Messi, The Little Giant.

Since making his debut under Frank Rijkaard in a friendly against Porto back in 2003, Messi has captured the hearts of the Blaugrana faithful. What we have witnessed since, especially during the Guardiola era, is a man hell bent on proving his critics wrong. He has broken records along the way and just surpassed the legendary Cesar to become the club’s all-time leading scorer. For a young man who is still learning as he goes, he truly has become the little giant.

Messi’s and Barça’s success over the past seasons has seen Messi ascent to the top of the list of great players to have ever played the game. Messi’s performances have been so fantastic that words fail to describe how great he has been for Barça. It’s like the old saying, “Actions speak louder than words,” but when it comes to Messi; his actions speak louder than the entire content of a dictionary. He has done things on the field that have left us breathless. He makes the impossible seem simple. Yet, what is even more amazing is that his reactions during and after games do not indicate someone who has bought into his hype and allowed his ego to buy into his hype.

Messi still plays with the same passion and energy that we all had when we were young kids playing the game with our friends. However, Messi’s performances show us that he is anything but a kid on the pitch. He is one of the few players where the video games do not do him justice in terms of depiction. FIFA games are known for enhancing players’ skill but they fail to duplicate or even come close to what Messi does on the pitch. Messi has the grace and control on the ball that I haven’t seen since the days of Roberto Baggio and I can’t think of anyone who scores for fun as he does.

But what sets him apart from all the rest is his knack for being clutch. Be it with goals or with assists, Messi has shown that he is clutch in the big games 99% of the time. Obviously being surrounded by some of the greatest talent in the world helps but his consistency in rising to the occasion and always be a team first type of player is what sets him apart from the rest. He doesn’t get caught up with doing what’s best for him; just what’s best for the team.

Of course, many will mention that he hasn’t done it yet for Argentina. That’s true but it’s still early to say he’s not worthy of the crown. Just recently, former Real Madrid player Jorge Valdano, and former teammate of Diego Maradona from the 1986 World Cup Champions, spoke highly of Messi. He said, "We judge Maradona based on his entire career, while Messi is still only 24". He then added this gem, "The fact that we're already comparing them is a tribute to what Lionel has achieved." We sometimes forget that he is only 24 and he has been compared with the greats since he was 21.  In a game full of giants, Messi has shown that he too is a giant. The little giant is only 24 and if players start declining when they hit 30, then I shudder to think what Messi is going to do the next six years.

Abidal shows us that no one is invincible.

FC Barcelona’s shocking news today that Barça defender Abidal will have to undergo a liver transplant caught us all off guard. Sadly, it was one year ago today that Barça announced that Abidal had a tumor on his liver. Abidal has a difficult journey ahead of him because it’s not his career that we should be concerned about. Rather, it’s his life. Today’s news should serve as a lesson to everybody that no one is invincible when it comes to one’s health.

Today definitely was a sad for us Cules. One of our greatest memories of 2011 was seeing Abidal selected to hoist the Champions League trophy in Wembley stadium. So it was very heartbreaking for us to learn that Abidal has to undergo a liver transplant procedure. Here was the club’s official statement about this matter:

"During the next few weeks, the player will undergo a liver transplant as a result of the progress of his liver disease. A transplant was considered an option from the start of his treatment a year ago. At the express wishes of the player, the Club asks that the maximum respect for the player's privacy be observed.”

When I first heard the news, I was devastated. This was no longer an issue of when will Abidal be back in action to play for us. It was more about whether or not Abidal can survive and be there for his wife and kids. His wife and kids are more important right now than his football career. Now my blog work on here always deal with Barça related topics but today I thought I should aim it at health.

I hope that today’s sad news will serve as a reminder to all of us that no one is invincible. Cancer and other illnesses do not discriminate against gender, race, ethnicity and it doesn't matter if you are poor or rich. Abidal is a professional athlete who was in great shape and followed a good diet and yet he is facing a very serious medical situation. Today should serve as a reminder for all of us to watch over our health, especially men.

It has always bothered me that men have neglected to see a doctor. Be it for routine physicals or when they are in pain. A CNN article back in 2008 mentioned that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimated that American men are 25% less likely than women to visit a doctor. In that same article, Dr. David Dodson, recommended that healthy men under the age of 50 should get a regular checkup every 18 months while those over the age of 50, should see their doctors annually.

More recently, an Esquire article indicated that only 55% of men have a primary-care physician. Another article cited a survey that estimated that men make a 150 million fewer trips to the doctor than women, every year. The article also explained that this is very common in most men across the world since most men believe that a visit to the doctor is a threat to their masculinity along with fear, denial and embarrassment.  It was believed that men are taught from a young age to “hold their heads high and get tough” since admitting to pain or any other problems could be seen as an admission of being weak  which would threaten male pride and machismo.

Regrettably, I am not that surprised by these findings. The purpose of this piece is to convince males, and also females, to make sure and go see a doctor. Be proactive, not reactive, when it comes to your health.  Men, don’t just do it for yourself, but for your families too.  Now I know it’s not cheap to see a doctor today, especially if you don’t have insurance. Many years ago, a friend of mine found out he had testicular cancer early in his twenties and he wasn’t insured. He ultimately had to file for bankruptcy. However, being alive is priceless and he doesn’t regret it.

With that said, don’t let the financial cost deter you from seeking medical help or scheduling an annual physical. Check and see if there are free clinics nearby. We here at the Penya always thought of ways to do something for the community and maybe we can organize an event where we can get doctors – calling all Penya doctors - to meet with people of the community and give them a physical for free. That sure would be great.

I am sorry if you think this is some sap who comes off looking like Jerry McGuire after he ate bad pizza and wrote his mission statement. This is not about me. It’s about everybody. Our health is too valuable to gamble with and we just as saw with Abidal that it doesn’t matter who you are; you never know what might happen. No excuse outweighs the value of being healthy. So please, do the right thing and take the proper measures.

The Miami Penya sends its best wishes to Eric Abidal as he prepares to receive a liver transplant and hope for a speedy recovery. We are all with you and hope that you will get through this. Anims Abidal.

Dream Still Alive - Lebanon One Step Closer to World Cup 2014.

Well, finally. Finally! Lebanon’s national football team has done it. They finally did something that many thought could never happen. No, Lebanon did not qualify for the 2014 World Cup but they did earn the chance to finally qualify for the World Cup. After the final whistle blew in Abu Dhabi, Lebanon celebrated an unprecedented achievement by qualifying to the fourth and final round of Asian World Cup 2014 qualifiers. Their achievement came after a defeat but the players and the fans were not going to let it hamper their spirits. They finally made it to the final hurdle.

Last week‘s 4-2 defeat to the UAE did sting a bit in terms of celebrating a great day. It felt a bit sheepish to really celebrate after a disappointing defeat. However, I will gladly take it. They earned their way to the final round thanks to a great and memorable home win against one of the giants of Asian football, South Korea. South Korea ensured Lebanon’s passage to the final round by defeating Kuwait 2-0. It was a must win for South Korea or else they could have been the ones missing out if both Kuwait and Lebanon won. Oddly enough, it was South Korea that was part of Lebanon’s and my first ever Asian World Cup qualifiers.

1994 was the first time I ever got to enjoy World Cup qualifiers. I was a small kid back in Saudi Arabia to know what the World Cup was back in 1986 and my family moved to Lebanon after Maradona hoisted the World Cup trophy that same summer. I did get to catch Holland win Euro 88 which left a lasting impression and many years of heart ache and disappointments. Unfortunately, an ugly civil war made the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup irrelevant and I missed out on the World Cup when I moved to the US temporarily. I don’t even recall who was televising the games back then but I believe I saw a video rip of the Brazil Argentina match that was televised by TNT. However, the 1994 World Cup and its qualifiers were different and forever special for me.

My family decided to move back to Lebanon after the civil war had finally ended in the early 90’s. So it was inevitable that I was going to witness the craze called World Cup football. What I didn’t know that it would also be the country’s first ever World Cup qualifying event too. Lebanon was only 50 years old when the qualifiers took place back in 1993. I was only a young teen back then and FIFA decided to have a group of five countries, Lebanon, South Korea, Bahrain, India and Hong Kong, play their qualifiers in only two of those countries; Lebanon and South Korea. Lebanon got to host the first round of qualifiers in Beirut.

I wish I could tell you that I was there or that I remember those games. I wish! Sadly, I missed three of the four games that were played from May 7 to May 15 because they occurred during the school days. Unlike last week’s game, our country did not shut down the schools back then. It was an afternoon game and the venue was in Beirut’s Berj Hammoud stadium which was not set up for night games. Quite frankly, I can’t recall any Lebanese league matches held in the evening back then either. What II do recall was waiting forever to get off the school bus to know what happened in the opener between Lebanon and India.  I was gutted when I heard that Lebanon were up 1-0 at the half and then were leading 2-0 in the second half before squandering that two goal lead for a 2-2 draw. Their next game against Hong Kong fell on a weekend and I don’t remember much except that it ended in another 2-2 draw. Sadly, the other two games fell on school days so I missed Lebanon losing 1-0 to South Korea and the scoreless draw against Bahrain their final home game.

Sadly, the World Cup fever that gripped the country fizzled after those first two games. Although it was a historic event, we all knew that this team was not going to be advancing and low and behold, their performances the next month saw Lebanon finish third in their group and get eliminated from the World Cup qualifiers. However, those second round of games were remarkable since it was Lebanon’s first ever World Cup qualifiers victories. Of course, the games were in South Korea and we missed most of those games because of the time zone difference. What I do remember is that South Korea ended up making it to the World Cup the following summer. That left a lasting impression on me. A country that played in Lebanon ended up making it all the way to USA for the 1994 World Cup. Deep down, I thought to myself that that could have been Lebanon.

I was an Ansar fan back then and they were basically the Manchester United of the Lebanese league back then and were managed by Adnan Al-Sharkey who had players like Fadi Aloush, Jamal Taha, Abdel-Fattah Chehab, Mohammad Messelmani, Ali Fakih and others that their names escape me at the moment, were selected for the national team. The other players I remember playing for Lebanon back then were captain Hassan Ayoub, Wael Nazha, Nazih Nahle and I am sure there had to be a few Lebanese Armenians on the team.

Lebanon's team in the 90's that had talent but lacked experience

Unfortunately, I would miss the next round of qualifiers for the 1998 World Cup because my family decided to move back to the US for good. We didn’t have satellite dish coverage of the Arab world back then so I missed out on Lebanon being grouped with Kuwait and Singapore. That was it. 3 teams in a group and Lebanon finished second with Kuwait advancing as group winners. Lebanon drew 1-1 with Singapore before losing both games against Kuwait. Lebanon would win their final encounter against Singapore 2-1 but would again crash out of the qualifiers without gaining a single victory on home soil. I was disappointed by how soon Lebanon’s exit was. Four matches and they were done.

Afterwards though, I would be able to follow Lebanon as we entered the new millennium.  By then, my folks had a dish that allowed me to follow Lebanon on LBCI and I got to see them host the 2000 Asian Cup. Sadly, that tournament did not see Lebanon win a game under then manager Josip Skoblar. However, the team showed flashes of potential after they came back from being two goals down to tie Iraq with Moussa Hojeij scoring a great free kick. The days of Aloush and Taha were gone but the new generation of Hojeij, Haytham Zein and a young Roda Antar set the stage for an impressive and heart breaking 2002 World Cup qualifiers.

Skoblar was out as the manager and a German manager whom I had never heard of before, Theo Bücker, took over. The 2002 qualifiers group saw Lebanon grouped with Pakistan, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Again, there was optimism that this could be the year that Lebanon would advance to the final round of qualifiers. All they had to do was finish ahead of these three countries. Just like the 1994 qualifiers, Lebanon hosted the first round of games while Thailand hosted the second round. Under Bücker, Lebanon did not just win, they destroyed! Lebanon kicked off their qualifiers with their first ever win on home soil by thrashing Pakistan 6-0. That was a strange result that the people were not familiar with. We then realized that this was no fluke when they followed it up with a 4-0 win against Sri Lanka. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. 10 goals in 2 games? The final home game was the pivotal clash against Thailand. Both teams were unbeaten but Lebanon had the upper hand because of their better goal differential.

Lebanon had the dream start when they were ahead after nine minutes courtesy of an own goal. Unfortunately, Lebanon’s dream start ended in nightmarish fashion as Thailand scored two goals in the first half in what turned out to be the only goals of the game. Thailand won and now had a three point gap atop of the standings. Lebanon was down but not out as they destroyed Pakistan 8-1 and Sri Lanka 5-0 to set up the do or die match against Thailand. Thailand still maintained their three point lead but Lebanon’s huge goal differential meant that Thailand would get eliminated if Lebanon defeated them which would mean both teams would finish atop of the group standings. Once again, Lebanon had the dream start when they took the lead in the first half after 35 minutes and managed to hold on to it till the 73rd minute. Unfortunately, their night would come crashing down after Thailand scored two goals in a four minute span. Lebanon pulled one back three minutes from time but they could not find the go ahead goal. 2-2 was the final score and Lebanon’s loss to Thailand in Lebanon was the difference. I never got over that draw that felt like a defeat. They were so close and yet, the final round was so far away.

Four years later, Lebanon would finish second yet again, to South Korea in a group with Vietnam and Maldives. Bücker was gone by then and the team fell short again thanks to a loss and draw in their encounters against South Korea. Unfortunately, I was in law school back then and didn’t have access to the dish to watch my countrymen try to qualify and the internet streaming back then was not as available as it is now.  Fortunately, the 2010 World Cup qualifiers would usher in a new change that would allow teams that finish second to finally advance to the final round along with the group leaders. Where was this rule before? Finally, Lebanon has a chance, right? Wrong!

Lebanon first had to get by India in the first round of qualification under another new manager and did so after winning 4-1 in Lebanon before drawing away 2-2. Lebanon were then grouped with Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Singapore. Odds looked good that they could finish second, right? Much to everyone’s dismay, not only did they not finish second; they finished dead last by losing all of their group matches. That heart breaking draw against Thailand was nothing more than a distant memory as their chances of ever advancing looked bleak. Fortunately, I did not get to watch the games for the same reasons as 2006. I didn’t have dish and although live internet streams had come a long way, Lebanese games were not even a possibility back then.

The 2014 World Cup qualifiers presented Lebanon with another chance at either accomplishing the near impossible or giving us another case of disappointment. The World Cup qualifiers kicked off back in July with Lebanon managed by another manager and were up against Bangladesh in the second round of qualifiers. They won their home leg 4-0 before suffering a shocking 2-0 loss away but the damage in the first leg was enough to send them on their way to another group stage. The group would see them grouped with two teams that finished ahead of them in the 1994 and 1998 group stage; South Korea and Kuwait. UAE were the other team in Lebanon’s group. Lebanon somehow had played friendlies against Kuwait and UAE prior to these qualifiers and they were disasters. UAE destroyed Lebanon 6-2 which was memorable for the silly penalty scored by an UAE player who was somehow booked for it, and a mass brawl broke out between the Lebanese and Kuwaiti teams that required soldiers firing shots in the air to bring it to an end to a 6-0 defeat. Hardly the way to get your hopes up!

 Lebanese celebrating their countries' greatest ever victory

However, the good news was that Bücker was back. The bad news was that he had a lot of work to do after South Korea destroyed Lebanon 6-0 in the first qualifier match of the group stages. Bücker though got the best of his team with the return of veteran Antar along with the sensational Hassan Maatouk. Lebanon won its first home qualifier by defeating UAE 3-1 in Lebanon and then battled Kuwait to a 2-2 draw at home with Kuwait getting an own goal near the end. Fortunately, Lebanon won the return leg 1-0 and had a crucial game against South Korea coming up on home soil. In what was one of the biggest upsets and victories in Lebanese football history, Lebanon defeated South Korea 2-1. It was a great result which allowed them to climb to second place in the group with Kuwait behind them and South Korea ahead of them. Lebanon now controlled their destiny. They benefitted from the fact that South Korea and Kuwait were playing each other in South Korea. All Lebanon had to do was win or draw away against UAE and they would qualify.

Lebanon pulls off an amazing upset by defeating South Korea

Well, Lebanon had to go ahead and do it the Lebanese way and lose 4-2 to UAE side that had lost its previous five qualifiers. Bücker made what I considered a grave mistake when he benched starting keeper Ziad El Samad who started the previous five qualifiers for Abbas Hassan who had an overall awful performance. Supposedly, Hassan, who is Swedish Lebanese, was picked because he plays in the Swedish league. If true, then that was a pretty stupid reason to bench El Samad. Fortunately, South Korea defeated Kuwait 2-0 to clinch first place and Lebanon ended up finishing in second place to finally qualify to the fourth and final round of the World Cup qualifiers.

Celebration time even in UAE 

So what’s next for Lebanon? The draw for the two groups of the fourth round of qualifiers will be held tomorrow or later on today for those across the Atlantic. Lebanon’s opponents will be Australia, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, and Oman. According to FIFA, the ten teams will be drawn into two round-robin, home-and-away groups of five teams each. The matches will likely take place between 3 June 2012 and 18 June 2013. The two group winners and two group runners-up qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The third-place teams from each group advance to Round 5 where the teams will play one home-and-away play-off. The matches will likely be played between 6 and 10 September 2013. The Round 5 winner advances to the intercontinental play-off that will be played between the Round 5 Winner of Asia and the fifth placed team of South America.

Will Lebanon manage to qualify automatically to the World Cup as either group winners or runners-up? Will they have to go through a home and away playoff against a team from South America? Or is this the end of the road for Lebanon? Anything is possible and here’s to another memorable step from Lebanon.

Time for Rosell to Act.

Enough is Enough! Enough of turning the other cheek! Enough of playing the nice guy! Enough of the diplomatic approach! It's time for Rosell to raise his voice and make the Cule's voices heard as the RFEF continues to make life difficult for Barça. 

Just when we thought the Spanish league and its cronies could not get any lower, they decided to go ahead and apply the rules as they saw fit. The Spanish league's Refereeing Technical Committee were outraged by Pique's comments following Barça’s 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon. Pique was not too pleased with referee Carlos Velasco Carballo's decision to send him off so early into the second half. Pique voiced his displeasure to the media by saying "At half-time I told the referee it was a penalty on Keita and he kept that [in his head], I have a feeling of premeditation". It would later be reported that Carballo did threaten Pique with “You, shut up, you'll get a red card", when Pique approached the referee as they walked off the pitch and into the tunnels after the halftime whistle blew.

The following day, the Refereeing Technical Committee head honcho, Victoriano Arminio, condemned Pique for his comments that questioned Carballo's integrity and planned on making a formal complaint against the defender. Arminio seemed outraged and told Radio Nacional, "Pique's comments are unfortunate and very serious”. "They make your blood boil, sportsmen must respect each other. His comments affect the state of refereeing and we will obviously report him."

Say what? This makes his blood boil? Of course, when the spokesperson of the Refereeing Technical Committee, José Ángel Jiménez Muñoz was asked about Mourinho's actions by waiting for the referee next to his car at the Camp Nou parking lot, he shrugged it off and said whatever Mourinho did or said to the referee was not published by the media the same way Pique's were. By the way, it was revealed that Mr. Muñoz is member of Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista, which is General Franco's fascist anti-Catalan party so make what you want of that. So, yes, it does not come down to the action but whether or not it was published. Oddly enough, those comments were published in the papers for all to read but as we have seen this season, there appears to be double standards when it comes to Barça and when it comes to Real Madrid.

Back in January, Mourinho waited in the Camp Nou parking garage and had words with referee Teixeira Vitienes following their elimination from the Copa del Rey. Mourinho shouted at Vitienes, “¡Artista, cómo te gusta joder a los profesionales!” which loosely translated means “You screw over those who are working" before adding, “You don’t respect serious professionals, now you'll smoke a cigar and go off laughing, it’s a disgrace.” Prior to that outburst from Mourinho, Casillas approached Teixeira and said: “¡Vete de fiesta con ellos a celebrarlo, tanta polla y tanta mierda!” which loosely translated means “Teixeira, now you can go out and party with Barça!” along with some fine expletives at the end that I won't bother translating.

Funny how the media had those comments yet were ignored by the committee. Ironically, those two were not disciplined for their disrespectful actions because it was not in the referee's final report. That was always the standard when it came to action on and off the pitch. Grounds for punishment had to come from anything reported in the referee's final report. Pique's comments weren't in any final report but Mr. Arminio decided to take action now? Just this past weekend, Mourinho called the 4th referee the most arrogant referee he had ever met. So what exactly does it take for the league to come down on Real Madrid when their manager and players step out of line with comments?

One Madridista argued that there is a difference between insulting a referee and questioning his integrity. Really? So I guess those comments by Mourinho and Casillas were not calling into question the referee's integrity; just merely insulting him. If you buy that argument, then I have a broom for you to go sweep the desert with (old Lebanese proverb). So what are the standards exactly and that is what the FC Barcelona Board of Directors spokesman Toni Freixa said today a few hours ago as the club responded to Mr. Arminio's comments. 

We have already witnessed the double standards of the league when it comes to awarding Real Madrid penalties and not awarding Barça penalties along what is considered a penalty offense and a red card offense. Look, I am a firm believer that big clubs do get calls go in their favor more times than the smaller clubs and that Barcelona's away form has been poor. With that said, it's been rather fishy how Madrid keep getting the break in their away games in the New Year against Mallorca, Getafe and Rayo Vallecano that has Pep even fighting hard to bite his tongue.However, Mr. Arminio's actions of seeking to lodge a formal complaint against Pique was the last straw and this is where Mr. Rosell needs to step forward and voice our displeasure and expose the hypocrisy that has bothered all Cules. The decision of the board to not attend tomorrow's RFEF meeting is the wrong approach.

I can understand Pep's decision not to criticize the referees and Rosell’s decision to sit back and follow suit was admirable. However, I believe he dropped the ball when the club failed to go after Mourinho for assaulting assistant coach, Tito Vilanova, in the second leg of the Super Copa. He left that decision to the powers that be and their final decision was a one match ban for the next Super Copa game. If that decision was not a slap in the face, then their lack action on disciplining Pepe after he deliberately stepped on Messi's hand was a sucker punch. Yet again, the club opted to play the nice guy role and opted not to file a complaint against Pepe and left that decision to the powers that be. Low and behold, Pepe was not punished and was playing in the second leg where he almost pulled off another despicable act of stepping on Dani Alves's hand.

So enough is enough! Enough of turning the other cheek! Enough of playing the nice guy! Enough of the diplomatic approach! It's time for Rosell to raise his voice and make the Cule's voices heard. It's time he went after the RFEF the same he way he went after Laporta. For too long he has held off going after Real Madrid after all their dirty tactics since the arrival of Mourinho that has seen our club's name and image dragged through the mud. Rosell needs to stand up and act now. Guardiola is upset, the players are upset and the Cules are fed up and upset. It’s time to stop being reactive and become proactive. There has been some speculation that Rosell is being quiet to avoid the recent bad press coming out of Brazil about his alleged dealings with Ricardo Teixeira, the current president of Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) who is under investigation for fraud and corruption. If so, then remaining silent only hurts him and the club when he should come out and quash those rumors.

Additionally, he was recently accused by, Albert Perrin, a former Vice-President of the club during the Laporta era, that Rosell and the current board were disrespecting the RFEF by not appearing at meeting. Mr. Perrin said,

"In our time we also had a good relationship with the Federation, because Laporta was always at the meetings. These are things that make you well liked. Back then, it was always Madrid who weren't there. Now, it is Barça who are not there. The Barça president is doing very little. For the re-election of Villar [RFEF president], he was not there."

If that is true, then it was a mistake by the club that can be rectified by the board members and the president appearing at future meetings. In conclusion, now is not the time for Rosell to have others come out and speak on his behalf when it's his duty to speak out on our behalf. It's time he acted as a president with a less of a businesslike approach and be more of a politician.

I can understand Pep's decision not to criticize the referees and Rosell’s decision to sit back and follow suit was admirable. However, I believe he dropped the ball when the club failed to go after Mourinho for assaulting assistant coach, Tito Vilanova, in the second leg of the Super Copa. He left that decision to the powers that be and their final decision was a one match ban for the next Super Copa game. If that decision was not a slap in the face, then their lack action on disciplining Pepe after he deliberately stepped on Messi's hand was a sucker punch. Yet again, the club opted to play the nice guy role and opted not to file a complaint against Pepe and left that decision to the powers that be. Low and behold, Pepe was not punished and was playing in the second leg where he almost pulled off another despicable act of stepping on Dani Alves's hand.

So enough is enough! Enough of turning the other cheek! Enough of playing the nice guy! Enough of the diplomatic approach! It's time for Rosell to raise his voice and make the Cule's voices heard. It's time he went after the RFEF the same he way he went after Laporta. For too long he has held off going after Real Madrid after all their dirty tactics since the arrival of Mourinho that has seen our club's name and image dragged through the mud. Rosell needs to stand up and act now. Guardiola is upset, the players are upset and the Cules are fed up and upset. It’s time to stop being reactive and become proactive. There has been some speculation that Rosell is being quiet to avoid the recent bad press coming out of Brazil about his alleged dealings with Ricardo Teixeira, the current president of Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) who is under investigation for fraud and corruption. If so, then remaining silent only hurts him and the club when he should come out and quash those rumors.

Additionally, he was recently accused by, Albert Perrin, a former Vice-President of the club during the Laporta era, that Rosell and the current board were disrespecting the RFEF by not appearing at meeting. Mr. Perrin said,

"In our time we also had a good relationship with the Federation, because Laporta was always at the meetings. These are things that make you well liked. Back then, it was always Madrid who weren't there. Now, it is Barça who are not there. The Barça president is doing very little. For the re-election of Villar [RFEF president], he was not there."

If that is true, then it was a mistake by the club that can be rectified by the board members and the president appearing at future meetings. In conclusion, now is not the time for Rosell to have others come out and speak on his behalf when it's his duty to speak out on our behalf. It's time he acted as a president with a less of a businesslike approach and be more of a politician.

* Thanks to @Barcastuff with some of the links and translations.

 

International & Club Friendlies Affecting Our Players.

This week provided us with an unnecessary midweek interruption of international friendlies. Of course, there is nothing like an international friendly to pop out of nowhere while the season is in full swing. Time and time again we hear FIFA talking about its players playing too many games but do they have the players' best interests at heart or is it all about the money? It's time for FIFA, UEFA, clubs and the players to create a better more relaxed schedule for the sake of its players. This applies not only to international friendlies, but also to club friendlies.

Sport had a great headline on their website today - 20 horas de vuelo + 95 minutos de juego + intensa lluvia = 15 días de baja. That was posted with a photo of a tired Alexis. It basically translates to 20 hours of flying + 95 minutes of playing + intense rain = 15 days out with an injury. Alexis was injured yesterday and perhaps this midweek international calendar is to blame for forcing players to fly across the globe for a meaningless game for their country and then rushed back to play for their clubs. Alexis suffered an injury in yesterday's game that will see the forward miss almost two weeks of action.

Now, we can't be sure that the flying back and forth the Atlantic contributed to his injury. For all we know, this injury would have occurred even if he never played for Chile back on Wednesday. However, we already have seen the likes of Abidal, Coentrão, and Huntelaar pick up knocks on international duty for a meaningless friendly. The only purpose of this friendly was purely financial. So ultimately, clubs have to suffer in their quest to win the league just so countries play each other for a game that has nothing at stake.

We already saw Spain fly to England and Costa Rica back in November play to friendlies. Fans were not too pleased and many blamed FIFA for this. However, what was lost on people was the fact that the countries have the final say in scheduling a friendly. So yes, the RFEF could have easily decided not have a friendly this Wednesday against Venezuela and allowed its players some rest. Just like November however, they opted not to. You can blame FIFA and UEFA as much as you want but no one forced a gun to RFEF's head to schedule the games either.

That's why I can understand clubs being upset at losing their players to injuries from international duty action. This past Wednesday’s games are a perfect example of useless games with the sole exception of the World Cup qualifiers matches that took place in Asia and even that could be argued as poor scheduling. Clubs are heavily invested in winning both domestic and European football competitions and cannot afford to lose players to injuries. For those older fans like myself, the memories of Romario, Ronaldo and Rivaldo leaving Barcelona during the season to play for Brazil still lingers in our memories. Fortunately the idea of players missing league matches for international duty is a thing of the past but there is still much work to be done in fixing the international calendar.

However, clubs are also to blame for scheduling insane friendlies during the summer and winter break. Even our beloved FC Barcelona have been guilty of doing that. We just witnessed our club play friendlies in Croatia, Germany, and the US last summer with some players picking up knocks along the way. We also saw them play in far east Asia the summer before and there is talk that they could be playing in South America, India, China and Japan this upcoming summer.

Clubs also have a responsibility in watching out for their players and these excessive summer tours have to be cut down too. Keep it simple and scheduling friendlies in Spain and compete in friendly tournaments in Amsterdam or London. Sure, the club will feel it in their pockets but perhaps it’s for the best since most of these players going to be busy representing Spain in Euro 20120, Confederations Cup 2013 and the World Cup 2014. We are witnessing some of the greatest players to not only represent Barça, but also represent the sport of football in general. They need to be looked after and not pushed to their breaking point.

This is where players have to step up and make their voices heard. If they sit back and accept to be overused by both club and countries, then they will have to accept the consequences of their silence. Perhaps FIFPRO should actually make their voice heard and resolve this matter since the big boys can't seem to get it done.

This week provided us with an unnecessary midweek interruption of international friendlies. Of course, there is nothing like an international friendly to pop out of nowhere while the season is in full swing. Time and time again we hear FIFA talking about its players playing too many games but do they have the players' best interests at heart or is it all about the money? It's time for FIFA, UEFA, clubs and the players to create a better more relaxed schedule for the sake of its players. This applies not only to international friendlies, but also to club friendlies.

Sport had a great headline on their website today - 20 horas de vuelo + 95 minutos de juego + intensa lluvia = 15 días de baja. That was posted with a photo of a tired Alexis. It basically translates to 20 hours of flying + 95 minutes of playing + intense rain = 15 days out with an injury. Alexis was injured yesterday and perhaps this midweek international calendar is to blame for forcing players to fly across the globe for a meaningless game for their country and then rushed back to play for their clubs. Alexis suffered an injury in yesterday's game that will see the forward miss almost two weeks of action.

Now, we can't be sure that the flying back and forth the Atlantic contributed to his injury. For all we know, this injury would have occurred even if he never played for Chile back on Wednesday. However, we already have seen the likes of Abidal, Coentrão, and Huntelaar pick up knocks on international duty for a meaningless friendly. The only purpose of this friendly was purely financial. So ultimately, clubs have to suffer in their quest to win the league just so countries play each other for a game that has nothing at stake.

We already saw Spain fly to England and Costa Rica back in November to play friendlies. Fans were not too pleased and many blamed FIFA for this. However, what was lost on people was the fact that the countries have the final say in scheduling a friendly. So yes, the RFEF could have easily decided not have a friendly this Wednesday against Venezuela and allowed its players some rest. Just like November however, they opted not to. You can blame FIFA and UEFA as much as you want but no one forced a gun to RFEF's head to schedule the games either.

That's why I can understand clubs being upset at losing their players to injuries from international duty action. This past Wednesday’s games are a perfect example of useless games with the sole exception of the World Cup qualifiers matches that took place in Asia and even that could be argued as poor scheduling. Clubs are heavily invested in winning both domestic and European football competitions and cannot afford to lose players to injuries. For those older fans like myself, the memories of Romario, Ronaldo and Rivaldo leaving Barcelona during the season to play for Brazil still lingers in our memories. Fortunately the idea of players missing league matches for international duty is a thing of the past but there is still much work to be done in fixing the international calendar.

However, clubs are also to blame for scheduling insane friendlies during the summer and winter break. Even our beloved FC Barcelona have been guilty of doing that. We just witnessed our club play friendlies in Croatia, Germany, and the US last summer with some players picking up knocks along the way. We also saw them play in far east Asia the summer before and there is talk that they could be playing in South America, India, China and Japan this upcoming summer. 

Clubs also have a responsibility in watching out for their players and these excessive summer tours have to be cut down too. Keep it simple and scheduling friendlies in Spain and compete in friendly tournaments in Amsterdam or London. Sure, the club will feel it in their pockets but perhaps it’s for the best since most of these players going to be busy representing Spain in Euro 20120, Confederations Cup 2013 and the World Cup 2014. We are witnessing some of the greatest players to not only represent Barça, but also represent the sport of football in general. They need to be looked after and not pushed to their breaking point.

This is where players have to step up and make their voices heard. If they sit back and accept to be overused by both club and countries, then they will have to accept the consequences of their silence. Perhaps FIFPRO should actually make their voice heard and resolve this matter since the big boys can't seem to get it done.