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.

And so Ibrahimovic is the chosen one

Curve Ball: when it looked like an Ibrahimovic – Eto’o trade was almost impossible, and that Villa was just a matter of hours before he could sign for Barça, and that Forlan was the “Plan B” Joan Laporta throws us a curve ball and ends up solving two of the biggest problems for Pep Guardiola. He got rid of Eto’o who, despite his incredible professionalism and amazing goal record in Barça, was not in the coach list for next season. On the other hand, Guardiola has the first striker he had in mind for Eto’o replacement. After all the spending and new faces that the rival [Real Madrid] had done over the past weeks the crowd was starting to get very nervous; but Laporta and Txiki Beriguistain made an impact with this signing; the Maxwell effect was present this time as well and Valencia let the opportunity of adding some needed money to their accounts with the sale of Villa go. Now, only time will tell if in the long term the trade was such a good idea but in the mean time the impact has been done. Ibrahimovic comes to Barça with a thirst for titles; he has won it all in Holland and Italy but now it’s time to aim not only for the local trophies but also the Champions League. This thirst is what the team needs to keep in a positive dynamic after winning all last season. Sandro Rossell, ex-vice-president of Barça, said that he would have sold Ronaldinho after the victory of the champions league in 2006 and everybody thought he was nuts but time proved him right. Guardiola thinks that the team needed some new faces and that some players [I.E Eto’o] have finished their cycle in Camp Nou.

Two Styles, One Goal: Ibrahimovic said in his first press conference as a Barcelona player that he didn’t come to replace Eto’o and that they were totally different players. The Swedish player is right, he’s not Eto’o and he can’t be compared to the Cameroonian but unfortunately that’s a shadow he will always have for bad or for good. Eto’o is a striker whose best quality is his ability to shot on goal; when he shot it was a goal; or at least a very serious chance of goal; whenever he opened the score Barça would be in the route of victory. However, the Cameroonian lacked of some skills that would have made him the best striker in the world; Eto’o is not a good header, he couldn’t play well unless he was facing the area; and he is not very secure when taking a penalty shot. However, he compensates for that by scoring the goals that matter the most and the ones that give your team title wins. Ibrahimovic on the other hand offers a lot of skills and good passing; he’s a good header and deadly when taking penalty shots. He’s missing big games’ goals but now it is time to prove it. In Barça he will benefit a lot from Xavi and Iniesta’s game and his team mates will benefit from his skills as well. Both Eto’o and Ibrahimovic are world apart but the goal is something they will always have in common.

Thank You Samuel: Samuel Eto’o will be always remembered in Camp Nou for his character, his passion for winning, his way of always saying what was on his mind which sometime gets him a bad reputation, but above all Samuel will always be remembered for his goals. Two hundred games he played for Barcelona and he scored 130 goals to become the third best striker in the club history. Of all goals there are two that will be the bests in for him, for the club and for our memories; the first one in Paris against Arsenal in the final of the champions league 2006. That goal opened the victory road for a more than deserving second title. Then he repeated the routine last May 27 against Manchester United to get us the third champion league title. I would have loved to see Samuel leave Barcelona with a press conference at Camp Nou before heading to Inter Milan; but perhaps this is the best way to say goodbye. I’m sure that Eto’o will come back to Camp Nou to face Barça in the coming years; when that happens he will receive a well deserve standing ovation.

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.

Real Madrid VS Barcelona: Worlds Apart

Worlds Apart: after watching the round 32 of La Liga it is impossible not to see the immense difference between the two championship contenders Real Madrid and Barcelona. Despite the fact that both of them got the three points from their respective encounters their games are world apart; Real Madrid wins suffering and in the last minute, they allow their rivals to dominate them in their own stadium; if they’re still fighting for the championship it is based only on the never-ending hope that this team has. Barça, on the other hand, is able to liquidate their rivals in just 45 minutes and we are talking of the likes of Bayern Munich, Lyon, Atletico de Madrid and others; at home they dominate completely and mesmerize viewers all around the world with their continues passes and never ending pressure. Playing like that, Barcelona should claim their well deserved title; however, football is an ingrate sport so it is not over until it is over.

Iniesta is Just Too Much: a lot of the time when we refer to Barcelona we talk about the main players such as Eto’o and his goals (27 so far), about Henry and how he’s now a more mature player, about Messi and how he’s the team’s main star. However, right now there is only one player that is making the difference in this team and deserves to have a bit more of recognition; Andres Iniesta. This player right now is one step ahead of everybody, he has the same touch of gods as Xavi, the one-on-one skills that Messi has and now he’s even scoring a lot of goals. Last night, Pep played without Messi and the team played like they always do: dominating and crushing their rivals in less than 60 minutes. Andres brings so much to the game that it is not even funny; just as Eto’o said in the after-game interview “Andres deserves a Golden Ball award along with Messi”. The best thing about Andres is that despite the fact that he plays like only few in the world and that the Nou Camp chants his name on a daily basis he still very humble and his professionalism is enviable.

Pepe’s Madness: while Andres Iniesta mesmerize football fan with his beautiful skills Real Madrid defender Pepe shocks the world with his unforgivable action against Casquero. The defender made a fool of himself losing control and tackling the Getafe striker after he was already in the floor; and not happy with himself, he threw a punch at another Getafe players; and to make things even worst he exists the field insulting the referees. The Spanish Football Federation has to take serious actions against this kind of despicable behaviours; so far it is known that he can miss four games at the very least even though it should be around the 10 games mark. This should be a lesson to anybody playing for a professional club. Pepe not only created a bad image for himself but for the shirt and the colors he represents. Diario Marca from Madrid says today that we shouldn’t make a devil out of Pepe and to some extent it is true; but no explanation can justify what he did. He shouldn’t be playing the rest of the season (7 games) so that the message is clear and a situation like this never happens again.

The Was, Is, and Will be Stars

Futbol is one of the most unpredictable sports. It only takes one game to go from the best to the worst; from a winning streak and calculations of when to celebrate the title to a losing streak in which every hope is lost. This is the nature of this sport and what makes it so beautiful. Barcelona is no different than any other club in this aspect; in fact, the so-demanding crowd is always on top of everything and can go from love to hate in a matter or weeks. If you don’t believe this look at Samuel Eto’o who was booed at home in the last gamer of last year’s season, and now is acclaimed in every game. Every few years Barca crowns a new star and forgets about the previous one; the bests, most of the time, wear the Catalan jersey; for example, Kubala, Cruyff, Romario, Maradona, Ronaldo, Rivaldo among others.

The Was. Ronaldinho Gaucho was less than 14 month ago still the king of Barca. He was a player that with his smile and skills brought faith back to the a team that hadn’t won a title for over five years. In his first year he would do a new trick every week and would make a mediocre team look like a million bucks. In his second year, Rijkaard designed a team around the Brazilian. Eto’o would be the man that would transform every pass from Ronaldinho into a goal; Deco was the man that covered his back; and the scheme was changed to a 4-3-3 where the left wing would be the main weapon of the team with Ronaldinho being unstoppable on the 1 on 1. However, if the rise of Ronaldinho was fast so was his fall. After a dream season in which he conquered the league title and champions league and even getting applauded in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium (something that had never happened) Ronaldinho experienced that the challenge is not getting to the top but staying. Now in Milan he is still a mere shadow of what he was. He no longer creates danger and is very easy to stop in the one on one. Nearly 8 month after his departure it is easy to see that both Txiki and Guardiola were right in excluding the Brazilian from the team.

The Is. When one is gone another comes; with that mentality Barcelona found his new king and they didn’t have to expend millions in this one. Lionel Messi was brought from the junior team at the end of 2004 and as soon as he had his first change he showed Barcelona what he was capable of; the next year he even took the place of veteran Giuly who had to sit down and watch how a 19 year old boy outplayed him. Now, with Ronaldinho gone Messi has become the new king; and not because Barca needed to fill that position but because he has earned it. Right now Messi is the best player in the world. He is like a formula one car that goes directly to the end line to win. It only takes him seconds to plan a play that will end at least on a change of scoring. His weak point has been the constant muscular injuries but Guardiola, up until now, has managed him well to avoid this injuries. Messi needs to learn from Ronalinho and realize that the challenge was not getting there but staying. Only time will tell how long will this king last.

The Will Be. It is impossible to predict the future and what will happen. It is impossible to know what will happen with Messi. However, Barcelona has learnt the lesson with Ronaldinho and will probably manage better the Argentinean. Regardless, there is somebody that will headline the news in the very near future along or without Messi. That is, Bojan. Krkic. The young half Spanish and half Serbian striker breaths goal; he’s the kind of striker that doesn’t need to shine too much to show his talent and can appear in a game in just seconds. He has something different from Eto’o ; Bojan is an area predator he knows where he has to be. Last year he was given a responsibility bigger than his chances when he had to carry a team that was in the process of decomposition. This year he’s been managed more accordingly with his age and experience. Barcelona has found out their future number 9. Give him 2 years.

Rumour-mania 2009 III

In a long 15 days period where there is only going to be international matches there is not much to talk about La Liga. As expected, the different sports newspapers have taken the chance to talk about the “future teams” and the new “top secret” plans about how a team is going to acquire some player. First it was C. Ronaldo then it was Benzema, Ribery, and now back again to the headline please welcome back Cesc Fabregas. Sport sites from Barcelona (www.sport.es, or www.elmundodeportivo.com) are claiming that Cesc will be the future midfielder in Barcelona while Madrid sites (www.marca.com or www.as.com) are claiming that the Catalan will finally go to real Madrid. My bet? He’ll stay in Arsenal next year.

Real Madrid Episode II…Calderon Strikes Back. Just when you’d think that the picture of the Real Madrid situation could not get any crazier we get the former president, Ramon Calderon, saying that he will present his candidature for the coming elections in the summer. What makes this whole situation so surreal is that less than 2 months ago he was forced to resign after a fraud scandal; on top of that, Calderon was known for his false promises such as bringing Kaka, CR7, and Cesc Fabregas to the club and there was nothing but joy by the shareholders of the club when he resign. Now, Mr. Calderon appears on the media challenging the expected-to-be new president Florentino Perez to debate in public; and in the mean time, the current transition president goes very arrogantly saying that Madrid would win against Liverpool (which didn’t happen) and that they will also conquer the league title (they are 6 points from the first place). If you love nonsense humour watch what happens during the summer elections.

“Future” Barcelona’s Player. Every year there has to be a new player in every team. It’s not only a tradition but a measure to create competition within the team so everybody brings their top game. Prove of that is what Real Madrid did (or didn’t do) during the summer when they only acquired 1 player. The final result was a team that lack of competition in itself and that was going from winning the league in may to being 5th in November, and if it wasn’t for the winter transfer window they’d be right know struggling to get a place to the UEFA’s Cup. With that being said, it is not a secret that Barcelona will have to get some new players for the next season. A left back is needed as Abidal can be a hit-or-miss player and Silvinho is in the twilight of his career. Another position that needs some reinforcement will be the left wing. Hleb has been more than disappointing and the chances of him staying in Barça are less to none; so, the parade of names to fill these positions is huge. However, the positions that do not need any changes are also being talked about. For instance, there are a lot of rumours that Cesc will be signing for Barça but to be honest he’s not needed at the moment. Xavi and Iniesta are directing the midfield like Beethoven on his 5th symphony; playing Cesc Iniesta and Xavi would be a huge mistake since the 4-3-3 schema needs a defensive midfielder like Toure who can destroy the offensive game of the rival team. Another position that is being talked a lot is the striker. Eto’o is currently sitting at 25 goals in 28 games; he even said that he wants to stay in Barcelona for the coming years. Adding another striker would be a huge mistake. Specially having Bojan on the bench.

The Striker Dilemma. If Eto’o leaves then Barcelona must acquire a striker of the likes of Villa for the next season. However, with the high chances of Eto’o staying there must be no changes at all in this denomination. A column by Spanish writer Fabian Ortiz of sport diary “As” said something very true. Lately Karim Benzema is being said to cost above 40 million euros; but then you think about it the young French striker currently sits on 17 goals on the French league (a very mediocre league) while Bojan who is 3 years younger has scored 9 goals in all competitions without being regular in the team whatsoever. If Eto’o leaves Bojan has to be the second striker o the team; it is time to put some money on the line for the youngster; and if Eto’o decides to stay he must be included more frequently on the team. He has the striker instinct but lacks of experience and exposing him at this time can be very risky. However, the time will soon come when Bojan needs a more decisive role in the team. Let’s hope that a)Pep gives him the chance and b) that he responds… up until now he has.

Barça Double Up the Bet

Round 28 of Liga was played this weekend with a curious reflection of what the whole tournament has been. Real Madrid won their game at home against Almeria which will be remembered more for the tribute to Hugo Sanchez’s coming back to Madrid than for the game itself. Real didn’t play good at all but they were highly effective when it came down to what really matters…scoring. Huntelaar is right now the striker they missed after the injury of Van Nistelroy, Lass has become the chief of the midfield and Juande Ramos has figured out a way to make this broken machine work.

Barça Doubles Up. Before the initial whistle at Nou Camp Guardiola’s men knew that Real Madrid had won against a non-threatening Almeria 3 goals to 0; once again Real Madrid was at 3 points watching their TVs in the locker room waiting to see if the pressure would manifest in Barcelona. Instead, they had to see how Barça massacred Malaga in less than 30 minutes. What had been catalogued as an “interesting” match up between Malaga (the revelation team of this season) and Barça (the most dominating team) ended up being a dominance display by the Catalans. Xavi and Iniesta commanded the midfield as they wanted to; and together make this team play at the rhythm they wanted. Henry is at his best once again and is the King Midas of the team as everything he touches becomes gold; and Eto’o is back on the hunt for the pichichi trophy (Spain’s top scorer). With this result Barcelona not only matched the 3 goals scored by Madrid but also doubled them up to show how superior they are.

Injuries Ruin The Show. Unfortunately for Barça this show did not have the perfect happy ending that it deserved. Their three main pillars in the midfield ended the game injured. Toure Yaya couldn’t last more than 25 minutes and abandoned the field with a torn muscle that will have him apart from the fields for at least 15 days. Iniesta had the exact same injury and will miss about the same time; lastly, Xavi ended up with a sore heel but in his case it shouldn’t prevent him to play in the next round of la Liga. The only “good” thing about these injuries is the timing; next weekend there are international world cup qualifying matches so this players would have to miss only one round as they are all expected to be recovered to face Bayern Munich on the 8th of April.

Numbers of Champions. Something has been said quite a lot in Spanish sport articles this past week about how people should give Madrid more credit for still being competing. With Barcelona’s same numbers Deportivo La Coruna conquered the title in the season 99/00. Real Madrid has not given up and they see the 6 points difference somewhat possible; especially considering the fact that they have to play Barcelona at their home stadium in round 34. However, if we look at the stats Barcelona deserves to win this title; their three main strikers accumulate a total of 57 goals and the team in general add up to 84; if they keep going this way they’d be braking all time record of la Liga held by Real Madrid with 107 goals in one season. The turning point of this tournament is going to be in two weeks when they have to “plug” themselves in very fast and keep adding and when Barça starts playing champions league. If they keep adding 3 points every week then this league will be over soon.

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.

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