Barça’s 2011 year in review.

Today, we bid farewell to 2011. For us Barça fans, 2011 was another great season that came close to matching 2009. The team was in contention for another treble but managed to win another double by capturing their 21st league title and their fourth ever UEFA Champions League title. They then started the new season by winning both the Spanish and UEFA Super Cups before finally winning their second ever FIFA Club World Cup title. 2011 also saw FC Barcelona face Real Madrid an astonishing seven times with their lone defeat coming in the Copa Del Rey Final as they won three and drew three. 2011 was also an impressive season for the players as Messi, Iniesta and Xavi were finalists for the FIFA Balon d’Or while Valdés won another Zamora trophy along with Messi, Xavi and Valdés reaching historic club milestones. So without further delay, here is the 2011 year in review of FC Barcelona.

January

January ushered us into the New Year and it kicked off with Xavi becoming Barça’s all time leader in appearances. Xavi would then head to Switzerland with fellow teammates Iniesta and Messi for the FIFA Balon d’Or award ceremony. This marked the first time since the Milan team of the late 80’s that the three finalists for the Balon d’Or came from the same team. In a somewhat surprise announcement, Messi beat Xavi and Iniesta to capture his second consecutive Golden Ball.  Additionally, six Barça players were in the UEFA.com team of the year.

January also saw Barça compete in three different ties in the Copa Del Rey.  Barça eliminated Athletic Bilbao thanks to an important away goal from the most unlikely source, Abidal. The final score of 1-1 was enough for Barça to advance after ending the first leg in a scoreless draw. Barça then succeeded in scoring two consecutive 5-0 routes in the first legs of their Copa Del Rey Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals against Real Betis and Almeria.

January also saw Busquets sign an extension to remain with the team while it was announced that Thiago was going to be promoted to the first team next season. Thiago’s brother, Rafinha, also earned a promotion as he made the leap to Barça B. The month would also be marred after Captain Puyol suffered an injury that would plague him for most of the second half of the season. January was also the month when the rumors of Barça coming to Miami for a summer friendly. Rumor had it that Barça would be coming to Miami in the summer to face AC Milan. That would later turn out to be false regarding Barça’s opponent only.

February

February kicked off with back to back 3-0 wins against Almeria, with new winter signing Ibrahim Afellay scoring his first goal for the club, and Atlético Madrid with the latter result setting a new league record of 16 consecutive league wins.  The club also announced the new rules for fans to become club members and was not embraced by some of the Blaugrana faithful. This month also saw the club see Xavi go down with injury. Xavi would bounce back but Puyol’s injury from last month would mean he would miss the away 1-1 draw to Sporting Gijon. Four days later, Barça would suffer an unjust 2-1 loss away in London to Arsenal in the first leg of the Round of 16 Champions League knockout stages. The month ended on a good note as the club bounced back with a win against Mallorca but the bigger news was the announcement that Guardiola would be back next season as Barça’s manager.

March

March saw the return of Xavi for the important encounter against Valencia as they managed to win away 1-0 in a game that featured Guardiola coaching with lower back pains. Following that victory, Guardiola was rushed to the hospital in Barcelona to seek treatment for a spinal disc hernia. Guardiola would return to manage the return leg against Arsenal that saw the team victorious 3-1 thanks to a Messi brace with the first goal ending up being nominated for goal of the year by FIFA.  No doubt Van Persie’s sending off was crucial but Mascherano’s last ditch tackle on Bendtner to deny him a golden scoring chance will be forever remembered.

Barça though were rocked after doping allegations from a radio station in Madrid following their exciting 1-1 draw away to Sevilla. The report linked the club, along with Valencia to doping practices by its medical staff. The club released a statement on their official site denying the negative allegations and demanded an immediate retraction along with the threat of legal action in order to defend the club’s name and honor. Cadena COPE did later apologize for the report but did not retract the report. The reporter who made the allegation further explained that the information came from Real Madrid.

Barça’s month though took a turn for the worse a day later when the club announced that defender Abidal was out indefinitely with a liver tumor. This announcement rocked the football world and shocked Barça fans who were witnessing Abidal fill in superbly in Puyol’s absence as a center back. Additionally, it was also announced that Barça B manager, Luis Enrique would be leaving the club at the end of the season where he would end up taking the Roma position. The end of the month saw another Barça defender in the news, but for a good reason, when the club announced that the beloved Dani Alves signed a new deal to remain with the club. It was also unveiled that Barcelona would be facing Manchester United in a summer friendly on US soil.

April

By far, April was the most important month of 2011. April saw Barça extend their league lead to eight points following Real Madrid’s surprising loss at home to Sporting Gijon. This was a great way for the club to kick off a new month and they followed that up with an impressive 5-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk at the Camp Nou in their first leg of the Champions League Quarter-finals that all but assured that Barça were heading to yet another Champions League Semi-finals. With Real Madrid also victorious in their first leg against Tottenham, an El Clásico Semi-finals were on the horizon which meant that April would become the month of El Clásico with four scheduled matches between the arch rivals.

Barça all but sealed the league in the first El Clasico of the month when they went to the Bernabéu and managed to hang on for a 1-1 draw which saw both Messi and Ronaldo score from the spot. This game also saw the return of the captain, Carles Puyol, for the first time in months from his injury. The second encounter between the two rivals a few days later would end in disappointment for Barça fans as an extra-time goal from a Ronaldo header was enough to win the Copa Del Rey. Puyol did not feature in this encounter but was on the substitute’s bench. Mourinho had won his first title as a Real Madrid manager with his team being criticized by the Cules as too dirty and physical.  Guardiola promised that his team would recover and his team did when they defeated Osasuna 2-0 in league action.

Barça then had to prepare for another trip to the Spanish capital for the third battle against Real Madrid; this time in European competition. Prior to kick off, Guardiola went off on Mourinho in a press conference that caught the Spanish media by surprise. His fiery words were welcomed by his players who were rumored to have given their manager a standing ovation. The first leg saw both teams play to a scoreless draw before the tides turned when Pepe was sent off for a foul on Dani Alves that still has people talking about it to this day. Messi would then grab a brace with the first goal coming from a well timed tap in courtesy of a well delivered cross from the Dutch substitute Afellay. Messi’s second goal would be one for the ages as he managed to dribble past four Madrid players before slotting the ball past Casillas.

Many believed that the two goal deficit all but assured that Barça would be going to another Champions League final. Even Mourinho said as much in his much mocked press conference following the defeat that saw him get sent off to the stands following Pepe’s red card.  Barça’s culmination to a wonderful month came to a disappointing end when they suffered their first away loss of the season and their first loss since September by losing to Real Sociedad. Fortunately, Real Madrid also suffered another loss at home to by falling to Real Zaragoza which kept Barça’s lead atop of the standings to remain at eight points.

May

Of course there were going to be some fallout after Barça’s 2-0 win in Madrid and both clubs lodged protests with UEFA. One of the big issues was the accusation that Busquets uttered a racial slur towards Marcelo. It caught everyone a bit off guard and the video evidence from Madrid was murky at best which was ridiculed by many Blaugrana fans.  After all the protesting and whining, the second leg kicked off with Mourinho relaxing in his hotel room. The first half ended in a scoreless draw and the second half saw Madrid had a goal disallowed which brought the chants of “Por Que?” from the Barça fans who were mocking Mourinho’s rant. The game would end in a 1-1 draw with Pedro’s goal being the nail in the coffin to give his side a temporary 3 goal aggregate lead before Marcelo reduced it back to a 2 goal aggregate lead. This result meant that Barcelona would be going back to Wembley for a second time for a shot at winning the Champions League trophy for a 4th time. What made this result even more memorable was the unexpected return of Abidal when he came on as a substitute in the dying seconds of the game. He would feature in the next four matches leading to up to the Champions League final.

Barça then shifted their focus on their league campaign and defeated their derby rival Espanyol 2-0 before traveling away to Levante and left with a 1-1 draw. That draw meant that the club had clinched their third consecutive league title and 21st in club history. With the league title secured, Guardiola had 13 days to prepare for Manchester United and rested most of his starters against Deportivo La Corona, which ended in a goal less draw, and away against Malaga, which ended in a 3-1 victory. This month also saw the club unveil the new kits for the next season.

The big day arrived on May 28th as Barça were back in Wembley for the first time since 1992. The venue was where Barça captured its first ever Champions League title back when it was called the European Cup. This game saw Puyol on the bench but Abidal was in the starting lineup. Barça struck first with Pedro scoring early in the first half. Wayne Rooney scored the equalizer as both teams entered the half even at one goal apiece. The second half though would belong to Barça as they clinched their fourth ever Champions League title with Messi scoring the go ahead goal with a well taken effort from outside the box and soon afterwards, David Villa sealed the outcome with a beautiful curling shot. All three forwards scored from assists from each midfielder. The victory was further remembered after Puyol’s classy gesture of handing over the captain’s arm band to Abidal which allowed the French defender to hoist the Champions League trophy.

The season came to a wonderful end and the team celebrated in grand fashion. No doubt that this was Guardiola’s best performance as Barça’s manager and his team had eclipsed the “Dream Team” as the best in the history of the club. On the last day of the month, the club announced the team would be playing its first preseason friendly away in Croatia.

June

The month of June meant vacation for most of the players and the fans. The South American players however had to get ready for Copa America. It was a busy month for the club though as they announced the news that former Barça player and Rijkaard assistant coach, Eusebio, was going to replace Luis Enrique as Barça B’s manager. President Rosell was also busy when he came out with a statement warning Real Madrid over their conduct during the season which prompted Real Madrid to respond back. Rosell also saw to it that Thiago would sign a new deal to stay with the club. On a personal note, I was fortunate to fly down to Miami and relax. I also got to cover Miami’s version of el Clásico between two local teams under the guise of Barça and Real Madrid that featured some of the Miami Penya players representing Barça.

July

Barça kicked off July by signing Pedro to a new contract, finalizing the transfer of Alexis Sanchez from Udinese and the transfer/loan of Bojan to Roma. The club also announced that they would be hosting Italian side Napoli in their annual Gamper Trofeo friendly. Barça also kicked off their summer preseason with a victory in Croatia against Hadjuk and also capturing the Audi cup after defeating Brazilian club Internacional and the hosts Bayern Munich. Thiago shined in the Audi Cup while the team suffered some bad news after Barça B player, Jonathan Soriano, suffered a serious injury that would see him miss most of the first half of the season.

With the club getting ready to tour the US, Guardiola opted not to call up any of his South American players with the exception of Adriano. Guardiola’s roster for the US tour thus consisted of first team and Barça B players.  UEFA also announced their top three players in contention for their Player of the year award with Messi and Xavi competing against Ronaldo for the award.

August

August would see Barça kick off their US tour with a loss to Manchester United in Washington D.C. with Ibrahim Afellay also suffering an injury that would force him to be out of action for a while. August would also be a very busy month for Barça Penya and Barça fans in Miami with the city hosting Barça’s second match of the US tour. The Penya members and fans had many events to look forward to and I was back in Miami again for all the festivities.

We first had Iniesta and Busquets appear at the Soccer Locker and take questions from fans in a packed Soccer Locker. Afterwards, Guardiola gave a press conference at the team’s hotel. Unfortunately, I missed the interview but I and my friend Alex managed to bump into Abidal and Keita and club delegate Carles Naval at the hotel. I also was lucky to meet other Barça fans such as Edwin at the hotel who were hoping to get a chance to meet the Barça players and was glad to know that Edwin and others were successful in meeting some of the players.

The club also had another event lined up that same day for a charity event featuring the wonderful Shakira and some of the club players such as Busquets, Puyol and Pique. Other club officials were present for this event, including the sporting director Zubizarreta, and Penya president Rafael Escofet got a chance to converse with them all. The following day saw some of the players get to swim with the dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium.  The evening would be even busier for the fans as the club had scheduled a late training session that coincided with a Penya dinner honoring Barça VP Jordi Cardoner i Casaus.

The training session was not open to the public and required a ticket for admission but kudos to the many fans whose presence and passion along with determination forced stadium officials to allow the fans in to see their players train. The dinner was also a success with gifts exchanged between the Penya and the club. There was also great Catalan food while the guests were entertained with the most recent Champions League final being replayed on a big screen. However, the biggest surprise of the evening was the Champions League trophy itself being present for everyone to enjoy. Many, including myself, made sure to get as many photos with that cup in this once in a lifetime situation. It was a wonderful night where I got to meet some new members of the Miami and Chicago Penya.

The game the following day against Chivas was not so memorable as Chivas defeated Barça 4-1. Muniesa suffered an injury and many fans were upset by what they had witnessed. I understood their frustration at the outcome but I didn’t think their anger was justified. It was a friendly and Pep had more things to worry about, such as the Supercopa. Barcelona concluded their US tour with a 2-0 over America. The club would then announce that Milito, Jeffren and Barça B starlet Romeu would be leaving the club.

Barça returned to Spain to face off against Real Madrid for the Supercopa. The first leg was in Madrid and saw Guardiola start some of the South American players who had not played in any of the summer friendlies. The first leg ended in a 2-2 draw that saw Barça came back from being a goal down with Villa and Messi scoring to give their side a 2-1 halftime lead. A Xabi Alonso goal in the second half was all the goals scored in the second half. The club then announced the transfer of Cesc from Arsenal that finally ended a pursuit that had been in the works for many years. The second leg would be an electric and feisty affair that saw both teams go back and forth before Messi sealed the outcome with his second goal with three minutes left in the game. The game then turned ugly when a melee occurred after Marcelo saw red for his rough challenge on the substitute Cesc, who was making his debut in the final minutes of the game. Players were pushing each other and in one incident, Mourinho was caught by the cameras trying to gouge Guardiola’s right hand man, Tito Vilanova, which resulted in Vilanova retaliating with a shove at Mourinho too.

In the end, Barça got to celebrate another title against their arch rivals. The team would then defeat Napoli 5-0 in the Gamper Trofeo before traveling to Monaco to face Porto for the UEFA Super Cup. The night before the game, Messi was awarded the inaugural UEFA Best Player in Europe Award and the team was grouped with Milan, BATE and Plzen in their Champions League group. Pique would suffer an injury during training and would miss the game. His absence would not haunt the club as Messi opened the scoring after being the beneficiary of a poor back pass and then assisted on Cesc’s goal to seal the outcome for yet another title for Pep. Barça then kicked off their domestic season with a 5-0 drubbing of Villarreal. The month ended on a high note when the Penya president, Rafael Escofet, was a guest on the Jorge Ramos y Su Bands show with the L.A. Real Madrid Penya president in an unforgettable and engaging discussion.

September

September saw the club hold its General Assembly where all proposals brought forward by FC Barcelona were approved such as the Qatar Foundation sponsorship deal. This month would see Messi and Valdés reach new milestones as Messi surpassed Kubala to be second in the club’s all-time scorer’s list while Valdés became the most capped keeper in club history. However, Valdés’s milestone came in a game where Barça squandered a two goal lead in San Sebastian in a disappointing 2-2 draw to Real Sociedad. A few days later, Barça would witness another match where they squandered yet another lead when they conceded goals against Milan in the first seconds and last seconds of the game in another 2-2 draw. Barça would rebound and demolish Osasuna 8-0 and then play to an exciting 2-2 draw away against Valencia.  The club ended the month with back to back 5-0 victories against Atlético Madrid and Bate with the latter being the match where Messi set his milestone.

October

October was a good month for the club where they managed five victories out of six. Their only non-victory was the goalless draw at home to Sevilla. Messi had a chance to get his side the three points in the end but his penalty effort was saved by the keeper, Varas, who played a great game. The only other issue that month was Barcelona B's slow start under Eusebio. Barça B are not duplicating last season’s form and results and it shows in the current standings. Barça would end the month of October without conceding a single goal but also unveil another young starlet, Isaac Cuenca. Cuenca’s rise through the ranks was impressive after rejoining the club during the summer. Cuenca was only a month into his debut with Barça B before injuries forced Guardiola to call him up to join the first team. He came on as a substitute against Plzen and scored his first ever team goal against Mallorca. The young player made the most of his opportunities and impressed Pep enough to make sure he would remain with the first team.

November

November would see Barça drop more points with another 2-2 draw away this time to Athletic Bilbao. It was a great game but the result did not help their league standings. Barça then won their first leg of the Copa Del Rey against L’Hospitalet 1-0 thanks to a wonderful goal from Iniesta and also defeated Zaragoza. The team then made the journey to Milan where they were victorious 3-2 in a thrilling encounter with former Barça player Van Bommel scoring an own goal before another former Barça player, Ibrahimovic, tied things up 1-1. Messi then scored the go ahead goal but Milan tied things up again in the second half courtesy of a great goal from Boateng. Fortunately, Xavi grabbed the winner courtesy of a sublime through ball from Messi. This result meant that Barça were going to finish as group winners.

This month also saw club president come out with the suggestion that the league should be reduced to 16 teams that was ridiculed by some but I agreed with his suggestion. Barça’s good fortune would not last long as they would suffer a huge setback when they lost away to Getafe to fall behind Real Madrid by 6 points. Many fans were upset, including myself, but the season was far from being over. The team rebounded back when they defeated Rayo Vallecano 4-0 in game pushed forward because of the club’s participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.  That victory reduced the gap back to three points.

December

December kicked off with the finalists of the FIFA Balon d’Or being announced and it was the exact duplicate of the UEFA award with Ronaldo, Xavi and Messi being selected as finalists again. The team also kicked off the month with impressive back to back victories over Levante and BATE with the Barça youth shining against the latter in a 4-0 victory. This meant that Barça headed to Madrid to face their bitter rival knowing a victory would temporarily eliminate the gap between the two teams atop of the standings. A loss on the other hand meant that Madrid could easily be ahead of Barça by nine points before the New Year.

El Clásico was another classic for the Blaugrana fans although it kicked off in nightmare fashion when Madrid scored in the first 30 seconds by Benzema. Valdés was to blame for the poor pass that was intercepted and lead to the goal although that could have been because of the lasers being pointed at his eyes. Nevertheless, Barça fought back and a moment of great skill from Messi set up Alexis who equalized to end the first half 1-1. The second half would be all Barça with Madrid ruing their misfortune. Xavi saw a shot take a deflection off of Marcelo that allowed the ball to get past Casillas for the go ahead goal. Later, after Ronaldo missed a golden scoring chance with his header going wide, Barça went down the field and doubled their lead when Cesc headed in a Dani Alves cross to all but seal the victory.

A great result for Barça as they scored an impressive victory against a very confident Madrid side and also taught us a lesson in never doubting the hearts of a champion. Barça would now shift their focus to the FIFA Club World Cup as they traveled directly from Madrid to Japan and trounced Qatari side Al-Sadd 4-0 to reach the final against Brazilian side Santos. The game was marred though with the news that David Villa would be out for probably five months after suffering a serious leg injury. While the club was away in Japan, UEFA held its draw for the Round of 16 knock out stage and Barça’s next opponent would be German club Bayer Leverkusen.

The final the world waited for kicked off a few days later with Barça facing Santos for the first time in a competitive fixture. The final was dubbed as Messi v Neymar but the final was over by halftime as Barça raced to a 3-0 lead with Messi, Xavi and Cesc scoring in the first half. For Messi, the goal meant he scored in 5 of the 6 club competitions this season, with only the Copa Del Rey left in his path. On the other hand, this goal also meant that Messi scored in all 6 club competitions in 2011. Messi would score another goal in the second half for a 4-0 victory that meant Barcelona had won its second ever FIFA cup and Guardiola picked up his 13th title as manager of FC Barcelona.

Back in Spain, Real Madrid defeated Sevilla to end the year on top of the Spanish league by three points. Barça flew back to Barcelona with just one game left to end a successful 2011. Barça hosted L’Hospitalet in the second leg of their cup and with the South American players already away on vacation. This meant that Pep had to field a roster full of Barça B players which would not hurt the team’s chances. Quite the contrary, the match saw some of the young players raise to the occasion as they defeated their opponents 9-0. The match was marred with another injury with Iniesta having to come off in the first half but fortunately his injury was not going to make him miss any matches due to the winter break.

So 2011 is coming to an end and boy has it been a great year for us Barça fans. Just one title away from another treble and who knows what we have in store for 2012. We saw players overcome tough adversity in terms of facing their bitter arch rival and also overcoming serious health scares. Even Guardiola suffered a health scare with his back problems with some joking that the pain was caused from Pep carrying the club on his back for the past few years. 2011 will be one of the history books but 2012 is shaping to be another interesting year for the club. We already know that there is a possibility that Barça could face Real Madrid in the Quarter-finals of the Copa Del Rey if both teams defeat their opponents in the Round of 16 stage. Barça will face Osasuna while Real Madrid will face Malaga. So brace yourselves, we might kick off 2012 with 2 Clásicos by the end of January. 2011 was a wonderful year and here’s hoping that 2012 will be just as rewarding for us Barça fans.

Hope all of you guys have a wonderful and happy New Year and may 2012 be a year of happiness, success and good health.

Hearts of Champions Should Never Be Underestimated.

Well El Clásico came and went and what a roller coaster it was. Barça’s 3-1 victory over their bitter arch rivals was fantastic for us Cules and served a lesson to all those who doubted them. You cannot underestimate the hearts of champions when it comes to this team and Pep.

Without a doubt, this past El Clásico was one for the ages. It had it all. It started off with a bang that sank our hearts just 22 seconds in and ended with all the Blaugrana faithful celebrating yet another impressive victory. Prior to kickoff, many expected Real Madrid to finally get the better of Barça with whispers that the cycle was coming to an end. Real Madrid had a 3 point lead and an extra game in hand so a victory would have meant Real Madrid could have had a 9 point lead before Christmas.

I won’t lie, I was upset when Barça lost away to Getafe but as I stated earlier, the team was down but not out. However, they had to make sure they did not suffer a defeat in the Santiago Bernabéu. Well, they did just that to temporarily go atop of the standings with their memorable 3-1 win. So what did we learn from that victory?

I believe former Houston Rockets coach, Rudy Tomjanovich, said it best after his team repeated as NBA Champions back in the mid 90’s; “Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion.” There had been some anticipation that Mourinho and Madrid were going to finally exact their revenge on Barça. Thankfully, that never came to fruition and that is because we should know to never underestimate the heart of a champion. Pep and his players have been through a lot over the years and it showed on Saturday that they were not ready to hand over the crown as La Liga’s best.

Pep and the players overcame a nightmarish start to a game when Valdés’s poor pass resulted in a goal just 23 seconds into the game. For some teams, that would have killed their confidence but this team brushed it off, after a shaky 20 minutes, to regroup and get the victory. A lot of that is due to the players not giving up in what they believe. Puyol and Abidal could have opted to avoid Valdes after that gaffe and just keep the ball clear from him and Valdes could have also opted to just not take chances and boot the ball all the way down to Casillas. However, they stuck to their guns and kept playing their game. Guardiola also made the right decisions against the so-called master tactician, Mourinho, and once again got the better of him.

Zonal Marking splendidly showed how Pep got the best of Mourinho in this encounter. Pep got the best of him in the Camp Nou after their historic 5-0 victory by playing Messi as a false 9 and on Saturday, Pep got the best of Mourinho again with his tactics. Busquets dropped back, Puyol covered Alves on the right, and, after struggling in the first half, Cesc figured out what Pep wanted him to do which resulted in him scoring in the second half.

This victory sure seemed easy when the club scored their third goal with plenty of time to spare. They seemed relaxed and composed which begs the question; why can’t they start games like this? If there is one slight imperfection that bothers me about this team, and it is slight, it is the team’s start to some big games. We have seen them twice struggle in the first ten minutes in both Champions League finals against Manchester United and this match on Saturday is no different. This also was the case in the 2006 Champions League final in Paris. Pep is always going to be busy but he really needs to come up with a solution to get his team ready from the opening whistle.

This victory also showed us just how vital Puyol is to the team’s success. Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and others get credit for helping this team get the goals but make no mistake about it; Puyol is a big reason why this team is so successful.  As Sid Lowe mentioned in his column today, Puyol has now gone 44 consecutive games unbeaten and it is no coincidence that he was absent in Barça’s past seven defeats. His presence was key back in last season in the Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid. It’s not because of his defending but because of his leadership. After Madrid’s opening goal, Puyol gestured to his fellow teammates to go back to the center of the pitch and get ready for kickoff. He basically told them to get over it and move on. He also kept passing the ball back to Valdes in a show of support that the team believes in him. Puyol is one player that cannot be replaced and one of my favorite memories of the great defender was hi shoving Pique to get him to stop trash talking and get his mind back on the game after Pepe’s sending off in the Champions League last season.

Finally, this victory also proved once again that Messi is the world’s best player. While Messi worked hard for his team to get the victory, Ronaldo was showing his mental weakness with his sad facial expressions and his selfishness to outdo Messi.  The problem is that Messi is not doing this for himself, but for the team. He set up the first goal and worked hard on both sides of the pitch to make his team better. Messi shined while Ronaldo played the defeated role. Ronaldo should have buried his chances and I think had he got in the way of Benzema on that cross that the Portuguese international headed wide. In a stadium where Maradona, Ronaldinho and even Iniesta got applause, Ronaldo got jeered by his own fans.

If anything, the three finalists for the Balon d’Or should be Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, not Ronaldo. Those players rise to the occasion time and time again and all three deserve to be nominated again for their performances. Iniesta was simply amazing and he should be the one standing there on the podium next month with Messi and Xavi for the FIFA Balon d’Or. It could happen again next season where all three might be standing on the podium. Instead, Messi and Xavi will be standing there and whoever wins it, Messi is the favorite, will no doubt thank his fellow teammates. They all know they need and depend on one another for their success. That will be put to the test when they try to capture their second ever FIFA Club World Cup title this week.

FC Barcelona's Competition for The Upcoming FIFA Club World Cup

 

The FIFA Club World Cup will kick off tomorrow in Japan when Kashiwa Reysol host Auckland City FC. FC Barcelona won’t be playing till next week when they face the winner between Espérance and Al-Sadd. This will be the club’s fourth attempt to win this trophy and third time participating in the FIFA Club World Cup. Barça won this competition two years ago after defeating Argentinean club Estudiantes and will attempt to become the first side to win this competition twice. Here is a little background info on the other teams that Barcelona is competing with for the cup.

The tournament will kick off tomorrow with a match between Japanese League champions Kashiwa Reysol hosting the 2010–2011 OFC Champions winners, New Zealand’s Auckland City FC. The winner of that match up would then face the Mexican club, Monterrey, who are the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League winners in the Quarterfinals. The winner of that Quarterfinal match meets the Brazilian club, Santos, the 2011 Copa Libertadores winner, in the Semifinals.

Tunisian club, Espérance, the 2011 AFC Champions League winners will face the Qatari club, Al-Sadd who won the 2011 AFC Champions League in the only other Quarterfinal. The winner of that Quarterfinal match will meet our beloved Barça, 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League winners, in the other semifinal. As usual, many have predicted that the final will be once again between the champions of Europe and South America, but as last year’s edition proved when Congolese club TP Mazembe pulled the upset when they defeated Brazilian side Internacional, so you never know. Here are the clubs competing in this year’s tournament:

Kashiwa Reysol (Japan)

Founded in 1940.

The Japanese club just won their first ever Japanese league title last week after their first back from the second division. They have something in common with Barça in that Hristo Stoichkov played for both clubs in the 90’s. Hristo Stoichkov joined the club for a season in the late 90’s, after he had left Barça, and before coming to the MLS. Former Brazilian striker Careca also played for them in the early part of the 90’s.

They qualified for this tournament as current champions of the host nation.

Auckland City FC (New Zealand)

Founded in 2004.

Auckland have won four league titles and have won three Oceania Club Championships 2005-2006, 2008-2009, & 2010-2011.

They qualified for this tournament as current Oceania Club Championships champions and marks their third appearance in this tournament. Coincidentally, they have participated in this competition every time Barcelona have also participated; 2006, 2009 and this year’s edition.

They lost to African Champions, Egyptian side El Ahli 2-0 the first time in 2006 and then lost in the fifth place play-off 3-0 to Asian Champions League winners, Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. They finally won their first game of this competition back in 2009 when they defeated the hosts, UAE league champions  Al-Ahli before falling to CONCACAF Champions League winners, Mexican side Atlante who then lost to Barça in the Semifinals.  Auckland City did end that tournament on a positive note when they defeated African Champions, TP Mazembe, to decide fifth place.

Monterrey (Mexico)

Founded in 1945.

Monterrey have won their league four times - México 86, Clausura 2003, Apertura 2009, & Apertura 2010.

Monterrey have won the CONCACAF Champions League twice – 1993 & 2010-2011.

Club de Fútbol Monterrey qualified for this tournament as the defending CONCACAF Champions League winners. Some of Monterrey’s players have faced Barça in the past with Chilean striker Humberto Suazo playing against them during his short stay with Real Zaragoza during the 2009-2010 season. Argentinean forward Cesar Delgado also played against Barça during his playing days for Lyon in the Champions League during the 2008-2009 season in both legs of the first round of the knock out stages. Full back Ricardo Osorio has experience playing against Messi, Dani Alves and Mascherano from his international playing days for Mexico.

Espérance (Tunisia)

Founded in 1919.

Espérance have won the Tunisian League 24 times; 1942, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, & 2011.

Espérance have won the African Champions League twice - 1994, & 2011.

Espérance Sportive de Tunis are competing in this competition for the first time after winning the African Champions League and have had as many as eight players get recent call ups to the Tunisian national team.

Al-Sadd (Qatar)

Founded in 1969.

Al-Sadd have won the Qatari League 12 times: 1971-1972, 1973–1974, 1978–1979, 1979–1980, 1980–1981, 1986–1987, 1987–1988, 1989–1989, 1999–2000, 2003–2004, 2005–2006, & 2006–2007.

Al-Sadd have won the Asian Champions League twice: 1989 & 2011.

Al-Sadd Club qualified for this are competing in this competition for the first time and they too share a common link with Barça. They both had Brazilian goal scorer Romário play for both of them. Romário however only played 3 matches with them back in the 2002-2003 season. They are managed by the well traveled Uruguayan, Jorge Fossati.

 

Santos (Brazil)

Founded in 1900.

Santos have won 19 Campeonato Paulista titles: 1935, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1984, 2006, 2007, 2010, & 2011, and have won 8 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 2002, & 2004.

Santos have won the Copa Libertadores three times:  1962, 1963, & 2011.

Santos won the predecessor of this competition, Intercontinental Cup, twice back in 1962 and 1963.

Santos Futebol Clube qualified for this tournament after winning the Copa Libertadores and are one of the most well known clubs in the world due in large to being Pele’s club during his playing days in Brazil which spanned over 600 games. Currently, their best players consist of Paulo Henrique Ganso, Elano, Leo, Borges, and a certain Neymar that Barça is rumored to be close to signing.

Barça’s Keirrison played for Santos on loan last season. Barça also had other former Santos players play for them such as defender Marinho Peres in the mid 70’s and Giovanni Silva de Oliveira who moved from Santos to Barcelona in the late 90’s. Argentina’s World Cup winning manager, César Luis Menotti, played for Santos back in the 60’s before managing FC Barcelona in 1984.

Once again, the competition kicks off tomorrow with FOX Deportes and Fox Soccer Channel broadcasting the games. They will play their first game, on Thursday, December 15, at 5:15 AM Miami time and if they win and advance to the final, they will play the final on Sunday, December 18, also at 5:15 AM.

 

Euro 2012 to be the final great Euro Cup.

Get ready folks. Euro 2012 is coming up this summer and following yesterday’s draw, this will be another exciting tournament. Sadly, it will also be the final Euro Cup that will be considered great. In my opinion, UEFA’s decision to expand it from 16 teams to 24 teams for the 2016 edition will extinguish the flame that made this tournament great.

The draw for this summer Euro 2012 group stages took place last week and once again, the draw reminded me why this is my favorite tournament in football. Where else can you get a group with three European champions? Where else can you get arch rivals meet at the group stage? World Cup? Rarely. Copa America? Not that often. The Champions League does come close in terms of providing us a sort of the Best of the Best in Europe competition. However, nothing can top the Euro Cup.

My first ever football memories were that of Euro 88 when Holland finally won their first ever tournament and put to rest the despairs of their shortcomings in the past. Since then, I have been following them as they continued to break my heart in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 Euro cups. In my opinion, this summer presents the final time that the Euro cup will be special. UEFA’s president, and former winner of the Euro cup, Platini will be expanding the Euro cup from the current 16 teams to 24 for the 2016 edition. I hope that somehow that will never be implemented but I don’t the chances of that happening any more than the chances of FIFA switching venues for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

I have always gotten grief about my belief that the Euro Cup is harder to win than the World Cup. I still stand by that statement. In the past, it was hard just to qualify for the Euro cup. Before 1996, only 8 countries qualified for the tournament. 8. Defending champions Spain failed to qualify in 1992 and even the Italian national team failed to qualify in 1992 along with three other times after winning the tournament in 1968. Can you imagine a World Cup or Euro Cup now where Italy and Spain are not present? For some reason, this one tournament that did not have its usual teams until it expanded to 16 for the 1996 Euro Cup. The change was needed after UEFA expanded from 33 countries to 47 teams after 1994.

16 teams did double the number of participants but it did not dilute the competition. Unlike the World Cup or the Champions League where more is not better, doubling the number of nations fighting for the Euro Cup was a boost. The big factor that differentiated between the Euro Cup and the World Cup were the group stages. The World Cup now might have one group of death but most of the time, we know which teams will advance from their groups along with the odd surprise such as France and Italy’s elimination from this past World Cup group stage or France and Argentina’s shock elimination back in 2002.

However, most group stages never pack a punch like the Euro Cup. Euro 88 gave us a Germany, Spain and Italy group.  Euro 96 gave us a group consisting of France, Spain, Bulgaria and Romania, 3 of which were in the knockout stages of the previous World Cup that France failed to qualify for.  Euro 2000 gave us a group consisting of then defending World Cup champions with Holland and Denmark while England was grouped with Germany and Portugal and Romania. Euro 2004 gave us a group consisting of Holland, Germany and Czech Republic while the last edition of Euro 2008 gave us a group consisting of Holland, Italy and France. How often do you get those types of group stages where the previous World Cup finalists are grouped together?

On top of that, how often do you get to see arch rivals such as Holland and Germany, or England and Germany get grouped together? Brazil and Argentina? Only during the World Cup qualifiers and that started this past decade when Conmebol scrapped the two group stages to keep Brazil and Argentina separated. As a fan of the Oranje, getting to see Holland face Germany in the group stages is something to get ready for. Holland’s group this year will pit them once again against Germany and also against Portugal, the side that knocked them out of Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006.

Those group stages are a killer to get out of and if you do advance, you still have other teams that are no pushovers. When France won it all in 2002, they had to defeat Denmark and Euro 96 finalists Czech’s before losing to Holland in the final group stage match. They then had to face Spain, Portugal and Italy to win the Euro Cup for the second time. Spain had to defeat Russia, Sweden and then Greece before having to beat Italy, Russia and Germany for the cup. Denmark’s amazing story in 1992 saw them get invited at the last second to replace Yugoslavia and they survived a group that featured England, France and Sweden before defeating Holland and Germany.

As much as we all love the World Cup for what it is, it does not generate that much excitement till the final group stage match or the knockout rounds. It is diluted with teams that some would consider minnows that are out of their league. Even then, sometimes the knocks out stages fail to deliver us big games. Looking back at the 2002 World Cup, Germany made it all the way to the final without defeating a single European country. They tied with Ireland in the group stage and defeated Saudi Arabia and Cameroon before knocking out Paraguay, USA and South Korea before falling to Brazil in the final. Heck, even Brazil made it to the final by playing Turkey twice, Costa Rica, China, Wilmots’s inspired Belgium, and England. France did have its work cut out for it in 2006 when they had to go through Spain, Brazil and Portugal while Italy had to go through Ghana, USA, Czech Republic, Australia, Ukraine, and Germany before defeating the French.

I know the World Cup is no easy task and I expect some rebuttals in that if the Euro Cup is harder to win than the World Cup, then how come Denmark, Holland and Greece never won the World Cup. That’s not the point. Comparing the two tournaments in terms of level of difficulty is what I’m getting at. We will never see a World Cup group stage with Germany and Holland or Spain with Brazil, or Italy with Argentina as often as we would like. World Cup keeps its mega powers away from each other whereas the Euro Cup didn’t care. Can you recall the last time Germany was eliminated from a World Cup group? I recall Germany crashing out in 2000 and 2004. Prior to World Cup 2010, you had to go back to World Cup 1974 to see Italy crash out of a World Cup group stage while it happened to them twice in recent tournaments, Euro 96 and Euro 2004. Will we ever see a country win the World Cup playing a group with Holland and Italy before taking on the likes of Spain, Germany, Brazil and Argentina in the knock out stages? I highly doubt it. That’s the type of strength that the Euro Cup provides us with.

This summer, we are going to see England and France meet again like they in 2004. Holland and Germany meet again after recently being grouped together in Euro 2004 and also back in Euro 92. Sadly, this will probably be the last time we will get to enjoy a tournament with such group stages. Euro 2016 will see the teams expand from 16 to 24. This will lead to the introduction of two additional groups which will spread out the big teams and thus lessen the chances of seeing the same sort of groups we are accustomed to seeing. However, why mess with a good thing? 16 teams were more than enough and in a time where we are complaining of too many matches for players for both club and country, how does expanding lessen that dilemma?

So sit back and enjoy this great tournament one final time. The next one might be only exciting when it comes to the final group stage or the knock out stages, which is what we have right now with the World Cup and to a lesser extent, the Champions League. Here’s to the last toughest international football tournament.

Down, But Not Out.

Yesterday’s Barça victory over Rayo helped ease the pain or disappointment of last weekend’s loss away to Getafe. Barça were three points behind Real Madrid and had not suffered a loss until the Getafe game. Suddenly, they were six points behind the enemy, and El Clasico was only a few weeks away. Of course, there were some fans that were angry and thought the season was over and many fans who didn’t give up on their team. I was more on the fence but didn’t give up hope yet.

Yes, we were all outraged. Getafe? They lost away to Getafe. Are you kidding me? Getafe’s manager, Luis Garcia managed to do something that Mourinho could not do in three tries; Win a game in Madrid. Barcelona were denied a legit goal that would have ended the game in a draw but unfortunately, they are lost and are six points behind Real Madrid. Sadly, the writing was on the wall. Barça have been poor away from the Camp Nou all season and have either won games 1-0 or played to a couple of 2-2 draws. That’s quite a contrast to last season when they won their first six away matches.

Barça’s victory yesterday though helped them narrow the gap back to three points, albeit the game was brought forward because of their participation in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup that will be held in Japan next month. The big game against Real Madrid is now vital. A win means the teams are temporarily tied atop of the standings till Madrid play their extra game. Thus, now it is not the time to throw in the towel. Guardiola knows things need to change away but he also needs to make sure the team is prepared for a brutal second half of the season.

Under Pep, Barça has dropped more points in the second half of the season. They once had a 12 point lead against Real Madrid shrink down to four under Pep’s first season and always seemed to be let Madrid catch up to them with the exception of last season. The pressure is now on them to make sure their second half of the season resembles the first half of last season. It won’t be easy with the December visit to Japan.

Nevertheless, we should not give up on the team or on the players even though some of them have been disappointing. David Villa needs to get more consistent and Pep needs to stop using defensive midfielders as center backs.  Maybe the club needs to buy a player or two in the winter transfer market like they did last year when they bought Afellay. I still believe that they need to get a tall striker as an aerial threat and also a dependable center back since Guardiola clearly does not trust Fontàs. The tall striker would come in handy both offensively and defensively during corner kicks. Ibrahimovic might have been inconsistent in front of the goal but to his credit, he played a big role by nullifying a lot of the opponents’ corner kicks too.  

After all, Getafe’s manager, Luis Garcia, said “Barça suffer at set pieces as they are not tall, except for Piqué and Busquets” two days before the game so maybe he is on to something. Going back to those epic Supercopa matches, it was obvious that Real Madrid were a constant threat on most of their corner kicks. I don’t think the club will look for bit tall players this winter but this might be an issue they will have to address in the future if their lack of height will expose them to other problems.

Now, I have always been a firm believer that it’s not how you start but how you finish. I also believe that the league title is always determined in the final five matches of the season. We are only in November and as my friend told me the other day; the league is never won in December or January. I agree with that statement, but it doesn’t help when you have a mountain to climb either by getting poor results away. Barça have started poorly but they have to dust themselves off and get back to work. Levante at home will not be an easy task but the match at Madrid will be vital and some might consider a must win game. Important thing for them is to take it one game at a time and we will see how things go. Hopefully, things turn out for the better for our beloved Barça after their unfortunate wakeup call against Getafe.

Visca Barça!

Guardiola’s gambling habits regarding his lineups.

We have seen Pep Guardiola achieve great success in these past three seasons thanks to his vision, his assistants and a great squad of players. Yet, Pep has also achieved his success with some unorthodox team selections that showed us that he not a man afraid to gamble. What makes this is so strange that Pep is the type who likes to play it safe especially with his new plan on taking three goal keepers on every away match.

Guardiola can be called many things. A visionary, a motivator, a demanding but fair coach, but what about being called a gambler? Take for example Barça’s recent 2-3 victory against Milan in Italy. Barça had previously faced Milan in the first group stage match and the game ended in a 2-2 draw with Milan scoring both goals in the opening and dying seconds of the match. Pep fielded Mascherano and Busquets as his starting center backs since Pique was out with an injury and Puyol was still not match fit. No need to remind everybody what happened in the opening seconds of the game.

So it was rather surprising that when both teams met again this past Wednesday, Guardiola had Pique and Puyol at his disposal as starting center backs but opted to start Puyol as the right back in place of the suspended Dani Alves while Pique sat on the bench. No explanation was given by Guardiola as to why Pique was not in the starting lineup, let alone why he didn’t feature in the second half to help his side protect a one goal lead. Then again, it is not that surprising.

Fortunately, the team won 2-3 but Mascherano and Busquets played a part in Milan’s second goal with their poor efforts in the air. Mascherano’s header clearance fell short of eliminating a Milan threat and Busquets effort to head the ball came up short and failed to make up for Mascherano’s mistake. Of course, this is not to take credit away from Boateng who scored a splendid goal, but Boateng would have never seen the ball had either player dealt with the ball better in the first place.

Ultimately the gamble paid off but why did Pep have to gamble in the first place? He had both Puyol and Pique available to play as center backs. We all know Puyol played as a right back early in his career but the veteran leader has racked a lot of mileage on those legs and is asking a lot from the veteran. Why wasn’t Barça B’s Martín Montoya called up to play in Dani Alves’s place? Since last season, the 20 year old has shined for club and country. So why not give him the chance at a big stage? Even as a substitute?

Like I said before, Guardiola’s decisions are not that surprising. Over the years, Guardiola has gotten away with odd decisions with lineups. In his first season, we saw midfielder Victor Sanchez put in performances as a full back for a handful of league matches and Touré Yaya started as a center back over Caceres in the Rome Champions League Final. The following season saw Dani Alves and Maxwell start as midfielders before we saw Pep turn completely mad scientist and experiment with Busquets as a center back before starting both Busquets and Mascherano as center backs with the odd occasion of playing Barça B midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos as a right back in some Copa Del Rey matches. Thus, another title you can bestow on Guardiola is unpredictable.

Fortunately, his gambles have mostly paid off. That is what makes it so odd to see Pep gamble on Wednesday when he is also the type who likes to play it safe. Best example of this was his recent decision to travel with three goal keepers for every away match. The idea sprang because of Valdés’s injury prior to the first Copa Del Rey match of the season. Pinto was going to start the game against L'Hospitalet with Valdes as his back up. However, an elbow injury forced Valdes to miss the game. Fortunately, Guardiola knew he could call up Barça B’s Oier to make the short journey and join the team seeing as their opponents were only 7 km away.

However, Guardiola realized he was fortunate that Valdés’s injury occurred in the same region and not somewhere distant such as Sevilla, Madrid or Milan. According to reports coming out of Barcelona sports dailies, Guardiola will now travel with three keepers for every away match. Thus, if any of his first team keepers, Valdes, or Pinto, pick up an injury during training or while warming up prior to kickoff; Guardiola would have his Barça B keeper fill in as a substitute on the bench. If neither of the veteran keepers are hurt, then the “In case of emergency, break glass” Barça B keeper will not dress for the game and sit in the stands.

Therefore, it does come off odd for Guardiola to play it safe when it comes to traveling with an extra goal keeper but would still gamble on who will play in the back four. Of course Guardiola is the Puto Crack as the coach of the club. But I think many would agree with me that his gambling with who plays in the back four is a bit too much for our heart rates and blood pressure. Hopefully the days of Mascherano and Busquets lining up as center backs will be a thing of history but you never know with Guardiola; He could play someone else there instead. 

Has Hiddink's Magic Worn Out?

On November 15, 2011, Dutchman Guus Hiddink's fate as the Turkish national team manager was sealed after his side drew 0-0 with Croatia and thus ending their pursuit of qualifying for Euro 2012 thanks to a 3-0 home loss in the first leg. Hiddink was gone a few days later and is now free to coach elsewhere. However, not much have gone his way since Euro 2008. In a span of four year, Hiddink has gone from miracle worker to a slight disappointment. Has Hiddink's magic worn out or does it only work outside of Europe?

I still consider him to be the second best manager Holland ever had after the great Rinus Michels. His first tournament,Euro 96, ended in bitter disappointment after falling to the French national team in a shoot out and somewhat controversial fashion which was also blown out of proportion after Edgar Davids was dismissed from the team. His successfully managed Holland to the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup where they would suffer yet another elimination from a penalty shoot out against Brazil . He would step down afterwards and Holland would go on to lose in yet another semi-finals in Euro 2000 against Italy where wasted chances from the penalty spot would haunt this team for four more years before they put those demons to rest when they defeated Sweden in Euro 2004.

Meanwhile, Hiddink continued to work his magic. His next job was coaching South Korea. He helped South Korea capture their first ever win at a World Cup after failing to do so in their last five straight World Cup appearances. He also guided South Korea to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup with the aid of lady luck.  Much of his experience in South Korea was detailed in the book "Going Dutch" which provided insight in how changed the way football was run in that country. South Korea ended their magical ride with a fourth place finish under Hiddink and they did manage to qualify for the knockout rounds this past World Cup.

Hiddink returned to Holland to coach PSV Eindhoven. He had great success with PSV back in the late 80's including the Champions League trophy in 1988. He second stint was just as successful although he encounter his "Semi-Finals" jinx when Milan eliminated PSV in the Champions League in the final seconds. Hiddink was on a roll where everything he touched resulted in success.

He then managed to do what was deemed impossible after he managed Australia to the 2006 World Cup for the first time since Stephen King published his first novel under his own name. He then got them to advance to the first knock out stage before falling to eventual champions Italy. He continued to surprise everybody when he took the role of Russian national team manager. He helped Russia end their international tournament drought since Euro 96 when Russia qualified for Euro 2008.

Their twelve year wait to return to the big stage started off with a crushing loss to eventual champions Spain but they finished second in the group stage. This set the stage for Hiddink's biggest challenge; facing his home country Holland in the Quarter-Finals. Once again, Hiddink managed to surprise the world when the Russian defeated Holland in extra time. Unfortunately, Hiddink's team would fall in another semi-final when Spain routed his side 3-0.

With the Russians coming so close to making it to the Euro 2008 Cup final, many considered Russia qualifying for the 2010 World Cup was a mere formality. However, 2009 would be a tough year for Hiddink. Hiddink was appointed as Chelsea's manager in February and managed to win the FA Cup but fell to my beloved Barcelona in the memorable and, to some, still controversial fashion in yet another semi-finals. He was sharing duties with Russian team and was grouped with Euro 2008 finalists, Germany. Hiddink's side finished second to Germany and thus had to play in a playoff to qualify for World Cup 2010.

Russia's opponents were Slovenia and again, many expected Russia to advance. Unfortunately, Russia's 2-1 first leg result would not be enough as they lost away 1-0 to Slovenia in November of 2009 and thus were eliminated by away goals rule. Hiddink left the Russian manager seat and took the challenging position of being the Turkish national team manager back on June 2010. Once again, he would get grouped with Germany and once again, his side would finish second.

Thus, Hiddink was back in another set of playoff qualifiers set in November. This time, Turkey's chances of advancing were not so concrete when they were drawn to face Croatia. Sadly, the first leg ended with Turkey suffering a 3-0 defeat at home and thus, their chances in overturning this result in Croatia were slim. Turkey played to a scoreless draw in the second leg and thus Hiddink had to suffer the bitter taste of elimination via November playoffs. Hiddink was out as coach of the Turkish national team.

So Hiddink is available for hire. The problem is, is he bankable anymore? He went from being known as the manager who you never bet on when he's in the semi-finals to a manager who has come up short in qualifying for a major international tournament twice. I still think he has some magic left in him and don't believe he was cursed when he became Chelsea's manager. I think he paid the price for Russian players' lack of focus but the Turkey failure is on him.

So what's next for Hiddink? Talk of him going into the sporting manager/ director roles seem rampant with Ajax and Chelsea already being rumored to be interested in obtaining his services. Personally, I think he still has some magic left in him. I think Hiddink can work his magic outside of Europe. I stated in the past that he should have been considered for the US national team position since he expressed how much he enjoyed playing and living in the US back in the late 70's. I wouldn't mind seeing him try to coach a team from Africa too, especially how some of those countries have done in the youth international competitions which is something that Hiddink likes to focus on when he coaches a national team.

No one knows what lies ahead but I sure wouldn't mind seeing Hiddink coach USA or Nigeria. I think the man still has some magic left in him. Everyone goes through a bad spell and Hiddink escaping Europe would probably be best for him. I still wouldn't mind him coaching Holland in the future if Bert van Marwijk changes his mind and steps down after Euro 2012. Hopefully Hiddink can overcome that semi-finals jinx if he does get that far. That alone should be a factor for him to pursue a career in coaching. Only time will tell.

Off Topic – Why the hate on NBA Players during the Lockout?

I know it’s not football related but hey, it’s my blog. This topic has been bothering me for quite a while; People hating on the players during the ongoing NBA Lockout. Sure, both the owners and players share a bit of the blame but blame the owners for the state of the Lockout and the state of the game in general.

NBA has suffered Lockouts before. Some were real brief but the last wiped out half a season. The players fought against the owners and Commissioner David Stern. The owners complained that the then Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was unfair to the owners and had to be changed. The players looked bad and greedy with some of the big stars like Patrick Ewing saying "SureNBA players make a lot of money, but we spend a lot too", and another, KennyAnderson, saying he would have to sell one of his 8 cars to make ends meet (he later said he was kidding). They got scared when their pay checks didn’t arrive and caved in. David Stern and the owners won. This Lockout was back in 1998 for the 1998-1999 season. High fives for them and even Sports Illustrated showed how this was awesome for the owners and the league.

Stern won, then, which was no surprise; he almost always does. That's why the owners had the good sense for the last six months to keep their mouths shut and let him work. While the players were talking too much—first putting their hightops in their mouths with ludicrous comments that showed how out of touch they are with the average fan and then hurting the union's cause by revealing how desperate they were to settle—the owners let Stern be their voice. It's true that they had a gag order with the threat of a six-figure fine hanging over their heads, but these are wealthy, powerful men. The fear of writing a check didn't keep them quiet. Confidence in Stern did.

So fast forward to today and what do we have? The owners are complaining the current CBA is not good for them and that they are losing tons of money. Say what? The owners forced the players to accept the deal. It was their deal. They played hard ball, via Stern, and won. So now, the league is saying that they are losing more than $300 million a year. So whose fault is that? The players? Last time I checked, it wasn’t the Players’ Union who gave Rashard Lewis a $118 million contract who doesn’t play any D and can only jack threes.

The owners forced the players to accept the last CBA. They were the ones who said the players will get 57% of the share. Now the owners want to take it down to 50% or even lower and people are upset at the players for not accepting? Look, I am a Portland Trailblazers fan and I want to see them win a title in my lifetime. But I also understand where the players are coming from. They were strong armed into accepting the last CBA deal and now they are getting strong armed into accepting another. Why should they trust the owners and their judgment? It’s like that old saying, “Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.” They don’t want to get burned again.

What makes this lockout even better is Michael Jordan’s role.  When the last lockout took place, it was reported that Jordan told one owner, Abe Pollin of the Washington Wizards, "If you can't make a profit, you should sell your team." Ironically, he ended up playing for Pollin at the end of his career which many Jordan fans forget to recall or prefer to wipe out of their memories. Now, Jordan is on the other side of the debate as the owner of the Bobcats and you can’t help but see the irony. One day, you’re telling owners get out of the game if you can’t afford it and now you’re saying you can’t afford to stay in the game and want the players to accept less.

So the lockout is still ongoing but the players and owners don’t seem close to reaching an agreement. Good. It happened to the NHL and they missed a season and now the league is doing well but we’ll see how things go when their next CBA deal end. As for the NBA, they should not reach a new deal until both sides are happy. That way, we can blame both for the lockout. Right now, I can’t point the finger of blame on the players. The owners wanted the last CBA deal; got it and now they are crying that the deal is no good. Sorry, but that’s your fault.

Where are they now? 1996-1997 FC Barcelona Cup Winner's Cup Team.

Another republish work - Where Are They Now? 96-97 Cup Winner's Cup Team that I published back in August of 2010. I will be updating it for Total Barca soon. Enjoy.Where are they now 96 97 cup winner's cup team

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Where Are They Now? 1992 FC Barcelona European Cup Champions.

Here is another re-publishing item. I did this a few years ago and then Total Barca asked me to submit an updated version a few months ago. This is the original one that was posted on the FC Barcelona Miami Penya website. EnjoyWhere are they now 1992 european cup champions

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My 2008 Interview With Nick Simon, The English Voice of R@dio Barça.

Since I just started this blog, I might as well reproduce my first ever interview with anyone affiliated with FC Barcelona. Back in 2008 as the club was going through a tough spell in Rijkaard's final season, we were introduced to a live coverage of FC Barcelona matches in English and live!!!

Nick Simon is still on the air via R@dio Barça and Barça TV and I was fortunate to have him take time to answer my emails to conduct this interview. No, it was not face to face but a correspondence of emails and props to Nick Simon for reply back. I posted it on my old FC Barcelona fan site - Barcelona 24-7 - and might as well bring it back for those who are not familiar with Mr. Simon.

I'm tempted to try to arrange another interview with him in the near future now since it's been over 3 years now. Enjoy

Interview With Nick Simon, The English Voice of R@dio Barça.

In a season full of disappointments and heart breaks, there has been some bright spots for FC Barcelona and without a doubt, Nick Simons has been great fulfilling his duty by providing English commentary for R@dio Barça. This season was difficult for Barcelona fans, especially those outside of Spain, who were affected by the row between TV firms Sogecable and production firm Mediapro over rights to show top Spanish league.* Many fans, including myself missed many of the first games of the season for Barcelona because of this row. Thankfully, many of us did not miss a second of those games free because of Nick Simons and his commentary of R@dio Barça. Back in August 2007, FC Barcelona launched R@dio Barça to provide its fans live match commentaries via the Club’s website. This service kicked off with coverage of Joan Gamper's match against Inter Milan. Match commentaries were broadcast live on www.fcbarcelona.cat for all first team friendlies, Spanish League, Copa Del Rey and Champions League game. In order to gain as wide an audience as possible, broadcasts were in three languages: Catalan, Spanish and English. The official site mentioned that live game commentaries were to be presented by former Barça star Oscar Garcia in Catalan and former coach Toño de la Cruz in Spanish. However, the site neglected to mention who would be providing the English play by play of FC Barcelona games. The crew here at Barcelona 24-7 decided we would have the honor of introducing the English voice of R@dio Barça to the Barcelona fans who tune in for the games. Not much is mentioned about Nick Simons on the official site and we hope that changes soon. Besides R@dio Barça, Nick Simons can be also heard commentating on games shown on Barça TV games as well, which for those in the US like myself, is being currently shown on Fox Soccer Channel (FSC). Thus, I decided it would be great if we would be able to interview Mr. Simons so that all the fans can get to know more about him. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to get a quick interview, via e-mails, with Nick Simons. IBES: How long have you been a Barcelona Fan? NICK: I was lucky to move to Barcelona to live in 1991 when the Dream Team was kicking in. I still think maybe seeing Laudrup and Romario live was one of the best combinations ever. IBES: Who is your favorite Barcelona player of all time? NICK: Various. Laudrup, Luis Enrique and funnily enough maybe an number one, Pep Guardiola. IBES: Favorite Great Barcelona goal? Romario's vs. Atletico, Rivaldo’s bicycle? NICK: Nah, easy. Laudrup’s flick to Romario. http://youtube.com/watch?v=plKhZhZCQHg (youtube link provided by Nick himself) IBES: How did you win this job of the English announcer? NICK: I had worked on the Premier League, in Spanish, on Via Digital. They remember my work there. I don't mind working solo or with a colleague. IBES: Doesn't it get boring in the booth without a partner? NICK: Sometimes. IBES: I did realize that one of my questions seemed moot after listening to El Clásico. You had another person in the booth. What was his name? NICK: Last 4 games, except El Clásico, were Archibald (Editor Note - That's former Scottish player Steve Archibald who played for Barcelona in the mid 80‘s). For El Clasico, it was a journalist called Ernest Amat. IBES: Is it tough to work the game when the Spanish and Catalan announcers are near you commentating away in their languages? NICK: Wearing the headphones you are cut off from the other commentators. IBES: Any plans for perhaps a halftime show along with a pre-game and post game analysis? NICK: I think everything is step by step. Lets see! IBES: Which are the worst and best away stadium press rooms? NICK: No comment. IBES: Is it tough to control your feelings during good and bad moments for the club? NICK: Sometimes. IBES: Is it difficult doing these games late at night? (Barcelona had many 10 PM kickoffs this past season) NICK: Miss dinner sometimes, but that apart doing a 2200hrs kick off means you have the day to do other stuff. IBES: Ever had any accidents in the booth due to excitement, disappointment or food drinks spills? NICK: I tend to stand up as I have almost fallen off my seat in the past:-) IBES: Are you going to be back next season? NICK: Hope so. IBES: Finally, funniest thing you ever witnessed while announcing the game and tried hard not to be distracted? NICK: I don't know about the funniest, but there are Roy Orbison moments. IBES: Care to explain the Roy Orbison moments comment a bit? NICK: PRETTY WOMAN...... NICK: Sorry for not going into more detail, but workload, etc. IBES: Thanks for the replies and I fully understand. Thanks again for everything you have done and keep up the good work. Here is hoping that FC Barcelona does bring back Nick Simons back for next season and have a profile on him on the official site soon too. Nick and Ernest did commentate on the summer friendly games so here's hoping for another great season of Nick at R@dio Barça. If you want to thank Nick for the great job that he has done or send him e-mails during the game, he can be reached at the e-mail that he gives out during the games at nick@salbcn.com

16 team La Liga? Rosell’s got a point.

Let's get this straight. If anybody accuses me of agreeing with Rosell just because he is the club president, then they are completely off their rocker. It’s no secret that I am not a fan of the guy but for once, I agree with President Rosell on this issue. Times have changed these past few decades that have resulted in more games on players. Reducing the leagues down to 16 is a step in the right direction.

Before I get into this topic, I just wanted to mention to the Miami Penya members and followers that we are working hard on bringing back the site online following the attack from some juvenile hackers.  Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

Yesterday, FC Barcelona’s president Sandro Rosell spoke about the current state of our beloved La Liga at the International Football Arena conference that was being hosted in Zurich. Rosell did not sugar coat how bad the teams are financially in Spain and suggested that there should be a better TV deal in the near future. That was something that many agree as a step in the right direction but he surprised many when he suggested that the league should be reduced from 20 to 16 teams.

Rosell argued that less teams leads to an increase in competition which results in better players for fewer teams. However, some other media outlets also caught another version of his comments where it was reported that he said, “This will mean that all the clubs will be more competitive and we can reduce players' salaries.” The idea that with lesser teams, the talent would be more spread out seems believable but I don’t buy the reducing the players’ salaries and I checked on both Sport & Mundo Deportivo and even Marca and none of them had that comment so looks like the club’s legal department will have to get busy and draft some letters soon if some overzealous writer got too excited with his google translate when he fabricated those statements "allegedly".

Today’s footballers are subjected to more games than they were in the past. The last five years, Xavi has played over 50 games in all competitions. Let’s not forget the additional matches he has played for Spain and it’s not hard to feel concerned about the long term fitness of the likes of Iniesta and Messi. We need to cut down on matches for the sake of our players. That’s why I wasn’t that shocked when Rosell said we need to reduce the number of teams in Spain. I made the same suggestion back in 2003. (Just ignore my views about the Cups - way too naive back then)

“…we must have 16 teams participating in the leagues. I strongly disagree with Italy's move for 20 teams in Serie A. With 16, we would have 4 teams to face the risk of relegation and the remaining 12 teams battle it out for spots in UEFA Champion's League and UEFA Cup and also battle to avoid being relegated. What is the point of having a team positioned 13th in their league that knows there is no chance for qualifying into Europe or face the risk of relegation. With 16 teams, there would be excitement through the season and every game would then matter. The games would be divided into 16 games to be played in a format of 2 games a week and the other 16 games to be played once a week. Thus, we would have 6 weeks of two games a week and 4 months of single week games. Additionally, I would impose a 2 week winter break for players and coaches to be with their families to celebrate their respective religious holidays and the new year. Now with this format, players would not feel all that fatigued …. This would cut down on fatigue of those teams who are playing in their league cup games, league games and European competitions games as well.”

Usually, Guardiola rests his key starters for Copa Del Rey matches until the final stages. The fixture lists have grown over the years. Barça won their first Champions League title after playing 11 matches in 1992 but they had to play 15 matches last season to win it. Also back then, there were only 33 countries qualifying to win Euro 92. Now, we had 51 countries try to qualify for this summer’s Euro 2012.

With FIFA adding more international friendlies along with international qualifiers mean our players are basically playing nonstop and those club summer preseason tours are not helping. Guardiola’s two Champions League titles came in seasons without any international tournaments in the summer. Those successful teams had the luxury of playing most of the season only once a week. However, when there is a tournament in the summer, that luxury evaporates like an ice cube in the Sahara desert and we have to watch our Blaugrana players play an unforgiving relentless schedule consisting of two matches a week for over a month. Of course, Guardiola did provide us with that great zinger yesterday when he said that extra free time would be used up by FIFA.

How is that beneficial to the long term health of the league when its star players pay the price for playing in Europe and for their country? Reducing the league to 16 teams would allow teams to play once a week and not subject themselves to the tireless schedule we are witnessing this season. This also plays a part in the TV revenue sharing.  Fewer teams mean a bigger piece of the pie for the other clubs.

According to Sky’s Revista De La Liga program, Barça and Real Madrid each get €140 million annually from their TV deals. That’s €280 million out of €609 million that is shared with the other 18 teams and those shares are not equal. However, if the league is reduced to 16 teams, then the other teams would get a bigger share of the TV deal. However, I still don’t believe that more money would solve all the problems the other clubs are facing. If their poor management and spending got many of the clubs, such as Real Zaragoza, in the mess that they are in, then how would more money make a difference? If they have so much debt, it would mean the extra money, if not all of it, would have to go towards paying off that debt and not into strengthening their squads.

A Villarreal fan said it best in a post that I nicked from an online forum.

“None of this matters unless the terrible, corrupt, and inept people currently in power are stripped of their positions. I think almost everyone, regardless of what club they support, knows that the current system is not advisable for the long-term health of Spanish football. And yet, there are short-sighted, egotistical chairmen and presidents who would rather take a bribe to fatten their own wallets by a little bit, than support a plan that would keep the league competitive for years to come... which in the end, probably makes everyone more money.”

Nevertheless, we want a stronger league. We all hear that La Liga is a two team league, but quite frankly so have most leagues in Europe over the years. The TV revenue sharing is an issue that needs to be addressed  and I am sure that with the next TV deal, the amount will be more for everybody and perhaps enough for Barça to share more with the other clubs too. However, we also have to look at the long term fitness concerns of our players and thus a reduction in the number of teams in the league is a good step. It seems that players today who do well for their clubs end up representing their country and pay the price for it with wear and tear which ultimately leads to injuries or burning out.

Now I don’t agree about Rosell voicing his concerns about foreign owners, especially when the club got a huge windfall of cash from a foreign investor.  In the end, we need solutions for the welfare of the league and if there are better options, then they should be reviewed for the sake of everybody. Until then, the idea of reducing teams to 16 is a step in the right direction.

CONCACAF Must Change.