Andres Iniesta

In connection with the publication of Andres Iniesta's autobiography, the Guardian has some interesting articles on the (already) legendary player, based on the book:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/06/barcelona-andres-iniesta-need-help-look-for-it
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/07/pep-guardiola-andres-iniesta-barcelona-tactics-book-extract
Highly recommended, and I most certainly should get hold of the book!

Reflections on the first round of Euro 2016

All teams have now been in action in Euro 2016, and I have some initial reflections:

• Italy have been the most impressive team so far. Their ice-cold victory against the Belgians was what can make a team champions. Emanuele Giacherinni's and Graziano Pelle's goals were fantastic.
• Belgium is not bad, and still has a chance, but needs to show much more commitment from their highly paid superstars.
• Germany also looked in complete control against Ukraine, and with Italy, seems like the other team to beat after the first round.
• Spain were good, but lack striking force. Then on the other hand, they have the splendid Andres Iniesta! Croatia, with their incredible midfield and an inspired Luka Modric, will certainly be able to challenge the Spaniards
• England in the first half against Russia is one of the best England sides we have seen for a long time, but as so many Spanish fans, they seem unable to keep their heads cool.
• Wales has been one of the best surprises in their 2-1 victory over Slovakia, and they should be able to defeat both England and Russia.
• The biggest surprise has been Iceland after their tie against Portugal.
• The biggest disappointment has been Austria, but not a big disappointment, as there have not been many.
• France managed their obligatory opening victory against a hard-fighting Romania. That said, Romania would not have deserved a tie, and Dimitri Payet's goal remains the best of the tournament (with very hard competition from Emanuele Giacherinni's incredible control in his goal against the Belgians).
• Northern Ireland has been the poorest side of the tournament. Poland should have scored more than their lone goal.
• Much has been made of the hooligans. But there are also some great fans, and the best are Sweden's and Ireland's (who needs to be champions with fans like this?):

FC Barcelona fishermen

Football transcends borders, and in the small fishing village of Marshall, in Liberia, I came across a number of fishing boats with football names. Andres Iniesta and Neymar were two of the nicest boats, decorated with FC Barcelona and Brazil colours respectively, paying homage to these two great players.

 

 

One boat also had the Chelsea logo on it. When I called him "Chelsea-man", all the other fishermen started laughing.
Football transcends borders; and so does making fun of Chelsea.

Greatest World Cup Matches: Spain-Netherlands (2010)

The first World Cup final on the African continent was special for many reasons. Firstly it was the first all-European final outside Europe, but also the first final ever without the participation of either Brazil, Argentina, Italy, or Germany.
And there was certainly going to be a new world champion: for Spain it was their first World Cup final; it was the third for the Netherlands, having lost their two previous finals in 1974 and 1978.
The Netherlands had always had a complex of not achieving the pinnacle. Besides their European Championship title of 1988, success had always eluded them. With some of the best football academies in the world, the Dutch produced a long line of incredibly talented players who were schooled in the Dutch model of total football, combining tactical and physical skills and a well-developed understanding of the game.
The Netherlands always entered the tournaments as favourites, but had largely disappointed. In 2008 the former Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk was made manager of the team to lead them to the 2010 World Cup. In qualifying the Dutch made a clean sweep by winning every match. But there was criticism on their style: always proud of playing beautiful football the Dutch became, like the Argentines, divided on whether to play a more cynical style in order to get results. The 2010 team was a result of this. The side contained some superb technical players such as Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder, Arsenal's Robbie van Persie and Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben, but also some uncompromising players such as Bayern Munich's Mark van Bommel, Manchester City's Nigel de Jong (known as the lawnmower) or Everton's John Heitinga. While there were occasional brilliant moments, the team played more result-oriented and physical football than previous Dutch sides. And it seemed to be working.
Arriving at the World Cup the Netherlands had won all three first round matches against Denmark, Japan and Cameroun. In the last-16 they defeated a Slovakian side that had eliminated the defending World Champions of Italy 2-1 on goals by Robben and Sneijder.
In the quarterfinals the Dutch played the favourites of Brazil. After being down 0-1, Wesley Sneijder scored twice in the second half to give his side a semi-final match against the double world champions from Uruguay.
The Dutch won an exciting match 3-2 and were ready to face Spain in Johannesburg.

As defending European champions Spain entered the tournament as the biggest favourites, but started with a debacle when they lost their first match 0-1 to Switzerland. It was a match where Spain had possession and chances, but their feeble attack gave no results. Spain lacked a strong striker, and manager Vicente del Bosque sometimes chose to play without a striker, giving Spain a lot of possession but little to show for it. The side was not outright defensive, but their main strength came from their possession and their outstanding defense around FC Barcelona's Carles Puyol and the Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
In their following two matches Spain fought themselves back to win the group by defeating Honduras and Chile. The next three games resulted in three narrow 1-0 victories against Portugal, Paraguay and Germany to make it to the final. All victories were achieved by a high level of possession that had become Spain's trademark, just as FC Barcelona, but without the powerful striking force of the Catalonians. Still, Spain had every reason to be optimistic before the final against the Netherlands, who nevertheless must have noted the possibility of winning against Spain's low-scoring side.

It was not a nice match. Netherlands came out to destroy Spanish possession, and had already received five bookins within the first 30 minutes of the match. Nigel de Jong should have been given a direct red card by a vicious karate kick against Xabi Alonso, but a forgiving referee Howard Webb only booked him, and the Dutch violence did nothing but break the rhythm of the match.
This was the least likely Dutch side in the history of football.
While not being able to play as polished as before, Spain still had possession; Sergio Ramos had a great chance on a header that was saved by Stekelenburg, but otherwise it was a hugely disappointing first half.
The ugliness continued in the second half, and the increasingly frustrated Spaniards also joined the fight; while they continued having more possession, Arjen Robben had the biggest chance of the match to put the Dutch ahead after Wesley Sneijder had torn apart the Spanish defense, but Robben was prevented by the great Iker Casillas.
In the 83rd minute, Arjen Robben had another a good run against Casillas but Spain's captain again saved his side.
The true star of the match, who gave Spain the title, was Iker Casillas.
Before that Sergio Ramos had missed a free header to put the Spanish ahead, but in the end it was 0-0 of a very ugly final that went into overtime.
Spain tried to put pressure on the Dutch with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas coming in for Xabi Alonso. And Fabregas had the first big chance of extra time when he missed alone with Stekelenburg. In the second half of extra time the Dutch were finally given a red card when John Heitinga brought down Fernando Torres. And soon after this Spain scored the winning goal after a controversial situation where the Dutch should clearly have been awarded a corner-kick after a free kick.
But the Netherlands had made no friends, and nobody really cared about the Dutch protests after Andres Iniesta smashed the ball in with his right foot after Fabregas' through-pass caught Iniesta on-side.
Spain were champions.

The fourth 1-0 victory for Spain in a row made them the least-scoring World Champion ever. Still, it was a well-deserved title, and nobody felt sorry for the Netherlands. It was a record final in terms of yellow cards (12), and it was a pity that the first final on African soil should have been such an ugly match after a wonderful tournament. A historical victory, not only because Spain won for the first time. It was also the first victory of a European side outside Europe.
 

11^th July 2010

Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg

Attendance: 84,490

Referee: Howard Webb, England 

Teams:

Spain: Casillas, Pique, Carles Puyol, Ramos, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Capdevilla, Busquets, Alonso (Fabregas), Villa (Torres), Pedro (Navas)

Netherlands: Stekelenburg, Van der Wiel, Heitinga (RC, 109), Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst (Braafheid), Van Bommel, De Jong (Van der Vaart), Kuyt (Elia), Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben 

Spain-Netherlands 1-0 (after extra time)

Goals:

1-0 Iniesta (116)

Spanish drama

The only match worth watching in the Spanish league has for ten years been the Real Madrid-Barcelona match. It has always been splendid, and tonight was no exception. I watched the dramatic match with a mixture of Spanish and international people in the bar called Sajj, in Sinkor, in Monrovia, in a lively atmosphere for what became a fantastic match.
FC Barcelona needed to win in Madrid in order not to lose contact with the two leaders, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. And the match ended with a controversial 3-4 victory for the Catalonians. Three penalties, two of them unexistant, and four great goals in what was a great match between two evenly matched sides. In the first half Real Madrid seemed to have things under control as they went ahead 2-1 on two goals by a Karim Benzema who exposed the feeble Barcelona defense in the penalty area. But when Messi equalized for 2-2 right before halftime things went back to zero for a Real Madrid side that had been better in the first half. Barcelona mended their defensive holes in the second half, but still went down 3-2 as Ronaldo scored on a penalty that had been outside the area. Things seemed to go Real Madrid's way until the penalty on Neymar, which also gave Sergio Ramos a red card.
This broke the match, as Ancelotti took out Benzema for Rafael Varane, to defend the tie that would put them on top spot.
But it was not to be. A clear penalty, this time, on Andres Iniesta meant that Messi made it 3-4, and put FC Barcelona one point from leaders Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who are both tied with 70 points (with Atletico ahead on goal difference).
All three teams are now in an intense fight for the title. Every right-minded football fan supports Atletico Madrid, but I would still doubt that they can carry it all the way. It is likely to be a contest between the usual suspects, with FC Barcelona taking an important step today.

Best players of 2012

This is my personal list of favourite players of 2012:

• 10) Cristiano Ronaldo: Ronaldo is one of the most gifted players of our time, but that is also what makes him so frustrating. He had a marvelous season for Real Madrid when they took the Spanish title, but it seems he only glows when things go well for the team. Perhaps it is a personality or attitude problem, but he will not become one of the best in the world even though he could.
• 9) Miroslav Klose: At a time where you see more assholes than gentlemen in international football, Klose is a marvelous rarity. The veteran has done very well in Lazio, which is in second place in Serie A, but I mostly include him for a goal he scored against Napoli, where he got the referee to disallow it by pointing out to him that he had scored by hand! A true sportsman!
• 8) Robbie van Persie: One of the most noted transfers was when Arsenal captain van Persie changed to Manchester United this summer. Both in Arsenal and in Manchester the Dutchman has been a goal machine, and he has been a huge contribution to Manchester United's first spot in the Premier League in the fall.
• 7) Didier Drogba: One of the reasons that Chelsea has not been as good in the fall is the absence of Didier Drogba who retired to play in China after bringing glory to Chelsea by scoring both in the FA Cup final and in the Champions League final. He is not only missed by Chelsea fans but by any football fan who loved to see this absolutely brilliant striker!
• 6) Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Ibrahimovic is a unique player. Which other player has given birth to a verb, "Zlatanera"?  He was scoring a lot of goals for AC Milan before his change to Paris St. Germain, where he is currently the top scoring player in the French League as Paris takes first spot. Also, he scored what is probably the most memorable goal of the year in a friendly match against England in November.
• 5) Xavi: Xavi continues to be the mid-field general of both FC Barcelona and Spain, two of the best teams in the world, not least for his impressive vision.
• 4) Radamel Falcao: The Colombian striker is perhaps the best striker in the world at the moment. In a revived Atletico Madrid side he has been a goal machine, leading them both to the Europa League title, the UEFA Supercup and a second place in the Spanish league, where his scoring record this season is only second to the mighty Messi.
• 3) Andrea Pirlo: When the Italian veteran changed from AC Milan to Juventus in 2011 it seemed as if he were reborn. He was the outstanding midfield general on a side that in 2012 went on to win their first Serie A title since 2003, and in the Euro 2012 he was simply superb in leading an Italian side that played a more offensive football than other Italian sides was playing. He would have been the best player of the tournament had he not been dwarfed by the mighty Spanish in the final.
• 2) Andres Iniesta: It is a pity that the brilliant and elegant Andres Iniesta still has often suffered from injuries during the year, as this prevents fans from admiring one of the greatest players of time. In FC Barcelona he still is outstanding and it was fully deserved when he was awarded the prize of best player of the tournament, as well as his award as UEFA best player of the year, ahead of his team-mate Lionel Messi!
• 1) Lionel Messi: There is no way around it. This has probably been the best year for Lionel Messi ever (in spite of an absence of titles, with only the Copa del Rey). He was simply unstoppable in scoring goals, making it to 91 goals in the year, breaking legendary Gerd Muller's record. These goals have not only come for Barcelona, but also for the Argentine national team, where he seems to have finally become good after many years of disappointing.

The best and worst of Euro 2012

After the end of the Euro 2012, it is time to reflect on what this tournament actually gave us. Here are my (personal) top ten best and worst things about the tournament, beginning with the bad:

• 10)  Non alcoholic beers in the stadiums: Need I say anything...?
• 9)  Petty nationalism: it seems an integral part of these tournaments to see European's propensity for petty nationalism that has nothing to do with football.
• 8) Spain, until the final: yes, I know that they proved themselves in the final, but until then Spain had played holding back, passing the ball, and not shooting enough. Matches like the one against France were a bore. It would have been respectful to football fans to dispatch of a team like France with a humiliation.
• 7) The pitch in Warsaw: A disgrace that Poland could not come up with a decent pitch in their major stadium.
• 6) BBC Panorama: the way a sensationalist and exaggerated British TV show had slandered Ukraine before the tournament. Ukraine in particular were great hosts!
• 5) Netherlands: they came into the tournament as huge favorites but disappointed greatly with their worst performance ever. I do hope they return to their former total football style.
• 4) France: Many teams were a disgrace in this tournament, but France must take the cake. Full of talented players, it just seemed like none of them wanted to be there.
• 3) The qualitative difference between teams: Europe is dominated by a few world class sides (Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal) and a lot of mediocre sides. It showed in the quarterfinals, and in four year, with 24 teams, the number of mediocre sides and matches is set to make it Euro 2016 of mediocrity.
• 2) Racism: Although greatly exaggerated by some media, it did show its ugly face among fans from Poland, Croatia, Spain and Russia. These countries should be ashamed of their brainless minorities.
• 1) Russian and Polish fans: the biggest disgrace of the tournament was the confrontation of the fans from these two countries. If they cannot get these pseudo-nationalist idiots under control, their teams do not belong in these tournaments.

And the 10 best things about the tournament:

• 10) I had the privilege of watching this Euro 2012 with great friends in four different countries, among them Ukraine, where I went to three great matches!
• 9) Referees: I find it hard to say this, but in general the referees were really good. Except for the appalling mistake of disallowing a Ukrainian goal against England (and TV should be used in these situations!), I don't think there were really major mistakes by the referees, who were largely invisible, just as referees should be.
• 8) The campaign for respect: In the face of football's capacity for dividing as much as uniting, I thought UEFA's Respect campaign was good. That said, they still need to do a lot more and follow up with actions against people from countries that did not live up to these important ideals for the tournament.
• 7) Fans: In spite of the loud minority of idiots, far most fans were great, and I had the privilege to be among a great many fans from Denmark, Portugal, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, England who were all great people and just out there to enjoy.
• 6) Spain showing they can play beautiful efficient football in the final: when they needed to show it, they showed their overwhelming best, leaving no doubt as to them being the best team in the world.
• 5) "Super" Mario Balotelli: A great player with great charisma who grew during the tournament, just to be crushed in the final. Still, his two goals in the semifinal against Germany stand out as some of the best in the tournament. 
• 4) Andres Iniesta: One of the greatest players of the tournament, and the one that shone the most in the best side of the tournament.
• 3) Italy: Until this tournament I had never supported Italy. But this was a great Italian team, offensive harmonious, with splendid players. One even felt sorry for them when they lost the final!
• 2) Andrea Pirlo: In my view the best player of the tournament, and the ageing captain of a great Italian side, that probably played his last tournament for the national team.
• 1) Ukraine: I had the privilege to visit the country for three matches, and met a well-prepared and friendly country, that more than lived up to being hosts. Thank you to Ukraine!

The preview

The Spanish Super Cup is a preview of things to come for the Spanish League this season, namely the only thing worth watching: intense and dramatic matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona, fighting for some title, while the remaining teams remain front row spectators.

Never did anyone care so little about a strike in football! Come on, everyone just follows the Spanish league to watch the two giants!

In any case, the match was a drama, and Lionel Messi, who only plays with stamina and heart when he plays for his adopted home of Barcelona, was incredible with two goals and a magnificent assist to Andrés Iniesta in the Catalonian 3-2 victory. Real Madrid were not bad, but could do little to contain the little Catalonian. And while one may be impressed of FC Barcelona's magicians, any football fan should be equally unimpressed about the animals playing in Real Madrid. Pepe has proven before that he belongs in a cage rather than on a football pitch, while he should be joined by Marcelo, whose hairstyle clearly indicates that he belongs in a cave. At the same time, Mourinho may be the best coach in the world, but his provocations are simply tasteless.

Oh well, this is what all this season will be about. I might as well copy and paste this posting for the rest of the season.

Top-10 Player of the Year

Following my need to make top-10's for the year 2010, here is the list of my favourite 10 players of the year:

10) Carles Puyol: a brilliant defender who gives both Barcelona and Spain tranquility and solidity. His role in both of the world's greatest teams should not be underestimated!
9) Iker Casillas: In my view, the best goalkeeper in the world. He is the crucial captain of Real Madrid, and was very important in giving Spain the world cup title.
8) Diego Forlán: Had a splendid World Cup with Uruguay, and is a hugely dangerous striker, something he also showed with Atlético Madrid, although his form went down in the second half of the year.
7) Arjen Robben: A splendid season with Bayern Munich in the first half of the year. Although injured during the first round of the World Cup, he was splendid when participating in the latter matches, scoring against Slovakia and Uruguay.
6) Mesut Özil: wonderful young player who caught the world's attention on the excellent Germany side in South Africa. His new career in Real Madrid has started well.
5) Lionel Messi: There is no player to watch like him - what he does with the ball is magic, and he seems to have grown in the second half of the year to become more of a leader. However, he had a poor World Cup with Argentina.
4) Thomas Müller: Was a crucial part of Bayern Munich's "double" winning side in the first half of the year, and he scored five goals in the World Cup, besides becoming the best young player of the tournament. His absence in the semifinal against Spain in South Africa was crucial in Germany's defeat.
3) Andrés Iniesta: in spite of many minor injuries during the year (including in South Africa) he is one of the most complete players in the world, and is crucial in both FC Barcelona and in Spain. And well, he scored the winning goal in the World Cup final!
2) Wesley Sneijder: A brilliant player with a leading role in Inter Milan winning "the Triple", and won the title as best player of the CL 2009-10 season. At the World Cup he was consistently player of the match, and scored the crucial winners against Brazil in the quarterfinal.

1) Xavi: The competition at the top-3 is very very difficult, but I have decided to go with FC Barcelona's Xavi. His skills are superb, but it is his vision and passing abilities that have made him the architect behind many of Spain's and Barcelona's victories!

The Golden Boot

I must add my voice to the choir of critics of the chosen finalists for the 2010 Golden Boot: three Barcelona players, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and Lionel Messi are the contenders for this year's title as the world's best player.
Barcelona are indeed a powerful team that plays the most entertaining football in the world, and these three players are indeed the spinal chord of the team. Add to this that Iniesta and Xavi are also the most important players of the world champions of Spain (with Iniesta playing a splendid World Cup, and scoring the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands), and it is obvious that these two players are obvious candidates for the title.
Lionel Messi is splendid to watch, and has had a great fall season with Barcelona. But he was almost pathetic in the World Cup in an Argentinean side that started well but disappointed enormously when it counted. So the inclusion of Messi is odd, considering the one player that should have been among the finalists: Wesley Snejder. The Dutch player was splendid for Inter and in 2010 won the Italian championship, the cup, as well as the Champions League (defeating Barcelona on the way). At the World Cup Snejder was also splendid; the best player on a Dutch side that made it all the way to the World Cup final.
Perhaps it is because Inter and the Netherlands have not played such entertaining football as Barcelona, and Snejder is not such a Playstation-player as Messi, but it just shows the entire strangeness of having a title as "world best player" in a sport that is about a team, and less so about an individual player.
I don't know whether Snejder is "better" than Messi, but I think he surely deserves to be among the finalists.

Barcelona or Real Madrid

In the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, Sevilla defeated Barcelona 3-1 at home, and there was hope that someone besides Real Madrid would be able to challenge the Catalan giants this season. However, in today's second leg, Sevilla were mere spectators to a spectacular Barcelona side. Xavi and Iniesta, the architects of Spain's World Cup triumph were outstanding, and with three goals Messi is probably confirming that he is quite worthless without the two generals behind him.
Barcelona will be truly exciting to watch this year, because of their style, since the Spanish League is now virtually a two-team affair: nobody but Barcelona and Real Madrid have any chance of winning it, and the only question is whether José Mourinho can do his magic in Real Madrid and make them take the title from Barca.
Real Madrid is looking interesting because of the many changes; of course José Mourinho's entrance on the team, but specially because of the many new starts that have entered the team, such as Angel di Maria, Mesut Özil and Ricardo Carvalho, and whether Mourinho can build up a team using some of the other stars such as Ronaldo, Benzemá, Higuaín, Casillas and Xabi Alonso. The quality is undoubtfully there. It will not be easy for them though if Barcelona plays like they did today, but Mourinho has been known to have a good run with the Catalans.
In any case, it will be exciting, but only for one thing: Barcelona or Real Madrid?

Top ten best players in 2009

My personal list of my 10 favourite players in 2010:
10) John Terry: Strong for Chelsea and for England.
9) Michael Essien: Scored one of the best goals of the year against Barcelona in the CL and has been one of the best players in the PL. His has besides this also been an important part of Ghana's awesome Worle Cup qualifying side.
8) Didier Drogba: The world's best forward he has been strong for Chelsea and for Cote d'Ivoire's World Cup qualifiers.
7) Juan Sebastian Veron: I have always had my doubts about him, but he has had a rennaisance in Estudiantes de la Plata's winning side, and has returned to the Argentine national team where I hope he does better than he has done before.
6) Cristiano Ronaldo: Was hugely important in Manchester United's championship side, and has started well in Real Madrid, although his contribution to the Portuguese national team has been weaker.
5) Iker Casillas: In my view the undisputeable best goalkeeper in the world. Crucial for Real Madrid and for Spanish national team.
4) Kaka: Was extraordinary for Brazil, taking on the leadership role the team needs. He has also been strong when starting for Real Madrid.
3) Xavi: same as for Iniesta. I don't know which one is more important, but I enjoy Iniesta slightly more.
2) Andres Iniesta: Him and Xavi are the heart of Barcelona's awesome side.
1) Lionel Messi: the most beautiful and exciting to watch, he seems to be able to do everything, but is also modest and recognises the importance of the team around him. A true football star.

Lionel Messi, Balon d'Or

In connection with Lionel Messi winning the prize of the best footballer of 2009, he gave a very interesting interview in the Spanish paper El Pais, where the world's best footballer comes out very well, mature and modest. He admits his errors and that he has learned to be a team-player in FC Barcelona, and that it is better to win with the team that these individual prizes. He also talks marvels of his coach, Guardiola, as well as his team-mates (also former team-mates like Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho): he says he does not understand the things Andres Iniesta and Xavi can do with a ball - "things I cannot do!" (is there really anything Messi cannot do?).But most interestingly is his admission of the difficulties of coming to Barcelona when he was only 12, and how it hurts him when he is accussed in his home-country of not being a real Argentinean, although he says he feels it in his heart. I guess that is where I most sympathise with Messi, and the world around us that wants to put us all in nationalistic boxes! I know that Messi will play with his heart for Argentina in the World Cup!

Super Barcelona

It was not the kind of dream-final that had been expected, although it was definetly the best two teams in the world at the moment, FC Barcelona and Manchester United. The Red Devils, except for their first 10 minutes were simply not good enough, and apparently had an off-day in every sense of the word. United's normally impenetrable central-defense around Vidic and Ferdinand looked rather unconcentrated and shaky, while Barcelonas' subsitutes in central defense played an impeccable match, and when Samuel Eto'o brought Barcelona ahead, there was really only one team on the pitch! I think the biggest surprise about the match was exactly how superior Barcelona looked against the English champions.

While the Premier League may be the most exciting league in the world, English clubs are not all-powerful in Europe, and that was seen last night in Rome!

Barcelona was awesome, while Manchester United seemed powerless at the offensive power of players such as Iniesta (who simply played perfectly!), Xavi and Messi.

Sadly, Manchester United even ended as apparently bad losers, as tempers ran off with them on completely senseless tackles by Ronaldo, Vidic, and notably Paul Scholes (who should have been given a red card).

The victory is, on top of it all, a victory for offensive and entertaining football. It has been. Barcelona really are the best team in the world, and have crowned the most awesome season with the Champions League.

Congratulations to all Barca fans!