Setién’s Honeymoon is Over.

My how quickly we lose our interest in someone we had a crush on. Quique Setién was welcomed into our Blaugrana hearts as new Barça manager with hopes of joy and happy moments. Yet, just a few months after his appointment, it seems that the romance with Setién has faded and this love affair might be short lived.

Setién was the Don Juan of Barça fans who wanted a return to the Cruyff style of play that most love. He whispered lovely romantic words in our ears and won us over with his promises. We fell for it like most fall for those who come over as guests and prepare a magnificent dinner. However, with time, that romantic spell with the fans has eroded and Setién now feels like the lazy significant other whose idea of a romantic dinner is to order pizza and watch TV.

Setién’s future with the club depended on winning the league this season. Thus, any expectations of seeing the rising stars of La Masia, Ansu Fati and Riqui Puig play regularly, were dashed early on with Setién preferring to rely on the old guard and not experiment with the youth. Poor away results ensued that see the Blaugrana occupying second place in the standings behind Real Madrid. He did finally get around to featuring Puig and Fati but it might be a little too late and, in the process, managed to upset not just the fans, but the Barça players as well.

After his hiring, we witnessed the manner in how Setién manages a game along with how he speaks, which as a result, ruffled numerous feathers. The way he spoke of Arthur and his struggles at the club, coupled with other sound bites about not playing the younger players left much to desire. Recently, the video of Messi walking away from Setién’s right hand man, Eder Sarabia, while giving out instructions during a water break in the past weekend’s Celta Vigo 2-2 draw, indicated that there indeed a rift between the players and the manager. After the draw with Celta, Luis Suárez spoke to the media and shifted the blame to Setién by replying “you'll have to ask the coaches, they analyze these situations”.

Supposedly players are unhappy with the demanding training sessions full of intensity, conducted by Sarabia. The players preferred previous manager Ernesto Valverde and his easy-going approach so this new approach is not much to their liking. It’s similar to a classroom who disliked their hard as nails teacher, but enjoyed the laid-back substitute who allowed the students to do whatever they wanted. Well, the substitute teacher is gone and the players are not too happy with new manager and his demanding approach.

Fans are upset. Players are upset. The Barça board are caught in the middle showing yet again their lack of leadership and proper planning with regards to signings and managerial hirings. However, this does not bode well for the players either. Perhaps things would be different if Suárez had not missed that sitter against Sevilla, or had Messi actually had a shot on target during his last two away matches. The team’s away form was woeful under Valverde too, lest we forget how great they looked away in Champions League second legs. So, if two managers can’t succeed in getting the team to play better and win, perhaps it’s not just the managers who are at fault.

Setién was not the first or even second choice to replace Valverde. At the moment, it’s hard to see who would want to coach this club if players tune out their managers unless it’s a big-name manager with a resume full of success. The Lakers of Shaq and Kobe tuned out Del Harris and Kurt Rambis since they were nobodies in the coaching world, yet succeeded when the legendary Phil Jackson was hired. Sadly, Setién is not a legendary coach for the Barça players to listen to, so expect broken hearts when all is said and done.

What will Barça do after Messi’s Last Dance?

ESPN’s The Last Dance miniseries about the one and only Michael Jordan was well received by many when it aired recently. The miniseries discussed Michael Jordan’s career and his final season with the Chicago Bulls. Of course, talk on Barça social media was how much they looked forward to a similar miniseries made about Lionel Messi when his playing days are over. Yet, as much as I look forward to enjoying a miniseries about Messi, I am also concerned of about Barça after Messi’s last dance with the Blaugrana.

The idea of Messi walking away from football struck a nerve last December when Messi addressed the media after winning the Ballon d'Or for a record-breaking sixth time. Messi said, "I'm aware of how old I am. And I enjoy these moments so much because I know that retirement is approaching. Time flies." Barça fans have been under the illusion that Messi was eternal and would play on forever. Yet, that December night woke Barça fans from their stupor and made them realize that nothing lasts forever.

All good things must come to an end, and the day Messi walks off the pitch as a Barça player will be one of the most gut-wrenching days as a fan. Messi has been representing the Blaugrana for almost 20 years, ever since his arrival from Argentina as a young teenager who made his way through La Masia ranks before reaching the first team and becoming a married 32-year-old man who is also a father to three children. Throughout those years, the one constant was Messi representing FC Barcelona. Eventually, we will have to bid farewell to Messi when the wonderful magician walks off the pitch as for the final time as a Barça player. However, is the club ready for when that day arrives?

Since I started following my beloved Blaugrana, I have seen a couple of great eras and great players come and go. The club survived after they sacked Johan Cruyff and survived after Pep Guardiola left the club in 2012. The club survived after Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho departed the club. But there is a cause for concern about of FC Barcelona after the departure of Messi.

The Chicago Bulls never tasted success before Michael Jordan’s arrival and have not since his departure. The Bulls allowed their successful coach, Phil Jackson, and Dennis Rodman to walk away while trading Scottie Pippen to Portland. The Bulls began a new era with Toni Kukoč as their best player with the hopes of enticing other players to join their team. However, players ignored the Bulls and their history and opted to join other teams while the Bulls slowly slid into an abyss of failure. Also, the successful Boston Celtics of the 80s paid the price for not having players ready to step in for Larry Bird and Kevin McHale when they retired in the early 90s and would struggle for many years until becoming competitive again. I am concerned that Barça seem to be following in the footsteps of the Bulls and Celtics regarding future planning of the squad at the moment and when Messi retires. Luis Suárez and Gerard Piqué are both 33, and Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are both 31. While Frenkie de Jong seems to be Busquets’ successor, the club still lacks the necessary successors for those other players, and for Messi as well.

The grand plan of former Barça president, Sandro Rosell, was for Neymar to be Messi’s heir apparent, either after they sold Messi or after Messi left the Blaugrana. However, that plan went down in flames when Neymar opted to join Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in 2017. Barça received quite the windfall, €222 million, from Neymar’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain but the club squandered that fortune on expensive transfers that have failed to deliver. Barça splashed €105 million on Ousmane Dembélé whose bad luck with injuries have frustrated the fans. Coutinho cost €145 million and lasted a season and a half before being sent out on loan. Meanwhile, Liverpool used that €145 million to sign Virgil van Dijk and Alisson and win the Champions League.

While looking ahead to determine what signings Barça need to make, one has to wonder how dire is Barça’s current economic situation when they cannot afford to sign Neymar or Inter’s Lautaro Martínez without selling other players first. They were able to gobble up players before, but now, Barça seem to have tightened the belt across their waist twice. Will they have the financial capability to sign other “Cracks” when Messi leaves or is the financial hole they’ve dug themselves into is far too deep to crawl out from?

We lived through this financial mismanagement under Joan Gaspart’s presidency and it took Joan Laporta a year to clear the club’s deadwood. Elections are next year and will the next Barça president have the funds needed to replace Messi and strengthen the team? Moreover, will the next Barça president be brave or crazy enough to contemplate the thought of selling Messi to recoup the funding needed to pay off the club’s debts and sign new players. Besides Messi, the only players that could warrant a big transfer value are Marc-André ter Stegen, Arthur Melo, Frenkie de Jong and a healthy Ousmane Dembélé.

If Messi walks away, careful planning will be needed to usher in the new Barça project. This club will always rebound but the appropriate decisions need to be made to ensure a smooth transition to life without Messi and not become what Manchester United and A.C. Milan are today. Failure to do so will be catastrophic for this club.

Barça’s Ballon d’Or Winners.

With Messi about to be awarded his fifth Ballon d’Or, we look back at the previous Barça players who won this award.

Luis Suárez was the first Barça player, and the only Spanish player, to ever win this award back in 1960. Luis Suárez guided his team to the Spanish League title and the UEFA Fairs Cup (now known as the Europa League) double in 1960. He received more votes than Real Madrid’s Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano who finished second and fourth respectively. The size of the award was noticeably much smaller back then compared to today’s version.

The next Barça player to win the award was the Dutch legend Johan Cruyff back in 1973. He had transferred to Blaugrana during the summer from Ajax after winning a Dutch league title and European Cup with Ajax so this award was more for his success with Ajax. However, he would win this award again after completing his first season, the 1973-1974 season, as a Barça player that saw the Blaugrana end a 14 year wait for a league trophy. This was his third and final Ballon d’Or after winning his first one in 1971.

Cruyff would be the Barça manager when the next Barça player would win the Ballon d’Or. In 1994, the Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov became the third ever Blaugrana player to win this award over the likes of Roberto Baggio, and Paolo Maldini who finished second and third respectively. Stoichkov helped guide Barça to the 1993-1994 league title, the 1994 Champions League Final along with guiding his country to the 1994 World Cup Semi-Finals.

Three years later, Brazilian legend Ronaldo would win the 1997 Ballon d’Or following his successful 1996-1997 Barça season that saw him score 47 goals while helping his side win the Supercopa, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup. He would leave the club in the summer to join Inter Milan and receive the award a few months later. The same chain of events would take place in 2000 when Luis Figo was awarded the Golden Ball for his performances for Barça and Portugal and Real Madrid. Hence, why he received this award as a Madrid player.

Before the Figo betrayal, another Brazilian player would win the Ballon d’Or. In 1999, Rivaldo won this award following his superb 1998-1999 season for Barça and Brazil. Barça won the Spanish league title and Brazil won Copa America due in large to his performances. He was voted Copa America’s player of the tournament and a few months later, was awarded the Ballon d’Or.

Another Brazilian player would win the Ballon d’Or as a Barça player when Ronaldinho would win this award in 2005. He was also the third ever Brazilian player to win this award for his performances during the 204-2005 season that saw Barça end a six year wait to win a league title. He also helped Brazil win the 2005 Confederations Cup and received the Bronze Ball award as third best player in the tournament. His contribution in bringing the Blaugrana to prominence could never be forgetten and this award is a reminder of the magic and hope he brought to the club.

Thus, Suárez, Cruyff, Stoichkov, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho were the five Barça players to win and receive the Ballon d’Or as Barça players. Messi would become the sixth Barça player to win this award and the last to win this award in 2009 before it was merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2010. Messi will be receiving his fifth Ballon d’Or today. No other player has ever won more than three. Barça fans have been blessed to have a player of his magnitude and the team’s success has seen Messi win this award in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Messi and fellow finalist Neymar seem likely to contend for this award in the near future. Team success however will be influential in whether or not these players will win it again. This year’s award is a “Job Well Done” reward for a superb 2014-2015 for Barça. Here’s to hopefully many more successful seasons.

Neymar and Suárez shining in Messi’s absence.

With El Clásico a day away, all eyes will be on the Spanish capital for tomorrow’s game. Messi has been cleared to return but the spotlight right now is shining on Neymar and Luis Suárez.

Many believed Barça would be in trouble when Messi went down with an injury back in September. Messi was the man who made things happen for the Blaugrana last season. He either scored, assisted or provided the superb pass that lead to the assist for Barça. His absence was going to be missed as he truly is irreplaceable.

Nevertheless, Barça managed to get by without the amazing player. Neymar took on the role as the man who had to pull the strings on the pitch and impressed as he tried his best to fill the void left by Messi’s absence. Not many can play like Messi but Neymar admirably played the role of goal scorer and playmaker in his own way that helped Barça. His partner in crime, Luis Suárez, also benefited from Neymar’s new role and both have carried the team on their backs which now sees them in first place in the league standings. Both have scored ten goals in Messi’s absence. Moreover, Neymar and Suárez are currently first and second in the Pichichi race as league top scorers with 11 and 9 goals respectively.

Of course, the world will be looking at Messi tomorrow. Yet, the spotlight will be on Neymar and Suárez if Messi starts the match from the bench. Messi’s inclusion for the Madrid trip might be mind tricks by Luis Enrique but then again, Messi is not the type to sit out a match, regardless of the match’s importance. I would prefer Luis Enrique to play it safe and have Messi come in the final half hour of the match against a tired Madrid side and cause havoc. With the lone exception of the Sevilla match, the team has done well with the Brazilian and Uruguay superstars and should be entrusted with our faith against their arch rivals if Messi does not feature. They have earned that truth.

The game tomorrow will not be won or lost if Messi plays or not. It will come down to mistakes. The outcome will be based on which counter attacking side will present the fewer scoring chances to their opponents and not squander their scoring chances. Also, this outcome will not decide the league title. We are still in November and last season showed us that the winner of the first Clásico did not fare too well down the stretch. A setback tomorrow will not be catastrophic towards to league title aspirations. It will only bring justified and unjustified heat from the media and fans but there’s still a lot of football left to be played.

What is certain is that if Barça win and both Neymar and Suárez perform well, then expect their names to surface as potential Ballon d’Or finalists with Messi. Both have had a magnificent 2015 thus far. The second half of the 2014-2015 season saw the duo score big goals in big games down the stretch that saw Barça capture a historic second treble. The first half of 2015-2016 has also seen them perform remarkably, especially during Messi’s absence. The results and performances speak for themselves. Tomorrow will be their final opportunity to shine in the spotlight before sharing it back with Messi. Do they have one last dynamic performance to give?

Barça’s Three Tenors Need to Revitalize their Mojo.

FC Barcelona dropped points for the first time since February. With PSG next, Barça’s Three Tenors need to get their mojo back.

For just the third time in 2015, FC Barcelona dropped points after this weekend’s Saturday 2-2 draw to Sevilla. This is a streak a majority of teams in the world would love to enjoy. However, this is La Liga where any lost points when both Barça and Madrid are chasing the title are never forgotten. Barça can calm some fears if they get past these next hurdle of matches with great results. However, in order for that to happen, Barça’s Three Tenors needs to get clicking again.

When Barça were running rampant after that Sociedad loss, most of the credit was aimed at Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. MSN seemed like an unstoppable force. Then, their progress stalled. Neymar went nearly two months without scoring a league goal. Suarez has done well scoring but seems to be misfiring as of late as evidenced against tough teams Celta Vigo and Sevilla. True, he did score the game winner against Real Madrid but he squandered chances to add to his tally in that game. The fact he has not given an assist in over a month is another concern. Messi will always be amazing but the fact he has playing with an injured foot has to be of some concern with the team heading down the final stretch.

Barça kick off a sequence of four tough matches this week. First up is Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday followed by Valencia at home on Saturday. Barça then host Paris Saint-Germain again on Tuesday before facing Espanyol in the Barcelona derby the following weekend. If Barça gets out of that unscathed, then the sky’s the limit. However, Barça needs to snap out of their recent funk and hope that the Three Tenors get their mojo back.

UEFA Forgets Rijkaard’s Barça in UEFA Legendary Moments.

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

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

The 9 Legendary Barça moments are:

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

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

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

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

Luis Enrique’s Flexibility Helping Barça and Himself.

It’s amazing how one’s future can change in a matter of weeks. It wasn’t that long ago when Luis Enrique was coaching for his job. Now, all is well for now at the Barça kingdom thanks to Luis Enrique being more flexible and listening to his players.

It takes two to tango and Lucho and the players are currently engaged in a wonderful tango that has seen the Blaugrana win 11 consecutive matches in all competitions. Coaching is a bit like dancing. One person leads and the other dance partner follows. However, there has to be an understanding between the one who leads and the one who follows. It cannot be a dictatorship where every command has to be obeyed and unquestioned or else a relationship will never fully blossom. The one who leads must be open to suggestions from their dance partner or else they will be dragging their feet in an ugly dance.

That ugly dance finally came to fruition on that cold night in the Anoeta when Barça lost to Real Sociedad 1-0. Messi and Neymar were rested since they arrived later from the winter break than the rest of the players because their manager gave them permission to do so. Barça were losing and both players came off the bench in the second half, but could not help guide their team to a comeback victory.

The storm that followed this loss was considered the storm of the century for Barça. Lucho’s neck was on the line as unfounded rumors that Messi was going to ask for a transfer began to grow. Fortunately, things changed for the better after that loss. Much of that has to do with Luis Enrique dropping the general act of insisting it was his way or the highway. Like what all good managers do, Luis Enrique became flexible and listened to his players. Suddenly, the new lineup every match stopped. Luis Enrique’s insistence of playing Messi in the middle of the attack, with the other two players up front coming inside to help Messi came to a halt. Messi and Neymar now play out wide with Luis Suarez, or Pedro, play in the middle. Midfielders went from covering the space left by the attacking fullbacks to actually being involved in the buildup of the attack.

It’s a good thing for both Luis Enrique and Barça that the manager dropped his “my way or the high way” act. Respect is a two way street and it seemed that Lucho thought it was a one way street and that this was about him and his way. Perhaps he thought he was inheriting a team that was in disarray and lacked discipline, like Guardiola did back in 2008, and had to be strict with them. He thought wrong since last season’s disappointment came down to poor coaching from his predecessor, a difficult emotional time for players dealing with the loss of their former manager Tito Vilanova, and in house controversies such as Sandro Rosell’s resignation, Neymar’s signing, and Messi’s tax case along with the board’s treatment of Messi with poorly made comments about a possible new contract.

Fortunately, the rumors of Luis Enrique possibly getting fired brought a change to his approach and it has been working. Suddenly, Messi is back to his dominating self and the team no longer look lost out on the pitch with 11 consecutive wins, especially three against Atlético Madrid. A perfect example of the change of atmosphere at the club was when the players asked Lucho to tell the club to cancel the friendly that was going to take place in Qatar. With the friendly taking place in Qatar, a few days before the away fixture to Athletic Club, Lucho probably thought it was poorly timed too. In the end, the friendly was canceled and Barça tasted victory on Athletic’s turf for the first time since 2010.

Of course, this does not mean the club is now perfect without any weaknesses but there is a contrast to how they were performing before and after that loss to Real Sociedad. Barça are still heavily reliant on the front three, but at least the supporting cast around them seem to have an understanding of their roles on the pitch. They appear more confident and more prepared than before. Moreover, it seems that Luis Enrique has an understanding of what his role is too. A manager is not just about winning, but also about listening to his players and finding the right solution for everybody. So far, Luis Enrique has done just that and only time will tell how far this approach will carry this team, with next week’s Champions League clash against Manchester City will be a litmus test for both manager and players.

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.