Category Archives: FC Barcelona

Tales from Tuilla: David Villa’s first footsteps into football still remain

“A little more than 10 minutes drive from my current home rests the small, stubborn mining community of Tuilla. Ring a bell? Perhaps not, but to most here in Spain, its reputation surpasses its dowdy exterior. It was in fact, the birthplace of a certain David Villa, who honed his talents on these very streets and pitches. For that alone I felt the need to make the pilgrimage, and to try and consider myself how such a sleepy place gave birth to a footballing genius.” Spanish Football

Del Bosque is getting it wrong

“The title of this post is perhaps an example of what can be alluded to in Spanish as palabras mayores; ‘strong words’, ‘big statement’. And it is with regret that anyone throws criticism at the man of integrity that is Vicente Del Bosque. But bear with me… I don’t know which is worse: a) that a manager, seeing the symptoms of illness, misdiagnoses and subsequently elects a course of action or inaction, b) that the manager seeing the symptoms of illness, diagnoses correctly and yet implausibly insists on continuing his preferred method of questionable treatment or c) that he fails to see the symptoms in the first place and thinks that things are in fine fettle.” santapelota

Race, Language and Symbolism

William Blake – Los Painting
“I begin with a basic and ironic premise: when dealing with racism, we too often think in terms of black & white. No, not black people and white people, but rather innocence/guilt, right/wrong, good/evil. The most dangerous aspect of evil is its ability to snuff out empathy, even for its own evil bad-ass self. These past few weeks, we’ve seen instances of Spanish-language players, Luis Suarez and Cesc Fabregas, allegedly uttering racist insults. Yet I ask—do our Anglo racial linguistic norms really offer the right and only lens by which to judge them?” Run of Play

Barcelona 5 – 0 Mallorca

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“Lionel Messi’s hat-trick led Barcelona to a resounding 5-0 victory over Real Mallorca at the Nou Camp. The Argentina forward netted three times in 18 first half minutes as his side quickly took control of the game. The second half brought a first senior goal for Isaac Cuenca and a superb late goal from Dani Alves to round off the scoring. Barca hit their stride immediately and Seydou Keita’s header from Thiago Alcantara’s corner was saved by Dudu Aouate and Dani Alves’ long-range effort was blocked by Ivan Ramis.” ESPN

Levante pulls off the impossible

“Raimon is the groundsman at Levante, a man who practically lives in the Ciutat de Valencia stadium and does everything from cut the grass to sweep the steps and paint the lines on the pitch. In a room under the stand he has, over the 24 years he has been at the club, constructed a mini-museum of all things Levante — including press cuttings and posters, shirts and photographs going back years. That is not all he does: under the stand he also collects old farm equipment — his other passion — and cooks. When Levante has a team meal, it sometimes hold it down there with the groundsman as chef.” SI

Levante continue to defy the odds

“The biggest spenders in Spain in the last 3 seasons naturally occupy the top four positions, Barcelona and Real Madrid are on another level, fan base, investment and a disproportionate tv deal ensure it’s difficult for others to keep up. Málaga’s fairly recent new ownership and strategy mean they are now well positioned to challenge in future seasons, although the jury is still out as to what they can achieve in the present. But the other team that currently sits in a Champions League position after 6 games is a lot more surprising – Levante.” La Liga UK

The new creators

Javier Mascherano
“Saturday night’s the night I like, sang Elton John (that ages me), especially when you’ve got Malaga v Real Madrid followed by Barcelona v Sevilla on the telly. It sets you up nicely for the in-the-flesh Sunday game, ultimately something of a snooze-fest in Anoeta between Real Sociedad and Getafe (0-0). Perhaps it just paled by comparison, although that should never be the case when it comes to savouring the live experience. Putting your feet up on the sofa and popping open a half-decent Rioja is one thing, but getting down to the local stadium should always be the aesthetic priority.” ESPN

Granada 0 – 1 Barcelona
“Champions Barcelona returned to winning ways in the Primera Division but had to grind out the three points in a 1-0 win against nine-man Granada. Although it was a less than emphatic success, Barca they did get the job done against their struggling hosts as captain Xavi’s first-half free-kick was just about enough to earn them the victory.” ESPN

Cesc denies racial abuse

“Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has firmly denied accusations he racially abused Frederic Kanoute during Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Sevilla. After Barcelona were awarded an injury-time penalty at the Camp Nou, Kanoute kicked the ball away from the spot. The striker was then sent off when he lashed out at Fabregas, and a fracas involving a number of players from both teams ensued.” ESPN

The Revolution Will Be Televised

Ian Ayre
“The last few days have provided a great deal of ammunition for those lamenting the state of football, specifically the seemingly inevitable march towards a game completely dominated by financial matters. The charge was led by Liverpool’s managing director, Ian Ayre, who suggested that the leading clubs should receive a larger slice of the money from overseas TV rights, as the average fan in Kuala Lumpur ‘isn’t subscribing… to watch Bolton.'” Swiss Ramble

English Football’s Map of Europe

“EURO 2012 Qualifying may be over for the time being and although England are in second place behind Montenegro, here is a little glimpse of your average Englishman’s perception of European footballing nations. This is English Football’s Map of Europe by our friend Charlie Anderson (@lucianosays). Be sure to have a look at his site (Things Fall Apart) as well. I think it’s just about right, yeah? It’s all about coming out as the moral victor.” A Football Report

Andy Gray Questions Whether Barcelona Could Handle Stoke or Blackburn
“I admire Lionel Messi’s incredible skills as much as the next soccer fan, but I’m not a member of the recent love fest in the British media where they’ve heralded Barcelona as the greatest team ever. They’re up there, no doubt, but I question Messi’s talent when he comes up against the tough teams either in the Champions League or World Cup, where the Argentine routinely disappears in matches whenever he’s faced against a tough opponent. So many of the opponents that Messi faces in La Liga look like Swiss cheese, allowing the best player in the world too much space to dart in and out before pulling the trigger to score wonderful goals.” EPL Talk

Barcelona Couldn’t Do It On A Wet Wednesday At Stoke
“We’ve all done it at some stage. Pose a hypothetical and often incomprehensible scenario to our fellow co-workers or a friend down the pub in order to back-up an already suspect football related argument. Compared a team of the past to one of the present, constructed a parallel universe where all shots hitting crossbar and posts go in, removed a key player from a club and modified their future results accordingly or, in Andy Gray’s case, cherry picked teams of vastly different stature and speculated on the outcome.” Sabotage Times

Media punta power

“Pride of place this week goes once again to Levante, who stay second behind Barcelona on goal difference after beating Malaga 3-0 in the duel of the new-teams-on-the-block. It’s true that Malaga lost their goalkeeper Willy (he might have to change the name on his shirt if he ever gets signed by an English team) after half an hour to a sending-off, but Levante proved themselves perfectly capable of taking full advantage, winning a game with lots of symbolic meaning attached to it.” ESPN

La Liga Review: FC Barcelona 3, Racing de Santander 0, Or, The Good Kind of Zombie Movie

“It’s a well-known fact by now that Barça doesn’t do well on the return from international break. With a small squad, mostly formed by players that are required to put a show with their NTs all over the world, Guardiola usually has to deal with a bunch of jet-lagged, sort-of-kind-of injured zombies on dates like this. No wonder that Barça goes from picking 81% of the points in play, under normal circumstances, to a measly 50% on FIFA virus days.” The Offside (Video)

Barcelona 3 – 0 Racing Santander
“Lionel Messi reached another Barcelona landmark with two more brilliant goals to inspire his side to victory over Racing Santander. The Argentinian added the finish following a slick one-two with Andres Iniesta to move clear in second on the Catalan club’s list of all-time top goalscorers. And he rounded off the scoring with a simple finish after Iniesta had produced an outrageous piece of skill and shot against a post.” ESPN

Kubala’s legacy at Barcelona

“Lionel Messi could become the standalone second highest scorer in Barcelona’s history on Saturday night as the Spanish champions take on struggling Racing Santander – Messi needs just one goal to pass Ladislao Kubala’s 194-goal record in all competitions. César still stands in his way but, while the 24-year-old continues to press his claims as a Barcelona great, he still has some way to go to overhaul the legacy that Kubala left when he played his last game for the club on August 30, 1961.” ESPN

Book Review: An Illustrated Guide to Soccer & Spanish

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“Although perhaps too much can be made of the so-called language of football, it’s true that the game possesses its fair share of linguistic quirks. The Football Lexicon, co-authored by occasional Two Unfortunates contributor John Leigh, did a marvellous job highlighting these and the overuse of the word ‘adjudged’ as well as the currency of Hollywood Passes, playmakers and those mysterious channels displays the oddness of the sport’s idiom.” thetwounfortunates

Excerpt: ‘An Illustrated Guide to Soccer and Spanish’
“Soccer in the United States, just like the country itself—even if the National Team and some, um, less liberal sections of the population have yet to fully realize or embrace it—is being shaped by Latino culture. Just listen to Jurgen Klinsmann, the new—and German!—head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, in his introductory press conference. We really don’t have an identity as a soccer-playing nation, but as we, hopefully, start to develop one, Latino culture will and should have as big of an influence as any.” Good Men Project

amazon: An Illustrated Guide to Soccer & Spanish

‘Shrek’ represents Valencia’s future

“He isn’t green or fat, he doesn’t have a movie franchise and there is no Princess Fiona in his life, but Valencia defender Adil Rami is happy to answer to his nickname, “Shrek.” The French-Moroccan will freely admit it’s because he eats voraciously and has been known, just occasionally, to belch. Loudly.” ESPN

Ronaldo vs. Messi

“Tall, powerful, sneering Cristiano Ronaldo and short, slippery, cheerful Lionel Messi ought to form one of the great dichotomies in sports — think Magic/Bird, only in Romance languages. They’re the two best soccer players in the world.1 They star on opposite sides of Real Madrid versus Barcelona, currently the game’s most compelling rivalry. And they’re temperamental opposites — Ronaldo a flamboyant, collar-popping he-diva who measures time in lingerie models, Messi a low-key, affable team player who seems to live for the game.” Grantland

Guardiola’s cosmetic changes at Barca not necessarily for the better

“It didn’t start with ‘an exciting interpretation of the 3-4-3 formation,’ but Barcelona admitted a move from pop to pretension with that teaser. As brilliant as Pep Guardiola’s team has been at times this season — last Saturday’s 5-0 win over Atletico shimmered in the floodlights, as did Wednesday’s 5-0 win over Bate in the Champions League — its winks at the pantheon have left it the kind of self-conscious that can be crippling. Three draws from seven games so far are the result: it’s far too good for any of that nonsense. The club is riddled with third album syndrome. Two European Cups down, the search for a third has come with a nasty awareness of what great is and what great should be. The tick-list on what’s required for history-making has been drawn up and handed out to players and coaching staff.” SI

Valencia – On The Road To Recovery?

Roberto Soldado
“Despite losing to Sevilla last weekend, Valencia have made a very promising start to this season, most evidently when they led reigning champions Barcelona twice before securing an unexpected draw. On the one hand, this should not be too much of a surprise, as Valencia have finished third in La Liga in each of the past two seasons, though admittedly they were a hefty 25 points behind Pep Guardiola’s superlative team last year. On the other hand, this represents a hugely impressive achievement for Los Che after all the upheaval they have faced both on and off the pitch.” Swiss Ramble

Lionel Messi stakes his claim to greatness

“Barcelona members have approved the Qatar foundation sponsorship and Real Madrid members have approved record-breaking revenues and plans to ‘wrap’ the Estadio Bernabeu. But this week’s major issue among the twin giants of the Spanish game concerns Leo Messi.” World Soccer

Bernabeu set for a face-lift as Barça move one step closer to a ‘hidden war’

“Both Barcelona and Real Madrid can claim to have been more than entertaining in their respective weekend victories. The first 15 seconds at the Santiago Bernabeu, for example, were particularly compelling. And both clubs also delivered in their own special ways on the traditionally fusty, dusty institutional level. Normally a day spent watching pompous, boastful men in their 50s, jangling their jowls whilst talking endlessly about finances and waving voting cards is as skull-dentingly tortuous as a 2010/11 Deportivo season highlights DVD.” FourFourTwo

Messi and Ronaldo hit hat-tricks

“Lionel Messi matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick as Barcelona turned on the style to dismiss in-form Atletico Madrid 5-0 at the Nou Camp. With the Rojiblancos having scored eight goals in their last two outings and Barcelona labouring against Valencia in midweek, some thought a shock may have been on the cards.” ESPN

FC Barcelona 5-0 Atletico Madrid – Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) – Saturday, September 24, 2011
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La Liga meeting agenda wilts when confronted by Real and Barca

“It was Fernando Roig who said it best, explaining the truth that lies behind the Spanish League or the LFP. ‘You go to a league meeting and you discuss things, you explain, you talk about your position for half an hour,’ the Villarreal president told the radio station Cadena Cope, ‘and then it turns out to be completely worthless. There you are making proposals, analyzing the situation and it means nothing because the decision has been taken by in some restaurant the day before the meeting. You can talk, but the decision has been made and there is nothing you can do.'” SI

Valencia 2-2 Barcelona: Emery gets the better of Guardiola early on, but Barca fight back

“Cesc Fabregas’ goal secured a point for Barcelona, but they were the weaker side in the first half. Unai Emery tried his trick from last season against Barcelona, fielding two left-backs in Jeremy Mathieu and Jordi Alba down the left, in order to deal with the forward runs of Dani Alves. Jonas dropped out accordingly, and Bruno Saltor was replaced by Miguel. Pep Guardiola went for a 4-3-3ish shape, albeit with Alves pushed very high up the pitch. David Villa was only on the bench. Valencia dominated the first half by doing two things well – first, pressing Barcelona, squeezing the play and forcing the away side into errors in possession. Second, by attacking Barca in behind Alves and creating three good chances through this route.” Zonal Marking

CF Valencia 2-2 FC Barcelona Highlights & Goals
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Barcelona demolish Osasuna

“After two games without a win, Barcelona bounced back in style as they thrashed Osasuna 8-0 at the Camp Nou. Barcelona entered the game on the back of successive 2-2 draws with Real Sociedad and AC Milan, but they maintained over 80% possession on Saturday night as they threatened to run up double figures. Lionel Messi started the rout in only the fifth minute, and Barca enjoyed total domination throughout a first half in which they could feasibly have scored ten goals.” ESPN

Lost in Space

“Sometimes your team is just beaten by a better team. Sometimes the opponent is stronger or faster or more technically skilled, and you just have to take your beating with the best grace you can muster. Thus the equanimity with which Alex Ferguson accepted Manchester United’s loss to Barcelona in last season’s Champions League final: Barça was simply and obviously better. (Sir Alex trudged home and took out his checkbook.)” Run of Play

Barcelona 2-2 Milan: Milan’s narrowness frustrates Barca (just about)

“Milan scored in the first minute and the last minute, to bookend a game otherwise dominated by Barcelona. Pep Guardiola used Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano at the back, with Seydou Keita in the holding role, in the usual 4-3-3. Max Allegri was without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, so Pato started upfront, supported by Antonio Cassano. Antonio Nocerino and Gianluca Zambrotta also started.” Zonal Marking

Late Thiago Silva equaliser ensures Barcelona and Milan share spoils
“Ninety minutes of control, an hour and a half of pressure, ultimately proved worthless. A goal less than a minute from the first whistle and a goal less than a minute from the last cost Barcelona victory as they began their defence of the European Cup.” Guarian

Last-gasp Milan snatches draw at Barca
“Barcelona conceded a goal after 24 seconds and another in stoppage time, opening its Champions League title defense Tuesday with a 2-2 draw against visiting AC Milan. Arsenal played to a 1-1 tie, stunned by Borussia Dortmund’s late goal. Pato opened the scoring for Milan and, after goals from Pedro and David Villa, looked to have put Barcelona in control, Thiago Silva’s header secured a point in Group H.” ESPN

Video – Barcelona 2-2 AC Milan, All The Goal Highlights
“A cracking match at Barca’s Camp Nou, featured a sensational start with Alex Pato 24 seconds in opening the scoring for visitors AC Milan. The 22-year-old Brazilian Pato raced clear of a static Barcelona back four, and slid the ball beyond keeper Víctor Valdés giving the Italian champions the earliest of leads.” Serie A Weekly

Good Day, Bad Day: Barça lose ground as Madrid get the better of Getafe

“When it comes to explaining Barcelona’s draw against Real Sociedad – which doesn’t seem so bad when you consider Pep’s Dream Boys still have more points than this time last year – LLL falls into line with Mundo Deportivo. ‘It wasn’t the ‘FIFA Virus’ or the wrong line-up, nor bad luck. Barça dropped two points in San Sebastian because they fell for the old sin of complacency,’ writes Joan Poquí.” FourFourTwo

Real beats Getafe, Barcelona draws

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“Real Madrid seized an early advantage in the Spanish league by beating Getafe 4-2 on Saturday after Barcelona squandered an early lead to draw 2-2 at Real Sociedad. Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Getafe’s Nicolas “Miku” Fedor scored in an evenly matched first half at Santiago Bernabeu stadium.” SI

Barca held, Madrid win
“Barcelona were pegged back from two goals ahead as Real Sociedad snatched a superb and deserved 2-2 draw at the Estadio de Anoeta. Two goals in as many minutes from Xavi and Cesc Fabregas put Barca 2-0 up inside the opening quarter-hour and they appeared to be cruising, but Imanol Agirretxe’s header changed all that and Antoine Griezmann netted a bizarre equaliser – making good on his pre-match promise to prove his commitment to the club after the collapse of his longed-for summer move to Atletico Madrid.” ESPN

Spain 2016: Mullets, tattoos and Chris Eubank

“Spain’s unsurprising 6-0 win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday night sealed a wrinkle-free qualification through to the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and the Ukraine. And that got LLL’s noggin a-bogglin’. While the make-up of the Spain squad for that competition and even the World Cup in 2014 could look similar, barring a few Xavi- and Puyol-shaped tweaks, the blog started contemplating how a 4-3-3 Spain in five years’ time may well look for Euro 2016 in France…” FouFourTwo

Barca’s 3-4-3 formation another tactical weapon for Guardiola

“Sometimes soccer can seem a very simple sport. The great Dutch coach Rinus Michels, the father of the Total Football school of the late sixties and early seventies and the man who took that style of soccer to Barcelona, believed that his side should always play one more defender than the other team had attackers. If the opponent played three up, Michels liked four back; if two up, then three back. To an extent, that has been the theoretical orthodoxy ever since.” SI

Barcelona 5-0 Villarreal: Guardiola switches to a 3-4-3 (diamond) and Barca run riot

“Barcelona demolished a lacklustre Villarreal side in their first La Liga game of the season. Pep Guardiola was without Dani Alves, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique, so played just one nominal defender, Eric Abidal, and used Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano alongside him. Xavi Hernandez and David Villa were benched with Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez all starting.” Zonal Marking

Trouble in paradise

“My first, already fading, memories of a Real Madrid-Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu go back to December 1990. After a long history of failed efforts, a bunch of friends and myself finally managed to get tickets to watch the two giants face to face live. It was the second leg of that season’s Supercopa, and even though the tournament was perceived as second-rate when compared to La Liga or the old European Cup, the atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic.” ESPN

Barca and Futbol: A Widely Diverse People’s Passion

“I have always been envious of cigarette smokers – Not for the addiction and host of medical problems – no, my envy of smokers comes from a much more superficial and ridiculous place: parties. How often I’d sit at parties and want to start up a conversation with some strangers only to have absolutely nothing to break the ice with. What did I have in common with these strangers? “Nothing,” I thought, and alcohol can only lubricate a social situation so much.” In Bed With Maradona

Good Day, Bad Day: Ronaldo’s Ben Stiller face & Soldado’s sexy Saturday

“La Liga Loca can count at least seven reasons for an enormous smug cloud hanging above Barcelona after Monday night’s 5-0 win over Villarreal – a cloud so dense and orifice-clogging it may lead to mass evacuations.” FourFourTwo

Barcelona 2 – 0 FC Porto

“Cesc Fabregas scored a brilliant volley to keep Barcelona’s non-stop victory parade going with a UEFA Super Cup triumph over Porto. Fabregas, on the bench until the last 10 minutes, took Lionel Messi’s pass on his chest before rifling home to spark scenes of wild celebration from his team-mates.” ESPN

Guardiola ends the European Super Cup final with six central midfielders
“Usually ZM looks at sides’ starting line-ups for matches, before assessing how the shape changed as the game went on. This is slightly different, however, because the interesting thing about Barcelona’s Super Cup win over Porto on Friday was the way they finished the game, with six central midfielders amongst the ten outfield players.” Zonal Marking

Mata transfer to Chelsea doesn’t bode well for La Liga’s future

“Every time they say goodbye, La Liga dies a little. Now Juan Mata has signed for Chelsea from Valencia, just as Sergio Aguero signed for Manchester City from Atlético Madrid. For fans of City and Chelsea, the transfers are fantastically exciting, two great additions to two teams aspiring to win the Premier League. For the Spanish league, they are frightening. Despite the injection of around 75 million euros, the transfers are confirmation of a worrisome trend.” SI

The greatest disallowed goal of all time?

“Barcelona defeated Napoli 5-0 in the pre-season Joan Gamper Trophy at Camp Nou on Monday, Cesc Fábregas opening the scoring and Leo Messi knocking in a 15-minute second-half hat-trick. But it could all have been so different for the Italians.” Guardian

Spain preview: chasing clubs paying the price

“Like two immense superpowers, Real Madrid and Barcelona keep on piling up the arms in the race to outdo each other. Football may never have seen two squads like this head-to-head before and the battle looks set to be fascinating. It may also turn downright nasty again.” World Soccer

Mourinho tries to counter Messi’s false nine role by pushing Carvalho up the pitch

David Villa
“One of the notable features from the second leg of the Spanish Supercopa was the positioning of Ricardo Carvalho, and his response to Lionel Messi’s movement into deep, slightly right-sided positions. Messi tore Real apart in the 5-0 win last season, despite it being a rare occasion where he didn’t end up on the scoresheet. Real tried to play high up the pitch, but Messi played so deep that Jose Mourinho didn’t know how to deal with him – the two centre-backs stayed in position, but holding a high line. Therefore, Messi could receive the ball in space, turn, then send a ball through to one of the wide forwards coming inside. His two assists for David Villa’s goals were perfect, displaying exactly why Pep Guardiola wants to play Messi in that role.” Zonal Marking

Cesc Fábregas starts with a night to remember at Barcelona
“Cesc Fábregas’s first big night out since returning to his home town ended in a fight but it also ended in celebration. The former Arsenal captain has collected his first trophy as a Barcelona player, just two days after joining the club. It was 1am when he was parading round the Camp Nou pitch with new team-mates and old friends carrying the Spanish Super Cup, snatched from Real Madrid’s grasp in dramatic fashion. At last the clásicos were something approaching a classic – some way from the four games in 18 days that these teams played last season.” Guardian

José Mourinho describes Barcelona as ‘a small team’ in post-match rant
“Real Madrid’s manager, José Mourinho, has continued his verbal attack on Barcelona, labelling the European champions “a small team” after Wednesday night’s Supercopa second-leg defeat at Camp Nou. Another fantastic spectacle between the two Spanish sides was again overshadowed by the antics of Mourinho, who thrust a finger in the eye of Barça’s assistant coach, Tito Vilanova, in a melee in the closing stages.” Guardian – (Video)

José Mourinho turned to violence against Barça to mask his own failure
“Barcelona’s vision has been a problem for José Mourinho ever since he took the Real Madrid job, so gouging the eye of a Barça coach in the latest melee between the two clubs was a Shakespearian act of desperation by a manager now working outside the laws and spirit of the game.” Guardian

La Liga 2011-12 season preview

“You can tell the season is about to start when it might not be about to start after all. With barely a fortnight to go, the Spanish players’ union called a strike over more than €50m of unpaid wages and on Wednesday morning another meeting between the league and the players’ union, the AFE, broke down. According to the AFE president José Luis Rubiales, in the last two years alone 200 players have been affected by salaries that have gone unpaid. So, here we are: three days to go and there’s no football.” Guardian

Eight points on Real Madrid 2-2 Barcelona

“The 2011/12 Spanish season started with an open, exciting Supercopa first leg between Barcelona and Real. Like the Community Shield, a full-scale analysis of a semi-competitive fixture would be a little much, so here are eight talking points from the game…” Zonal Marking

Fabregas’ move to Barcelona is best for all parties concerned

“Mid-August and Cesc Fabregas still hasn’t left the building. He didn’t leave it for Malaysia, he didn’t leave it for China and he didn’t leave it for Germany. Most importantly of all, he hasn’t yet left it for Barcelona. Just two days until the start of the Premier League season, four days until yet another clásico is upon us, and we wait for a final resolution. The good news is that there has been progress — this looks set to be finally over soon. Very soon.” SI

Will Wenger survive the loss of Fabregas?

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Jan Massys, Visit to the Tax Collector, 1539
“Even the most optimistic Arsenal fans – the ones with Denilson on their replica shirts – must have known Cesc Fabregas would go to Barcelona this summer. Better this time, in fact, then have to go through it all yet again next year. But still the fee had to be fair. That was important. It didn’t have to be as much as Ronaldo – but it should have been more than Andy Carroll.” WSC

Barca made to wait over Cesc
“Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has revealed that talks are ‘very advanced’ for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas but the Spanish champions will be forced to wait to clinch his signature.” ESPN

Are Málaga The Man City Of Spain?

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“For 15,000 supporters to turn up for the unveiling of a 35-year-old forward arriving on a free transfer, the club in question is either based in a city which is clearly lacking in fun stuff to do, or is an institution that possesses a horde of extremely excited fans. As the side in this particular scenario is in the playboy paradise of Málaga, the masses that turned up to give Ruud Van Nistelrooy a warm hand on his entrance are an indication of a club whose supporters are genuinely living the dream and close to peeing their pants in giddy anticipation at the season to come.” Football365

Paying homage to Catalonian Luis Enrique
“Even before the satirical film An American in Rome was released in 1954 with the legendary comic actor Alberto Sordi japing around Trastevere wearing a baseball cap in the style of Joe Di Maggio threatening to destroy macaroni, Italians have held a curious fascination with the strength, opulence and freedom of the United States.” Fox Sports

Super build-up for Super Cup
“The friendlies are all but over, the endless waffle and piffle concerning Cesc and Neymar have been banished to the inside pages, Karim Benzema has been reborn for the 15th time and Leo Messi is back in Barcelona ready to open another can of whup-ass on Real Madrid. This is the state of play in the Spanish press just six days before what has been branded by one paper’s rather feeble attempt at hype as ‘the most important Supercopa in 14 years’.” FourFourTwo

A Farewell to Cannavara

“A couple of years ago, when Brian was running his ‘Inner Life of … ‘ posts, I wrote to him to suggest that this would be a good representation of the Inner Life of Fabio Cannavaro. Cannavaro may be the calmest defender I’ve ever seen, and his on-pitch serenity stemmed directly from his uncanny positional awareness. One way to think of Cannavaro is as the defensive counterpart to Xavi: just as Xavi with the ball at his feet sees angles and opportunities invisible to other players, so Cannavaro, when he was in his prime, saw attacking developments earlier than anyone else and intervened incisively to stop them.” Run of Play

The Improble Legacy of Los Matadres

“If you were to pay a visit to a home game at the Saniat R’mel stadium in the Moroccan City of Tetouan, you would be forgiven for thinking you were in the domain of a lower league Spanish side. For although this is the home of Maghreb Athletic Tetouan of the Botola League, there is a distinctly Spanish theme present amongst the clubs fanatical supporters. From the banners honouring ‘Los Matadores’ (the matadors) and the passionately waved Spanish flags, to the replica shirts of Athletic Bilbao and Athletico Madrid that echo the Red and White colours of the home team, the tributes are commonplace on the terraces.” In Bed With Maradona

Bad blood as Bojan leaves Barca

“Bojan Krkic was supposed to be Barcelona’s next big thing. He broke into the side in 2007-08, becoming the club’s youngest-ever La Liga player and, shortly afterward, its youngest-ever La Liga scorer. Both records were taken from Lionel Messi. Bojan went on to score 10 league goals in that campaign, a decent return for a debut season. However, demonstrating how alarmingly his career has stalled, 2007-08 remains the season in which he played the most league minutes — 1,459, to be precise.” ESPN

The Rise and Fall of Héctor Cúper

“What do Sir Alex Ferguson, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Carlo Ancelotti, José Mourinho and Josep Guardiola have in common? They are the only members of an elite group of managers who have won the UEFA Champions League twice. As members of the group, they are always guaranteed work at the top level of world football. This season a familiar face returns to Spain, a man who has come as close as anyone to entering this group. Héctor Cúper will probably feel he is the unluckiest manager in football.” In Bed With Maradona

Alexis arrives, Bojan blubs & Kaká runs out of credit

“There was grinning and gushing, shrieking and spurting in the Catalan capital last weekend, as there was finally something for Barça fans to talk about aside from how stupendously superior they are to every other side on the planet and how much they hate those dastardly dastards over at the Bernabeu.” FourFourTwo

Which Striker Should Jose Mourinho Sign?

“José Mourinho has already splurged €55m on five players this summer but the Real Madrid coach and newly appointed ‘sporting manager’ wants one more. In an echo of last year’s narrative, the Special One is desperate to sign another striker so he doesn’t go have to go out hunting with Karim ‘the cat’ Benzema, as he complained last time round when Gonzalo Higuaín knacked his back. Here are the four frontrunners whose names have been bandied around in Spain as the main men who could join the Santiago Bernabeu strike force.” Football365

Arsenal give Barcelona 10 days to sign Cesc Fábregas

“Arsenal have given Barcelona until the end of next week to sign Cesc Fábregas.Arsène Wenger is not prepared to countenance any deal for his 24-year-old captain unless he has time to reinvest the fee in a replacement before the transfer window closes on 31 August.” Guardian

IBWM and World Soccer: Writers Wanted

“Providing detailed analysis and featuring articles from the likes of Sid Lowe, Tim Vickery, Jonathan Wilson, David Conn and Brian Glanville, World Soccer is the oldest and most respected football magazine on the planet. Now into its 51st year, World Soccer is read by thousands each month including players, coaches, managers and many of the most influential names in the beautiful game. IBWM is the award winning home of world football which reaches more than 150 countries and is visited by more people each week than you can cram into the Camp Nou on a matchday.” In Bed With Maradona

Ups and Downs

“So Marc Pelosi, a seventeen-year-old rising star of American soccer, may be be headed to Liverpool to develop his skills in the Reds’ youth program. He has made an interesting comment: ‘I have been told the current Barcelona coach said that if you don’t go to Barcelona, the second best place to develop is at Liverpool. It’s a great, top notch organization.’ (Pep Guardiola has indeed been reported as having said that, but I can’t track the quote to a reliable source. It would be surprising, though, if Guardiola didn’t have nice things to say about Liverpool’s youth program, since it’s run by people with Barça pedigrees, José Segura and Rodolfo Borrell.)” Run of Play

Barca press cry ‘scandal’ over fixture list, while Zidane puts the kettle on

“Last Thursday marked the pre-season’s first bout of conspiracy theorising and childish screams of ‘it’s not fair!’ in the ongoing media war between Real Madrid and Barcelona. It was the day after the fixtures for the 2011-12 campaign were announced and the loonier parts of the Barça press thought they could smell a rather pungent rat as they cast their eyes over Barcelona’s opening few games, which kick off with a trip to a beefed-up Málaga.” FourFourTwo

Transfer activity this summer is frenzied so far despite FFP rules

“This summer is quickly turning into one of the most frenzied transfer periods in recent years. In the Premier League alone, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have already spent a combined £77 million ($122.9M) on new players, a figure that could easily double before the end of August, as even bigger moves (Samir Nasri to Man Utd, Wesley Sneijder to Man Utd, Ezequiel Lavezzi to City, Stewart Downing to Liverpool) potentially come to fruition. Then there’s Chelsea, yet to sign a new high-profile recruit, and Arsenal, who’ll be eager to add to the £9 million ($14.3M) outlay for Gervinho in the wake of some high-profile departures. It’s feasible that total spending among the 20 first division English teams will top £400 million ($638.8M) this year.” SI

The 50 greatest managers of all time

Joan Bleau – 1645 – Cumberland
“Alex Ferguson looked on, realising a big lesson was needed here. He had been sitting in the Carrington canteen, chatting away to an old friend but keeping a vigilant eye on the Manchester United youngsters lining up for lunch. As underage forward Robbie Brady opened his mouth to order, he was suddenly cut off by someone cutting in. Cristiano Ronaldo, just in the door and having just received the 2008 Ballon D’Or, presumed the place in the queue to go with his new prize.” The Football Pantheon

Tourney of greatest club teams

Gerd Muller and Paul Breitner. Germany in the 70s.
“THE IDEA: Is the present Barcelona side the best team ever? The debate feels futile: this side was great going forward; this side was great at the back; this side had so many great individuals it was impossible to stop them scoring; this side was so good defensively it could stop anybody from scoring. So let’s add a structure; let’s design a tournament in which the best sides can compete against each other, analyzing virtual games between the best teams there have ever been. It’s guesswork, of course, but at least it’s educated guess work.” SI – Jonathan Wilson, Pt. 1, SI – Jonathan Wilson, Pt. 2

High Five: Top Five FC Barcelona Defenders In The Last Decade

“It is quite natural for offensive players to hog the lime-light. We, at TheHardTackle, do not deny that and have already paid our tribute to them. However, trophies are won on the basis of a great defence. It is not a coincidence that teams with stingy defensive lines usually end up winning league titles. Yet, defenders are sadly a neglected lot. They rarely get the spotlight or awards, despite performing well. Here’s a little homage to the top five Barcelona defenders in the last decade.” The Hard Tackle

Five Stunning Signings In Spain

“In gathering together this list of five of the best signings in Spain over the past five years, a number of criteria were used. The most important was, of course, personal preference. But others did include a complex formula of cost multiplied by resale value (if appropriate) divided by how important the player was to the club. There was also some other stuff thrown in for good measure.” Football 365

Pep Guardiola: Obsession Down Memory Lane

“Pep Guardiola is oft-lauded as a character of certainly revolutionary manner; with his deployed tactics of choice and on-field innovativity, one could be taken for a fool to presume otherwise. But beyond the surface of wizardry, Catalonia’s number one visionary succumbs to retromania and comes off as a champion of conservatism.” In Bed With Maradona