enough to win the whole thing in my opinion.

ps. very brave tactics Arno!

Kezzer

@joest5: The funny thing is, that there is a good change that only one of the three Dutch semi finalists will participate at the CL next season. Beawulf only has a theoretical change to become second (or better), and Cambuur and Lost Keys are in a close battle with Invincible Delft for the two available tickets fro the next season.

I hope to make it too the final. I'm not sure which opponent I prefer. Maybe Beawulf is the 'weakest' of the four of us, but it is a close battle anyway.

Good luck Kezza for the semi finals ...

I am still a bit sad that my keeper got injured during the return game against you... maybe with him until the end of the game I could have made it...

But well ... it's a game :)

the pairs in the semi final:
Lost Keys vs. Strood City
Cambuur vs. Beawulf

/Kezza, good luck and spoil the dutch party! :-)/