Two weeks from today Mércia and I will be leaving for a 12 day vacation in Portugal. We’re looking forward to seeing the sights, sampling the fine foods and wines; just not any Portuguese whines . . .
Yes, I believe that Pepe’s sending off although his boots were high with studs up, was probably harsh – indeed, a better argument could have been made for sending off Emanuel Adebayor when got his yellow card – I believe this article sums it up well:
The last two Clasicos had seen real progress from the Whites in their bid to close the gap on a Barcelona side who took them apart at Camp Nou back in November. But whereas in the home league fixture they had nothing to really play for other than regaining some respect, and in the Copa del Rey final they had the ability to play off the back foot, tonight they had to win. They had to take the initiative in order to travel to Catalunya next Tuesday with a meaningful lead.
Instead Mourinho let old habits die hard. This was not the performance of his Inter side at San Siro at this stage last season. This instead was the display of a team who had been sent out with too little positive intent. With a place in the most prized game in modern football at stake, the ‘Special One’ did nothing special. He did nothing positive. In the last two meetings against Barcelona it could be claimed that Madrid had made real progress, but that was completely negated in the way the home side approached their latest battle.
But for Messi’s late double this was a game which maintained the viewers’ attention for little more than the sporadic pushing and shoving. While Barca knocked the ball about like Barca do, Madrid did nothing to leave their own stamp on the game. At one point Cristiano Ronaldo got so annoyed with how deep his team were defending he gesticulated wildly for them to help him out as he chased lost causes up front.
He spent the next 30 seconds sulking in the center circle. Mesut Ozil buzzed around and looked as though maybe he could be a difference-maker, but his reward was a spot on the bench for the second half. None of the home midfielders ever looked to really take the game on in the way that their opponents did. This was clearly part of the plan, but at no point did it look like working. It was only inevitable that ill-discipline followed.
This is anti-football. While I am a Barça fan, I used to have a lot of respect for José Mourinho, especially when he coached FC Porto, taking a team without stars to several league titles as well as wins in consecutive years of the then-named UEFA Cup and the Champions League. It seems, however, every move up he has made has resulted in an exponential increase in his ego. A little self-control never hurt.
Bobby McMahon made a good point on Fox Soccer Report just now: Marcelo’s stomp on Pedro forced Pedro out of the game, but Ibrahim Afellay, Pedro’s sub added a dimension of serious speed and skillfully set Messi up for the first goal.
Mesut Özil was invisible in this game.
Messi’s second goal was the best illustration of the Madrid players’ fatigue. It also showed just how thoroughly bankrupt Mourinho’s tactics were for this game. If your opponent has nearly 80% of the possession, you’ll end up spending a lot of energy either trying to dispossess them or keep them from advancing. That, to me seems to put a huge burden on your defenders and at least half of your midfield, making it difficult to counterattack when you do dispossess. Mourinho would probably go to his grave refusing to admit it, but he was outcoached. In addition to orchestrating dull football, he made but one substitution the entire game. There appeared to be zero interest on Mourinho’s part in subbing in another attacker (Adebayor essentially seemed to be playing the role of enforcer) – and actually trying to win the game.
Mourinho also has a discipline problem. Sergio Ramos made a totally needless yellow card foul on Messi, insuring that he (Ramos) will watch and not play in the return match in Barcelona.
As for Manchester United v Schalke, there is precious little to say other than the following:
Manuel Neuer saved his team from an embarrassing result. He made eight saves. Phenomenal.
It’s 11:59.59 on Schalke’s Cinderella story.
This was a huge mismatch.
Schalke would have to score at least three goals and give up none at Old Trafford to move on, which also happens to be the same for Real Madrid. That won’t happen – in either case.
Now for a couple of non-CL comments:
Kudos to Clint Dempsey, the career leader in goals for Fulham.
It has really sucked this year being an Arsenal fan and a good bit of the blame lies at Arsene Wenger’s feet. He needed to get a central defender and a reliable holding midfielder. He also needs to rid himself of this obsession with getting rid of field players when they reach thirty; the most flagrant example of which is Gilberto Silva.
Corner Stone
No matter what else ever happens here, you will always be my hero.
Never forget that.
Randinho
@Corner Stone: Okay . . .
J
Fuck Barcelona and their play-acting little shitstains like Alves and Busquets. They are a disgrace to football. Messi too – recall his simulation vs Chelsea a few years back. All of them deserve scorn and disrespect – and crippling, career-ending injuries.
J
Btw, I am an Arsenal fan who does not like either Mourunho or Chelsea. Just hate the vile, pompous sack of donkey dicks that is Barca.
Corner Stone
@Randinho: You touched the hand of Adriana Lima in church.
You may have forgotten that (and if your wife reads this then I AM SURE you’ve forgotten that because it was years and years ago, and really meant nothing to you at the time and I hesitate to even mention it here and now because it was so here and gone) but, us tiny people need that little ray of sunshine in our otherwise dreary workaday lives. Or whatever.
Randinho
@Corner Stone: I hadn’t forgotten, but I also remember that my wife’s hand was in my other hand at the same time. But thanks just the same.
Randinho
@J: Whatever
Corner Stone
@Randinho: Well, yeah. That was awesome too. As you said at the time and all.
Soccer wise, I got nothing. So…late.
Mark S.
So, rematch of the final of two years ago (barring a miracle). I like Barca in that matchup.
Dollared
I’m a Barca fan but I too was embarrassed by all the playacting and whining. But I also agreee that this is Mourinho’s fault from the pregame crosstalk to the way he coached this game. He put a huge premium on working the ref, and guess what, it backfired.
It’s a pity, too. There are at least 7-8 guys on that Madrid team – Xavi, Marcelo, Ozul, Ramos, to name the first four – that could play a great controlling, attacking game of football. But Mourinho wouldn’t give them the chance.
I’ll watch the rematch because I love my local Spanish restaurant, and because with the pressure on Madrid, Barca will shred them – and I’ll enjoy it.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Mark S.:
I do to, but I hope Sir Alex can figure out a way to make it more interesting than the ’09 final. While I think this year’s Barca squad is better than the ’09 squad and Man Utd is worse (talent-wise, anyway) than they were, I think this Man Utd. squad- at least the expected starters in big games- has better chemistry than the one with the lanky Portugese and the pint-sized Argentine.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
Randinho: Why do you hate old people?
Ryan Giggs is now the oldest man to ever score in a CL match.
Robert Green
watching RSL v Monterey right now–what a great crowd in Utah!!! i never thought i’d see the day…
Bill Murray
Clint Dempsey is not the “career leader in goals for Fulham.” According to Wikipedia, Gordon Davies scored 178 goals for Fulham — Dempsey has scored 33. He did break the EPL career scoring record (which may also be the overall top flight record) breaking Brian McBride and Steed Malbranque’s record of 32
snyderdoug
this articles analysis is summed up well by it’s declaration for Dempsey… he broke their EPL record, but let’s not facts nor insightful thoughts get in the way
superfly
It’s gotten to the point where I dislike both Real and Barce now, Real for Mourinho’s cynicism (and the whole being Franco’s team) and Barce for their arrogance and whinging and Italian-level play acting.
The next international break should be pretty interesting for the Spanish team.
Vermaelen is playing in the reserve match Thursday, hope he comes through ok.
ppcli
Good Post. But you forgot to mention which team Andrew Sullivan supports.
Jonas
It’s just false that this is a match that Real had to win. Indeed, I thought Mourinho is right to play for a 0-0 draw (no away goal for Barca) and then turn on the counterattack for the Camp Nou match hoping to get one away goal. Essentially, he wants this leg to turn out like the last league match (minus the penalties), and the next leg to turn out like the Cup match.
I also thought the high-pressing and Adebayor as Didier Drogba worked reasonably well, forced Barca to rush a couple of times and made some bad passes. We wouldn’t be saying any of this if it had been a draw. Of course the tactic is negative, but we know that about Mourinho. You don’t get to take a team like Porto to the top without employing some negative tactics. I’m amazed by the Real fan who thought he would be any different. There’s just no evidence that the 80% Barca possession would have been bad for what Mourinho wanted to accomplish except the result, and the result could have easily gone differently had Pepe not seen red.
As a Barca fan, the diving was a bit much, but it’s been escalating. For the last two games, Busquets has already been rolling around like he’s C. Ronaldo.
dollared
@Bill Murray: Wow. All you need to know about the EPL is in that one statistic: Dempsey, 33 goals.
dollared
Just got all the coverage on both the spanish language and english language Fox properties. Wow, what entertainment. I have almost memorized Mourinho’s rant. It was so good, so well delivered, that it almost looked rehearsed.
To hell with Rudy Giuliani, I’m hiring him for my next motivational seminar. I suspect he’ll have time on his hands during his upcoming five year suspension.
Bootlegger
Rooney’s a tool, but at least he doesn’t dive. Go Devils!!
SST
Yeah, as a casual fan, I usually root for different teams to win, b/c it makes things interesting. Mostly, I just wanna see a good game. But Mourinho seems like a douche. Fuck him.
And it’s fun to watch Barca play anyway. I’ll probably pull for them over Man U. And Dempsey’s the shit.
piratedan
well I do sometimes wonder if the only way to stop diving that takes place in these matches is to actually put snipers in the stands and shoot a few of these lads in the name of gamesmanship….
I intensely dislike the fact that ref baiting has become a skill that has found a happy home in the highest levels of football. Hey, I know that getting spiked sucks, I understand that getting clipped or blocked/broadsided can be painful, but whatever happened to a manly grimace, rubbing a bit of dirt on it and carrying on? It’s especially galling to watch someone writhe on the ground as if they’ve lost all use of a limb, watch the card come out to some poor bastard and then watch the “injured” player skip back onto the pitch and caper about with nary a concern and a knowing grin.
It’s a beautiful game, sometimes, when not being spoiled by soap operatics for the sake of an advantage.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@dollared:
Are you saying the EPL is weak? That Dempsey isn’t all that?
You do realize that those are his goals for Fulham- more likely battling against relegation than for silver- spread out over four years, right?
SRW1
Unfortunately (or may be fortunately?), I couldn’t watch the game. While I have a lot of respect for Mourinho with regards to how he get’s the maximum out of his players and how he obviously is a pretty good strategist, I just can’t stand this pregame psycho bubble he (and to some extent Ferguson) love to engage in. Given that Mourinho and Guardiola were colleagues for four years at Barcelona and obviously did get along quite well, it was particularly galling what Mourinho had to say about Guardiola. Too bad, Guardiola couldn’t resist to respond to that BS.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@piratedan:
I say you let ’em go the way of hockey and let the players police the bullshit actions that the refs can’t get straight. 5-minute majors and 10-minute misconduct penalties. Nemanja Vidic would be Chris Chelios.
Yutsano
FH #1 shall haz a mad jelus seeing this. Or offer to meet you there to translate and get verschnickered. Either one.
MikeJ
@Yutsano: Speaking Brazilese probably means they won’t need the interpreter.
dollared
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I don’t see much of Fulham. But I’ve seen Dempsey for Team USA and he is as good for the US in international competition as Frank Lampard is for England. Many, many, many shots, most of them over the bar. Dempsey would not be a factor in Spain, Italy or Germany. So why is he a quality player in the EPL?
Yutsano
@MikeJ:
I think FH #1 would consider that detail beside the point. He’d take any excuse in creation to go back to Portugal. Hell I’m amazed he got on the plane to go back to Australia.
dollared
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Agreed (but not about the slap at Badger great Chris Chelios….). The yellow/red card system provides way too much incentive to game the system.
On the other hand, such a drastic and arbitrary system definitely generates a lot of drama. Did I mention how much I enjoyed Mourinho’s rant?
dollared
And one more thing – whoever put the locker room entrances at the Bernebeu right next to each other is the same person who makes sure there are folding chairs next to the ring at every All-Star Wrestling match.
piratedan
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I agree, because lets face it, these guys with the fancy silks can’t catch everything and I have to admit, that sometimes you can’t tell until you get the conclusive angle that the fall was indeed a dive.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@dollared:
You’re painting the league with an awfully broad brush there. He’s a quality player for Fulham. Hell, Trent Dilfer threw a few TD passes the year he was with Baltimore- he even won a Super Bowl ring as the starter that year- but it didn’t make him a quality player in the NFL.
Odds are that someone is going to score for Fulham, and someone’s going to lead the team in scoring. That someone just happens to be Dempsey.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@dollared:
Not intended as a slap at Cheli. Appreciated him with the Habs & Hawks, loved him with the Wings, even on the downside of his career. I just happen to think Vidic is not only talented but tough, the kind of guy who could work as an enforcer.
Paula
As one of Barca’s many casual admirers worldwide …
This game was a bust for both teams. The ref let this match get away from him, but I sure don’t want whiney millionaires telling me about it. (I’m mixed on what that sending off of Mourinho actually did — sure it kept him from annoying the match officials, but I’m sure it only added to his douchey martyr complex inside his home stadium).
Dani Alves. Seriously. That fucker’s ankle could be bleeding out and I’d still find him suspicious. And unlike CRon, I still don’t see what the hell he’s bringing to Barca. He was useless in the match again Shakhtar. But then again, I can’t afford Gol TV, so I don’t see La Liga regular season play.
OTOH: MESSI!!! That second goal was awesome. Orange slices, Capri Sun, and LEGOS!!! for The Little Magician.
Auguste
@dollared: He plays out of position for the USMNT with, at least in terms of team cohesion (due to club v. country practice schedules, in part), a somewhat smaller level of support. Even given that, he scores at nearly exactly the same rate (in fact, better for the USMNT – 19 in 70 for the USMNT, 33 in 144 for Fulham.) He shoots at a high rate for Fulham, too. So as much as I like Deuce, I’ll put that aside and grant your theory that he’s not that great, which means that by the standards you’re using, you’ve not made a case for the EPL’s inferiority.
piratedan
@Paula: well I don’t know if it was as egregious as some of the crap that the Italians pull every World Cup but yeah, I wish they would be as skillful in eluding tackles and passing the ball as they are in performing card collecting coups.
Tattoosydney
Randinho, if I can help with restaurant or bar advice in Lisbon or Porto, let me know and I can give you my email address. Michael
Randinho
@Bill Murray: My bad. At least for the EPL era he is. His first goal was pretty incredible yesterday.
bob h
Get up to the Porto region if you can. A delightful, forgotten corner of Europe.
Randinho
@Tattoosydney: Yes, please. We’re spending four days in Lisbon, two in Évora, two days in Leiria (to visit Óbidos, Alcobaça and Batalha), three days in Porto, then one day back in Lisbon.
@MikeJ: True that, I’m fluent in Portuguese, but Mércia has far fewer problems understanding Continental Portuguese than I do. The differences between Brazilian and Continental Portuguese are very dramatic in my experience.
Tattoosydney
For Lisbon, first I’d point you here, which is my three day guide to the sights and has a few restaurants that I particularly like. My don’t miss places are the Carmo museum which is a ruined building from the earthquake which contains a very odd little museum and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos which I think is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
The 28 tram is quite wonderful for getting an overview of the city and stops at the Miradouro da Graça which has the best views over the city. Just watch out for the pickpockets on the tram.
For a special dinner, my unhesitating pick is Manifesto which only opened in the last two years and which is truly spectacular for both modern inventive Portuguese food and amazing wine, and is not expensive by European standards for food of this quality.
Enoteca Chafariz do Vinho has an amazing wine list and is in an old reservoir that is part of the aqueduct, so is very special.
For cheap and cheerful and authentic, I really like Primavera in the Bairro Alto.
My favorite breakfast place is Pois Cafe in the Alfama. Great coffee, although there’s great coffee everywhere, and very friendly and relaxed.
Drinking in Lisbon is easy – just head for the Bairro Alto after midnight and wander around, either on Rua da Atalaia or Rua da Bica de Duarte Belo where there are lots of little bars and people just wander from one to the other. I also really like the rooftop bar at the Bairro Alto Hotel and also Noobai at the Miradouro do Adamastor, both of which have great views over the river and the bridge.
My two picks for shops in Lisbon are Luvaria Ulisses – http://www.luvariaulisses.com/ – which sells handmade leather gloves that are incredibly cheap and last forever, and Casa das Velas do Loreto on Rua Loreto which has been selling candles for over 200 years. Both great for special souvenirs.
If you want to take some wine home, go and visit the Napoleão shop at Rua da Conceição in the Baixa – they are really helpful and will tell you what the very best thing to buy this year is.
I haven’t been to Évora for three years and we didn’t really eat anywhere special when we were there. The one thing not to miss is the Capela dos Ossos, which is quite beautiful and really quite odd and creepy. The collection of treasures at the Sé is almost unsurpassed in terms of sheer and gratuitous magnificence.
The best meal we had in Porto was at Bull and Bear – modern and uber-cool, but with very friendly staff and great food.
The best place I found for port tasting was at Vinologia, at Rua de Sao Joao 46, just a bit up the hill from the Pestana Porto, near the tunnel which leads to the bridge. It’s a bar which specialises in small port producers, and which sells all of their stock by the bottle as well. Prices seemed ok (not cheap but not particularly expensive). The staff are incredibly helpful, and you can either pick one of several degustation tastings, or have them work out an individual one based on your tastes. You can taste almost every port they have, including some very expensive ones. I told them I was only interested in tasting exceptional ports (because I could only bring two bottles of port back into Australia) and they promptly set five amazing glasses in front of me to try. I (and they) particularly recommend the Dalva 1952 white port, which costs 20 euros for a tasting glass (and almost ten times that for a bottle), but is absolutely incredible. They only seem to have a web site in French and German, which is here: http://www.lamaisondesporto.com/
I can’t help with the other towns, because they’re on our list for this year’s holiday.
Boa viagem!
Gratefulcub
While it is impossible to ignore Busquets, Alves, and Pedro making a meal out of a few tackles (or just a little contact), this is not Barca’s usual personality.
Pepe’s card harsh? probably.
But the key is: IF YOUR GAMEPLAN IS TO FOUL AND FOUL SOME MORE, YOU DESERVE TO FINISH WITH 10 MEN.
The Special One likes to complain about always losing a man against Barca. Well, stop fouling so much.
It is pathetic to blame everything on the ref, when you have 11 men, AT HOME, for 61 minutes and create zero chances and have 25% possession.
Mourinho, always outclassed, and yesterday….. out coached.
Best in the world: Ronaldo or Messi? That is not a serious question.
Crashman
@Randinho: Enjoy Porto. We went to Madeira, Lisbon and Porto for our honeymoon, and Porto was by far our favorite place. Visit as many port lodges as you can; Taylor’s was one of our favorites.
SLKRR
@Randinho:
LOL! That’s putting it lightly. As a (relatively) fluent speaker of Brazilian Portuguese, I find Spanish easier to understand than whatever it is they speak in Portugal. Throw out all the vowels and add in random “zh” sounds, and you can imitate it pretty well…
I got to spend a couple of weeks in the Braga/Guimarães area about a year and a half ago. Beautiful country. Just wish they would learn how to speak proper Portuguese. ;-)
burnspbesq
Disappointed for RSL.
Rooting for a meteor to obliterate the Camp Nou during the return leg. “A plague on both your houses.”
Tuttle
Pathetic. Schalke may have played like shit (and you wondered why they’re mid-table in league) but at least they played FOOTBALL. I think Real and Barca came out prepped for an elementary school slap fight. Personally, if I were ref, they’d both have been playing with 9 men after about 10 minutes. That’d cure the badgering the ref issue in a fucking hurry.
And this is bad for the sport. This kind of game is exactly the kind of thing non-fans detest about the sport and fans detest about Spanish sides. Italy has gotten better but Spain is marching backwards.
I have no love for Man U, at all, and I’m generally sympathetic politically and culturally with Barcelona, but good gods I hope the Red Devils whip the ever loving shit out of Barca. Or Real.
As for Dempsey’s “many, many, many shots, most of them over the bar”, he’s been more accurate this year than Nani or, for that matter, Didier Drogba. No, he’s no Malouda or Van De Vart, but he’s a quality, journeyman, attacking midfielder that most clubs in Europe would be glad to have on their teams.
Tuttle
Special One: Portugese Water Dog is second best thing to come out of Portugal.
It (aside to The Boy): The first is the road to Spain.
The Boy: That’s mint, like.
Special One: Shut up Sven!
Randy Paul
@Tattoosydney:
Obrigado pelas dicas!
We’re staying in the Bairro Alto precisely with that in mind. I wanted precious little room between the bar and the hotel . . .
Thanks to all for the suggestions. It’s somewhat amusing, but the hotel we’re staying in Lisbon is the Pensão Londres (London in Portuguese) and our hotel in Porto is the Grande Hotel de Paris.
As for food in Évora, I’m looking forward to sampling some fine Comida Alentejana. Were the almenderes (Neolithic stone formations) near Évora worth visiting?
No worries about the German website. I can still read it well enough.
PS
After ManU lost to Barca last time, Fergie claimed he got the tactics wrong, and that amay have been an accurate assessment. Given the job he’s done this year, I actually think ManU has a better chance against Barca than against Real, not least because of Morinho’s efforts — Fergie will learn from watching that. Assuming they both get through, I’d still make Barca favorites, but not by much. And I’ll be rooting for the Reds, as usual.
scott
I didn’t like the game much or either side, really. Maybe (and the Special suggested this) Real would have gone more positive later in the half if Pepe hadn’t seen red, but they looked awfully anemic and limp through much of the game. Barca is really annoying me, though, with the incessant whining and surrounding the ref every single time a challenge goes in. And the whingeing about the opposition being anti-football if they try to mark you and go for 50/50 balls is pretty pathetic. There’s more than one way to play football, not just the Barca way. Barca is the best at the tiki-taka brand, and if anyone tries to play them at that style, they’ll get beat. Another way is to defend well and break hard on the counter when the opportunity presents itself. While Barca would probably like to shame and lobby everyone else into playing their way (and losing against them), defend-and-counter is a legitimate way of going about it, but Real just didn’t do that very well and were too passive (CRon was clearly very frustrated). ManU are very good at it this year, so it should be interesting to see what happens next round.
Dan
@Gratefulcub:
I couldn’t agree more. Barca is a small in stature team–fast but small. RM is big, fast, strong and athletic. Barca sold it and sold it well in the first half as the picked-on, scrappy little kid. Pepe’s red card was not as bad nor as obviously intentional and malicious as Adebayor’s double hands-up, shove. The rope-a-dope may not be looked upon favorably by many but they wore them down and Messi got two stellar goals after the RM defenders were worn down in the second half.
I liked one of the comments in that Yahoo article Randinho posted:
I predicted after finding out that FCB was going to be playing five matches against RM that it was going to go 3-1-1 against them. I would have rather they lost this first match of the UEFA CL rather than the Copa del Rey, but so far, I am hitting my target.
Captain C
@piratedan: I still think that in the ’06 World Cup final, Zidane should have just turned to Materazzi and said, “hey, how much would it take for you to score an own goal right now?” or “Hey, my sister has standards. She doesn’t hook up with match-fixers.” Given that the Italian match-fixing scandal was erupting right about then, it’s even money that Materazzi would have been the one committing the head-butt and getting the red card.
wordrcuncher
I will present my bias right up front by stating that I am also an Arsenal fan (and a former UK resident for 5 years), but I don’t hate Barca because they knocked us out of the CL, so this isn’t sour grapes. (I also have no love for Real.)
I want to like Barca. I really do. I never liked the whole Galactico approach to football under Perez, et. al. at Real Madrid. And I loved the courage of the Catalans in the face of such hopelessness in Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia. Of course, as an Arsenal supporter, I want to admire the way they play, as there are some similarities to our game (certainly compared to the rest of the EPL).
But every time I watch them play, I want them to lose. Badly. I am so tired of the arrogance of this “More Than A Club” mentality. Making their club represent Catalan independence is a huge mistake — Laporta brought things dangerously close to mixing politics and football. Admittedly, part of this is tied up in the resentment I feel over their relentless and un-punished tapping-up of Fabregas — they want him not so much because the team needs him, but more for POLITICAL reasons — he’s the Catalan that got away.
As other commenters have mentioned, I am sick of the diving and cheating. Football is a contact sport, you Catalan Ballerinas. Maybe it’s the American in me — I’ve always believed the theatrics are a big reason soccer has been a turn off to American fans. But you remember Busquets peeking through his hands to see if he got an Inter player sent off after his dive in the CL last year. Eduardo da Silva did something similar for Arsenal against Celtic in the CL last year and he was crucified in the media — and UEFA felt it warranted an investigation.
Why nothing similar for Barca? How is they are allowed to crowd the referee, wave imaginary cards in the air and dive all over the pitch with no consequences? In fact, too often the referees are too intimidated by the loud Camp Nou crowd.
And then there are the tactics — yes, they have brilliant players. As brilliant as Messi is (and he certainly is), I don’t think he would be quite as good without Xavi in the side, Barca’s best player in my opinion. (I’ve always loved Sir Alex’s comment on Xavi — “I think I saw him give the ball away once.”)
But watching a team play 700 sideways passes in a game is just boring. Then, when things get tight, cheat and hope for a Messi miracle. This is the greatest team ever?
PS, Bootlegger — Rooney does dive, though he isn’t the worst offender by far in the EPL (Drogba would get my nomination). But he is English, and the press there is loath to accuse an Englishman of diving. It’s always Johnny Foreigner.
Randy Paul
@Captain C: I think it would been cool if Zidane had said, “You can have my sister right after I finish with your mother.”
Given that Materazzi’s mother had passed away recently, he might have been the one to initiate the head butt.
Paula
@Tuttle:
Unless something extraterrestrial happens, it’s looking to be EPL vs. La Liga in the CL final, and OMG I am already twitching at the asshat conversations people are going to have about the “right” kind of football.
That being said, there’s a fair bit of whine about the EPL, too. It’s not just the Spanish or Italian leagues. I’ve been watching WPS since they started the season and the ladies are much less prone to rolling around on the grass waiting for calls. Just sayin’ …
Paula
@dollared:
Heh. Is that a serious or rhetorical question, because someone actually wrote a 2-parter on this a few years ago after the Confed Cup in ’09.
handsmile
As an EST-zone dwelling, non-insomniac regular at Randinho’s bar-and-grill, here is my belated contribution to this thread:
Not really much to say or to add about either Champions League semi-final first leg match other than to observe how disappointing both were, though for quite different reasons.
The knock-out stages of this year’s tournament has produced a plethora of inexplicably lopsided matches. Could InterMilan really be so poor as to have allowed 7 goals by that Schalke squad? And I must say I’m looking forward to watching Michael Owen’s CL swan song at Old Trafford next week.
Pepe’s dismissal was the pivotal moment of yesterday’s match, though Mourinho’s defensive edifice was already vulnerable with Carvalho’s absence and the constraints imposed by Sergio Ramos’ yellow card. To my eyes, Pepe had been Real’s most influential player during the first two matches of this recent series of “El Classicos.” With no one of his brutish effectiveness to shadow Messi (there’s only so much responsibility that Xabi Alonso can shoulder) and with Iniesta’s return to Barcelona’s midfield for the second leg, the final pairing at Wembley would seem certain.
One non-trivial caveat however: now that UEFA has opened a disciplinary investigation into yesterday’s spectacle, Barcelona’s thespians must refrain from their operatic excesses next week. They must remain on their feet when in proximity to a Real player and must exhibit humble acquiescence to the referee’s decisions. Michel Platini will insist that vaudevillian emoters be yanked quickly from the stage.
While I cannot dispute our host’s analysis of Lionel Messi’s second goal, let us for a moment, nay for several moments, regard with slack-jawed stupefaction the utter effing beauty of its executiion and the supreme artistry of the executioner. An immemorial goal.
How delicious, how sublime, to see the self-anointed “Special One” reduced to WATB splutterings. His paranoiac ravings make him eligible for membership to the Birther club. A serious question to the cogniscenti: Could Mourinho return as Chelsea’s major domo next season? (Abramovich remains boss, of course.) Surely he will no longer be welcome in Madrid.
As to Arsenal, my baleful addiction, this joke seems grimly fitting: Traumatized by dropping and thus crushing the Copa del Rey trophy from the open rooftop of the Real Madrid team bus on its triumphal procession last weekend, Sergio Ramos has submitted a transfer request to Arsenal. He explained that by playing for the Gunners he would never risk hoisting a championship trophy again.
There must be an Augean stable-cleaning at the Emirates this summer, with most of the second XI dispatched: Denilson, Bendtnder, Rosicky, Diaby, Squillaci,Eboue, Alumunia et al. I continue to stamp my feet that Theo Walcott’s only true value to the club is the sum to be obtained for him on the transfer market.
To strengthen the squad, Arsenal must compete, among English clubs alone, wtih Chelsea, Manchester City, and Tottenham who have demonstrated ruthlessness in the transfer market.
Yet the most consequential activity of the off-season will be the departure of Cesc Fabregas. I simply can’t imagine that his career ambitions will permit him to remain at a club requiring such wholesale rebuilding. And most sadly, I have no confidence that the once-visionary Arsene Wenger can effectively guide Arsenal through this transition.
Safe travels and many blissful memories to you and yours, Randinho, on your upcoming voyage.
Paula
@handsmile:
Fabregas has been chronically injured for Arsenal, but they need him in a way that Barca don’t. I always assumed that the mess over 2010 was about Fabregas seeking a higher profile within the EPL rather than trying to leave it, but whatever …
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I really can’t hate Barca because they really are entertaining to watch because of the talent on the ball — which makes it all the more noticeable when they resort to schoolboy tricks to get calls. They are SO FRUSTRATING as a club because of the attitude (esp. right now). Just play, dammit.
Dan
I would be ecstatic if all of Barca stayed on their feet like Messi always tries to do. Leaving would be defenders in his wake, either gaping, whiffing, or failing to actually make contact to cause a foul always makes me smile. Iniesta seems to do that a fair amount too.