Pretty much the only thing supporters of the Big 4 in England will agree on right now is that nobody wants a piece of Barcelona in the Champions League. And for Thirdsenal and Spartak London, it's a very real Round of 16 possibility.
FC Barcelona is a fucking machine right now. Okay, not a literal fucking machine (which I've recently learned do in fact exist (and NOT EVEN CLOSE TO SAFE FOR WORK))... Where was I? Oh, El Clasico. Today is Crayola's dream match up of the Blaugrana and the Meringues.
Barcelona comes in as easily the best team in Europe (okay, we might entertain an argument for Inter, but not really), and Lionel Messi looks the best player on the planet. He's ever bit a good on the ball as Ronaldo but has the bonus feature of being able to stay upright.
Real Madrid stumbles into today's match an absolute mess. They are 2-3-1 in their last six La Liga matches, including a lifeforce-draining loss last week to Sevilla where they rallied from 3-0 down to tie, only to see Arjen Robben get sent off before conceding the loser in the dying moments.
But after firing Bernd Schuster earlier in the week, Real Den Haag—and feel free to pilfer that one—brought in Juande Ramos, the man who guided Tottenham to the Carling Cup last season before piloting them straight into the relegation zone to start this season. He got shit-canned out of White (S)Hart Lane but Ramos was able to get a convincing 3-0 Champions League win over Zenit St. Petersburg, in a match that proved to be utterly meaningless. Now he'll face an actual opponent.
If you are an impartial viewer this is a 'no lose' watch. If Barca totally outclasses Madrid, they probably won't let up and will put a dismantling for the ages on them. Barca are probably looking for a bit of revenge from last season, and they know that with a win tomorrow today (Oops, I shouldn't future post) they can effectively kill any chance of Madrid winning La Liga. If Madrid wins, it'll will be an absolute shocker (the match is at the Camp Nou). Anything close and this has the capacity to be a harbinger of the apocalypse. Isn't hyperbole awesome?
If I can subtract from 12, kickoff seems to be at 4 on the East Coast. Find a bar with GolTV and start drinking. Heavily. Might I recommend Voll-Damm (as in Fall Down) if they serve it anyplace here in the US?
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Whoa, Whoa... You Mean They Play Football in Someplace Besides England?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Big thoughts based on a tournament no one takes seriously
Witnesses told O Globo that Lula, in a closed-door meeting, labeled the Olympic defeat a "humiliation,'' and was fuming. "I've never been so angry in all my life,'' Lula, a devoted soccer fan, reportedly said. "I saw a team that didn't show any will to win. … It's shameful to lose this way to Argentina.'' The front page of O Globo's sports section was designed as a funeral notice, announcing the "passing'' of the national soccer squad, (five-time World Cup champion), saying, "Please do not send flowers.''
I don't mean to add to an overflowing fountain of hyperbole, but when a world soccer power actually performs at or above expectations in a big tournament, praise is usually warranted. If we can mercilessly make fun of the disappointments (England, England, England), we should be able to front run with the winners, right? Argentina won its second straight gold medal in the Olympic soccer tournament over the weekend, beating Nigeria 1-0 on a goal by Angel Di Maria (the man who more or less made Freddy Adu expendable at Benfica). The game was played in stifling midday heat, and was not terribly captivating to the drunken bar patrons I was sitting next to at 2am. The Albiceleste arguably made a much bigger statement earlier last week, reducing Brazil to joga feo and shocking the Dutch in extra time thanks to a great through ball from Lionel Messi. At this point, they ought to be favorites to win the World Cup in 22 months (!) time.
You could pretty much swap the Olympic squad for the current senior team and not miss much. Of the overage players Argentina brought to the tournament, the temperamental genius Juan Roman Riquelme and Javier Mascherano would certainly keep their places, but most of the U-23s already start for the senior nationals. Messi, of course, is the chief attacking threat, but Di Maria, Kun Aguero, Gago, and Banega all offer substantial presence going forward. Of the offensive-minded senior team players not at the Olympics, only Carlos Tevez is assured of not losing his place to the new generation (and of course he is only 24).
Its different at the back, where the current first choice backline, anchored by Burdisso, Zanetti, and Heinze, probably doesn't include any of the U-23s. Zanetti is 35 though, and he will most likely not be starting come South Africa. Abbadonziari doesn't exactly inspire confidence in goal, either, but at 36 perhaps he can mentor his Getafe teammate Ustari.
In any case, Sergio Batista has to be a hot commodity in Argentine managerial circles right now. Should senior team manager Alfio Basile be looking over his shoulder? There are rumblings that Diego Simeone is unsettled at River Plate, Batista's former club (River lost at the weekend). Perhaps Los Millionarios will make a move for the newly hot commodity.
At this point, Argentina certainly look like the better bet for glory in 2010 than their arch rivals, who are currently in shambles. While Brazil beat the Albiceleste 3-0 in the Copa America final last year, it was due to Dunga's use of two defensive midfielders who were able to shut down Riquelme. Needless to say, the Brazilian press is not happy with the dour, Sven-esque tactics that have been used of late. According to the LA Times, even the President is pissed off:
First step for Brazil is to get Ronaldinho off the burgers. Then stop playing defensively when they can throw out Pato, Robinho, and Kaka in attack. Also fire Dunga. In any case, Argentina have put themselves up there with Spain as co favorites for South Africa. Olympic success doesn't usually translate at World Cups (Gold medals in the last twenty years: USSR, Spain, Nigeria, Cameroon, ArgieX2). Here's hoping that this summer's tournaments are a portend of things to come and teams like Argentina and Spain are in the final in two years time, instead of boring, defensive shitboxes like Germany and Italy.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Shanghai Surprise
Well this is likely to get messy.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
But perhaps the ruling earlier in the week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that clubs did not have to release players for the Olympics wasn't translated into Spanish as the one of the key figures in the row, Lionel Messi, was on the pitch for the Albicelete's Olympic opener against the Ivory Coast.
Barcelona wanted Messi in club colors as they have a Champions League qualifier that overlaps with the Olympic schedule, while Messi wanted to play in the Olympics to fulfill a boyhood dream of winning a gold medal.
Thing is this wasn't a sneak attach as Argentine coach Sergio Batista said that, even after the CAS ruling, Messi would play.
Good thing for the Albiceleste as Messi netted the first goal then, late in the second half, did all the hard work that led to the Argies 86th minute match winner. Messi got loose deep on the left side and let fly with a howler. The Ivorian keeper was able to get a hand on the ball, but it deflected right in front where Acosta poked it into an open goal: 2-1 Argentina.
Update: Apparently, Barca is totally cool with Messi playing, meaning that ultimately this story boils down to: "Soccer player plays soccer." Awesome.
Hey, sometimes this shit happens while we're asleep. We'll take credit just for finding soccer on TV at 7 am on a Thursday.
Posts
