Root for Tito and Root for Barça.

The news about Tito needing to take some time off from coaching to treat his cancer medical problem caught us all by surprise. Nevertheless, we all need to root for Tito. At the same time, we also need to root for Barça. This is a tough situation for the club but it’s not the first time. Barça went through this before during Cruyff and came out as winners and nothing should change that as these current players strive to win titles this season.

Barça’s Tito is going to take some time off to deal with his medical condition. It is a dangerous condition. Cancer is one of those words where you really stop in your tracks whenever you hear it being uttered by anyone. We all are worried about Tito and his health. This is a serious medical problem that unfortunately Tito has to face again. Everyone will be and should be rooting for Tito to beat this again. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. What’s important is that he beats it and is fully recovered for his and his family’s sake. Football is secondary.

Nevertheless, us Cules still love our football and the show must go on. The club did the right thing by allowing Tito’s right hand man, Jordi Roura, to take over in the meantime. There was no need to start panicking and hire another manager such as Pep or Luis Enrique. This is still Tito’s team and unless otherwise, it will be his team when he returns in six weeks if the medical predictions go through. Tito still needs to take his time with his recovery and not rush it.

As for Jordi Roura; I highly doubt this is how he envisioned managing Barça someday. With that said, he is now the man in charge. Fortunately for him, he’s not the first to take the hot seat following the manager’s illness. Back in the 1990-1991 season, Johan Cruyff had to undergo an emergency procedure on his heart that ruled him out for the remainder of the season. His right hand man, and also club legend, Carles Rexach took over in February and took the team all the way to the league title. Just like today’s team, that team back then were also league leaders after 16 matches and never relinquished their spot atop of the standings.

This is not the time to panic and lose hope. The team is full of players who are also leaders so I don’t expect a dip in performance from this bunch. This players will want to win for Tito. This is the time when the team needs its supporters. This is when we need to show our love and support for the club more than ever. This club has been in a similar position before and overcame the difficult situation. It won’t be easy without the watchful eyes of Tito but the leaders on this team won’t squander this great lead that they have over Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid. We still must support them and this is a stern reminder that no one is invincible so don’t put off seeing your doctor or changing your diet or unhealthy lifestyle. Life is too short to throw it away, especially when you’re a Barça fan and have many reasons to follow what this team is on the cusp of accomplishing.

 

Messi - Caution v Obsession

Messi finally did it. 86 goals in one calendar year is truly a remarkable achievement by the 25 year old player who keeps finding ways to astonish us with his record breaking feats. However, perhaps it’s time for us to be cautious now and focus on what is best for Messi and the team. The obsession for this record might have affected Messi and his teammates' style of play. Now that the record is over, there should be a shift to caution.

Messi should not play today. He would be making his fourth appearance in two weeks. There is no need to play the Copa match against a side that is not in La Primera. This game should be used to give players who are going through a tough spell in terms of performance or ending their goalless streak. Pedro, Alexis and David Villa should be playing these minutes. They need some goals to give a boost to their confidence.

Some would argue that their goal scoring is down because of injuries or bad luck. Perhaps, they were also too focused on making sure Messi broke that record. The obsession for this record might have somewhat affected his teammates but now that is over with, it’s time for others to step up. I would prefer to see the likes of Pedro, Villa and Alexis scoring 15-20 goals a season to Messi’s 50 than seeing him score 86 while David Villa and Alexis only have close to 10 goals each in all of 2012.

The injury scare against Benfica made us all second guess Tito’s decision to bring on Messi. He shouldn’t have stepped onto the pitch, record or no record. This was a meaningless game against a team desperate to advance to the next round. Sure, he wanted to break the record. Lovely! Imagine if he was gone for the next 6 months with an injury in a meaningless game. Sure, he could have been injured against Betis but if you want to get down to it, which game do you prefer a player to get injured in? In a game that counts or not? Let’s not forget how Eto’o got injured and how David Villa got injured. One was in a friendly and one was in a serious fixture. Injuries happen but if the game doesn’t mean much, then rest the player and decrease the chances of wear and tear which could lead to fatigue. Thus, rest Messi today, Tito.

 

Blame the Owners for the NHL Lockout.

Christmas is almost upon us and we are still waiting for the NHL owners and players to reach some sort of agreement so that we hockey fans can enjoy some hockey again. As is customary whenever there is a lockout in a professional league, fans are often asked to pick a side; owners or players. Some fans would pick neither and blame them altogether for what has happened. However, I put the blame squarely on the NHL owners.

We had a lockout a few years ago and when both sides reached an agreement, the NHL owners were declared the victors. They got their way in terms of salary cap, salary reductions and the sharing of profit. Well fast forward to now and the owners are back to asking the players to give up more because the current deal isn’t good enough.

Just like I mentioned here during the NBA Lockout last season, the players have every reason to object to conceding more power to the owners. It’s not about greed but about principle. How many times can you keep being forced into accepting bad deals? The owners cannot have my sympathy when they overspent and failed to remain fiscal. It’s hard for me to sympathize with them when a team signs players to $100,000,000 deals that most of the public wouldn’t recognize if they stood in front us at the Wal-Mart checkout lane.

Sadly, the players will have to sacrifice some more again. The good news, it will be on their terms.  For the love of this sport, they have to reach an agreement. However, one of their conditions should be that Gary Bettman must step down. It’s high time this league got a worthy commissioner.  Any new deal would be worthless if that man is allowed to return and be commissioner of this league.

Hopefully a deal can be secured and we’ll have a half season like we had back in 1994-1995. If not, then the owners are the ones who will be killing this league. Us hockey fans have other ways to get over the absence of the NHL via minor league hockey, college hockey or busting out with the NHL ’96 on the Sega Genesis (yeah, fighting is one reason why I picked ’96 over ’94). Get it together NHL Owners and reach a deal with the players this time and then dump Gary Bettman. I want to see my beloved Tampa Bay Lightning back in action.

Blame the Federations and not FIFA.

Another unnecessary and poorly timed international fixture break was bestowed upon a few days ago. It was sandwiched in between league games. Of course, some of the matches were important such as the Asian World Cup Qualifiers but the rest were meaningless friendlies with a few memorable performances and inexcusable trips across the globe. Of course, FIFA picked this date but they should not bear the brunt of the blame. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the respective country’s federation.

The FIFA Virus reared its ugly head again a few days ago. Barça players had to play in meaningless friendlies which required them to play on a few days rest and training with their national teams coupled with flights across the Atlantic Ocean. Alexis Sanchez was the biggest FIFA Virus casualty when he suffered yet another injury that will keep him out up to four weeks. Barça players representing Spain flew all the way to Panama for a friendly while Dani Alves traveled to New York with Brazil to face Colombia. Messi traveled to Saudi Arabia to represent Argentina.

All the Barça players had to return and get ready for a match today.  Today! Not tomorrow, but today! So Barça players, and other club players too, had to return and get ready for another match on two day’s rest. I am sure that is exactly in the best interests of the players and the game. Many would love to spew venom at FIFA for such a meaningless decision to have International games played in such a manner but I don’t think they should bear the brunt of the blame.

They are not blameless either but I wouldn’t have objected if this window was used solely for Asian World Cup Qualifiers. However, since these games were scheduled on a Wednesday and not over a weekend, why did the rest of the world decide to schedule friendlies? This is why I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the country’s federation. RFEF, Royal Spanish Football Federation, and other country’s federations decided to schedule the games. RFEF has been cashing on Spain’s success by scheduling them to play in friendlies in Argentina, Puerto Rico, and just recently Panama the past few years.

Countries do not have an obligation to schedule a friendly. FIFA only provides the window but the final decision lies with the Federations. Mexico, a side that is well known for playing way too many friendlies, did not participate in the glutton of friendlies on Wednesday. Obviously, the Mexican league playoffs played a part in that decision but they could have scheduled a friendly and fielded C team too. They did not! Therefore, it is possible to not see your country play a friendly on a day set aside for friendlies. So, the next time you complain about countries playing meaningless friendlies; don’t blame FIFA, but blame the Federation head honchos who decided to cash in and schedule the friendly.

Fix Camp Nou or Build a new one?

To build or renovate? That is the question that Barça president Sandro Rosell brought up last month in the General Assembly was the suggestion of building a new stadium. This sparked a great debate about what should Barça do regarding their home. Should they renovate the Camp Nou or time to build a new stadium?

Last month, the club presented a proposition to the members about the status of the Camp Nou.  Javier Faus, the vice-president of the Economic and Strategic Area of the Club proposed two options regarding the home of Barça; Renovate the Camp Nou or build a new one. The first option would cost close to 300 million euros, and the second option wouldn’t surpass 600 million euros. He also assured that if a new stadium was built, it would not be built outside of the Barcelona city limits. Ultimately, 89% of the socios approved on having a referendum about this topic.

This topic struck a nerve with many passionate Blaugrana fans. Many, including myself, were not in favor of seeing Barça play at a new stadium, but to stay at the Camp Nou and just go ahead and renovate the stadium where it is needed. Others though believe it’s time for a new stadium.

The argument for the new stadium wasn’t just an argument about a new playing surface but it was also more of a sign that the club needs to step forward and become more modern like other teams. A new stadium would mean more VIP seats – reminds me of the Sky Box seats arguments US franchises used to build new arenas/stadiums – and could also generate more income by selling the naming rights of the stadium.  Bottom line, the new stadium would mean a step in a direction of the club becoming more of a professional organization and not just a club.

However, there are many, including myself, who believe that Barça’s only home should be the Camp Nou.  The Poll on the Miami Penya website saw 5 out of 20 in favor of building a new stadium. Most of the responses I got from fellow fans were that the club should stay in the Camp Nou. Why? The stadium is magical with such a vast history. This is stadium that has seen the likes of Kubala, Luis Suarez, Cruyff, Krankl, Simonsen, Maradona, Lineker, Stoichkhov, Laudrup, Romario, Koeman, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Guardiola, Ronaldinho, Eto’o, and the current crop of amazing talent such as Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi call home. We have also witnessed great games at this pitch with the likes of a few 5-0 wins against Real Madrid, the magical comeback of Barça against Atletico Madrid in 1996-1997 Copa Del Rey encounter, numerous Champions League victories, and many great celebrations.

I think part of the reason why some of the fans said don’t build a new one is because they have yet to experience a match at the magical stadium, including myself.  For those who have been to the Camp Nou on numerous occasions, perhaps the magic aura of the Camp Nou has rubbed off and it is just another stadium to them. So is that selfishness on our part not to have a new stadium built? Probably yes. However, I also have a tough time believing a new stadium is really needed. The current Camp Nou holds 99,000 seats and supposedly the new stadium will have 10,000 additional seats and of course, the ever so important VIP seats. However, the club only averages close to 75,000 fans in attendance so what guarantee is there that the new stadium will have more fans? Will there be more amenities?

If the club is averaging close to 75,000 fans to see one of a kind amazing talent such as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and company, then I shudder to think what will happen in the new stadium when most of these players will be done with football and working on their golf games or working on their coaching badges.

The Camp Nou is not only the home of the football team, but it also contains the club’s offices, the Botiga – Official Barça shop, and the FC Barcelona Museu, the club’s museum. In the end, money talks, especially under this president who wants to make the club more fiscally responsible. However, I don’t know if spending 600 million euros for a new stadium is the right approach. The New York Yankees decided to leave their own Camp Nou and built a new Yankees stadium and some would say that the move has not been as successful with overpriced seats, empty seats, and a lackluster fan atmosphere that no longer intimidates opposing teams.

In my opinion, you can’t replace a landmark. VIP boxes area a great idea and great source of income but with the current state of the Spanish economy is going, what guarantee is there that those seats will be sold off to corporations since they are the ones who usually buy those types of seats and US teams suffered during the poor economy because companies couldn’t afford those tickets. Also, if the club is not selling out every match now with this great team, then what guarantee that a new stadium with 10,000 additional seats will have a higher attendance? By the time this stadium is built, the great era of this team might be over so fans won’t be paying to watch the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, and perhaps even Messi. If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it. However, if minor repairs are needed, then renovate.

In the end, the fans will have the final say on what should happen. Part of me wants to have the club remain at the holy grounds of the Camp Nou and part of me thinks that the club should always be proactive and reactive to change such as modern facilities and modern approaches in how a club should be run. So if you’re still waffling on when to go to the Camp Nou, you might want to do it sooner than later because it seems that the Camp Nou days are coming to an end.

 

Time for Barça to slay Madrid.

Barça have had their chances to put a big dagger into the hearts of their arch rivals, Real Madrid, under Mourinho while they were going through internal turmoil. Barça failed to do so on every occasion and allowed Madrid to stay alive and gain momentum. Tomorrow will see Barça face Madrid with an eight point lead over them and a win would only sink the Blancos even further away from the league summit. However, with Barça possibly playing without Puyol and Pique in the heart of the defense, will Barça give Madrid another stay of execution or finally slay them?

El Clásico has been called one of the biggest games in the world. It sure has become more prestigious, and at times infamous, ever since Jose Mourinho joined Real Madrid. Last season saw both teams face each other in the Supercopa, League and the Copa Del Rey before we hit the spring season. Barça got the better of their arch rivals in the Supercopa, the first league encounter and the Copa del Rey. It was the latter that I believe ultimately cost Barça the league title.

That was the first time that Barça had a chance to wreak havoc on Real Madrid. It’s no secret that under Mourinho, Los Blancos have had internal problems in the dressing room. Back in January, Mourinho and Sergio Ramos erupted in a huge row following Barça’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey in Madrid and things looked like they were about to unravel for them. The second leg saw Barça race to a two goal lead before the half for a 4-1 aggregate at the Camp Nou and you could feel that things were about to get more unraveling for Los Blancos if Barça piled it on and ran up the score.

This was their chance to drive a giant wedge between Mourinho and some of his players. Barça’s chance to slay the dragon though failed thanks to their lethargic second half that saw Real Madrid fight back and score two goals and claim a draw. The result meant that Barça eliminated Real Madrid but some, including myself, thought Barça would pay dearly for this result. They had them down and did not go for the kill and gave Madrid a boost of confidence.

Like the old sports saying goes, “Winning is the best deodorant.” Well, Madrid’s come back to draw 2-2 was the deodorant that masked their problems and allowed them to forget about their squabbles and focus on the league and Champions League. Barça could have made their lives more difficult by continuing the ongoing internal strife along with the negative press from the Spanish capital. Instead, Pepe stepping on Messi’s hands or Ramos’s leaked comments were a thing of the past because of their strong half performance and they recouped and moved on.

Barça’s second chance to slay the beast came a few months in April when Barça hosted Madrid in the Camp Nou. Madrid had seen their big lead of 10 points reduced to 4 before their clash at the Camp Nou. A Barça win would have seen them shrink Madrid’s lead to just one point with just a handful of games remaining.  Once again, there were stories of problems going on in Madrid after they dropped six points and Barça were presented with a golden opportunity to chop off the head of the monster and exert more pressure on their arch rivals by making them sweat it out the rest of the season. Instead, Guardiola’s lineup decisions back fired and Madrid and Mourinho finally overcame their lack of success in the Camp Nou with an important victory and raced away with the league.

Barça’s latest opportunity came in the most recent Supercopa. Unlike other editions, this year’s edition was scheduled after the league kicked off. Sandwiched between two league encounters were the two Supercopas ties. Madrid kicked off their season with a fortunate 1-1 draw at home to Valencia and then traveled to Barcelona where they lost 3-2 in the first leg of the Supercopa and then suffered their first league defeat when they lost away to Getafe 2-1.

This presented Barça with a great setting. Inflict more pain and trouble for Mourinho and Madrid in front of the Los Blancos fans. Instead, Madrid raced to a quick two goal lead thanks for some poor defending and withstood a Messi goal to defeat a shorthanded Barça side to capture the Supercopa. Once again, Madrid found the correct deodorant stick and briefly covered up the stench of their poor season start.

Tomorrow, Barça hosts Madrid while enjoying an eight point lead over their arch rivals. With Barça missing the services of Puyol and perhaps Pique, some are hoping for a draw to keep the gap at eight points. The idea of seeing defensive midfielders as centre-backs are not that reassuring.  However this is a must win game for Barça. Also, this is Barça; anything but a win in any game is unacceptable, especially in El Clásico.

Barça are presented once again with a great opportunity to add more misery to Madrid as they once again deal with internal issues between Mourinho and some of the players. A victory stretches Barça’s commanding lead to 11 points and one can only imagine the sort of backlash the Madrid press would unleash on Mourinho and his players.

A loss tomorrow means that another team from Madrid, Atlético, would become league leaders if they defeat Malaga in a game scheduled after the Clásico. So Barça have been presented with another golden opportunity to cause some serious damage to Real Madrid. Will they do it or will they give Real Madrid another reprieve and allow them to regain some confidence along with some mojo which could inspire them the rest of the season again? Opportunity is knocking again and it’s about time Barça answer.

 

Time to play Bartra.

Is there a Center-Back in the house? Barça’s great start to the season has suffered the disappointing news of losing both starting Centre Backs Puyol and Pique to injuries. Even though there was a need to sign another centre-back this summer, the club opted to sign another Defensive Midfielder who could play the role of a centre-back. Well, there is a young talented player on the bench waiting for his moment. The moment is now and it’s about time that the club played Marc Bartra.

First it was Puyol and then it was Pique. Barça fans have been accustomed to seeing their best players suffer an injury here and there over the years. However, we were not ready to see both our centre-backs out with injuries so soon. We went from a club that had two starting centre-backs and one young centre-back to basically one young centre-back in need of minutes with defensive midfielders sharing the load in the back. Marc Bartra has been patiently waiting for his chance to prove himself and the time has come.

I have never been a fan of Pep’s decision to rely on the likes of Yaya, Mascherano and Busquets playing in the centre-back position. Those were great ideas for a quick fix but not for the long term. As much as I enjoy watching Mascherano play, I think his time as centre-back should come to an end. The warning signs were there last season in the big matches where he was shown to be a liability such as his poor header clearance in the San Siro that lead to Prince’s goal against Milan; Ronaldo sprinting past him to scoring the game winning goal in the Camp Nou, not picking up Drogba during the counter attack that lead to Chelsea’s only goal of the game, his poor tackle on Lampard that resulted in a counter attack goal for Ramires; and more recently his poor clearance attempt in the second leg of the Supercopa. Just watching him partner Song against Spartak Moscow on Wednesday showed us that the club should have bought defenders to re-enforce the back four.

Mascherano has been a great player and person for Barça but he is not a centre-back. I don’t care that he helped the club win the Champions League when he started against Manchester United. A few good games do not wipe out a recent string of bad displays in big games. If his name was Oleguer or Rafa Marquez, fans would be all over him. The club should have bought a centre-back and I don’t believe the talk that the club never wanted to buy one because they have Mascherano so that’s why they bought Song. They wanted to get Thiago Silva or Javi Martinez but were scared off by the price tag. Unfortunately, they could have signed Botia, who is a former youth player currently on loan with Sevilla, Chico, former Barça B player who played for Pep and played a key part in helping the B team gain promotion and is currently playing for Swansea City, and Jan Vertonghen, former Ajax player who just went to Spurs for €12.5 million, for maybe half of the cost of one of those big named stars.

What’s been done has been done. Perhaps the club will sign someone when the winter transfer window opens or wait till next season when they go after the likes of Dortmund’s Hummels.  I hope the club does eventually sign a centre-back. I am tired of watching Barça repeat history by suffering from some dreadful defending too. We saw it during the final days of the “Dream Team” when Koeman was past it and it hurt this team. Rijkaard's last 2 years saw a lot of poor defenders around Puyol and now we are subjected to watching history repeat itself as we watch this team concede silly goals from poor defending. Pique still has his head in the clouds from time to time and Mascherano can't clear with his head and will get burned by a speedy forward.

If you think that this team wins on its offense alone, then look back at their triumphant Champions League titles and see how many blowouts they had in the semi-final stage, 0-1, 0-0 against Milan; 0-0, 1-1 against Chelsea; 0-2; 1-1 against Real Madrid. They relied on keeping clean sheets when they won those titles and not by winning 4-3 or 3-2 every game.

Barça’s legacy has always been on relying on their academy products. We have already seen that Montoya is ready to compete for the right-back position and in my opinion is the heir apparent to Dani Alves. Puyol was thrown in as a right back when he was young and he turned out alright. Chapi Ferrer, Pep, and Sergi were all thrown in as youngsters too and the “Dream Team” benefitted from it. Puyol was 21. Chapi was 20. Sergi was 22. Montoya is 21. I'm not saying bench Alves but I prefer to see Montoya start ahead of Adriano in that position and rotate with Dani Alves to give the Brazilian fullback some rest.

We have had a history of giving young players a chance. Xavi and Iniesta turned out alright. Messi turned out alright. Valdés turned out alright even with his odd brain farts. Busquets was how old again when he got to play ahead of Yaya? So it’s time to give minutes to Bartra. We've seen him play in Champions League games and Copa del Rey games before. He is a promising 6'0 centre-back who was also the captain of Spain’s national team at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. More importantly, he showed us that he's no Fontas with his decisions and his thinking. He deserves to be playing and he deserves playing minutes now that the club is without any centre-backs. Unfortunately, we will never know unless we see him out there on the pitch getting the minutes in matches. Today, Barça host Granada and this is the perfect moment to get him out there and gain some experience and shake off some rust. The moment is now and it’s about time that the club played Marc Bartra and not another defensive midfielder in the heart of the defense.

 

Barça Must Learn From Early Season Errors.

FC Barcelona have kicked off their new season to mixed results. Losing out the Supercopa was disappointing but the club currently finds itself atop of the league standings with a five point lead over arch rivals Real Madrid. Nevertheless, after just five matches, there is some cause for concern and hopefully Barça learn from their errors as they contend for three competitions.

Barça kicked off their season in fine gear with an impressive 5-1 victory over Sociedad along with a first leg 3-2 win in the Supercopa against Real Madrid. However, that 3-2 victory in the Camp Nou over Real Madrid provided us with a warning sign. It could have easily been 4-1 but in a matter of seconds, a sure golden chance for Barça resulted in a lucky scoring chance for Madrid. Adriano’s back pass to Valdés had a bit too much power on it but Valdés’s decision to take an extra touch instead of just kicking it down the pitch resulted in a cheap but valuable goal for Madrid.

What followed after those two victories were two wins with a loss tossed in between. Unfortunately, the loss was against Real Madrid in the second leg of the Supercopa that saw Barça lose out on its first trophy of the season. However, what these three matches revealed were deeper concerns about the team’s approach to the games.

There’s no need to revisit the errors that occurred in Madrid. Mistakes were made and the team paid the price for it. Additionally, Barça’s two victories were not that impressive with players not converting on their chances to put the game away. Thus, what we have learned after these five games is that the players need to be focused from here on in. Defenders need to wake up and be careful in how they mark their players and not get beat by long balls while other players need to start working on their finishing and convert on their scoring chances. Now I know that playing the likes of Madrid and Osasuna away along with a home game against Valencia are no walks in the park. However, those results would have been in Barça’s favor if they were more focused.

Tito now has to wait till most of his team return from international duty before he continues where the team left off. Hopefully he has realized although the players have great talent and skill, it’s their lack of focus that has to be addressed.  His job now will be to make sure his men are focused and ready to play 90 minutes without any momentary lapses. There has been talk in the Barcelona press that Tito is even thinking about playing a 4-2-3-1 formation with Song and Busquets playing as defensive midfielders to assist the back four. Barça have a five point lead and their chances of extending that lead atop of the standings rests largely with the players. Hopefully they learned from their errors this season as they get ready to compete for the league, domestic cup and Champions League.

 

Busy week for Barça.

FC Barcelona sure had a busy week with Mascherano signing a new deal and the return of David Villa and Carles Puyol to training among the good news headlines. However, they had to deal with some whining from the Catalan FA and Espanyol following the cancellation of the Copa Catalunya. Fortunately, that brief moment of cry babying was forgotten when the good news was announced about Eric Abidal joining the team for their trip to Paris when they face Paris St. Germaine and three former teammates.

  What a busy week it was for Barça indeed. It kicked off with the good news that Javier Mascherano had signed a new deal with the club that will see him remain with the club till 2016. I won’t lie. I thought his transfer was one that never made sense. Busquets was already the starting Defensive Midfielder and his playing time caused Toure Yaya to leave. So why sign a well-known player who will be playing as a backup to Busquets?

Fortunately, Guardiola used him as a center-back and the rest is history. Sure, he was caught out a few times late last season that allowed the opposition to exploit him as the weakest link. However, his overall performances since joining the club have been impeccable and here’s hoping the next four years will see more domination from Mascherano.

The other good news was seeing Puyol and Villa back training. We always knew Puyol would be back but there are doubts about David Villa. When he broke his leg back in December, doctor s said he would be out a few months. Villa’s injury has been rather a mysterious one. There was talk of Villa coming back late in the season against Real Madrid so he can be ready for Euro 2012. Well, the injury took more time than expected and we never saw him play for Barça or Spain. I think this is Villa’s last season with the club, especially with Neymar lurking around the corner.  He will probably feature next week for the first time since December.

Hopefully the old David Villa will return and not an old David Villa that we saw struggling throughout the first half of last season before the big injury. He was playing hurt supposedly so we will see. I think this is his last season to impress, especially with Neymar still lurking about.  Unfortunately, this sport is notorious for “what have you done for me lately” when it comes to treating players and Villa hasn’t really done much.

As for the Copa Catalunya being scrapped after no one could work out a decent schedule and Catalan FA objected to Barça’s B team representing. Good Riddance. If the Catalan FA doesn’t like what transpired, then maybe they should abstain from calling up Barça players for their annual international friendly. I don’t recall the club raising a stink when backup goal keeper Jorquera suffered a major injury while representing Catalunya in their annual December friendly that forced Barça to get Pinto. The cup has no real meaning and the fact that Mourinho did win this cup for Barça when he was the assistant manager, doesn’t really give it a warm spot in our hearts either.

I enjoy the idea of the Copa Catalunya but the Catalan FA and Espanyol have to wake up and realize that Barça are involved in other friendlies so they can’t adjust their schedule to accommodate them. Maybe they should have scheduled it before the end of the last league season and not wait till the last second. Poor planning is what killed this cup, not Barça. The Catalan FA should accept that it will never become a popular summer tournament as long as Barça has lucrative deals to play other teams and in other countries at the same time. In my opinion, they should just hold it like the TIM Trophy in Italy where Milan, Inter and Juventus play each other all in one evening in three round-robin 45-minute matches. That’s the only way I can see this cup being held in the future but that’s not what the Catalan FA has in mind.

Barça now will play their third summer friendly today when they travel to France and face PSG. The venue will be a special one for Barça. The Stade de France was the venue where Barça defeated Arsenal to win their second Champions League title. It will be nice for those who featured or were on that team and celebrated that magical night, to return to this venue again. This friendly will also feature three former Barça players, Thiago Motta, Maxwell and Ibrahimovic, representing the French side too along with Thiago Silva, a player Barça were very interested in signing this summer. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Deportes and streamed live on ESPN 3.

However, the big star attraction of the trip is Eric Abidal. The French defender made the trip to his country with his teammates today. Sometimes we forget that these players are human, regardless of their talent, achievements and wealth, so it is great to see Abidal up and about as he recovers from the medical procedures he underwent to save his life. He has given Barça a lot as a player but also a lot as a brave man. Here’s hoping he continues to recover and resume a normal healthy life with his family.

Oranje disgrace themselves at Euro 2012.

Well, it’s that time again where Holland break my heart and disappoint me following another international tournament. Usually that would be the case, but this summer, instead of feeling gutted or sad at watching my beloved Oranje fall short of winning a cup again since 1988, I felt disgusted, revolted and numb. What was supposed to be the tournament for Holland to follow up from their impressive World Cup two years ago became the nightmare that imploded all the hopes and dreams of success.

Holland’s three losses in the group stage were not only shocking; they were also demoralizing. Holland’s track record of advancing to the knock out stages since the 1980 European Championship finally came to an end this summer. This was the first time that Holland failed to win a group stage match for the first time in their history in this tournament.

What was the cause for this calamity? Was it the Oranje players’ egos ugly hear that we have been accustomed to seeing from the past? Was it a manager who lost control and failed to strengthen obvious weaknesses stemming from 2010? Was it a case of lack of luck regarding being picked in the group of death? All of the above would be the correct answer.

Group of Death

Obviously being in the group of death of the umpteenth time didn’t help Holland in Euro 2012. However, they have been in a group of death for the umpteenth time. They encountered similar groups in the past and not in the ancient past. In Euro 2000, they were in a group with then World Cup champions France, Denmark and the Czech Republic. In Euro 2004, they were in a group with Germany, Latvia and Czech Republic again. World Cup 2006 had Holland grouped with Argentina, Serbia and Ivory Coast and just four years ago, they were grouped with Romania, Italy and France. Every single time, Holland managed to make it of their group. So this excuse on its own doesn’t hold much merit.

Players are also to blame.

After the final whistle blew in their group match against Portugal, reports started coming out about the team being divided with egos being the driving wedge between teammates. There was talk that there was a lack of respect between players and manager and between the players themselves. There was a divided group between the Robin van Persie camp and Wesley Sniejder camp. Allegedly one group wanted to play football a certain way and another group wanted to play a different style of football. 

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 and that his relationship with his teammates was disastrous. Additionally, it was alleged that a member of the Oranje staff told Huntelaar to zip it or face getting thrown out of the team's hotel.

Unfortunately for all of us Oranje fans, the team’s amazing run to the 2010 World Cup final affected the players’ psyche. I guess the players forgot that they lost that final to Spain but their performance in the qualifiers leading up to Euro 2012 showed us that this team was confident and courageous. However, when Euro 2012 kicked off, the old habit of players’ egos getting in the way of the team reared its ugly head again.

What makes this more saddening is that eventual champions, Spain, faced similar divisions in their team. Yet, the Barça and Madrid players set their differences aside and thought of only one thing; representing their country as one united team. Which begs the question, why couldn’t the Oranje players do the same thing? Was it poor leadership by the veteran leaders? Why didn’t the manager come in and nip this issue in the bud?

Manager is also to blame.

Speaking of the manager, some of the blame has to be pointed at him. He 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 them. However, he could have also taken control and made all the players realize that the wrong of their ways. Del Bosque had no problem making the Spanish players patch things up for the good of the team and their country. Bert van Marwijk could have tried the same.

However, he fouled things up with his tactics and lineups. I never considered van Persie as an important player for the Oranje. If people think Messi underachieved for Argentina, then what do you say about van Persie’s performances for Holland? He played hurt in World Cup 2010 and after a superb season for Arsenal, he could not carry that form for Holland last month.

I was 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. Nevertheless, the manager opted to use van Persie over Huntelaar for the first two games and when he started both in the final group match against Portugal; it allowed Holland to suffer defensively.

Speaking of suffering defensively, it was no secret that Holland needed help in the back four prior to the start of World Cup 2010. The manager had had two years to improve the back line.  Holland was in dire need of strong center backs and a left full back. Sadly, he opted to experiment and play players out of position. As they say, the rest is history. As journalist Ernst Bouwes said, Roel Brouwers of Borussia Mönchengladbach was voted, alongside Mats Hummels as center backs in the Kicker XI of the Season, yet he was not even selected.

It didn’t take long for the KNVB to fire van Marwijk. Even though he was the first manager to guide the country to a final for the first time since Rinus Michels, he completely lost the plot two years later. One poll had a majority of 57% voters believing that he should be removed as manager while 43% believe in keeping him for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. Unfortunately, the sport of football can be a cruel one where you are more remembered for your most recent disaster than you are remembered for your great achievements, i.e., Frank Rijkaard with FC Barcelona.

Of course, Rijkaard’s was among the many names thrown out by the media as possible replacements to manage Holland along with Ronald Koeman, Ruud Gullit, Frank de Boer, Guus Hiddink, Louis van Gaal, Co and Adriaanse.  Frank de Boer seems destined to be the next Oranje manager but that is only after he has completed his project with Ajax Amsterdam. He seems to have the pedigree to do it and if he can have the likes of Bergkamp, Kim Jonk and twin brother Ronald de Boer on his staff, then hopefully the 90’s stars can show the current and future Oranje players on how it can go all wrong when a team is divided and how to overcome those issues to become a great team again.

Sadly, the KNVB opted to give the job to Louis van Gaal again. I thought he was only suited for club football and disagree with this appointment.  The pain of Holland failing to qualify for the 2002 World Cup still stings to this day and I am not sure he is the right man for the job. How can you trust a manager who allows someone like Lucio to walk away and opt to start Demichelis instead?

A lot can happen in two years. Euro 2012 is living proof of how things can go sour real quick. Let’s hope the Oranje players learned a stern lesson from this humiliating experience and regroup for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But first things first, let’s hope van Gaal can steer them to qualification first and not suffer a repeat of the same fate that he experienced in the run up to the 2002 World Cup.

Hup Holland as always.

Time for Iniesta to be recognized as one of the world’s best.

Barça fans have long stated that Iniesta has been one of their best players for the past few season and also argued that he should be up there with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. With Iniesta winning Euro 2012 Player of the Tournament award, he has earned the right to be considered one of the current great players in the world.

Us Barça fans have been blessed for the past decade with some great players. When Frank Rijkaard was named manager of the club back in 2003-2004 season, many of the young youth players were given their chance to impress. One of them was our own Iniesta who had made his debut under Louis van Gaal the year before. Under Rijkaard, the young player with the number 24 on his back impressed Barça fans and allowed us to brag that although Arsenal had Cesc, Barça had Iniesta. Those claims would be backed up in the 2006 Champions League Final in Paris where his dazzling performance as a halftime substitute caught eyes. He was involved in the buildup on Eto’o’s goal for the equalizer with his pass to Henrik Larsson that resulted in the assist for the goal.

Unfortunately, Barça’s performance following that amazing night in Paris were ones to forget with the team struggling to win any domestic or European honors. However, during that time, we got to see the young Iniesta grow and dazzle us with his great vision and ball control while a young Messi was slowly starting to show us a glimpse of what he would become.  Iniesta performance for the national team took off in Euro 2008 after only appearing in one game in the group stage in the 2006 World Cup.

His performances for club and country took off following Euro 2008 where helped Spain end their long drought for international success by being named on the Team of the Tournament and one of his highlights being setting up Xavi for the opening goal in the Semi-Finals against Russia. With Guardiola as his club manager, Barça won a historic treble, with Iniesta’s goal in the Champions League Semi-Final still fondly remembered by many Cules and was an inspiration for many baby deliveries in Barcelona hospitals nine months later. However, the best accolade he would receive came after Barça defeated Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final in Rome with United’s Wayne Rooney proclaimed that “Iniesta is the best player in the world at the moment.”

Since that magical season, Iniesta has done it all for club and country with the midfielder’s pinnacle moment being his goal in the World Cup Final that finally gave the title they had long waited for.  For some, that moment would change players forever but Iniesta remained the same humble man who decided to celebrate that goal by taking off his jersey to reveal with a message written on his shirt to honor his fallen friend, Jarque.

There is no need to list his accomplishment over the years. You can see them on his Wikipedia page and his success on the pitch speaks for itself. He has been amazing and Guardiola saw that back when Iniesta was still a young lad. Graham Hunter’s book , Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World, mentioned the story of when Guardiola observed Iniesta’s talent for the first time during the 1999 Nike Cup.  Guardiola presented Iniesta his medal and the trophy and told him, “One day I’ll be up in those stands watching you do what I do for Barça.” The story then goes on that he Guardiola told Xavi, “Xavi, you are going to replace me, but watch out for this young guy, because he’ll retire all of us.”

Without a doubt, Iniesta has been one of the greatest players to play for the club and it won’t be long before the rest of the world confesses that Iniesta is has been one of the greatest playmakers to play the sport with the likes of the Zidane, Scholes, Xavi, Pirlo, Platini and Maradona. The 28 year old still has many years ahead to continue to shine and impress and earn the accolades to be named up there with the best.

 

Now Rosell’s Era Truly Begins.

When the club finally announced that Tito Vilanova was going to be the new manager of FC Barcelona, it also denoted that Sandro Rosell’s era as FC Barcelona president has begun.  With Pep Guardiola out of the picture, Rosell now has the power to lead the club in his own vision without any interference. Will this be a good thing in the long run?

 

Even though Rosell will be kicking off his third season as Barça president when Barça kick off another competitive season, this will be his first season as the man with complete control. It’s no secret that many felt that Guardiola had more control over the decisions regarding the team. How can any president come in and tell a manager who has won back to back league titles, a Champions League title and amassed a run of numerous successes, how to run his team? How Rosell convinced Guardiola to sell Chygrynskiy is beyond me but it had to be done.

 

With Guardiola out of the picture, will Tito command enough clout to veto any transfers? Better yet, how patient will Rosell be with Tito if the club struggles next season? Players such as Pedro and Keita don’t have Guardiola to make it obvious he wouldn’t part with them and I doubt Tito can muster the same amount of influence to make sure Rosell does not mess with his roster.

 

Guardiola mentioned in the past how much the club learned from Real Madrid’s “Quinta del Buitre” by relying more on players who came through the youth setup. Well hopefully the club will also learn from Real Madrid’s “Galacticos” policy and not commit the same mistakes. These same mistakes do not refer to the policy of spending amazing amount of money on big name players; Rosell is never going to follow Laporta’s habit of excessive spending.

 

No, the mistakes I am referring to deal with the president going over his manager’s head and conducting transfers without the manager’s input. Madrid’s president, Florentino Perez, got rid of Claude Makélélé without new manager Carlos Queiroz’s input. There has been talk this summer that Dani Alves might be on the chopping block because of his odd behavior near the end of this past season and the fact that Rosell can still command a good deal for the Brazilian fullback from any would be suitors. Hopefully Rosell will realize that although it is good to cash in on some players who would command a good transfer price and boost the club’s coffers, it is still best to consult with Tito before he pulls the trigger on any deals regarding players coming and going.

 

Only time will tell how things will pan out now that Guardiola is gone and Rosell is now the boss.  Rosell knows what lies ahead and has to make sure the club does not repeat the same mistakes that his predecessors, Josep Lluís Núñez and Joan Gaspart, made when it came to being impatient with managers while also staying away from Perez’s mistakes of signing and getting rid of players without Tito’s feedback. History has a way of repeating itself and Rosell’s best course of action is to make sure that never happens.

 

2011-2012 End of Season Awards.

The 2011-2012 season came and went with our beloved Barça playing for six cups. In the end, they succeeded in winning four out of six competitions and ended the season on a positive note when they captured the Copa del Rey. So, as we enjoy the summer break before another season is upon us, it’s time to hand out the awards.

Another successful season has come and gone with FC Barcelona continuing to add more trophies to the trophy case under Pep Guardiola.  Sadly, this was the first time in the Guardiola era that the team did not capture the league title. They also came close to making it to a second straight Champions League final. Nevertheless, this season was a successful one that saw the team win 4 out of 6 competitions. 

 

The season started off with the team coming from a grueling off-season tour and facing Real Madrid in the Super Copa. They played to a 2-2 draw in the Bernabéu in the first leg before playing in a memorable 3-2 second leg victory with Messi grabbing the game winner minutes from the final whistle to claim its first title of the season. Barça then captured their second title when they defeated Porto in the UEFA Super Cup 2-0 with Messi scoring the first and setting up the second.  The best moment was when the dream final of Barça v Santos took place in the FIFA Club World Cup Final to which Barça destroyed their South American opponents 4-0 with Messi scoring a brace.

 

The first half of the season was great but the extra games took its toll on the team and their second half of the season saw them fight for a treble as they chased Real Madrid for the league crown before losing at home to them to relinquish the league crown to their arch rivals. Barça made it to the Copa del Rey final for the third time in four years but fell short of making it to consecutive Champions League titles when they were eliminated by Chelsea in the Semi-Finals. Barça though would end the season on a positive when they defeated Athletic Bilbao with Messi once again scoring in the final. So, as we enjoy the summer break before another season is upon us, it’s time to hand out the awards.

 

MVP: Messi

This was a no-brainer. 50 league goals and top scorer in Spanish league; top scorer in Champions League with 14 goals; scored in all six competitions – second player to do so since Pedro did it; and 73 goals in all competitions with 29 assists in all competitions. That is the type of careers you get on a video game. Messi has entertained us with another amazing season where you know he earned the right to win a fourth Golden Ball. Messi practically carried his team on his own while his teammates all took turns picking up injuries  and in the end, he was involved in over 100 goals for the club. He became the club’s all-time scorer and the sky’s the limit for the 24 year old virtuoso of the Blaugrana.

 

 

Best Goal:

Wow, there were so many to pick from. Puyol’s header against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey? Villa’s goal in the first leg of the Super Copa against Real Madrid? Iniesta’s goal against Plzen in the Champions League? Dani Alves’s rocket against Real Madrid? Cesc’s header against Bilbao? Messi’s free kick against Atletico Madrid?

 

There are far too many choices but for me, Messi’s game winner against Real Madrid in the Super Copa that clinched it for me. That was an epic battle that Messi clinched with a goal that came in the final minutes that caused the Camp Nou to erupt and continue to show Messi has been so clutch for this team over the years. A beautiful cross from Adriano and Messi volleyed the ball, in mid flight,  past Casillas in the dying minutes to clinch the Supercopa.

 

Here is a video of some of the best goals the team scored this year.

 

 

 

Best Assist:

This one will also be up for debate but I have to go back to the same game that I picked for best goal. Second leg of the Super Copa and I thought Pique’s back heel pass to Messi during a corner kick that allowed Barça to take a 2-1 lead was the one assist that stood out for me this season. It was so unexpected from the player least likely to impress us with a moment of brilliance and then to top it off, the image of Messi scoring while Ronaldo is on his knees was priceless.

 

 

Best Game:

Relax; it’s not going to be three in a row for the second leg of the Super Copa. Sure, that 3-2 game was memorable. However, the best game of the year had to be the one sided demolition of Santos in the FIFA Club World Cup. The best from Europe against the best from South America. Messi v Neymar.  Well, it was a one sided match that solidified Barça’s title as the best in the world with a trophy and patch to go with it. The game was over by halftime thanks to a 3-0 score after goals from Messi, Xavi and Cesc.

 

 

 

Best Transfer:

 

Cesc and Alexis were the only two transfers for this season. Cesc had an amazing first half and then fizzled in the second half while Alexis was injured on and off for most of the season. So technically, both did not have excellent seasons but Alexis wins this by the fact that he scored in some big games, such as both league Clásicos and still gave it his best while playing hurt.

 

Here's hoping that after a season under belt, the Chilean international will become a bigger scoring threat for the club.

 

 

 

Most Improved Player:

Mascherano was signed last season to help provide depth for the defensive midfield position. None of us expected him to be played in the back line but that’s what exactly what happened. Mascherano started in the grueling Clásico against Madrid such as the Copa del Rey Final and the Champions League final against Manchester United. He filled in superbly for the injured Puyol and it was no longer a problem with fans to see him this season play as a center back again, even when it was 3-4-3. True, he did have some moments near the end of the season that we all wish never happened but to me, he was still the most improved player this season. We no longer feared him as the man who was a red card waiting to happen, but became one of those players you had confidence in.

 

Best Youth Player:

 

Tello and Cuenca both the new surprises this season. Both were promoted because of all the injuries that the team encountered regarding their forwards. Both had their great moments but Cuenca really impressed me a lot while Tello seemed better suited to come in when the game was already over and punish a tired defense. Both have the potential to be a big piece of the puzzle next season but that will depend if we suffer another round of injuries to our men up front not named Messi.

 

 

 

 

Most Disappointingn Player:

 

This was the toughest one to do. Although we saw this team win 4 out of 6 competitions, many players did not really play to the level we were accustomed to seeing. Only Messi, Iniesta and Puyol were the only guys that played superb when healthy. Most of the other players regressed a bit. Now obviously some were affected by the fatigue or by the injuries such as Xavi or just inexcusable mistakes such as Pique and Valdés, which affected their performances. Nevertheless, if there was one player who was the biggest disappointment had to be Cesc. He was signed to be the one to give Xavi and Iniesta a breather but down the stretch, he was the one on the bench and sometimes behind Thiago in the depth chart.

 

Cesc was great in the first half of the season where he came off the bench and helped the team. He scored a great header goal in San Mames against Bilbao and also scored the insurance goals in the UEFA Super Cup, against Real Madrid in the Bernabéu and in the FIFA Club World Cup Final against Santos. However, all those games were in 2011. He scored 17 goals in all competitions but only 4 goals in the second half of the season with his last league goal coming against Espanyol in January. The other three goals were in the Copa del Rey against Osasuna with a brace and then against Valencia in second leg of the semi-finals back in early February. After that game, Cesc went on an incredible dry run until he scored for Spain today. Three months and Cesc could not find the back of the net, affected the team’s performance which at times forced to be an unused substitute or being replaced in the second half.

 

Hopefully he will be ready to step up and be the player we all thought he would be now that he has had a season under his belt and with a new manager. 2011-2012 had its share of the good, the bad and the ugly but it was a successful one nevertheless and here’s hoping that next season will be even better where the awards will be less harsh on some of the players.

 

What Next for Barça?

With Pep stepping done, what will be next for Barça? Many questions will arise after the Copa del Rey Final regarding the future of the team and who will be in control of all the decisions. Euro 2012 will serve as a welcome, but temporary distraction regarding transfer talks and players leaving the club. Unfortunately, this summer will be different and one with winds of uncertainty.

Pep is gone and Tito is now in charge. However, will he truly be in charge? We all know that Pep was the man who had most control of the team barring the Chygrynskiy transfer. However, with Tito in charge, will he have final say or will he take a back seat to Rosell and Zubizarreta regarding who stays and who leaves? You felt that Pep would not allow the club to get rid of players that he liked such as Keita.

Now, players like Dani Alves, Pedro and a few others are no longer considered untouchable. I hope that Rosell, Zubi and Tito work together as a team and not become like Real Madrid of 10 years ago that got rid of players such as Makélelé without the manager knowing and signed big name stars instead for image reasons. That would be the downfall of this club if there is no clear co-operation between all three figures. Will Rosell begin phasing out players from the Laporta & Pep era and start building his own team or follow the blueprint Pep left and tinker a bit along with the suggestions from Tito?

Summer is around the corner which means multiple names will be rumored to be joining the club. Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Jordi Alba, Adrian, Drogba, Gareth Bale and Robin van Persie are among the names mentioned to be joining Barcelona this summer while Keita, Adriano, Dani Alves, Pedro and Pique have been rumored to be on the shopping block. Rumors can a pain to deal with since we never know which one is true and not. Perhaps no one will leave the squad with the sole exception of Keita.

So brace yourself for a unique summer. Pep will not be there to instruct the club who to go after. His era has ended. For the first time in four years, we will be entering a summer of uncertainty. Will Tito come out and say which players are no longer wanted at the club? Will Rosell bypass Tito’s advice or suggestions and sign what he wants? We don’t know and won’t know but here’s hoping that they do the right thing; whatever that may be.

 

Thank You Pep!

Well, it’s official. Josep “Pep” Guardiola will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Even though we all knew it was bound to happen, the fact that it will finally happen surprised us all. So Pep leaves but the question of who will replace was swiftly taken care of after it was announced that his assistant, Tito Vilanova, was going to take over. That was another surprise but a pleasant one. So Pep leaves us but this does not mean the end of an era. In the end, thank you Pep for four wonderful unforgettable years that made us Cules proud.

When FC Barcelona announced that Pep was going to return to the club to coach the B team, I was thrilled. An icon like Pep should always be involved with the club. When Rijkaard started losing the plot, I thought it was time for Pep to replace him ahead of the Semi-finals clash against Manchester United. Sadly, that never happened but it was announced afterwards that Pep was going to replace Rijkaard for the upcoming season and I was elated.


There’s no need to go through what he has done over the years. He has battled through many coaching battles and had his share of success and minor disappointments. We all knew Pep was the right man to steer the ship back on course and that he did and then some. This past week was a tough week on all of us Cules. The two recent games against Chelsea with an El Clásico sandwiched in between were reminiscent of what Pep faced in his first season. Back then, his side played to a scoreless draw at the Camp Nou before going to Madrid to pull off the impressive 6-2 win before punching their ticket to the 2009 Champions League Final in Rome with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge.

This year was different. Barça were the hunters, not the ones hunted. Barça were not league leaders and also lost to Chelsea in the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Back then, they had to get the job done away. This year, they had to win their next two at the Camp Nou. Sadly, they lost to Real Madrid at home and then squandered a 2-0 lead to Chelsea and crashed out of the Champions League following a 2-2 draw. Thus, their league and Champions League aspirations came to a crashing halt.

Pep then said he would make a final decision if he would come back. The signs were there that he was going to come back. The club had decided not to have a summer tour, which Pep was never a fan of, to give the players some rest. Additionally, the fixture next season would be more relaxed and it’s no coincidence that Pep’s two Champions League titles came in the years where there was no International tournament going on in the summer that saw most of his players involved in. There was talk that Pep realized he needed a bigger squad and would get some more players. So, when word leaked out on Thursday that he would leave, I was shocked.

This season was tough on Pep. Summer tour where the team played in three countries along with games in Monaco and Japan was tough on his players. He also was not impressed with the league having different standards regarding officiating and their lack of back bone in disciplining the bad actions of others. You also know he wasn’t too pleased when some at the club were criticizing the officiating to the media while he was saying he doesn’t talk about referees.

Ultimately, Pep basically said he was burned out and needed to step away. For that, I commend him. Guardiola was never going to be Barça’s version of Alex Ferguson. The man loves life and loves to explore. He played in Italy, Qatar and Mexico after he left Barça and there was always talk that he wanted to coach in Italy and England. Everyone believes he will take a year off before he decides what to do. Will he coach Spain at the next World Cup in Brazil? Will he replace Alex Ferguson at Manchester United? Will he coach in Milan for either side? That’s the luxury of being Pep; he can pick and choose where to go next.



Of course, the news that Pep was going to step down after this season does not mean it is the end of an era. Nothing could be farther than the truth. The decision to appoint Tito Vilanova was a great move and I have to admit that Barça president Sandro Rosell got it right. I don’t agree with a lot of things that Rosell does but I have no problem admitting he did the right thing. I was worried how the players would respond to a new manager. Bielsa was the popular choice to replace Pep but he is considered a bit of an odd ball, hence the nickname “El Loco”. Valverde never coached a big club in Spain while Blanc was a good name but was he ready to manage Barça? André Villas-Boas was another candidate but the way things went sour for him in Chelsea probably made it soon. I even had doubts about one of my all-time favorite Barça players, Luis Enrique, replacing Pep. His first go at a top managerial position with Roma has been mixed and his recent behavior with the Italian press made me question how he would cope with the pressure of managing Barça.

Fortunately, Rosell put an end to all the guessing when he surprised us all with the news that Tito would replace Pep. I was surprised because I never thought he was the type that wanted the job as he seemed happy to be Pep’s right hand man. Fortunately for all of us, Tito accepted and will be running the show next season. That was the best choice since all the players know him and he also knows the player so there wouldn’t be that awkward phase of both getting to know each other. Only concern will be how Tito handles the spotlight now especially with the media.

But it’s not an end to an era. A change at the helm does not signify the end of an era. Ajax Amsterdam showed us that when they went on to win two consecutive Champions League titles under Ștefan Kovács after Rinus Michels left to manage Barça after guiding Ajax to their first Champions League title. Milan showed us that when Fabio Capello replaced Arrgio Sacchi and went on to win four league titles and guided them to two Champions League finals which he won in his second final against Cruyff’s Dream Team in 1993-1994. I agrred with this comment - "Hopefully Tito Vilanova will become Barça's Fabio Capello to Pep's Arrigo Sacchi", as one reader commented on Sid Lowe's piece about Pep stepping down.

Now some would argue that those managers were replaced by other managers and not their assistants. Well, Liverpool managed to show that it can be down. After the legendary Bill Shankly stepped down, because he too was exhausted with the demands, his assistant Bob Paisley. Liverpool had won three league titles, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup during Shankly’s era and Paisley went on to win an astonishing six league titles, one UEFA Cup and an incredible 3 Champions League titles. Consequentially, when Bob Paisley stepped down, his replacement was another assistant, Joe Fagan who went on to win another league title and a Champions League title. He would later step down while current Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish took over to win additional league titles. Could we see that with Xavi?

Liverpool's Paisley and Shankly

We have been truly blessed to have Pep as our manager. He not only came to the team’s rescue but he inspired this team to become world giants. His era will be remembered along with the other giants of football such as Ajax and Bayern of the 70s, Sacchi’s Milan, Real Madrid of the 50’s and others mentioned in this column. His last remaining games should be enjoyed by the fans with the Copa final as his final chance to add to his impressive tally. The future is now in the hands of Tito Vilanova and we hope that he and the players continue to make us Cules proud of our team and continue to succeed.

Pep to Tito - A passing of the torch

So thank you Pep for sacrificing four years of your life to manage this team the way you have. It was no easy achievement given the history of the club when it comes to managers. You gave it your best and rewarded us Cules with four wonderful unforgettable seasons. You were not only a manager but deep down; you also coached the team as a fan and a player. We have seen you grow up with the club as a ball boy, a young player and mature as a leader on the pitch and off of it. You deserve a break and hope you get to enjoy it and then come back to football. I hope that this is not a goodbye but more of see you again soon. Gracias Pep!