Barça’s First Test of the Season .

 

Barça is off to a great start to their season. Following their surprising goalless draw at home to Rayo Vallecano, the Blaugrana have been on a five-game winning streak with impressive wins on the road against Real Sociedad and Sevilla. Today, they kick off their second group stage match of their Champions League group stage, where they face their rivals for the trophy, Bayern Munich. Today will show us if Barça are back where they belong or still have work to do.

Barça are flying under Xavi. 4 wins and a draw to kick off their new league campaign and top of their Champions League group stage, on goal differential, after one match day while playing entertaining football (15 goals in La Liga and 5 goals in Europe) while conceding only one goal in each competition. It’s true that Real Sociedad and Sevilla are off to a poor start, but those grounds are usually a tough trip for the Blaugrana. Nonetheless, Xavi’s boys went there and got impressive victories there.

The Blaugrana are flying high with the new additions of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Koundé, Andreas Christensen, Héctor Bellerín, and Marcos Alonso. However, today Barça get their first true test of the season when they face Bayern Munich. The German side has been a thorn in Barcelona’s side for the past few seasons. Yesterday, Xavi said Allianz Arena wasn’t a house of horror for the Blaugrana. However, their record on Bayern Munich’s turf is horrendous with four losses and two draws on their last six trips with the aggregate score of 14-4 for the home side.

Today is the first true test for Xavi and the players. A loss would not be devastating since this is still a work in progress and it’s still early into the season. However, a win would give the team a bounce in their step and validation for FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta for all the risky financial measures to allow the club to become a powerhouse again. Roma wasn’t built in a day but today could pave the road for the club to become a powerful empire again.

El Clasico Watch Party Special Guest – Barça Legend Patrick Kluivert.

 

This weekend’s El Clasico will be a special one for the Miami Blaugrana Penya. Courtesy of ESPN+, former Blaugrana star Patrick Kluivert will be making an appearance at 77 Sportbar where fans can meet and have their photos taken with the Dutch and Barça legend and with the Spanish league trophy and the official Spanish league ball.

Patrick Kluivert was in Amsterdam Holland where he was an Ajax Amsterdam youth graduate. Kluivert made worldwide headlines when, at the age of 18, he scored the game winner for Ajax in 1995 UEFA Champions League Final against AC Milan. To this day, he is still the youngest goal scorer in Champions League Finals history.

Kluivert joined Milan in 1997 and a year later, he joined FC Barcelona where he would go on to play for the Blaugrana for six seasons. He helped Barça win the league title in 1998 and overall, he would go on to score 122 goals in all competitions for the Blaugrana.

At the time when he joined Barça, Kluivert was a feared striker who also excelled for the Dutch national team who reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 tournaments. He was joint top scorer at Euro 2000 with five goals.

Unfortunately, Kluivert’s time with the club coincided during a horrible time for the club, where success was scarce. Nonetheless, he was also there to usher in the new era of success for Barça. Kluivert was one of the veterans of the 2003-2004, alongside Luis Enrique, Phillip Cocu, and Marc Overmars and the new signings of Ronaldinho, Rafa Marquez and Giovanni van Bronckhorst while the likes of Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and Víctor Valdés got to blossom and combined helped kickstart an era of success that would soon follow.

Barça had a nightmare start to their 2003-2004 season that saw them lose 1-2 to Real Madrid at the Camp Nou in a league match for the first time in 29 years. Kluivert scored Barça’s lone goal that night. Barça were struggling and were nowhere near the top four in La Liga. However, the wind of changes commenced on January 25, 2004 when Barça defeated Sevilla away 1-0 with Kluivert being the goal scoring hero after scoring a remarkable header goal. The team would go on a 9-game winning streak and ultimately enjoy a 17-game unbeaten league streak during the second half of the season. That streak also featured Barça’s come from behind 2-1 win against Real Madrid in the Spanish capital with Kluivert scoring the equalizer header goal before the current Barça manager, Xavi, scored the game winner.

Barça would come up just short and finish second that season and Kluivert would leave the club and join Newcastle United. However, for those who watched Kluivert play for Barça, we got to see a spectacular speedy striker who was dangerous in the air and with his feet and also was a superb playmaker who assisted the likes of Rivaldo and Luis Enrique. My all-time favorite Barça performance from Patrick Kluivert was in the Blaugrana’s 5-1 extra-time victory over Chelsea in the 1999-2000 Champions League second leg of the Quarterfinals where he struck the woodwork twice, had a goal disallowed after he was fouled inside the box and the referee decided to award a penalty instead, before scoring the club’s fifth goal from another memorable header.

After retiring from the game, Kluivert has coached and was the club’s academy director for the last couple of years. He also features for the Barcelona Legends team. Miami Blaugrana Penya is honored that Patrick Kluivert will be making an appearance at 77 Sportbar where fans can meet and have their photos taken with the Dutch and Barça legend and with the Spanish league trophy and the official Spanish league ball.

Barça Lost in Transition.

Barça’s transition from the last regime to the new regime under Laporta is off to a horrendous start. Poor performances and results in La Liga and in the Champions league along with the loss of Messi has not made the Blaugrana faithful happy. Things were supposed to improve but instead, things are getting worse with no optimism on the horizon as long as Ronald Koeman remains.

Barça’s elections were supposed to usher in a new era under President Laporta. What we didn’t expect was for Barça to hang on to Koeman and lose Messi. Back in November, I wrote that

Elections can’t come soon enough. The longer Koeman stays in charge, the more hopeless this season feels for the fans, and for the players. A fresh start is needed with a new board and a new manager because the results are not there to save Koeman. Koeman was presented as the solution, but he’s become part of the problem.

Almost a year later, and Koeman continues to be part of the problem. Koeman has an abysmal record in big games while subjecting us to horrible football. Laporta should have fired Koeman during the summer but he did not because firing Koeman would result in Barça having to pay him €12 million. Nonetheless, this is the same club that haven’t paid Koeman’s predecessors Quique Setién and Ernesto Valverde after they were fired. Because money is tight, Laporta stuck with Koeman and informed the fans “Ronald Koeman will continue as Barca coach. We feel he deserves a certain amount of confidence for many reasons.”

Well, nothing has happened that reinforces that confidence or justifies holding on to Koeman as a manager. Barça have been awful in La Liga and the Champions League under Koeman. Last month, Koeman said “Thanks to me, this club has a future.” Well, if he meant an uncertain future, then he has done a marvelous job.

After Laporta won the Barça presidential elections, he promised us things will be different. “Before, if we lost, nothing happened, but with me there are going to be consequences.” Well, the consequences thus far have been that we lost Messi and replaced him with Memphis Depay, Kun Aguero, and Luuk “more dangerous than Neymar inside the box” de Jong. Well, things sure are not different, things are worse and we have yet to see any consequences; just videos from Laporta asking for support from us.

The transition from the rotting decaying Rosell/Bartomeu era to the Laporta era is one mired in confusion and frustration. Are Barça afraid of firing Koeman because of money? That didn’t stop them with Valverde and Setién, so let Koeman get in line and sue. Eventually Barça will be financially settled and can afford to settle those cases out of court. It sure beats hanging on to Koeman and risk early elimination from the Champions League and make it harder for his successor, Xavi or Francisco Javier García Pimienta (whose firing from Barça B is still a puzzling decision) or anyone else, to help this club finish in La Liga’s top four and qualify for the Champions League. There has been enough damage done under Koeman and this transition will never launch if he stays in charge.

KNVB Continues Myopic Approach With Van Gaal Pursuit.

 Once again, KNVB had to find a new man to be in charge of the Oranje after Frank de Boer resigned from his post after Euro 2020. Fans wanted the likes of Erik ten Hag and Peter Bosz to be considered but instead, they got the recycled names of Dick Advocaat, Louis van Gaal and even the retired Frank Rijkaard. Well, the KNVB didn’t surprise anyone when rumors came out that they plan on hiring van Gaal for the third time. If true, this means that the KNVB continues their myopic approach of not looking at the big picture and just focusing on the now.

• By Ibrahim Ayyub
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Before we get to the van Gaal hiring, let me do a quick reflection on the Oranje and their disappointing exit from Euro 2020.

I blame Georginio Wijnaldum for being invisible in that loss to the Czech Republic.
I blame Memphis Depay for being so sloppy with his ball control and his passing.
I blame Donyell Malen for missing that golden chance that would have been the opening goal.
I blame Matthijs de Ligt for that boneheaded hand ball play that cost his team dearly.
I blame Frank de Boer for the lineup and clueless substitutions against the Czech Republic.
I blame Jordan Pickford for injuring Virgil van Dijk and costing the Oranje their valuable leader.
I blame the KNVB for hiring Frank de Boer.

I blame Ronald Koeman who left the Oranje to coach Barça. Based on Barça’s disarray, he could have still had a chance to coach the Blaugrana after Euro 2020.

Back on topic, the brief era of Frank de Boer is over and it should never be discussed again. For the third time, van Gaal is allegedly back in charge. Obviously, this hiring was made with the World Cup in mind since it’s around the corner and the Oranje made it all the way to the Semi-Finals in 2014 under van Gaal. However, why do the KNVB continue to recycle previous managers for short term goals and continue to face this situation over and over again?

The Oranje job is a job of short tenure. Four years is the usual life span of a Dutch manager. One has to go back to Bob Glendenning who coached the Oranje for fifteen years, which took place before the second World War. Since then, if one manager made it to four years, he was doing something right. But why is it that the Oranje can’t hang on to their managers? For comparison’s sake. Bobby Robson coached England for eight years. Richard Nielsen coached the Danes for six years and Morten Olsen coached them for 15 years. Joachim Löw just finished a 15-year stint coaching the Germans, although he should have been fired after World Cup 2018. Meanwhile, Óscar Tabarez is still coaching Uruguay and he’s been in charge since 2006. So why can’t the Oranje find their Óscar Tabarez?

I always wondered why the legend, Rinus “The General” Michels did not stay in charge from 1986 until 1994 and then step down for Guus Hiddink. Michels just guided the Oranje to Euro 88 success and then stepped down to manage Bayer Leverkusen, where he didn’t even last a season. Did Michels do it for financial reasons or did he miss coaching at the club level again? Nevertheless, Michels was back coaching the Oranje at Euro 92 before stepping down for the final time. Imagine though if he had remained in charge from 1986 until 1994, especially during the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.

It’s no secret that coaching the national team is not in the interest of a young manager. Young managers want to coach at the club level and deem the national team job as something to do towards the end of their coaching career. So, don’t expect the likes of Erik ten Hag and Peter Bosz to take over the Oranje when they are still employed and sought after by clubs, which involves a day to day operation, unlike the national team where the games are scarce and not much happens in between except traveling to fixtures to scout players. It also doesn’t help that it’s never easy managing Dutch players since they tend to be very opinionated, and, as we saw in Euro 96 and Euro 2012, their egos can be divisive to the detriment of the team.

The KNVB’s biggest dilemma is that they lack a long-term vision. There is no structure and it doesn’t help that managers either resign or get fired. Things have to change or else we will continue to witness the ineptness continue to prevail as it has over the years. After World Cup 2022, the Oranje need to find their Oscar Tabarez and allow him to remain in charge for many years. Furthermore, the revamp should also consist of making sure the youth teams also follow the style of the first team. The system and formation should be the same from top to the bottom in the Netherlands setup which would allow the youth players to transition to the first team without any confusion or adjustments.

Yet, in order to achieve this plan, the Oranje need to find someone who is willing to stay in charge for at least eight years. Is Ronald Koeman the one when, and not if, Barcelona fire him? Or perhaps is it time to hire a foreign manager for the first time since the Austrian Ernst Happel coached the Oranje at World Cup 1978? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, and yet, the Oranje have continued to show us just how true that is with their constant coaching musical chairs over the years. Enough is enough and it’s time for KNVB to stop being myopic and use some insight to plan ahead.

Barça’s Difficult Cleanup Underway.

 

Barça’s upcoming season is just around the corner, and the first under new president Joan Laporta with a full summer under his belt. However, anyone thinking that Laporta will bring a quick fix is sadly mistaken. Many, including Laporta, are now fully coming to grips of the dire condition this club is in financially, and that it is in need of a lengthy major cleanup.

Unless you’ve been in a coma for the past few years, it should come as no surprise that Barça is a financial mess. The club is drowning in debt thanks to many bad financial decisions by the previous regime, which is affecting how the club can prepare for the new season. La Liga’s President, Javier Tebas has warned the club that they will not be able to register Messi and the new signings unless they get under their salary cap. This requires shedding a lot of dead weight and bad contracts.

Unfortunately, not every player is on board when it comes to accepting a reduced salary and the pandemic is making is tougher to offload the deadwood. Laporta faced the same situation when he first became president of Barça back in 2003, and it took him a whole season before all the players deemed surplus were gone. This time around, the players he is trying to offload are ridiculously high earners, and some of them are also injury prone. Good luck finding any takers, or suckers, for players such as Umtiti, Coutinho, Griezmann and Pjanic in today’s football world.

Laporta’s first important challenge is cleaning up this toxic mess. He was successful the first time when he had the likes of Ferran Soriano by his side to steady the ship. We shall see if Laporta has surrounded himself with a proper crew to perform this difficult cleanup. However, don’t kid yourself into thinking that this will be a quick fix because this cleanup will take time, and unfortunately, time is not a luxury the fans have.

So far so good for the Oranje.

 The Oranje were expected by some to crash and burn in this Euro 2020. Three group stage matches later, the Oranje were still alive. Not only are they alive, but as group winners, they got a favorable draw in the knockout stages. So far, so good for the Oranje and perhaps the best is yet to come. 

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For many, Euro 2020 now begins as we prepare to enjoy the knockout stages. The Oranje are one of the final 16 teams and their path to the Final begins with a clash against the Czech Republic. The last time these two sides faced each other in the European Championships delivered an unforgettable and painful game in 2004. Frank de Boer was an unused substitute for that game and now, he will be on the touchline as the Oranje try to make amends for that bitter loss in 2004. Frank has been everyone’s favourite whipping boy, both in the Dutch media and the international media. Nevertheless, the Oranje won their group with three wins and were also entertaining, so Frank deserves some credit. 

Of course, some opted to hold off from praising Frank, claiming the Oranje were lucky to be in an easy group and haven’t faced anyone strong yet. Well, it’s not as if he picked the group teams personally. You can only beat what’s in front of you, and his team has just done that. Frank also has done a good enough job of not messing things up, such as starting Luuk De Jong ahead of Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen, and the team has chemistry on the pitch with Georginio Wijnaldum and Memphis Depay shining in the tournament. More importantly, the players seem to be on the same page inside the locker room, unlike what we witnessed during Euro 96 and Euro 2012 where internal issues divided the team and affected their performances.

The real test now begins. We’ve seen the Oranje do well in the group but disappoint in the knockout stages in previous European Championships. So far, so good by the Oranje and we can only hope they keep on doing well and show us that the best is yet to come.

Bucs Dream Season Ends In Glory.

They did it! They actually did it! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl champions once again. After an eighteen year wait for another playoff victory, Tom Brady has not only returned the Bucs to their winning ways; he guided them to a second Vince Lombardi trophy.

When it was announced that Tom Brady was signing with the Bucs, I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a dream at first, but then reality set in. It’s been very hard to be optimistic about the Bucs after so many years of futility, so I kept my expectations low for the season. Well, Tom Brady and the rest of the well assembled team have by far exceeded my expectations and the sweet taste of victory will be savored for a long time.

While the regular season was a bumpy ride, Tom Brady and the Bucs had their first winning season and clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The odds on the Bucs winning the Super Bowl in their own backyard was against them, but they defied the odds and made history by becoming the first NFL team win the Super Bowl in their own stadium. After the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup, the city of Tampa now has two champions to celebrate and the nicknames of Champa Bay and Tompa Bay are flying rampant in the community, and I couldn’t be happier.

The journey to glory had its doubts, with many questioning if Tom Brady could still deliver at his age. Fortunately, Father Time sat the playoffs out as Brady and the Bucs went on their magical run. However, they did get a helping hand from Lady Luck. It began with the Eagles playing not to win against Washington Football Team which meant that Washington would win the NFC East, and not the Giants, who have a good history against Brady in the postseason. Thus, the Bucs’ first playoffs opponents were Washington whose quarterback was starting his first ever NFL game. Next up were the New Orleans Saints with their quarterback Drew Brees who lacked any arm strength. Those factors were significant in those victories.

The NFC title game was in hollowed Lambeau Field against the Packers and the Bucs benefitted from the poor decision making and play calling from the Packers such as their defensive formation on Brady’s 39 yard TD throw to Scott Miller with one second left in the first half. The Packers then botched their attempt to take the lead when Aaron Rogers decided to pass the ball instead of running into the endzone and then Packers coach Matt Lafluer decided to kick a field goal instead of going for it on 4^th down. Finally, Lady Luck shined one last time when Chiefs’ offensive line were short two starters and followed that with quarterback Patrick Mahomes picking up an injury early into the Super Bowl, which meant he couldn’t terrorize the Bucs defense with his mobility and scrambling.

So, my Bucs are champions again after they ended the season on a hot streak and followed it up with a superb run in the playoffs. Tom Brady and the main core of the players are coming back for next season so can they repeat? Hopefully lightning will strike twice and the Tampa Bay area fans will enjoy more victory parades from their local teams. Now if only the Rays can join the party and win a World Series.