Entrevista con el Historiador de FC Barcelona Ángel Iturriaga.

Con los años, muchos han escrito libros sobre el FC Barcelona, su historia, sus directivos y jugadores. Sin embargo, no muchos han escrito enciclopedias sobre los jugadores del Barça, entrenadores, preparadores físicos, y presidentes a lo largo de la historia del club. Ángel Iturriaga tiene la fama de hacerlo y el miembro de la Penya, Ibrahim Ayyub tuvo la fortuna de entrevistar al señor Iturriaga para responder a algunas preguntas sobre la historia y el futuro del Barça.

Ángel Iturriaga Barco es un talentoso escritor e historiador, y también un fan del Barça. Su primera publicación Diccionario de jugadores del FC Barcelona, fue en el 2010 y luego publicó Diccionario de técnicos y directivos del FC Barcelona en 2011. 2013 fue un año de mucho trabajo para él pues publicó Diccionario de jugadores de la selección españolay colaboró con David Valero Carreras, en Paulino: el primer crac de la història del Barça, la autobiografía sobre el ex jugador del Barça, Paulino Alcántara. También me ha ayudado con su retroalimentacion en la serie de la Penya "A Look Back At Barça Legends". Me siento honrado que el señor Iturriaga fue suficientemente generoso en tomar tiempo para esta entrevista.

¿Qué lo inspiró para convertirse en Escritor de deportes / Historiador?

Desde muy niño he tenido pasión por la historia, especialmente por la contemporánea. Siempre sentí la necesidad de conocer lo que habían hecho las generaciones anteriores a la mía, algo básico para entender el mundo en que vivimos. El hecho de publicar mis investigaciones fue algo derivado de lo mismo, intentar compartir el conocimiento con quien pudiera tener las mismas inquietudes que yo.

¿Cuánto tiempo e investigación se necesita para escribir estos Diccionarios?

Los diccionarios han sido procesos lentos, que he ido realizando mientras hacía otras investigaciones. Durante mucho tiempo estuve acumulando datos sobre jugadores, técnicos y directivos del FC Barcelona. Cuando logré un volumen importante de información y datos que aportaban novedades a la historia del club, me plantee publicar mis dos primeros diccionarios.

No es ningún secreto que le apasiona el FC Barcelona, de donde ha salido eso?

Realmente, el origen proviene de mi padre, un apasionado del Barça que durante un tiempo vivió en la capital catalana. Siempre me ha hablado del Barça de Kubala, del de Cruyff, de la travesía del desierto… Todo ello despertó en mi desde niño curiosidad y simpatía por el club.

¿Qué equipo del FC Barcelona cree usted que fue el mejor de todos ellos?

Creo que es imposible comparar épocas porque no tenemos los datos suficientes. Creo que hay que reivindicar el magnífico Barça de los años veinte y en de los cincuenta. Sin ellos, no se hubiera logrado construir el enorme club que hoy conocemos. Sin embargo, por su dimensión futbolística, creo que hay que quedarse con el Barça de Pep Guardiola, sublimación de la idea de juego que ha imperado en el club desde los setenta, la misma que mejoró Cruyff como técnico.

¿Quiénes son su entrenador y jugador favorito del FC Barcelona?

Mi técnico favorite es Pep Guardiola. Mi jugador, obviamente, Leo Messi, pero me gustaría recordar a un mito sin el que nada de lo que posteriormente ha pasado hubiera sido posible, Paulino Alcántara.

¿De dónde viene el lema del FC Barcelona “Mes que un club” ?

Tradicionalmente se atribuye al discurso de Lluís de Carreras cuando tomó posesión de la presidencia del club en 1968. Era un sentimiento que existía entre muchos culés pero que el señor de Carreras fue el primero en manifestar públicamente.

¿Sigue siendo hoy verdadero?

Sin duda, el Barça es una institución que va mucho más allá de lo deportivo para tener una gran trascendencia tanto en el ámbito social como político en Cataluña. Esto es un hecho desde los inicios de la historia del club, especialmente desde que Joan Gamper se hizo con la presidencia.

¿Parece que del FC Barcelona tiene dos estilos de juego, Cruyff y todos los demás? ¿Qué hace el entrenamiento de este equipo difícil?

Desde los setenta, el FC Barcelona solo gana títulos importantes con un estilo, el que impusieron gente como Laureano Ruiz, Buckingham o Michels y que posteriormente mejoraron Cruyff, Rijkaard o Guardiola. Cuando se han alejado de ese modelo, el equipo ha naufragado, tal y como podemos ver hoy en día. Los niños de La Masía se han formado para desarrollar un estilo de juego que hoy en día no practican ni el primer ni el segundo equipo.

Con todos los legendarios jugadores del FC Barcelona para elegir, ¿por qué, junto con David Valero Carreras, eligieron a Paulino Alcántara?

Paulino es la primera estrella de la historia del Club. Cuando David y yo nos lanzamos a hacer el libro, era el máximo goleador de la historia barcelonista, hoy solo superado por Leo Messi. Su trascendencia fue más allá de lo futbolístico, ya que apareció en una época en la que el Barça estaba al borde de la desaparición. Él consiguió que el fútbol se convirtiera en un deporte de masas en Barcelona y el incremento de socios que se derivó de ello hizo que el club pudiera sobrevivir.

¿Cuándo comenzó la rivalidad con el Real Madrid?

En los años veinte ya se veía en el Real Madrid un rival fuerte. Sin embargo, hasta los cincuenta el Madrid era el segundo equipo de la capital de ESpaña tras el Atlético de Madrid. Tras el fichaje de Kubala por el Barça, que fue querido por el Madrid y tras el caso Di Stéfano comenzaron las hostilidades tal cual las conocemos hoy en día.

¿Qué salió mal con la firma de Di Stefano?

Es algo muy largo de explicar, un caso muy alambicado con muchas aristas. En última instancia, el Barça, que tenía el derecho de contar con el jugador, tuvo que renunciar al jugador tras algunas amenazadas llegadas desde el régimen franquista al presidente azulgrana. Para desarrollar este tema recomiendo la lectura de El Caso Di Stéfano, de Xavier García Luque y Jordi Finestres, así como Miedo y asco en la Liga de Sid Lowe.

¿Qué tan grande fue el impacto del fichaje de Cruyff del Ajax?

Cruyff lo cambió todo a pesar de que solo dio un gran rendimiento en su primera temporada. Trajo modernidad, color, a la gris sociedad de los últimos años del franquismo. Logró ser el hombre clave para que el Barça ganara su primera Liga en una década y media. Su impacto fue absoluto, se llegó a escribir que el fichaje de Cruyff era un símbolo de la recuperación de la democracia para Cataluña.

¿Veremos alguna otra vez algo como el motín Hesperia?

Es muy difícil en esta época que jugadores con intereses tan diferentes se pongan de acuerdo en algo así. En fútbol se puede ver de todo pero creo que es casi imposible.

¿Está de acuerdo con aquellos que creen que el club está regresando de nuevo a los días de estilo de juego incierto tras el despido de Cruyff?

Ninguna duda sobre eso. Los dirigentes actuales tienen un gran resentimiento hacia Cruyff, Guardiola y todo lo que ambos representan. Le gustaría ganar con un modelo totalmente opuesto, si bien se demuestra que este club solo logra títulos cuando vuelve a la escuela holandesa.

¿Qué tan importante ha sido el papel de La Masia en la historia del FC Barcelona en el pasado, el presente, y el futuro después de la prohibición de transferencia?

Tiene una enorme trascendencia, La Masía ha sido una bendición. Realmente solo ha sido útil a partir de la llegada de Cruyff, cuando todos los equipos comenzaron a jugar de una determinada manera, con roles iguales en todas las categorías inferiores.  La cantera ha sido el vivero del club, el orgullo de los culés. Desde la llegada de Rosell a la presidencia, se ha despedido a los grandes maestros de la misma: Capella, Benaiges, Alexanco, Amor, Òscar, Puig, lo que hace correr el riesgo de que se acabe con un modelo extraordinario.

¿Con el triunfo del Atlético de la Liga en la temporada pasada y Valencia bajo la propiedad de Peter Lim, es La Liga aún una liga de dos equipos?

Creo que no. El Atlético es sin duda un equipo que puede disputar de igual a igual a Barça y a Real Madrid. El proyecto del Valencia es igualmente interesante, si bien creo que tardará un par de años en terminar de cuajar.

¿La intensidad de la cobertura de los medios de comunicación y el sesgo de Barcelona y Madrid hacia sus equipos, y sus rivales, aumentaron en los últimos años o ha sido siempre de esta manera antes de la llegada de los medios electrónicos de comunicación?

Sin duda. Desde los cincuenta la cobertura mediática se ha ido incrementando, a medida que el fútbol se convertía en un deporte más mediático y seguían proliferando los medios. A partir de los setenta, ya eran decenas los medios que se acreditaban para cubrir un partido de uno de los grandes. Hoy en día son más de 200 los medios de todo el mundo los que cubren cada partido de los equipos de primer nivel.

¿El éxito de España durante su increíble racha ayudo a cerrar la brecha entre los españoles y los catalanes, sobre todo con los catalanes a favor de la independencia?

Creo que no. Hubo independentistas catalanes que pudieron alegrarse por ver a hombres como Xavi, Iniesta o Busquets ganando un Mundial, pero de ningún modo creo que tenga influencia en su visión política.

¿Habra próximos libros sobre jugadores o figuras del FC Barcelona?

Estoy haciendo una investigación de la historia politica y social del club a lo largo de la historia. Posiblemente haya una publicación en un futuro, pero no próximo, ya que el trabajo debe ser completado con una serie de entrevistas que sirvan para recuperar parte de la memoria del club.

¿Es usted miembro de una Penya?

No soy miembro aunque sí que he colaborado con algunas que tienen interés en temas que van más allá del mero partido semanal, como es el caso de la vuestra. Animaría a que las peñas se impliquen más en la vida social del club y en que tengan interés en conocer la historia del club, ya que para saber a dónde vamos, hay que saber de dónde venimos.

Bueno señor, espero que acepte nuestra oferta de hacerle miembro honorifico de la Penya Barcelonista de Miami.

Oh, un gran honor para mí !! Muchas gracias !!

Si usted está interesado en saber más sobre Ángel Iturriaga, usted puede seguirlo en twitter -https://twitter.com/anituarco. Él también tiene un blog dedicado a recordar el reciente fallecimiento de ex jugadores de fútbol - http://jugadoresfallecidosrip.blogspot.com.es/. Sus libros se pueden adquirir desde la página web de Amazon para los compradores españoles yestadounidenses.

Interview with FC Barcelona Historian Ángel Iturriaga.

Over the years, many have written books about FC Barcelona, its history, managers and players. However, not many have written encyclopedias about Barça’s players, coaches, trainers, and presidents throughout the club's history.  Ángel Iturriaga has the claim to fame of doing so, and Penya Member Ibrahim Ayyub was fortunate enough to interview Mr. Iturriaga and answer some questions about Barça’s history and future.

Ángel Iturriaga Barco is a gifted writer and historian, and also a Barça fan. He first publishedDiccionario de jugadores del F.C. Barcelona, back in 2010 and then publishedDiccionario de técnicos y directivos del F.C. Barcelona in 2011. 2013 was a busy year for him as he published Diccionario de jugadores de la selección española and collaborated with David Valero Carreras, on Paulino: el primer crac de la història del Barça, the autobiography about former Barça player, Paulino Alcántara. He has also helped me with his input on the Penya's  "A Look Back At Barça Legends" series. I am honored that Mr. Iturriaga was gratuitous enough to take time for this interview. 

What inspired you to become a sports Writer/historian? 

Ever since my childhood, I had a passion for history, especially contemporary history. I always felt the need to know what generations before mine did, something basic to understand the world in which we live in. The act of publishing my research was somewhat derivative of the same thing; in trying to share the knowledge with whoever shares the same concerns as mine.

How much time and research does it take to write these Diccionarios?

The Diccionarios (Encyclopedias) has been a slow process that I have been working on while doing other research. I have been accumulating data on players, coaches and managers of FC Barcelona for a long time. I published my first two Diccionarios after I managed a large volume of information and data that provided news to the club's history.

It's no secret that you are passionate about FC Barcelona, where does that come from?

Actually, the origins of my passion towards the club come from my father, who was passionate for Barça during the time he lived in the Catalan capital. He always spoke to me of the Barça of Kubala, of Cruyff and journey through the desert. Since childhood, all of this awoke in me with sympathy and curiosity for the club.

What FC Barcelona team was the one that you think was head and shoulders above the rest?

I think it's impossible to compare different time periods because we do not have sufficient data. I think we should mention the magnificent Barça of the twenties and fifties. Without them, the enormous club we know today would not have been successfully built. Yet, for footballing reasons, I think you have to go with Pep Guardiola’s Barça, a sublimation of the idea of playing style that has prevailed in the club since the seventies, the same style that Cruyff improved as a coach.

Who were your favorite FC Barcelona manager and player?

My favorite manager is Pep Guardiola. My favorite player, obviously, is Leo Messi, but I would like to recall a legend, without which nothing that happened after his time, would have been possible, Paulino Alcántara.

Where does FC Barcelona’s "Mes que un club" motto come from?

Traditionally, this stems from a speech given by Lluís de Carreras when he took over the presidency of the club back in 1968. It was a feeling that existed among many Cules but Mr. de Carreras was the first to express it publicly.

Is that still true today?

Certainly. The club is an institution that goes far beyond sports to have great significance in Catalonia, both socially and politically. This has been true since the beginning of the club's history, especially since Joan Gamper took over the presidency.

It seems that FC Barcelona has two playing styles, Cruyff and everyone else? What makes coaching this team difficult?

Since the seventies, FC Barcelona won major titles with only one style, the one imposed by people like Laureano Ruiz, Buckingham or Michels and subsequently improved by Cruyff, Rijkaard and Guardiola. The team has sunk whenever it moved away from that model, as we are seeing today. Children of La Masia have been trained with that style of play that no longer is being practiced today by neither the first nor the second team.

With all the legendary FC Barcelona players to choose from, why did you, along with David Valero Carreras, choose Paulino Alcántara?

Paulino is the first star in in club history. When David and I started working on this book, he was the top scorer in the history of FC Barcelona history only to be surpassed by Leo Messi today. His transcendence was beyond football because he featured in an era when the club was on the verge of disappearance. He made football became a popular sport in Barcelona, and the increase in fans that resulted from that, which made it possible for the club to survive.

When did the rivalry with Real Madrid take off?

In the twenties, Real Madrid already appeared to be a strong rival. However, during the fifties, Real Madrid was the second best team, after Atletico Madrid, from the capital of Spain. After the Kubala signing by the club, who was wanted by Real Madrid, and after the case of Di Stéfano, hostilities began as we know them today.

What went wrong with the Di Stefano signing?

It's a long story, a very convoluted case with many edges. Ultimately, Barça, who had the right to expect the player, the player had to renounce to the Barça president after some threats coming from the Franco regime. To further understand this subject, I recommend reading “El Caso Di Stéfano” by Xavier García Luque and Jordi Finestres and Sid Lowe’s“Fear and Loathing in La Liga” book.

How big of an impact was Cruyff's signing from Ajax?

Cruyff changed everything though he only gave a great performance in his first season. He brought modernity and color to the gray society during the final years of Franco. He managed to be the key man for the club in order to be able to win its first league title in over a decade and a half. His impact was absolute and his signing, in a way, was a symbol of the restoration of Catalonia’s democracy.

Will we ever see anything like the Hesperia mutiny again?

It is very difficult during this era for players with very different interests to all agree on something. We have seen it all in football, but I think it is almost impossible.

Do you agree with those who believe that the club is regressing back to the days of uncertain playing style following Cruyff's firing?

No doubt about it. The current leaders have a great resentment towards Cruyff, Guardiola and all that they both represent. They would like to win with a totally opposite style, although it has been demonstrated that this club can only achieve titles when they return to the Dutch style.

How important has La Masia's role been in the history of FC Barcelona in the past and present, and the future after the Transfer ban?

It has a huge significance. La Masia has been a blessing. It has really only been useful since the arrival of Cruyff, where all teams began to play in a certain way, with equal roles in all lower categories. La Cantera has been the nursery of the club; the pride of the Catalans. Since the arrival of Rosell as president, great masters of it, Capella, Benaiges, Alexanko, Amor, Òscar, Puig, have been dismissed, risking an end to an extraordinary model.

With Atletico winning La Liga last season and Valencia under the ownership of Peter Lim, is La Liga still a two team league?

I think not. Atletico is certainly a team that can already compete on equal terms with Barça and Real Madrid. The project of Valencia is equally interesting, although I think it will take a few years for it to fully materialize.

Has the intensity of media coverage and bias from both Barcelona and Madrid towards their teams, and their rivals, increased over the years or has it always been this way before the arrival of social media?

Absolutely. Since the fifties, the media coverage has increased, as football became a high profile sport and the media continued to spread it. From the seventies, there were already dozens of the media credited to cover one of the biggest games. Today, there are more than 200 types of media around the world covering every game of the top teams.

Did the success of Spain during their amazing run help bridge the gap between Spaniards and Catalans, especially with Catalans in favor of independence?

I do not think so. There was Catalan separatists who were glad to see men like Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets win a World Cup, but in no way did it influence their political visions.

Are there any upcoming books about FC Barcelona players or figures?

I am doing research on the political and social history of the club throughout history. You may have a publication in the future, but not anytime soon, because there is still a series of interviews to conduct that serve to retrieve part of the club’s memory.

Are you a member of a Penya?

I'm not a member although I have collaborated with some who are interested in issues that go beyond just the mere weekly match, as is the case with your Penya. I would encourage the Penyas to become more involved in the social life of the club and to be interested in knowing the history of the club, because to know where we're going, we must know where we come from.

Well Sir, I hope you accept our kind offer of making you an honorary member of Penya Barcelonista De Miami.

Oh, a big honour for me!! Thank you very much!!

If you are interested in knowing more about Ángel Iturriaga Barco, you can follow him on twitter - https://twitter.com/anituarco. He also has a blog dedicated to remembering the recent passing away of former football players - http://jugadoresfallecidosrip.blogspot.com.es/.  His books can be purchased from Amazon website for Spanish and US shoppers.

Barça Needs Elections to Clean House.

2015 is upon us and we are already facing an enormous crisis with our beloved Barça. Barça’s weekend loss to Real Sociedad was followed with the dismissal of Andoni Zubizarreta as the club’s Sporting Director. Pressure is building against manager Luis Enrique and club president Josep Bartomeu, especially with talk of fallout between the manager and Messi. Without a doubt, this is the beginning of the end for this Barça board. 

When the CAS dismissed Barça’s appeal of the FIFA transfer ban, we knew heads were going to roll. Zubi was the likely scapegoat for the club thanks to his personality and his track record in the transfer market.  After Barça’s loss to Real Sociedad, he basically signed his death warrant with his comments to the media. When asked about the transfer ban, Zubi replied, "I assume my responsibility as the person in charge of the football department, but the sporting vice president at the time, Josep Maria Bartomeu, is the one who knew the situation better than anyone." The next day, the club announced that Zubi was sacked.

Zubi decided not to go down without dragging people with him. However, Zubi was correct in his statement. Even though he was the sporting director, president Bartomeu was in fact the one responsible for the Athletic Area of the Club. Yet, Zubi seems to be the one who is paying the price of this error. Nevertheless, that is enough. This board has to got to go. It’s time to call for elections, not in the summer, but now. Of course, that cannot happen so we should expect elections in the summer. My disdain for this board is no secret and there is no reason to discuss in depth the mistakes of this board during both, the presidency of Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu. Graham Hunter, who wrote a marvelous book about Guardiola’s Barça, summarized the failure of this club.

In summary, recent years have seen Barcelona divorce themselves from their spiritual leader, Cruyff; cause Pep Guardiola to feel alienated then leave his post as manager; lose their elected president Rosell over the way Neymar was recruited to the club; misjudge the consecutive coaching appointments of Gerardo Martino and Luis Enrique; disgracefully mishandle Eric Abidal's contractual situation; sack Antoni Rossich, their director general; receive from FIFA a ban from the transfer market and lose at the Court for Arbitration for Sport a hopeless appeal, which was formulated simply to suspend the ban so that the club could restock the squad last summer; haemorrhage football credibility and competitiveness; alienate their best ever goalkeeper; sack their director of football and, finally, mishandle Messi so comprehensively that there is a real danger he opts to leave.

What Mr. Hunter forgot to mention was Barça selling out the club to Qatar via Qatar Foundation/ Qatar Airways, the board losing their lawsuit against the previous president Laporta and his board, lack finding a sponsor for the basketball team shirt, and there’s also the upcoming MCM breach of contract case where MCM are seeking €100 million in damages. So quite frankly, the fans are tired of this club constantly finding itself in a new scandal. Now, we have a fallout between Messi and Luis Enrique where there is talk the manager’s days are numbered.

 Messi did not show up to yesterday’s training session that was open to the public, which upset Lucho. Allegedly, Messi had gastroenteritis and could not make it but then turned heads when he followed Chelsea on Instagram. Perhaps it is a message to the board that he is fed up with the dictatorial style of Lucho, which quite frankly has not resulted in much success or a boost of confidence amongst the players and the fans. Sport conducted a poll that shows the fans are in favor of the player over the manager.

I did caution that people should not expect Barça under Lucho to be like Pep. Both may have played together but both come from different schools of thought. Pep is a Cruyff pupil while Lucho was managed by the likes of Bobby Robson, Louis van Gaal, Rexach and Antic to name a few. So it is not surprising he acts like van Gaal and Mourinho. Unfortunately, Lucho has adopted Mourinho’s toxic attitude and we saw how bad things ended up at Madrid for Mou. We are witnessing the same Mou Casillas battle at Barça with Lucho and Messi. Quite frankly, you would be insane to say Messi has to go. It would be the equivalent of Bulls fans wanting to side with the ownership over Michael Jordan during his prime, especially when voiced his opinionon what his team should do and how he would walk if his coach and Scottie Pippen were not kept. Great players need to be listened to, especially if you are building a team around them, which Barça has done a poor job thus far.

Of course, president Bartomeu is not an idiot. He will not go down in history as the man who sold Messi to Chelsea or any other team. We will see what he has to say tomorrow when he addresses the media. What is obvious is that it is time for a change. Rosell and Bartomeu inherited a great team from Laporta, while he inherited a disaster from Gaspart and Reyna. Barça were once considered one of, if not, the best team in the world. However, this team has regressed under this leadership with Barça being competitors instead of contenders, and Barça B under Eusebio are hovering right about the relegation zone. Financial stability does not mean much when you’re not winning titles and of course it is a profit when bonuses are not being paid to players for not winning titles. Everything reeks, even though they are still competing for all three titles, there is no sense of optimism anymore and they could be out of all three competitions in a couple of months. Thus, it’s time for the board to resign and call for early elections this summer while a Managing Commission takes over for the rest of the season so we can have a clean house of board, football manager, and B team manager. That’s the best way to give the fans some hope and ease the tension for now.

Barça in store for an interesting 2015.

FC Barcelona suffered another black eye under this current regime when the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed Barça’s appeal of the FIFA transfer ban. Barça now need to figure out how to move on from this and not dwell on it.

FC Barcelona were once on top of the world. However, thanks to the current regime that only knows how to keep tripping over their own feet, FC Barcelona are regressing from contenders to competitors. I already stated this board should have resigned after losing their case against former Barça president Joan Laporta. The list of their shortcomings since the election of Sandro Rosell and his resignation to be replaced by current president Josep Maria Bartomeu could fill a history book.

I previously addressed how Barça got into this mess of being banned from signing new players.  Both Barça and the RFEF were found to have “violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of non-Spanish minors with the club, as well as other relevant regulations with regard to the registration and participation of certain players in national competitions. The investigations concerned several minor players who were registered and participated in competitions with the club over various periods between 2009 and 2013.”

After the Court of Arbitration dismissed Barça’s appeal, Barça’s president, in typical fashion, expressed anger at this decision and claimed injustice. Quite frankly, the board have themselves to blame. They resembled potheads complaining that Marijuana should be legal and thus should not be punished for getting caught with it. The rules were broken and Barça has to pay. Other clubs are under investigation over this violation too but they probably learned not what to do thanks to the inept board. Mind you, I still find it ironic that FIFA is worried about youth players as much as they cared for those kids who lost their dads in Qatar stadium accident deaths.

Barça’s initial response to the transfer ban was to display a banner with the message “La Masia No Se Toca” which meant, La Masia is not to be touched. Well guess what, La Masia is the club’s only recourse now. They cannot sign players for one calendar year, so Barça B will be the source of players to be called on to reinforce the team.  There are diamonds in the rough such as Adama, Sergi Samper, and Grimaldo who could be called up now and next season for sure.

However, something this damaging should cause some heads to roll. As much as many of the Blaugrana faithful want the board to step down and call for early elections; it will not happen. Thus, the board will probably look at the sporting director, Zubizarreta, to be the scapegoat/fall guy for this mess and fire him. What is interesting is that current Barça president Bartomeu was first vice-president, responsible for the Athletic Area of the Club. Thus, this happened under his watch but of course he will not take the fall for this.

So this leaves us with an inept board running Barça backwards and dependent on their Barça B team, run by disliked Eusebio, which is hovering above the relegation zone, to provide players for the first team next season that will be coached by Luis Enrique; if he is still coaching them next season. So, Happy New Year and brace yourselves, Barça are in store for an interesting 2015. 

-@IBES16

Stomaching Losses: Close Loss v Blowout Loss?

So Florida State's run for a second consecutive NCAA Football title were obliterated yesterday in Pasadena. Oregon Ducks showed and destroyed a FSU team that paid the price for remaining sloppy with the football. The final score was 59-20 and that will sting for a long time. The blowout loss made me recall a conversation I previously heard on a sports radio show regarding which is worse; Blowout losses versus Close losses.

As a fan, you experience your team winning and losing. For some reason, I seem to recall the losses better than my team's victories. Hopefully there are only a few others who dwell on losses as I do. Some losses that come to mind are my Buccaneers losing to the Rams in the 1999-2000 NFC Championship Game 11-6; Holland losing to Spain 1-0 in the 2010 World Cup Final, and FC Barcelona losing those two Copa del Rey finals to Real Madrid in recent memory. Fortunately, I have enjoyed seeing my teams in different sports win titles so I will not grow old to be a bitter man like most Boston Red Sox fans were before 2004.

Nevertheless, yesterday's FSU loss to Oregon was difficult. However, if I have to decide which type of loss I would rather witness my team suffer; then I would choose a close loss over a blowout loss. 

A close loss makes it seem that the team played hard and either didn't get the ball or puck to bounce their way. A blowout loss makes it seem that the team did not even bother to show up. Case in point, Barça were eliminated by Manchester United in the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals, by Manchester United on a 1-0 aggregate score while in the 2012-2013 edition, Barça were eliminated at the same stage to Bayern Munich by an aggregate score of 7-0. Without a doubt, the 7-0 will haunt me for a long time. It was not a matter of what if this shot went in or if the referee had not missed a call. Barça were second best by a mile and I'd rather not relive that type of result in the future again.

In conclusion, I prefer my teams to win but if they do suffer a loss, then count me in as one of those who prefer his team losses a close one.