barca 10/11: the review

Some scattered thoughts on the season just gone, which like a good adventure movie had its highs and lows before the uplifting, happy ending.

the boardroom and the locker room

For all the talk of a steady transition, the election of Sandro Rosell bought about a revolution in the board room at the beginning of this season. While football affairs at the club continue to be held in the grip of Cruyffistas, the Rosell regime has shown a remarkable determination to dissociate itself from its predecessor in other areas.

I say remarkable, but of course it's not surprising that Rosell would repudiate his old friend turned enemy Joan Laporta at every opportunity. What has struck me is the extent to which the club has become a tool to further the vendetta between the two men, a trend clearly demonstrated by the extraordinary lawsuit filed by the club against Laporta for alleged financial mismanagement during the latter's presidency. However you feel about Laporta and Rosell, it is more than arguable that the legal dispute has had a divisive effect upon the entorno and general fanbase.

Rosell's big policy changes have proven no less divisive. I understand that many fans support the move to restrict membership. I've also heard that opposition to the shirt sponsorship deal isn't quite as staunch as it might seem amongst the online fanbase. Be that as it may, I remain opposed to both policies, and having spilled copious amounts of ink explaining my opposition (on shirt sponsorship and on membership) I won't go on again.

Given the above, the reader is entitled to take what I say next with a grain of salt. The only thing I can say is that I try to evaluate each aspect of Rosell's performance independently, with as much objectivity as I can muster. Right after the Osasuna travel fiasco (remember that?) an article appeared in El Pais questioning the public role Sandro Rosell had played that day and in the immediate aftermath. Namely, almost none, and nothing was forthcoming until Guardiola none-too-subtly called for more institutional support during his explosive post-match press conference.

If I have one major complaint about Rosell's work as the public face of Barca as an institution, it's that at crucial times this season, he did not step into the limelight and say what needed to be said. (The Busquets saga, for example.) There's no doubt that Guardiola is a brilliant spokesman for the club. But that's not his job.

horse race: extreme edition

As all involved with Barca are no doubt keenly aware, the chief enemy of a team operating at optimal capacity is complacency. Therefore, we have Real Madrid to thank for these past three years. Their Herculean efforts to topple Guardiola's team have pushed the latter to the limit and allowed them to show their true measure of resilience under enormous pressure.

In 09/10 these efforts mainly manifested themselves in Galactico-style spending. Pellegrini's team did almost everything right, only to fall agonisingly short. It was inevitable then that Florentino Perez would turn to the only coaching Galactico in world football.

The coming of Mourinho heralded a return to the most paranoid days of the Real-Barca rivalry after a few years of relative calm. Barca players will tell you that being questioned and provoked was an added motivation, and maybe they're right. Certainly, the level of unity bred by a siege mentality can be a powerful weapon, as most top class managers well know.

However, I don't think you'd find many Cules who truly enjoyed the Clasico series near the end of the season. Four games in 20 days was never going to bring out the best in all involved given how toxic the atmosphere had become.

clasico madness

Having said that, there were some unforgettable, wonderful moments amongst all the muck, too. Like Leo Messi's wondergoal, the one uplifting moment in a game best left on the cutting room floor, the kind of dazzling, did-you-just-see-that-how-the-hell move action replay was invented for. And of course there was that astonishing, brilliant, and deeply satisfying 5-0 victory.

It was Mourinho's first Clasico on the Madrid bench. Many expected it to be close, scrappy, an attritional battle. What happened instead was a slaughter. As Jonathan Wilson quite aptly said:

This was an indelible night, one that, whatever happens in the rest of the season, will echo through football history.

The manita has a special place in Barca's history - especially Barca's history against Real Madrid - but I dare anyone to think of a 5-0 to top this one in terms of performance. Just like Johan Cruyff's team winning 0-5 at the Bernabeu and the Dream Team's own 5-0 at the Camp Nou, it will be looked back upon as an era-defining game, one that underlined this Barca's particular brand of dominance.

At the same time, as the great Cesar Luis Menotti pointed out, the trauma of the 5-0 defeat dictated Madrid's tactics for the 4 later Clasicos. Some have argued that the improvement yielded in results vindicates Mourinho's aggression. That however unpalatable, his team's aggression on the pitch and campaign off it succeeded in breaking down Barca's game.

But here's the thing. Leaving morality aside, the main problem with that theory is that it didn't work. The 1-1 draw effectively cost Real the league, and for all the fire and brimstone of the Champions League Clasicos Barca were the ones left standing at the end. The only time Mourinho's tactics arguably worked was the Copa del Rey final, and even then it was very, very close.

Given Real's resources and Barca's sloppy run of form from April to the beginning of May, a more adventurous approach from Mourinho might well have yielded better results. That was certainly what this particular Cule was worried about, given Barca's injury problems in defence and shaky form up front at the time.

Anyway. Enough about that. It's over, and we all have to live with the results. (I have more to say on the ugly side of those games, but that's another post.)

to endure and to enjoy

This was not always the most sparkling of seasons but it was the hardest; before Christmas they had been graceful, smooth and precise, after Christmas they showed the competitive spirit that is too often overlooked. They had spent the year being constantly attacked and had withstood some of the bitterest and wildest of accusations. - Sid Lowe

As usual, Sid Lowe nails it. This was always going to be a challenging season. The coaching staff were worried about the physical and mental effects of a squad coming off a World Cup (many of them having played in the final) and two seasons of great success. The omens weren't good. Two of the greatest Barca teams of the past (the Dream Team post-94, and Rijkaard's team post-2006) had crashed and burned in post-World Cup years.

There were moments of doubt, times when alarmist critics alleged that Guardiola's team had come to the end of its cycle. The fitness and injury problems caused by hectic schedules appeared right on cue. While Barca were very lucky indeed with no major injuries sidelining crucial attacking players such as Messi, Alves, Iniesta, Villa, and Pedro, persistent injuries across the defence led to a season of uncertainty at the back. Not that showed in the number of goals conceded, and the remaining mainstays of the defence deserve great credit for that.

Furthermore, the two players who represent the brain and heart of this team both had a season blighted by injury. The loss of Puyol, who only played 28 games (as opposed to the previous 6 seasons, in which he never played less than 45) was huge - he was missing for every single game Barca lost during the season. On the other hand, Xavi's persistent achilles problems didn't stop him from racking up another 50-game season, but his absences were keenly felt, and the need to secure the midfield succession must feel ever more pressing to the technical staff.

And then, as Dr Lowe pointed out, there was the exhausting media war, fought on two levels. The first being Mourinho's own increasingly outlandish conspiracy theories about everything from the fixture list to Barca's opposition not trying hard enough to biased refereeing to, well, UNICEF; and the second being the far more insidious and frankly appalling allegations aired by Cadena Cope accusing Barca and Valencia of doping. Allegations which the radio station - under the threat of multiple lawsuits - claim to have received from a Real Madrid director. While the Barca-supporting media no doubt relished slinging mud right back, everything the players and the managing staff have said indicates that they found the attempts to taint their achievements exhausting, irritating and sometimes downright enraging.

But all of the above pales into insignificance when compared to the moment Eric Abidal was told he had liver cancer. The effect on the locker room was devastating. Without Abidal's remarkable spirit, which drove him to reassure and comfort his team mates when he was the one facing surgery, it would have been even worse. His amazing recovery is the greatest prize of this season, more than any trophy.

standout performers

Leo Messi: the greatest compliment I can pay Messi is that he improves by leaps and bounds every season, even though the season before might have made such an idea seem impossible. His greatest competition in the current generation is his own shadow, and if such an idea doesn't rob him of motivation (and it hasn't so far) we're in for something miraculous in the seasons to come.

Xavi: even carrying a chronic injury, he's still the best midfielder in the business. The level of control he exerts over a game only seems to grow each year. If I may steal a Dani Alves-ism, the rest of us live in the present. Xavi can see the future.

Eric Abidal: I need to make one thing very clear first. Abidal's place on this list has nothing to do with his illness. Even given his absence for six weeks, his committed and composed performances at centerback and leftback for the rest of the season has earned him a place. It's not easy to fit into the Barca system as a defender, especially a non-homegrown one, but he does it with aplomb.

Gerard Pique: a controversial selection, I know. Allow me to explain. Pique's performances this season have divided Cules into two camps. While I acknowledge that he has made some mistakes, he has also been the glue holding a constantly changing Barca defence together. I dare anyone else to go through a season with so many different partners at centerback, some of whom were never meant for the position and whose deficiencies he had to cover for, and come out having accomplished as much as he did.

Still finds time to make important contributions in attack, and despite all the tabloid attention, I happen to think he takes up his role as a representative of the club in the right spirit.

Victor Valdes: this coming season will be Valdes' 10th as Barcelona's number 1. Time sure flies, doesn't it? It took many years for the average Cule to go from barely tolerating the hot-headed, erratic kid to embracing the brilliant shot-stopper with feet so good he could play striker. These days, it seems hardly credible that the Camp Nou crowd used to boo Valdes for making the occasional howler. After all, he's the man we count on to do everything right, especially when the rest of the team are doing everything wrong. And that's what he does, every season.

Runner-ups: Pedro, Mascherano, Iniesta, Alves

in and out

Given the transfer business conducted so far, I strongly suspect that my transfer wishlist doesn't look a thing like the one drawn up by Andoni Zubizarreta and Pep Guardiola. For one, mine didn't have another winger on it. However, Alexis Sanchez looks like a great prospect, and if he can relieve some of the burden on Messi and come in when the likes of Pedro and Villa are off-colour, he'll be a successful signing.

As for the other name on Guardiola's wishlist, I will endeavour to be very brief. While I am very fond of him, I am not convinced that Barca need Fabregas. The funds required to buy him would be much better spent on other areas of more urgent need. (The defence, for example.) Furthermore, given Thiago's rapid development, it is highly possible that he is indeed ready to step up whenever Xavi's chronic injury problems force him to miss games.

Others have argued against signings in defence on a similar basis. While it would be nice to see more La Masia-produced defenders in the first team, I haven't seen enough of the current crop of prospects to feel safe relying on them as backup for Puyol's creaking knees. Having said that, the versatility of the defenders in the squad right now is reassuring, as is what I've seen of Fontas.

A very fond goodbye and good luck is due to first team departees Bojan Krkic, Jeffren Suarez, and Gabriel Milito. The three leave under very different circumstances. Bojan is essentially on loan, out to prove himself and perhaps await a glorious return in a post-Guardiola era. While still very promising, Jeffren has run out of opportunities due to his persistent injury problems, and is now a little too old to be a mere promising prospect at Barca. Gabi Milito is no longer a first team regular after suffering a string of horrific injuries, which robbed him of his pace. All three have played their part in the successes of the past three seasons.

(On a completely different note, in case you forgot, Alexander Hleb is still here.)

the triumph of pep guardiola

"Guardiola has put a target on me, in classic fascist style." - Eduardo Inda, editor of Marca [a little background]

This past season has seen the advert of unprecedented attacks by the Madrid media upon all aspects of Pep Guardiola's character. Inda may have accused Guardiola of fascist activity, but at least he didn't point the finger of blame at Pep for inciting violence against journalists, like a certain Madrid-based TV station (Telemadrid, as mentioned here). It seems that diplomacy and careful humility was no longer enough to forestall negative attention, the extremity and ferociousness of which will have come as no surprise to a man used to the complexities of the Barca-Real rivalry and not above hitting back when pushed.

Guardiola conducted himself with habital care this season despite the change in circumstances, at least until late April. His response to Mourinho came at the riskiest time possible, and without the backing of the club, who had urged him to keep silent. Even Barca fans wondered if he had finally snapped under continuous provocation. In fact, it had been nothing of the sort. The entire 'rant' - including the Catalan nationalism tinged, Lluis Llach quoting bits not mentioned in English press coverage - had been planned.

He is not a man who enjoys confrontation, but in the absence of another voice at the club, he is also not one to shrink responsibility. Anyone who remembers Guardiola as the club captain who screeched up into a ref's face and accused him of playing with the emotions of an entire country (Catalunya, of course) should have realized that there was steel hidden underneath the velvet gloss of civility and respect.

“Allow me to have faith in my players. They have achieved too much in a short space of time for me not to have faith in them.” - Pep Guardiola [Arsenal 2-1 Barca, post-match press conference]

The difficulties encountered this past season took their toll on Guardiola's health. He often looked exhausted, stressed, much older than his 40 years, and was hospitalized for a herniated disc. Players have since admitted that Pep's insistence on attending training and games while he really shold have been resting in bed was an additional motivating factor during a crucial stretch featuring games against teams such as Valencia and Arsenal. In the greater scheme of things, it may be a minor detail, but Guardiola has built his success on mastering minor details.

Compared to the thin, tired figure of earlier, the Guardiola we saw talking effusively in the post-match press conference at Wembley seemed a man rejuvenated. Having come through a season in which he had been up against a domestic rival of unprecedented strength and finished it with a game in which his vision had played out almost perfectly, it is the fond wish of this particular Cule that the experience has refueled him. He has often stated that he will walk away when his passion for the job fades. Hopefully that day is still far away.

the ultimate grace note

Make no mistake, this has been one more extraordinary season in an era Cules will be talking about for years to come. When we come to reminisce about the highlights, it'll be hard to go past the day of the Champions League final. Wembley was a blessed day, a day where everything went right.

Most important, it had this: on 17 March, Eric Abidal had a tumour removed from his liver. Barely two months later, he was lifting Big Ears as captain in the royal box at new Wembley, having played the entire 90+ minutes of a thrilling final.

Allow me to quote at length from Abidal's recent interview in GQ Italia (which you should read in full, because it really is wonderful):

An hour before the game against Manchester United started, he didn’t know yet he was going to play.

'Guardiola showed us the last videos, gave some last-minute advice, read out loud the players’ shortlist. No one looked surprised. No one but me, obviously.

I sought Puyol out, I walked up to him and asked “Why aren’t you playing? Did you know he was going to leave you out?”

He looked me in the eyes and said “I’m not important right now. You are what matters; don’t worry about me.”

Do you have any idea what a fucking badass we have as captain? Do you? Champions League final, they tell him he’ll be warming the bench, and he’s the one comforting me! This is Barcelona.

And of course I didn’t know I would be the one to lift the cup, everything happened in a blur, I could hardly grasp what was going on. Do you have any idea...? I had cancer, I had surgery, I played the CL final, and I lifted the cup, all in the span of three months. What more could I ask?'

What more could any of us ask for?

'if we are remembered in 10, 15 years time...'

From Wembley to Wembley Barcelona has undergone an extraordinary process of maturing...There is no better defence of an idea than victories, but there is no better victory than the fact that the stability of a club does not depend exclusively on a final result, but on a route map. That is the greatness of this Barça, which, make no mistake, will also be the principles that will enable them to vaccinate themselves in defeat. - El Pais

Personally speaking, it has been a privilege to experience this past season as a Barca fan. Whatever the future holds, I'm convinced that we'll look back on this team with pride and gratitude.

Bring on the next season.

in defence of el clasico

Contrary to the impression you may have acquired from the hyperbole feast that masqueraded as media coverage of this game, Wednesday was not the first time a football game got a bit nasty. In fact, compared to some of the glorious madness that has decorated El Clasico in the past we could argue that Mourinho gave the fixture a much-needed boost. Since the Guardiola era began we've had some great games, but there's been for the most part a conspicuous lack of morbo. For all the wringing of hands since Wednesday's game you'd think Real and Barca had stepped on the pitch and spent the entire game kicking anything that moved and falling down respectively.

But that's not what happened. Contrary to popular opinion, what did happen was not all that unusual. Exaggerated, perhaps, but not unprecedented. Nor was it unexpected, given the heights of tension this fixture had reached. Perhaps what turned the stomach of those watching was the suspicion that the unsavoury behaviour was systematic and tactical. Perhaps it's easy at this point for the relatively neutral observer to condemn both sides for ruining what could have been a glorious occasion.

The last three Clasicos have been hugely frustrating, I agree. But at the risk of pushing my contrarian tendencies too far, I would like to invite you, dear reader, to consider my defence of Wednesday's events.

#1. Be honest, we like a bit of drama with our football.

Would the magnificent first Clasico of this season in November 2010 have been quite as exciting without the niggly edge? I don't think so. Without the morbo it would have been yet another Barcelona procession, and I know how sick some neutrals are of those.

As I've discussed elsewhere, a stylish football team struggling along gets pity and admiration. Or as I think of it, Arsenal Media syndrome. A team playing open, attacking football, getting results and being smug about it inspires resentment and admiration in equal measure. Maybe more resentment and less admiration as time goes on. Nobody likes the appearance of effortless success, no matter how much effort actually goes into the process, and especially when you keep harping on about it.

[There's an argument to be made about the perception of smugness and how much of it is created by the actual words of actual people representing the club, but I've digressed enough and you can read about the fake quotes fiasco - just an example of the inadequacy of coverage outside the broadsheets - yourself. Certainly, sometimes Barca doesn't help itself. But there's more to it than that.]

#2. Jose Mourinho doesn't care about your eyeballs.

I hear people scoff all the time that Barca have it easy because teams let them play. Which is patently untrue, by the way. Managers aren't stupid. Barca only ever produce fantastic passages of play because they've worked to make them happen against teams doing their damnest to stop them.

Mourinho is fantastic at counter-strategies. He doesn't care what the crowd or Cristiano Ronaldo or even Alfredo di Stefano thinks. He has thoroughly evaluated Barca's approach to the game and devised the best strategy to counter it. If it had worked, precious few would quibble about the lack of flash. After all, there are other ways to enjoy football. I might not agree with them, but even puritan-in-chief Xavi agrees that other styles (or anti-styles) are equally valid. It's a matter of preference.

As the ever astute Jonathan Wilson wrote:

A good tactic is not necessarily a winning tactic, but one that manipulates the percentages...over the course of the season [Mourinho] has reduced the gulf between the sides, if not by imbuing Madrid with greater quality, then by making it harder for Barcelona to show its own.

Having proven in the first Clasico this season that he could not fight fire with fire and win, Mourinho turned to other methods. That is his right as a manager, so long as he stays within the confines of the rules of the game. I happen to think he made a mistake at the Bernabeu because Barca were there for the taking, but his general record speaks for itself.

#3. That said, his post-game ranting is irrelevant.

Discussing it would only serve to give his borderline libellous comments more publicity. So I won't, other than to say that phrasing defamatory statements as questions is a common enough technique - for unhinged political shouting heads looking to smear the opposition. His systematic attempts to discredit the success of Guardiola's team should be recognised as such, and no more.

Let's not be distracted from the game itself.

#4. Barca does not having a diving problem.

I suspect here's where I lose a number of you. If you agreed with the supremely hypocritical post-match comments of Adebayor, we're probably never going to see eye to eye. But hear me out.

The charge against Barca is that they were guilty of systematic cheating via simulation against Real. I'll start here, and go on to deal with the wider charge which has suddenly gained great popularity - that the team has a chronic diving problem.

We could start with Real's tactical aggression in all three Clasicos this month. Some Cules believe that systematic simulation is a legitimate (or at least reasonable) response to systematic aggression. Their reasoning goes like this: if referees are slow to punish dangerous play, leading to an unfair disadvantage for the less physical team, then the victim team should not be expected to lay down and die. They have the right to fight back, meeting illegality with illegality. It's all very well to be praised for fair play but a few pitying plaudits are no substitute for victory.

I have a certain amount of sympathy for that argument. We should be able to rely on match officials to police games so that a team playing on the edge of the rules doesn't step over the line. Unpunished fouls during the second league Clasico and the Copa del Rey final made me fume too. But inventing fouls where there were none only makes the job of the match officials harder.

I don't think Pep Guardiola told his players to go out there and get Real players sent off. If you can rely on anything, it's his desire to prove the value of Barca's playing style through winning. So what happened?

Barca went out there and tried to play their game in the face of expertly designed counter-measures aimed at stopping them. They were almost certainly emotionally affected by the memory of what had happened in the previous two Clasicos. For some, this did not manifest itself in any change of behaviour. Xavi was Xavi, Messi was Messi.

A few others failed to change their behaviour too, but in a less positive way. I'm not going to mince words: Dani Alves and Sergio Busquets are repeat offenders. Whatever their other virtues - they're both fine players and by all accounts interesting people - they both go down far too easily. For Alves it's long been one of the few blots on the copybook of a fantastic player, a habit he has made no move to correct. I have some (possibly misguided) hope for Sergio. He's young and it's only his third season as a professional - plenty of time to realize that his flopping is starting to work against him. Either way, it was embarrassing to see their antics on such a big night.

[A quick pause here to clarify an important subsidiary issue: Alves did not get Pepe sent off. Pepe got himself sent off for a dangerous challenge in a game where he'd spent much of his time running around making borderline challenges. Let's not get cause and effect mixed up here.]

Then there's Pedro Rodriguez, who let himself down with some uncharacteristic amateur theatrics, the effect of which is that the actual rough treatment he received is being overlooked. All of which will hopefully be a lesson to him (a relative newcomer to this Clasico business) to keep his head better next time.

And...that's it. There were individual cases of bad behaviour, not a pattern, and if individual cases constitute proof of a diving culture within a team then every single top-flight team around Europe (including the ever sanctimonious EPL) is guilty of one. Barca happens to be a team of mostly physically unimposing, technically gifted players. If Adebayor and Sergio Ramos really are confused about why they were booked, as their post-match comments suggest, perhaps they'd like to 1) consult the rules, and 2) consider what happens when a bigger guy shoves a smaller guy in the face. Or when the bigger guy bodychecks a much smaller guy while he's running.

So there you have it. Given the talent on both sides, high expectations for this fixture were inevitable. We got a goal for the ages, a supersub making his reputation, and enough drama to fuel a week's worth of talking points. All the essential ingredients for a memorable Clasico were present and correct. Just add a bit more actual football and we'd be all set.


Linda thinks five Clasicos a season is far too many for our collective sanity and would like to extend her sympathy to the English-speaking Spain-based journalists covering these fixtures. Your valiant efforts are much appreciated.

If Pep Guardiola didn't exist, we'd have to invent him

In a way, that's exactly what Barca have done. As ball boy, trainee, player, captain and now coach, they've shaped the skinny kid from a small town into the charming, well-spoken man in a sharp suit he is today.

In recent years, everyone from players, club management, Catalan politicians, entertainers of all stripes and Jose Mourinho have called him the perfect manager for Barca. And he is. 99 percent of the time, he reflects the way Barca and Barcelonistas would like to be perceived. (And the remaining 1 percent - well, the post of Barca manager is enough to drive anyone a little dotty.)

As Simon Kuper pointed out in one of his ever-perceptive FT.com columns:

The key point about Guardiola is that he has been identified with Barcelona almost from birth. He comes from a Catalan village and has spent most of his life in the square kilometre of the Nou Camp. As Jimmy Burns writes in Barça: A People's Passion , locals still remember Guardiola as a skinny 15-year-old ballboy illegally running on to the pitch and hugging a player during a European semi-final in 1986. They remember him as a skinny playmaker, standing on the balcony of the Generalitat building in 1992, holding aloft the European Cup, and saying in Catalan, " Ja la teniu aquí " ("Here you have it"). The phrase gave many in the crowd goosebumps, because it deliberately echoed the legendary " Ja soc aquí " ("Here I am") of Josep Tarradellas, the Catalan president, when he returned from French exile after General Franco died.

In other words, Guardiola, a reader of Catalan poetry, is such a perfect Catalan hero that he is practically a character from a 19th-century poem himself.

The story goes that when Guardiola was scouted for La Masia one of the coaches, having witnessed his less-than-impressive speed, tackling and dribbling ability commented that the only outwardly remarkable thing about the boy was that he had a very large head for such a skinny, frail-looking body. And that's precisely the point - it was what went on inside that big head that was so valuable, even as a young player.

Johan Cruyff is said to have once compared Guardiola's speed on the pitch to his grandmother (unfavourably, if you're wondering). Nevertheless, he too saw something in the young Guardiola that pointed to the capacity for tactical intelligence and evolution necessary to become the midfield fulcrum of the team he was building. Years later, it was Cruyff's endorsement once again that proved crucial in (now ex-) president Joan Laporta's unexpected - some would say reckless - decision to appoint Guardiola as first team manager at a time when Barca desperately needed direction.

Off the pitch, Guardiola has an equal reputation for intelligence and introspection. As the late, great Sir Bobby Robson once wrote:

"He knew the game and knew how to conduct himself. Some footballers wouldn't stand for anything. They can't see beyond themselves. You'd have no chance of engaging them in any kind of sensible debate, but Pep had class. He had bearing."

This reputation as a sensitive intellectual makes his many touchline antics - up to and including the red card inducing ones - all the more amusing. Guardiola can come across as somewhat long-suffering and infuriatingly non-committal, especially when placed next to his old associate Jose Mourinho, but it would be a grave mistake to regard him as the blandly polite angel to Mourinho's entertainingly incendiary devil.

While it is true that Guardiola's default setting seems to be Diplomatic (and he seems to feel that it would be unseemingly to complain outright about perceived injustices), he is also not one to shrink from a little controversy - witness the incident preceding the away match against Dynamo Kiev last season, when he spoke frankly about his prominent use of Catalan in press conferences in response to a question from an Ukrainian journalist - or from using the aftementioned press conferences as a bully pulpit, against his own club president if need be. He is admired partly because his actions embody the signature Catalan concept of seny (wisdom/sensibleness). In some ways he and Mourinho are more similar than they are different. One is simply more of a showman than the other.

Pete Jenson writes that Jose and Pep went for canapes together after the recent FIFA World Player Gala. I wonder if the over-the-top, almost cartoonish devotion they inspire from their players came up as a subject for discussion. The Mourinho Effect is well known. His players - Drogba being the chief example, but there are many - tend to look upon him as an almost omnipotent figure. Tributes to Guardiola from his players run along curiously similar lines. My favourites, though, don't speak to omnipotence so much as persuasiveness:

"He's a passionate perfectionist. So if he believes something is white and you think it is black, you will end up believing that it is white." - Xavi

If Pep told me to throw myself off the 3rd tier of Camp Nou, I’d think ‘there must be something good down there'. - Dani Alves

This bond with his players suggests that behind the demanding disciplinarian lies a brother/father figure to whom the players can relate, in some cases very closely. Again, is this starting to sound familiar? All of the above was dramatically illustrated in that comical episode during the latest Clasico, when Cristiano Ronaldo sparked a 23-man brawl by pushing Guardiola in the chest under extreme provocation. Well, a little provocation, but with the backdrop of everything else that was happening Ronaldo's annoyance was understandable. And you can't deny that seeing mild little Andres Iniesta lose his rag is hilarious.

Reading about or watching Mourinho's antics, one often gets the feeling that we're watching mythology being created - there's a certain unreality about the media character of Jose Mourinho, genius manager. Equally, I'd argue the same applies to Guardiola, the man they called 'the myth' (as in too good to be true). If he's a myth, he's an engrossing one, dreamed up and produced by Barcelona. Long may his reign continue.



[Written on the occasion of Pep Guardiola's 40th birthday.]

Barca roundup: the 'I'm not dead!' edition

Exams are over (hooray!) and I'm back, although currently preoccupied with...well, life in general. To be honest, I've just been thinking a lot, and there's a couple of posts I want to make about coaching styles, quotas in European leagues, and all that. But it's Barca that's really been frustrating me. Anyway, news first.

international round-up

France, Italy, Spain and Portugal have all qualified for Euro 2008, meaning that there will potentially be 8 Barca players at the tournament.

Thierry Henry scored in France's game with Ukraine (2-2), which was a bit of a formality given Italy's earlier victory over Scotland.

All three Barca players played in Spain's excellent 3-0 win over Sweden, with Xavi and Iniesta in particular praised for their great performances. Iniesta scored Spain's second and Xavi was once again applauded off the pitch at the Bernabeu. (By the way, though I still dislike Aragones, congratulations to Spain for qualifying in such style in the end. What a group of young talent.)

Iniesta and Xavi also started in Spain's 1-0 win over Northern Ireland, in which the entire first-string defence (including Puyol) was rested, with captain Xavi scoring the deflected winner.

Zambrotta played in Italy's crucial 1-2 victory against Scotland but was kindly rested in the last game against the Faroe Islands.

Eidur Gudjohnsen played in Iceland's 3-0 defeat at the hands of the footballing giants of Liechtenstein.

Bojan Krkic scored once again and played well in the Spanish U21 side's 3-0 victory over Poland. Remember, the kid's still only 17. Astonishing talent.

Speaking of which, Leo Messi and Gabi Milito both played the full 90 mintues in Argentina's 3-0 victory over Bolivia and 1-2 defeat against Columbia. Messi played well in both games, scoring a great opener against Columbia while the team were down to 10 men. Milito struggled in the Columbia game once Tevez was sent off, but played fairly well against Bolivia.

Ronaldinho played the full 90 minutes in Brazil's 1-1 draw with Peru but only 60 minutes of their 2-1 victory over Uruguay, in which both he and Robinho were apparently booed by the Brazilian fans when substituted. Geez, Ronnie really can't get a break anywhere.

injury update

Good news: Deco's back and running, but he still needs time to heal and get fit. Even better news: Samuel Eto'o has started training with a ball again.

other (mostly cheerful) news

Congratulations to Andres Iniesta, who recently celebrated his 5 year anniversary in the first team squad by telling the press that he'd like to retire at Barca. I believe you, Andres.

Congratulations also to Victor Valdes for now holding the record for the longest time a Barca goalie has gone without conceding in Europe at 466 minutes and counting. Barca have yet to concede in the Champions League this season, and this added to the clean sheet kept (fortuitously, it must be said) against Liverpool last season in the return leg means that Valdes has broke the previous record which was 406 minutes and has stood for more than 30 years. (It's a bit of a reflection on how leaky defences, especially in Europe, are a Barca tradition to be honest.)

Frank Rijkaard made some interesting observations regarding Leo Messi recently, the most interesting of which is this: he believes that Messi will move to an attacking midfield position in the future. Rijkaard also talked about the progress Messi has made in the past few seasons, mainly in tactical discipline and awareness.

Lilian Thuram recently spoke to the 60 kids at La Masia on his experiences. He emphasised the importance of education, reminded the kids to always ask 'why', and urged them to focus on Iniesta as an example to be followed, both as as player and as a person.

less cheerful news aka perpetual state of 'crisis'

As much as I am angered by the attempts of the press - and I'm not even talking the Madrid press, just the Barca rags - to fan the flames of a supposed 'crisis' which leaves Barca a massive 4 points off the league leaders, at least some members are still trying to do their job. El Pais has a good summary of the latest goings on, which mostly concern the ever-honest Edmilson opening his big mouth once again and leading to the press going off on a merry round of speculation about who he meant by the 'black sheep' of the Barca family.

Out of the players who have come out and defended Rijkaard recently - Puyol, Messi, Eto'o to name a couple - Puyol was most scathing in his assessment of the players' own responsibility, and Messi was the most forthright in telling the press to back off in their attempts to bait Rijkaard.

Now, I'm very fond of Frank Rijkaard. I think he's a class act who has the rare poise needed to deal with the hysteria that often surrounds Barca, and someone who really understands players. For example, Bojan Krkic spoke a little while ago about how Rijkaard always knows what to say and when and how to say it.

One of the qualities I most admire in Rijkaard is his unflinching acceptance of blame for every setback and defeat. However, admiring it doesn't mean I agree with it. As Puyol said, it's wrong to blame the manager entirely given the culpability of the players in the performance.

(On the subject of away form, I'd like to note that Barca didn't win away for about 4 months last season, or in other words for most of the time that Samuel Eto'o was out injured. And I'd also like to note that Barca were level on points with Real Madrid, the champions, at the end of the season.)

As a Barca fan, I'm used to the hysteria that surrounds every defeat and every setback. But you know what made me really angry? The Barcelona media's Mourinho stunt. I find it really hard to believe that a large majority of Barca fans would want Mourinho to replace Rijkaard. Leaving aside the animosity, we all know that the Camp Nou is capable of turning its collective nose up at trophies if they're not won in sufficient style. (As if Mourinho hasn't had enough of that demand with Roman at Chelsea.) Also: how personally insulting is it to Rijkaard to suggest such a thing, given the evens of the past 3 seasons?


More on the away form issue later.

a few words for Mr Mourinho and Sir Alex

Expect a lot more posts over the next few weeks as my workload lessens. First, the rare Premier League-related comment from yours truly.

Re: Mourinho's latest comments

"My players? I think I have a naive team," he said. "They are naive because they are pure and they are clean. We don't have divers, we don't have violent people, we don't have people with nasty tackles or people diving into the swimming pool. Chelsea are a pure and naive team."

(It almost stands on its own, doesn't it? Just stand back and marvel.)

Oh, Jose. How I have not missed your delusional, barely coherent and occasionally entertaining ramblings and no doubt superb skills of motivation during the off season.

(Also, stop banging on about the goal Luis Garcia scored in the Champions League semi-finals of 2005. The referee was right, and you sound like a conspiracy theorist everytime you bring it up.)

Dear Sir Alex:

I do not presume to tell a man as successful as you have been in the world of football what to do. But surely you - along with every other pundit around - have noticed that your team currently lacks a cutting edge up front?

Whatever the answer is, it's definitely not playing Carlos Tevez at center forward. Carlitos is many things, but a number 9 he is not. Give him a strike partner to play off and he'll perform for you.

By the way, it simply boggles my mind that within United's collossal squad there's not one fit recognised center forward you can play. That can't be right. Frankly, this is getting a little painful to watch, even for this neutral.

Sincerely,

Linda


Next, a few words on the Spanish Super Cup.

Champions League, Premiership and La Liga musings

(Still far too busy, but how can I resist commenting on the state of affairs at such an exciting time?)

Liverpool v AC Milan

It's funny, isn't it, that perhaps the less fancied of the four sides in the semi-final actually made it through. Remember when everyone was frothing at the mouth at the idea of 3 gigantic Man Utd-Chelsea clashes in the space of a month to decide masters of England and Europe? At the time, I quietly suggested to some friends that the idea might be a bit much for those who were not fans of the two clubs involved, all respect for their achievements aside. Needn't have worried.

Predictably, Rafa Benitez proved once and for all that he does indeed have Jose Mourinho's number (what a shame he's not sharing the secret with the rest of us), while less predictably the decorated veterans of Milan proved they still had enough in them for one more shot at glory.

Milan and Liverpool are second and third on the list of most European Cup final appearances respectively. They've both had their periods of utter domination over the competition and countless unforgettable moments, sometimes at each other's expense.

No doubt Milan and their supporters are eager to erase the memory of the 2005 final by triumphing this time around. It won't be easy, but if they do pull it off, then Kaka has perhaps gone some way to earning the title of 'best player in the world' now being bestowed on him - sometimes by admiring English journalists after his display against Man Utd. And of course it will be a worthy parting gift for some of the veterans.

As for Liverpool, another European crown would probably make up for the disappointments they've suffered in the Premiership and domestic cup competitions this season. And they deserve it, having made their way past not inconsiderable obstacles in Barca and Chelsea. It's not a complete team, not yet, but Rafa Benitez is the master of making the whole far greater than the parts, and that is entirely admirable.

(As a sidenote, how pleased am I that Mascherano's talents are finally being recognised and given a platform to shine again? He's surely earned his spot on the national team back.)

More later, when the game is imminent.

Manchester United - Champions 06-07

Congratulations are in order for a tremendous achievement, given the opponent they were up against. Whatever the disappointments of this season (and I do understand the Champions League complex, given that Barca's record in the CL is just as spotty), this was probably more than even Sir Alex dared hope for at the beginning of the season.

As for young Cristiano Ronaldo, is he the best player in the world? I don't think so, not yet. But he's damn good, and he's done more than anyone could have predicted this season. He'd have a much easier time of it in a league like La Liga, which is accommodating towards players of his type, but staying at United was absolutely the correct decision for his development. I started out quite leery of him because of the diving, but the way he's weathered the abuse and grown from the experience has made me reconsider.

A few weeks ago, I thought United had choked and all the good work was going to go to waste. But they proved to be made of stronger stuff, even with players dropping like flies with injuries. Where they go from here is a tricky question, and transfer window activity or lack of from them is going to be interesting to watch.

Chelsea

I've read a fair few post-mortems of their Premiership ambitions now, written by supporters and by journalists, and one theme stands out. They all talk about pride. The pride with which Chelsea fought back in the second half of their game against Arsenal, the pride displayed by Mourinho after the game.

Even with my extremely unfavourable view of Mourinho, I still have to respect that pride, and the fighting spirit associated with it which he has carefully cultivated in his team. This season events have achieved the remarkable feat of both deepening my dislike of him and nudging me into defending him. Having said all that, and therefore hopefully given you a balanced view of my opinion of Mourinho, I would like to put to you my response to all the protestations of moral victory:

If your team ethic is built on winning at any cost, both literal and figurative, then what happens when you don't win?

That is my question, stemming from my personal view of what football is, and what it isn't.

(Edit: the ever admirable Kevin McCarra of the Guardian makes the same point in his article today with greater eloquence.)

Having said that, I would like to pay my respects to a player I don't actually like, but can't help admiring. Everyone pillored him for not adjusting immediately to Premiership football, but he's been immense this season, and anything Chelsea achieve will owe a lot to his contribution. Yeah, I'm talking about the same guy who I slated in my Barca v Chelsea match report as a diving thug - Didier Drogba, of course. He's still got that unpleasant side, and that's why I've yet to warm to him, but lord can he play. Tireless and a force to strike fear into the hearts of defenders all over (but especially Phillipe Senderos, the poor man), Mourinho probably wishes his entire team were as hard-working as Drogba and the equally indispensable Michael Essien.

West Ham

I completely understand the outrage of those who are angry that they're going to benefit from an illegal transfer without any punishment where it hurts, and the associated unfairness towards the other clubs battling relegation, but my sentimental side wins out in this one: seeing the fantastic rapport between the Hammers faithful and Carlos Tevez swayed me. If he does manage to lead them to survival, that debt of faith he now owes them would be repaid. And he's doing a wonderful job of it so far.

La Liga Title Race

I'm going to have no nails by the time this is over. As things stand with five rounds to go, the consensus seems to be that Barca, Sevilla (4 points off) and Real Madrid (2 points off) are all still in it, while Valencia only have an outside shot of closing the 6 point gap between them and the top. The fixture lists of the top 4 look remarkable similar, with matchs against moderately tricky teams like Recreativo, Espanyol and Zaragoza dominating. It's practically impossible to call, to be honest.

It's going be a matter of who blinks first. Ahh, the drama.

Barca

We've been getting results, sort of, but we've also been lucky to be playing the bottom of the league these last few weeks. Form is not quite all there, which is quite worrying. We're reliant on our stars producing their moments of magic for the game-winner, and our master goalscorer finding the net when we need him to.

In the last two seasons, Samuel Eto'o has been crucial in the title run-in. When the team seemed to be out of form and running out of steam, he would pop up and score that all-important goal to ensure the points. It's an unfair burden to put on his shoulders, given his injury complications this season, but isn't it funny how a player who missed 5 months of the season through injury could still end up making the most important contributions?

Actually, if you think about it, it's really not. Some members of the squad have been immense this season, others not so much. But that's for the end of the season. Right now, no one should be thinking of anything else other than working to secure the title. I live in hope.

Real Madrid, Beckham and Mourinho: the Merengue soul

Sid Lowe's article speculating about the Real Madrid elections and the possibility of Jose Mourinho making his way over to Spain got me thinking. The comments on that article are well worth reading, by the way. Lots of good analysis, and some laughs too.

There are quite a few classy, astute comments from Madridistas, pointing out what they see as a loss of the club's 'soul' - the current decline in the dearly held values of not just a club, but an institution; because that's the position Real hold in world football. They have reason to feel unique and to be proud of a tradition of style, dignity and great success.

current situation

I won't go over the problems of the galactico project - absurdly small squad, no proper defensive midfielder, player power gone mad and so on, except to write a bit about a couple of things which happened after Florentino Perez resigned that has, according to my observations of comments made by the fans of clubs in the Italian and English leagues, affected Real's reputation aversely.

The two things I have in mind are of a fairly similar nature. The first was a massive mistake in both PR and practical terms by former president Fernando Martin, who stepped in after Perez resigned and who is thankfully no longer in charge. He famously announced to the press a short-list of seven candidates Real were considering to coach them in the 06-07 season. Leaving aside the effect this has on the stand-in coach and his squad, most of those on the list were already contracted to either a club or country job at the time (e.g. Ancelotti, Lippi, Eriksson, Wenger, Capello etc).

To put it bluntly, this was not smart. This amounted to tapping up coaches of important clubs and of national teams in a World Cup year en masse - and that's only for the audition process, persumably. Some of the clubs in question, especially, were not very happy. Martin's moment of madness was roundly condemned by the Madrid press.

The antics of the presidential candidates during the election were an extension of this. Admittedly, every club that holds elections features canddidates promising the sun and the moon - or at least superstar signings and a famous coach. The now-infamous Becks to Barcelona promise by Barca president Laporta when he was seeking election is one such example. But at least he had papers from Man Utd promising Beckham - it was the player himself, in this case, who didn't want to budge.

On the other hand, Arsenal weren't too happy about current president Calderon promised to sign Cesc Fabregas, while other candidates claimed they had made contact with Wenger. (After the Henry to Barca saga, they must be getting a bit paranoid about Spanish clubs.) Relations between AC Milan and Real were damaged by Calderon's continued insistence that he would sign Kaka, despite Milan's refusal to contemplate selling the player. Now Milan don't even want to deal with Real directly.

It also appears that this policy has not only alienated other clubs, but their fans as well. Ask any Arsenal fan how they feel about the whole saga with Arsene Wenger and Cesc, despite public and repeated denials from both. (I have to mention the Thierry Henry to Barca saga here least I sound like a hypocrite, but it does serve to demonstrate that presidents should just keep their trap shut. Laporta was the one going 'I'd love it if Henry played for us, but...' to anyone who would listen, while the technical director frantically issued denial after denial to anyone who asked. That, combined with the tendency of British tabloids to confuse speculation in the local papers to direct statements from the club itself (which they've also done with Real, although not in the election cases), led to a lot of annoyed Arsenal fans. Fair enough, although I have to say Henry didn't cover himself in glory with his dithering.)

My general point here is that doing your transfers this way just doesn't seem prudent. I much prefer the slightly more discreet approach taken to the South American mid-season signings, drawn out as some of the transfers were. This policy of just announcing who you're going to sign regardless of their avaliability simply - seems to me, anyway - lacks dignity.

Besides that, I wanted to touch on the ill-adviced squad policy sprawned by the galactico era. The first is illustrated by a great article someone once wrote in which they made a pretty respectable team out of players Real had discarded in the last 4 or 5 years. I realize that this exercise can be done with pretty much any other big club, but where else would you get an attack force of Morientes and Michael Owen (okay, Liverpool, but that's a different story), and a defensive midfield of Cambiasso and Makelele? Santiago Solari in midfield, Santi Canizares in goal (not that there's anything wrong with poor Iker Casillas)...I could go on.

Compounding that, loaning out the youth team's best player, Ruben De la Red, who if track record is anything to go by will not be coming back is in my opinion an example of the management's mishandling of the cantera. (More on this in my post about the cantera at Real and Barca in relation to other clubs around Europe. It'll be even longer than this post, I think.) The assertion that the current Real squad is 'brimming with Spanish talent' is a rather amusing one. (Do the likes of Raul Bravo, Pavon and Meija count as 'talent'?) In my opinion, the only team in Spain that description can properly be applied to is Valencia, who regularly field 8 or more Spaniards.

Awesome former coach Vicente Del Bosque - who was infamously sacked right after winning the league title - says that Real's current problem is a lack of leadership on the pitch, which causes a lack of direction and desire from the rest of the players. Now, whether that's an implied dig at the captains (Raul, Guti and Roberto Carlos) - but especialy flagship figure Raul - or not, he's got a point. (Del Bosque was also the guy who rightly pointed out that endless official proclamations of Real as the best team in the world is perhaps not a good idea. Especially when you're not perhaps convincing neutrals of that.)

Calderon's current squabbling with Florentino Perez over what he allegedly said to Berlusconi about Kaka can't be good, either. After all, Calderon was a member of the board during Perez's presidency, despite his denouncement of the galactico policy later. If this verbal war goes on (as it has with Perez both denying the charges and hitting back at Calderon), more dirty linen is going to be aired, and that's never good for image. Now Calderon's had to apologize, especially since his rant also contained a dig at the fans and the players. Just a suggestion, man: you want the fans on your side. (It also featured yet another promise to sign Kaka, but I think we're all used to that by now.)

Reportedly the players aren't happy, especially Guti, who was referred to in the rant as having been a 'promising' player forever (without ever making it into a full blown successs), which while true isn't the sort of thing you want to say in public, and Casillas, whose salary he revealed as an example of the disparity within the squad by comparing it with what the back-up 'keeper earns. I think the latter is slightly unfair. Iker Casillas is worth every cent paid for him, even if some of the other players aren't. How many times has he single-handedly saved Real's ass?

I know Calderon's comments were meant to be off the record, but for God's sake I've been to 'off the record' lectures by politicans (since I am exactly the type of student he might have been lecturing to, were I studying in Madrid, which I am not), and they never say anything they wouldn't normally say on the record. Is it not beyond him to think before he rants?

it's hard being David Beckham (really?)

Speaking of player treatment, I'll go over the current Beckham saga, but only briefly since so many others have covered it already. From the excellent Real blog All In White, Gonzalo's take is well worth reading.

Let's be clear here - the club had pretty much made it clear that Beckham was one of the players they wanted to get rid of before he announced his deal with the LA Galaxy. I don't see how he's wronged them there. So on an club management level Calderon's anger seems irrational and only serves to make himself and Real look, in the words of Owen Hargreaves, 'spiteful'.

What I really don't understand is Capello's stance on not playing him in the first place. Persumably the Italian knows that Becks isn't one of the 'bad influences' in the dressing room and has always worked hard. Also, I find it hard to believe a coach as experienced as he is has never worked with a player who was leaving at the end of the season. I just don't get what the problem is there. If Barca pursued this policy with Larsson (who was actually photographed in his hometown club's kit mid-season, not that anybody minded), we probably wouldn't have won the Champions League. It seems irrational on Capello's part, and again does not cover the club itself in glory.

Jose to the rescue?

If, as Sid asserts, Jose Mourinho is a popular choice with Madridistas because of his Barca-baiting (which he is admittedly very, very good at) then it not only disproves the notion that they don't care about Barca in the capital. It also raises the question of how many Chelsea games these guys have seen recently. If they think Capello's Real doesn't play good football, and I think they're being a bit unfair there, wait until they see the way things go under Mourinho. And that's not even going into the parts of his personality that (allegedly) have some around the club a bit concerned.

I'm also not sure Mourinho wouldn't balk at the restrictions he'd be under at Real where power is concerned, especially in regards to transfers. You sense he wouldn't hesitate to drop even someone like Raul, but I have a feeling that wouldn't go down well in the boardroom or the dressing room. Player power has waned a bit under Capello, but the very fact that he feels the need for a cleansing now, rather than at the beginning of the season, seems to demonstrate that he has come to see the extent of the disease that is the influence certain players (not Beckham) have that supersedes his own.

Oh the other hand, would he tolerate not being alone in the spotlight? At Real, like I've just mentioned, the club, the institution, is supposed to be bigger than any individual, which is why the galactico project was doomed to failure. It's the same at Barca. No coach can come to be seem as the figurehead and symbol of a club like the big two of Spain, like Mourinho was at Porto and then at Chelsea.

what price success?

In my opinion, it is important for a club with its own proclaimed identity and philosophy to hire a coach who fits into that ethos if they're thinking long-term. Del Bosque's political affiliation may have made the Real board uncomfortable, but he was as Madridista as they came, quietly proud of the colours and dignified about it.

This is why Barca got lucky with Rijkaard. Regardless of the current problems, he understands the ethos of Barcelona, that fundamental need for style and a positive reputation. Van Gaal didn't, and so he is remembered less than fondly by fans even though he won back to back titles, including the cup and league double. If you listen to way Rijkaard talks, his lexicon is all about 'leaving a good image', about ensuring the impression left by the team is positive regardless of the result. He's managed to articulate a lot of what Barca is all about, as well as express it on the pitch. Optimally, Real need someone who does the same for them. It's about a lot more than just results.

One of the candidates is talking about bring back Camacho for his third spell as coach, which I find hilarious (sorry) and baffling in equal measure. I know he's a hero at Real and a Madridista to the core, but weren't his first two short spells as coach there disastrous enough? Didn't he fall out with key dressing room figures, most of whom are still around, last time? The whole idea is so ripe for comedy that his other promise to bring in Michael Carrick pales in comparison. Carrick is a fine player who'd do well in Spain, but 1) he looks perfectly happy at Man Utd, who I bet pay better wages than Real, and 2) Carrick to Real Madrid? Seriously?

People were talking about Schuster last season, before the elections. He's just as mouthy as Mourinho (and just as amusing from a distance), but I think far less deceptively so, and he'd suit Real more. Being a former player there (as well as at Barca, funnily enough), he'd understand what the club is about.

starting point

Every single little conflict or problem is magnified into crisis at a club like Real Madrid when things are not going well. Trust me, us Barcelonistas know the feeling. While clubs like Real and Barca are great institutions, they also contain a certain neurosis beneath the pomp and arrogance. As soon as things start going wrong, cracks appear in the facade of eternal greatness and perfection, and it all just goes downhill from there.

The way I see it, there are 2 main ways of ending the internal squabbling at a club, at least to all outward appearances. Here's what won't work - purging the club of all your enemies. Sure, Barca president Laporta's done a bit of that, but it's only worked for him on the back of other factors which cure internal conflict. The only reasons he had such an easy ride in the elections this time around are 1) the support of the players and coaching staff on the football side and 2) success.

The latter is the most obvious way to stop unrest within the club. Even the bitter buggers who still yearn nostalgically for former president Nunez (who resigned, I don't know, 10 years ago) and attack Laporta/Cruyff every chance they get will stand up and get their 'Visca el Barca, Visca Catalunya' in when titles are won. They might even praise Rijkaard - essentially a Cruyff hiring - through gritted teeth. Everyone loves a winner, after all, especially if the victory comes in a manner satisfying to the club and its traditions.

The problem with this is obvious: usually, stability is needed to bring about that kind of success in the first place, and that's why stability is sought. So it becomes a vicious circle that can be difficult to break: disastrous season --> stupid, frantic spending --> financial ruin --> disastrous season and so on.

The other way to end internal conflict is to start with a clean slate. This doesn't always work and can in fact end in disaster, but it's worth a try if you have nothing else. The difference between this and purging is that the top of the power structure goes too, and it's not simply personnel which changes. It signals a new way of thinking, a new style of management, and most likely a change of guard in the squad as well. I'm referring mostly to the example of Laporta's Barca here, but it's very applicable to Real.

Laporta bought in a new, more business-like way of running the club, a new wage structure based on on-field performance as well as renewed emphasis on the club as an image and a symbol. Essentially he changed the entire coaching staff as well, and they in turn carried out spring cleaning on the squad once they had enough time to assess which ones were still useful. All of these policies has contributed to Barca's revival. Many would argue (including me) that Real need a similar rebirth, tailored to the club's own unique history and identity. After all, that's what distinguishes Real Madrid from any other club in the world - what fans call the club's 'soul'.


Note: I am a Barcelonista, but my comments above were made with objectivity in mind, as a general observer of the Spanish league. If I've erred at some point, I apologize and please do point it out.

Premiership: a defence of Benitez and Mourinho (!)

It's a bit odd watching the fireworks in the Premiership from the point of view of a neutral, but perhaps that gives me the benefit of some unbiased insight - which makes the whole thing seem at times utterly ridiculous.

Liverpool

Oh, man, Liverpool. I feel terrible for Luis Garcia - his season is pretty much over, which sucks on its own, but now a triumphant return to Barcelona in February isn't going to happen. It's easy to say that an enormous goal threat in European competition has been removed from the tie, but Luis was a part of the Barcelona youth program. When he was playing for Barca B, that team also contained current club captain Carles Puyol, current third captain Xavi, and Gabri Garcia (now of Ajax) amongst others. They won promotion to the Spanish second division in 1998, relying amongst other things on goals scored by Luis, made by Xavi. So there's an emotional connection there, and I'm sad he's going to miss the match.

For those criticising Benitez, remember he's not in an easy position. I have a lot of sympathy for him, despite the fact that you have to place some of the blame for a defeat like the latest on the coach. After all, Arsenal had 6 shots on goal and scored 6 goals. That's not acceptable from the defence. That said, and I know this is not a popular opinion right now, those who say that he should have concentrated on the Carling Cup as their last realistic chance of silverware are mistaken. Remember how everyone said that Manchester United had merely won a consolation for other failures in the League and the Champions League when they won it last season?

Benitez has to worry about a good finish in the Premiership, preferably automatic qualification to the Champions League for next season (which is not going to be easy, obviously) and start thinking about the tie against Barca. Being out of cup competition might actually help in that respect, since their fixture list is now a lot lighter than say, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd or Barca's.

(Speaking as a Barcelonista, I can't help but worry that these two defeats against Arsenal only makes Liverpool more dangerous in the Champions League: after all, if it's their last shot at silverware this season and they've got their backs against the wall, we all know how Benitez's team can rise to such occasions.)

He's spent a lot of money, some of it on players who haven't worked out, but doesn't that happen to everybody? The problem he has had with the Liverpool board seems to be that while he gets a reasonable sum to splash around, having a 40 million dollar transfer kitty can feel very different when you need 3 world-class players to complete your team or 8. Obviously the quality of players who do end up coming are going to suffer for that. Think about it - other than Xabi Alonso, how many other proper bidding wars have Liverpool won for a truly world-class player in the last 3 seasons when up against the other great clubs of Europe?

When not everybody in your squad is ready to give performances that don't shame the shirt they're wearing, (and taking injuries into account) some important players are going to end up playing too many games. It surprised me to read that some of the Liverpool team had played every game this season, given his famous preference for rotations, but it was inevitable. It's simply not physically possible, especially given the English season, for anyone to do that through the whole season. So Benitez is within his rights to rest key players.

Comparative statistic: no Barcelona player has played every game this season, nor in the previous one. Mind you, we did lose a cup game 4-2 (away to Zaragoza) when Rijkaard rested Puyol last season, which demonstrates the perils of rotating key players, but it's simply something that has to be done for practical and physical reasons.

It's hilarious to read about people criticising Benitez's attitude and aptitude towards the domestic cups. Have people already forgotten that he won the FA Cup last season? And then there are those who say that he had nothing to do with the miracle in Istanbul. Ever heard of the phrase 'game-changing substitutions'?

Chelsea

Regular readers (if there is any such thing) will know that I don't like Jose Mourinho very much. But I have to say, I feel bad for him right now. He's in a very difficult situation in regards to suspensions and injuries, and for me he's handled it as well as he possibly can. Every game he seems to have key players suspended (Makelele and Ashley Cole for the next game, for example) not to mention the impact losing John Terry has had.

At Barca, we know how you feel, Mou. People say that it's his fault the squad isn't deep enough, but a 20 man squad is hardly small. Barca have a 22 man squad, which I think is plenty - that's not a big difference. Mourinho's being hammered about the lack of quality back-up, but how many top class players are willing to sit on the bench waiting for a starter to get injured, regardless of the money? Is the irony not lost on those who persist on this point while going on about how criminal it is that the likes of Wright-Phillips are rotting on the Chelsea bench? So if he does dare to get some high quality substitutes, he's wasting talent?

Mourinho's aura as the perfect manager is shattered, there's no doubt about that. The number of duds in the current squad leads one to conclude that he's not the most astute shopper in the transfer market - either that, or he has no control over transfers, like a Spanish club coach. Neither are empowering images. But nevertheless, I don't think he's down and out just yet. Besides, he can hardly be blamed for the uselessness of the Chelsea youth system in producing players who are good enough to cover for the first team.

This is probably the only time you will ever see me defending Mourinho. If he ever turned up in La Liga I'd probably contemplate suicide. But really, people. Be reasonable. Piling on is unseemingly.

The Wit and Wisdom of Frank Rijkaard: Chelsea Special

Not only a great coach, a former great player, but quippy in any one of four languages. Enjoy.

04-05

"They a great team," he says, "a great team. Very functional . . ." - when asked what he thought of Chelsea under Mourinho.

"When we [him and Mourinho] finally meet, it could be quite a moment." - predicting the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.

"When people talk like this before a match, it is a sign that they are not calm. They are not at ease with the match to come." - responding with mind games of his own in the wake of Mourinho's naming of both sides before the clash at Camp Nou.

"[Espanyol] have much more football in them and a more winning mentality [than Chelsea]. They are more positive from a footballing point of view." - Rijkaard was left unimpressed by the first game, so much so that - well, it's like Sir Alex saying that Man City are better than Chelsea.

(Not quite as scathing, though, as Puyol suggesting that Chelsea were the worst side to come to the Camp Nou in that season's Champions League, which places them below the likes of Celtic and Shahktar.)

"The Chelsea team? "One: Robben. Two: Robben. Three: Robben." - making more fun of Mourinho's naming of both teams and him lying about Damien Duff's injury situation (Robben was injured at the time.)

05-06

''I feel very sorry for Mourinho if I upset him. It is a real shame. I promise with all my heart I will try not to do so again.'' - responding to reports that Mourinho was not impressed when Rijkaard described Chelsea as workman-like.

'Thank Heaven for that. [Referee] Terje [Hauge] is an intimate friend of mine. I often speak with him on the phone and we eat together whenever we can.'' - making fun of the Anders Frisk controversy from 04-05.

06-07

"Nothing. [Interviewer laughs.] Nothing. Only that we lost, and we didn't play well." - when asked by the BBC what he'd learned from defeat at Stamford Bridge in the group stage.


By the way, I discovered something truly terrifying while googling Rijkaard quotes - Johan Cruyff used to call Rijkaard 'Frankie'. That's it, I'm going to do the same from now on. (Only joking. I'd die of laughter while trying to write serious analysis.)

(tied) quote of the year

“The worst thing about playing Chelsea is having to listen to Mourinho afterwards.” - normally unflappable Barca midfielder-defender Edmilson

"I stand for fairness and justice in football." - Jose Mourinho

more quotes

If you love quirky/stupid/witty quotes about football and sport in general as much as I do, the BBC's quotes of the year, parts one and two, as well as Football365's quotes of the year, parts one, two, three and four should make fun reading.

Happy new year, everyone.

Barca v Villarreal and the day's other action - the brief version

Barca 4-0 Villarreal

More comprehensive match report to come, but for now, the quick version - keeping in mind that these two are my first and second teams, respectively.

thumbs up
Ronaldinho. Simply the best. He now has 50 goals for Barca. And leading the scoring charts in Spain, no less.

Here's Villarreal's Argentine keeper Barbosa on his second goal:

"At least I will appear in all the shots of that goal," he said sheepishly.

"When he received the ball, I had no idea that he was going to try 'la Chilena.' [what South Americans call the overhead kick] This is the first time I have played against him, and the truth is that he has had an absolutely gigantic game."

thumbs down
Bookings for goal celebrations. After a goal like that? Are you kidding me?

thumbs up
Andres Iniesta. If Ronnie hadn't scored that wondergoal, people would be talking about his volley.

More goals in this season than his previous ones put together - and only a couple of months in. So far this season he has 3 goals in the league, 2 goals in the Champions League, and 4 assists (all in the league). Brilliant stuff in general. Thank God he didn't go to Real Madrid.

(This is really hard for me as Xavi is one of my favourite players ever, and he's playing well, too. But in this form Iniesta must start if he's not too knackered to. Rijkaard knows that. If only we had the same wonderful selection headaches up front as we do in midfield.)

By the way, that wrist-kissing celebration after his goal in Sofia was apparently in honour of his girlfriend Anna (awww). He did a bit of club-badge smacking this time around, which from him - been with the club since he was 12 - is only fair enough.

In the last few seasons, an Iniesta goal celebration would be a collector's item, since it was so rare. This season he's scoring so often that he's going to have to start putting thought into them.

thumbs down
You know, if he were say, Brazilian and pretty enough to do ads for Armani (instead of an appearance that earns him the nicknames Draculinho and Casper), the football press would be drooling over 'the next superstar' or something like that endlessly right now.

thumbs up
Gudjohnsen scoring again.

thumbs down
Gudjohnsen going down far too easily for the penalty. If he was pulled, it was a very little pull. Seriously, stop it. You can't blame the ref when the player is the one doing it.

thumbs up
That second half display.

thumbs down
Giuly remarking the other day that Barca are now used to starting badly. That's not something you want to get used to, especially against top teams.

thumbs up
A great team performance from Barca, full of hard work and determination but also good football. Pretty much everybody played well. Complacency, what complacency?

thumbs down
As for Villarreal...well, I'll let their classy coach Pellegrini take it:

"It was an even game before the penalty. After Barca took the lead with the penalty it affected the mind of our players, and they took their opportunities then. Perhaps we didn't play well after going down 0-1, but that has nothing to do with Riquelme not being there. But Villarreal do seem like a different team without Roman."

A fair post-match assessment, without any whining or ungraciousness. Good stuff. That last sentence is especially true. Come on, Roman, your team needs you, and they need the real you.

thumbs up
Having phrases like 'great display of attacking football' associated with Barca again. I'd almost forgotten what that felt like.

thumbs down
Wishing that the phrases associated with Villarreal after they beat Inter last season would come back.

quick comments on other matches

thumbs up
Real Sociedad. Finally off the bottom of the table with their hard fought point away to Atletico, although they still haven't won in the league and may very well be back on the bottom after this round finishes. They are looking better, especially in defence.

thumbs down
Atletico Madrid. Just...what? How?

thumbs up
Paolo Maldini. What will Milan do when he retires?

thumbs down
The Milan strike force might as well go on strike, for all the goals they've been scoring.

thumbs up
Tevez's performance for West Ham.

thumbs down
Him storming off in a huff after being substituted. Carlitos, you can do that after you've scored 10 goals in the Premiership.

thumbs up
Gareth Southgate, Martin O'Neill, Steve Coppell, and Chris Coleman, for their (mostly) gracious acceptance of the fact that the referee is a human being in their post-match interviews. It's nice to see so much common sense breaking out.

thumbs down
Jose Mourinho. He's already started complaining about referees, and Chelsea hasn't even lost to Manchester United yet.

Quote of the day

"Gourcuff could be my Messi. Yes, Ronaldinho has Messi and I have Gourcuff!"

From the one and only Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, commonly known as Kaka. Okay, man. Whatever you say.

Barca v Chelsea: my take

This report is less objective than my usual - I criticize Chelsea, especially Mourinho strongly, alongside some criticisms of Barca. So if you're likely to take offence, please avert your eyes.

I must first say, just to start with, how pleased I am with Barca's performance, with the exception of some unedifying behaviour (come on, guys, we're supposed to be better than that.) The team fought hard, worked their asses off, produced one of the best performances so far this season and deserved more than they got. But that's football.

Rijkaard's post-match comments are as always worth looking at, although in this case I thought he was actually quite mad at the referee at the end, contrary to his claims. In any case, he's back to being sensible Frank again, thank god.

I'll start with the things that really made me angry about this match and go on to the good things. My report of the game at Stamford Bridge reflected the way that game went - without controversy, foul play or much incident. I accepted our defeat as due to us, and praised the Chelsea players because they'd proven to be better. This time, it was a little different. First, a roll-call of shame.

The divers

On the Barca side, Marquez and Deco were both guilty of going down far too easily. Not to be out done, Drogba replied for Chelsea, having 3 rolls on the Camp Nou pitch (perhaps it was comfortable?) in the first 5 minutes. Robben made a few abortive attempts, but he was hardly the worst offender.

The thugs

Messi should not have pushed Boulahrouz. His booking was fully deserved. I don't care what the circumstances were. As hilarious as his Mister Innocent act after the fact was, it's not what people want to see from a young, emerging talent. Happily he's usually much more sedate, and will hopefully go back to being so after this.

Marquez's stamp on Essien's crown jewels, whether deliberate or not, was too much. Even if he didn't mean it, he should have tried harder to avoid it.

Motta grows older but not wiser. I remember him getting into a fight with some Celtic players 3 seasons ago in the UEFA Cup. Sadly, he hasn't changed. Far too rough with his tackling, and far too eager to square up to Chelsea players. That sneaky trip of Drogba was disgraceful.

Carvolho wasn't the worst of the Chelsea players, but the tackle that injured Gudjohnsen was very untidy and his behaviour in kicking Messi in the chest and then gesturing at him to get up was breath-taking. Not in a good way. He then went one better by kicking international teammate Deco in the crown jewels.

Drogba had me seething for long periods in this match with the way he just charged into anything in ruby and blue that moved. Stamping, shoving, kicking out...Drogba does it all. Disappointing, given his recent (apparent) rehabilitation.

Lastly, John Terry - but only because he's captain and supposed to impose discipline instead of doing stupid things himself. Other than kicking the ball into Deco's midriff, he was fine.

other unsporting behaviour

Both teams were guilty of trying to referee the match, surrounding official after and before every potential call. Barca doesn't even behave like this against Real Madrid. Certainly neither team were like this in the last game at Stamford Bridge. Disgraceful stuff.

On a related note, Mourinho claims that Chelsea players only got booked because the Barca players were putting pressure on the ref. I thought they got booked for trying to maim the opposition. The articles I'm coming across blaming all the ugly aspects of the game on Barca are simply inexplicable to me. Although they are from mostly English, Premiership-following sources...hmm, maybe not so inexplicable. Different standards and all. I'll expand on this later.

the ref

Poor guy. I saw him referee the Milan derby and thought he was fine. Sending off Materazzi was stupid, but he had to follow the letter of the law. This time, both teams are complaining about his decisions afterwards, so according to the clique he's either done everything or nothing right. Personally, I thought he did the best he could. Probably shouldn't have booked so many players for dissent, but that's his call.

the game

There was no real rhythm to it because of all the stoppages, but it was still exciting stuff. Deco's opening goal created the perfect start for Barca. That's the way we need to start games, by rocking opponents back on their heels, catching them off-guard and scoring quickly. Then the team can relax and play their attacking game.

Lampard's equaliser was really bizarre. If he meant it then it was absolutely brilliant, but he's going to have his work cut out making the case for that because of his initial fumble with the ball.

I was so damn pleased for Gudjohnsen, scoring his first goal in Camp Nou. What a rebuke it would have been to Mourinho if the scoreline had stayed at 2-1, with the way he used Guddy - a loyal servant of Chelsea for six seasons - to stir up cheap controversy before the game. To be fair, though, a lot of the credit goes to Marquez's amazing long-range pass, and then Ronaldinho leaving Boulahrouz for dead to thread the perfect ball through for Guddy at the near post. He celebrated - oh, how he celebrated. I think there was even some club badge smacking going on.

Drogba's late goal hurt. It hurt because we were far more effective going forward in the second half, created more chances, and couldn't finish enough of them. Because in between the stops and starts for various bits of foul play, we played some lovely football. But credit to Chelsea, they never give up, and Mourinho's substitutes were very astute.

Barca fell apart after Drogba's equaliser. Even if the ref had allowed us to play out the full 6 minutes of stoppage time we wouldn't have scored. Understandable, but also rather worrying.

If this were any other team, I'd say that we should have closed up shop after going ahead and attempted to cling on to our lead. But this is Barcelona, so the mere suggestion of 10 men behind the ball is insulting. Nevermind.

Barca

I'm not going to do my usual person-by-person comments. Only some random observations. I was greatly heartened by our display in general. We went back to basics - everyone attacks, and everyone defends. When an opponent has the ball, 3 or 4 players close him down. When a teammate has the ball, there's always support. I was worried about losing again, based on our sedate performance in Stamford Bridge. But if Barca play like this then we shouldn't be afraid of anyone.

The defence is getting flack for giving up 2 goals, both of which could arguably have been prevented. (Did you know when Barca last let in 2 goals at home in European competition? Well, it's been a while.) Zambrotta should have covered Lampard better for the first, although given the freakishness of the goal he can't take that much blame. In the second both Edmilson and Marquez went to sleep to let Drogba through. However, as Rijkaard likes to say, when we let in goals it's the whole team's fault.

I actually thought we defended very well in general. When he wasn't going down easily or roughening opponents up, Marquez had a pretty good game. Zambrotta's finally looking like clicking with Messi in attack. Puyol was regular old Puyol, enough said. Gio left gaps at the back when going forward but was solid overall.

Edmilson looked good - better than Motta, in any case. Xavi was fine (and perhaps shouldn't have been bought off), and Deco was man of the match, for me. He scored one of his typical goals from outside the box just when we needed it most, and ran the match from midfield with Xavi. Eager to defend, as well, which is always nice to see. Of the big names who were lacking form, Deco at least seems to be back.

Poor Gudjohnsen looked crushed at having to go off injured. He worked hard as always, tracking back and making runs, although he still doesn't look that threatening. We can't ask for more than a goal against Chelsea, though. Here's hoping he gets better soon.

Messi matched up against Ashley Cole much better than he did last time. He has something that even Ronnie has been lacking recently - the confidence that he will go past his marker. In this game, he failed to dominate, just like against Real, but did enough to make his marker look silly, just like against Real. That cutback to Ronnie early in the first half was perfect; Ronnie really should have done better with it. I was pleased with his display, just coming back from an ankle injury.

Ronaldinho was great in more than one sense. Sure, he's still not back to his best, but we saw more of the skill and audacity that made him so wonderful this time around. His pass for Guddy's goal was perfect. There were more inch-perfect passes, too, especially one into Gudjohnsen that was very similar to his effort in Milan last season. Guddy really should have done better with it. Welcome back, Ronnie.

More than that, though, he worked alongside Puyol, calming other players down and preventing confrontations. He wasn't wearing the captain's armband today, but he acted like one.

fallout

This result, while not disastrous in terms of qualification, is nevertheless a setback. I'm not expecting any favours from Mourinho. He isn't obligated to play a strong team in either of Chelsea's next fixtures. After all, they're pretty much through. So that's fair enough. Our fate is in our own hands, and if we manage to somehow screw it up, well, we'll only have ourselves to blame. The next 2 CL games are must wins.

In this game, Rijkaard opted to bring on Giuly and play Ronaldinho at center-forward rather than make a straight swap for Saviola. This combined with other recent behaviour has led me to conclude that club suits have been pressuring him not to cup-tie Saviola so that they can sell him in January. This is clearly madness. I will go insane if Rijkaard doesn't play Saviola while Gudjohnsen's injured. There's simply no other bearable or viable option. If Saviola doesn't start against Depor, he's never going to.

Speaking of that game, my biggest worry coming out of this one is the demoralising effect conceding a late equaliser will have had on the team. They battled so hard, only to come away with meager rewards. Hopefully they'll pick themselves up for the next Liga game, because Depor aren't going to be easy opponents.

commentary

I watched it with Chinese commentary from two guys who obviously spend a lot of time watching Chelsea matches in the Premiership and not a lot watching La Liga. (I gather this from their extensive comments regarding Ashley Cole's performances so far this season and from being told that Motta has been in good form. Take it from someone who watches all the Barca matches - he hasn't. Also, Giuly is not a center forward.)

It was interesting to hear their views on what was a foul, what should be or shouldn't be a penalty and Chelsea's game-winning methods. It's probably belabouring the point a bit to point out yet again that a foul in Spain isn't necessarily a foul in England. While exaggerating contact is seen as more acceptable in Spain, violent conduct is more acceptable in England. (It is my personal opinion that had the Stephen Hunt challenge on Petr Cech happened in Spain everyone would have blamed Hunt.

Mourinho

If I start, I'll be here all day. So briefly: the man is brilliant. But he'll do anything to win, and if he believes half of the stuff he says, then he lives in an alternate reality.

I'll let Edmilson speak for me (although it's from the Sun, so you'll never know if it's made up, but if it isn't, the quiet man has more wit than I thought):

“The worst thing about playing Chelsea is having to listen to Mourinho afterwards.”

I'm exhausted, but proud. I hope the Barca team feel the same. I know Chelsea will.