About Chelsea

 At last after 8 years Roman Abramovic has the championship trophy that he wanted so badly. This Champions League title ratifies his investment and gives Chelsea a tangible reason to claim a spot among the “big clubs” of Europe. Just like the Europa League, the winner of this Champions League was the club that not many would have guessed back in December. An impeccable defensive order and a sublime Drogba carried them throughout the tournament allowing them to defeat every team that, on paper at least, was better than Chelsea.

Is there merit in what they did? Absolutely. I won’t be the one to say that they don’t deserve the title. This team walked on the tight rope at all phases of this championship and yet they never gave up. They capitalized in the very few chances they created. There is merit in that. However, I can never support anti-football: the art of not wanting to go for the victory. Inter did it two years ago, Greece did it in the Eurocup 2004 and now Chelsea has done it too. They all have won without attempting to win but rather focusing in not losing.

Chelsea display in the final was horrible in my opinion. It feels more like Bayern lost rather than Chelsea won.  Compare their display to Barcelona last year or compare them to the Real Madrid team that won the 9^th Champions League 10 years ago. It almost a sin to play like Chelsea did. In fact, the real sin is that Chelsea, until the 1-0, did not want to play. Two defensive lines of 4 and 5 players respectively at the grandest stage in European football is something I don’t expect from a team that wants to be crowned “the best”.

Listen to what Mata, Torres, Di Matteo, and other players were saying at the end of the game about how Bayern played better and you can see even they know luck was a huge element in their title win. Again, I think that “never give up” attitude is fantastic but to renounce any effort to go an win the game is not a good thing for a club that wants to enter into that “best clubs of Europe” category.

That football philosophy is valid sure but 8/10 times you will be eliminated by a team that wants to play for the win. If you want proof of this just look where Chelsea ended in the Premier League: in a Europa League place where their game belongs. I’m not saying that defensive football is a bad thing or that it isn’t valid. But being a defensive team doesn’t mean that you have to forget about attacking.

I doubt any good midfielder or striker who’s looking to play in another club would dream about playing for Chelsea, at least Di Matteo’s Chelsea. How could they? No striker wants to spend the whole game alone waiting for a long pass, a bad defense, and luck to score a goal. No midfielder wants to be constantly playing in a center-back role just to get the ball and have nobody to make a pass. Even as a fan, I would rather pay to see Arsenal or Tottenham play before paying to see Chelsea.

The funny thing is that Chelsea deserved this title long ago but won it when they least played for it. However, I will give credit where credit is due. Both, Drogba and Cech, were out of this world. That header from Didier was one of the best headers I’ve seen. They alone won this cup for Chelsea.  The years will pass and this final will be remembered for the wrong reasons. It will be the final that Bayern Munich couldn’t win, or lost to Chelsea.  

Atletico de Madrid: the bitter side of glory

The Europa League is always a fun tournament but this year it took a different spin with the presence of Manchester United, Shalke04, Manchester City, Valencia, and Ajax. Add to that a fantastic Athletic de Bilbao and you could see why at times it felt more interesting than the Champions League. But none of those teams won the cup. Instead, Atletico de Madrid reclaimed the cup they won 2 years ago with a stellar Falcao and an unbeatable Courtois.

This cup has a lot of merits for Atletico de Madrid both inside and outside the pitch. From a technical point of view, this team is completely different from that of Quique Sanchez Flores in 2010. There are only two survivors from that team: Perea and Dominguez. To me that’s remarkable. It’s hard to build a winning team and to do it in less than two years is even more amazing. Add to that the fact that Simeone didn’t even start the season as the coach and the story becomes even more amusing. Atletico won the final being loyal to their beliefs and playing very smart defensive game without being cowards on the pitch.

But leaving all the euphoria and all the celebrations for the title aside you can see that not everything is happiness for the club. Yes the won the cup, but they missed finishing 4^th in La Liga, which means they are not in the Champions League next season. So what’s the big deal? Just entering the champions league gives clubs the approximately the same prize money as winning the Europa League. That’s right, Atletico de Madrid could have lost the Europa League final but made it to the Champions League instead and they would have gotten a better money prize. But it’s not only about the money prize; clubs get funding from television contracts and basically the better the team is positioned for the next season the bigger piece of the pie you get.

From a fan point of view that doesn’t matter because a title is a title and you want your club to be a champion. But now Atletico is going to be forced to sell key players to avoid red numbers in their balance sheets for the year. This means goodbye Diego because even though he’s on a loan, it cost the team 5 millions to keep him. This also means goodbye Falcao and possibly Adrian as well because funds are needed.

Atletico will be doing the right thing, which is spending no more than their income so they can pay their debt even at the expense of the team. It’s a short term sacrifice for a better future but it’s hard to sell this to fans who, understandably, want to raise cups instead of finishing 4^th in La Liga.

So congratulation Atletico for this well deserved cup, a sugar coat for a mission half accomplished. 

Maradona: Did you see Valdes against Atletico?

Nobody can deny that Diego Maradona was perhaps the greatest player in football history. He was a short chubby genius that only needed a ball to dribble his way on to victory. He did it with Boca, with Barca, Napoli and Argentina. When he had the ball something was about to happen. He was just that good.

But skills on the pitch don’t necessarily translate in understanding and “getting” the game and Diego is a living proof of that. Recently in his “pipe-bomb” style of press conferences, Diego stated that Barcelona was such a great team that even their “bad” goalkeeper looked good on the pitch. I don’t mind his honesty and his direct answers; in fact, I encourage it. But I completely disagree with his remark regarding Valdes.

To assess what Victor does in Barcelona you need to understand that the goalkeeper’s job in this club is far more than just stopping goals. Barcelona’s game starts with the goalie’s short pass, which is something that doesn’t happen in most clubs. Normally, the goalie is required to stop the ball and then send it as far away from the area as possible. While this decreases immediate danger, Guardiola assumes that this moves result in unnecessary gambling of the ball in the midfield.

So how does this affect Victor? He is required to play with his foot in the same way of a defender or midfield. I think it’s fair to say that 99% this goes unnoticed. He gets the ball and makes a short pass to Pique, Puyol, Alves or Abidal. However, that 1% when he gets it wrong he compromises the team severely. (See Real Madrid’s first goal against Barcelona at the Bernabeu last December)

But the question is: does that make it a bad goalie? Not really. He has won the Zamora Trophy four years including the last 3 seasons. His performance in important matches has been stellar to say the least. In the three champions league final he delivered. The list of strikers that have suffered Victor includes: Henry, Drogba, Eto’o, Rooney, Higuain, Benzema, Raul, Robben, Cristiano, Ribery, Klose, Kun Aguero, Neymar, Guiza and many more.

Victor is not the best goalie in the world, he’s the second best in Spain after the eternal Casillas. The mistakes victor makes are few in quantity but have huge consequences for the most part. However, I think he is among the best in the world when it comes to one on one situations. Victor not only stops goals he also helps the team add points. Proof of that is the last match against atletico. Perhaps Maradona should watch that game and then talk.

Golden Ball, Messi and Maradona

Harvesting Success: six nominees for the prestigious golden ball award is recognition to the amazing season that Barça had last year. Even though only six players made the list this is the work of the whole team; names such as Busquets, Pique, or Alves were responsible for making their team mates better. The result is none other than five titles in the year 2009 which make it perhaps the best year in the club’s history. Of all the names there are two that will definitely make the top three; Leo Messi and Andres Iniesta. These two players were decisive all season long. Iniesta even played injured in the final against Manchester United and was the man who gave Eto’o the pass in the first goal in that final. Messi on the other hand had, up until now, his best year as a football player; everything that he did was spot on; and add to that the fact that he didn’t have any muscular injury and the results speak for themselves: goals, good games and titles. Off all the nominees Messi seems to be the obvious choice and he will get this and the FIFA world player as well. It would be very strange if it happens but the three finalists should be Messi; Iniesta and Xavi.


Messi's Debate: Barça’s version of Messi seems to be a lot different from Argentina’s version. In Barcelona, Messi is a player who can decide any game at any time like he did in the Champion’s League against Shaktar or like he did in La Liga against Numancia. In Argentina, however, the same player seems lost and every action in which he participates ends up with the rival team getting the ball back. Casual fans look at this and point directly at the player; saying that he either lacks of motivation or doesn’t understand the game of his national team; however, analysts of the game all agree that this situation is not as simple as it look. In Barcelona, there is a coach that has established a well defined style and philosophy from both a physical and mental point of view. In Argentina the situation is different. Diego Maradona is without a doubt in the top 3 best players of all time (to some even the first) but being a good player don’t always mean to be a good coach. Maradona has not established even an idea of what his team should play. He works a lot the psychological aspects of the game, which is very important, but he lacks of technical understanding which results in players being lost in the field like Messi. Another important aspect to have in mind is that it is not the same to get passes from Xavi and Iniesta than from Mascherano and Veron, this is not a knock on the talent of the two Argentineans because they are very good, but Iniesta and Xavi are simply among the best in the world, if not the best, at organizing the game.


Maradona Should be Fired: before explaining why he should be fired let’s look at his accomplishments as a coach which should also be taken into consideration. First of all, he got the team and led them to earn a spot in 2010’s world cup in South Africa; regardless of the poor image his team shows in every game he got the job done and result oriented critics will say that this is what matters. He also got the team united which is fundamental for any aspirations to do great things; a coach that doesn’t create a sentiment of unity in the team and doesn’t work the team’s psychology is missing on a crucial aspect of the game. However, we are talking about Argentina; an instant favourite in any tournament with players like Mascherano, Messi, Higuain; to expect “just to win” is an unacceptable mediocre mentality of a small team and not a former world champion. Argentina, just like Brazil, Spain, Italy is expected not only to win but to offer an display of good game as it happens to clubs like Real Madrid, Boca Juniors, Barcelona etc. But perhaps the worst of Maradona doesn’t come with anything related to the game or the team but to his shameful declarations after qualifying to the world cup in which he express vulgarities towards members of the media. From a man driven by passion rather than logic it is not a surprise but the fact that the AFA allows this to happen is something that damage the prestigious image of the “beautiful game”. Watching Diego behave and watching Guardiola act is like day and night; they are completely different.

Final Grades

With the football season officially over for Barça after the 1-1 tie against Deportivo it is time now to think about the players and all the effort that they made. This season was just a dream and something that perhaps none of us will ever live again. Pique was right when he said that perhaps in 15 years we will seat down and truly realize the value of this epic season. In the mean let’s look player to player and see how they did. They will be evaluate on a 10 point scale in which 10 will be the best and 0 the worst


- Victor Valdes: one of the most criticized player of this year; had a very good season. As always he had a number of consecutive games in which everything he did was a mistake but when it came down to the decisive moment such as both games against Real Madrid, Against Chelsea, and in the Champions’ League’s final he was spot on. Grade: 9.0


- Jorquera: unfortunately for the Catalan, he spent a lot of time injured and Pinto’s excellent shape and experience prevent him from playing. He will probably be transferred next season. Grade: N/A


- Jose Manuel Pinto: earned the spot of being the second goalkeeper of the team and shine in the key moments of the King’s Cup in which he was the main goalie. He doesn’t have the consistency of Victor but brings a lot of experience. Grade: 7.1


- Abidal: Eric Abidal came from Lyon with the reputation of being almost unstoppable; however, there was a sector of the French media that warned about his attention’s gap at some points of the season; every year one can see how he can be hit-or-miss. In speed he’s very fast but players such as Robben showed how easy can he be to beat at times. He might stay next year but he needs some serious competition for that left back position. Grade: 7.4


- Dani Alves: the best adquicition for this season. The Brazilian justified every single penny invested on him of the 30+ million euros payed to sevilla for the transfer. Defensively unbeatable; offensively, Messi’s best partner in the field. Alves is a machine that never showed up any sign of tiredness. He’s only bad aspect is that sometimes his temper cannot be controlled but after such a magnificent season everything can be forgettable from this player. Grade: 9.5


- Rafael Marquez: The Mexican player was thought to be in decay but Guardiola did his best to bring the best out of Marquez and the end result was a boss in defence. Rafa was not only a wall in the defence line but also the best player to start any play. His ability to start Barça’s game resulted in many of the goals that this team did this year. Welcome Back Rafa. Grade: 9.3


- Martin Caceres: one of the few disappointments of the season. The Uruguayan was never confident on the pitch. He played greatly last year in Huelva but failed to adapt to Barça’s rhythm. The fact that Barça paid 16 million Euros for his service makes you think that they had high expectation which were not met at all. Martin will probably be transferred on a loan next year. Grade: 3.0


- Gaby Milito: Milito was doing an outstading season last year until he got injured playing the Champions’ League semi-final against Manchester United. He was expected to return sometime in march this year but ended up not playing one single minute. Whether he stays next year or not depends on 2 things: 1- he’s ability to stay healthy, and 2- how fast can he get back on track. Grade: N/A


- Gerard Pique: the homecoming season for the young Catalan defender couldn’t have gone any better. After being let go by Alex Ferguson many thought he wasn’t ready to play in Nou Camp but despite the fact that the beginning of the season was not very good for Gerard he soon proved that he was by far the top rising defender in Europe. His ability to read the rival’s game is outstanding and his touch of the ball and accuracy in the pass make him the ideal Barça defender. Grade: 9.2


- Carles Puyol: what can you say about the captain? He’s the most consistent defender in Barcelona. Rarely did he have any bad game and his defensive skills allowed Guardiola to place him in any position of the defenders’ line. Another great season for the captain. Grade 9.0


- Silvinho: his role on the team is not that of the regular player of frequent substitute but more of the mentor and voice of experience in the team. Guardiola did not trust him very much but when he was called for action he responded such as in the final of the Champions’ League. Many consider him out but do not be surprise if his professionalism, experience, and dedication earn him another year in Nou Camp. Grade: 6.0


- Alexander Hleb: along with Caceres Hleb was the biggest disappointment of the season. It was known that he wasn’t very effective at scoring goals but he was very good in Arsenal when it came down to a one on one situation and dribbling. He never adapted and never understood how to work with Alves on the right wing. Next season, if he stays, he won’t have the adaptation excuse. One his defence, it can be said that he never played in the wings at Arsenal and maybe that’s where Guardiola has it wrong. Perhaps a move to the center field would benefit his game as it happened with Gudjohnssen. Grade: 3.5


- Iniesta: no compliment and positive adjective can describe Andres’ majestic football. He has the vision that makes Xavi the architect of the midfield combined with the one-on-one abilities and dribbling as Messi. Having Andres in your team means to have goal, accuracy, speed, surprise, emotion. Either on the left wing or in the middle Iniesta always delivers. He’s goal against Chelsea will be remember for many years to come. Next year’s golden ball award and FIFA world player has to give Andres some justice and if he doesn’t win it he has to be in the top three. Best of all, he’s made in Barça. Grade: 10


- Keita: “Keita has stolen my heart” with that expression Guardiola referred about the African player. Keita is the official player number 12 of the team; one of the most overlooked roles in a team is that of the player that assumes that he’s not a started but the first man to enter the pitch when the substitutions come. This role was previously held be Iniesta and now Keita has assumed it the perfection. He’s passes are a piece of art and the control he provides to the midfield is something that comes across very useful for the team. His surprise entrance in the area is a resource very useful as well as his long distance shot. Grade: 8.4


- Toure Yaya: when the season started Yaya was not having the role he thought he deserved. Pep gave him a chance and soon there was no turning back. Toure has become the perfect ally for Xavi and Iniesta in a role of body guard. He plays his role of defensive midfield to perfection and has even tone down his attitude a bit when it comes down to protesting a call by referees. In the end due to the absence in defence he had to play as a center back and with the more games he played he became more solid. Just as Keita, his long distance shot is a missile hard to stop and for a player that is almost 2 meters tall his dribbling is another piece of beauty; if you don’t believe this check his goal in the King’s Cup final. Grade: 9.2


- Xavi: the best player of the Eurocup, The best player of the Champions’ League Final and probably the best player of FC Barcelona. When he has the ball it’s like watching a Swiss clock work. His passes make him look as though he has a GPS on his legs; the teams that beat Barça this year did it by shooting down Xavi’s game. His consistency is something not very typical in this game. Grade: 10


- Sergio Busquets: the revelation of the season. Guardiola coach him in the junior division of Barça last year and did not hesitate to call him to the first team at the beginning of the year. He debuted as a started in Nou Camp and soon proved himself to be ready for the main team. He combines the passing skill traditional of any young player made in Barça with some defensive midfielder skills proper of Guardiola himself. He moves in the field like a kid that has been playing for many years in Nou Camp. His only weakness is experience but only time gives you that. in the final of the Champions’ League he went from less to more and soon made a big impact on the game. Grade: 8.9


- Bojan: for an 18 year old player the expectations at Nou Camp are extremely high. He did not have as much action as last year but perhaps that’s a good thing. Guardiola took off the pressure he had last year in order for him to grow up as a player with more confidence. In the King’s Cup he showed his potential scoring a lot of goals. Next season he either assumes a more mature role in the team or Guardiola would have to give him on a loan so he starts to play more. Just for the record, last time fans claimed that a player from the junior team deserved a more decisive role in the main team was with an unknown called Iniesta. Coaches took their time and we all know what happened. Grade: 7.5


- Samuel Eto’o: a year ago this very day Eto’o was on his way out; not because he wasn’t a good striker but his attitude was a big problem. Guardiola wanted to start fresh but due to his high price no team could afford to buy him. He did a wonderful pre season and behave well and the result was 30 goals in La Liga plus the decisive first goal in the Champions’ League Final. Samuel is a much more mature player; his temper has been controlled by Pep and he’s a leader in the locker room. Anxiety prevent him from scoring 40 goals this season but what matters is that the important and crucial ones went in. Grade: 10


- Gudjonhssen: the iceman did not have a very important role on the field as his game is not that of quick pass that characterize the team. He brings more of a physical presence in the middle. His goal against Betis gave Guardiola the first victory at home. This would more likely be the last season of Eidur at Nou Camp. Grade: 6.7


- Thierry Henry: if someone had the disappointment of the year award last season it was Henry. Many thought that he was on his way out but Guardiola made it his challenge to bring back Henry to the level he showed in Arsenal. Henry was much more comfortable this season; he scored 19 goals in La Liga including 2 at the Bernabeu in the 2-6 victory. His dribbling and shot on goal are just pure class. If he earned the disappointment of the year award last season, this season he earned the “Welcome Back to World Class Level” award. Grade: 9.7


- Messi: the next year Golden Ball award and FIFA world player have its name. Leo was without a shadow of a doubt the best player of the year. Every time he had the ball something good happened. He scored a total of 41 goals in all competition which includes the 9 goals he score in the Champions’ League – one in the final – he also scored many victory goals. His dribbling can only be stopped with a yellow card foul. And the best part of his season was that for the first time he did not suffer a single injury. Grade: 10.


- Guardiola: Inexperience, Youth, Controversial Decision. All of these were arguments against the man behind the success. A year ago there was a debate between bringing Mourinho or Guardiola. Laporta gambled and brought the Catalan to be the coach and results soon started to speak for themselves. His working philosophy has become the envy of Europe; he doesn’t give private interviews, he doesn’t allow the media in the training sessions but he makes up for that by giving a lot of press conference and having a very polite relation with media members. Nonetheless when he was angry with the media he let them know so, very respectfully, but with character; for example in the middle of the season the media was talking about who should be the next striker because according to them Eto’o was on his way out; soon enough Guardiola stated “my players deserve respect and support not only from the fans but also from the Catalan press…that’s were you guys fill this with crap; I’m not asking respect for me but for this players that are doing a good job and making this a dream season”. One of the most important aspects is that Pep never gave up his philosophy and from day one he was very clear “we are going to attack”. He prevented his players from assisting to publicity acts two days before any game and also created a working philosophy in the team that went from proper diets to eating together as a team. In his first year he did what no coach in Spain has done; he won the Triple Crown and he did so by trusting in home-made players such as Busquets, Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol, Messi, Valdes, and Pique. Grade: 10

Barça Reaches Olympus

FC Barcelona has done the impossible; what no team in Spain, and only four teams in history, has ever done winning the “triple crown” or the treble which consists on La Liga, Kings Cup, and Champions’ League in the same season. Barça did such thing by beating the very bests and never renounce to their style and principles. Throughout the season the feeling that this team could do such a thing was always there and the players knew it but a clever Guardiola was there to remind us that the team had to go one game at the time and that expecting a triple crown was too much since it hadn’t been done in 109 years of the club’s existence.


La Liga: my personal favourite; La Liga rewards consistency throughout the year. Every team that wins this title deserves to be the champions as it has to be proven for 38 games. Ironically, it wasn’t until the third game when Barça could taste victory for the first time. With a coach debuting at such a young age all the looks were in Guardiola’s inexperience. Nonetheless once he did some adjustments this machine started to operate and game after game people would talk about the supremacy of the Catalans. Doubters always mentioned how they had to see Barça against the top teams to see if they were really that great. Fortunately enough this season’s schedule could not be any better to prove that this team was ready to beat anybody. Barça had to play against the first 4 teams one after the others; and soon doubters were silenced. Barça won the 4 games and ended up the first round with 12 points of difference. From that moment on the league was decided. Real tried to reach the first place and they were as close as 4 points but soon enough Barça showed their champion skin and won 2-6 at the Bernabeu to sentence the league title. Looking back it is easy to say that there was no rival this year for the champions.


King’s Cup: Barça, the all time winner of this cup, had the assignment of reclaiming this forgotten title which they hadn’t raised since 1998 oddly enough at the same stadium where they raised it this year. What’s a shame is that this prestigious cup has lost its magic due to poor management. Here is where the Spanish football federation has to look and learn from their English homologues if they don’t want this tournament to perish. There is no real price for whoever wins the title apart from greeting the king and becoming champions. The winner should be allowed entrance in the champions’ league pre-qualifying games. One way to do this could be to have a two game series with whomever finishes 4th in La Liga. Otherwise it will happen what’s happening now which is teams playing their second teams to win this cup. Barcelona did this and it worked; however, the likes of Leo Messi were present in a lot of games. What makes this title so meaningful this year is the rivals they faced to conquered it. Atletico, Espanyol, Athletic are all teams that a 1) are strong in the Kings’ Cup and 2) have some historic rivalry with Barça. Athletic and Barça is a dream final in this cup and Barcelona dominated it to show that they were the absolutely best.


Champions’ League: looking back in September when Barça was facing Wisla for a place in the tournament it was impossible to imagine that they would dominate this cup so clearly. At no point where they in danger of being out –expect at Stanford Bridge – every team that visited Nou Camp was terrified with the possible outcome; Lyon left with a 5-2; Bayern Munich with a 4-0 and Chelsea had no remedy but to play defence the whole game to dream about eliminating the Catalans. At Stanford Bridge they had the game in their hands but Drogba was not good enough to beat Victor and there’s the turning point in which Barça capitalized to score in the very last minute. It may have been luck or divine intervention but in this cup you cannot be champion without luck. In the final, Barcelona’s domination was insulting. Nobody had treated the former champions like that in Europe. Pep Guardiola showed that experience means nothing when you really know the game. He accomplished in his first years what no man had done which is to win it all. Is this the best Barça ever? History will judge. It’s too early and they need more years of winning titles. But as far as the best team of the moment goes it would be foolish to even argue.

Mission Accomplished

Yesterday Barcelona qualified for their sixth Champions’ League final after a 1-1 tie with Chelsea at Stanford Bridge. Unfortunately this game will be remembered mostly because of the horrendous refereeing rather than the amazing goal by Iniesta in the last second of the added time. To be frank, the referee made a lot of missed call specially the red card to Abidal. That decision cost Chelsea a lot of the match; the referee saw that he made a huge mistake and tried to made up for it by ignoring a very controversial hand ball by Pique with the argument that it wasn’t voluntary.

Essien Zidane & Super Iniesta: Michael Essien wore yesterday the suit of Zidane when he scored an amazing and gorgeous goal in the 9th minute that remembered Zidane’s best goal ever- in the Champions’ League final against Leverkusen- and from that point on Hiddink played the game he wanted: anti-football. Despite the fact that Barça was missing their 2 center backs-Puyol & Marquez- Chelsea did not make enough effort to create more danger around that area. Instead, they decided to defend for the rest of the game and wait for a counter attack that would reach Drogba. To make things even more shameful for Chelsea’s game, they allowed Barça to take control of the game –even when they were missing one player- Barcelona on the other hand played one of their worst games in the year. They didn’t make any shot on target for 92 minutes; something very uncharacteristic of this team. Alves played horribly and will be missing the final due to unnecessary fouls. Eto’o barely appeared throughout the game and Messi was being covered by 3 players every time he was ready to receive the ball. In the end the heroes of this team were Valdes and Iniesta; Andres for scoring that goal that represents the chance of winning the third European championship and Valdes for stopping a one on one against Drogba. In the end, if Chelsea is not in the final is not because the penalties that the referee missed but because they couldn’t finish the job.

The Best Philosophy Won: sadly, Hiddink did his job very well in the first game. He nullified Barcelona completely and with the 0-0 result at the end it seemed as though they had done the job properly even though that meant a disgraceful display of his men. Barcelona on the other hand always had the possession of the ball and had a philosophy that Guardiola has been applying since his first game: Attack, Attack, and Attack. The moment Essien scored Chelsea try to re-apply the dosage to their rivals but the difference is that now only one goal from Barça was enough to eliminate them as it did happen at the end. Barça played the same game over and over again and dominated one of the most difficult stadiums in the world. It’s true that yesterday the display wasn’t pretty at all but throughout the season it has been a different story and this spectacle football that Guardiola is showing every game deserved to be seen in the final. Chelsea lost the chance to repeat the final and it is due mostly because they gambled with the result; unfortunately, when you gamble you can win…or lose. Now against Manchester United Barcelona is going to be playing without Alves and Abidal but Pep will know that to do best as he as shown every time he has to improvise something.

Now, To Finish the Job: Barça is in the final of the two cups it fights for and one step away from winning La Liga- if Madrid loses this weekend or tie and Barça wins they’ll be champions- so it means that the objectives are almost done. Johan Cruyff has said something that is very true and it is that the objective in the Champions League and in the King’s Cup has to be being in the final. Once you are there the objectives has been achieved and you just need to give 110% to try to win it but at the end of the day the final is just one game and a lot can happen in just one game. In La Liga is a different story as it represents an award to the most constant team; Barça has to make sure to win that tournament as soon as possible so they can concentrate in the other 2. All year long Barça has shown that they are displaying the best football in Europe and it would be nice for a change to see football being a bit fare and do some justice. This team is at the entrance of the house of glory; now it’s time to give a few steps forward and finish the job.

Mestalla WIll Judge

Mestalla To Be Remembered: This coming Saturday Barça will visit a stadium that can bring the best memories to fans to this club or the worst. Pep Guardiola’s team will play in Mestalla two games that will determine the successfulness of this campaign. Tomorrow against Valencia half tournament is on the line; if Barça is able to leave with three points they will only have to win tow more games to be champions; even less if Real Madrid loses at Sevilla’s Sanchez Pizjuan. The next time they are back at Mestalla will be may 13 against Atletic de Bilbao in the final of the King’s Cup but now is not the time to talk about that game.

Pep Does not Speculate: Guardiola knows the importance of the coming games. In less than 15 days he will have to face Valencia, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Villareal & Atletic de Bilbao which means that the season will be judged in the next 6 games (7 if they go to the Champions League final in Rome). From now on he won’t give rest to the essential players and the ones like Hleb or Caceres will not be playing so much unless the games are very well finished before the ending time. To prove this Guardiola called the 18 available players to go to Mestallla tomorrow night. He wants to create a good environment by bringing everybody and thus transmitting the importance of the coming games. Against Valencia Henry Eto’o & Messi will be playing from the beginning and will try to win the game as clear as possible to send a direct message to their main rival.

Crucial Victory: With the luck and effectiveness that Real Madrid is having it is crucial that Barça get the three points this weekend; every effort that Madrid has done so far is being nullified by Barça and if they keep this way a bit longer soon Real Madrid will fail. What is happening with this rivalry this year is a metaphor of Barça’s game. Kanoute from Sevilla stated how desperate it is to play against Barcelona in the way that they don’t give you the ball and you spend 90 minute trying to chase the ball which results in them getting exhausted and soon admitting defeat; this has been the Barça VS Madrid race so far. Barça has the points and Madrid is trying to chase them. All logic points that Madrid will sooner rather than later fail but football is an ingrate and sometimes even defies all logic. The only hope that Madrid has is for Barça to get tired from their encounters with Chelsea. However, that is next week. In the mean time La Liga enters in the best part where for Barça a win this Saturday is Crucial.

Barça to visit two of seven infernos

In less than 24 hours the UEFA committee will hold the final draw of the champions league determining who plays against whom and where the second game of each round is going to be played. It is believed that whoever plays the second game at home has an advantage but each team knows that to be in the final they need to do well in both game. Tomorrow at this time the speculation will be at its best as everybody will try to predict the outcome, pick the bests for their fantasy leagues and so on.

There Are No Easy Team. From this moment on, there are absolutely no small team. One of the magical aspects of this tournament is that a single play can be a make or break for any team. Many fans of teams such as Manchester, Barça, or Bayern Munich want to face Villareal or Oporto but the fact of the matter is that it doesn’t really make a difference. To win against any team there need to be three main factors present 1) good team 2) you need to have a good day and 3) perhaps the most important yet overlooked fact you need to have luck. Just remember how Monaco faced Oporto in the final just five years ago while big names such as Manchester, Liverpool, or Real Madrid had to just watch it from home.

Barcelona will have to play in 2 of the seven “infernos” if they want to make it to Roma this year and try to add their third cup here is a look at the possible contenders:

Manchester United: perfectly balanced team; with a perfect preparation. This team is a very serious contender to go back to back in this tournament. Their home pitch, Old Trafford, doesn’t bring many good memories to the Barcelona fans as we still have the image of that amazing goal from Paul Scholes last year in the semi-finals. The best quality about this team is the organization with which they play; they practice a solid defence that doesn’t let you move comfortably and just when you lose the ball they can create an attacking play in seconds with which they destroy you.

Liverpool: motivated as hell after two consecutives win scoring four goals against non other than Real Madrid and Manchester United (the last one in Old Trafford). This team is made for the champions’ league. Benitez knows how to prepare these games better than anybody. Their strongest point is the fact that their two pillars so-to-speak respond at big games; Torres and Gerrard almost never disappoint whenever they play a big game. Even in their worst day they’d make you suffer a lot. Anfield is a strong factor as they have by far the best crowd in the world.

Bayern Munich: this is a favourite of mine. The Germans play really solid and have a combination in their front line which is devastating. Tony is a striker that, while not being praised by many, scores a lot and goes very well in the air. Klose feats the same description but has better footwork than his Italian team member and last but not least Ribery; this guy can make it happen…just like that. The only “doubt” that I can find in this team is the fact that they have yet to prove themselves against a big club. I just hope they go against one of the four members of the “British Empire”

Villareal: one Cinderella team some may say; villareal has shown that they are ready to face the challenge. When they play good they are extremely hard to beat. Men like Senna, Cazorla or the veteran Pirlo can come back at any time and make the team win. Their problem is that at the moment they are not doing as well as they wish in Spain. After they lost to Madrid and Barça in December they have been very “hit-&-miss”

Chelsea: second place is not enough for this team and they want to achieve what they failed last year. Anelka and Drogba bring so much experience to their offensive line that it is hard to not consider them for the semi-finals. However, they will need more than Anelka and Drogba to advance and if men like Lampard or Essien do not appear during the game and be decisive they won’t have too much of a chance. Also, with Deco out due to a knee injury it remains to be seen how they manage their midfield. Stanford Bridge is a solid stadium where is really hard to win but since Barça cracked them three years ago it hasn’t been the same. I believe this tournament will make this team stronger or will completely accelerate the renovation in the locker room.

Oporto: the second least attractive team in the tournament along with Villareal; however a team that doesn’t need to do much to make an impact. Whenever Lissandro scores this team create a lot of troubles to their rivals and if they are lucky, and they are very lucky, they can make an upset and advance. Their weakest point is the goalie that can miss a lot of obvious plays.

Arsenal: this team can be very solid but can also be really bad. They are, at least on paper, the weakest member of the so-called “British Empire”. However they faced big teams in the past under similar circumstances and advanced to the next round. Men like Cesc or Van Persie are always the one that you need to be very careful; but also there are men like Adebayor who can miss tons of goals which in these tournament means good bye.

One Game Less...3 Points More

Eleven More Finals. Barcelona defeated Almeria 2-0 in what looked more of a training session than an actual game. Guardiola’s men dominated the entire game and if it wasn’t for the Almeria’s goalie, Diego Alves, we would be talking about a 5-0 result. Barcelona seems to have learnt the lesson at last and now plays more loyal to their game style: pressure, possession, and quick passes. However, in the first half of the game Barça made the mistake of just having the ball but not doing much with it. The game was predictable which resulted in few goal shots. Nonetheless, the few shots that Barcelona made were on target but the inspiration of Almeria’s goalie was out of this world. In the second half Barca realized its mistake and started moving the ball quicker than before and scoring two goals in less than 10 minutes. At the end of the night the objective was accomplished. Barcelona is once again 6 points away from Real Madrid. There are only 11 more games until the end of the season; each of those will be a final.

Bojan’s Time. Last season former Barcelona’s coach Frank Rijkaard decided to give the young 17 year old Bojan a chance to play with the first team; the situation was really bad with a team that had given up La Liga the previous year to arch nemesis Madrid. Samuel Eto’o had a severe injury once again and would be out most of the season; Thierry Henry was not adapting to Spanish futbol at all and his number were not justifying the 24 millions Barcelona had invested in him; and to make things worst the main event and star of the team, Ronaldinho, was in the beginning of his humungous free-fall. Bojan became an instant idol in Barcelona for his youth, passion, background history with the club and on top of that his romance with the goal. This year his presence has not been greater or equal than last year when he became a regular striker. In fact, he’s been playing way less and only in the King’s Cup he is member of the main team. However, people seem to overlook his age, 18, and the fact that what happened to him last year was unusual. Bojan had a golden chance yesterday and he did not disappoint. He’s a player that is not involved in the game a lot; his skills are not of the striker that runs with the ball, enter the area and score; instead, he’s a predator of the area waiting for the right moment to strike. Yesterday he only had 2 chances and both of them entered; goals that come in the crucial moment of the season when Barça is fighting for 3 championships and need to know that all players are there to respond when needed.

Waiting For a Rival. This Friday is the final draw in the Champions League in which the best 8 clubs in Europe will be paired so that all possible matches are known. There are no small teams at this stage. Nonetheless, many would prefer Porto or Villareal than any of the British teams. Johan Cruyff mentioned on his column this week that at this point any rival is going to be tough. If Barça gets paired with Liverpool or Manchester (both serious title contenders) they would then have a golden opportunity to eliminate one of the bests. The trick will be for Guardiola to figure a way of keeping his men fresh both mentally and physically to face this challenge. Madrid on the other hand has the “advantage” of playing only once a week which means that they can afford this coming 11 finals in La Liga in a better way than Barcelona who could feel the intensity of all competitions affect their game. However, I bet that many in Madrid would love to have the “problem” of playing all tournaments.

Champions League Hangover (Part II)

The round of 16 is over with very little surprise. Most of the outcomes were very visible after the first games so let’s look at them one by one:

Barcelona VS Lyon: for the first time in Barça’s history they eliminate a French team in a K.O round of a European tournament. Barcelona was very loyal to their principles and their game playing with the lines very close to one another and pressuring the rival and playing very fast. The first 45 minutes were the complete opposite from the first 45 minutes at Lyon. Pure perfection by the Catalans that scored 4 goals; however, it is quite intriguing how this team can be so good and so mediocre in just one game. The first 25 minutes of the second half were quite bad and if Benzema had scored at least one goal then I’m not so sure what would have happened. In the end, Barça was clearly superior but there is still tons of work to do.

Manchester VS Inter: I predicted that Inter was going to eliminate the current and very possible next champions but only with a tie and with horrible game. I wasn’t that far off as Inter sent to balls to the post. In the end the best team advanced and there is no surprise whatsoever. Manchester may be in its way to become the first team to win back to back.

Roma VS Arsenal: Roma is a rollercoaster; some days it can be the best team playing at home and other the worst. Today, they battled until the very last second but in the penalty kicks it is always a lottery. With this win the premier showed once again to be the best league in Europe…unfortunately.

Oporto VS Atletico: if today Oporto didn’t win is not because they didn’t have the chance but because the gods from above were rutting for Atletico; they had so many chances that for whatever reason didn’t become goals. The biggest mistake by Abel was leaving Forlan in the bench. Honestly, in a KO round you have to go for the game from the very first moment. Shameful.

Chelsea VS Juve: Juventus is a team that is very hard to beat at home and Chelsea can give testimony of that. Unfortunately they also need new players, a fresh air so to speak. Juventus is at the moment a team that needs a re-building summer. I don’t expect to see Chelsea going to semi-finals if they have to face a big team.

Panathinaikos VS Villareal: The only surprise of the round was to see the yellow submarine advance to the next round. Definitely the Cinderella team of the tournament; it is nice to see them among the 8 best of Europe.

Liverpool VS Madrid: yes, the first goal was a foul on pepe, the second one wasn’t a penalty but you just cannot justify a 4-0. Benitez gave a lesson of how to win a game from minute one. Real Madrid was never a threat in this game and only Casillas is saved of the media backlash.

Bayern VS Sporting: not much to say here expect that Bayern showed no mercy and gained a lot of respect for the next round.

Championship Contenders:
- Liverpool: strong contender after their dominance display against Madrid. Definitely a semi-finalist

- Bayern: This team needs to face a big team to prove how good there are; in my mind a final contender.

- Manchester: one of my best friend described them the best; he said “they are team with most discipline in the world” I couldn’t agree more. Serious contender for the first ever back to back.

- Barça: when they are good they are the best. But the have gaps that in this tournament can represent the end.

Matches that I want to see:

Manchester VS Bayern
Barça VS Arsenal
Oporto VS Villareal
Liverpool VS Chelsea

Champion's League Hangover

After 3 long months the most prestigious tournament in Europe is finally back. The KO round of 16 was very interesting to say the least and most of the games are way open to put money on the line. Let’s look game by game what happened and the consequences.

Lyon VS Barça: Horrible first half by the Catalans; it was probably the worst display of the season and it comes at the worst time. Pep’s team has not won in three games. Valdes is right now in clumsy mode. Let’s be honest, Juninho’s goal was a piece or art worthy of the mighty ones but Valdes could and should have done something more. It’s not too much that he failed but the fact that it’s his second game in which a mistake of the keeper cost the teams the game. Fortunately Henry appeared (at least once) to save the day and score another goal worthy of the chosen ones. The good news is that 1) the team didn’t lose and 2) a goal away is always a good news; this means that a 0-0 tie will still take Barcelona to quarters of final. The bad news: Barcelona has never passed to the next round after tying 1-1 on the first game. Prediction: Barcelona wins at home next game and advances to the quarters of Final.

Inter VS Manchester: the big daddy of this round was very disappointing; especially for mourinho’s men. Manchester seemed as though they were playing home. They moved very comfortably throughout the game and had many chances of scoring. Mourinho must be extremely grateful to Julio Cesar who was without any doubt the MVP of the night. Ibrahimovic barely appeared during the game and neither did Adriano. However, in this type of tournaments not letting the visitor score in the first game is a success. Prediction: This is a very bold prediction but I ‘m sure Inter will tie at old Trafford and advance. But don’t fool yourself they won’t display any type of futbol; it will be 90 minutes of constant offensive game by Manud.

Arsenal VS Roma: Once again the premier showed to be a better league than Calcio. I’m not a fan of the kick and run show that is seen every weekend on England but even I have to admit that they are miles away at the moment. Arsenal showed extremely superiority at emirate stadium and just as Manchester is a shame that the superiority was not reflected on the final score. A penalty goal by Van Persie was enough for the moment but Roma is a very tricky team at home. It’s hard to know how good they will be the next game or how incredible bad. Prediction: Arsenal is going to advance to the next round without too much problem. A 0-0 at the Olympic Stadium will be more than enough to kick out the hosts of this year’s final.

Atletico VS Oporto: I’m glad these two had to see each other in this round. They are so similar in so many ways that it is nice to the spectacle. Atletico’s men were convinced that in champions league they will be different from the rollercoaster display of La Liga but unfortunately it wasn’t the case. Every time the seemed to figure how to win Lisandro would strike back and get Oporto in the picture once again. The final result is a shame if you are an Atletico De Madrid fan; a 2-2 is not the best score to have with the next game being away. Prediction: Oporto won’t have too many troubles to eliminate Aguero and company. 1-0

Chelsea VS Juventus: the biggest upset of this round for me. I was going to be very surprise if Barça had won at Lyon but Juventus losing and not scoring is an humongous surprise. Let’s be clear, Chelsea is a solid club as they showed last game and nobody forget they are the runner-up of last tournament. Not even almighty Manchester United could win clearly against them in the final; but also let’s not forget who Juventus really is. Juve is like this bee that it doesn’t matter how many times you try to get rid off it always comes back. That’s Juventus in champions league; rarely any other team feel this tournament as Juve does and to see them losing and not scoring is an outrage. Prediction: I think Juve will win 2-1 at home which will leave them out due to away goal advantage…something they lack.

Villareal vs Panathinaikos: as is the case with Atletico and Oporto I’m glad for these two as well. They are such underdogs in this tournament that it’s nice to see them battle each other. I can’t say too much about this game; Villareal never fully recovered after losing to Madrid and Barça in December and this have shown in the qualifying where they are currently at 4th place with 11 point difference from the second. I think they still have a shot but Panathinaikos seems to have this one. Prediction: Panathinaikos advances winning 2-0.

Real Madrid VS Liverpool: this was probably the second big daddy of this round. So much history between these two only made the scenario more intense. Real Madrid is right now the re-emerging phoenix in Spain who is starting to worry their arch nemesis Barça. And Liverpool, while not as solid in the premier as they would want to be still the “never say never” team of Europe. The encounter was hard to describe. Both coaches decided to show their amazing defensive organization but forget to display how well the attack. And to make everything weirder Liverpool ended up getting a victory. In Spain they say Liverpool brought Petroleum back from Madrid and I couldn’t agree more. 0-1 doesn’t seem that bad but at the same time is too much. Madrid will have to suffer a LOT if they want to keep the 10th championship dream. Prediction: Liverpool will take this one 1-0 and go to the next round.

Sporting Lisbon VS Bayern Munich: This was probably the most predictable encounter. The difference between these 2 teams is colossal. I predicted a 0-3 with goals of Ribery, Toni, and Klose but to be honest now that I see it a 0-5 was more than obvious. Prediction: Bayern doesn’t even have to show up to win. 2-0 at home for the Germans