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. 

Mourinho: you just don't get it

First things first, congratulations to Real Madrid for a well-deserved title. I love league titles because there is very little chance to have a controversial champions. You have to prove that you are the best for 38 fixtures. Referees’ mistakes are usually compensated over the course of the season as well as shots to the posts and other irregularities.

Real Madrid is the champion because they did not fail as much as their competitors. Sure, I don’t think the gap between Barcelona and Madrid is as big as the table suggests; but the bottom line is that Madrid dominated the tournament and won at every single important stadium.

Now, with that said there is something that Mourinho said today that bothers me big time. During the celebration of the title he mentioned “Some geniuses think there is only one way to win, they think they know football by just doing a Google search”. He also mentioned that his team played spectacularly all season. I won’t say that his team wasn’t impressive. In fact, Real Madrid has probably the best defense-offence transition in the world. Their counter attacks are that good. But to say that his team played spectacularly is a bit of a stretch.

Let’s not forget that this season Real Madrid lost the supercup against Barcelona even though they had a week more of training. They were also eliminated from the King’s cup by Barcelona again and lost at home to the same team after having a 1-0 lead in the first minute.

In Europe, they dominated the champions league until they faced the first big team. Against Bayern, they were completely outplayed and even though the penalties are a lottery they did justice to what was seen on the pitch. Real Madrid let a 2-0  lead score at home escape by playing a stingy football against a team that knows how to move the ball around the pitch and generate chances.

The problem is not that Mourinho’s style is wrong or bad. In fact, he’s a living proof that it works. What I just don’t understand is why he underutilizes his squad the way he does.  He has the players that know how to take care of the ball. Against Bayern I wasn’t expecting a 60-40% possession but I was expecting more control especially after the 2 goals in the first 15 minutes. They gave away the midfield and payed for it.

Mourinho won a well deserve title, but he already proved last season that he can beat 99% of La Liga’s teams. Real Madrid supporters want to see the beginning of an era not just a title per year. The Santiago Bernabeu stadium is not Stanford Bridge or San Siro where you just win. This stadium demands domination, control, and good games. If this wasn’t the case, then why whenever the ultras chant his name there are sectors of the stadium that still boo him? Mourinho demands crowd support but it is hard to be into the game cheering when your team refuses to play! This isn’t a second division team, this is Real Madrid.  

The Santiago Bernabeu stadium knows Mourinho has the tools to have an iconic team like they had not so long ago with Del Bosque. That old man who won 2 champions league and 2 league titles and was fired…

The convenience of ignorance

I really dislike writing about referees and I tend to avoid doing so for many reasons. First, it’s a waste of time as the games’ results are not changeable after the final whistle is blown. Second, referees have a tough job to do and they go completely unnoticed when they do it brilliantly but vilify tremendously when a mistake happens. Lastly, it’s just a vicious cycle and an excuse to hide away from poor team performances.

Despite my dislike for the subject, today I couldn’t stir away from what’s happening in La Liga. More specifically, the Pique situation after the remarks he made regarding the red card he saw in the last match against Sporting. He attended the media and said that, in his opinion, the referee gave him a premeditated red card. The story takes a nasty spin when the referee committee formally asks for an additional sanction against the player.

First of all, I think Pique made a tremendous mistake with such remarks. It gives a bad image to him as a player, and to the club he represents. It makes me sick to see the best players in the world, and the best clubs, complaining about referees. Whether it’s Pique, Messi, Casillas, or Mourinho, all the whining leads nowhere.

However, my biggest problem with all of this is the referee committee’s decision to formally request the additional sanction against Pique for his comments when they have done nothing after 2 years of Mourinho saying equal, or worse, things. Forget about Mourinho, almost every weekend a player, a coach, or a president goes on to the media to say things like “the referee didn’t want to make the call”, or “we were robbed by the referee” etc. So my question is: isn’t accusing someone of robbery as bad as saying he acted on purpose? Why act on Pique’s comment? Why now?

Neither coaches, nor players or media analysts can really explain the criterions used by that committee in order to act. Ignorance of such rules is precisely the best scenario for the committee to act or hide depending on the situation. The ambiguity allows them to pretend they can’t do anything when a player says something to the ref like “why don’t you go and celebrate the victory with them” like Casilla did after Barcelona eliminated his team from the King’s Cup; but it also allows them to call for actions when other players say something they consider “too much”.

The end result makes everything even more pathetic. Pique red card stills on, which means he won’t be able to play next match. Also, he has to pay 600 euros in penalty for his comment and Barcelona 90 euros as well. Sanctions in Spain tend to be at the range of the thousands euros, so this comes across like a formality and a way to compensate for the insanity of the situation rather than a corrective action.

Morale of the story: next time just do like Mourinho and wait in the parking lot next to the ref’s car and insult him there. You won’t escape the media attention but at least you won’t get penalized either. Just Pathetic.

In Pep We Trust

There has been a lot of tension and speculation regarding the future of Pep Guardiola in Barcelona. Pep chooses to sign yearly contracts so every winter there is the same drama and the same question on everyone’s mind: will Pep continue in charge of Barcelona next year? If history tells us something is that the answer is always yes. However, this is the year we have waited the longest to get an answer from the coach. Why?

Nobody knows Barcelona better than Pep. We are talking about a man that has always been involved with this club in some form. If there is something Pep has seen from his lifetime in Barcelona is that there is a tendency for entitlement after success. The last clear example of this was Ronaldinho’s Barcelona. This team was called to mark an era and yet after 3 years the project failed. Even though Pep was not directly involved in this project whatsoever, I bet he took some notes regarding the true challenge: staying at the top.

But what does this has to do with his contract extension? I believe that Guardiola uses this mechanism for various reasons. One of them is to let his team know that the moment they engage in that vicious circle of relaxation he’ll walk away. A yearly contract gives him that exit possibility and that leverage on a possible entitlement the team might experience.

Remember that the foundations of this Barcelona are mostly the same players that were humiliated by Real Madrid in Rijkaard’s last year. They understand that the secret of their success lies in their coach’s vision. Only the players have the ability to convince Guardiola to stay. As long as they continue to run after every ball like there is no tomorrow Pep will stay.

Just like American dollars have the phrase “In God we trust” printed, F.C Barcelona should have “In Pep we trust” printed in every scarf, shirt and everything related to the club. Guardiola knows what he’s doing and I have a hard time thinking he will leave the club in a difficult position.

What’s clear now is that the era of signing big name coaches is over at Camp Nou. The next man to sit on that bench has to be knowledgeable in terms of the club, its philosophies, playing style, and the system for promoting youngsters to the first team . Stepping away from all of these would be a terrible mistake. There is a pool of candidates that meet the requirements but that’s for another day (hopefully another year) to discuss.

Simeone: Beyond the Tactic Board

Atletico de Madrid seems to be a whole new team after the arrival of Diego “El Cholo” Siomeone to the bench. For the first time in years the red-and-white team seems to have confidence in their game. Since Simeone took charge of the team, they have allowed only 1 goal in 6 games. It’s hard to think that this is the same team that Gregorio Manzano managed just weeks ago.

But was Manzano that bad of a coach? Look at his 2010 performance with Mallorca and you’ll find the answer. Putting a team with few resources in the Europa League with nothing but good game should be proof of what he can do. So the question is: why didn’t it work with Atletico? Many may point at his tactics but I believe the answer lies way beyond the tactics board.

Tactics play an important role in the game. It represents the personality of the team and what they stand for. For Real Madrid is the ultimate defense-to-offense transition (counter attack). For Barcelona is the dominant passing style. For the Greek national team of 2004 it was all about defending and while many hated that display, it is a valid philosophy. But all of this means nothing if your team doesn’t understand and, more importantly, doesn’t believe in the philosophy. That’s the true job of a coach, managing every player to maximize his talent in order to collaborate to the grand design of the tactics.

This is the main difference between Simeone’s Atletico and Manzano’s. Simeone has made the team believe, which leads to the fans believing. There comes the sacred communion between team and fans that makes things more pleasant. For the first time in years I see Atletico having confidence in their game. Everyone seems to be working as hard as they can and the results are coming.

Simeone is a former Atletico player. He understands how the team operates internally and externally. He knows how to transmit the passion for the team that was lacking for a very long time. This is the same case of Pep Guardiola in Barcelona, and Mauricio Pochettino in Espanyol. Coaches with clear ideas that understand the environment and help their players understand it too.

I’m tired of the phrase “I expect Atletico to do good things next season” because I have said for almost a decade and I’ve always ended up disappointed. However, Simeone is making me believe too. We shall see.

The Cup's Final: Another Dilemma

Santiago Bernabeu, Mestalla, La Cartuja, or Camp Nou? Those are the possible stadiums where the final of Copa del Rey is going to be played. All options will lead to some unnecessary controversy. Both Athletic and Barcelona are demanding the final to be held at the Santiago Bernabeu. They argue that Madrid is equally distant from Bilbao and Barcelona, which is a main criterion for choosing the final. Santiago Bernabeu is the biggest stadium holding 85,000 seats, which means that both teams would have 40,000 approximately.

Not surprisingly, Real Madrid is opposed to this option. They argue that renovations of up to 80 washrooms are set to begin by the time the final is played. Moreover, the thought of potentially having their main rival lift a title at their home stadium again is another implicit reason for their opposition. Barcelona’s spokesman Toni Freixa stated that it should be an honour for Real Madrid to host such final but let’s turn the table around shall we?

Suppose Madrid had made it to the final. Would Rosell offer Camp Nou to host such event? It’s a neutral pitch, equally distant for the finalists, and it holds 98,000 fans. All requirements would be met so logistics would not be an issue. Economically it would make sense for Barcelona. However, I have a hard time thinking the club and its fans would be open to this idea. I wouldn’t want to see the possibility of the eternal rival lifting a title and having their anthem sound at our stadium. It makes no sense in the already nonsensical world of football.

I believe the final will be at Mestalla. Sadly the only losers are the ones that matter the most: the fans of both finalists. Mestalla can be in great conditions to host the final but it only has 55,000 seats. This means that only 25,000 fans of each team will be able to assist. Let’s not forget the 2009 final in which more tickets were sold to Athletic fans.

But despite their history with logistic problems, and small capacity, Mestalla is the only viable choice. The biggest stadium available would be La Cartuja located in Sevilla. However, the pitch is not in good condition and Sevilla is very far away from both Bilbao and Barcelona.

The Spanish Football Federation is very traditionalist but they need to consider a change in this system. Either they fix the final for good at one stadium like the Italians and British do; or bid the final during their summer meeting like it’s done in the Champions League.

The High Price of Happiness

Pep Guardiola has always been a fan of rather short squads. He believes that smaller groups of players bond better than larger ones. He reasons that in a small squad everybody gets the chance to play and every player feel he’s important. There is merit in this philosophy. After all, this all comes down to one word: control. A smaller squad allows the coach to have better control. Happy players don’t go around the media revealing secrets that belong in the locker room. Happy players don’t complain their lack of participation in public.

But all of this makes sense when your squad is healthy. When you have your 19 players or so available every week. The moment you start to have multiple players injured, or even worse, players of the same position injured then this approach becomes highly risky. This is precisely the problem Barcelona faces this season.

Guardiola has Villa, Afellay, Fontas, Iniesta, and Pedro injured (the first three severely). On top of that, Keita is out for international duty with Mali. In total, there are only 14 members of the first squad available. Luckily Barcelona is not afraid of calling their junior divisions to the plate, and these kids have been fed the Barcelona style of playing from a very young age so they know how the team operates.

But, should this be the solution? Is it too much to ask to these kids? We don’t want another Bojan scenario to happen. He was the top scorer of all time in Barcelona junior divisions and he was called up to the first team when they needed him at the precarious age of 16. Sure, he answered the call and scored important goals. But I think it is safe to say that, in the long run, that move caused more damage to his career than benefits.

Youngsters need time to develop properly and not all of them can be Messi. Take Iniesta for example. He became part of the main squad in 2003 at almost 20 years of age. But it wasn’t until 2008 where he became a starter. Kids like Tello, Sergi Roberto, and Gerard Deulofeu need time and not too much pressure.

Guardiola clearly doesn’t want another case of Martin Caceres, Hleb or even Bojan. Players who grew frustrated due to their lack of playing time and ended in a bitter farewell from the club. Pep wants his team happy but happiness, unfortunately, can be very expensive at times.

Madrid: that’s almost the way

It was do or die for Real Madrid but sadly for them they did and they died. It was perhaps the best game in Mourinho’s time with Real Madrid and the worst game for Pep Guardiola's since he took charge of the team. Mourinho proved that he’s the most dangerous when he’s against wall. He put almost all his offensive power on the pitch and he almost pulled the upset.

I have never seen Barcelona being dominated at home under Pep Guardiola command. They have lost matches but even then Barcelona was the dominating team. Beyond having a bad day, the main cause was Real Madrid's excellence. They pressed, they passed, and they controlled the ball. This was the Real Madrid that people wanted to see for a long time.

And so, the main question is: why didn’t we see this Real Madrid before? Why didn’t Ozil play the first match? Why did Mourinho choose to give the ball way at home? Why assume the inferior team role when the squad is full of players perfectly fit to create game instead of destroying it?

Only Mourinho has the answers to this. But it is clear that all comes down to the 5-0 lost at Camp Nou last year. Mourinho never digested that defeat. He put those same players and tried to play but Barcelona was perfectly tuned that day and so came the worst defeat in Mourinho’s coaching career.

This is clearly the way to go for Real Madrid as far as pure game comes. Having put their rivals on the top of their nerves should have been a self-esteem shot and a chance to show the world that they are not the bad guys of the movie. It was the perfect chance for them to challenge Barca in all levels: inside the pitch, and outside attitude. Instead, they chose to be the sore loser who blames their misery on the refs.

Teixeira had a bad time refereeing this match but his bad calls were equally distributed. Lass should have never played a minute of the second half. It is clears that Barcelona and Real Madrid were playing. Had it been a player from Granada or Rayo, Lass would have seen a second yellow card after his tackle on Messi. Somebody get some guts to these referees.

Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet at least once more this year. At this moment, what Mourinho will do remains a mystery. Logic indicates he will repeat his last strategy but I doubt Barcelona will have yet another bad day. Barcelona moves on to the semifinals, Real Madrid players can have much needed confidence. Mourinho, on the other hand, will continue to be the target of critics; his strategy at home cost his team a semi-final.

Pepe is insane: Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing expecting different results. By this definition Pepe is absolutely insane. Once again we had to suffer watching every dirty trick of the book: violent tackles, faking faults, and constant complaining to the ref in every call. Clearly this man hasn’t learned the lesson. It’s a miracle that he finishes games with only a yellow card (but that doesn’t count as bad referee for Real Madrid of course). I can’t wait until this player moves to another league but the question is: which team is willing to build him an asylum?

The new season started already

David Villa: Pre-Season officially begun last week with Pep Guardiola having a press conference on Monday followed by the first training session of the season; however, a lot of work has been done already in order to prepare for next season. Just a week after they became La Liga champions F.C Barcelona signed Spanish striker David Villa for €40 million; a sum that doesn’t seem to be a lot after seeing “El Guaje’s” performance at the World Cup. Had the deal been made after the tournament his price on the market would have been almost twice. Both, the player and the club, wanted to close the deal quickly after the season was over. This is the signing that F.C Barcelona needed to do; with Zlatan Ibrahimovic not adapting well the team needs a striker that not only can score but also can play with style of Barcelona. Villa is a striker capable of playing as a center forward or as a left wing as he did in the World Cup. Though a year late, David Villa comes as a consolidated star whose only success has been with the national team.

Pep Guardiola: a man of his word, the successful coach signed a contract extension for one year as he had promised at the beginning of the year. Despite the fact that the new president Sandro Rosell had offered him a 6 years contract Guardiola opted to go for one more year only. The reading of this move is clear, the coach wants to see how the new administration works, how involved they are, and also how much freedom he will have with his team. For two years Guardiola has been able to have his way with everything that regarded his team. If Guardiola feel respected, appreciated, and in control of the team he will stay for another year. Sandro Rosell has already made a decision against the coach’s will with the transfer of Dimitro Chygrinsky. The new president claims economical reasons for the move and Guardiola accepted the move but the idea of the coach was to keep the player. The relationship between president and coach is in the beginning stage but tiny mistakes like this can make Pep’s future away from Camp Nou.

More signings to come: with Thierry Henry, Toure Yaya and Chygrinsky gone the team needs to reinforce some positions. The general belief is that the team needs to go for a winger but with Zlatan Ibrahimovic staying in the club David Villa will be in charge of the left wing formerly occupied by Henry. Sevilla’s player Adriano Correiro has been signed and will most likely play as a left back sending Abidal to the center of the defensive line. Due to his versatility Adriano can also play as a right back or a winger in both sides. The efforts are clearly set upon Cesc Fabregas; bringing back the Catalan would give the team a lot of tactical options and Guardiola could rotate players easily as he did in his first season. If Arsenal refuses to sell Cesc, F.C. Barcelona will look for other options; the most attractive option on the market is the young German Ozil. Regardless of the result of the Fabregas operation a defensive midfielder will come to the team to cover for Toure’s departure. The main concern of the fans is seeing how short the squad is and how this is a similar situation to last year. The main hope comes from the junior division which, as proven, can bring a lot to the table. Keep an eye on Jonathan Dos Santos; Andreu Fontas and Thiago Alcantara.

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.

Florentino Strikes Back

Florentino Skyrockets the Market: when Florentino Perez entered the race to become president of Real Madrid we all saw what was soon to come. Millions and Millions of dollars spent in world class players with the excuse of getting the money back solely on marketing. The man has done it again; 67 million euros in Kaka and 94 in Ronaldo. The truth is that Real Madrid obtained a 300 million euros loan from Banca Madrid of which now they only have 89 since they spent another 36 in Benzema and 15 in Albeol (the only Spanish player). Last year, Barça was able to arm a champion team with 94 million euros; although, the nucleus of the team was already in Barça and it was all made at home through their junior development system. This year however, 89 millions euros are so little that it will give Madrid the chance to buy maybe 2 more players. The effect Florentino is already present; last year, for example, to buy Villa any team would have to pay 30 million; now that quantity seems like a joke. Now for Madrid had to pay 36 millions plus incentives for the Benzema who had a mediocre season overall. Liverpool is asking for “just” 35 millions for midfielder Mascherano and the funny thing is that due to the effect of Florentino’s crazy acquisition it look as if 35 millions were just OK even though a player like that may be worth 25 Millions at maximum in a regular transfer season.

The Almost Perfect Picture: The story seems to have all the ingredients for another epic journey by Real Madrid in the Champions League and La Liga; but there is already a “mole” to the otherwise seemingly perfect body that is this team. One of the mistakes that Florentino had in his first era as president of Madrid was the absence of Spanish players. Saved for Raul, Casillas, Guti and Hierro the rest of the team was made of foreign players such as Zidane, FIgo, Ronaldo, Beckham, Makelele, Panucci, and others. There were Spanish players and they bought Ramos; but Perez always seemed to think that Spanish players were overpriced and foreign players not. His first promise this time was to make a more Spanish team and the man to cause that effect was no other than David Villa. The payment 94 Millions for Ronaldo and 67 for Kaka to make a huge impact; but these moves also backfired when they asked for Villa the response by Valencia was 45 millions which Perez considered to be “too much”. Once again Florentino makes the mistake of underestimating Spanish players once again. They ended up paying 36 millions for incentive for Benzema rather than 42 for Villa who is already adapted to La Liga and scores at least 22 goals per season. Villa is now on the verge of signing with Barça and that will be the first defeat of the “new” Real Madrid. It is subject of envy when you see Barça winning the first ever Spanish treble with not only Spanish players but players made in their youth development system. Real on the other hand is a team made in the banks and despite Florentino’s speech of having learned his lesson it all seems more of the same.

Villa Is “Just A Matter of Time”: that was the heading of Madrid’s newspapers during the confederation cup when their “secret sources” could confirm that Madrid was going to buy Villa. Even Florentino said it that they just needed time to negotiate the overpricing of the player which they were hoping to buy for 28 million euros. Now the situation happens to be true but with Barça’s name instead of Madrid. The player has negotiated his contract with Barça and has already talked with Guardiola of what his role will be in the team. The only problem right now is convincing the president of Valencia who was asking for 42 to Madrid and now he’s asking for 50 to Barça. The player has spoken with the president of Valencia and knows that the player wants to leave; he was put on the market before and now he demands to be transferred. Villa has been very passive but soon won’t be if he’s made to stay in Valencia. The worst part of the story is that this player should already be in Barça who is starting the pre-season in less than 10 days from now. It’s just a matter of time, but Guardiola doesn’t have that much of a time and plan B is there; 30 years old, two times golden boot and Atletico De Madrid’s own Forlan. This summer’s transfer is a long way from over but many feel that more movement should have happened already; Florentino has done it again.

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.

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.

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.

The Craziness Begins

Round 24 of La Liga was played this weekend and it seems as though we have entered bizarro world. The environment right now reminds me of the days after Barça defeated Madrid at Nou Camp 2-0 where somebody that didn’t have idea about the classification would have thought that Madrid had already won the title. Right now that is the atmosphere in Spain; but the only difference is that right now Madrid has arguments valid for being that way because they have been adding 3 points every weekend whereas Barça have given away a couple of them. This is the situation: 3 weeks ago Barça was 12 points away from Madrid; today they are only 7.

The Crap-o-meter is activated: this imaginary device symbolizes what Barcelona fans are about. If after losing against Numancia on the first round somebody would have said to us that today, February 22nd, we would be with an advantage of seven points we would have been more than happy. However, now everybody doubts of this team, of the coach and everything. This team has shown that in attitude alone it can win matches that are key for winning any championship. So what would put an end to all these fears and worries? Winning in France against Lyon and in Madrid against Atletico next weekend; right now starts the key part of the season. It is believed that La Liga is won in the last 10 rounds and that is, to certain extends, true. But Pep doesn’t want to wait until the last 10 rounds. The idea is to enter them with the at least 10 points of difference.

Injuries and Ref doesn’t help. Yesterday we lost Abidal for at least 2 months due to an injury. During the week we also lost Iniesta but in his case is nothing that bad and he will be out for only 15 days. In fact, I’m almost sure that he will be ready before and will play against Atletico the next weekend. Right now all we can do is pray that Injuries finally respect us a little bit. Until now there hasn’t been many but one can only hope that we don’t see them again. Since 2005 we have seen Edmilson, Messi, Xavi, Motta, Larsson, Eto’o, and Iniesta missing big chunks of the seasons. Let’s hope Abidal is the last one to suffer one of these big curses. Add to that the fact that we have incompetent referees nowadays that try to be the highlight of the game. One referee was even suspended for 3 rounds after he clearly benefited Madrid against Osasuna. Yesterday, the referee did something that you never do as a ref; he listened to the petitions of one team and shows a straight red card that was worth of only a yellow. He conditioned the game and in the end he made everything easy for Espanyol to win at Nou Camp after 27 years.

Eto’o has matured. We all remember that shameful episode at Villafranca in 2007 when he publicly criticized Rijkaard and Ronaldinho after a misunderstanding. That time everybody questioned his professionalism after he drop such a bomb to the media who just couldn’t be happier after getting that many controversies in such a short period of time. We all doubted that he would change or he would stay. However, Eto’o has finally grown up as a person and thinks before he talks. This year he’s been very prudent with the media and what he says. In the last couple of weeks there was a lot of talk about his future and many in the media believed that he would be leaving the team after this season. To add more wood to the fire he said in an interview that he knew his future already but would not say anything to anybody. The media, hungry for controversy, dedicated the whole week to comment on this and making up all these theories about where he was leaving etc. But yesterday Samu was very mature and revealed his plans so the speculations would stop. He also asked the media to please comment on things about the game and leave the rest (rumours) to the end of the season. A tip of my hat to you Samu

One More Step

It wasn’t until Barcelona played against Sporting at “El Molinon” stadium when we saw what Pep’s team could do. Before that game Barcelona was being hammered by the media after losing their first game against Numancia and then tying 1-1 against Racing at their debut at home. Four months later Barça received the first victim of their assault to La lIga.

Sporting dictates the pace. It wasn’t because they dominated the game nor because they showed a menacing attitude; instead, Sporting showed very little in the first minutes of the game and Barça knew how they had to play. Barça won despite the fact that they didn’t bring the A-game throughout the game; instead, they understood what Sporting came to do and showed that they were not going to need to bring the A-game. When a team is as effective as Barcelona is at this moment even a somehow good performance can be devastating. It is a shame that small teams such as Sporting don’t go to Nou Camp wanting to play but instead trying not to lose by too many goals. If the end result is going to be a lost game anyways they should instead create more danger play face to face to Barcelona. Getafe did it and got a point. Hey that’s something.

Eto’o…21 goals and counting. When the Cameroonian scores the team wins; as simple as that; today he scored at minute 21 after a textbook counter attack lead by Iniesta. Then in minute 40 he scored again. And in the second half he almost scored twice. It’s been 2 seasons since we got somebody in Barcelona scoring 20+ goals. Coincidentally, the last 2 seasons were damned by injuries that did not help at all. Barcelona is walking straight to the title and Messi, Eto’o and Henry are leading the way. In all competitions they’ve scored 102 goals of which more than 60 have been by these 3 players. If injuries give Barcelona a break these team is going to break many more records including the most goals in la Liga in one season which currently stand at 107 goals by Real Madrid.

Top 10 Barça:

1- Messi (last week 1): today he didn’t score but created a lot of dangerous situation and combined well with Alves in the third goal.

2- Alves (last week 3): Amazing performance by Alves tonight. A beautiful goal that not many players can do. He still is my MVP of the year.

3- Eto’o (last week 5): he’s in love with the goal. When he scores Barça is heading to a victory. Don’t be surprise if he reaches the 30+ goal mark

4- Xavi (last week 2): a couple of places behind with respect to last week ranking not because he played bad or something like that but because the top 3 are just too good.

5- Iniesta (last week 4): Iniesta is just the kind of players that do their job and more. He created game and on top of that he’s very good on every one on one play.

6- Henry (last week 6): Can’t complain about anything he’s doing this season. He scores goals, he make passes on goals and is the reference of the team in the left wing.

7- Busquets (last week 10): today he did everything good. He creates game with very precise passes and he also recovers many balls during the game. He was called by the national team. Watch him become a key element of Barça in the future

8- Valdes (last week 8): Victor can be easily a top 5 player but he just doesn’t have too much work to do when the whole team plays good defence. Couldn’t do much in the goal today.

9- Puyol (last week NR): the captain debuts in this top 10 after coming from a minor injury. Didn’t have too much work today.

10- Bojan (last week NR): Bojan didn’t play tonight but he did play against Mallorca last Thursday. He’ll be a reference of this team in the future.