I haven't been writing for a few reasons, one of which is that game recaps take awhile, and with two games a week, that's a lot of time i don't always have, so I wonder to myself 'where do i go with a blog'? Especially one about soccer. Do I expand to more teams and more leagues? But if nobody is all that interested in reading about FCB, what good will Roma and Derby County do. In any case, we'll move along, recap the last two weeks and look ahead.
3 games, 3 wins, Osasuna, Betis and Madrid. The win over Osasuna cost Barcelona their promising young defender Andreu Fontas for the remainder of the season with a torn knee ligament. He joins Ibrahim Affelay, David Villa and a rotating cast of characters in the stands. The 4-2 over Betis was a tough one, as Betis fought back from 2 goals down to tie at the Camp Nou, but Barcelona brought on their young star in the wings, one, Lionel Messi, and took the game over winning 4-2. I think they were looking ahead to another Classico, and while Iker Casillas says they are becoming watered down, i think if he had only lost one of the last nine rather than only winning one of the last nine, he would have a different opinion.
This edition of the Classico was really no different than may games, early pressure, Barcelona endures. While Ronaldo's goal in the 11th minute wasn't as quick as Benzema's 23 second goal in the last game, it none the less put Madrid up, and more importantly to Madrid, kept Ronaldo's head in the game. Past meetings have seen Barcelona freeze out the Portuguese winger, leaving him frustrated, and taking him mentally out of the game. Fans lamented at the inclusion of backup keeper Jose Pinto for this game, but it is the coach's decision to play Pinto in all Copa ties, he was good enough to blank Madrid for 116 minutes in last years final, he was good enough to start this night. While you could fault him for poor positioning, and letting it sneak between the wickets, remember that Valdes gave up a gift in the last game after less than half a minute.
As the half went on, it became clear that Barcelona would take control and it would be a matter of time before the goal came to even the score. Going into the half still down 1-0, this brave writer predicted a 1-2 Barcelona victory. Five minutes into the second half, Puyol raced past a lazy Pepe to head the ball past Casillas, and we were level. Using a combination of Pepe and Lass Diarra, Messi had a quiet day and was forced to track back nearly to midfield to get possession of the ball. In a move that i simply did not understand, Mourinho pulled Diarra for Mesuit Ozil, leaving Pepe, who was already on a yellow card from early in the first half to deal with Messi on his own. Messi thanked the Madrid coach by drawing about 5 defenders and chipping a pass to goal scoring machine (1 goal in 3 seasons) Eric Abidal, to calmly chested down, slipped past Casillas, turned 30 and signed a new contract. 1-2 Barcelona is how the game ended. No controversy, none of the sideline bruhahas that has thrown previous Classicos into disarray.
Well, until Pepe took lazy baby steps and stomped on Messi's hand. If there are three players that I absolutely despise on Madrid it's Pepe, Sergio Ramos, and everybody else except Iker Casillas. Pepe earned a yellow for a harsh challenge within the first 15 minutes of the match, could have earned a second for simulation after making a meal out of zero contact from Cesc Fabregas, and then should have gotten a red, a fat fine and a few weeks off for what he did to Messi. It was disgusting, deliberate, and needs to be addressed by the Spanish Federation. Pepe has a long history of violent attacks on other players, one resulting in a ten game ban in 2009.
This story isn't over yet, as the second leg is this Wednesday. It will be interesting to see if Pepe is in the starting lineup and the reception he receives from the Catalan faithful, and the games referees. Before Barcelona looks to advance to the Copa semi finals, they first take on 8th place Malaga. No smal feat, as Malaga is probably the third most talented team in Spain on paper, taking the Madrid route of attempting to purchase trophies. Unfortunately for all their talent, they do not find the back of the net often enough for success. I predict a 0-2 win on the road for Barcelona.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The hits keep coming.
Where has the week gone? Two Barcelona games, another injury, and the Classico is all of a sudden tomorrow afternoon. With a youth side dispatching Osasuna 2-1 in the second leg of Copa Del Ray, and a surprisingly difficult encounter with Real Betis who came back from 2 goals down before a 4-2 finish, Barcelona is now looking at two games against Real Madrid in the span of a week. I intend to make a longer post regarding all three games in the near future, but with all these games coming so quickly, i hardly have time to finish one game before the next begins.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Catalan Derby, Balon D'or, and transfers!
It's been a busy week for the blaugrana, and for myself, as i blog away on my near death bed, with the impending doom of 6 inches of snow around the corner.
Sunday brought the first Catalan derby of the year to the Cornelia El-Prat as 35,000 Espanyol fans packed the stadium in anticipation of their biggest fixture of the year. This was a derby unlike any that i have seen recently, the crowd was electric, screaming, spurning the periquitos on for all 90 minutes. This is a contrast from years past, as the arrival of the cross city club was always met with a bit more of a subdued atmosphere ever since the passing of former defender and captain Dani Jarque, and the subsequent homage paid to him by Andres Iniesta after scoring the winning (and only) goal in the 116th minute of the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup final. Since then Iniesta has been adopted as an honorary periquito of sorts, always given a standing ovation at the introductions, and never the target of the harsh whistles of the pro-Espanyol crowd. One person who has never been loved by the Espanyol crowd was Dani Alves, who was once again the subject of racist chants throughout the match, something that has disappointingly occurred on multiple occasions when the blaugrana visit.
I'm not going to give this subject too much time at the moment, but suffice to say it's a disgusting, and despicable act, making both the club, city and county all look archaic. Racism is still prevelant in football, and it happens all across the world, even the Barcelona ultras have been accused of throwing racial taunts at players, but at Espanyol it isn't a small group, it's a song that everyone in the stands knows and sings along too.
This time at the Cornelia El-Prat was different though. This crowd wasn't going to let Barcelona walk away with a victory, or allow Barca to set the tone, score early, take the crowd out of it, and coast to another league victory. One that it's difficult to say it needed so far from the leagues conclusion, but Madrid won their game, and had a 6 point lead at kickoff.
Like most catalan clashes, this game would be heated, and have a number of controversial moments that could have guided the game in either direction. With a gigantic banner reserved for Barcelona matches saying 'Catalunya es mes que un club' (Catalonia is more than one club) the whistle blew and the action began. Espanyol began the game as many Barca opponents have, pressing high, sending two and three players to hassle possession, but the difference here is that they would keep this pressure for more than 10 minutes, more than 30 minutes, but for extensive periods for the entire game they tackled, toe poked, shouldered and made Barcelona play physical, and it did it's job, upsetting the tempo of Barcelonas attack. The first five minutes saw two desperate and impressive saves by the Barcelona defenders as a well placed header by former Barca midfielder Joan Verdu was saved by a diving Victor Valdes only to fall back at his feet, and forcing Gerard Pique to clear the ball off the line. Momentum would swing back to the catalan giants and after a goal was disallowed for a handball, Cesc Fabregas scored his 14th of the season with a rifling header from near the top of the box. It was an impressive start from the champions, but the blanquiblaus wouldn't fall back into a defensive shell and the intense home crowd never felt out of it. Halftime came with a 1-0 lead to the visitors.
The second half action saw a near Messi goal in the last quarter hour but his close angle shot smacked off the woodwork. The last ten minutes of the game provided a fast and furious finish, and saw another Catalan derby end in controversy. In the 85th minute, Espanyol sub Alvaro latched on to a flicked cross and the El-Prat exploded as the home side tied the champions at 1-1. It was a gorgeous goal from Alvaro, and Espanyol deserved a share of the points to that point. In the closing moments Barca pressed forward, and were almost rewarded for their efforts when a Pique drive went off the post. The rebound fell to Pedro who looked to smack home a winner into an open net before Espanyol defender Raul Rodriguez deflected the shot with his arm. I jumped up from my couch, pointing at the television, my pointing fingers aimed at the spot and then quickly following the penalty spot off frame as the ball was cleared away. no whistle, no penalty, no card, no goal. Now, with all the success that Barca has it's slightly ridiculous to ever complain about being robbed of points, but this one hurts a little. I've noticed in game, especially the ones where Barca is ahead early, and are holding a 3 goal lead in the last 20 minutes that the fouls that are called in a 0-0 game are no longer being called in a 4-1 or even a 2-1 game. This was particularly the case in the first Barcelona/AC Milan group stage match, and AC Milan ended up with a late goal and stealing a draw. It was a clear handball in the box, and the ref was blind to it. If he would have blown the whistle and pointed for the kick, he might not have made it out of the stadium, but the call has to be made. I lean more to the cliche that you can't allow the refs to decide the game, but when the game is close, and there is an obvious penalty, it can't be let go on account of a hostile home crowd, or one teams domination of another. In either case, the game was exciting to watch, the hostile crowd was a distinct separation from the quiet atmosphere of Barca home games, despite the teams playing only miles away from one another, and the fans living together and working together in all aspects of life. It was a Catalan classic, and depending on the rest of the season could have serious ramifications in the title race.
After the disappointing result on Sunday, Monday evening in Zurich was a cause for celebration as Leo Messi collected his third consecutive Balon D'or award. Joining a handful of legends as three tie winners, and matching UEFA President Michel Platini as the only two three time consecutive winners. The final three for the award were Messi, Xavi, and Christiano Ronaldo. Only two men made it to Zurich as Ronaldo elected to stay with his Madrid team mates to train for their upcoming Copa Del Ray tie against Malaga. (Perhaps a good idea, as Madrid won 1-0, after a tight 3-2 victory in the first leg.) Despite everyone in the world knowing Ronaldo wasn't going to win, i still think it was classless that he spurned the ceremony at all. If you can find it, find last years awards ceremony where both Messi, Xavi and Ronaldo were on the stage, and watch the obvious disgust between the two Barcelona players and Ronaldo, as they inch away from one another throughout the presentation. Messi was the clear front runner, scoring 55 goals in 57 appearances for Barcelona leading them to numerous trophies last season including La Liga and the Champions League. He also contributed an incredible 35 assists over that span.
A last bit of news that literally came across as i was writing tonight. Brazilian defender Maxwell will be completing a transfer in the coming days to French side Paris Saint-Germaine. Maxwell came to Barca with Ibrahimovic and i always enjoyed his play. He has struggled for first team action this year behind both Eric Abidal Dani Alves, and Adriano who is the first choice off the bench. This was a quick and quiet transfer, but i wish Maxwell luck in France. He has won medals everywhere he goes and will no doubt be an asset as PSG looked towards a Ligue 1 title.
Next up for the blaugrana is the second leg of the Copa tie with Osasuna in which they lead 4-0 on aggregate. Should they avoid a historic comeback from their opponents, Barcelona will face Real Madrid in the next round, always an exciting time to look forward to another round of El Classico.
Sunday brought the first Catalan derby of the year to the Cornelia El-Prat as 35,000 Espanyol fans packed the stadium in anticipation of their biggest fixture of the year. This was a derby unlike any that i have seen recently, the crowd was electric, screaming, spurning the periquitos on for all 90 minutes. This is a contrast from years past, as the arrival of the cross city club was always met with a bit more of a subdued atmosphere ever since the passing of former defender and captain Dani Jarque, and the subsequent homage paid to him by Andres Iniesta after scoring the winning (and only) goal in the 116th minute of the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup final. Since then Iniesta has been adopted as an honorary periquito of sorts, always given a standing ovation at the introductions, and never the target of the harsh whistles of the pro-Espanyol crowd. One person who has never been loved by the Espanyol crowd was Dani Alves, who was once again the subject of racist chants throughout the match, something that has disappointingly occurred on multiple occasions when the blaugrana visit.
I'm not going to give this subject too much time at the moment, but suffice to say it's a disgusting, and despicable act, making both the club, city and county all look archaic. Racism is still prevelant in football, and it happens all across the world, even the Barcelona ultras have been accused of throwing racial taunts at players, but at Espanyol it isn't a small group, it's a song that everyone in the stands knows and sings along too.
This time at the Cornelia El-Prat was different though. This crowd wasn't going to let Barcelona walk away with a victory, or allow Barca to set the tone, score early, take the crowd out of it, and coast to another league victory. One that it's difficult to say it needed so far from the leagues conclusion, but Madrid won their game, and had a 6 point lead at kickoff.
Like most catalan clashes, this game would be heated, and have a number of controversial moments that could have guided the game in either direction. With a gigantic banner reserved for Barcelona matches saying 'Catalunya es mes que un club' (Catalonia is more than one club) the whistle blew and the action began. Espanyol began the game as many Barca opponents have, pressing high, sending two and three players to hassle possession, but the difference here is that they would keep this pressure for more than 10 minutes, more than 30 minutes, but for extensive periods for the entire game they tackled, toe poked, shouldered and made Barcelona play physical, and it did it's job, upsetting the tempo of Barcelonas attack. The first five minutes saw two desperate and impressive saves by the Barcelona defenders as a well placed header by former Barca midfielder Joan Verdu was saved by a diving Victor Valdes only to fall back at his feet, and forcing Gerard Pique to clear the ball off the line. Momentum would swing back to the catalan giants and after a goal was disallowed for a handball, Cesc Fabregas scored his 14th of the season with a rifling header from near the top of the box. It was an impressive start from the champions, but the blanquiblaus wouldn't fall back into a defensive shell and the intense home crowd never felt out of it. Halftime came with a 1-0 lead to the visitors.
The second half action saw a near Messi goal in the last quarter hour but his close angle shot smacked off the woodwork. The last ten minutes of the game provided a fast and furious finish, and saw another Catalan derby end in controversy. In the 85th minute, Espanyol sub Alvaro latched on to a flicked cross and the El-Prat exploded as the home side tied the champions at 1-1. It was a gorgeous goal from Alvaro, and Espanyol deserved a share of the points to that point. In the closing moments Barca pressed forward, and were almost rewarded for their efforts when a Pique drive went off the post. The rebound fell to Pedro who looked to smack home a winner into an open net before Espanyol defender Raul Rodriguez deflected the shot with his arm. I jumped up from my couch, pointing at the television, my pointing fingers aimed at the spot and then quickly following the penalty spot off frame as the ball was cleared away. no whistle, no penalty, no card, no goal. Now, with all the success that Barca has it's slightly ridiculous to ever complain about being robbed of points, but this one hurts a little. I've noticed in game, especially the ones where Barca is ahead early, and are holding a 3 goal lead in the last 20 minutes that the fouls that are called in a 0-0 game are no longer being called in a 4-1 or even a 2-1 game. This was particularly the case in the first Barcelona/AC Milan group stage match, and AC Milan ended up with a late goal and stealing a draw. It was a clear handball in the box, and the ref was blind to it. If he would have blown the whistle and pointed for the kick, he might not have made it out of the stadium, but the call has to be made. I lean more to the cliche that you can't allow the refs to decide the game, but when the game is close, and there is an obvious penalty, it can't be let go on account of a hostile home crowd, or one teams domination of another. In either case, the game was exciting to watch, the hostile crowd was a distinct separation from the quiet atmosphere of Barca home games, despite the teams playing only miles away from one another, and the fans living together and working together in all aspects of life. It was a Catalan classic, and depending on the rest of the season could have serious ramifications in the title race.
After the disappointing result on Sunday, Monday evening in Zurich was a cause for celebration as Leo Messi collected his third consecutive Balon D'or award. Joining a handful of legends as three tie winners, and matching UEFA President Michel Platini as the only two three time consecutive winners. The final three for the award were Messi, Xavi, and Christiano Ronaldo. Only two men made it to Zurich as Ronaldo elected to stay with his Madrid team mates to train for their upcoming Copa Del Ray tie against Malaga. (Perhaps a good idea, as Madrid won 1-0, after a tight 3-2 victory in the first leg.) Despite everyone in the world knowing Ronaldo wasn't going to win, i still think it was classless that he spurned the ceremony at all. If you can find it, find last years awards ceremony where both Messi, Xavi and Ronaldo were on the stage, and watch the obvious disgust between the two Barcelona players and Ronaldo, as they inch away from one another throughout the presentation. Messi was the clear front runner, scoring 55 goals in 57 appearances for Barcelona leading them to numerous trophies last season including La Liga and the Champions League. He also contributed an incredible 35 assists over that span.
A last bit of news that literally came across as i was writing tonight. Brazilian defender Maxwell will be completing a transfer in the coming days to French side Paris Saint-Germaine. Maxwell came to Barca with Ibrahimovic and i always enjoyed his play. He has struggled for first team action this year behind both Eric Abidal Dani Alves, and Adriano who is the first choice off the bench. This was a quick and quiet transfer, but i wish Maxwell luck in France. He has won medals everywhere he goes and will no doubt be an asset as PSG looked towards a Ligue 1 title.
Next up for the blaugrana is the second leg of the Copa tie with Osasuna in which they lead 4-0 on aggregate. Should they avoid a historic comeback from their opponents, Barcelona will face Real Madrid in the next round, always an exciting time to look forward to another round of El Classico.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Back in Action Barcelona 4 - 0 Osasuna
Holiday break is over in Spain, and on Wednesday Barcelona picked up where they left off in Japan with a 4 - nil victory over the surprisingly successful Osasuna squad in Copa Del Rey action, who are currently sitting 5th in La Liga, after finishing the year mid table last season.
Pep started the match with a mixture of regulars and bench player, giving Pinto the start in goal as is custom in the Copa matches. There were rumors that Leo Messi was suffering from the flu so he began the game on the bench, but would make an appearance later in the match. With David Villa and Iniesta still recoving from injuries, Pedro was paired up top with Issac Cuenca, rumored to be a Manchester United target, and Fabregas.
The first ten minutes of the game seems now to be the new method of attacking Barcelona. Press high, squeeze the ball, force a turnover, and try and get ahead early. The entire plan is based upon disrupting the rhythm of Barcelona, but the pressure simply can't be sustained for long periods of time, eventually teams need to fall back and are forced to defend. Such was the case with this game.
The 15 minute mark opened the scoring with a Fabregas goal and a Xavi assist, By the 18th minute Cesc had a second goal and a yellow card to his credit. A busy few minutes for the Spaniard. Xavi also provided the assist on Cesc's second goal, a particularly gorgeous chipped effort. With the waves of pressure coming from Barca, it looked like this game was destined to look like the first league match up of the two teams this season, where Barcelona scored a season high 8 goals and blanked Osasuna. Osasuna's defending and goalkeeping were significantly improved this time around, and the teams went into the break 2-0.
The first 15 minutes of the second half saw continued Barcelona pressure, but no additional goals. With a return leg at Osasuna in the difficult confines of the Reyno de Navarre, Pep introduced a not-so-fluish Leo Messi at the hour mark. Less than 15 minutes later Messi found himself on the score sheet as he headed a Xavi cross home, reminding us all that he can score with literally every part of his body. In injury time, Messi wrapped up the game, and the tie with a 2nd goal, and Barcelona will travel next week to Osasuna watching closely the results of the second leg of the Real Madrid - Malaga tie to determine their opponents in the next round.
Coming out of the holiday Barcelona will have to hit the ground running as tomorrow they face their city rivals Espanyol, and then depending out the outcome of the Madrid - Malaga tie, we will have our first two Classico's in 2012 as Barcelona would ace Real Madrid in the round of 8. Unlike Barcelona's emphatic drubbing of Osasuna, Madrid struggled against Malaga, down 2-0 at the half to storm back and win the first leg 3-2 at the Bernabeu, which means perhaps a more difficult task than they would like to admit awaits them at La Rosaleda against Manuel Pelligrini and a talented Malaga side, who have been disappointing in league play thus far.
The coming week will be an exciting one for Barcelona, with a intense derby on Saturday and then the possibility of a two-leg tie with Madrid looming in the coming weeks.
Pep started the match with a mixture of regulars and bench player, giving Pinto the start in goal as is custom in the Copa matches. There were rumors that Leo Messi was suffering from the flu so he began the game on the bench, but would make an appearance later in the match. With David Villa and Iniesta still recoving from injuries, Pedro was paired up top with Issac Cuenca, rumored to be a Manchester United target, and Fabregas.
The first ten minutes of the game seems now to be the new method of attacking Barcelona. Press high, squeeze the ball, force a turnover, and try and get ahead early. The entire plan is based upon disrupting the rhythm of Barcelona, but the pressure simply can't be sustained for long periods of time, eventually teams need to fall back and are forced to defend. Such was the case with this game.
The 15 minute mark opened the scoring with a Fabregas goal and a Xavi assist, By the 18th minute Cesc had a second goal and a yellow card to his credit. A busy few minutes for the Spaniard. Xavi also provided the assist on Cesc's second goal, a particularly gorgeous chipped effort. With the waves of pressure coming from Barca, it looked like this game was destined to look like the first league match up of the two teams this season, where Barcelona scored a season high 8 goals and blanked Osasuna. Osasuna's defending and goalkeeping were significantly improved this time around, and the teams went into the break 2-0.
The first 15 minutes of the second half saw continued Barcelona pressure, but no additional goals. With a return leg at Osasuna in the difficult confines of the Reyno de Navarre, Pep introduced a not-so-fluish Leo Messi at the hour mark. Less than 15 minutes later Messi found himself on the score sheet as he headed a Xavi cross home, reminding us all that he can score with literally every part of his body. In injury time, Messi wrapped up the game, and the tie with a 2nd goal, and Barcelona will travel next week to Osasuna watching closely the results of the second leg of the Real Madrid - Malaga tie to determine their opponents in the next round.
Coming out of the holiday Barcelona will have to hit the ground running as tomorrow they face their city rivals Espanyol, and then depending out the outcome of the Madrid - Malaga tie, we will have our first two Classico's in 2012 as Barcelona would ace Real Madrid in the round of 8. Unlike Barcelona's emphatic drubbing of Osasuna, Madrid struggled against Malaga, down 2-0 at the half to storm back and win the first leg 3-2 at the Bernabeu, which means perhaps a more difficult task than they would like to admit awaits them at La Rosaleda against Manuel Pelligrini and a talented Malaga side, who have been disappointing in league play thus far.
The coming week will be an exciting one for Barcelona, with a intense derby on Saturday and then the possibility of a two-leg tie with Madrid looming in the coming weeks.
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