Paris with Spine

After Barcelona defeated PSG in Paris last week I must admit that I thought that PSG would be out yet again against Barcelona in the Champions League.

How great it is to be wrong.

When Raphinha brought the home team ahead 1-0 after a great play by the only 16-year old Lamine Yamal, one thought that it was done. But PSG pressed on, and after half an hour Ronald Araujo received a red card in a situation that may have been controversial: Araujo brought down Bradley Barcola as he was running towards goal, and the referee assessed he was last man and sent him off.

No VAR or anything can make it clear whether it was in fact a clear red. In my personal opinion it was justified, but I also understand those who argue that it was not.

The fact was that it changed the match as Xavi took off Yamal and his team stood back as PSG did the only thing they could, which was to push forward, and five minutes before half-time Ousmane Dembele equalized against his old team in a good counter attack.

Although they were only 10 men, in my view Barcelona looked too passive against a PSG side that obviously pushed forward, but did not look awesome. In fact, when Vitinha scored a second for PSG on a good long-shot, Barcelona's defense looked passive as they should have known about the Portuguese good long-shot skill. Later, a penalty against Dembele (in my view a correct call as well) brought PSG ahead 1-3 by Mbappe, and as the match was nearing its end Barcelona appeared completely torn apart when Mbappe scored his second following an attack where only Ter Stegen looked decent.

1-4 for PSG and they are yet again in the semifinal they were last in in 2021. They do not look unbeatable but are probably slight favourites against Borussia Dortmund, who defeated Atletico Madrid 4-2 at home, and are in their first CL semifinals since 2013.

Barcelona's first title under Xavi

The ex-footballer and Barcelona manager Xavi has taken time to build a competitive side, but being who he is and knowing the club, he has proceeded to build a team that will surely win titles, and today they won their first title in Saudi Arabia: the Spanish Super-Cup. The tournament has become a money-making machine, with the runners-up to the League and Copa del Rey participating in a mini tournament that nevertheless, to the joy of the people putting the money into the tournament, saw Barcelona face the giants of Real Madrid.

Although Real Madrid had some good initial chances, their midfield stars of Modric and Toni Kroos were simply not functioning, while FC Barcelona dominated the match after their initial lead by Gavi.

And it was indeed the 18-year old Gavi who was the star of the match, running around Carvajal in the Real Madrid defense. He made the pass for Lewandowski easily to make it 2-0, while he was also the creator of the third goal by Pedri. Karim Benzema's goal for the Real Madrid in the dying minutes meant nothing as Xavi took his first title, and is also in the lead of the Spanish League.

One of the great things Xavi has done is not only to find the right tactics for difficult matches, but has also empowered young players, not only Gavi, but also Alejandro Balde, who played a great match in defense, alongside the two newcomers Andreas Christensen and Jules Koundé. And finallly, players that were rumoured on their way out, such as Ousmane Dembele and Frankie de Jong, have renewed confidence to show their incredible talent.

Xavi's first title appears not to be the last, and under him Barcelona may be on the way to another glorious era.

Xavi's first Clásico

 When Xavi Hernandez became FC Barcelona manager in November the mighty Catalonian side were in a slump; on the way out of the Champions League and outside the top spots in the League, and expectations were that Xavi would have time to build up a new side. 

Today FC Barcelona roundly defeated the La Liga leaders Real Madrid 0-4 at the Santiago Bernabeu, and they played like the Barcelona-side of other times; the result was not larger only thanks to Courtois in the home goal.

FC Barcelona has always had a talented side, even after Messi left, but Xavi has given them confidence in their style; notably the often-criticized Ousmane Dembelé appears to have had a rebirth under Xavi. The team has also been supplemented by some extraordinary players: Ferran Torres (signed in December) was outstanding today, with one goal, and the newly signed Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang scored two goals.

FC Barcelona are still 9 points behind Real Madrid, who remains likely to win the league, but the result today certainly announces that FC Barcelona is back on the top under Xavi's leadership. They can still win the Europa-League, and after defeating Galatasaray this week, are probably favourites.

Real Madrid in the meantime played what is arguably one of their worst games of the season, and although they remain comfortably on first spot, this result hurts and exposed some weaknesses that were also seen when they played Paris St. Germain in the Champions League. Karim Benzema, who did not play today, was able to punish PSGs dreadful mistakes when everything seemed in their favour. But without Benzema today the counterattacks lacked something, and when going behind, they offered nothing in the way of a comeback. Ancelotti could offer nothing to counter Barcelona's game, and that was perhaps the biggest surprise of the match.

Be sure that we will see much more of Xavi's Barcelona.

The rebirth of FC Barcelona?

 This has not been an easy season for FC Barcelona. Ronald Koeman had to leave in November and was replaced by the former Barcelona legend Xavi to start a reconstruction. With a very talented side I think it was only a question of time before they would return to the top, and today they were playing the defending Spanish champions of Atletico Madrid in a match where both teams are fighting for the fourth spot in la Liga (they are behind Real Madrid, Sevilla and Betis).

An outstanding Barcelona side played as a team that belongs to the top again. Their recent new player on loan from Wolverhampton, Adama Traore, showed that he is there to make a difference, while the veterans Jordi Alba and Dani Alves played leading roles (both scoring). 4-2 was the final score of a splendid match between two splendid teams, and perhaps this match will be remembered as the rebirth of Barcelona in the post-Messi era.

Coming Barcelona manager?

Ronald Koeman had to go after another recent loss of FC Barcelona, this time against Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish League. While Lionel Messi's exit and the clubs financial troubles were bound to affect the Catalan powerhouse, the impact has been much worse than was expected. That said, it is not only due to Messi's exit; already before the Argentine wizard leaving, the team appeared in trouble and largely depending on Messi. Without Messi, Koeman's tactical weaknesses have been exposed, because the team has sufficient talented players to be competitive. Koeman's plan with the team does not appear clear, and perhaps a new manager can give a push to the club and its talented players.

FC Barcelona is a complicated football club to manage (they are, indeed as their motto says "more than a club"), and a manager should know well the culture of the club. Koeman knew the club from his playing career, but did not manage to steer them in the right direction. The next manager appears likely to be another legend of the club: Xavi Hernandez, who left the club in 2015 after winning everything, is set to return. His experience as manager has only been at Qatar's Al Sadd, where he has won one League title, but his in-depth knowledge of the club makes him an obvious candidate for manager, perhaps to retake what other former players have done at their former clubs.

It will be a challenge for Xavi, but interesting to follow whatever happens at FC Barcelona.

The Greatest Euro Matches: Spain-Italy (2012)

When the tournament started in Poland and Ukraine, there was no doubt that Spain were the huge favourites. They had won the European Championship of 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, and were favourites to make history by taking their third major title in a row.
With a base from FC Barcelona, complemented by some of the strongest players from Real Madrid, Spain's style of retaining the ball through passing (inspired from FC Barcelona) was proving highly efficient, although critics did point out repeatedly that it was boring football that did not seek goal enough (in 2010 they became world champions scoring the least goals of all time). The team largely consisted of players from the two big clubs in Spain: Iker Casillas was the captain on goal, behind his Real Madrid teammates Sergio Ramos, Raul Albiol and Alvaro Arbeloa, as well as Barcelona's Gerard Pique. Perhaps the best midfield in the world included a luxury choice of players such as FC Barcelona's Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Busquets, Real Madrid's Xabi Alonso, Manchester City's David Silva, and Arsenal's Santi Cazorla. Up front was surely Spain's least strong link, with Barcelona's Pedro Rodriguez, Chelsea's Fernando Torres and Sevilla's Alvaro Negredo all having been tried by coach Vicente de Bosque, but with him often preferring to play without a striker at all.
Spain had been awesome in qualification with eight victories in as many matches and scoring 26 goals. In the first round they had opened with 1-1 against Italy before defeating Ireland and Croatia to take first spot in the group. A poor French side had been dispatched with 2-0 in the quarterfinals and in the semifinal Spain defeated Portugal on penalties after a long 0-0 match. With only one goal scored against them and only six goals, Spain seemed to be confirming their defensive credential before they were to face Italy in the final.
Italy had for many years been a hindrance for Spain's advances, but in 2008 this had changed when Spain finally had defeated them after penalty kicks in the quarterfinal and gone to win the final (until then it had been 88 years since Spain had defeated Italy in a competitive match). Since then Italy had changed a lot under coach Cesare Prandelli, who was implementing a more offensive style than Italy had normally been used to. In qualification they had overwhelmingly won their group and had started the tournament well with 1-1 against Spain. They then tied Croatia 1-1, but a 2-0 win over Ireland put them in the quarterfinals where they defeated England on penalty kicks, and in the semifinals they defeated the German favourites 1-2.
The captain of the side was the veteran Juventus goalkeeper Gianluca Bufon. The team was otherwise built around Juventus midfield general Andrea Pirlo, who had at the time been the best player of the tournament, barely failing any of his many passes. Additional weight was given to the midfield by Paris St. Germain's Thiago Mota, Juventus' Claudio Marchisio, Fiorentina's Ricardo Montolivo or Roma's Daniele de Rossi. The team also had some quality strikers with Udinese's Antonio Di Natale and AC Milan's Antonio Cassano, as well as Manchester City's controversial Mario Balotelli.
In spite of it all it was somewhat surprising to see Italy in the final. They had fought hard, and it seemed like a bizarro world when Italy were not favourites against a defensive Spanish side. Coach Vicente de Bosque again started the match without an outright striker, instead playing the midfielder Cesc Fabregas as a type of striker.
Spain took the lead early on with a goal that bore the Barcelona trademark: after a long spell of possession Xavi made a perfect deep pass to Cesc Fabregas, who ran to the backline and passed the ball backwards where it hit David Silva in an awkward header, but making it 1-0 for Spain. Interestingly, David Silva was the only player in the starting lineup who was not from Barcelona or Real Madrid.
More bad luck struck Italy when they were forced to subsitute the experienced Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini due to an injury. In spite of this Italy tried to fight back, but Spain's domination was proven yet again when FC Barcelona's Jordi Alba made it 2-0 on a goal that looked very easy: Iker Casillas kicked out the ball to the left side where Jordi Alba passed it to Xavi, and then Alba himself rushed forward to receive a deep pass from Xavi on the right side of the offside trap. Alba's composed finish went past Bufon.
It was 2-0 at halftime and it barely looked like Italy had a chance. Prandelli replaced Antonio Cassano with Antonio di Natale, and soon after the start of the second half also put in Thiago Mota for Ricardo Montolivo, but after only a few minutes he had to be carried off on a stretcher. With all substitutions done, Italy had to play with only ten men for half an hour, and it was clear that all hope was gone by then.
Six minutes to the end of the match Xavi took the ball from Andrea Pirlo in midfield, perhaps symbolizing that Pirlo had been in his shadow the entire match. Xavi immediately found Fernando Torres with a deep pass and the Chelsea striker scored as he had done in the European championship final four years ago.
It almost seemed a repeat three minutes later when Xavi again found Fernando Torres with a deep pass, but this time Torres passed the ball to his Chelsea teammate Juan Mata as Bufon was coming towards him. Mata had just come on for Andres Iniesta and hammered the ball into an open goal.
The humiliation of Italy was total, and in spite of only a few minutes left one could see goalkeeper Casillas tell his players not to score more goals. In this match the Spaniards almost doubled their tally of goals in the tournament. It was the biggest victory in the history of European Championship history and Spain had become the first European team to win three major tournaments in a row with the 2008 Euro, the 2010 World Cup, and this. They were undoubtedly the best team in the world.

Kiev, July 1st 2012 Olympic Stadium 
Attendance: 63,170 
Referee: Pedro Proenca (Portugal) 

Spain-Italy 4-0 

Spain: Iker Casillas (c); Alvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas (Fernando Torres, 75), David Silva (Pedro, 59), Andres Iniesta (Juan Mata, 87). Coach: Vicente del Bosque 
 Italy: Gianluca Bufon (c); Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini (Federico Balzaretti, 21), Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Ricardo Montolivo (Thiago Mota, 57), Daniele de Rossi, Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano (Antonio di Natale, 46)

Goals:
1-0 David Silva (14) 
2-0 Jordi Alba (41) 
3-0 Fernando Torres (84) 
4-0 Juan Mata (88)

The Greatest Euro Matches: Spain-Germany (2008)

The final of the 2008 European Championships saw the clash between the old superpower in European football, Germany, clash with the new superpower, Spain.
Spain had always been a contender for titles but without ever fulfilling its potential. Their only title was the 1964 Euro, won at home after only two matches, in a tournament where many nations in Europe did not participate. So Spain had been hungering for the success that its club teams were getting. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid were among the best clubs in the world, and in particular the Catalonian side was providing the Spanish national side with a hugely talented generation that played a characteristic style of football based on possession and passing. The two FC Barcelona midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta were already important players of the team alongside the more experienced Villarreal midfielders Marcos Senna and Joan Capdevilla. But also players who had gone to England were pushing their way into the team such as Liverpool's Xabi Alonso and Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas. In defense Spain had one of the best in the world, FC Barcelona's Carles Puyol, alongside Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos and Valencia's Carlos Marchena. And behind them these defenders had arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Iker Casillas from Real Madrid, who also captained the team. Up front Valencia's David Villa, Mallorca's Dani Guiza and Liverpool's Fernando Torres fought to be the starting striker.
All in all Spain was a team combining experienced with an incredibly talented young generation that would come to dominate European football.
Spain had qualified ahead of Sweden, Northern Ireland and Denmark. In the first round they made clean sheet by defeating Russia, Sweden and defending champions Greece. In the quarterfinals they had to go into a nerve-wrecking penalty contest to defeat Italy. This was hugely important for Spain, who had always had a complex about losing to Italy in important matches (this would indeed be a tournament that would destroy a lot of Spanish complexes). In the semifinals Spain trashed Russia 0-3, and were ready to face the historically greatest European side, Germany.
Germany had a strong combination of youth and experience. The undisputed captain and star of the team was Chelsea's Michael Ballack. In goal was the 38 year old veteran Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann. Hertha Berlin's experienced Arne Friedrich in defense played along Real Madrid's Cristoph Metzelder and the already experienced youngsters Philipp Lahm from Bayern Munich and Per Mertescaker from Werder Bremen. Another youngster with huge experience was Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteigger in midfield. Up front different players disputed the positions: Stuttgart's Mario Gomez, Schalke 04's Kevin Kuranyi, and the two veterans, Oliver Neuville from Borussia Monchengladbach and Miroslav Klose from Bayern Munich.
Germany were hungry for Euro success. While they had reached the 2002 World Cup final and the 2006 World Cup semifinals, they had been eliminated in the first round of the European championships in both 2000 and 2004. Still, they were confident that the more offensive style introduced by Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006 and continued under the new coach Joachim Low, would prove effective with a team that had become very popular in Germany proper.
Although qualification was never in doubt for Germany, they only made it through on second place behind the Czech Republic. In the first round they defeated Austria and Poland, and although losing to Croatia, they went through to the quarterfinals on second place. There they defeated Portugal 3-2 and in the semifinals they went through another thrilling match defeating the surprising Turkey 3-2. They were in the final on strong fight and will, but captain Michael Ballack was doubtful for the final with an injury.
The final took place in Vienna in a tournament that had been co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland. And the final was completely dominated by Spain, who from the start but pressure and dominated possession. In the first 20 minutes Andres Iniesta came close to scoring, and Fernando Torres had a header on the post. And after half an hour it was indeed the Liverpool striker who brought Spain deservedly ahead: Xavi made one of his through-passes through the defense, where Philipp Lahm hesitated for one moment, and Fernando Torres rushed past him and elegantly lobbed the ball over the outcoming goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann.
If anything, Spain's lead was too small at halftime, but in the second half Spanish dominance continued. But Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Ramos all missed big chances to give Spain a second, maintaining Germany's feeble hope for an equalizer. But in reality they never came really close. Instead, Marcos Senna also had a huge chance in the final part of the match.
Spain won 1-0, which was none too small, as Spain had been absolutely dominant throughout the tournament and had sealed their superiority in this match.
Two years later the two nations would face one another again in the World Cup semi-final, with the exact same result; one that sealed Spain's total dominance of world football.

Vienna, 29th June 2008, Ernst Happel Stadium 
Attendance: 51,428 
Referee: Roberto Rosetti, Italy 

Spain-Germany 1-0 

Spain: Iker Casillas (c); Sergio Ramos, Carlos Marchena, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevilla, Marcos Senna, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas (Xabi Alonso, 63), David Silva (Santi Cazorla, 66), Fernando Torres (Dani Guiza, 78). Coach: Luis Aragones. 
Germany: Jens Lehmann; Arne Friderich, Per Mertesacker, Cristoph Metzelder, Philipp Lahm (Marcell Janse, 46), Torsten Frings, Thomas Hitzlsperger (Kevin Kuranyi, 58), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Michael Ballack (c), Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose (Mario Gomez, 79). Coach: Joachim Low. 

Goals:
1-0 Fernando Torres (33)

Friends and losers

In 1994 Deportivo stood on the verge of winning the Spanish league in the last round of the league. Instead, they failed to defeat Valencia at home (with an infamous missed penalty by Miroslav Djukic), which gave FC Barcelona the Championship.
Today FC Barcelona, sure of the title, was playing for nothing against a Deportivo side that needed at least one point to stay in the top league. It was also the great Xavi's farewell match at home, so it was all a cause for partying for FC Barcelona. And the hosts gave their Galicians friends the needed result: 2-2, where FC Barcelona had been 2-0 up at halftime, but largely stopped playing football, as they obviously did not want any sad faces at their party.
This is not to say that Deportivo did not deserve it: I think everyone likes the club from Galicia, and nobody really wants them to be relegated.
Except perhaps Eibar and Almeria, who are going down instead (alongside Cordoba).
Almeria fought bravely at home against a Valencia side that still needed a victory to ensure their 4th place and a Champions League qualifier. The score was 2-2 until ten minutes before time, when Paco Alcacer gave Valencia the victory goal and Almeria a ticket down to second division.
It was an exciting end to the Spanish league, despite the continuous dominance of the top two sides.

Hope is alive

In the previous round of the Champions League FC Barcelona destroyed AC Milan 4-0 after having lost the first match in Italy 0-2. Today, in the first leg of the quarterfinal in Paris the Catalonians got 2-2. FC Barcelona was up 2-1 on goals by Messi and Xavi (on penalty) until the 93rd minute when Blaise Matuidi equalized for the French side to give them hope before the second leg in Barcelona.
In spite of Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring and David Beckham becoming the first player to play Champions League in four different sides, hope is the best that Paris St. Germain has before what will be a very difficult second leg

In today's other quarterfinal Bayern Munich was superior to Juventus in a 2-0 home victory where David Alaba scored after only one minute and Thomas Muller made it 2-0 in the second half.
Juventus' hope is that their defeat was not large enough and that they can pull back on the two goals.
But hope seems really to be the best that Juventus can take away from the first leg. Bayern Munich are currently playing extraordinary football, and as Paris St. Germain, they have a difficult second leg to look forward to.

But one more thing should give Paris St. Germain and Juventus hope: anything can happen in football!

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.

Barcelona is still the best

Before tonight's classic match in the Spanish League Real Madrid had every reason to be optimistic; they were leading the Spanish league, had won their last 15 matches (a record only achieved by Real Madrids' legendary side from the 1960s), and were pumping in goals. They were obviously full of confidence to take a greater lead ahead of their archrivals at home in Madrid.

On the other hand, FC Barcelona was looking to some as a team losing the air of its balloon; only Messi seemed able to score goals, while their defense was looking more feeble.

Many were predicting the decline of Barcelona and the rise of a new Real Madrid side tonight. But everything was put to rest as Barcelona proved that they continue to be the best side in the world.

Real Madrid started well by taking the lead after only 20 second after an awful mistake by Victor Valdes let Karim Benzema score. And they seemed to press on, taking the spaces away and dominating the midfield. But as often happens, it is virtually impossible physically to pressure Barcelona like that, and as the first half progressed, Barcelona started to bite themselves into the match, and Alexis Sanchez scored an excellent equalizer on a Lionel Messi creation.

After this, Barcelona dominated, and José Mourinho seemed unable to find a tactical solution to their dominance. When Barcelona went ahead 1-2 in the second half it was a bit of a lucky punch by Xavi, but seen overall, it was well-deserved. After this, there was only one team on the pitch as Barcelona dominated completely, and the 1-3 victory was sealed by Cesc Fábregas.

It was a great match, seeing Barcelona take out one of the best teams in the world currently. While Real Madrid is still on the lead in Spain, one must wait to next years' "clásico" in Barcelona, where the league will be decided. Until then, both teams will probably wander from victory to victory in a second-rate league which is decided in the two "clásicos".

And first set went to Barcelona.

Messi, the world's best

I must admit that although I greatly admire Lionel Messi, and probably agree that he is the most noteworthy player in the world, I am not wholly in agreement about winning the FIFA Balon d'Or today.
I am not sure what the criteria for the title are, but if they indeed are the player that seems to do the most amazing things on camera - the one that most looks like a Playstation player, it is indeed the little Argentinean Magician. But if, for a year, a player has been central - crucial - to teams that have played marvelously, been a core and steady player on winning teams, I am surely of the opinion that Xavi should have won.
But hey, I am not sure I know the criteria!
Anyway, congratulations to Messi! You are indeed a football God!

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?

Super Inter

FC Barcelona has been tamed: the seemingly invincible Catalonians will be facing their biggest challenge ever when they face Inter Milan in Barcelona next week, after losing 3-1 in Milan tonight. Although the Italian's second and third goal were very controversial (an apaprent foul against Messi and a clear offside of Diego Milito), it could not take away the fact that Inter were much better than FC Barcelona, and that they have perhaps found the formula to defeat them: pressure all over the pitch, particularly on Xavi (they effectively stopped the "brain" behind the team) and on the defenders, without giving Lionel Messi any space. Their fighting spirit was formidable, and in particular Inter's captain Javier Zanetti was spectacular, outshining any of the Barcelona stars. He simply seemed to be everywhere on the pitch.
Although anything can happen in football, scoring twice against Inter seems almost impossible. But if anyone can do it, it should be FC Barcelona. Next week's match will be extraordinary. I will still put my money on Inter to be one of the finalists.

Xavi and Barcelona shine

One of the many things that makes Barcelona the best team in the world at the moment, is that when everyone is talking about Lionel Messi, another player steps in and shines: Xavi today played a world class match against Real Madrid, and was truly the architect behind Barcelona’s 2-0 victory on the Santiago Barnabeu in Madrid.
Barcelona is now heading towards the title.
One can only feel a bit sorry about Real Madrid: they played a good match, putting pressure all over the pitch, many players in attack and an excellent fight (I have never seen Real Madrid fight in such a spirited way). But Barcelona is truly extraordinary: they can tackle and fight back, until they have possession, and when the possession is achieved, they drain the opposing said of energy by letting them run after the ball.
And the architect in this possession is Xavi: he was truly of a class of his own. He made the passes for both goals by Messi (scoring again…) and Pedro.
At the same time, Barcelona’s defence was also very strong and disciplined: Piqué and Puyol are surely two of the best in the world in this position, while Milito should be pushing for a place in the staring line-up after his match against Arsenal and today’s match.

What will surely be talked about more than the extraordinary Barcelona side, is Real Madrid: the starting line-up was surely controversial, but I cannot see how anything could have been done. Barcelona is simply too good, but that is not something that I think will be taken lightly in Madrid. They are out of the CL and the domestic league seems to be far away. I don’t think another coach-firing would not be good for the club, but ot seems increasingly to be the only way Real Madrid’s leadership has of solving problems…

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!