I just finished the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on the Hillsborough Disaster. All I am left with, is an overwhelming sadness. Just waves of tears, and hurt, and sorrow.
I have mentioned before, in a previous post on here, that I vaguely recall hearing about the Heysel Disaster on the news, in 1985. That I vaguely recall the concept of the football hooligan being discussed on television in the US. That I vaguely recall brief soundbytes about topics of this nature.
My club affiliation doesn't matter, when it comes to events like this. It's appalling, galling even, that a tragedy of this magnitude could occur. But it leaves me with pause, thankful to think that nothing like this has ever happened in the US, that recalls this horrific event. I cannot fathom, nor even conceptualise how it would have felt to live in the same nation, or region, as such an event. Much less, understand how it must feel to grow up in its shadow. The spectre looming just over the horizon. The proverbial elephant in the room, that has an influence that ripples out beyond the perceivable imagination.
If you have not seen the documentary, it can be found here. It is a documentary that must be seen. I cannot do justice to everything it covers, or relates to. It's that encompassing. And that important an event, that it has shaped so much of modern football.
As I was watching the documentary on YouTube, I was having a passing conversation with my friend Martin, on Facebook. We discussed the manipulations, and distortions that I had been acclimatised to believe. The misinformation that was available to me, in the US, for many years; and how it had shaped my understanding of the event. And just how damned painful the whole tragedy was. The conversation also addressed a few notions I had, relating to the mayhem in Rome in 1984, and Heysel in 1985, and how they factored into what happened. It's one thing to discuss this event with a football supporter from the US. It's another thing to discuss it with a football supporter from the Home Nations. And for that, I am eternally grateful to have the opportunity to have my notions disproven.
I had wanted to watch this special, the night it originally aired. The night of the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough. Due to my own emotional upheaval relating to the pending birth of my son, at that point, I felt it would be in my best interest to postpone watching the documentary. Especially after having a very visceral, gutteral reaction to a commercial for it. The reaction in question, was a shortness of breath, and a tightness, almost weightiness in on my chest. I did not expect for a commercial to have that affect on me. But it did. And it made me anticipate, and in equal measure dread, watching this documentary.
I don't really have any impressions of it, in the half and hour since I finished it. Just sadness. Tears that come and go. Utter shock. Complete dumbfoundedness. And an overwhelming measure of sorrow for those who lost their friends, their siblings, their parents - people whom they loved - in the tragedy.
Thinking about this. Thinking about any event, sport-related, where people died; it gives me pause. As I said previously, my own personal club affiliation doesn't matter. It means nothing. I think of Valley Parade. I think of Heysel. I think of The Ibrox in 1902 and 1971. I think of how those people who went to watch football never returned. I think of Munich in 1958. I think about how Thanatos must be a football fan. Or some equally absurd nonsense. I just think about how this game that I love so much, has so much pain interwoven with the stories of joy.
It has been 25 years, 1 month, and 4 days since the Hillsborough Disaster. 96 Liverpool supporters perished. Plus countless others from the stress, and depression that came about as a result of the resulting investigations and their inefficacy. I can only imagine the heartbreak that these people deal with, on a daily basis. And my heart goes out to them, completely. In hopes that they will eventually find peace, and the justice they seek. And that those who perished will find their demise wasn't in vain. And that they will be vindicated.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Striving to better, oft we mar what's well...
So the Premier League just announced that they'd like to invade the Football League with their B Teams. In a way, adopting a model that has proven successful in Spain, for many years. And hopefully helping to re-establish England as being near the forefront in player development in the football world. Excuse me while I catch my breath from laughing so hard.
The model that this is based upon, considers promotion and relegation as a part of its schematic. If your B Team isn't good enough, they get relegated. If they are good enough, they get promoted. However, the law states that the B Team cannot play in the same division as the First XI. And that's a wonderful idea. Beautiful. Fucking dandy, even. But it won't work in England.
Where do I begin with how fucking stupid the Premier League is? If they are going to consider implementing this as a manner of player development, what happens to the Reserve squads? That's first on my mind. And actually rather important. Second, these teams cannot, and let me stress this with maximum emphasis possible cannot start play in the Football League. The Football League is hallowed. It is revered. It is what all clubs aspire to be, under the 4th level of the pyramid. Premier League B Teams do not deserve the right to start their play directly in the Football League. I don't care if it's Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, or Chelsea. It denigrates the spirit of competition and the fighting for promotion or survival. It completely make a monkey's of the history of the Football League. I mean, worse than Arsenal buying promotion into the First Division over a Spurs club that finished better than them in the table. This is bad.
With that being said, I have been a proponent of the B Team system, after watching how successful it has proven to be with Madrid and Barcelona. Especially Barcelona. But the ideas that the Football Association are wanting to institute, they are fucking madness. A blight upon the game. And yet another blinding example of how the FA really don't understand the modern game of football at all. They're just there to play politics, to swim around in monies paid to them by Premier League clubs to assert their clout, and to charge ridiculous ticket fees for matches at Wembley so that they can pay off the construction of that fucking abomination.
This is the proposal I found, regarding the B Team structure:
I'm not entirely sure what this second one means. As I'm not entirely sure how long one has to be registered as a player in England, as a youngster, for them to be considered homegrown. Birth certificate notwithstanding. The one thing that I do hope that this does, is force the youngest levels of coaches to actually learn a bit more about tactics and strategy, and stop relying on the tried-and-true Stan Cullis tactic of hoof and chase. Those tactics are lazy. They're uninspired. And they're fucking boring. Just like Man United's insistence upon playing the attack in from the wings. It's stale and predictable. And if England wants a chance to actually develop strong youth players who turn into full internationals, then they need to actually fucking develop them. And to develop tactics that reflect a more modern approach to the game. Ye olde 4-4-2 is great when you're playing Total Football, and you're constantly adapting and changing shape. England are too scared to adapt tactically, thus they have been left behind in terms of international football. So, homegrown players need better homegrown coaches. That should be an important caveat included in this point.
The third point takes me back to the olden days of English exceptionalism. That sort of arrogant xenophobic mindset that England has carried on and off throughout its history when it came to those dastardly foreigners. Non-Eu players makes up a lot of nations. Plus, with the limitations being placed on homegrown talent. I can't figure out if this is a bit of hypocrisy, or if someone wasn't paying attention when they were writing this proposal and just wanted to be direly repetitive. Also, that seems stupid to limit Premier League sides. That doesn't encourage competition for placement on squad lists. It just rewards complacency. And England wonders why its national team is such utter shite. It's because the FA has been utterly complacent about evolving methods for grooming young talent. Because the clubs in the Premier League have grown equally complacent being cash cows, milking whatever bloody cent they can finagle away from their supporters for every last piece of fucking merchandise you can imagine. And in doing so, they haven't had to answer to any glass ceilings or restrictions or caps. They only care about moving units and shilling and whoring to whomever is willing to pay for their overpriced knick-knacks. And more importantly, they have made oodles of money on the backs of international superstars. Since 2000, no English player has won the Premier League Golden Boot. What does that tell you? That depends. To me it says that these internationals want it more.
Loan systems. Fuck the English loan system. It is the stupidest piece of garbage that was ever designed, uttered, implemented, and executed. The English loan system does not train players. It doesn't prepare players. It doesn't groom them. It just leads them to their own brand of complacency, or frustration, or retirement. It's a fucking joke. And it does nothing to develop the player at all. It just relegates a player who could have all sorts of potential, yet needs polishing and refinement, to being viewed as inadequate. I have said, regarding the loan system, that if you wanted to develop younger players through loaning them out, send them out of England! Keeping English players in England doesn't progress footballers. It just leads to a deterioration of their skills. Mostly because there is little in the way of experience that a young footballer could get in England, depending on position and role, that he could not enhance his skills by playing abroad. The variety of styles and philosophies of the game that exist outside the English border, would be a better educational tool than anything. Making these kids go abroad on loan, and work for a place in that club's XI would be nigh-invaluable. It would eliminate, or at least attempt to curb the sense of entitlement, that a lot of young players from bloated Premier League megaliths seem to carry. There is such a vast world of football out there, especially in Europe, that a youth player in England could benefit extensively from the experience he could have in Spain or Germany or France or Italy. Look at Owen Hargreaves, for example. He had proven himself almost invaluable for England when he played. As well as for Man United, when he played. So why not take the risk? Set up affiliate clubs in other domestic leagues, and build from there.
This whole idea that the Premier League has taken to the Football Association is so blithely inept, I'm amazed that the FA are gullible enough to consider it. I hope that the Football League either takes a massive shit on it. Or they say that they'll accept it, with the large caveat thrown in, as to how low down the pyramid these B teams start. It'll dilute the quality of the domestic football, in its first few years, but if these B Teams are forced into fighting for promotion, and earning their place in the Football League, then there's a very strong chance that this could work out splendidly for all parties involved. However, given England's headstrong tendency toward cocking up anything that involves player development, I'm sure this will just prove as large a waste, as David Moyes feels his time at Old Trafford was.
The model that this is based upon, considers promotion and relegation as a part of its schematic. If your B Team isn't good enough, they get relegated. If they are good enough, they get promoted. However, the law states that the B Team cannot play in the same division as the First XI. And that's a wonderful idea. Beautiful. Fucking dandy, even. But it won't work in England.
Where do I begin with how fucking stupid the Premier League is? If they are going to consider implementing this as a manner of player development, what happens to the Reserve squads? That's first on my mind. And actually rather important. Second, these teams cannot, and let me stress this with maximum emphasis possible cannot start play in the Football League. The Football League is hallowed. It is revered. It is what all clubs aspire to be, under the 4th level of the pyramid. Premier League B Teams do not deserve the right to start their play directly in the Football League. I don't care if it's Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, or Chelsea. It denigrates the spirit of competition and the fighting for promotion or survival. It completely make a monkey's of the history of the Football League. I mean, worse than Arsenal buying promotion into the First Division over a Spurs club that finished better than them in the table. This is bad.
With that being said, I have been a proponent of the B Team system, after watching how successful it has proven to be with Madrid and Barcelona. Especially Barcelona. But the ideas that the Football Association are wanting to institute, they are fucking madness. A blight upon the game. And yet another blinding example of how the FA really don't understand the modern game of football at all. They're just there to play politics, to swim around in monies paid to them by Premier League clubs to assert their clout, and to charge ridiculous ticket fees for matches at Wembley so that they can pay off the construction of that fucking abomination.
This is the proposal I found, regarding the B Team structure:
The four key proposals are:Let's address these one by one. The first proposal. No. There doesn't need to be a Fifth Division. There are 20 teams in the Premier League. Use the results of the 2015-16 table to divide the clubs up, and place them into divisions starting with the North West Counties Football League (or geographical equivalent) and make them earn their way into the Football League. If clubs like FC United of Manchester, or AFC Wimbledon have to start this comparatively low, it's only fair that these B Teams go out and prove their salt. Allowing them to start any higher than that, is an insult to all of the clubs who have worked their asses off to earn that spot.
• A new League Three to be introduced in 2016-17, combining the top half of the Conference and 10 Premier League B sides.
• A beefed-up homegrown players' rule requiring 13 members of the 25-man squad to have been trained in England as youngsters by 2020-21.
• A more strictly enforced work permit system that would prevent Premier League sides from having more than two non-EU players.
• A new loan system that will allow Premier League clubs to loan up to eight players to a strategic partner below the Championship.
Members of the England Commission said the national side would wither on the vine if the four-pronged plan to bring through more homegrown players was not approved in full.
I'm not entirely sure what this second one means. As I'm not entirely sure how long one has to be registered as a player in England, as a youngster, for them to be considered homegrown. Birth certificate notwithstanding. The one thing that I do hope that this does, is force the youngest levels of coaches to actually learn a bit more about tactics and strategy, and stop relying on the tried-and-true Stan Cullis tactic of hoof and chase. Those tactics are lazy. They're uninspired. And they're fucking boring. Just like Man United's insistence upon playing the attack in from the wings. It's stale and predictable. And if England wants a chance to actually develop strong youth players who turn into full internationals, then they need to actually fucking develop them. And to develop tactics that reflect a more modern approach to the game. Ye olde 4-4-2 is great when you're playing Total Football, and you're constantly adapting and changing shape. England are too scared to adapt tactically, thus they have been left behind in terms of international football. So, homegrown players need better homegrown coaches. That should be an important caveat included in this point.
The third point takes me back to the olden days of English exceptionalism. That sort of arrogant xenophobic mindset that England has carried on and off throughout its history when it came to those dastardly foreigners. Non-Eu players makes up a lot of nations. Plus, with the limitations being placed on homegrown talent. I can't figure out if this is a bit of hypocrisy, or if someone wasn't paying attention when they were writing this proposal and just wanted to be direly repetitive. Also, that seems stupid to limit Premier League sides. That doesn't encourage competition for placement on squad lists. It just rewards complacency. And England wonders why its national team is such utter shite. It's because the FA has been utterly complacent about evolving methods for grooming young talent. Because the clubs in the Premier League have grown equally complacent being cash cows, milking whatever bloody cent they can finagle away from their supporters for every last piece of fucking merchandise you can imagine. And in doing so, they haven't had to answer to any glass ceilings or restrictions or caps. They only care about moving units and shilling and whoring to whomever is willing to pay for their overpriced knick-knacks. And more importantly, they have made oodles of money on the backs of international superstars. Since 2000, no English player has won the Premier League Golden Boot. What does that tell you? That depends. To me it says that these internationals want it more.
Loan systems. Fuck the English loan system. It is the stupidest piece of garbage that was ever designed, uttered, implemented, and executed. The English loan system does not train players. It doesn't prepare players. It doesn't groom them. It just leads them to their own brand of complacency, or frustration, or retirement. It's a fucking joke. And it does nothing to develop the player at all. It just relegates a player who could have all sorts of potential, yet needs polishing and refinement, to being viewed as inadequate. I have said, regarding the loan system, that if you wanted to develop younger players through loaning them out, send them out of England! Keeping English players in England doesn't progress footballers. It just leads to a deterioration of their skills. Mostly because there is little in the way of experience that a young footballer could get in England, depending on position and role, that he could not enhance his skills by playing abroad. The variety of styles and philosophies of the game that exist outside the English border, would be a better educational tool than anything. Making these kids go abroad on loan, and work for a place in that club's XI would be nigh-invaluable. It would eliminate, or at least attempt to curb the sense of entitlement, that a lot of young players from bloated Premier League megaliths seem to carry. There is such a vast world of football out there, especially in Europe, that a youth player in England could benefit extensively from the experience he could have in Spain or Germany or France or Italy. Look at Owen Hargreaves, for example. He had proven himself almost invaluable for England when he played. As well as for Man United, when he played. So why not take the risk? Set up affiliate clubs in other domestic leagues, and build from there.
This whole idea that the Premier League has taken to the Football Association is so blithely inept, I'm amazed that the FA are gullible enough to consider it. I hope that the Football League either takes a massive shit on it. Or they say that they'll accept it, with the large caveat thrown in, as to how low down the pyramid these B teams start. It'll dilute the quality of the domestic football, in its first few years, but if these B Teams are forced into fighting for promotion, and earning their place in the Football League, then there's a very strong chance that this could work out splendidly for all parties involved. However, given England's headstrong tendency toward cocking up anything that involves player development, I'm sure this will just prove as large a waste, as David Moyes feels his time at Old Trafford was.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason.
On 17 January 2013, I posted this comment on a Guardian blog about Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich:
The article was one about how Guardiola, after his year's sabbatical from football, had chosen to return managing in Germany. A place that many, including myself, had thought he wouldn't dare enter. A lot of people I knew had it figured that Pep would take over for Alex Ferguson, when the old war horse retired from Man United. I, personally, was disappointed. I had thought that this man, whom the media did a lot in portraying him as a moral crusader in football, and for football, was cast against type.
Apparently, there has been a bit of ballyhooing about how Bayern may need a shake up. Mostly because the reigning European champions got their business handed to them, in the form of a 5-0 aggregate slaughtering at the hands of Real Madrid. I'm not entirely sure what all of this petulance is all about. Or the escalation that seems to happen between club and manager. And because of the massiveness of that loss, it appears at least one or two people want Pep run out of Munich on a rail. But there is a flaw in this. Considering the aggregate scoreline, Guardiola knows that something different is approaching. A changing of the guard, as it were. And he knows this, because of his history with Real Madrid, as well as his boyhood club's history. There is a significance to the 5-0 scoreline in El Clasico.
I am still skeptical, that Guardiola is the right man for Bayern. I cannot see Bayern changing its system to fit Pep's vision. Especially when you consider that it was Bayern who overtook Ajax as reigning European champions in the 70s, and made Total Football look amateurish against Beckenbauer as sweeper and doom-bringer. Also, considering the draw of the European Cup that season, had Ajax managed to beat CSKA September Flag, I don't know that they would have beaten Bayern. And Bayern would have been their next opposition. But that is also indicative of the change in football philosophy. Rinus Michels' concept of possession-based Total Football was eventually overturned and put to sleep by Bayern's forceful counterattack. Which eventually led into England's dominance, using a similar formula to Bayern's.
Pep Guardiola is a student of that philosophy. Tiki-taka was born out of the lessons that Rinus Michels taught at Ajax. But that system was born by Jimmy Hogan, who influenced the style of play that would eventually help the Mighty Magyars make England show its ass in 1954. It was a system of pass and run, and possession, and space creation. Under Michels, it became Total Football, and gave players a license to play wherever necessary, to create space or close it down, as the play dictated. Johan Cruyff helped instill this philosophy at FC Barcelona, which was what Guardiola was taught during his years there as a player. Tiki-taka was the next evolution of Total Football. And Barcelona regularly made strong, capable clubs look like Academy sides. See: The utter dismantling of Man United in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals. This system, Tiki-taka, was adopted and adapted by the Spanish national squad to great effect. So much so that it has won them three major international honors.
While there has been an on-going revolution in football in Spain, Germany has been rebuilding. Rebranding its footballing identity. Through managers like van Gaal, there has been a gradual shift away from the tried and true Beckenbauer counterattack. The move has been more toward a slow adoption of a more possession-based attack. But it hasn't completely taken hold. And because of this, I think that Pep Guardiola is a bad fit at Bayern.
The conceptualisation that Pep has of football, molded by Cruyff, and Michels, and all of the Dutch-cum-Catalan proponents of Total Football; it contrasts starkly with the German vision of football. Almost to the point of friction, if you want to analyse it that extensively. And this is something that a lot of people tend to miss. Especially the media. They're so busy tabloiding every little breath and error that managers make, and escalating every club decision into a nuclear war; that they tend to miss out on the underlying reasons.
This goes on all the time in the media, in fact. They hack, they butcher, they mutilate stories. They sensationalise. They shit all over the truth. The best recent example of this is David Moyes and Manchester United. They spent so many hours of articles devoted to the doom and gloom at Man United. They had posts from former coaches, from the Ferguson era mind, who were critical of Moyes, but it only comes off as sour grapes. They spent so much time just banally droning on about how Moyes was at fault. But the media never truly took time to investigate what was going on. They just wanted to sell papers, or get website hits. Because that's all their bottom-line is. What will attract the most readership. And the readers want to be able to go onto their site, and on their blog, and to get into pissing matches with supporters of opposition clubs, or the same club; over their differing views of the current events. The bigger picture doesn't matter. Making money does. But that's business for you.
In the same vain, that's a lot of what is going on with the clubs nowadays. Especially the megalith club hegemony at the summit of European football. They're so damned afraid of losing their spot, of losing that precious television pay out, that they willingly sell their souls to the megacorporations, or the oil barons, or the carpetbaggers and snake-oil salesmen; all promising to bring, or maintain, the level of prosperity the club and its supporters have become accustomed to. And in this process, any charlatan can waltz into a club office with his CV and potentially end up making a big payday when he can't maintain the club's status. In the end, the clubs blame the manager. The players blame the manager. The supporters blame the manager. And the media has to jump in and hammer this point home, to the point of it becoming a deafening din. Especially in how the media stokes the fires. The media propagate the notion that these clubs aren't profligate over these care-taking scapegoats.
Unfortunately, I think that's what is happening to Pep Guardiola. His stature as this philosophical giant in football has seemingly set him apart as a target when it comes to the conflict in his footballing philosophy with Bayern's. Sure, Bayern went out and absolutely destroyed all the competition in the Bundesliga. But they weren't able to overtake the mighty Galacticos from Madrid, and retain their European crown. However, as has been pointed out here, I believe, there hasn't been a repeat winner of a European competition since Madrid won the UEFA Cup in the mid-80s (Editor's Note: According to a previous post on this here blog, AC Milan in '89-90 in the European Cup, and Sevilla in '06-07 defended the UEFA Cup). So, unfortunately, Pep gets caught up in the zeitgeist that is the Real Madrid Rolling Cavalcade of Managers Who Underachieve When They Don't Win Every Trophy in Sight and Traveling Salvation Show. Also unfortunately, a lot of that mentality has been proliferated in the media, since football was invented, way back in 1992. The Sky Sports mentality of oversaturation of football. The invasive nature of the media juggernaut and its desire to have more more more. Odds are that the mountain that has been made out of this proverbial mole-hill, is just a media invention. Player unrest was jumped on and amplified.
If Pep leaves Bayern, who knows where he will go. I stand by the belief about his being a moral crusader of football, however much of a media invention it may be. I think he will find the most success where he can actually implement and evolve his vision. At a club where he is free to build and design to his wildest dreams. And one where he will be supported, no matter what, because the club, the players, and the supporters all understand his long-term vision. In a lot of ways, it's reminds me of Brian Clough at Derby or Forest. Well, only without the ego and Peter Taylor. Time will only tell where this fracas will go, or when it will ensue. But I'm sure as resolute as Pep is about his philosophies on football, so too will Bayern remain stubborn in its face. And we will see a return to form, once Pep has moved on.
After having the sort of success that Pep had at Barca, I'd like to see him try his hand with a smaller club. One with limited resources, in dire need of an overhaul. A club that is floundering in relative obscurity, say two or three divisions down off the top flight. I'd like to see if he has the mettle to navigate promotion and relegation battles, and if he could turn a team of relative nobodies into one as revered as his beloved Catalans.
He's been at the apex of football. I think he should give it a go from a position where the status of the club he inherits is far more ambiguous than a club whose romance dates back to the Spanish Civil War. This isn't necessarily a dig at Barcelona, but it's more of an indictment of this perceived culture amongst football managers, that getting to the top and staying there is more rewarding than (re)building a club from the ground up, and turning them into an institution.
To me, the idea of a "moral crusader", which is an allusion I've seen made with regard to Pep in multiple places - would stay away from a Titan of European football. He would go to a club that he could make a definite, and potentially profound, impact at. There's no impact to be made at a club like Bayern, with all due respect to their history and tradition. They are fairly set in their ways. They have a system in place that has brought them success, in various forms, for the last 40 years. I'm not saying that Pep couldn't do amazing things at Bayern, but I can't see him being name-dropped in the same sentence as the likes of Beckenbauer and Muller.
I'd like to see him manage a club like Preston. They have the history. Or Huddersfield. Or hell, even Burney! Or, just because the romantic in me thinks it would be neat to see, Pro Vercelli. It's all just a pipe dream, though. I doubt that any manager of Pep's profile would want to take the risk of actually putting together a long-term project with a club that would love to have someone with that sort of ambition and vision take charge. I think, in that way, Pep could have cemented his legacy as a football manager. Much in the way that Shankly did at Liverpool, or Clough did at Derby/Forest.
The article was one about how Guardiola, after his year's sabbatical from football, had chosen to return managing in Germany. A place that many, including myself, had thought he wouldn't dare enter. A lot of people I knew had it figured that Pep would take over for Alex Ferguson, when the old war horse retired from Man United. I, personally, was disappointed. I had thought that this man, whom the media did a lot in portraying him as a moral crusader in football, and for football, was cast against type.
Apparently, there has been a bit of ballyhooing about how Bayern may need a shake up. Mostly because the reigning European champions got their business handed to them, in the form of a 5-0 aggregate slaughtering at the hands of Real Madrid. I'm not entirely sure what all of this petulance is all about. Or the escalation that seems to happen between club and manager. And because of the massiveness of that loss, it appears at least one or two people want Pep run out of Munich on a rail. But there is a flaw in this. Considering the aggregate scoreline, Guardiola knows that something different is approaching. A changing of the guard, as it were. And he knows this, because of his history with Real Madrid, as well as his boyhood club's history. There is a significance to the 5-0 scoreline in El Clasico.
I am still skeptical, that Guardiola is the right man for Bayern. I cannot see Bayern changing its system to fit Pep's vision. Especially when you consider that it was Bayern who overtook Ajax as reigning European champions in the 70s, and made Total Football look amateurish against Beckenbauer as sweeper and doom-bringer. Also, considering the draw of the European Cup that season, had Ajax managed to beat CSKA September Flag, I don't know that they would have beaten Bayern. And Bayern would have been their next opposition. But that is also indicative of the change in football philosophy. Rinus Michels' concept of possession-based Total Football was eventually overturned and put to sleep by Bayern's forceful counterattack. Which eventually led into England's dominance, using a similar formula to Bayern's.
Pep Guardiola is a student of that philosophy. Tiki-taka was born out of the lessons that Rinus Michels taught at Ajax. But that system was born by Jimmy Hogan, who influenced the style of play that would eventually help the Mighty Magyars make England show its ass in 1954. It was a system of pass and run, and possession, and space creation. Under Michels, it became Total Football, and gave players a license to play wherever necessary, to create space or close it down, as the play dictated. Johan Cruyff helped instill this philosophy at FC Barcelona, which was what Guardiola was taught during his years there as a player. Tiki-taka was the next evolution of Total Football. And Barcelona regularly made strong, capable clubs look like Academy sides. See: The utter dismantling of Man United in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals. This system, Tiki-taka, was adopted and adapted by the Spanish national squad to great effect. So much so that it has won them three major international honors.
While there has been an on-going revolution in football in Spain, Germany has been rebuilding. Rebranding its footballing identity. Through managers like van Gaal, there has been a gradual shift away from the tried and true Beckenbauer counterattack. The move has been more toward a slow adoption of a more possession-based attack. But it hasn't completely taken hold. And because of this, I think that Pep Guardiola is a bad fit at Bayern.
The conceptualisation that Pep has of football, molded by Cruyff, and Michels, and all of the Dutch-cum-Catalan proponents of Total Football; it contrasts starkly with the German vision of football. Almost to the point of friction, if you want to analyse it that extensively. And this is something that a lot of people tend to miss. Especially the media. They're so busy tabloiding every little breath and error that managers make, and escalating every club decision into a nuclear war; that they tend to miss out on the underlying reasons.
This goes on all the time in the media, in fact. They hack, they butcher, they mutilate stories. They sensationalise. They shit all over the truth. The best recent example of this is David Moyes and Manchester United. They spent so many hours of articles devoted to the doom and gloom at Man United. They had posts from former coaches, from the Ferguson era mind, who were critical of Moyes, but it only comes off as sour grapes. They spent so much time just banally droning on about how Moyes was at fault. But the media never truly took time to investigate what was going on. They just wanted to sell papers, or get website hits. Because that's all their bottom-line is. What will attract the most readership. And the readers want to be able to go onto their site, and on their blog, and to get into pissing matches with supporters of opposition clubs, or the same club; over their differing views of the current events. The bigger picture doesn't matter. Making money does. But that's business for you.
In the same vain, that's a lot of what is going on with the clubs nowadays. Especially the megalith club hegemony at the summit of European football. They're so damned afraid of losing their spot, of losing that precious television pay out, that they willingly sell their souls to the megacorporations, or the oil barons, or the carpetbaggers and snake-oil salesmen; all promising to bring, or maintain, the level of prosperity the club and its supporters have become accustomed to. And in this process, any charlatan can waltz into a club office with his CV and potentially end up making a big payday when he can't maintain the club's status. In the end, the clubs blame the manager. The players blame the manager. The supporters blame the manager. And the media has to jump in and hammer this point home, to the point of it becoming a deafening din. Especially in how the media stokes the fires. The media propagate the notion that these clubs aren't profligate over these care-taking scapegoats.
Unfortunately, I think that's what is happening to Pep Guardiola. His stature as this philosophical giant in football has seemingly set him apart as a target when it comes to the conflict in his footballing philosophy with Bayern's. Sure, Bayern went out and absolutely destroyed all the competition in the Bundesliga. But they weren't able to overtake the mighty Galacticos from Madrid, and retain their European crown. However, as has been pointed out here, I believe, there hasn't been a repeat winner of a European competition since Madrid won the UEFA Cup in the mid-80s (Editor's Note: According to a previous post on this here blog, AC Milan in '89-90 in the European Cup, and Sevilla in '06-07 defended the UEFA Cup). So, unfortunately, Pep gets caught up in the zeitgeist that is the Real Madrid Rolling Cavalcade of Managers Who Underachieve When They Don't Win Every Trophy in Sight and Traveling Salvation Show. Also unfortunately, a lot of that mentality has been proliferated in the media, since football was invented, way back in 1992. The Sky Sports mentality of oversaturation of football. The invasive nature of the media juggernaut and its desire to have more more more. Odds are that the mountain that has been made out of this proverbial mole-hill, is just a media invention. Player unrest was jumped on and amplified.
If Pep leaves Bayern, who knows where he will go. I stand by the belief about his being a moral crusader of football, however much of a media invention it may be. I think he will find the most success where he can actually implement and evolve his vision. At a club where he is free to build and design to his wildest dreams. And one where he will be supported, no matter what, because the club, the players, and the supporters all understand his long-term vision. In a lot of ways, it's reminds me of Brian Clough at Derby or Forest. Well, only without the ego and Peter Taylor. Time will only tell where this fracas will go, or when it will ensue. But I'm sure as resolute as Pep is about his philosophies on football, so too will Bayern remain stubborn in its face. And we will see a return to form, once Pep has moved on.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins and worse remains behind...
In the last 24 hours, Manchester United told their manager to sod off. David Moyes, the man who was chosen to replace Sir Alex Ferguson, the man himself, just got handed his walking papers. And I, for one, am absolutely livid at this decision.
As a point of reference, a few year ago when I was writing for a Man United blog called 7Cantonas, I had posited that David Moyes was the best-suited candidate to replace Sir Alex Ferguson. This was ahead of the veritable spectrum of personalities whom the media, and supporters, had wished to install as Fergie's heir-apparent. I felt that without the limitations imposed upon him by Everton's board, that Moyes would be able to show that he's as capable a manager as any. However wonderful that hope may have been. It was quickly dashed in the insanity that has defined this season.
As of current, Manchester United are sitting 7th in the Premier League. Fucking 7th! Not 18th! Not 19th! Not even close to fucking 20th! They are sitting in 7th. On the cusp of making the Europa League, which I believe they will get that spot if Arsenal wins the FA Cup. They aren't in a relegation battle. They aren't even really having that bad a season. 57 points out of 34 matches isn't exactly setting the world alight, however it sure as hell isn't atrocious. Plus, if they may be able to swing winning their last 4 matches, with a little luck, they could overtake Spurs for 6th. This season is not the total loss that every Chicken Little in a red shirt will tell you it has been. It's a transition period. Leeway should have been granted, and given, by any and all supporters of the club. As well as the board. As well as the luxury boxes.
The decision by the club to sack Moyes is a shameful one to me. Despicable, in fact. Manchester United is a club that prides itself on being different from any other club. This is a club that will tell you, and its supporters will spew this like rhetoric, that they didn't give up on Alex Ferguson, for the years when he couldn't get over the hump. They will regale you with tales of Man United triumphing over adversity, time and again. But, what they won't tell you is that the deeply ingrained sense of titles in ascendency, has left a good portion of the supporters absolutely clueless about how to deal with mediocrity. And how to deal with disappointment.
I saw a myriad of examples, from the Guardian's comment sections, to Facebook, to Twitter; all impatient fans who want their club to win. Not a thought was given to the fact that David Moyes is not Alex Ferguson. Well, it was, only insofar as to be considered pejorative. Not a thought was given, after Christmas, to letting Moyes clean out the old geezers and dead weight, and build up the team in his own style. Too much emphasis was put on how Moyes lacked the power and ability to motivate his players. Or how he lacked the ability to plan and execute successful tactics, on pitch. Or how the teams he would field would look lazy, sloppy, and lacking that creative spark that, supposedly, sets Man United apart from every other football club in the world. Yet, these are the same folks who will tell you that the club will support its manage to the very end, and they will too. They merely, discreetly, omit their caveat to justify their mutiny.
Those excuses are just bullshit. The supporters have been pissed off that the club isn't playing to their expectations, so they were looking for a scapegoat. Unfortunately, given his position within the confines of the club, David Moyes' head had a very abrupt rendezvous with that particular metaphorical guillotine. As one who has defended Moyes' signing, and keeping him as manager, I had to face at least one fellow supporter giving me shit about how Moyes is a failure and how he needed to go. The little bit of the club that I have gotten to see, due to my schedule, showed me a team that looked scared against City. A team that looked lost, because their leader had left them. And a team didn't seem interested in playing any style of football other than their own. This team deserves to be exposed as mediocre. Without the blanket of Fergie to insulate them from the media or any other scrutiny, the flaws fell into light. A lot of the supporter comments that I saw, especially online, didn't seem to know how to deal with this eventuality. Well, outside of vitriol and mutiny.
Do I think that Ferguson set Moyes up to fail? In some ways, definitely. He coddled the club into a laurel-rested-on slumber. He didn't give Moyes the best possible hand to play. The squad is aging. And little was done to address the problem. Both last season and this. Players like Rooney can still hold the club hostage for mammoth wages. Ryan Giggs is still a part of squad, despite losing a lot of his efficacy years ago. In a lot of ways, I am seeing what happened at Liverpool, especially during the waning years of the Rafalution, up to Rodgers being appointed, repeat itself here. All completely unnecessarily, too. It is the responsibility of the players to execute any plans. The manager's role stops as soon as the opening kickoff is taken. He can only plan contingencies in the interim. He cannot play out their effectuality in real time. He can only react, once his plan goes to shit. Some may say that Moyes lacked the strength in offering proper responses to what was happening to his teams. However, that fails to acknowledge the argument that the teams he fielded should never have found themselves in those positions in the first place. And that's one place where I feel Fergie failed the club.
As the last couple of seasons progressed, more and more the squads he would put out, wouldn't truly show any dominance. They never set England or Europe on fire. They just did a lot of scraping results by in the dying moments. They never showed themselves capable of putting a match away early. They'd just get a lead and coast. That mentality, and its inherent complacency, played a very large role in the club finding itself where it is now. Comparatively abject mediocrity. They haven't played like true champions in a few years. They just happened to be the least bad, out of horrible competition. The same could be said for City or Chelsea's wins. There was no decimation of the competition. No running away with the title by 15 points or more. Just spending a lot of time riding luck, and depending entirely on having their fate being written by the inability of the other top clubs, in sealing their results. Outlasting your opposition is the mark of a champion. However, blasting your opposition out of sight, making it impossible for them to catch you, is an even bigger mark. The club did not play like champions. Just like an old boxer who was hoping he'd win the title in the decision. That's the squad that David Moyes inherited.
And now, Ryan Giggs inherits this squad. Godspeed Giggsy, you may want to return to shagging whoever you want.
As a point of reference, a few year ago when I was writing for a Man United blog called 7Cantonas, I had posited that David Moyes was the best-suited candidate to replace Sir Alex Ferguson. This was ahead of the veritable spectrum of personalities whom the media, and supporters, had wished to install as Fergie's heir-apparent. I felt that without the limitations imposed upon him by Everton's board, that Moyes would be able to show that he's as capable a manager as any. However wonderful that hope may have been. It was quickly dashed in the insanity that has defined this season.
As of current, Manchester United are sitting 7th in the Premier League. Fucking 7th! Not 18th! Not 19th! Not even close to fucking 20th! They are sitting in 7th. On the cusp of making the Europa League, which I believe they will get that spot if Arsenal wins the FA Cup. They aren't in a relegation battle. They aren't even really having that bad a season. 57 points out of 34 matches isn't exactly setting the world alight, however it sure as hell isn't atrocious. Plus, if they may be able to swing winning their last 4 matches, with a little luck, they could overtake Spurs for 6th. This season is not the total loss that every Chicken Little in a red shirt will tell you it has been. It's a transition period. Leeway should have been granted, and given, by any and all supporters of the club. As well as the board. As well as the luxury boxes.
The decision by the club to sack Moyes is a shameful one to me. Despicable, in fact. Manchester United is a club that prides itself on being different from any other club. This is a club that will tell you, and its supporters will spew this like rhetoric, that they didn't give up on Alex Ferguson, for the years when he couldn't get over the hump. They will regale you with tales of Man United triumphing over adversity, time and again. But, what they won't tell you is that the deeply ingrained sense of titles in ascendency, has left a good portion of the supporters absolutely clueless about how to deal with mediocrity. And how to deal with disappointment.
I saw a myriad of examples, from the Guardian's comment sections, to Facebook, to Twitter; all impatient fans who want their club to win. Not a thought was given to the fact that David Moyes is not Alex Ferguson. Well, it was, only insofar as to be considered pejorative. Not a thought was given, after Christmas, to letting Moyes clean out the old geezers and dead weight, and build up the team in his own style. Too much emphasis was put on how Moyes lacked the power and ability to motivate his players. Or how he lacked the ability to plan and execute successful tactics, on pitch. Or how the teams he would field would look lazy, sloppy, and lacking that creative spark that, supposedly, sets Man United apart from every other football club in the world. Yet, these are the same folks who will tell you that the club will support its manage to the very end, and they will too. They merely, discreetly, omit their caveat to justify their mutiny.
Those excuses are just bullshit. The supporters have been pissed off that the club isn't playing to their expectations, so they were looking for a scapegoat. Unfortunately, given his position within the confines of the club, David Moyes' head had a very abrupt rendezvous with that particular metaphorical guillotine. As one who has defended Moyes' signing, and keeping him as manager, I had to face at least one fellow supporter giving me shit about how Moyes is a failure and how he needed to go. The little bit of the club that I have gotten to see, due to my schedule, showed me a team that looked scared against City. A team that looked lost, because their leader had left them. And a team didn't seem interested in playing any style of football other than their own. This team deserves to be exposed as mediocre. Without the blanket of Fergie to insulate them from the media or any other scrutiny, the flaws fell into light. A lot of the supporter comments that I saw, especially online, didn't seem to know how to deal with this eventuality. Well, outside of vitriol and mutiny.
Do I think that Ferguson set Moyes up to fail? In some ways, definitely. He coddled the club into a laurel-rested-on slumber. He didn't give Moyes the best possible hand to play. The squad is aging. And little was done to address the problem. Both last season and this. Players like Rooney can still hold the club hostage for mammoth wages. Ryan Giggs is still a part of squad, despite losing a lot of his efficacy years ago. In a lot of ways, I am seeing what happened at Liverpool, especially during the waning years of the Rafalution, up to Rodgers being appointed, repeat itself here. All completely unnecessarily, too. It is the responsibility of the players to execute any plans. The manager's role stops as soon as the opening kickoff is taken. He can only plan contingencies in the interim. He cannot play out their effectuality in real time. He can only react, once his plan goes to shit. Some may say that Moyes lacked the strength in offering proper responses to what was happening to his teams. However, that fails to acknowledge the argument that the teams he fielded should never have found themselves in those positions in the first place. And that's one place where I feel Fergie failed the club.
As the last couple of seasons progressed, more and more the squads he would put out, wouldn't truly show any dominance. They never set England or Europe on fire. They just did a lot of scraping results by in the dying moments. They never showed themselves capable of putting a match away early. They'd just get a lead and coast. That mentality, and its inherent complacency, played a very large role in the club finding itself where it is now. Comparatively abject mediocrity. They haven't played like true champions in a few years. They just happened to be the least bad, out of horrible competition. The same could be said for City or Chelsea's wins. There was no decimation of the competition. No running away with the title by 15 points or more. Just spending a lot of time riding luck, and depending entirely on having their fate being written by the inability of the other top clubs, in sealing their results. Outlasting your opposition is the mark of a champion. However, blasting your opposition out of sight, making it impossible for them to catch you, is an even bigger mark. The club did not play like champions. Just like an old boxer who was hoping he'd win the title in the decision. That's the squad that David Moyes inherited.
And now, Ryan Giggs inherits this squad. Godspeed Giggsy, you may want to return to shagging whoever you want.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Sexy
Ray Hudson insists that he has run out of superlatives when talking about Lionel Messi. Although, from listening to his most recent broadcasts, it is clear that he hasn’t, he is unintentionally making a pretty profound point here. It is not necessary to make Lionel Messi phenomenal run of form any sexier than it already is. With a little bit of football knowledge, you can see by simply watching him that it is quite possibly the sexiest run of form anyone has ever had - ever.
The same could probably be said of the latest run of form from Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, the need for sexiness is probably something that needs to be elaborated upon – or, at the very least, contextualized. Real Madrid and Barcelona will both finish with more than ninety points this season. Ninety. That’s over 80% of the maximum point total, dropping points in a single digit amount of games, getting maximum points in over 3 of every 4 games.
Arsenal did a pretty good job in 2003-2004 when they went unbeaten. However, Arsenal finished a healthy eleven points ahead of second-place Chelsea and the title race was certainly more about Arsenal´s remaining undefeated than the title race itself.
Sure, Arsenal can say they were unbeaten that season, but Madrid and Barcelona are clearly more superior amongst their respective leagues´ peers. Arsenal was great that year but you should probably give this one more to the footballing Gods than sheer talent. It is quite clear that, if Barcelona and Madrid maintain their dominance, one of them will have an unbeaten season.
La Liga is poised for another legendary run-in. Barcelona are set to play Real Madrid this weekend in Camp Nou with Madrid in first at 85-81. If Barcelona wins, and they indeed are favorites, Madrid - who has the tougher run-in schedule - will have the utmost pressure on them to win out.
Madrid will play for a draw on Saturday. Football seems like a complicated game, but that is only because the results are erratic and seem to sway drastically and irrationally. Mourinho knows that this is not the case, however. Mourinho will sit back and play Barcelona like he played them when he was with Inter Milan. Mourinho knows that he can sit back all game, get a counter-attack goal, have Messi score a remarkable goal, and he will still come out with a draw. With a draw in Saturday’s clásico, Madrid will win La Liga.
This is how sexy Saturday´s matchup is. Sure, check out and see if Juventus can finish the season unbeaten. Sit around and wait and see how bad United can beat City. But know that this season´s sexiest run-in will be between the two best teams in the world, who just happen to participate in the world´s most prolific rivalry.
The same could probably be said of the latest run of form from Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, the need for sexiness is probably something that needs to be elaborated upon – or, at the very least, contextualized. Real Madrid and Barcelona will both finish with more than ninety points this season. Ninety. That’s over 80% of the maximum point total, dropping points in a single digit amount of games, getting maximum points in over 3 of every 4 games.
Arsenal did a pretty good job in 2003-2004 when they went unbeaten. However, Arsenal finished a healthy eleven points ahead of second-place Chelsea and the title race was certainly more about Arsenal´s remaining undefeated than the title race itself.
Sure, Arsenal can say they were unbeaten that season, but Madrid and Barcelona are clearly more superior amongst their respective leagues´ peers. Arsenal was great that year but you should probably give this one more to the footballing Gods than sheer talent. It is quite clear that, if Barcelona and Madrid maintain their dominance, one of them will have an unbeaten season.
La Liga is poised for another legendary run-in. Barcelona are set to play Real Madrid this weekend in Camp Nou with Madrid in first at 85-81. If Barcelona wins, and they indeed are favorites, Madrid - who has the tougher run-in schedule - will have the utmost pressure on them to win out.
Madrid will play for a draw on Saturday. Football seems like a complicated game, but that is only because the results are erratic and seem to sway drastically and irrationally. Mourinho knows that this is not the case, however. Mourinho will sit back and play Barcelona like he played them when he was with Inter Milan. Mourinho knows that he can sit back all game, get a counter-attack goal, have Messi score a remarkable goal, and he will still come out with a draw. With a draw in Saturday’s clásico, Madrid will win La Liga.
This is how sexy Saturday´s matchup is. Sure, check out and see if Juventus can finish the season unbeaten. Sit around and wait and see how bad United can beat City. But know that this season´s sexiest run-in will be between the two best teams in the world, who just happen to participate in the world´s most prolific rivalry.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
I Had to Throw a Team Together at Christmas
One of my favorite blogs was recently hacked, and ultimately shut down. That blog was Football is Fixed and its companion blog Football is Fucked. Two blogs that were written with the express intent of exposing the corruption and dark underworld of European football. As well as deviations into world politics, and economics. It is a blog that I had read with much interest, since I originally discovered it somewhere around 2007.
Lately, the blog had been writing repeated, scathing indictments on Mike Riley and the PGMOB. They were attacking the FA for allowing the corruption of English football to continue. They were attacking the Guardian’s football section, because they are believed to be purveyors of the “hyper-reality” as they called it. It was a fascinating read. With this in mind, I would like to take a look at something, critically, as a way to honor FiF.
As you may have read, if you follow English football at all, Harry Redknapp was found innocent of tax evasion, earlier this week. With ‘Arry’s name cleared, he is free to once again roam the sidelines for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. If I may offer a brief aside, if the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs were as serious about tax evasion as they are about winding up bankrupt football clubs, I would have little doubt that Redknapp would have been thrown in the Thames. As one who has friends who are Spurs’ supporters, I can only guess how happy they are that their club can maintain their focus on securing a Champions League spot with little outside distraction.
Likewise, in the land of “there is no such thing as coincidence,” the Football Association and Fabio Capello parted company. The speculation that ran rampant in the papers, or at least the ones I read, involved how Capello felt undermined by the FA over the handling of John Terry as captain. Fair play to Capello. As manager of a team, he had to look out for the potential cohesion of his squad. Likewise, fair play to the FA. As the body in charge the England national team, as well as the English football pyramid, it behooves them to make sure that they have a manager in place who can manage the egos, as well as produce favorable results. Did Capello fit that criterion? Some would agree. However, I suspect, most would disagree.
With that being said, Tottenham had a Premier League match, today, against Newcastle. At White Hart Lane, Spurs’ home ground. A match that I saw a good portion of the first half of, before I got bored of it and watched something else. What I saw was Spurs just utterly dismantling Newcastle. The Geordies were perpetually caught in their own end. And Spurs just looked killer in their attacking third. So much so, that I got to witness to fantastically scored goals. Unfortunately, if you are a supporter of the Magpies, you got to see your team down 4-0 on 36 minutes. And, with the addition of another goal in the second half, Spurs came away 3 ponts, via a 5 goal-scored clean sheet, at home.
To dig a little bit, prior to Fabio Capello being named as manager of England, one of the many names tossed around to lead the Three Lions was Harry Redknapp. It is a job that he has expressed a lot of interest in holding. It is a job, that Harry would be more than happy to leave Spurs for. But, Harry Redknapp has a colorful history. Between being arrested while at Portsmouth for financial shenanigans, and being accused of tapping up. I do not know that he would be the most savory of characters to take over the England job. Especially since it has been widely assumed that his arrest during his time at Pompey, directly led to his ineligibility to fill the vacant England managerial seat, following Steve McClaren being shown the door in 2009.
So what do we have? Well, we have an innocent Harry Redknapp strolling the touchline at White Hart Lane, while his Spurs squad absolutely makes a mockery of Newcastle. A 5 goal win margin, to me, is usually something to arouse suspicion. That just seems like an awfully unusual score-line. Especially against Newcastle, who were not too far below them in the table. Tottenham sitting on 3rd, and Newcastle were sitting on 5th. With that loss, Arsenal now moves into 4th over Chelsea who are 5th. It is funny that Spurs’ victory gave their hated rivals in North London, the opportunity to move back into the Champions League spots.
But I think there is more to that. The timing of this match. The timing of the result. The timing of Capello leaving the England job. All of it when taken in relation to Harry being acquitted of any wrong-doing by HMRC, makes for a very interesting picture. Is it possible that the FA, in conjunction with Mike Riley and the Premier Game Match Officials Board, may have fixed that match as a apology for previously denying Harry the job he so coveted?
We know that Mike Riley and the PGMOB lack scruples when it comes to referee appointment for matches. We also know that the FA and corruption go together like Sepp Blatter and dirty money. So it would be easy to draw linear conclusion connecting the three in some form. Especially with Harry being the front-runner, currently, in the race to replace Capello.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Interminable Story. and, Pepe, it´s OK
The quarterfinal draw of the Copa del Rey - Spain’s only domestic cup competition – pitted the Spanish giants against each other yet again.
For those who missed it, the first leg was played on Wednesday, January 18. And for those who missed it, Barcelona put on a show yet again.
When Madrid scored early, the crazy GolTV commentator, Ray Hudson, suggested that Madrid might win this one. It was a lofty statement to make. So he began searching for evidence on the pitch. He pointed to the effort put forth by Mou´s men, and that Barcelona´s poor Liga form had carried over into the clásico. Perhaps he was just hoping Barcelona would finally fall. Or perhaps he was trying to prepare himself for a Barcelona defeat, so when Barcelona´s “interminable story” finally came to an end, he would not be as distraught. Whatever the case, Barcelona came back to win a deceptively convincing 2-1.
Barcelona could have scored more, Madrid shouldn´t have scored at all. Ronaldo´s early shot was hard and low, but directly at Pinto – it rolled right underneath his foot.
Last year Madrid won the Copa Del Rey over Barcelona in the final. However, with that being the least meaningful clásico of last year´s historic run of clásicos, (2 Champions League matches, Liga match, and Copa del Rey) and scoring on the less than brilliant Pinto, Madrid´s win was severely dampened.
Before that, Madrid had not beaten Barcelona since may 2008. Their only draws were meaningless: a Liga draw that was good enough for Barcelona to nearly clinch the title, a first leg draw on the supercopa at the Bernabéu, and a second leg draw that was more than good enough for Barcelona to win on aggregate. In short, it has been since the 2007-2008 liga season since Madrid got a win of any significance.
To quantify Barcelona´s superiority at this moment into some sort of figure would likely understate it. Grant Wahl once said that Messi is underrated, that he playing football on another level entirely. I think the same could be said of his club as well. Barcelona has beaten arguably the world´s second best team convincingly and repeatedly. In the last 13 clásicos, you have 9 Barcelona wins, 3 meaningless ties, and 1 Madrid victory (sans Puyol and with Pinto in goal, by the way).
While I’m at it, here’s their résumé of the last 3 years:
Champions League - ´09, ´11. European Supercup - ´09, ´11. La Liga - ´09, ´10, ´11. Copa del Rey - ´09. Spanish Supercup - ´09, ´10, ´11. Club World Cup. ´09, ´11.
That is crazy.
What´s crazier is Carles Puyol´s recent résumé. Ray Hudson pointed out in his commentary on Wednesday that Barcelona is 50 games unbeaten when Puyol is playing. Watch him play once, and you will notice that you can only chalk some of that run to luck and coincidence.
One brief comment on Pepe before I sign off:
Pepe stomped on Messi’s hand. Pepe simulated an elbow to the face, which gave Pique a yellow card. Pepe is a thug.
(Before you turn away, don´t worry, a rant is not forthcoming.)
After witnessing Pepe´s antics, I became furious at first - repeating that last thought over and over again. Then, trying to make sense of at all, I realized that El Clásico is much more than a game. So much more than a game, in fact, that a shattered hand, a broken leg, or even a torn ACL, matters so much less than the result of the clásico. Why wouldn´t you attempt to hurt your opponent?
This much may have seemed obvious to you, but for me, as an idealist, it really got my head out of the clouds. I used to hate Madrid for their violence and thuggish behavior. But, just because they exhibit these behaviors, need not mean they are thugs. Sure, they ruin the integrity of the game. But Pepe could be the kindest, most warm-hearted individual in the world of football, and not have to change his behavior on the pitch. If Pepe´s thuggish behavior helps his team win, he is doing his job. In other words, by virtue of being a part of Real Madrid, his personal obligations to the integrity of football are fully suppressed.
For those who missed it, the first leg was played on Wednesday, January 18. And for those who missed it, Barcelona put on a show yet again.
When Madrid scored early, the crazy GolTV commentator, Ray Hudson, suggested that Madrid might win this one. It was a lofty statement to make. So he began searching for evidence on the pitch. He pointed to the effort put forth by Mou´s men, and that Barcelona´s poor Liga form had carried over into the clásico. Perhaps he was just hoping Barcelona would finally fall. Or perhaps he was trying to prepare himself for a Barcelona defeat, so when Barcelona´s “interminable story” finally came to an end, he would not be as distraught. Whatever the case, Barcelona came back to win a deceptively convincing 2-1.
Barcelona could have scored more, Madrid shouldn´t have scored at all. Ronaldo´s early shot was hard and low, but directly at Pinto – it rolled right underneath his foot.
Last year Madrid won the Copa Del Rey over Barcelona in the final. However, with that being the least meaningful clásico of last year´s historic run of clásicos, (2 Champions League matches, Liga match, and Copa del Rey) and scoring on the less than brilliant Pinto, Madrid´s win was severely dampened.
Before that, Madrid had not beaten Barcelona since may 2008. Their only draws were meaningless: a Liga draw that was good enough for Barcelona to nearly clinch the title, a first leg draw on the supercopa at the Bernabéu, and a second leg draw that was more than good enough for Barcelona to win on aggregate. In short, it has been since the 2007-2008 liga season since Madrid got a win of any significance.
To quantify Barcelona´s superiority at this moment into some sort of figure would likely understate it. Grant Wahl once said that Messi is underrated, that he playing football on another level entirely. I think the same could be said of his club as well. Barcelona has beaten arguably the world´s second best team convincingly and repeatedly. In the last 13 clásicos, you have 9 Barcelona wins, 3 meaningless ties, and 1 Madrid victory (sans Puyol and with Pinto in goal, by the way).
While I’m at it, here’s their résumé of the last 3 years:
Champions League - ´09, ´11. European Supercup - ´09, ´11. La Liga - ´09, ´10, ´11. Copa del Rey - ´09. Spanish Supercup - ´09, ´10, ´11. Club World Cup. ´09, ´11.
That is crazy.
What´s crazier is Carles Puyol´s recent résumé. Ray Hudson pointed out in his commentary on Wednesday that Barcelona is 50 games unbeaten when Puyol is playing. Watch him play once, and you will notice that you can only chalk some of that run to luck and coincidence.
One brief comment on Pepe before I sign off:
Pepe stomped on Messi’s hand. Pepe simulated an elbow to the face, which gave Pique a yellow card. Pepe is a thug.
(Before you turn away, don´t worry, a rant is not forthcoming.)
After witnessing Pepe´s antics, I became furious at first - repeating that last thought over and over again. Then, trying to make sense of at all, I realized that El Clásico is much more than a game. So much more than a game, in fact, that a shattered hand, a broken leg, or even a torn ACL, matters so much less than the result of the clásico. Why wouldn´t you attempt to hurt your opponent?
This much may have seemed obvious to you, but for me, as an idealist, it really got my head out of the clouds. I used to hate Madrid for their violence and thuggish behavior. But, just because they exhibit these behaviors, need not mean they are thugs. Sure, they ruin the integrity of the game. But Pepe could be the kindest, most warm-hearted individual in the world of football, and not have to change his behavior on the pitch. If Pepe´s thuggish behavior helps his team win, he is doing his job. In other words, by virtue of being a part of Real Madrid, his personal obligations to the integrity of football are fully suppressed.
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