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.
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