Some scattered thoughts on the season just gone, which like a good adventure movie had its highs
and lows before the uplifting, happy ending.
the boardroom and the locker roomFor all the talk of a steady transition, the election of Sandro Rosell bought about a revolution in
the board room at the beginning of this season.
I'm not a big fan of forced narratives in sport. Often they require material facts to be ignored
and result in faulty conclusions. This is possibly an oddity for a
Cule - after all,
Barcelona have built their identity on a strong sense of narrative, casting themselves in the same
role in every story.
Contrary to the impression you may have acquired from the hyperbole feast that masqueraded as media
coverage of this game, Wednesday was not the first time a football game got a bit nasty. In fact,
compared to some of the glorious madness that has decorated
El Clasico in the past we could
argue that Mourinho gave the fixture a much-needed boost.
"I remember when I received [Guardiola's] call and...I pick up and tease him a bit, but
notice in his voice a serious tone. And then he says: 'I need a lawyer.'" - Manel Estiarte,
translated by Total Barca
In the glittering, storybook career of Pep Guardiola, one bleak episode stands out from amongst the
triumphs.
In a way, that's exactly what Barca have done. As ball boy, trainee, player, captain and now coach,
they've shaped the skinny kid from a small town into the charming, well-spoken man in a sharp suit
he is today.
In recent years, everyone from players, club management, Catalan politicians, entertainers of all
stripes and Jose Mourinho have called him the perfect manager for Barca.
On the day the news broke, I was filled with unreasoning anger. If you asked me articulate why I
was so mad, I would have had trouble, which is really not very good going for someone trained to
make well reasoned arguments.
There's been a lot of link spilled on the topic already, whether in support of the Qatar Foundation
deal or in opposition to it.
Some incredibly disorganised thoughts about the past season:
horse race
I think Guardiola is absolutely correct when he says that Barca would not have reached the highs
they hit this season without being pushed so hard by Real. In fact, Perez's spending spree was
probably the most effective form of motivation money could buy for the Barca players, who'd won
every single trophy they competed for by the end of 2009.
Without going into shadowy conspiracy theories (I'll just say that I broadly agree with the
thoughts of Sam over at Hasta El Gol Siempre and move on for now), a few thoughts below.
Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Mariano Andujar (Catania, Italy),
Diego Pozo (Colon, Argentina)
Romero has been really impressive everytime I've seen him play (since his days in the youth/Olympic
teams), although neither he or Andujar are what you'd call hugely experienced at international
level.
The trend is much-discussed in political coverage, but it's equally prevalent in football. I'm
speaking of our need to make sense of the big stories of the day by playing them into some kind of
morality play context, as if somehow the fine margins of an offside decisions or whether the ball
hits the post or goes inside the net has to come together to mean something bigger.
"We came to the home of the league leaders who'd won all 15 games here so far this
season. I give a lot of value to winning this one – it's an honour to come here and win. They've
got 77 points and that's incredible." - Pep Guardiola on the result
Shots: 16 v 8
Shots on goal: 7 v 4
Usually when I see stats like these, I tend to expect Barca to be the bigger number.
For those of us who've been watching him since he was 16 years old, the craziest, weirdest, most
astonishing thing about Leo Messi might just be how little he's changed in some respects, even
though he's since played more than 200 games for Barcelona.
That's why this video of him as a 9 year old is so delightful.
All the compliments lavished upon this current Barca side for their playing style are entertaining
to read, but at a certain point this particular Cule becomes somewhat uncomfortable.
Take Paul Hayward's recent piece in the Guardian: Barcelona must attempt to create a dynasty not
just a passing delight [read the Run of Play's excellent dissection of the broader ideas if you
haven't already].
Group A: Chelsea, Roma, Bordeaux, CFR Cluj
I lol at everybody writing off Bordeaux. Fear Laurent Blanc, people. Fear him. This isn't as
straight-forward as it looks.
Group B: Inter, Werder, Panathinaikos, Anorthosis
This I think is as straight-forward as it looks.
Negotiations with Manchester United over (Barca youth academy grad) Gerard Pique are
said to be almost complete. The player has passed a medical in Barcelona and if all goes well the
signing should be announced soon. [I am very pleased by this signing. Decent price, good player
coming home, everybody's happy.
Frank Rijkaard was the perfect manager for FC Barcelona. Joan Laporta said so. Johan Cruyff said
so. His players thought so, all the way to the bitter end.
"Frank speaks so quietly you have to strain to hear him," says Ronaldinho,
"and when you do, you realise he's always right.
