Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
Sunday, January 07, 2018
From Liverpool to Barcelona
What had been spoken about for so long has happened: Philippe Coutinho has changed from Liverpool to Barcelona for a record transfer fee (only Neymar's was larger). Coutinho had found his place at Liverpool, contributing to their improving performances. Any person should understand that he will go to a club where he will surely win titles, besides playing alongside some of the best players in the world. I hope that he will grow with the experience, but when such a fee is paid expectations are not only that he will grow, but also that he will immediately contribute to make the team better. And here I have my doubts that Coutinho was worth such a fee.
Monday, August 14, 2017
Real Madrid on top and a weak Barcelona
I am not a Barcelona or Real Madrid fan. In fact in terms of fandom I pretty much dislike both teams, although in terms of football quality I am full of respect and admiration for what they have achieved. Therefore, pretty much the only thing I look forward to in the Spanish league is to see these teams play against each other, so watching the first leg of the Supercopa final tonight was obligatory.
But it angered me.
The quality of both sides is unquestionable, which Ronaldo and Asensio's amazing goals for Real Madrid are witness to. And Real Madrid are truly amazing at the moment, picking up where they left last season: Zidane has created a team that combines experience with immensely talented youth (and he shows he believes in them), freedom of action with tactical discipline, and with a strength in depth that Barcelona cannot match.
But both teams lower their own quality by not letting the ball alone talk, but constant acting, diving and bitching. It is at times painful to watch.
The vulnerability of Barcelona became so obvious today against a top Real Madrid side, that only favourable refereeing gave them a chance in the match: an incorrectly cancelled goal for Real Madrid, a non-existent penalty and a questionable red card for Ronaldo (despite the fact that one cannot help but be smugly happy for Ronaldo's off-the-shirt yellow card that he seems to get on purpose) just helped Barcelona not become totally humiliated.
Two of the best teams in the world, and refereeing is totally amateurish... This happens more in the Spanish league than in any other league (both Real Madrid and Barcelona have favourable referees in any match against other sides), and there is no question that a league with such low quality of refereeing (where players again and again take advantage of them) can in no way be called among the best in the world.
And finally, about Neymar: I understand why left Barcelona. It was not the money: as an ambitious young man he went to a side that is looking forward and investing, while he left a Catalonian side that before was relying on Messi-Suarez-Neymar, now seems to rely solely on Messi and Suarez, with quality in some positions, but barely any in others.
In the meantime Neymar scored in his debut for PSG, starting what looks like a great partnership with Edison Cavani...
Look to PSG for the coming season, not to Barcelona!
But it angered me.
The quality of both sides is unquestionable, which Ronaldo and Asensio's amazing goals for Real Madrid are witness to. And Real Madrid are truly amazing at the moment, picking up where they left last season: Zidane has created a team that combines experience with immensely talented youth (and he shows he believes in them), freedom of action with tactical discipline, and with a strength in depth that Barcelona cannot match.
But both teams lower their own quality by not letting the ball alone talk, but constant acting, diving and bitching. It is at times painful to watch.
The vulnerability of Barcelona became so obvious today against a top Real Madrid side, that only favourable refereeing gave them a chance in the match: an incorrectly cancelled goal for Real Madrid, a non-existent penalty and a questionable red card for Ronaldo (despite the fact that one cannot help but be smugly happy for Ronaldo's off-the-shirt yellow card that he seems to get on purpose) just helped Barcelona not become totally humiliated.
Two of the best teams in the world, and refereeing is totally amateurish... This happens more in the Spanish league than in any other league (both Real Madrid and Barcelona have favourable referees in any match against other sides), and there is no question that a league with such low quality of refereeing (where players again and again take advantage of them) can in no way be called among the best in the world.
And finally, about Neymar: I understand why left Barcelona. It was not the money: as an ambitious young man he went to a side that is looking forward and investing, while he left a Catalonian side that before was relying on Messi-Suarez-Neymar, now seems to rely solely on Messi and Suarez, with quality in some positions, but barely any in others.
In the meantime Neymar scored in his debut for PSG, starting what looks like a great partnership with Edison Cavani...
Look to PSG for the coming season, not to Barcelona!
Saturday, February 01, 2014
Valencian justice
In the rather one-sided Spanish league I have done little to follow my favourites of Valencia, who are struggling in the middle, and in the recent transfer window got rid of more players (Valencia has gotten rid of of 12 players since July, including Soldado, Guardado, Cissikho, Gago, Albelda, Tino Costa, and now most recently, Ever Banega, who nevertheless never really managed to make his mark in the struggling club), and are not close to even a Europa league spot in the Spanish league.
So it was not with great optimism or expectations that I turned on the TV to watch Valencia visit FC Barcelona in mighty Camp Nou. Valencia have not won there since 2003, and in fact had not defeated FC Barcelona in a league match since 2007. No reason to be expectant; just a glimmer of hope.
But I am delighted to say that Valencia can still surprise me!
They went 1-0 down early in the match, but in the end of the first half they punished lack of concentration and organization in the Catalonian defense and Daniel Parejo equalized. Shortly after Pablo Piatti brought Valencia ahead FC Barcelona got some of their usual referee assistance when they were awarded an outrageous penalty kick for an unexistant handball. Messi made it 2-2 (his first league goal since September 2012!), and then my glimmer of hope got a bit dimmer.
But Valencia did it: Francisco Alcacer scored a third for the Valencians after an excellent run by Sofiane Feghouli. And it ended like that even, even though Messi came close to an equalizer. But in the end it was the right result for a Valencia side that needed this so much (and little did I realize that so did I).
FC Barcelona are now set to lose first spot in the league to either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid. This is fantastic for the Spanish league, if not for the Catalonians, who will nevertheless always have referees to support them.
So it was not with great optimism or expectations that I turned on the TV to watch Valencia visit FC Barcelona in mighty Camp Nou. Valencia have not won there since 2003, and in fact had not defeated FC Barcelona in a league match since 2007. No reason to be expectant; just a glimmer of hope.
But I am delighted to say that Valencia can still surprise me!
They went 1-0 down early in the match, but in the end of the first half they punished lack of concentration and organization in the Catalonian defense and Daniel Parejo equalized. Shortly after Pablo Piatti brought Valencia ahead FC Barcelona got some of their usual referee assistance when they were awarded an outrageous penalty kick for an unexistant handball. Messi made it 2-2 (his first league goal since September 2012!), and then my glimmer of hope got a bit dimmer.
But Valencia did it: Francisco Alcacer scored a third for the Valencians after an excellent run by Sofiane Feghouli. And it ended like that even, even though Messi came close to an equalizer. But in the end it was the right result for a Valencia side that needed this so much (and little did I realize that so did I).
FC Barcelona are now set to lose first spot in the league to either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid. This is fantastic for the Spanish league, if not for the Catalonians, who will nevertheless always have referees to support them.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The show is on!
The 2010-11 Champions League started today with some exciting matches, but let us start with the boring ones: Manchester United was unable to score against Glasgow Rangers in the only goalless draw today, while FC Copenhagen are happy that they opened by defeating Rubin Kazan 1-0 on a late goal.
The defending champions of Inter Milan opened with a 2-2 against the Dutch champs of Twente, while Tottenham also managed to get a 2-2 against Werder Bremen in Germany. Olympique Lyon defeated Schalke 04 1-0, while Benfica defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-0 in Lisbon.
But I think the most interesting matches involved the Spanish sides.
Valencia has been away from the Champions League for two seasons, and were to return by playing away against the Turkish champions of Bursaspor. Valencia has started the Spanish league with two victories, and have looked solid in spite of the sale of their two stars this summer, David Villa (to Barcelona) and David Silva (to Manchester City) the club has looked solid and some of its new players, such as Aritz Aduriz and Tino Costa have looked very solid. Indeed, tonight they looked frightening as they completely demolished the Turkish champions: a 0-4 away victory is something to notice in the CL, and both Aduriz and Costa scored. Valencia is starting the season well, and we can only know they continue!
Barcelona fell to Hercules this weekend, and when Panathinaikos went ahead in today's match in the Camp Nou, some people surely felt a crisis, but only for a couple of minutes; Barcelona, and in particular Lionel Messi and Xavi were spectacular. Brilliant passes and combinations will surely be giving nightmares to the Greeks. Messi's goal for 3-1 was brilliant, but so was Dani Alvez 5-1 goal, after a brilliant pass by Messi. Also, David Villa scored his first CL goal in his Barcelona shirt, and Barcelona is surely looking frightening after today!
But at least the show has started!
The defending champions of Inter Milan opened with a 2-2 against the Dutch champs of Twente, while Tottenham also managed to get a 2-2 against Werder Bremen in Germany. Olympique Lyon defeated Schalke 04 1-0, while Benfica defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-0 in Lisbon.
But I think the most interesting matches involved the Spanish sides.
Valencia has been away from the Champions League for two seasons, and were to return by playing away against the Turkish champions of Bursaspor. Valencia has started the Spanish league with two victories, and have looked solid in spite of the sale of their two stars this summer, David Villa (to Barcelona) and David Silva (to Manchester City) the club has looked solid and some of its new players, such as Aritz Aduriz and Tino Costa have looked very solid. Indeed, tonight they looked frightening as they completely demolished the Turkish champions: a 0-4 away victory is something to notice in the CL, and both Aduriz and Costa scored. Valencia is starting the season well, and we can only know they continue!
Barcelona fell to Hercules this weekend, and when Panathinaikos went ahead in today's match in the Camp Nou, some people surely felt a crisis, but only for a couple of minutes; Barcelona, and in particular Lionel Messi and Xavi were spectacular. Brilliant passes and combinations will surely be giving nightmares to the Greeks. Messi's goal for 3-1 was brilliant, but so was Dani Alvez 5-1 goal, after a brilliant pass by Messi. Also, David Villa scored his first CL goal in his Barcelona shirt, and Barcelona is surely looking frightening after today!
But at least the show has started!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
European travels
I have been travelling around in Europe for a month, and although with the break, there wasn't much football on my busy programme, I did nevertheless notice some things:
-I was in Barcelona when R.D. Espanyol inaugurated their new stadium by winning a 3-0 victory against Liverpool. I have always felt some sympathy for Español for being the "little guys" in Barcelona, and was happy to see them play well. But it was nevertheless truly sad to hear, barely a week later, that Español's captain, Dani Jarque, passed away due to heart failure during a training session in Italy.
-R.I.P.
-While in Barcelona, I also watched FC Barcelona's trianing match against L.A. Galaxy. Barcelona was far superior, presaging a strong next season, although the victory of 2-1 was arguably too small.
-Great free-kick goal by Beckham! Good that he will be back among the stars in Europe, where he belongs!
-And the Ibrahimovic fever has set in in Barcelona, although the Swedish striker has yet to play a match; his shirt can already be purchased everywhere in the Catalonian city. It will indeed be interesting to see how he unfolds in Barcelona!
-I was also in Austria, a country whose football history I still know very little about. I was only in Vienna, and seeing signs of the two city clubs, Austria and Rapid Vienna, I had to find out about their status, only to find out that Red Bull Salzburg won the league last season. While there, Salzburg in fact qualified to the final qualification round of the Champions League after defeating Dynamo Zagreb 1-2, while Austria Vienna continued to the next round of the Europe League qualification, after defeating Vojdovina 4-2.
-Salzburg is up against Maccabi Haifa FC in the next round.
-I was in Berlin as the Bundesliga season 2009-2010 got underway. The locals of Hertha Berlin, who are still hoping to bring a title to the capital, defeated Hannover 1-0 in the season debut, while defending champions of Wolfburg defeated Stuttgart 2-0.
It was a great trip, but now I am also looking forward to all leagues getting underway for the next season!
-I was in Barcelona when R.D. Espanyol inaugurated their new stadium by winning a 3-0 victory against Liverpool. I have always felt some sympathy for Español for being the "little guys" in Barcelona, and was happy to see them play well. But it was nevertheless truly sad to hear, barely a week later, that Español's captain, Dani Jarque, passed away due to heart failure during a training session in Italy.
-R.I.P.
-While in Barcelona, I also watched FC Barcelona's trianing match against L.A. Galaxy. Barcelona was far superior, presaging a strong next season, although the victory of 2-1 was arguably too small.
-Great free-kick goal by Beckham! Good that he will be back among the stars in Europe, where he belongs!
-And the Ibrahimovic fever has set in in Barcelona, although the Swedish striker has yet to play a match; his shirt can already be purchased everywhere in the Catalonian city. It will indeed be interesting to see how he unfolds in Barcelona!
-I was also in Austria, a country whose football history I still know very little about. I was only in Vienna, and seeing signs of the two city clubs, Austria and Rapid Vienna, I had to find out about their status, only to find out that Red Bull Salzburg won the league last season. While there, Salzburg in fact qualified to the final qualification round of the Champions League after defeating Dynamo Zagreb 1-2, while Austria Vienna continued to the next round of the Europe League qualification, after defeating Vojdovina 4-2.
-Salzburg is up against Maccabi Haifa FC in the next round.
-I was in Berlin as the Bundesliga season 2009-2010 got underway. The locals of Hertha Berlin, who are still hoping to bring a title to the capital, defeated Hannover 1-0 in the season debut, while defending champions of Wolfburg defeated Stuttgart 2-0.
It was a great trip, but now I am also looking forward to all leagues getting underway for the next season!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Champions League final
I watched the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League on a long road-trip of Mozambique: the first leg matches in a boring bar in Nampula and in a kitsch old hotel in Quelimane. On the following day I crossed the mighty Zambezi river, and eventually I arrived in Maputo exactly for the second leg of the semifinals.
I was not expecting Barcelona to go through, even though my support went for them, both personally, but also football-wise, since I believe we would get a much more exciting final with them there, than the two (great) teams we had got. But without scoring at home, it was bound to happen. I am nevertheless surprised that a team with Barcelona's firepower was unable to score in the first match at home, a sure sign of the crisis the Catalonians are clearly going through. Manchester United were surely not the better team in the first match, and did look shaky even at home; but football is about scoring goals, and after Paul Scholes' blast, they are deservedly in the final.
Liverpool and Chelsea gave us some great and intense matches. The first one was a tactical and hard encounter, while the second was intense and very entertaining. While Liverpool played their game, never surrendering, it seemed to me the entire time that Chelsea was the team that wanted to be in the final the most. The players are great, and Chelsea is surely hungry for their first European title.
The final will indeed be hard to predict; I do not expect a very entertaining match. It will probably be very tactical, a bit nervous, and with few (if any) goals.
I was not expecting Barcelona to go through, even though my support went for them, both personally, but also football-wise, since I believe we would get a much more exciting final with them there, than the two (great) teams we had got. But without scoring at home, it was bound to happen. I am nevertheless surprised that a team with Barcelona's firepower was unable to score in the first match at home, a sure sign of the crisis the Catalonians are clearly going through. Manchester United were surely not the better team in the first match, and did look shaky even at home; but football is about scoring goals, and after Paul Scholes' blast, they are deservedly in the final.
Liverpool and Chelsea gave us some great and intense matches. The first one was a tactical and hard encounter, while the second was intense and very entertaining. While Liverpool played their game, never surrendering, it seemed to me the entire time that Chelsea was the team that wanted to be in the final the most. The players are great, and Chelsea is surely hungry for their first European title.
The final will indeed be hard to predict; I do not expect a very entertaining match. It will probably be very tactical, a bit nervous, and with few (if any) goals.
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