Abidal shows us that no one is invincible.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time for Rosell to Act.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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