Sevilla 2 – 3 Barcelona

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Now that’s what I call love! What we witnessed tonight, and what we have been witnessing the past 2 matches, is what many used to call, the future of Barca. Well, the future has arrived, and what a fantastic outcome from our 3 home-grown forwards. We now have one last game to play (and to win) before we can call ourselves the Champions of Spain for the 2nd year running. At this point, I cannot say that both teams (Real Madrid and Barcelona) don’t deserve the title because they really do. No teams in the history of La Liga (or dare I say the world?) have battled it to the last day the way Barcelona and Real Madrid are. Sure, you can say Chelsea and Manchester United, but it wasn’t in this way. We have both broken the leagues point haul record and I doubt they will be broken again anytime soon. Focusing on us, we entered this match with our eyes on the goal. We needed this win, the whole campaign would have been worthless had we not collected these crucial three points. And that’s the mentality our players played with, the mentality that Guardiola instilled into them over the course of this season. Sevilla tried to play attacking football and look what happened to them. For those of us who watched the game, we were pleased with our team’s performance and know that it could have been 5 – 2 had our “future” taken their chances well. This game brings to mind another thing, a very dangerous state of mind. Complacency. Complacency nearly cost us the game today, no matter what we may say about the performance, what matters is the final result. Real Madrid have scored over 100 goals this season, but if they don’t win the league, does that matter? Up 3 – 0? Keep scoring goals till we’re 10 – 0 for all I care. The opposition should have no chance for a comeback; but more on that later. The line up was as follows: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Maxwell, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Messi, Pedro, Bojan.

The first half began with the rhythm we all expected (and with Dani Alves nearly bashing his former team-mate’s head). Our first chance came at the end of the first 2 minutes, with Alves racing down the flank to support Messi. Messi then set Alves up with a through ball but, unfortunately, the shot flew wide at goal. The move of the game (IMO) was when Messi quickly took a free-kick which resulted in Maxwell chipping a very smart ball over the defense. Calls for offside were made but there was none of it as Messi chested it down and pulled the trigger. BANG! 0 – 1. Silence in the Bernabau and from the performance it looked like we had one hand around the Liga trophy. It took until the 10th minute for Sevilla to get behind our defense but Valdes was there to collect the cross. At this point, we could see Guardiola giving specific directions to Alves. The effect was obvious as he raced down the right and unleashed a lethal curled ball that Palop JUST reached to deny Bojan the 2nd goal of the match. Bojan did have the last laugh, though, as Xavi made a wonderful pass over the defense for Bojan to simply shoot into the top corner. It was 2 – 0 and we were cruising.

The second goal calmed things down and decreased our urgency to score goals. Guardiola, on the other hand, was not looking very happy because his experience in these situations gives him a clear picture that anything can happen. The relaxation nearly cost us. Jesus Navas curled the ball into our box for Capel to head in, but it went wide. As an immediate response, Xavi unleashed a through ball to Alves who crossed it (rather powerfully) to Messi who was unmarked in the box. Messi just tried to curl it into the net, but the momentum of the ball was far too high and that resulted in it going over the cross-bar. On the other side of the pitch, Valdes was forced to make a crucial save to deny Fabiano. We could see how serious we were as Valdes started shouting and banging his foot against the post, like a child who wants candy! The second half resumed and to much of the same, they were down to 10 men soon after and we were controlling the game as if we were playing at the Camp Nou. At that time, our players new Real Madrid were facing a difficult task against 10-men Bilbao with a 1 – 1 score line. Messi missed another easy chance when Maxwell made a burst from the left and made a pass to Messi who was lurking outside the 6-yard box. Messi chose to shoot and almost grazed the post as it went out for a goal-kick. This was kinda identical to the goal against Inter in the San Siro.

In the 62nd minute, Messi had his shot from the corner of the box blocked. It fell to Pedro, who showed us how powerful his shots can be, and he fired it into the bottom left corner. We were 3 – 0 up and Guardiola showed his first smile of the game. 3 goals up, assured of the 3 points. Nothing can go wrong! Well that wasn’t the case because 8 minutes later, clumsy defending from Pique, Busquets and Puyol lead to a one-on-one situation with Kanoute in which Kanoute came on top. 3 – 1, and Guardiola was furious. What worse is that a mere minute or so later, a quickly taken free kick, in which our players were arguing was much farther away, left Luis Fabiano unmarked. He coolly slotted it past Valdes and Guardiola got off the bench partially nervous and partially furious.

At this time, Real Madrid had gone 2 – 1 up (after the roar from the Bernabau faithful at Sevilla’s 2 goals) and the match would end 5 – 1. As for us we chose to slow the temp and eventually the game ended 3 – 2. Messi scored his 32nd goal of the season, and his 45th in all competitions, leaving him a mere 2 goals away from The Phenomenon’s record. This leaves him in pole position to claim the Pichichi  title as well as the European Golden boot because I personally don’t see Higuain, Ronaldo, Rooney, Drogba and the likes.. scoring 5+ goals in their last games of the season.

Statistics show that we had 18 shots with 7 on target and Sevilla had 7 shots with 5 on target. They committed 23 fouls while we committed just 15. We dominated corners with 4 to 2. We also had more offsides, 5 to be exact, compared to their 2 offsides. Possession (need you ask?) was 69% to 31% for us. We were shown 6 yellow cards while they were shown 5 yellows and a red. Palop made 4 saves and Valdes made 3.

With that, lets take a look at the ratings.

Team: 6. A 10 was on the cards had they kept that clean sheet. You cannot be complacent in such important fixtures. Solid for 2/3 of the game but a moment of madness can flip the game in the opposition’s favor. As it turned out Pedro’s goal was the difference. The team cannot afford to underestimate any opponent even if they were 6 – 0 up because history shows that if a team can score 3 goals in 10 minutes then any team can do that. Overall solid performance at the back in the final nail-biting 20 minutes.

Guardiola: 7. Perfect, genius, mastermind. All those words come to mind when you think about the way he let those boys get on the pitch and play their game. Was very active with his instructions and the most crucial ones were to Alves which exposed their right flank’s weakness. Loses the perfect 10 for disrupting the balance of the game by bringing Abidal on. The dude was injured and took a few minutes to get into the game, by then the damage was done. The idea was good, they were 10 men down and their left flank was exposed to bring on a faster left-back; however, it unfortunately backfired.

Valdes: 7. Well aware of what was at stake and was furious each time Sevilla got close to his goal. Made a wonderful save when we were 2 – 0 that could have change the course of the game. Was not at fault for any of the 2 goals because he was let down by his defense. In the face of 2 world class strikers one cannot blame the goalkeeper if he didn’t make the proper saves. Overall, was comfortable for 75% of this match.

Alves: 10. My man of the match. Never tired from making runs up and down the right flank. Tonight he showed why he is the best right back in the world on his day. Never failed to make the best of the situations and made some wonderful crosses and through balls. Instructions from Guardiola allowed him to get behind the back line a few times as well. His link up with Messi and Xavi was superb as well as with Pedro. In the crucial stages of the match, he made a run all the way to the left just to keep the pressure on while the team got back into position.

Pique: 6. Did not have a lot to do and seemed very comfortable with the ball at his feet. Those long passes to Maxwell and Bojan are priceless! Loses points, though, for falling asleep when he could’ve stopped the attack that lead to the first goal from the midfield instead of drawing the opposition to our box. Solid game overall.

Puyol: 6. Many be bashing our Capitan right now. Saying he is past his best (media -.-) but you cannot take one faulty mistake and turn it into a “he’s done” situation. Made some excellent tackles on the left while covering for Maxwell and it’s a shame he wasn’t able to get that tackle in on Kanoute. Would’ve made a pleasurable tackle to watch Muahaha.

Maxwell: 7. Very active on the left and it seems that he has become our first choice left back instead of Abidal. Deal of the season dare I say? He struggled at the beginning of the season but he now plays with the philosophy that we want our left backs to play with. Pass and move pass and move, which resulted into a perfect-inched lofted assist to Messi.

Busquets: 6. The dude falls too much. I wonder how somebody playing in such a solid role (the DM) can fall that much. Maybe its his high center of mass. Busi, like Pique, had a solid match without a lot of problems; however, he could’ve done more to avoid that first goal.

Keita: 7. I was worried that he was injured but thankfully he got back to his feet and played the full 90. Weaved the strings silently in the background and provided us with that physical, solid play that we lacked in the previous years. The dude attacks balls in the air like there’s no tomorrow!

Xavi: 8. Xavi-dependency? Naah, the dude is just awesome. Playing with an injury and got hacked down a few times, he was a tough choice with Alves for MOTM. His assist to Bojan was perfect and his 20 eyes never failed to miss a player on the run.

Bojan: 6. His movement shows us what we’ve been lacking with Ibra on the pitch. The formation 4-1-2-1-2 seems to work when he is on the pitch with Messi and Pedro. His lack of experience showed when he missed his chances but time will make up for all of that.

Pedro: 7. As always, never fails to disappoint. Perfect in attack and active on the defense. The dude finally learned how to optimize his speed for better results. At a time when he used to run around in circles for no definitive purpose, he now conserves his stamina and makes breaks that gets him beyond the opposition’s back line. What a hell of  a right footed shot that dude has.

Messi: 8. Another candidate for MOTM simply because he is the one who gives us our spark. The reason Xavi, Iniesta, Maxwell, Alves etc.. have enough space to maneuver and pick their passes to the millimeter is because of our little Argentine. He drags defenders with him so that other players have enough space to move around. Excellent game from our little Pichichi.

Substitutions:

Abidal for Maxwell: 5. Didn’t get into the game quickly because of his long spell out and was caught off-guard when Sevilla decided to take a quick free kick that lead to the second goal. Pulled himself together late in the game though.

Toure for Xavi: 6. Didn’t have enough time to make an impact, but was brought on to slow down the tempo.

Jeffren for Bojan: Incomplete. Run around and be pretty, son.

We are now in pole position to clinch our 20th title ever. We just have to overcome one last hurdle: The relegation threatened Valladolid. It’d be nice to see us celebrate the title on the Nou Camp pitch in front of 98,000 fans. We have 96 points so far, a record! 94GF, 24GA with a goal difference of +70. We have equaled our record goal difference of last season and hopefully will exceed it come Saturday. Next up Valladolid.

Visca el Barca

It all comes down to this. Sevilla – Barcelona, a match that will possibly decide the league title; not that I’m writing off Valladolid, but if we overcome Sevilla do you honestly think that we’re going to allow Valladolid to push us around? They might. Always fear a relegating team! With 2 games remaining things couldn’t be tighter than this! This is the first time in the history of La liga that one team has made it beyond the 92 point mark. Well in our case, 2 teams have made it beyond the 92 point mark and STILL, La Liga hasn’t been decided. I knew this season was going to be tough, but I didn’t expect it to be that tough. Sevilla have secured the last door to the 2010/2011 Champions League and it is theirs to lose. After Real Madrid’s win over Mallorca yesterday, and Sevilla’s crushing of Racing, they now occupy the 4th place. Mallorca’s next game is against Deportivo and; therefore, Sevilla cannot afford to lose any more points if they want to hold on to the 4th place. Barcelona, on the other hand, are holding their own fate in their hands. We are in pole position and if we don’t end up winning La Liga, it is not Real Madrid’s fault nor Sevilla’s fault, it is our fault.

Preview:

We have only lost 4 times this season, twice in the Champions League, once in the Copa and once in the league. Sevilla is one of the teams that can say that they beat us this season. I don’t want to get into why they beat us (Chygrinsky) back then. As Inter have demonstrated, playing a team at two completely different times does not always mean the first result will be repeated. We had to find that out the hard way unfortunately. I trust that Pep will approach this game with the utmost seriousness we’ve seen from him all season. We cannot afford to lose this game, we’ve come too far to lose it all now. Sevilla’s results have been mixed since the arrival of Antonio Alvarez. They have won 5 times and lost 3 times in the last 8 matches in La Liga since Jimenez stepped down from the hot seat. Statistics help to give a clearer view on paper as we approach the match, but once that whistle is blown, none of it matters anymore. It’s all on the pitch. Sevilla’s home form has been relatively good. They have the 6th best overall home record in La Liga, with 10W-6D-2L, 31GF 15GA. From here they’re already looking like a tough nut to crack. Fortunately for us, if we were to look at statistics alone, we find that we have the best away record in the league, with 12W-5D-1L, 38GF 11GA.

14 matches since our last defeat in the league and we are flying high. Confidence is high and we don’t like like we are going to drop points. Messi is the league’s top scorer, Valdes is the leagues top goalkeeper and everything seems to be uphill from here, right? Wrong! None of that matters if we cannot seal the deal against an opponent who’s season may not be defined as a success if they don’t make it to next season’s Champions League, even if it is at our expense. Sevilla have the same hatred we do to Madrid based teams, but they aren’t the type who will throw a game just to see Madrid not win the league. It doesn’t work that way. Last game’s victory might have seemed like an easy one, but it wasn’t at all. We were made to fight for that second goal on our own ground, so you can just imagine what Sevilla are going to do. A draw will not cut it for them and neither will it for us. Both teams are entering this game with one goal in mind, score more goals than the opposition. 10 – 9? 100-99? It doesn’t matter, we need these three points. Alves wants to win the League on his former employers’ ground, but we cannot have one eye on the Madrid match (which, by the way, will be played at the exact same time as ours) wishing and praying that they would slip up so that we can win the league. We must go out and show the world that we depend on nobody but ourselves.

The war or words started a week ago between Sergio Ramos and Iniesta, with the latter indicating that he was watching a movie at the time of the Real Madrid – Osasuna match which was just as bad. Ramos indirectly told him that if he doesn’t like the way they play, he can just turn off the TV. Marcelo, on the other hand, must be trying a new scheme. Last season, he was predicting how Barcelona would lose to Sevilla, and then to Real Madrid which meant that they would win the league. We all saw what happened to them last season, so he might be trying a different approach, which is “I don’t think they’ll fail” LOL! History shows that Sevilla (in the league) haven’t beaten us since 2007. If we enter this game with our heads straight, I think that this run will continue. Unfortunately, we have had some unorthodox starts to a few games where we nearly conceded, and we cannot afford to have another one of those. Sevilla has never beaten the Guardiola era (once again in the League) and have conceded a lot of goals to us, 11 to be exact with no answer in return in all 3 games.

Iniesta hasn’t been given the green light yet but things are looking good. Abidal is still out, but Guardiola has hinted that our greyhound might be able to play if he deems him fit. He wasn’t on the bench against Villareal or Tenerife. Other than that, we’re all good. Pique’s injury seems to be more serious than was first thought (according to the media) but there has been no official statement on the official website. If Pique is not fit, then we can expect Milito or Marquez to step into his shoes. Unfortunately for Sevilla, their injury problems are much worse than ours Luis Fabiano (he might be on the bench if he passes a late fitness test), Lautaro Acosta and Aldo Duscher are a few of the names missing; however, their main problem is in defense with the likes of Sebastien Squillaci, Dragutinovic, Cala and Segio Sanchez all out. Could that prove vital in the race for La Liga? We shall find out on Saturday..

Predicted Lineup: Vales, Alves, Puyol, Milito, Maxwell, Busquets, Xavi, Toure, Messi, Pedro, Bojan.

Expect Sevilla to go all out on attack because a point will not suffice for them. The key to this game, for us, is possession. If we keep the ball, our opponents cannot score. Our defense has to be up for the task because the likes of Capel, Negredo, Navas and Kanoute can hurt us on the counter if we are not careful. If we emerge from this game with maximum points, we can say that the hardest task was completed and deem ourselves (virtually) champions. If Madrid slip up against Bilbao, then those three points will be enough to officially seal the title. Personally, I would like to win it at the Camp Nou as a thank you for all the fans’ support. But for now, let’s take things as they come, first up.. Sevilla!

Prediction: Sevilla 1 – 3 Barcelona.

Visca el Barca!

Daniel Alves joined Barcelona on the 2nd of July, 2008 and has proved to be an integral part of this current team that has went down in history for winning an unprecedented sextuple of La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup & Fifa World Club Cup.

Considered as one of the best full backs in the world, he joined FC Barcelona from Sevilla.

Visca el Barca!

This is an Exclusive Goal.com interview with Joan Laporta. The interview was conducted by Goal.com Founder and President Gianluigi Longinotti-Buitoni.

*Note that Gianluigi Longinotti-Buitoni’s dialogue is in Bold while Laporta’s is in Italic*

We are here in the Camp Nou stadium, the temple of one of the biggest teams in the history of football: FC Barcelona. The most outstanding characteristic of Barcelona is not just that this club achieved the greatest sport success of all time, after winning six titles in the same season with individual and collective performances that will pass into the annals of sport. What strikes the most is the way Barcelona has achieved these accomplishments.

First of all, Barcelona’s sporting success is based primarily on the development of champions from its own grass roots program: Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta… Secondly, in a time when most clubs are experiencing financial difficulties, Barcelona has become the second largest club in annual revenues – 365.9 million Euros doubling its sales in the last five years, an unparalleled success among the top clubs in the world.

Who is behind these successes? Often presidents of football clubs become the most important figures in determining the success of the team: they are the ones who choose the coach, who agree the purchase of players, who oversee the creation of a business model and determine the social responsibilities of the club. The president who most exemplifies this role is Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona.

Mr President, under your leadership Barcelona has achieved unprecedented success. What do you think was the best decision you’ve made?

Well, our best decision, for we are a board of administration that I have the privilege of presiding, and we take the decisions collectively and whenever a sports decision is taken, it is supported by the technical secretary and people who give us good advice… but the best decision we have made over the years in my opinion was the decision to appoint Txiki Beguiristain as technical secretary; he is a man who has consistently presented a very competitive sport proposal. Also a great decision was to appoint Frank Rijkaard as coach; a good decision was also to appoint Josep Guardiola, this has been an extraordinary decision; a decision which was complicated because it did not have popular support nor the required complicity to make such decisions to be taken normally, but we demonstrated courage and a clear idea of what we wanted. Above all, the best sporting decision was to develop a “Cruyffist” philosophy of football. This means to be faithful to an idea of football born with Cruyff, and which has turned Barcelona into a club that aspires for excellence, a club that prefers to be the best than to be first – generally if you’re the best, you’re the first – but it’s this way of loving football, and this sports philosophy which has been the biggest decision.

When I speak about applying this sports philosophy, as a consequence, Txiki comes, Rijkaard comes, Guardiola comes… the key is this sport philosophy that we have decided to apply, this “Cruyffist” philosophy. From a non sporting point of view, the best decision was to refound Barca Foundation and to forge an alliance with UNICEF; this is the most important non-sporting decision that we have taken during these seven years of my term, which will reach an end now on June 30 when the term will be finished. For me, the best decisions have been these two: to be faithful to an idea of understanding the game, a “Cruyffist” philosophy and then the decision to reach a global alliance with UNICEF, which has provided us with the opportunity to help many needy children and which has also released an image of Barca with values, and this I think is very important.

And the worst decision?

Generally speaking, I like to talk about the good things. I’ll tell you that, for sure, we have made bad choices, and what I do value is the fact of having the will to correct the mistakes and look forward. And now, I’m trying to think up the worst decision, and I do not remember any! Do you know what happens? Sure we made mistakes, and I am the first in making them, but I try to forget the mistakes. I think we should learn from the mistakes but not remember them. You must learn from the mistakes, correct them and look ahead. Wrong decisions? I think in general, everything we have done has had a meaning and I have the peace of mind to know that everything we have done has been done with a positive will, and those decisions that did not turn out well, have been used to learn from so I think they have not been bad either.

What are the three main features that, in your opinion, have helped to achieve such extraordinary success?

I sort of answered this before. The first one is to be faithful to an idea of understanding football, which is this “Cruyffist” philosophy: it is a way of trying to dominate the match from the start, of controlling the ball, playing in two passes, attacking, trying to score more goals that our rivals, being generous with the show. That seeks to play well and be the best. This I think is very important; this is key. As such, certain decisions have been taken, such as enhancing La Masia. I would say that being true to this idea of football includes enhancing La Masia. La Masia is the term we use for the grassroots programs of Barca; We have invested heavily there, we worked hard, we put a lot of effort into it, and also intelligence, ability, skills… and the consequence is that nowadays, in the first team, we have 50 percent of players who have been born as players in our club, who have grown and have been developed as players and have been formed as persons and have understood the representativeness of the club, its symbolism, the pride of being from Barca. This is transmitted into the first team and nowadays it makes us have a football identity of our own, a style based on this way of understanding the game we call “Cruyffism”, which has also been improved by Frank Rijkaard when he was head coach of the team, and which has been and is being directed masterfully by Pep Guardiola, because both of them have in their heads this way of understanding football.

Especially in the case of Pep, he has the knowledge of the club, the knowledge of La Masia, what it is like to be from Barca. Then, players like Messi, and Iniesta, Xavi, and Puyol, as Pique, as Busquets, as Bojan, like Pedro, like Victor Valdes… are players who carry the club in their veins, they know the club by heart, they have suffered a lot, they have worked a lot in Barca in order to be able to be where they are now. This is really beautiful, and it is one of the keys. Being more than a club is important too; being “more than a club” is not a slogan, it is an early statement, it is an expression of our sporting identity, the expression of our cultural identity, our Catalan identity, the expression of our international focus – as Barca is a global club. It is an expression of our vocation of solidarity which is being developed through the Foundation. So being more than a club, our “Cruyffist” philosophy of understanding football and La Masia are the keys to our success.

Visca el Barca!

Barcelona 4 – 1 Tenerife

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2 games to go, 6 points to go.. Those are the words that are on all our minds at this point. Fatigue isn’t an aspect anymore, these next 2 games will decide the title and boy are we aiming high. We began the final stretch with a 1 – 4 win against Villareal and continued it with another 4 – 1 win over Tenerife as was witnessed tonight, what a wet night! Tenerife came with a game plan, a mixed game plan I may. First, they decided to pressure us from the midfield line, but that didn’t stop our creative midfield from creating chances. What’s funny is that it took only 4 minutes for the first chance to arrive which shows that nobody can, and I say that with great pride, NOBODY can play our game against us. Real Madrid tried it and they suffered, Arsenal tried it and they suffered, Sevilla MIGHT try it; if they do, they too shall suffer! Step at a time; taking a closer look at this game, the statistics speak for itself, we were in complete control of the game. That, though, didn’t stop Tenerife from making a nuisance of themselves. The line up was as follows: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Maxwell, The Yaya, Keita, Xavi, Messi Bojan, Ibrahimovic.

I was far from impressed in the first half and at the beginning of the second half. We were defending like a Segunda division club, and any 1st division team can slaughter you if you play that way. Puyol, although solid at the beginning, gave Tenerife (Kome to be exact) a gift on a silver platter. Had Kome been keen to cash in on his gift, we would have been 0 – 1 down and this game might have had a different ending, a sadder one that this current one. One more point that I found rather annoying was that Messi had to actually take the ball from Kome or else we would have conceded. Where the hell was our defense? It became evident to me tonight that when one player in the defensive positions is playing badly (i.e. like crap -.-) the whole defensive line, including the DM, collapses. That weak link today was Pique. I always have words of praise for our towering defender but that Puyol blunder at the beginning of the match cause Pique to lunge at the ball and, as a result, pick up a knock. He continued playing, of course, but his flare was slowly diminishing.

Despite our lackluster defense, the attack was doing its job perfectly. On the other side, Dani Alves found himself face to face with Sergio Aragoneses, but him being the generous person that he is, like many of our other players (Xavi & Iniesta ) he chose to try and play it to a Barca player that was inside the box instead of shooting it directly. As a result, the play broke down and that was that. Sometimes our players are too generous when they really should just thump the ball into the back of the net. Now, whatever Alves did wrong in the penalty box, he corrected immediately by sending in a great cross that landed on the Big Swede’s head and somehow, mystically found its way in Messi’s path. All Messi had to do was round the goalkeeper and thump it in, and didn’t he do it with style!  He could have made it 2 – 0 after 5 minutes, but it seems that Messi is becoming very fond of the advertisement boards on the left side of the goal (as witnessed today and against Villareal).

After that first goal, everyone expected that we would cruise to a very easy victory; but this, my friends, wasn’t the case. Sometimes it is better to face the second placed team at the end of the campaign then to face the relegation-threatened teams. Why? Because the second placed team cannot settle for a point, or for a loss. The second placed team will go out and try to make chances while, of course, leaving wide spaces for our gifted players to expose to the bone. Relegation-threatened teams; however, settle for draws and will park the bus for the whole game. That’s why I started worrying once we couldn’t get the second goal. Does Osasuna ring a bell? Although we had control of the ball for a huge amount of time before the end of the first half, we were not effective. The closest we got to the second goal was by way of Maxwell. As Maxwell received the pass from Bojan, he got ahead of the back line and all he had to do was make the routine pass that we’ve seen him and Abidal do 3 or 4 times this season. Ibrahimovic was wide open and it was an easy goal. Instead, blinded by the greed of getting his first Barca goal (I don’t blame him because I as well as anyone would have done the same) he decided to take the shot instead of passing it to Ibra and that resulted in a magnificent save by Aragoneses.

Were we going to regret that? I had no doubt in my mind and almost 4 minutes later, my greatest fear was confirmed. Tenerife’s goal came by way of a defensive blunder rather than a team error. Puyol made a strong pass to the Yaya who couldn’t reach it (you know, because he’s big, slow and stuff). It seemed that Puyol was having Kome-titis because that was the second ball he had gifted to him, and this time he was not going to make a mistake. Puyol didn’t see Roman sprinting behind him and didn’t make an effort to sprint the offside trap. Roman pulled the trigger, and BANG! It was 1 – 1 like that, and our title hopes were on the brink.  Why the negativity? Because teams who want a point will park the hell out of the bus until they get that point.

The second half started and Guardiola (as expected) made an unorthodox change, by taking Pique who was clearly injured out and injecting Pedro into the match. Umm, hello? Where’d our defense go? The Yaya went back to cover the CB position with Puyol and Pedro played on the right flank with Messi in a free-role position. Who would have thought that in just 2 minutes of Pedro coming on, he would gift the ball to none other than Kome. Luckily our defense intercepted it before it could reach him. Phew!!

After the slight nervousness of the first minutes, we began to dominate the field. We would not let go of possession and would have up to 20 or 30 passes before taking our chances or losing the ball. Messi nearly scored from a free-kick while Ibrahimovic saw his chance intercepted by Culebras. Roman made a break and quickly fired a low shot at Valdes who snuffed it into his arms. In the 63rd minutes, Alves got his first assist in the game when he threaded an inch perfect through ball to Bojan who broke away from the defense. The 19 year-old made it look so easy and we were 2 – 1 up! Puyol nearly made amends for his defensive error by rising to receive a corner, but his shot was too weak and it was eventually cleared.

Perdo seemed to be pulling the strings on the right and confusing their whole back line. Tenerife took a corner and it was cleared and it eventually was fed to Pedro who made a lightning speed kinda run and took his shot. He missed it by that much! He wasn’t going to miss again as Messi threaded a wonderful through ball under the noses of two defenders, he took his chance and BAM!! It was 3 – 1.

The game cooled down after that with our players looking to conserve their strengths for Saturday’s crucial match against Sevilla. Tenerife started to attack and got a goal in the 79th minute. My heart skipped a beat and all I could hear in my head was (Atletico Madrid in 2008 all over again) but luckily the flag was rightfully up. There were 3 minutes of added time and just as I was about to turn of the television with 4 seconds remaining, Alves got his second assist of the game with a wonderful cross that fell perfectly to give Messi his 31st goal in La Liga and 44th in all competitions. (EAT THAT CR9!)

Although we looked very shaky at the back at some points of the game. We dominated the game from start to finish with exception to these few intervals. We have 21 shots with 8 on target while they had 4 with 2 on target. We committed a lousy 5 fouls while they committed 21. We dominated the corner kicks as well with 9 for us and just 2 for them. As for offsides, 3 for us and 5 for them. The possession, while an astonishing figure for some, is not surprising: 83% to 17%. We had no bookings, they had three which means that we will have no one suspended from the crucial tie against Sevilla this Saturday. Valdes was forced to make one save. On the other side of the pitch Aragoneses was forced to make 4!

On that note lets take a look at the ratings..

Team: 6. In general they played pretty good but they cannot afford to relax or underestimate an opponent with so much on the line. We are playing for the league, therefore every game is a final. No matter who we are playing we should approach all the games with the same attitude and mentality. Attack was fine today and midfield support was crazy, however the defense was catastrophic and we would have suffered badly against a more organised team.

Guardiola: 7. Sent out the right lineup and gave the correct directions at half time. Very ballsy substitution involving Pedro for Pique but worked out perfectly. Ibrahimovic and Bojan did not link up perfectly and it was very clear from the way Ibrahimovic was playing that he isn’t used to roles other than CF. Made the correct substitutions by bringing on Busquets to bolster the midfield and Henry to run riot on the left flank.

Valdes: 6. By default he gets a 6, nothing special and nothing catastrophic. Was in no way at fault for the goal. He had one save to make all game and looked very comfortable when receiving back-passes and starting attacks from the back.

Alves: 9. A candidate for Man of the match. 2 perfect assist coupled with an amazing performance on the right wing. Loses a point for not covering the back when everyone was attacking. Had Pedro not made that intersection we would have seen a completely different game. Escaped by the scruff of your neck. But again, those crosses were gold!

Pique: 7. Did well to stop the onslaught of attacks that resulted from losing possession. Made a crucial interception when Puyol mistakingly lost the ball. Ashame that he got injured but kept going until the half time whistle and didn’t look like flinching at all.

Puyol: 5. Poor game from El Capitan today. Yes he improved hugely in the second half but 2 defensive blunders against an opponent with a much higher order of finishing can destroy us. Did well to re-gain his confidence at the break and should have scored that goal.

Maxwell: 7. Our most active player on the left wing today. Countless of runs back and forth and didn’t look like he was getting tired. Loses points for being selfish with that ball that could have easily gave us a 2 – 0 lead. His confidence is increasing day by day and so far, he has proven to be a worthy backup for our injured Abidal. Deal of the year if you ask me!

The Yaya: 5. Slow, very very slow today. Didn’t pressure the opposition as we are used to him doing. Gave away easy balls and didn’t make an effort to latch onto that ball from Puyol that lead to the goal. Improved greatly in the second half and never seemed to be on the back foot after he deputized for Pique in the CB position.

Keita: 7. The silent treatment is what he should be called from now on. Barely has a major impact on the game but he is always there pressuring the opponent to lose possession. Fights for each ball like it is the end of the world and that is what the Barca philosophy is all about. Too bad that he didn’t get a goal to his name from that header but overall good game.

Xavi: 6. Wasn’t at his best today and gave away passes more than usual. Maybe its the injury but that guy deserves all the credit because he was instrumental in keeping possession for long intervals of time. I really hope that we won’t get deprived from him in the world cup this summer but on another note, a very honorable and noble thing to do.

Bojan: 8. His movement was perfect. He fits into the Barca style perfectly. He was eventually rewarded with a goal that came from a sublime strike. 5 goals in 9 matches and 2 goals in the last 2 matches, he is giving Guardiola a run for his money about whether or  not to start him ahead of Ibrahimovic.

Ibrahimovic: 6. Much better than before but still slow on the ball. Contributed to attack more than usual and nearly could have scored at least one. His skills in counter-attacks partially failed him as it made us lose the element of speed but its all uphill from here. Keep it up!

Messi: 8. Yes, he scored 2 goals and turned the opposition inside out. He sometimes disappeared for some periods of time but this boy is incredible. He can sleep for the whole 85 minutes and pop up and score a goal or two. His confidence should be booming since he is closing in on the Pichichi title, the Golden Boot and, of course, Ronaldo’s (the real one ) record of 34 goals in 37 matches. Messi now has 31 goals in 33 matches.

Substitutions

Pedro for Pique: 10. Here is my man of the match. Started shakily but quickly pulled himself together. Got a wonderful goal to his name from a well played game and could have had one more had he played it right. He was instrumental in confusing the opponents game plan with his speed. Overall perfect performance.

Busquets for Ibrahimovic: 6. At a time where it appeared that we were slightly losing control of the midfield due to the Yaya-cum-defender and 4 forward in attack he stepped in for Ibrahimovic to regain control of the midfield. I was never a fan of Busquets but it seems that he is gaining experience from his time on the field.

Henry for Bojan: Incomplete. Came on made a few runs, almost scored one and almost assisted one.

Well that’s that! We are now 4 points ahead of Real Madrid with a game in hand and pending their result (hopefully positive for us) against Mallorca. We have 2 more games remaining, the most important of which is the one against Sevilla this Saturday. In my opinion, if we come away with maximum points against Sevilla the league is as good as done. I’m not going to jinx it because we still have 2 finals to play before we can claim the title. We have broken the record for the most points in La Liga ever with 93 points! 91GF and 21GA with a GD of +69. We are one goal away from breaking last seasons goal difference record! Next up Sevilla but until then…

Visca el Barca!!

It still hasn’t been a week. In my case, I’ve finally digested what was a hard pill to swallow in the first place. The picture above speaks for itself. After the first leg, many people claimed Inter Milan knew what they were doing and they were surely going to make it to the final; however, the picture above shows how much Inter couldn’t believe it. They made it to the final and at our expense, the best team in the world. Could this fixture have had a better outcome? In my opinion, what happened happened; however, there are some points that are worth discussing now that it has sunk in. The turning points, if you will, that led to us crashing out of the tournament..

1) Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Lackluster Performance Up Front.

Nobody can deny what was evident in most of the matches this season. Ibrahimovic doesn’t suit our style of play. We got a striker who was supposed to score goals, and score goals he did, but 21 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions is not what we brought him to do. Last season he had 29 in 46! Comparing him to Eto’o would be a huge mistake, but one cannot help notice Eto’s figures (last season and this season) and Ibrahimovic’s figures (last season and this season as well). Eto’o had 36 in 52 last season whereas this season he only has 16 in 44. This says a lot about the respective leagues both players are playing in, but more about the style they are used to playing with. Eto’o cannot score a lot of goals with his new team simply because Ibrahimovic could score a hell lot of goals with them. Ibrahimovic is used to sitting in the box and waiting to be fed, while Eto’o is used to a fast flow of play in which he gets more than 20 passes a game. Now, he barely gets more than 9 passes a game! The reason is style! Who knows, maybe Ibrahimovic will flip a complete 180 next season like a certain Thierry Henry did last season, but we cannot sit and play the guessing game because we cannot afford that! Last season we had 105 goals, this season we only have 87 with three matches remaining, why? Because Ibrahimovic only scored a fraction of what Eto’o did, that’s why. His huge center of mass doesn’t allow him to accelerate in a way that Henry, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, etc.. do and hence there is only one place for him! The midfield! I mean that sarcastically but common, even Yaya Toure can score goals. His inability to get behind the back line of strong opposition on a regular basis is somewhat worrying and thats why I prefer Bojan instead of him, and if reports are true, Villa instead of him. Don’t get me wrong; He’s the best striker on the planet on his day, but he isn’t having any of his days! And that is, in my opinion, the main reason we exited the Champions League. Had we had a different striker, we may have (or not) gotten passed Inter more than we did in Camp Nou as well as in San Siro. Heck Pique should’ve been striker instead of Ibra!

2) Offside, Hello!!?

This is the reason we are not in the Champions League final. We were on the wrong side of a 3 – 2 aggregate scoreline. I’m not praising the player, don’t get me wrong. He was in the right place at the right time in San Siro, and although I don’t understand how the lineman didn’t see his offside goal, we cannot blame the player. Nobody will man up if his teams titles chances are on the line. Thierry Henry did it, Maradona did it, Heck Messi did it and now Milito did it. It’s the same philosophy of players shouting for a corner when they know that they got the last touch. On the other hand, that goal was why we didn’t make it. An aggregate of 2 – 2 would have meant that we go through on away goals. It was not to be, but I knew that at the end of the 1st leg that goal was going to come and haunt us in the worst way possible. Of course, had we made it through, this article wouldn’t have been published. It’s the way of life and in life you win some and you lose some. I just wished we didn’t lose “some” in this way. Nobody can deny and nobody can prove that the referee and Mourinho had a special relationship. There are three sides to a story. Barcelona fans’ sides, Inter fans’ sides and the truth. Unfortunately for both sides, nobody will be able to figure out the truth. Chelsea fans came out bashing Barcelona. “How does it feel to have the game stolen from you?” or “See!!? This is what we felt last season!” Let me get one thing straight, had we not scored that crucial goal in Stamford Bridge, nobody would have even turned against the ref. That and the fact that Chelsea missed about 3 clear cut chances while we only had one shot on target. That shot got us through, and it was legit. For an offside call that easy to be missed and an penalty to be casually waved away, theres a little something something, but I’m not the type who bashes refs.

3) Pep Guardiola Chocked When Inter Went Ahead in San Siro.

In Pep we trust, In Pep we trust. We will never stop trusting in Pep, but like we’ve had one of the worst matches of the Guardiola era (according to Cryuff) against a mediocre team, this was the worst coaching blunder of the Guardiola era. When you’re down 2 – 1, or heck when you’re stuck on 1 – 1 and the team is attacking and you’re midfield control is crappy because of one Sergio Busquets, you bring on the calvary. Toure, Henry and Bojan where at your disposal. The best substitution The only substitution was very effective, but it was not enough. We know that and he knows that. When they scored the third goal they just sat on the defense. Our morale was down and so was Guardiola’s morale. Unfortunately for him, this was one of the rare times that he didn’t know what to do. Our Champions League exit proves the theory that the best team doesn’t always win. This was the case here, you were jut in the wrong place at the wrong time and since you couldn’t do anything about it, we got knocked out. It’s not a catastrophe. Real Madrid’s situation is a catastrophe. They’re barely getting passed the second grade teams in La Liga and were beaten in the Knockout stages of the competition for the sixth year in a row. Barcelona, on the other hand had just made history, that is why morale is high. This pack made history so why sit and cry? We beat Inter Milan twice this season, the first time we beat them was an example of pure coaching brilliance but also of luck. We had Real Madrid coming up and Ibrahimovic and Messi had to be rested. The effect of that was that Inter were prepped by the “Special One” to face Messi and Ibrahimovic. He didn’t expect them not to be on the field and his plan was completely destoryed. Unfortunately it was luck but I’m glad to say that the victory against Villareal shows that Guardiola learnt his lesson against Inter Milan.

4) Foul? Oh BooHoo;; Get Up and Stop Complaining.  *UPDATE*

We cannot blame the Champions League exit merely on individual factors. While Ibrahimovic wasn’t influential and did not “go with the flow”, the collective team play was pitiful. Instead of fighting for the balls that they lost they would look at the ref and await the (inevitable?) decision. Unfortunately, none of the decisions came their way and that is what caused the most fatigue. Stopping a player in the oppositions half is easier than allowing him to run with the ball and realize that the game play is not going to stop and run full speed after him. That’s tiring! When Messi was fouled, he expected to hear the referee’s whistle, instead, he heard it a few seconds later and that was when Inter were celebrating their second goal of the match. The game was ours to lose, and boy did we lose it. Thanks to Japple for reminding me about this very important point. The team lost this game. Yes, had any of the above been a little bit more positive, I can (boldly) say that we would have qualified for the final. It was not to be and we lost. The game was lost in San Siro..

5) A Very Good Referee Made a Crucial Error in The Return Leg.

This is going to be short. According to experts and to FIFA (who I think made the rules? Ehm Yea) when a ball is unintentionally handled, no matter what the outcome of the play is the play must go on and must not be stopped. Whether or not Toure had handled the ball doesn’t matter; because on both cases, the play should have went on. Maybe the referee didn’t see and I truly believe he didn’t see it. As I said before, luck. We were good, but we were not lucky and that is why the best team never wins all the time.

Looking forward, we have 3 games left. 9 points to play for and the League title is ours for the second consecutive year. I can’t hardly wait! I’m relishing the prospect of Madrid ending another season title-less while we scoop 4 titles (Yes, or did you forget that we won a treble of titles in the first half of the season?) The Super Cups and the World Club Cup were won in 2009, but they’re still considered part of this season. So whatever happens, this season will never be a failure for us because we always move forward.

Do you have any other argument? Discuss them in the comments!

Visca el Barca!

This is it. We are entering the last stretch of games (3 to be exact). After 15 points, we will find out who to crowned champion of the 2009/2010 La Liga is. Mathematically, there are only 2 teams who can win the title and those 2 are Barcelona and Real Madrid. After Real Madrid’s (lucky?) win over Osasuna last night, it became clear to me that not only do we have to work our butts off until the very end, but we also have no room for error come Tenerife, Sevilla and Valladolid. There is much at stake here and I’m not just talking about the title. Messi is on the brink of capturing his first ever Golden Boot and Pichichi. He has 29 goals in 32 League appearances, not to mention 42 goals in all competitions with 50 appearances. Victor Valdes is also on the brink of capturing his third Zamora trophy. I don’t see how Barcelona can concede 11 goals in the last 3 matches; therefore, I deem the Zamora race done and dusted. But now, for the matter at hand..

Preview:

We are sitting at the summit of La Liga with a record 90 points. No team has ever reached the 90 point margin in La Liga’s current format. Real Madrid hold the record for the most ever in every single format and that is a mere 2 points away; 92 points. Speaking of which, they are sitting in second place one point behind us. After their win against Osasuna in the dying minutes, we have no margin for error whatsoever. Seeing that Barcelona – Tenerife and Mallorca – Real Madrid are going to be played on the same day with the latter playing right after our match, this is a must win game. The first thoughts that come to mind are “oh they are a relegating team who are battling for survival” and “this should be an easy match” Well it should be, but merely on paper. Lets not forget that Tenerife have had some surprising results this season. The sides that we had trouble breaking down, such as Espanyol and Mallorca, were beaten by this “second-rate” team. Osasuna, Mallorca and Espanyol all lost to Tenerife, which is why we should take this game very seriously and go all out to get the three points.

We’re entering this game with an unbeaten run of 13 matches (in the league). We have proven to be very stubborn at home with 16W-1D-0L. We have 49GF and 10GA and have collected 49 points (Real Madrid have collected 51 points but with a game in hand at home) which says a lot about how we play our matches at home. On the other hand, Tenerife enter this game having won their last game against Racing. Away from home they are the worst side in the league. They have collected just 6 points (yes you heard right) from 17 matches. 1W-3D-13L with 13GF and 40GA. As I said before, this game is easy on paper, but that doesn’t mean that the three points are in the bag. Tenerife have never beaten us. Never, ever! They have never got a point from us. Barcelona have amassed 5 wins from 5 matches against Tenerife and scored 11 in the last two matches alone! We all recall The Messi show last match in which he bagged a hat-trick, but whats more interesting is that the previous match played against Tenerife ended  0 – 6 with Kluivert scoring 4 goals. I’m sensing a trend..

Iniesta is still out injured, while Abidal has been training. Xavi, on the other hand, is filling my heart with warmth. Even though he is injured and even though he might miss the world cup, he is giving his all for Barcelona in these last three games. That’s what’s great about being a Barcelona fan, we don’t have to wave white handkerchief from the stands (cough, Madrid, cough) because we simply don’t need to. Out of the Champions league? No problem.  The team is united and so are the fans and that is the key to a successful team. Bojan has won me over. I would like to see him in every starting lineup as a CF. I’m not saying that I don’t want Ibrahimovic playing. I do, because at his best he can be devastating, but I don’t want to see him in the CF role because of his pace. When Guardiola injected him into the match against Villareal, he allowed him to play on the right flank of the midfield. His strength and trickery confused the other players. Who knows, Barcelona do have a knack for making strikers-cum-midfielders (Guddy). Busi is suspended for this game.

Predicted Lineup: Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Maxwell, Toure, Keita, Xavi, Messi, Pedro, Bojan.

Fatigue is only in the mind. Yes we played a match on Saturday and have another match to play on Tuesday. We are used to this because over the course of two years, we have had non-stop games in all competitions over the weeks and therefore fatigue is no excuse. Expect Tenerife to get a little ballsy at the beginning and our defense has to be up for the task. We were lucky against Villareal and should learn from the mistakes we did. Our focus should be only on this match and not on the tricky tie against Sevilla, nor on the Mallorca – Real Madrid match.

We are playing at home and should have the backing of all the cules.

Prediction: Barcelona 4 – 0 Tenerife.

Visca el Barca!!

Villareal 1 – 4 Barcelona

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