Category Archives: FC Barcelona

Man … Superman … Leo Messi

Leo Messi
“It’s not big and it’s not clever but sometimes swearing is the only thing that will do. Sometimes you’ve used up every other word and nothing else quite hits the spot. You’ve rummaged round the back of the sofa, rifled through the drawers, turned out your pockets and still come up empty. Pep Guardiola insisted that he was clean out of adjectives and frankly so was everyone else. Spain was suffering a severe shortage of superlatives last night. The Catalan newspaper Sport invited readers to send in headlines for what they had just witnessed and there were plenty of super, sensational and sublimes, some magic, magnificent and marvellouses, wows and wonderfuls, plus deities by the dozen, and even a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but still there was no way to really do it justice. No polite way anyway. Just wide eyes, a wider mouth and a simple: holy shit!” (Guardian)

Super Cup sulking and Özil obstruction
“On Saturday night, LLL was considering breaking a firm blog tradition by sacrificing its precious time to watch a pre-season friendly. In this case, the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup between Sevilla and Barcelona. That was, until it discovered that Barça bigwig Sandro Rosell wasn’t bothering to travel to the Sánchez Pizjuán – apparently because he wanted to make his official debut at the Camp Nou next week, showing that the expansion of his presidential ego is progressing at a very pleasing place.” (FourFourTwo)

The Match-Fixing Allegation Tainting Spanish Soccer

“As Spain continues to revel in reigning supreme after lifting soccer’s World Cup in South Africa last month, a match-fixing allegation is threatening to overshadow the start of the country’s top domestic league. The scandal surfaced when the main shareholder of second division team Hercules was allegedly caught on tape boasting that he paid €100,000 to the goalkeeper of the opposition side Cordoba to throw a match in May.” (TIME)

Moans and groans strike La Liga

“La Liga Loca loves a good moan. Really, really loves it. More than sleeping, in fact. And that show where Jennifer Love Hewitt talks to ghosts through the medium of her boobs. In a mere eight-minute spell this morning, LLL grumbled that someone else was using what the blog considers to be its personal lift. And that it had to wait at the traffic lights before it could cross the road. And that the newspaper kiosk attendant refused to acknowledge LLL’s presence, despite it playfully waving its AS in his grumpy face for a good ten seconds.” (FourFourTwo)

Expect reactivity not proactivity to be the shape of things to come

“This has been a decade of broadly attacking football, at least at the highest level, but at the start of 2010-11 the game stands at a crossroads. Internazionale’s triumph in the Champions League, the predominance of reactive football at the World Cup and the growing realisation that nobody can match Spain/Barcelona at their brand of possession football, though, might mean a turn into defensiveness.” (Guardian – Jonathan Wilson)

UEFA’s regulation uncertainty, economic woes cause few transfers

“As most economists will tell you, the more times are uncertain, the more folks hunker down and count every penny. Judging by transfer activity (or lack thereof) this summer, most clubs feel the same way. As of Thursday, the Premier League’s traditional ‘big four’ of Arsenal, Cheslea, Manchester United and Liverpool had signed just two players for more than 10 million euros ($13 million): Laurent Koscielny, who joined the Gunners, and Ramires, whose move from Benfica to Chelsea is all but wrapped up. Last summer, those same clubs made five signings north of the 10 million range. Serie A’s big three of Juventus, Milan and Inter broke the 10 million mark six times a year ago.” (SI)

Cesc Fabregas and the Arsenal-Barcelona transfer saga: timeline

Cesc Fabregas
“The protracted will-he won’t-he transfer of Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal to Barcelona shows little sign of reaching a timely conclusion. From Arsène Wenger through to Xavi, here’s who said what and when.” (Telegraph)

The Question: Is 4-2-1-3 the future?

“Evolution never stops. As the World Cup showed, 4‑2‑3‑1 has come to replace 4‑4‑2 as the universal default (18 of the 32 teams played some form of 4‑2‑3‑1 at some stage, with another three fielding a 4‑4‑2 that perhaps should have become 4‑2‑3‑1) so the system at the very highest level has already begun to mutate. Spain, by the end of the World Cup, had followed what Barcelona did at times last season, what Arsenal seemed to be reaching towards, and set up in a 4‑2‑1‑3.” (Guardian)

The Changing Landscape of FC Barcelona

“Today’s announcement that Rafa Márquez has agreed with the club to rescind his contract, making him eligible for a move to the New York Red Bulls, should come as no surprise to anyone. Márquez played for 7 years at FCB, amassing 242 appearances and 13 goals in all competitions. His first goal for us was in the 2-1 home win over Real Betis on November 9, 2003 while his last goal was this stunner of a freekick in the 4-0 home win over Racing Santander on February 20 of this year.” (ESPN)

Football transfer rumours: Mesut Özil to Manchester United?

“Yelling football chants in the street. Puffing on tabs. Urinating beside bins. Contrary to what you might expect, the Rumour Mill doesn’t frown on such loutish behaviour. Indeed, anyone who saw us strutting proudly into work this morning, head back, chest out and arms spread in the classic Big Brave football-fan-backed-by-his-mates “you want some?” pose will know we’re wholeheartedly in favour of it. It impresses people. It earns us respect. It leaves our scent and a puddle on the street.” (Guardian)

Polishing the Future in Barcelona and Madrid

” Sports must sometimes send out the most confusing messages to its young. Over the past weeks, Spanish teams and athletes have been the best in the world in soccer, basketball, tennis and cycling. Yet the country’s two major sporting institutions, F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid, pursue disparate philosophies in reaching for the major club trophies in soccer.” (NYT)

Football transfer rumours: Bentley, Jenas and Keane to Villa in exchange for Ashley Young?

“Having made front-page news earlier this week for offering to find a nice sanctuary for para-sailing Russian donkey Anapka, Harry Redknapp is showing no such compassion to David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas and Robbie Keane, who he appears ready to ship out to Aston Villa in exchange for Ashley Young.” (Guardian)

To Asia, Taking La Liga Beyond Real Madrid and Barcelona

Philips Wouwerman, Battle scene, ca. 1655-60
“In July last year, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez made a major push to get at least one La Liga game a week played earlier in the day to attract Asian audiences and support: ‘The change is vital if the Spanish league is to compete with the English,’ he said. ‘The revenue figures for our clubs this year will be around the €1.55bn mark, in England the figure is closer to €2.4bn. It is not just the TV deals themselves but the potential repercussions that being shown prime time in Japan can have on marketing revenues.’ A year on, and it looks like this change to La Liga kick-off times will actually happen, following an offseason that has revealed just how parlous Spanish finances are, Barcelona’s debt and Mallorca’s financial troubles only the most obvious examples.” (Pitch Invasion)

The king is dead. Long live Ronaldo!

“It’s a fairly testing task for the folks at Marca to hold just one coherent thought in their tiny little minds at any one time, never mind two. But that’s the contorting conundrum in the complex realm of Raúl that has been on the paper’s journalistic agenda ever since Florentino Pérez came back to the club last summer.” (Four Four Two)

2010/11 – An appointment with the oracle

David Villa
“With a new European season fast approaching, we got in touch with various bloggers, prolific members of the footballing twitterati and friends of The Equaliser to make a few pre-season predictions that will undoubtedly make us all look very silly in ten months’ time. So, here are the results of our collective FIFA-approved crystal ball gazing…” (The Equaliser)

Guti – Adios Au Revoir Word Association

“Guti leaves Real Madrid. For the casual fan, the question is: so what? Guti played the part of supersub for 15 years but little more. His record – most sub appearances in La Liga history – does not place him on the same pantheon as Di Stefano. But in a club that routinely ships their cantera players to mid-tier clubs, Guti was the exception. His leaving is a loss more in emotional terms than futboling concerns. So indulge us in some word-association games to commemorate the occasion.” (futfanatico)

The curious reluctance to love the Spanish: Part 1, Barca

“A debate is raging on the excellent Minus the Shooting regarding the dissatisfaction wrought by Spain’s performance at the World Cup so far. A lot of really interesting points are being made about the cognitive dissonance of the media’s framing of Spain and the difficulty to be excited by the virtuosity inherent in their performances.” (Vieira’s Weary One)

Brazilian league lacks bite

“Spain or Barcelona? No contest. Week in, week out, Barcelona combine the midfield interplay of Xavi and Iniesta with the cutting edge of Lionel Messi, Daniel Alves and co. The comparison serves to confirm the impression that these days club football is of a much higher standard than international – as long as we restrict the debate to the major European leagues. The big clubs in Spain, England, Italy and Germany are in front of the national teams because of the time their players spend together and because they count on the best talent from all over the planet. When the World Cup stops and domestic football returns, the level of play goes up.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

“They Didn’t Have to Deserve It … They Were Just Playing”

Andrés Iniesta
“His control of the ball, his first touch, looked just a tiny bit heavy by the exalted standards of Andrés Iniesta. The football popped up in the air and seemed to hang there, as Iniesta turned toward it with intent. Around the world we held our breath or shouted out or just waited to see if, after two hours of soccer, we would at last see a goal, and thus be spared the cheap drama of a penalty shootout to decide the destination of the World Cup trophy.” (counterpunch)

A Reaction From the Streets of Catalonia

Catalan
“Standing on the streets of Barcelona – capital of Spain’s Catalonia region – last Saturday, one would have had no idea that the country was preparing to watch its national team compete in the World Cup the very next day. That afternoon, over a million people flooded the downtown to protest a decision issued Friday by the country’s constitutional court striking down some provisions of the territory’s 2006 autonomy statute.” (TNR)

A Reaction From the Streets of Catalonia

“Standing on the streets of Barcelona – capital of Spain’s Catalonia region – last Saturday, one would have had no idea that the country was preparing to watch its national team compete in the World Cup the very next day. That afternoon, over a million people flooded the downtown to protest a decision issued Friday by the country’s constitutional court striking down some provisions of the territory’s 2006 autonomy statute. That legislation devolved a number of important powers to the region, but was challenged by the country’s conservative political party, the Partido Popular. In their ruling, the judges found that “Our constitution recognizes no nation but Spain,” in effect dealing a blow to Catalan nationalists.” (TNR)

Front Page: All Of Spain Behind La Roja?

“Two of the leading newspapers in the Catalan region of Spain splash huge crowds with flags flying across their front page: but there is not a World Cup referencing Spanish-flag to be found on the day of the World Cup final. Instead, both El Punt (the leading newspaper only published in the Catalan language) and La Vanguardia (Spain’s fourth most-read newspaper, mainly sold in Catalonia) devote their covers to the mass political protests in Barcelona yesterday. El Punt’s headline: The cry of a people.” (Pitch Invasion)

Ballet of Frost

“Someone wrote on Twitter yesterday that “Is Spain boring?” is the new “Will soccer ever make it in America?” And yes, it is, in the same way that it’s the new “Can Lampard and Gerrard play in the same midfield?” and possibly the new “Can Asians think?” It wants a word, nevertheless, if only because Spain-Germany was so divisive; and because this is the World Cup final, and a bubble of resentment against the pre-tournament favorites and anointed Best Team on Earth is one of the conditions in which history’s about to happen.” (Run of Play)

Homage to Catalonia

“There’s no doubt that Germany looked magisterial against Argentina. Late last year, I watched a team pummel Diego Maradona’s team in similar fashion. They ran all over them with astonishing ease, making them look like a third division team on the brink of the brink of relegation. This was a particularly low moment for Maradona, the winter when his team was more messy than Messi. Still, the side that beat them clearly possessed players of superior quality. That was last December when the albiceleste ventured into Barcelona’s Nou Camp. They left the stadium that day defeated 4-2. The team that thrashed Maradona’s men didn’t qualify for the World Cup. In fact, it can’t. FIFA won’t let it. But anyone who has paid attention to this tournament knows its best players well.” (TNR)

Champions of Kallendor

“Rumor is abroad throughout the Western Kingdoms. Men whisper of trouble in the East, of death upon the great roads, of armies massing for war. It is even said that the worm Drakorath, the dragon of the Rivening, has awakened in the Valley of Bal-Sharom and been seen in the skies over the villages to the south. But fear not, brave warden of the flame. Hope yet survives in the Kingdoms. Wayne Rooney has a 20-sided die.” (Run of Play)

Messi / Durant

“Kevin Durant is 6′9” and lanky, with a 7′4” wingspan. In a sport where length is all-important, Durant is as long as they come. Lionel Messi, 5′7” with a low center of gravity, is as nimble with the ball at his feet as anyone in the world. Durant has cited his mother and brother as his role models. Messi learned soccer from his father, a coach in Argentina when he was young. Both are modest, say all the right things to the media, and lead unflashy lives. Both seem to accept their success without being absorbed into it, using the love for their respective sports to keep them grounded. Messi has a reputation for shyness, while Durant, though soft-spoken, actively connects with his fans over Twitter. The two might not look it, but they’re very similar athletes, and you can learn a lot by looking at one through the lens of the other.” (Run of Play)

European Team of the Season 2009-10

Pastorale, François Boucher
“Hot on the heels of the Goals of the Season, we move on to the Football Further European Team of the Season. As in any decent dream team this side is strongly, perhaps even foolishly, oriented towards attack. Feedback, particularly of the irate, finger-jabbing kind, is warmly welcomed.” (Football Further)

Spain Blows Whistle on La Liga

“Spanish football teams are shooting for a new goal: To break even. In an effort to tackle reckless spending and rising debts among the 20 La Liga clubs, the country’s top teams will be subjected to financial regulation by a new independent body established by the Spanish government to ensure that teams are living within their means.” (WSJ)

Goals of the Season 2009-10

Dejan Stanković
“In the hope of provoking plenty of debate, disagreement and downright indignation, Football Further proudly presents – in purely chronological order – its Goals of the Season 2009-10…” (Football Further)

ZM’s European Team of the Season

Pepe Reina
“With only one game left of the 2009/10 season, it’s time to create that inevitable, impossible-to-please dream team from across the major European leagues. Playing in a fluid 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 system that remains the most popular formation throughout Europe, it also reflects the current emphasis upon centre-backs who can pass the ball, attacking full-backs, ball-playing central midfielders and versatile attacking players.” (Zonal Marking)

La Liga title the least Barcelona deserve as Madrid again finish empty handed

“Javier Clemente squeezed into blue tights, pulled red knickers over the top and slapped a big yellow S on his chest. A quick fiddle with Photoshop and the amazing transformation was complete. Real Valladolid’s manager had, in his own words, gone into the phonebox Scum and come out a Saint; he had, in Athletic Bilbao manager Joaquín Caparrós’s words, gone from whore to nun in five minutes.” (Guardian)

Heartache for Fulham and Blackpool’s superstar DJ

“Raphael Honigstein, Barry Glendenning and John Ashdown help James dissect the week’s football action. As Fulham narrowly lose in the Europa Cup final, the pod ponder why they are patronised so much, and what the future holds for Roy Hodgson’s men. There were amazing scenes in Madrid where 40,000 Atlético fans danced the night away and Sid Lowe explains just why it means so much to the people’s club of Spain’s capital city.” (Guardian – James Richardson)

Real Madrid & Barcelona – Giants in a troubled league

“A question: What defines a league as strong and what classes it as weak? Should a league’s overall strength be measured on the successes of it’s most powerful constituents? Or on the sum total of all parts? If your answer is the former, then based on the 2009/2010 season’s outcome Spain’s La Liga is undoubtedly one of the strongest in world football. If you lean to the latter answer however, then La Liga may be classed as a league in serious structural trouble.” (Just Football)

Barcelona 2009/10: fewer trophies, better team

“Barcelona’s 2008/09 season was the most successful in their history; the most successful in any club’s history. Surely they couldn’t have an equally good campaign this time around? The most immediate answer to that question is no. Out of the Copa del Rey to Sevilla on away goals, eliminated from the Champions League in desperate circumstances at home to Inter – a repeat of the treble was not achieved. But in the league, Barcelona have exceeded their achievements from last year.” (Zonal Marking)

League comparison by points

“An interesting (if ultimately pointless) graph that shows the points tally of equivalent clubs from the Premiership, La Liga and Serie A (all of which play with a 20-team, 38-game season).” (Zonal Marking)

Conspiracy theories and intrigue abound on La Liga’s final weekend

“Desperation makes for strange bedfellows. And no, we’re not talking about David Cameron and Nick Clegg coming together to find the keys for No. 10 Downing Street after a British general election that left a hung parliament and no outright winner — although there is certainly plenty of politics involved.” (SI)

Bullets have eyes

Claude Gellée, Idyll: Landscape with a Draughtsman Sketching Ruins
“On the surface, the praise for Lionel Messi during his current extraordinary run has been pure. Astonishing — astonished — praise has followed his every deed. Not for a generation has there been such a rush to consider someone alongside the pantheon of great players past; to name a planet after him; to dress him in armour, plonk him on a horse, dip him in bronze and place him halfway between La Masia and Camp Nou, beside a stall selling miniature bronze-coloured plastic replica hims. Scienticians are rushing to prove by July that he is, in fact, a physical constant.” (Sport is a TV Show) (Must Read Soccer)

Premier League season of the surreal will live long in the memory

“The Premier League may not be home to the best football, an honour belonging to La Liga of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but it is certainly home to the most excitement. The Spanish keep their beach-balls on the beach. The season lacked a star but not drama and there was enough barmy material to keep soap-opera scriptwriters in episodes for years.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Spanish Teams Eye Breakaway

“After successfully running away with Spain’s league championship this season, turning the title race into a straight shootout between the country’s top two football teams, now Barcelona and Real Madrid could break away from the league altogether. Spain’s two biggest clubs are among the teams calling for the Primera Division to follow the example of rival European leagues and split from Spain’s second tier Segunda Division in a row over television revenue that threatens to create a schism between the country’s leading contenders.” (WSJ)

Sevilla 2-3 Barcelona: Barca on the brink

Jacques Stella (1596-1657), Le Mariage de la Vierge
“Pep Guardiola’s side are almost there: a win at home to Valladolid next Sunday will secure their second consecutive La Liga title. This game ended up closer than it should have been, after Barca went 3-0 up, and Sevilla had a man sent-off. Nevertheless, the three points are in the bag. Barca continued with the Pedro-Messi-Bojan front three that served them so well recently against Villareal and Tenerife, with Messi operating in a false nine role.” (Zonal Marking)

Sevilla FC 2 – 3 Barcelona
“Barcelona survived an unexpected comeback from 10-man Sevilla to move closer to a second successive league title with a vital 3-2 win at the Sanchez Pizjuan on a dramatic evening of Primera Division football. Lionel Messi gave Barca the lead after five minutes and Bojan Krkic doubled the Catalans’ lead just short of the half hour mark. Sevilla then went down to 10 men following Abdoulay Konko’s dismissal 10 minutes into the second period and Barca looked to be out of sight after Pedro struck a third shortly afterwards.” (ESPN)

Sevilla 2-3 FC Barcelona – Video Highlights and Recap – La Liga – 8 May 2010
“Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) leaders FC Barcelona traveled to Sevilla in what would be their toughest test remaining in the 2009-10 season. A win on Saturday would all but clinch the title with a home match against Valladolid next weekend. Sevilla were in 4th heading into the weekend and would boost their UEFA Champions League hopes with a result from the match.” (The 90th Minute)

Barcelona 4 – 1 Tenerife

“Lionel Messi struck twice as Barcelona overcame some nervy moments to comfortably beat relegation-threatened Tenerife at the Nou Camp to put the pressure back on fierce rivals Real Madrid as the Primera Division draws to an exciting conclusion. Madrid travel to fourth-placed Mallorca tomorrow night in what looks like the hardest remaining fixture for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. And they will need to win it after Barca saw off Tenerife thanks to goals from Messi (2), Bojan Krkic and Pedro.” (ESPN)

How the 2000s changed tactics #1: The fall and rise of the passing midfielder

“In 2004, Gabriele Marcotti wrote an article for The Times about Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola. It wasn’t a celebratory piece looking back at Guardiola’s fine career, nor remarking on his ability to defy the critics and keep playing at a high standard, like Paolo Maldini. It was about how, in 2004-spec football, Guardiola was useless. That is not to say that he had declined as a player. A physically unremarkable player, his domain was sitting front of his own defence and spraying passes across the pitch for his more illustrious teammates – Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Romario being amongst the biggest names to have benefited from his presence. When Marcotti wrote the article, at 33, Guardiola should have been at his peak.” (Zonal Marking)

Management matters

“I can rarely remember a week that has featured so much chit-chat about managers. Sometimes you begin to wonder whether the players matter any more. Mourinho this, Mourinhno that. The implications of Barcelona’s elimination from the Champions League last week spread far and wide, but in Spain all that matters is that Mourinho has allegedly proved himself eligible for the Bernabeu hot-seat.” (ESPN)

Joan Laporta’s homage to Catalonia

“Outgoing Barcelona president Joan Laporta looks set to run as a candidate for Catalan regional president in elections this November. Although he has yet to announce his candidacy formally, a campaign website is already up and running. “I will continue to dedicate the best years of my life to the country I love,” says a beaming Laporta. “The moment has come for us all to serve Catalonia.” With Catalan voters apparently fed up with their current Socialist-led coalition government, a recent poll already has a nominal Laporta-led party getting 17 per cent of votes. This would give Laporta control of a decisive block of seats in the Catalan parliament and plenty of Nick Clegg style bargaining power.” (WSC)

Barca back, relegation battle hots up

“Barcelona bounced back from their disappointing exit in the Champions League at the hands of ten-man Inter Milan with a commanding 4-1 away win over Villarreal. The Catalans, who currently lead La Liga, went ahead in the 19th minute through a classy finish from Lionel Messi who bagged his 27th goal in the league. Their lead was doubled soon after as Xavi curled a free-kick over the wall and past the despairing dive of Diego Lopez.” (ESPN)

Barcelona 1-0 Inter: Mourinho’s side progress – deservedly

Jan Brueghel the Elder. Orpheus in the Underworld
“There are times when the hype about Jose Mourinho is frustrating and cliched, there are times when it is fully deserved. Tonight was the latter in one of the great defensive performances in recent footballing history. Barcelona reverted to their ‘traditional’ 4-3-3 they had persisted with until recently, with a midfield trio of Busquets-Keita-Xavi, Yaya Toure in defence, and Gabriel Milito surprisingly pushed out to left-back. Pedro Rodriguez stayed wide-left, Lionel Messi cut in from the right, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the striker.” (Zonal Marking)

Barcelona 1 Inter Milan 0; agg 2-3: match report
“Even the Nou Camp sprinklers set at geyser strength couldn’t douse Jose Mourinho’s fire. Even the combined technical might of Lionel Messi and Xavi couldn’t overcome opponents organised so brilliantly by the Special One. Even the loss of Thiago Motta to a red card and loss of a goal to Gerard Piqué couldn’t perturb composed, calculating Inter. Homage to Catalonia? No chance. Mourinho scripted the reverse.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Barcelona v Inter Milan: Jose Mourinho hails ‘most beautiful defeat of my life’
“A 1-0 second-leg defeat could not prevent dogged Inter, leading 3-1 from the San Siro, heading to the May 22 final against Bayern Munich. Mourinho even received congratulatory texts from his old Chelsea friends.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

FC Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan – Unbreakable Inter far from Wile E. Coyote
“Do you remember the Looney Tunes cartoons, and the scene that always takes place in which the ‘baddie’ character overruns a cliff but grabs onto a branch and clings on for dear life, sweat dripping, slowly losing his grip as he stares ominously down at a shark tank or bear pit or similar great peril? That, to me, symbolised Inter Milan against FC Barcelona at Camp Nou tonight. And while Inter hung on desperately, we watched – nervous, tense, enthralled – waiting to see if they would hang onto that branch, somehow, and clamber back to safety, or if they would eventually tire, arms weary from the struggle, and plunge helplessly into the abyss.” (Just Football)

Barca in need of a Plan B
“It is hard to criticise a team who have scored 83 goals in La Liga this season for lacking the firepower to see them through but, against Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, reigning European champions Barcelona showed that their fluid attacking style has weaknesses. After the heights of the sextuple last year, this season’s Barcelona had a lot to live up to, but the decision to sell Samuel Eto’o to their eventual conquerors in Europe could be one that comes back to haunt them.” (ESPN)

Barcelona dethroned by resilient Inter
“An immense display of intelligent defending and sheer determination took FC Internazionale Milano into the European Champion Clubs’ Cup final for the first time since 1972, ending FC Barcelona’s hopes of becoming the first team to defend the UEFA Champions League.” (UEFA)

Champions League: Inter Milan Holds On
“ITV pundit Clive Tyldesley likes to invoke ‘magical nights’ in Barcelona whenever he gets the chance (even when he’s commentating on a fourth-round FA Cup tie between Blackpool and Stoke). But his patented tagline actually fits the occasion today. It’s the second leg of Barcelona and Inter Milan’s Champion’s League semifinal from Camp Nou in Barcelona.” (WSJ)

FC Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan (Internazionale) – Recap and Video Highlights – Champions League – Wednesday, April 28, 2010
“The UEFA Champions League finished its semifinal round on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 with the second leg of FC Barcelona v Inter Milan aka Internazionale. Inter Milan held a 3-1 lead after the first leg at the San Siro but would have to try and hold Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The winner would move onto the final to play Bayern Munich in the final in late May.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter v. Barcelona Preview: Buy the Hype!

“Everybody, including me, wants to paint Mourinho as the Dark Lord, the scheming scientist locked in a dungeon in a castle atop a mountain. Due to his playful and sarcastic media mind games, his personality gets depicted in a negative light. Accordingly, we transpose this ‘abrasive’ personality onto his team – if Mourinho is such a downer in press conferences, then surely his Inter play negative catenaccio. Right? Wrong.” (futfanatico)

One Team’s Dream Is Another Team’s Obsession

“With a 3-1 lead going into the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal on Wednesday, it is fair to say that Inter Milan’s chances are better than 50/50. Perhaps Jose Mourinho was trying to be generous to his hosts. More likely, Mourinho, the Inter Milan manager, was trying to ease the pressure on his players and tweak Barcelona.” (NYT)

Battle of ideologies means Inter and Barcelona provide feast for the neutral

Mathematical Treatise
“After Internazionale had astonished the football world by pummelling Barcelona 3-1 in San Siro last week, a calm José Mourinho pronounced that his team’s chances of reaching the Champions League final had not changed. ‘They are still 50-50,’ he said. ‘We deserved this victory, but we’re a long way from the final. In the second leg in Barcelona we’ll be playing against a team who will be even stronger. Whether we get to the final or not, we’ll come home with our heads held very, very high’.” (Guardian)

No holds barred for Milito brothers in arms

“FC Barcelona’s Gabriel Milito and elder brother Diego, of FC Internazionale Milano, may come face to face in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg but the defender, whose side trail 3-1 in the tie, told UEFA.com that sibling rivalry will be secondary at the Camp Nou.” (UEFA)

Lionel Messi: Argentina star player at World Cup 2010

“Considered to be one of the finest players of his generation, Messi has seen his playing style and ability compare to those of Argentina head coach Diego Maradona, who has identified Messi as his successor. The diminutive winger has been playing the game since he was barely able to walk and his potential was quickly noticed by Barcelona.” (Telegraph)

How Barcelona spawned Mourinho as its nemesis

1 Reply

Pep Guardiola
“In 1996, José Mourinho suddenly became a powerful man. Aged only 33, the unknown Portuguese had come to Barcelona chiefly to translate for the English manager Bobby Robson. However, he fast turned into more than a translator. Mourinho took a duplex in the beach town of Sitges, near Robson’s house, and often talked football with him over dinner, recounts Mourinho’s biographer Patrick Barclay. He wrote dazzling scouting reports, and had one great advantage over his boss: he spoke Spanish. When Robson talked to players or the press, Mourinho interpreted. Many felt he added thoughts of his own.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

The Game Has Evolved

“According to my friend Dennis, Argentina versus Brazil is the biggest rivalry in sports. Rangers versus Celtic? Doesn’t want to hear it. Barcelona versus Real Madrid? Doesn’t want to hear it. Yankees versus Red Sox?” (Run of Play)

Beauty and the best are not always the same beast

“We need goodies. Therefore we need baddies. Human minds work that way. We can’t help turning any situation before us into a moral tale. Take politics: we even turn the choosing of a government into a contest between good and evil, or, at least, between awful and slightly less awful.” (TimesOnline)

Defeat to Mourinho’s Inter remains a bitter pill for Barca to swallow“It’s the ultimate in gloating — the traditional song that really, really rubs it in and stings like hell. You’ve traveled miles and miles to watch your team but hope has turned to despair, all you’ve eaten is a ropey sandwich at a service station and all you’ve drunk is a bottle of warm Coke that’s long since gone flat. Which might not be a bad thing, because there’s no way you’re trusting your backside to that toilet.” (SI)

Mourinho + Guardiola

“There’s wily, and then there’s completely insane. Mourinho’s act with the media has always felt less like tactical posturing—the sort of thing Bill Parcells always used to get credit for, or that Rafa Benítez believes himself to be good at—than like the simple luxuriating of a man who likes sunning his ego in public. If there are two smart ways to deal with the media—be boring and say all the right things, or else stir up controversy for some deliberate purpose—Mourinho loves balancing on the precipice of Crazy Option #3, letting them know what you really think.” (Run of Play)

Is the sweeper set for a return to prominence?

Matthias Sammer, a classic sweeper
“Jonathan Wilson recently wrote in his excellent ‘The Question’ series about the possibility of the return of the sweeper to football. The sweeper prospered as the ’spare man’ in a three-man central defence up against a two-man attack, so now we have two-man central defences up against one-man attacks, should one centre-back not become a sweeper? The idea is music to the ears of anyone who fondly remembers Euro 96. The player of the tournament was Matthias Sammer, the sweeper in the German 3-4-1-2 system that went onto win the tournament. As well as being the most important player in defence, clearing up behind the two markers, he also had license to go forward and launch attacks, and found himself scoring (in open play) on more than one occasion.” (Zonal Marking)

Cambiasso praises Inter’s forward thrust

Jose Mourinho
“Esteban Cambiasso praised the ‘extraordinary work of our three forwards’ after FC Internazionale Milano’s 3-1 win against FC Barcelona in the first leg of their semi-final tie at the San Siro, a sixth consecutive UEFA Champions League victory for José Mourinho’s side.” (UEFA)

Inter 3-1 Barcelona: Why did Pep Guardiola play Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
“It’s not often during his two seasons as Barcelona manager that you can conclusively say that Pep Guardiola got his tactics wrong – but tonight that was the case, as Inter take an important two-goal lead to the Nou Camp. Both sides essentially played their standard formations. Inter were 4-2-3-1 with Samuel Eto’o and Goran Pandev wide, and Javier Zanetti continuing at left-back. Barcelona played a similar team to the first leg at against Arsenal – Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the line, Lionel Messi behind him, Pedro in a wide-right role and Seydou Keita playing from in to out on the left.” (Zonal Marking)

James Lawton: Mourinho calls the shots to make Italy think again about his style
“Even Jose Mourinho has rarely known a night like this, one in which not only a second Champions League title but perhaps even the keys of European football may have been at least halfway into his grasp. If Mourinho had some substantial gifts from his Portuguese compatriot referee, including a third goal that was plainly offside, there was no questioning that he had produced from his Internazionale a magnificent response to the challenge of facing the reigning champions of Europe, a team with the potential, some of us may still believe, to touch new levels of excellence.” (Independent)

Italian Football Faces Tough Times
“The most important league table in Italian football right now isn’t the Serie A standings, where AS Roma and Inter Milan are locked in a titanic tussle for the title, or even the Serie B championship, where Torino—one of the country’s most historic clubs—is hoping to secure a top-flight return. It’s actually an obscure ranking of European’s football nations known as the UEFA coefficient table, a mind-boggling complex formula that has produced one very simple conclusion: Italy’s days as a football superpower could soon be at an end.” (WSJ)

Champions League: Inter Milan 3, FC Barcelona 1
“Inter Milan meets Barcelona tonight in the first leg of a mouthwatering Champions League semifinal that many fans think should have been the final itself. With Lyon and Bayern Munich meeting in the other semifinal tomorrow, the glamor — and global attention — will all be at the San Siro in Milan this evening. The visitors are Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona: Spanish league leader, defending European champion and for many, currently the best team in world soccer. The side also, of course, fields the planet’s best player, by popular acclaim, in Argentinian forward Lionel Messi.” (WSJ)

‘It Will Not Be Inter-Barcelona, It Will Be Inter or Barcelona’
“Inter Milan counter attacked with great effect Tuesday against Barcelona, coming back from a goal down to win the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal, 3-1. Barca went up early, scoring a crucial away goal by way of Pedro Rodriguez. He tucked away an angled pass from Maxwell, whose run down the left flank past Cambiasso to the goal line was unchecked by Maicon and Lucio, who both stopped dead in their tracks. But Inter responded with determined counter-attacking play, as per Manager Jose Mourinho’s instructions.” (NYT)

Inter Milan vs. Barcelona
(footytube)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 3-1 FC Barcelona – Recap and Video Highlights – Champions League – Tuesday, April 20, 2010
“The UEFA Champions League kicked off its semifinal round with a 1st leg match between Inter Milan (Internazionale) v FC Barcelona at the San Siro. Either team would be favored to win the competition if they were to make the final. Barcelona has been in very good form in the Champions League while Inter Milan has knocked out favorites like Chelsea.” (The 90th Minute)

Milan’s No. 10 on the Champions League Semis, Messi and Kaka

“In his regular discussion with New York Times readers, Clarence Seedorf discusses the UEFA Champions League semifinals, some of the brightest stars of the international game, and whether or not he thinks doping is a major problem in international soccer. Read the AC Milan midfielder’s responses post your comments below.” (NYT)

Inter v Barcelona: tactical preview

“Many have commented that, in an ideal world, this may have been the final of the competition. Barcelona and Inter are generally considered to be the strongest two sides left in the Champions League – and of course, they are also the only two actual champions left. For the tactical enthusiast, however, a two-legged tie between the two most interesting sides in the competition is a more exciting prospect than a one-off game.” (Zonal Marking)

Inter’s date with destiny
“Outside influences have had a habit, recently, of trying to penetrate Inter’s hardened outer shell ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Most notably, there have been allegations about the Nerazzurri’s perceived role in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal which have been brought to light by the defence attorneys for disgraced former Juventus director Luciano Moggi.” (ESPN)

It Was a Weekend for Clearing the Air, Though Not in England
“In sports, the shortest journeys often turn out to be the most perilous — as derby matches affecting the leading clubs across Europe demonstrated throughout the weekend. This, however, is a uniquely challenging time for long-distance travelers across the Continent, and for once the great and the good of soccer are in the same boat, or grounded plane, as the rest of us.” (NYT)

Espanyol make their new home a fortress to derail Barcelona
“As the bus turned in, all you could see was the palms of their hands hammering against the window. Then as the light filtered through, Nico Pareja in the aisle, arms aloft and chanting. His Espanyol team-mates were bouncing and shouting and thumping on the glass. Outside, they were too. Along the narrow streets of Cornellà, balconies were draped in blue and white, music blaring. Bars were packed with Periquitos sinking minis – litres of beer in plastic glasses – and hollering war cries.” (Guardian)

Champions at Home Too?

“One of the curious aspects of this season’s UEFA Champions League is that three of the four semifinalists—who square off in their first-leg encounters on Tuesday and Wednesday—are all also embroiled in legitimate title races domestically. Inter Milan and Barcelona are neck-and-neck with Roma and Real Madrid in Serie A and La Liga, respectively, while Bayern Munich is nursing a slender two-point lead over Schalke in the German Bundesliga. The same held true for Olympique Lyonnais, the fourth semifinalist, at least on April 7—the day it actually reached European soccer’s final four—when it was two points off the top of the table. (It now sits third, nine points behind league-leading Marseille.)” (WSJ)

Espanyol share spoils with Barca

“Espanyol put a dent in Barcelona’s hopes of securing consecutive Primera Division titles after holding their local rivals to a goalless draw. However, Pep Guardiola’s side may consider it a point gained rather than two lost after playing 28 minutes with 10 men.” (ESPN)

Barca held in derby, Sevilla thrash Sporting
“Espanyol put a dent in Barcelona’s hopes of securing consecutive Primera Division titles after holding their local rivals to a goalless draw. However, Pep Guardiola’s side may consider it a point gained rather than two lost after playing 28 minutes with ten men.” (ESPN)

Espanyol 0-0 FC Barcelona – Recap and Video Highlights – La Liga – Saturday, April 17, 2010
“FC Barcelona faced Espanyol in a derby match in the Spanish Primera Division on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Barcelona held a three point lead over rivals Real Madrid but would face a tough test in Espanyol. Barcelona could go six points clear with a win in the match as Real Madrid do not play until Sunday. Espanyol are not in any relegation danger but will have the motivation of a derby match.” (The 90th Minute)