Lady Luck Smiles on Barça.

After months of battling adversity, FC Barcelona have reclaimed what belonged to them; top of La Liga. Prior to the New Year, with rivals Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid breathing down Barça’s necks, it seemed Lady Luck was nowhere to be found. However, after a series of nail-biting encounters, fortunate breaks, and sheer resilience, it appears Lady Luck was smiling as Barça are in pole position for domestic and possible European glory once again.

This current season under Hansi Flick has been anything but boring. After 11 matches, the Blaugrana enjoyed a 6-point lead over Real Madrid and a 10-point lead over Atlético Madrid. Six matches later, Barça’s lead all but evaporated and were in third place in La Liga standings, with a soul crushing 2-1 loss at home to Atlético before the winter break. However, Barça are back as La Liga leaders, ahead of Real Madrid because of a tiebreaker and four points ahead of Atlético Madrid.

Lady Luck smiled on Barça as Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid squandered an eight point and six-point lead respectively, allowing the Blaugrana to capitalize and reclaim the league’s top spot. With eleven rounds to the end of the competition, Barça control their destiny again.

Lady Luck also continued to favor Barcelona in the Champions League. Barça finished second in the League Stage, with late wins against Borussia Dortmund and then the last second winner in the penultimate match against Benfica where they managed to overcome a 4-2 lead by scoring three times in the final 22 minutes. Their luck carried with the knockout stages draw where Barça avoided a clash against Paris Saint-Germain and other European heavyweights and instead landed a more manageable path with rematches against Benfica in the Round of 16 and then Borussia Dortmund in the Quarterfinals and then either Bayern Munich or Inter Milan looming in the Semi-Finals.

Thankfully, the rematch with Benfica was not as insane as their last encounter. Barça survived a Cubarsi red card early in the match that put them at a serious disadvantage in Portugal. However, the Blaugrana dug deep and withstood relentless pressure from the Portuguese side, Lady Luck smiled again when Raphinha scored at the hour mark from outside the box, with a bit of help from a slight deflection, and Wojciech Szczesny putting in a brilliant performance. The return leg was drama free as Barça won the second leg comfortably 3-1 and now await Borussia Dortmund in the Quarterfinals.

Lady Luck continued to smile on the Blaugrana during the Copa del Rey Semi-Finals.  In a wild encounter, Barça found themselves down 2-0 after just six minutes. However, they did not hang their heads down and instead battled back and scored four unanswered goals. It was then Atlético’s turn to have Lady Luck shine on them when they scored twice to force a draw with all to play for in the second leg in the capital.

Barcelona’s fighting spirit shone through in that game and the recent match away to Atlético where they found themselves down 2-0 again with 20 minutes to go courtesy of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres. Once again, Barça refused to play and scored twice to pull level with Atlético before Lady Luck smiled when Lamine Yamal’s effort took a wicked deflection to take the lead in stoppage time. Ferran Torres then scored the fourth and final goal of the game that also gave them the head-to-head tie breaker against Atlético.

Unfortunately, Lady Luck can’t always be there. Casado and Cubarsi are already injured and one can only hope that there won’t be any more injuries, especially with La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League still up for grabs. With a couple of months to go before the end of the season, we shall see if Lady Luck will continue to smile on the Blaugrana.

Time for UEFA to convert the Champions League into the Super League.

It’s time for UEFA to be proactive and convert the Champions League and make it become the Super League that most clubs so desperately seek. The big European clubs keep discussing creating a Super League and UEFA needs to realize they must to satisfy the needs of both clubs and the fans. UEFA has to embrace the idea and embrace it quick, because failure to do so will be costly.

The Champions League was launched by UEFA in 1955 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, although everyone called it the European Cup before taking on its current name in 1992. It was only open to the European domestic league champions until deciding to expand to include runner ups in 1997 before expanding to include clubs who finished 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th in the big leagues. With so many non-champions competing in the Champions League, it doesn’t justify carrying its current name anymore. Nevertheless, UEFA made changes to its most prized tournament to satisfy the European elite clubs.

The last time UEFA tweaked the Champions League format was in 2003 after they dropped the awful second group stage. Now, UEFA has to revamp the Champions League again and turn it into the Super League. It should remain a 32 club competition with the 8 groups of 4 teams, but without allowing the smaller clubs, the minnows, of Europe in it. As much as we love a good underdog Cinderella story, i.e. APOEL FC reaching the Quarter-Finals in 2012, nowadays we look at Ajax and Atalanta advancing to the knock out stages as the Cinderella clubs. Regrettably, the likes of Midtjylland, Ferencváros, Cluj, Plzeň, Molde, Malmo, and BATE belong in the Europa League and not in the Champions League where the competition gets watered down with their presence.

UEFA’s revamp of the Champions League should be simple. As a I previously mentioned, keep the number of participating clubs to 32, but what needs to be changed is who gets to compete in the Champions League. UEFA should keep it the way it is with 8 groups of 4 clubs. These proposed ideas of having one big league of 32 teams or groups with 10+ teams would be a mistake because it will not be entertaining once you’re halfway through the competition and have teams already eliminated with plenty of games to be played with no interest for those clubs and their fans.

      Final 16 of the 2020-2021 UEFA Champions League consisting of teams from La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1,                        and Primeira Liga.

As part of the restructuring, UEFA should grant the top five clubs from Spain, England, Italy and Germany automatic qualification to the group stages. If a big club can’t crack the top five, then that’s their problem. UEFA should also continue awarding a spot to the Europa League winner, thus giving those clubs an incentive to win the Europa League, and to make it even more interesting, why not award an additional spot to the league that the winning club belongs to. UEFA should also award two spots for the French, Dutch and Portuguese leagues, which would leave us with just 4 slots left for the remaining clubs from Russia, Turkey, Scotland, and whoever is eligible based on UEFA’s coefficient. It’s far from the fairest or the perfect plan but this new revamp would essentially make every group be a group of death, and not what we commonly see with groups with two big clubs coupled with two minnows, such as FC Barcelona and Juventus with Dynamo Kiev, and Borussia Dortmund and Lazio coupled with Club Brugge and Zenit Saint Petersburg. Even the qualifiers would become more competitive and entertaining for the fans.

Let’s face it, money talks and this is why the big clubs want the Super League; for more money. A product on television has to be entertaining to be a cash cow. At the moment, the Champions League is mostly entertaining during the knockout stages. But when every group is a group of death, then that would ensure that all groups matches would be competitive, and also entertaining must see TV, which in return would allow UEFA to charge networks more for the rights of these games. More money for UEFA means more money for the clubs, which will make everyone happy, except the non-elite European clubs.

Oranje Heartbreaks – UEFA Euro 2012 & 2016.

Ever since I witnessed Holland win their first ever international title in 1988, being a fan of the Oranje has been nothing but heartbreaks and bitter disappointments. With the Oranje not being part of the 24 teams playing this summer in France for the European Championship, let’s revisit their previous disappointments in this tournament since 1988 and conclude this trip down memory lane with questions about the current state of the Oranje and their future.

The Lead-Up:

Two years after losing to Spain in the 2010 World Cup Final, the Oranje were back in the UEFA European Championship. Bert van Marwijk had coached the Oranje to the Final and his next mission was to win this Euro 2016. His first step was qualifying for this tournament.

Holland qualified for Euro 2012 after they battled Sweden to win their group. Their other opponents in the group were Finland, Hungary, Moldavia and San Marino. The Oranje won their first nine qualifiers before dropping their tenth and final one to Sweden. By then, they had already won the group and punched their ticket to play in their seventh consecutive UEFA European Championship. The Oranje scored 37 goals and conceded 8 in their 10 qualifiers, with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring 12 goals.

Poland and Ukraine were the co-hosts for the 2012 edition. Holland were grouped in Group B with their arch rivals, Germany, their recent foe Portugal, and Denmark. Group A consisted of Czech Republic, Greece, Russia, the team that eliminated the Oranje in 2008, and Poland. Group C consisted of defending World and European Champions, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Ireland. Group D consisted of England, France, Ukraine and Sweden. Without a doubt, the Oranje got the group of death. The Oranje’s Nike kit for this tournament saw them use the orange color for the home kit, and the black color for the away kit.

Euro 2012 team consisted of all the Oranje stars who played a big part in reaching the World Cup Final with the lone exception of Giovanni van Bronckhorst. The veteran defender, and captain of the World Cup finalists, retired from football altogether after that painful loss. The new captain was Mark van Bommel, van Marwijk’s son-in-law and the usual stars of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt, Rafael van der Vaart, Robin van Persie, Maarten Stekelenburg, Ibrahim Afellay and Huntelaar were to be relied on for this tournament. This was the European tournament debut for the likes of Gregory van der Wiel, Ron Vlaar, Jetro Willems, while Luciano Narsingh, Luuk de Jong, Kevin Strootman, Stijn Schaars, Michel Vorm, and Tim Krul were called up but did not get to play.

The Heartbreak:

Holland kicked off their Group with a shock 1-0 loss to Denmark after Michael Krohn-Dehli scored in the 24th minute. The Oranje performed well, but their poor finishing cost them. This loss was a sucker-punch to the Oranje and their fans. The team already had a bad taste in their mouth before playing a single minute in this tournament when their black players received racist jeers during a training session from some Polish fans in attendance. It didn’t help matters that UEFA initially denied such incidents had occurred. This defeat just made things sourer.

Nevertheless, this loss should have served as a wake-up call ahead of their clash Germany. Instead, the Oranje found themselves down 2-0 after Germany’s Mario Gomez scored in the 24th and 38th minute. Van Persie scored one for the Oranje in the 73rd minute but the team fell short of grabbing an equalizer, not for the lack of trying, and suffered their second consecutive loss in this tournament.

Just two years removed from an amazing run to a World Cup Final, the Oranje were no longer basking in the sun; they were flying too close to it like Icarus. The disappointing performance against Germany coupled with some of players bickering among each other, was not well received by the fans. The accolades in the past were now in the past and the team had their hands full trying to win over their fans again, which they could start by trying to win a game.

Even though they lost their first two matches, the Oranje still had a shot at finishing second, behind Germany, if they defeated Portugal in their final group match, and if Germany also defeated Denmark. For this crucial match, van Marwijk gambled and made changes to the lineup. For the first time in this tournament, Huntelaar started a game after finding himself on the bench against Denmark and Germany. He had watched van Persie start in his place but now they were on the pitch together with van Persie placed behind him.

Holland started off well and scored in the 11th minute through van der Vaart, who was also making his first start of the tournament and his 99th cap for the Oranje. He would then strike the post soon afterwards. Although Holland started off on the right foot, they played the remainder of the match as if they were dancing with two left feet. Their defending left much to be desired and an equalizer from Portugal was inevitable, which then came to fruition in the 28th minute through Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo would score the game winner in the 78th minute and for the first time since winning Euro 88, Holland were eliminated in the group stage of a major tournament. Dressed in their black kit, the attire was most appropriate for this moment.

Overall, this tournament was a nightmare. There were no positives from this tournament that saw this talented group of players fail to build on the momentum of their World Cup run in 2010. This tournament also served as a red flag that things were heading in the wrong direction.

The Aftermath:

Spain repeated as European Champions by getting past France, Portugal and Italy to celebrate their third ever European championship. The fallout from this disappointment saw both the manager and the players receive justified criticism. Bert van Marwijk stepped down as manager of the Oranje after this tournament. He was contracted to remain with the Oranje until 2016 but this showing by the Oranje caused him to resign.

Following that Portugal defeat, it did not take long for reports to emerge that the team was divided thanks to egos. Perhaps the 2010 World Cup caused some egos to swell big enough to drive a wedge between teammates. There was talk that there was a lack of respect between players and manager and between the players themselves. Supposedly, there were two camps involved in this mess consisting of a van Persie camp and a Sneijder camp where one camp allegedly wanted to play football a certain style of football while the other camp wanted to play a different style of football. An example of how toxic the Oranje camp had become was when a story came out that alleged a member of the Oranje coaching staff told Huntelaar to zip it or face getting thrown out of the team’s hotel.

It didn’t help matters when a sad and disappointed Gregory van Der Weil spoke to the media following Holland’s elimination. He mentioned how his teammates shunned him on the pitch and did not allow him to play to his strengths. He also claimed that his relationship with his teammates was disastrous. If the performances of the Oranje on the pitch were disastrous, then the off the pitch issues turned this into a dumpster fire. This brought back memories of the lack of team unity in Euro 96, and what was one positive step forward in World Cup 2010 followed with two steps backwards after Euro 2012.

Of course van Marwijk shouldered some of the blame for this debacle. He fouled things up with his tactics and lineups. I personally never considered van Persie an important player for the Oranje, especially in 2012. He never really got to shine for the Oranje at the big stage. I was also a firm believer that Huntelaar should have started ahead of van Persie in Euro 2012. Huntelaar started the majority of the qualifiers and did a superb job on scoring a huge tally of goals for the Oranje. It seemed like the team had a perfect system but van Marwijk decided to bench Huntelaar for van Persie for this tournament.

More importantly, van Marwijk dropped the ball in a major way when he obviously lost control and respect of some of his players. That happens to some of the best of coaches. However, he could have taken control and made all the players see the errors of their ways. For example, Spain’s manager, Vicente Del Bosque had no problem making the Spanish Barça and Real Madrid players patch things up for the good of the team and their country in this tournament which they won.

Surprisingly, the KNVB hired Louis van Gaal again as the next Oranje manager. Two years later, he helped the team reach the World Cup and make it all the way to the Semi-Finals before suffering another penalty shootout loss to Argentina. Unfortunately, van Gaal copied van Marwijk’s strategy of playing not to lose by the time they reached the knock out stage and Holland went home with a 3rd place medal. The tenure of van Gaal was limited to just the World Cup, so a new successor was needed. That successor also turned out to be someone from the Oranje past; Guus Hiddink.

With the likes of Frank de Boer and Ronald Koeman as possible coaching options, the KNVB opted to hire Guus Hiddink as the next Oranje manager to guide them to Euro 2016. Perhaps they were hopeful of this hiring after van Gaal second’s chance turned out so well. The only problem was that Hiddink’s magic had died after eliminating Holland in Euro 2008. He helped guide Chelsea to the 2008-2009 Champions League Semi-Finals and ever since that Iniesta goal, Hiddink’s career has regressed. He failed to guide Russia to the World Cup in 2010 and then failed to guide Turkey to Euro 2012. Hiddink then had a short stint afterwards with Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala before resigning in July 2013.

Hiddink’s second era as Oranje manager, with former Oranje players Danny Blind and Ruud van Nistelrooy as his assistants was a disaster. Their Euro 2016 Qualifier group consisted of familiar foe, Czech Republic, Turkey, Iceland, Latvia and Kazakhstan. On paper, this seemed to be an easy group. Also, UEFA expanded the 2016 European Championship to 24 nations. Thus, it was possible for the group winners, the runners-up, and the third-placed team in the group to directly qualify for the finals. So what was there to fear? Plenty it seems.

After a forgettable loss to Italy in a friendly, Holland lost the opening qualifier match to the Czechs 2-1 in Prague. It was not that big of a surprise to lose to the Czechs and it was too soon to hit the panic button. Holland rebounded and defeated Kazakhstan 3-1 in Amsterdam by scoring three unanswered goals in the second half after going down a goal in the first half. The bright scare of going down early was forgotten but should have served as a warning sign of things to come.

Their third match was away against Iceland. If anyone thought this was one for the win column were in for a major surprise as the hosts defeated the Oranje 2-0. Hiddink was suddenly feeling the heat and a 6-0 win over Latvia did not do much in his favor. The Czech Republic and Iceland were the top two teams in the group, which meant Holland and Turkey were fighting for the third spot. That is why the fifth qualifier in Amsterdam between those two nations was important. Sadly, the same issues that plagued Holland in the other matches continued. The Oranje were shaky defending and were flat and unconvincing with the ball. Turkey scored in the first half and that seemed likely to be the only goal scored in this game until Huntelaar scored in stoppage time to salvage a draw.

That draw halfway through the qualifying stage meant one thing; the Oranje were in trouble. They had failed to defeat their tougher opponents in the group and their performances were uninspiring. KNVB decided to make a change and Hiddink was fired. The man who was supposed to succeed him after Euro 2016, Danny Blind, was now in charge and responsible for getting the team back on track.

Blind’s first match in charge saw the Oranje defeat Latvia in a dull manner. The big test came in the rematch against Iceland at Amsterdam. It was a test that they failed with a 1-0 loss. New management could not change the lethargic displays by the Oranje and a 3-0 loss a few days later in Turkey confirmed fears that the Oranje might miss out on Euro 2016. Reality set in that the Oranje would not be going to France for Euro 2016, even after Oranje defeated Kazakhstan 2-1, since Turkey defeated the Czechs 2-0.

That result meant that Turkey were in 3rd place and controlled its destiny while the Oranje had to defeat the Czechs and hope Iceland could also defeat Turkey. Well, the opposite happened and the Oranje were going to be watching Euro 2016 from their sofas. After ten matches, the Oranje won four matches, had one draw and suffered five losses. By no means did the Oranje deserve to qualify, let alone participate in a playoffs to qualify for Euro 2016.

So what is next for the Oranje? The KNVB still believe in Danny Blind as the manager even though he failed to impress as Ajax Amsterdam’s manager and the Oranje did not show any signs of improvement under him when he took over from Hiddink. It’s hard for me to see how things will improve under him as Holland prepares for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Frank de Boer just left Ajax Amsterdam and until he finds a new club to manage, he will be on everyone’s minds if the Oranje struggle in their upcoming qualifiers. Frank de Boer was one of van Marwijk’s assistants during the 2010 World Cup and perhaps it was no coincidence that Holland struggled in Euro 2012 without him assisting van Marwijk. Would the KNVB be willing to dump Blind and hire de Boer now or will they wait till they see signs of an upcoming derailment?

The other issue with the Oranje is that they seem to have abandoned their tradition and values in pursuit of success. That 2010 World Cup Final is a perfect example of the team discarding their identity by playing defensive. That tactic backfired and Holland only had to live with regret. The same could be said in the 2014 World Cup, where van Gaal played five at the back and became counter attacking and then extremely defensive in the knockout stages. One has to wonder what would have happened if Holland did not wait till extra time to attack Argentina in the Semi-Finals. What happened to the Total Football style? Some might argue, it didn’t lead to much success so a change was needed, but based on what we have seen in recent tournaments, the other styles didn’t result in any success either.

The KNVB needs to use this disappointment of not qualifying for Euro 2016 as a wake-up call to change what’s wrong with Dutch football. The absence of Robben through injury is not a justifiable excuse to finish fourth in their qualifying group. This has never been about one man, but about a unified team on and off the pitch. What is the Oranje’s identity? Where is the style that many fell in love with in the past and why can’t it be brought back?

Also, someone needs to make the difficult decision, either the KNVB or Blind, and decide if the time has come to drop the old guard and stick with the youth? How much longer can the likes of van Persie, Sneijder, and Robben start or feature for the Oranje when they are either out of form or injured? Also, are the next Stam, Davids, Gullit, Overmars, and Bergkamp being developed or is it just whoever is good enough to play for Ajax, PSV and Feyernoord before those clubs can cash in on them quickly?

Some believe the Bosman ruling hurt Holland when the likes of Ajax and PSV could not hold on to their best players in the 90’s. Yet, the Oranje still produced enough new talent to reach a World Cup Final in 2010. One idea that would be beneficial for the Oranje and that is if the starlets can remain in Holland with their clubs and not leave as soon as a big club shows interest. Just look at the careers of 22 year old Memphis Depay, who he has struggled since leaving PSV for Manchester United while 23 year old Marco van Ginkel has played for four different clubs since moving to Chelsea in 2013.

Time will tell if the young players such as Memphis, van Ginkel, Riechedly Bazoer, Davy Klaassen, Anwar El Ghazi, and Vincent Janssen can click with the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Kevin Strootman (if he can remain injury free), Daley Blind, and Jordy Clasie, along with the old guard such as Robben, van Persie, Sneijder and Huntelaar, presuming they are to be still relied upon. The talent is there but what they lack is a good manager to mold them into contenders. Ultimately, the KNVB needs to stop with short term solutions and plan for a brighter future.

Dutch FA chairman Bert van Oostveen unveiled a 10-year plan to ensure that the Netherlands are back alongside the world football elite by the year 2026. If that is the case, then hopefully the part of that plan is to look ahead and make sure that the talent is being taken care of properly and that the right coaches are in charge of the entire structure. This should not be a radical plan seeing as the president of the KNVB is Michael van Praag, who was also the chairman of Ajax from 1989 till 2003. That era is considered one of the most successful eras in club history since the late 60’s – early 70’s era. That success came from superb scouting and great coaching which benefited the Oranje for many years.

Something has to be done to nurture the team and make them become contenders again. The longer they wait to take the proper measures, the longer it may take to overcome this problem. Just look at how long it took Belgium to recover. Despite their differences when it comes to financial health of the clubs and the pool of, perhaps the KNVB can learn from their German counterparts in how to build for the future. Failure to do so will only mean more disappointments as time passes them by.

Thanks for the Memories, Pedro.

We look back at Pedro's time with Barça with his most memorable moments.

With Pedro bidding farewell to Barça, Blaugrana fans will loss a player who might not have been the most talented player to ever play for Barça, but one who played his heart out for the club. We look back at his time with the club with his most memorable goals that he scored for Barça.

UEFA Super Cup Shakhtar 2009-2010

This is the goal that put him on the map. Not many knew who Pedro was when he came on the pitch to replace Ibrahimovic. Nevertheless, he broke the scoreless deadlock and began the path to become the first player to score a goal in six different competitions.

2009 FIFA Club World Cup Estudiantes

The equalizing goal that seemed unlikely to happen. Pedro’s header in the 88th minute forced the game into extra time where Messi would score the game winner against Estudiantes. The latter would not have happened if not for Pedro’s goal.

El Clasico 2009-2010

The insurance goal that sealed victory and all but clinched the 2009-2010 league title for Barça. Xavi once again with the superb through ball and Pedro timed his run perfectly and somehow did not lose the ball as two defenders tried to close him down but he somehow managed to get an effort on goal that got past Casillas.

El Clasico 2010-2011

Pedro was thorn in Madrid's side twice that season. He scored the second goal the night the Manita took place. He also scored the only goal at the Camp Nou in the Champions League Semi-Finals that was the nail in Madrid’s coffin.

2011 Champions League Final at Wembley

This was the opening goal in the 2011 Champions League Final. Superb through ball from Xavi and Pedro showed great calmness by controlling the before before slotting it in for the opening goal.

2012 Copa del Rey Final

Guardiola’s final match as Barça manager. During the season, Pep had somehow ignored Pedro for the likes of Alexis and Tello. Pedro scored a brace in the first half and Pep had this to say about him afterwards. "Pedro is a fantastic player. I was just asking myself why I didn't play him more.” 

2012-2013 PSG Champions League Quarter-Finals

Second half equalizer that ensured that Barça would advance to the next round. Messi came off the bench and found Villa inside the box who then somehow passed it to Pedro with his first touch. Pedro blasted it in and the game would end in a 1-1 draw that helped Barça advance on away goals rule.

2-5 Getafe Pedro hattrick 2013-2014

It was a great comeback by the team that was without Valdés, Messi and Neymar, and found themselves down 2-0 after 15 minutes. It looked hopeless yet these guys battled back through a Pedro hat trick before the halftime whistle and then Cesc scored a brace in the second half for a2-5 win. Hat trick in 8 minutes.His first goal was from outside the box with the keeper halfway inside his box. He managed to get a hand on it but that was not enough. Equalizer, cuts in from the left side and right footed it into the top corner. Third goal was the difference as he got onto a rebound and blasted it over a sprawling defender and past the keeper with a strong blast.

Chilena v Real Sociedad 2014-2015

The goal that some would say clinched last season’s league title for Barca. Off the bench, Pedro came in and scored this amazing Chilena goal to remind us that he still some magic in his goal scoring shoes.

2015 UEFA Super Cup Sevilla

With talks of Pedro wanting to leave and Neymar out with the mumps, it seemed like he would start this past UEFA Super Cup. Instead, he was on the bench just as he was six years ago and once again, Pedro came off the bench and scored the game winning goal in extra time. His final golden moment and goal for the club.

Barça Treble Talk Is Premature.

Things are still going well for Barça. They qualified for the Copa del Rey Final, are in the driver’s seat in their Champions League tie against Manchester City, and currently are league leaders. However, all this talk about another Barça treble is premature at this moment.

Barça’s disappointing loss to Malaga has become nothing but a distant memory. Barça seemed to struggle with taking advantage of opportunities to breathe down Real Madrid’s necks. Now, they are the ones breathing the fresh air atop of the league summit after finally capturing it. The mood is better at the Camp Nou regarding the manager and players; but not the club administration though. They qualified for their 37th Copa del Rey final where they will face Athletic Club at a yet to be determined venue and enjoy a 2-1 aggregate lead against Manchester City in the first leg of the knock out stage of their UEFA Champions League tie.

However, let’s not get too carried away with any treble talk. In a quest of such magnitude, one must remain humble and focus on only the next match at hand. Pep brought that one game at a time approach and Luis Enrique repeated it today ahead of tomorrow’s second leg match against Manchester City. When asked about this weekend’s El Clásico match, the manager replied, “There is only one game for us and that’s the one tomorrow. Nothing else matters to me right now”.

Up only 2-1, the tie against Manchester City is far from over. It is true that Barça enjoy the upper hand knowing that Manchester City enter the match knowing they need to score two goals at the Camp Nou. However, crazier things have happened to Barça at the Camp Nou. Barça’s “Dream Team” were knocked out of the second round of the qualifying stage for the 92-93 Champions League by CSKA Moskva with a second leg 2-3 loss at the Camp Nou after a 1-1 away draw in Russia. At one point, Barça were leading 2-0 before the Russian side scored three unanswered goals to eliminate the Blaugrana from Europe.

Barça’s match against Manchester City cannot be taken for granted. Barça still has the tendency to give up goals and with the absence of Busquets, one wonders how the midfield will look like in his absence. Even if Barça advance, the teams awaiting them in the Quarter-Finals will not be pushovers. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Porto and PSG will be waiting for them along with possible teams such as Dortmund or Juventus, Monaco, and Atlético. The path to the Champions League final will not be an easy path, that’s for sure.

Even this weekend’s Clásico cannot be considered that decisive. When Barça won the treble back in 2008-2009, El Clásico took place in the final month of the season, not in March. After this weekend’s clash, there will be an additional 10 league matches to be played. That’s 30 possible points. A win this weekend will give them a four point cushion with another 30 points to be contested by both sides. Clearly, having a small lead is a great boost for morale but a lot can happen over 10 matches too.

I have always been a firm believer that the league is decided in the final five league matches. So any talk of Barça winning or going for the treble by fans is very premature. The media will start talking about it because it’s their job to do so. Some were talking about Real Madrid winning all six titles this season and look how quickly that discussion ended. Only one club from Spain has ever won the treble so it’s no easy task at all. Therefore, let’s wait till May before we can utter the word “treble.” Until then, the Blaugrana faithful need to just take it one match at a time.

Barça’s Failure to Finish Off Teams Must End.

Barça’s recent first leg ties in both Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League saw the Blaugrana victorious in both clashes. Yet, their failure to finish off their opponents is a habit that must come to an end.

Barça’s 2015 continue to be one full of progress ever since that loss to Real Sociedad with the minor hiccup of the Malaga loss. Whatever experimentation Luis Enrique was doing in the first half of the season has been abandoned. He and the players seem to have made strides in making this season a memorable one. They have one foot into the Copa del Rey Final after defeating Villarreal 3-1 at the Camp Nou in the first leg of their Semi-Finals clash.

Barça’s success in cup competitions continued last week when Barça traveled to the UK to face Manchester City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie and returned to Barcelona with a 2-1 victory. Both cup victories were a boost to the morale of the team and its fans. However, both victories also left a small bitter taste of disappointment among the fans.

For you see, in both matches, Barça were awarded a penalty towards the end of the match. Yet, both times, they failed to convert from the spot. Neymar missed from the spot against Villarreal and Messi missed from the spot against Manchester City. Moments like those must not be squandered.
If Neymar had scored from the spot, and assuming that Villarreal would not have still scored before the final whistle, the final score would have ended 4-1 and all but ended the tie right there. Villarreal would have needed to win the return leg 3-0 to advance, but instead, a 2-0 result would suffice for them. If Messi had converted from the spot, Barça would have left with a 3-1 win and with an important three away goals advantage. Of course, two away goals are still valuable since this means Manchester City will have to attack, because a 2-0 win would be enough to see them through to the next round. No doubt Barça will look forward to Manchester City playing to attack and not sit back and defend.

Some may construe this as whining. “Hey, your team won; be happy!” Oh I am happy. This is about Barça not finishing teams off. The Blaugrana had two chances to kill off teams in the first leg of a cup tie which could have afforded them a chance to rest some players in the second leg as they remain on course to challenge for the treble. If Barça do not somehow collapse to Manchester City at the Camp Nou, they will be fighting for the Champions League title with seven other teams. Barça better not squander golden chances to finish off teams when the opportunity presents itself. With Real Madrid only two points ahead of them in the league standings, now is the time for Barça to develop a knack of going for the kill for the rest of the season especially with El Clásico is right around the corner.

UEFA Forgets Rijkaard’s Barça in UEFA Legendary Moments.

UEFA is celebrating the 60th birthday of the European Cup, A.K.A Champions League, and launched a Legendary Moments video campaign that lets fans all over the world select the tournament's greatest moments. 60 moments were selected by UEFA with 9 of them involving FC Barcelona throughout its history. Yet, UEFA ignored the Barça team of Rijkaard.

UEFA chose 60 videos from the 50’s to the present, with the top five videos voted by the fans to be shown before the Champions League final in Berlin on June 5th, 2015. Barça have 9 legendary moments for fans to vote from. Sadly, there are no Barça legendary video moments from the era of Kubala, Luis Suarez and Ramallets, the era of Cruyff and surprisingly the era of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho.

The 9 Legendary Barça moments are:

• 16/04/86: ‘Pichi’ Alonso hat-trick helps Barça retrieve 3-0 semi-final first-leg deficit against Göteborg.
• 20/05/92: FC Barcelona beat Sampdoria in extra time thanks to Koeman’s fierce free-kickto win first European Cup.
• 02/11/94: Romário and Stoichkhov spearhead FC Barcelona's 'Dream Team' to emphatic group stage defeat of Manchester United.
• 06/05/09: Iniesta’s 93rd-minute effort earns FC Barcelona away-goals triumph over Chelsea and place in Rome final.
• 06/04/10: Messi scores four to take FC Barcelona into semi-finals after Arsenal briefly take 3-2 aggregate lead.
• 27/04/11: Messi scores twice – the second a virtuoso effort – at Barcelona’s great rivals in semi-final first leg.
• 28/05/11: Guardiola’s Barça team beat Manchester United at Wembley to win second European crown in three years.
• 07/02/12: Messi becomes first player to score five in a UEFA Champions League game in 7-1 defeat of Leverkusen.
• 25/11/14: Messi passes Raúl as top scorer in UEFA Champions League history with first goal of hat-trick against APOEL.

I can understand not picking a moment from Kubala and Cruyff eras since the club did not win a title at the time. Yet, Pichi Alonso’s hat trick from the 80’s Barça team made the cut. However, how can the era of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho be ignored? That team was a phenomenal team that left us with many legendary moments. 

When I look back at that era, you had some classic moments. There is the Ronaldinho game winning goal against Milan at the Camp Nou in 2004, Ronaldinho’s second goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2004, Eto’o scoring that gem when he lobbed the ball from outside the box and over the Panathinaikos keeper at the Camp Nou in 2005, Barça’s awayand home clashes against Chelsea in 2005-2006 Champions League knockout stages, and the unforgettable final in Paris in 2006 when Barça came back from a goal down to beat Arsenal 2-1 with goals coming from Eto’o and Belletti. 

UEFA got it wrong there with forgetting about the 2005-2006 team and that Final. The game is a classic that turned in Barça’s favor once the legendary goal scorer Henrik Larsson came off the bench and assisted on both goals. UEFA ignored the legendary Ronaldinho and the Barça team coached by Rijkaard and that is unfortunate.

New Euro 2016 Qualifying Rules Makes Holland’s Journey Less Panicky.

Despite Netherlands losing their opening European Championship qualifier, the journey to the 2016 tournament in France has been made easier by UEFA’s new rules.

The second Guus Hiddink era kicked off last month with disappointing back to back defeats for the Netherlands. Sure, some players were missing because of injuries and the loss to Italy was a friendly that was over after three minutes following the sending off of Martins Indi. Their subsequent defeat to the Czech Republic in their first 2016 UEFA European Championship group stage match though, was embarrassing thanks to some sloppy defending and uncharismatic football from the Oranje. However, this loss did not carry the weight that the Oranje have an uphill challenge ahead of them and that’s due in large to UEFA implementing new qualifying rules which eliminated the suspense in these qualifiers.

Of course, any loss by Holland is never acceptable, especially in qualifying group stages for the UEFA European Championship. In the past, a loss would cause some concern since the last thing any fan wants is to see their team fail to finish as group leader and automatically qualify and end up in a playoff. Well, good news Oranje fans. Those days are over. Thanks to Michel Platini and UEFA for changing the rules in ensuring that the top two teams qualify for Euro 2016 automatically along with the third place team getting a shot at a playoff spot. Sadly, a change in the rules of allowing 24 nations in Euro 2016 killed the suspense of these qualifiers.

So basically, you have a better chance at qualifying than missing out on Euro 2016. So have no fear, Holland would need to fall into a total coma to make qualifying impossible. Holland’s next two opponents are Kazakhstan and Iceland. Hiddink and his players will have a chance to redeem themselves for last month’s showing. The one benefit of this easy qualification process is that perhaps this will allow Hiddink to bleed in the younger players and give them significant playing minutes. This would ultimately shed some light on which players got what it takes to play for the national team in two years’ time in France.

As much as I feel comfortable in knowing these guys still have a shot at qualifying, even if they finish third, I’d prefer if they right the ship and finish as group leaders. The first step towards redemption starts Friday against Kazakhstan. One can only hope that the Oranje have learned from last month’s mistakes and start living up to expectations.

Champions League: Group F preview ~ Barça’s Quest for Fifth Title Begins.

FC Barcelona kick off a new UEFA Champions League campaign which sees them facing familiar foes and a new competitor. New manager Luis Enrique will get his first ever taste in Champions League football as a manager. Will he able to duplicate the success of Guardiola in getting the Blaugrana back to the Promised Land?

FC Barcelona’s foes in this season’s Champions League group stages are Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Ajax Amsterdam, and APOEL FC. Luis Enrique will kick off his managerial debut in the Champions League with his side hosting the Cypriot side APEOL FC at the Camp Nou in Match Day 1. This is APOEL’s third appearance in the group stages with their last visit seeing the club from the small island in the Mediterranean Sea reaching all the way to the Quarter-Finals before falling to Real Madrid. Their other experience against La Liga teams in this competition came in 2009-2010 season where they were grouped with Atlético Madrid and finished fourth behind Chelsea, Porto and Atlético respectively. Current APOEL players John Arne Riise, with Liverpool, and Tiago Gomes, with Hercules CF, both tasted victories with their respective teams at the Camp Nou against FC Barcelona.  APEOL’s Urko Pardo is also a former member of La Masia and was a member of the 2004-2005 Barça B team. Meanwhile, Ivan Rakitić, with FC Schalke 04, faced APOEL in the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup first round and scored a goal against them.

FC Barcelona also renew acquaintances with Ajax Amsterdam and Paris Saint-Germain F.C this season. Despite both club’s long history in European football, last season was the first time Barça and Ajax faced one another in European competition. Both sides tasted victory on home soil with Barça enjoying a 4-0 victory at the Camp Nou while Ajax won 2-1 in Amsterdam. Both APOEL and Ajax are expected to fight each other for third and fourth place in this group. Ajax’s domestic campaign is off to a poor start while APOEL has two heavy weights to deal with which might be a tall order for the small club. Upsets however do occur so don’t write them off just yet.

PSG are considered Barça’s rivals for the top spot of the group. Barça will once again face former players, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Maxwell and Thiago Motta. Ibra and Maxwell also represented Ajax and Barça together in the past so this will be a reunion tour of some sort. This is the first time both teams meet in the group stages. Their recent encounter took place in the 2012-2013 Quarter-Finals where Barça eliminated PSG on away goals following a 3-3 aggregate result. Barça and PSG faced each other in the 1994-1995 Champions League Quarter-Finals stage where PSG upset Cruyff’s Dream Team by winning 3-2 on aggregate. Barça did however defeat PSG 1-0 a few years later in the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final. The final group match will feature Barça hosting PSG in what could be a pivotal match for qualification to the knock out stages as group winners or a lack luster affair where the top two spots have been decided and will feature role and youth players.

Luis Enrique’s last encounter as a manager in European competition came with Roma when they were upset in the 2011-2012 Europa League playoffs by Slovan Bratislava. Luis Enrique suffered criticism for his handling of that tie and he will now get a second chance to improve his record in European competition. Nevertheless, there are lingering questions for Barça for this upcoming Champions League campaign.

Will Lucho pull an Ancelotti and go with a different starting keeper for Champions League action and one for league action? Claudio Bravo has been his starter in all 3 league matches but with Ter Stegen deemed fit, will Luis Enrique give the young German keeper his first competitive debut or will the manager stick with Claudio Bravo. With Luis Suarez set to miss the first three matches of the group stage, will Lucho go with experience in Neymar and Pedro or trust his young starlets Munir and Sandro to start up front with Messi or mix it up?

Champions League never gets dull regardless of what group your club is in. Barça kick off their campaign in a group that has a bit history in terms of rivalry, influence, and underdog elements to it. Tomorrow will see Barça begin a new quest and for the Blaugrana faithful, one can hope it ends in success on June 6^th in Berlin.