Barca transfer news
Edmilson says that he's ready to leave if the club want him to, with Marseille a possible destination. He also has some sober insights about the Liga finale.
Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon denies reports that the Saviola deal is done. I really hope he's right, here. This move would be the worst possible outcome, from my perspective.
Undeterred by the angry response from Lyon which greeted Barca's rather low offer for Abidal, we have enquired after Tiago instead, according to the French club. Not sure about this idea. I see what they're trying to do, and yes we do need a defensive midfielder, but we don't need another Motta, as much as I love him. What we do need is someone like Edgar Davids in his prime, who had such an effect when he was signed 3 years ago. (I keep saying we need a Frank Rijkaard, really, but where are we going to get that?) What little I've seen of Tiago doesn't give me much confidence that he's the one we're after. Surely we can spare some cash for such an important position.
Eto'o's not going anywhere, like I keep saying. AC Milan can stop trying to unsettle him any minute now...any minute now. Great friendship between the two clubs and all that. Really.
Title race updates
For those of you who are not living and dying by this title race, the fixtures for the last week of La Liga are:
Real v Mallorca
'Nastic vs Barca
Sevilla v Villarreal
As the table stands now: Madrid 73, Barca 73, Sevilla 71
Differences are decided by head to head results, which are as follows: Madrid 5 - 3 Barca, Barca 4-3 Sevilla, Madrid 4 - 4 Sevilla (Sevilla has the superior goal difference)
Related news items
"The single motive of my life is to defeat Barça." - 'Nastic coach Paco Flores gets just a little carried away. I know they don't like us there, but that's a bit much, isn't it?
Sevilla's Chevanton is not happy about the refereeing, which he says has affected Sevilla's title changes. No doubt he's right, and if the bias towards the big two, especially at home, didn't exist Sevilla would probably have an easier time of it. Although to be fair they've blown their chances almost as many times as Barca have this season. No matter what happens, I think they're going to be my team of the season, just for their accomplishments thus far, which are no mean feat given the domination of the established old order in European football.
Barca 'keeper Victor Valdes (who has had an excellent season, really) still believes in the remote possibility of the blaugranas coming out on top.
The ever-wise Raul says that nobody should believe that the title is already won and urges caution ahead of their game. The Madridista media, for one, don't seem to have heard him, but fair enough given the circumstances.
In related news, Calderon denies celebrating winning the league one game early. Again, I can understand why he was excited - I would have been, too, and as the media are saying, they've got 9 fingers on the trophy. Just one more week. You've waited 3 years (which is I believe about the same length of time as Barca's last drought), surely that's not difficult?
The ever-sensible Juande Ramos of Sevilla isn't too happy about Real's celebrations, but still thinks they'll probably win it. I really like Ramos. He's a good manager who just gets on with the job and is always diplomatic.
The Brazilian national team are adamant that Robinho report for international duty instead of staying for Real's game.
Diarra, on the other hand, is ready to abandon club for country to play for Mali in their crucial qualifer for the African Cup of Nations.
On the other hand, Eto'o's not going to play for Cameroon, but they're doing pretty well anyway with 12 points from 4 games, so unlike Mali they don't have much to worry about. He also has some harsh but very pertinent words regarding the Liga finale in the article linked above.
Just as an aside, I have to say, this entire mess where as many as 27 players could be missing from their final game because of international commitments can be entirely blamed on the ineptitude of the LFP (the Spanish FA). Nice scheduling, guys.
Update: Real claim that they have made deals with both Diarra and Robinho's national federations that will allow them to play in the last round. Dunga still doesn't sound happy, though.
Gudjohnsen has been ruled out for Barca with a knee injury. On the Real side, David Beckham's ankle is still giving him problems and he is racing to be fit.
Controversial Spanish NT coach Luis Aragones wants Barca to win the title. Aragones used to coach both Barca and Real's opponents Mallorca (not at the same time, obviously), where he had a stormy but ultimately successful working relationship with a certain Cameroonian striker with the first name Samuel, who calls him 'grandpa'. Anyway, I really don't know what to add to this weird bit of news. Some part of me wants to say that it's really inappropriate for Aragones to comment on this issue, as there are players from all three title-chasing clubs in his national team and there have been enough controversies over selections and who gets to rest ahead of their club matches as it is. But then I suppose he's free to say whatever comes to his mind, as his record shows. So thanks, Luis - I think.
Barca striker Maxi Lopez, who is on loan at Mallorca, has vowed to do his best to help Barca win the title. That is rather sweet of him, and I dare say that if he manages it his own stock will rise amongst those in charge at the Camp Nou. Talk is easy, but the sentiment is definitely appreciated. Vamos Maxi!
Edited to add: updates on a few of the news items above
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
La Liga title race update
Barca 2-2 Espanyol
Zaragoza 2 -2 Real Madrid
Mallorca 0 - 0 Sevilla
Both Sevilla and Barca blew their chance, while Real march on. In Sevilla's case it was through little fault of their own, having lost crucial players to injury over the international break. In Barca's case...well, Xavi says it best in his post match interview:
(Edited to add: Ruud van Nistelrooy is, in my humble opinion, La Liga's Player of the Season, pending the last round of matches. Sid Lowe is spot on, as always.)
Having said all that, it really was Barca's to lose for long stretches of this season, and pending the last round, we have duly folded. No one to blame but ourselves.
In terms of this game in particular, Barca may have had more chances, but as I always say when big teams moan about this type of thing, we can only blame ourselves for failing to put those chances away. That late equalizer from Espanyol was probably only fair in light of the fact that, as much as I admire Leo Messi, the first goal was a blatant 'Hand of God' style handball.
(We really need to sort ourselves out defensively, having conceded far too many late equalizers this season, but that's another discussion which can wait until the end of the season.)
Lastly, great credit to all three teams who were playing the title chasers. Maybe there were secret payments involved as some insist, but as these teams will tell you, they had enough motivation of their own (okay, maybe not Mallorca) to be getting on with. Espanyol always want to beat Barca, and Zaragoza still needed to preserve their UEFA Cup spot. In any case, a great performance from especially Espanyol and Zaragoza, who've both had pretty good seasons. (I hope poor Pablo Aimar hasn't got yet another long-term injury on the cusp of a major international tournament.)
I feared getting my heart broken today. If Espanyol had beaten us at home, thus handing Real the title, I wouldn't be sitting here calmly, typing this post. Drawing is pretty much the same as losing in this instance, only delayed, but the visceral impact somehow isn't the same. And so it goes on for yet another week.
Final day. We can do all the crying and celebrating then.
Zaragoza 2 -2 Real Madrid
Mallorca 0 - 0 Sevilla
Both Sevilla and Barca blew their chance, while Real march on. In Sevilla's case it was through little fault of their own, having lost crucial players to injury over the international break. In Barca's case...well, Xavi says it best in his post match interview:
"What happened today is basically the summary of the year," he said. "We have breathed life into them [Real Madrid], and we have give them the league...Madrid now have everything in their favour...We will hope that they slip up, but it has been ours to lose. If we do not win this, we will have lost it more than they will have won it."No disrespect intended to Real, who have shown admirable spirit, mental strength, and in the case of Capello, great tactical insight in his often match-changing substitutions. I think he also deserves great credit for discipline he has finally installed in the Real squad, and I'd be very surprised if they move to sack him after this season.
(Edited to add: Ruud van Nistelrooy is, in my humble opinion, La Liga's Player of the Season, pending the last round of matches. Sid Lowe is spot on, as always.)
Having said all that, it really was Barca's to lose for long stretches of this season, and pending the last round, we have duly folded. No one to blame but ourselves.
In terms of this game in particular, Barca may have had more chances, but as I always say when big teams moan about this type of thing, we can only blame ourselves for failing to put those chances away. That late equalizer from Espanyol was probably only fair in light of the fact that, as much as I admire Leo Messi, the first goal was a blatant 'Hand of God' style handball.
(We really need to sort ourselves out defensively, having conceded far too many late equalizers this season, but that's another discussion which can wait until the end of the season.)
Lastly, great credit to all three teams who were playing the title chasers. Maybe there were secret payments involved as some insist, but as these teams will tell you, they had enough motivation of their own (okay, maybe not Mallorca) to be getting on with. Espanyol always want to beat Barca, and Zaragoza still needed to preserve their UEFA Cup spot. In any case, a great performance from especially Espanyol and Zaragoza, who've both had pretty good seasons. (I hope poor Pablo Aimar hasn't got yet another long-term injury on the cusp of a major international tournament.)
I feared getting my heart broken today. If Espanyol had beaten us at home, thus handing Real the title, I wouldn't be sitting here calmly, typing this post. Drawing is pretty much the same as losing in this instance, only delayed, but the visceral impact somehow isn't the same. And so it goes on for yet another week.
Final day. We can do all the crying and celebrating then.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Barca news round-up: good news and bad news
So, good news first. Ronaldinho's had his two-match ban reduced to one, which means he could appear in Barca's last game of the season against 'Nastic.
Moving on to some transfer news, which is either good or bad depending on your perspective, everyone and their dog wants to leave. Edmilson has reportedly issued a come-and-get-me to AC Milan, and Belletti has done the same to anyone who would listen, both citing a lack of playing time. (Have to say, I'm a bit puzzled in Edmilson's case, as he's either been injured or horribly off form this season, with the honourable exception of the last few matches.) Added to other pretty much certain departures like Ezquerro and Saviola, Barca probably need to get a move on in the transfer market in terms of purchases.
Eto'o and Ronaldinho have also been linked with moves incessantly this season, but it's hard for me to see either of them going. Perhaps my judgement of tabloid gossip is biased because of my desire to see the awesome frontline of Messi-Eto'o-Ronnie playing together for at least a couple more seasons, but I have yet to see a rumour with some proper evidence backing it.
There is some concrete evidence that the long-rumoured Eric Abidal move may finally be on, that is if Barca can agree on a price with Lyon. If we're going to buy an expensive full-back I'd much rather have Dani Alves, but apparently the price that Sevilla want for him is pretty astronomical.
Two pieces of bad news. The first concerns the timing of the game this weekend. In their infinite wisdom, the Spanish FA have decided to play almost all the games at the same time, to avoid accusations of match fixing and so on. While this is no doubt a good idea, the time they have chosen is Saturday night. The internationals only get back to their clubs on Thursday. You may begin to see where the problem is for the club with the most internationals on duty. Barca may be the most affected club, but Sevilla and Real also have a considerable portion of their first team away doing the same thing, and I doubt they're happy about it.
Now, so far all the news items I've mentioned will only have short to medium term impact. This next bit of bad news, however, is going to haunt Barca for years to come. You ready?
Barca B have been relegated to the Spanish fourth division. First of all, I have to say that I don't understand how this happened, given the fact that they have some very decent players.
Second, this is absolutely awful news for Barca's youth development program, which has been very successful over the years but is increasingly losing the talent they unearth to other teams more ready to offer these young players first team opportunities. (E.g. Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique and so on.)
But it has happened, so the club has to deal with it. The plan right now seems to be sorting through the players and sending the bulk of the decent ones off on loan where they'd be playing at a slightly higher level than that of the Spanish fourth division, to be bought back if and when the rest of Barca B claw themselves back up. The two stars of the team Giovani Dos Santos (18) and Bojan Krkic (16) will probably be integrated into the first team squad next season despite their youth, as they are both very talented and the club doesn't want to lose them.
The likes of Xavi, Puyol and Luis Garcia (the Liverpool player, not the Espanyol forward) once made up an excellent Barca B team which won promotion to the Spanish second division back in the 90s. Ah, how the mighty have fallen.
Moving on to some transfer news, which is either good or bad depending on your perspective, everyone and their dog wants to leave. Edmilson has reportedly issued a come-and-get-me to AC Milan, and Belletti has done the same to anyone who would listen, both citing a lack of playing time. (Have to say, I'm a bit puzzled in Edmilson's case, as he's either been injured or horribly off form this season, with the honourable exception of the last few matches.) Added to other pretty much certain departures like Ezquerro and Saviola, Barca probably need to get a move on in the transfer market in terms of purchases.
Eto'o and Ronaldinho have also been linked with moves incessantly this season, but it's hard for me to see either of them going. Perhaps my judgement of tabloid gossip is biased because of my desire to see the awesome frontline of Messi-Eto'o-Ronnie playing together for at least a couple more seasons, but I have yet to see a rumour with some proper evidence backing it.
There is some concrete evidence that the long-rumoured Eric Abidal move may finally be on, that is if Barca can agree on a price with Lyon. If we're going to buy an expensive full-back I'd much rather have Dani Alves, but apparently the price that Sevilla want for him is pretty astronomical.
Two pieces of bad news. The first concerns the timing of the game this weekend. In their infinite wisdom, the Spanish FA have decided to play almost all the games at the same time, to avoid accusations of match fixing and so on. While this is no doubt a good idea, the time they have chosen is Saturday night. The internationals only get back to their clubs on Thursday. You may begin to see where the problem is for the club with the most internationals on duty. Barca may be the most affected club, but Sevilla and Real also have a considerable portion of their first team away doing the same thing, and I doubt they're happy about it.
Now, so far all the news items I've mentioned will only have short to medium term impact. This next bit of bad news, however, is going to haunt Barca for years to come. You ready?
Barca B have been relegated to the Spanish fourth division. First of all, I have to say that I don't understand how this happened, given the fact that they have some very decent players.
Second, this is absolutely awful news for Barca's youth development program, which has been very successful over the years but is increasingly losing the talent they unearth to other teams more ready to offer these young players first team opportunities. (E.g. Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique and so on.)
But it has happened, so the club has to deal with it. The plan right now seems to be sorting through the players and sending the bulk of the decent ones off on loan where they'd be playing at a slightly higher level than that of the Spanish fourth division, to be bought back if and when the rest of Barca B claw themselves back up. The two stars of the team Giovani Dos Santos (18) and Bojan Krkic (16) will probably be integrated into the first team squad next season despite their youth, as they are both very talented and the club doesn't want to lose them.
The likes of Xavi, Puyol and Luis Garcia (the Liverpool player, not the Espanyol forward) once made up an excellent Barca B team which won promotion to the Spanish second division back in the 90s. Ah, how the mighty have fallen.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
a break from the nail-baiting liga finale
...well, at least this weekend, when I can see my beloved Albicelestes in action once again, even if it's one of those silly exhibition friendlies I dislike so much.
But before that, Phil Ball is as always spot on with his remarks about Barca's somewhat unseemingly but also encouragingly spirited performance against Getafe:
And lastly, on an internationals-related note: congratulations to David Beckham. He fully deserves not only the recall, but a proper mea culpa from Steve McClaren about the way he was treated as a scrapegoat after the World Cup.
But before that, Phil Ball is as always spot on with his remarks about Barca's somewhat unseemingly but also encouragingly spirited performance against Getafe:
Ronaldinho...will be out of Barça's last two games...having been sent off for kicking Getafe's Belenguer up the bum at the end of the first half of their 1-0 home win at the weekend. Then again, Belenguer had been kicking Ronaldinho for the best part of the first half, but the referee was Pérez Burrul, possibly the worst of an appalling bunch, and one wholly incapable of distinguishing his own arse from his elbow, no matter a foul from a legal tackle. Burrul, according to Messi in a post-match press conference, warned the Argentine before the game that if he dived, he would 'pay the consequences'. Talk about guilty before being proved innocent.Sid Lowe is also as consistently entertaining as always, and worth reading about the entire state of the La Liga as it stands now.
And lastly, on an internationals-related note: congratulations to David Beckham. He fully deserves not only the recall, but a proper mea culpa from Steve McClaren about the way he was treated as a scrapegoat after the World Cup.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Atletico 0 - 6 Barca
(Image courtesy of Sport)
Goals: Messi 39, Zambrotta 43, Eto'o 46, Ronaldinho 58, Messi 80, Iniesta 90.
Holy shit. That was...not the result I expected. Okay, boys, you have this fan back on board. Keep doing that and you might have a chance to redeem the season.
More later. Oh yes.
(General impression so far is that Barca were not worth that scoreline, but Atletico proved their ability to collapse yet again. They won this fixture quite handily last season, let's not forget, against a Barca in much better form and spirit. Not that I'm complaining. Lord knows I rather pessimistically thought we were going to the Calderon to give up the title.
And for those crowing about this match being thrown by Atletico: I really don't think they'd jeopardize their own European chances like this. Plus, throwing a match does not require one to be humiliated in one's own stadium.)
ETA: "This gives us hope," said Rijkaard.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Getafe 4 - 0 Barcelona (6 - 5 agg)
I have nothing to say that is printable. Neither does young Leo Messi, probably.
Like I said in the comments of the Barcelona Offside blog, somebody please convince me otherwise or prove me wrong, but right now it seems to me that the season can only go further down the pan from here. Crash and burn, all the hubris going down in flames.
I will say this, though: if Real win the league playing the way they've been all season, it will be Barca's fault and I'll be kind of pissed.
(If we don't bounce back against Real Betis, then it really is over.)
Edited to add:
Like I said in the comments of the Barcelona Offside blog, somebody please convince me otherwise or prove me wrong, but right now it seems to me that the season can only go further down the pan from here. Crash and burn, all the hubris going down in flames.
I will say this, though: if Real win the league playing the way they've been all season, it will be Barca's fault and I'll be kind of pissed.
(If we don't bounce back against Real Betis, then it really is over.)
Edited to add:
"Getafe deserved this win and they should be congratulated, while we must digest what has happened. It is not easy because there are defeats and then there are defeats. This one is very difficult. Whatever happens now we have to keep on going and try to finish the season with dignity.
I know everyone is going to say it was ridiculous and we are suffering. It is clear that we were completely useless tonight. I do not feel ashamed, but I must ask for forgiveness from the club's supporters. Now we must restore our pride after one of the hardest nights of my life."
- Frank Rijkaard in his post match press conference.
Monday, May 07, 2007
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.
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.
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