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.
No comments:
Post a Comment