Due to a TiVo glitch, I didn't get to watch the whole Kobenhavn - Barcelona game. What I did see left me with the distinct impression that Barca got all they could handle.
Barcelona scored first but Kobenhavn tied the score soon after. Barcelona seems to have hit their traditional 60+ % ball possession, but for much of the game that number seemed excessively high.
In fact, for large stretches of the last third of the game, the Blaugrana were barely able to get the ball. Kobenhavn pressured them from the top and almost completely plugged Barcelona's ball circulation from goal. This was the most impressive thing that I was from this upstart team. Their courage in pressuring Barcelona almost netted them the winning goal. N'Doye's potential winner was annulled for his push-off.
Barca fans will tell you that their team were superior - and they might have been - but it was a very slight edge. This was nothing like Barca's blow-outs of Lyon or Bayern in their championship year.
Just in case, you didn't think that the game was that close, Guardiola showed his nerves getting into a post-game fracas with Kobenhaven coach Stale Solbakken.
Enjoy the videos below.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Exciting Matches in Tuesday's Champion's League Games (11/2/2010)
Tuesday November 2nd is the first day of the 4th round of Champion's League Ligilla. The games I'm most looking forward to are the match between Tottenham and Inter and the match between Valencia and Glasgow.
Inter and Tottenham got together last week for a 4-3 tale of two halves. Inter lept out to an early lead with a goal in the first minute by captain Javier Zanetti. By the end of the half, Inter had a 4-0 lead. It nearly wasn't enough.
Gareth Bale put the Hot Spurs on his back and brought the score back to 4-3 before the final whistle. Check out the video below.
Adding to the curiosity, Inter's coach Rafa Benitez returns to the league he is most familiar with: the English Premier League. Despite Rafa's clear advantage in familiarity and firepower, the home squad should give them all they can handle. It should be interesting.
Valencia and Glasgow should be interesting too. Valencia were punching well above their weight in Spain's La Liga until recently. They find themselves in 3rd in group C of the table; their 4 points trail Man U's 7 and Glasgow's 5. Can Valencia shrug off their cool streak and give the Rangers a loss? I think so.
I look forward to seeing Joaquin running rampant on the right flank and Valencia scoring 3 goals.
I'm less excited about the Barcelona - Copenhagen match. I expect Denmark's finest to sit back and play their best anti-football. Hopefully Barcelona can break through and get a few away goals.
Inter and Tottenham got together last week for a 4-3 tale of two halves. Inter lept out to an early lead with a goal in the first minute by captain Javier Zanetti. By the end of the half, Inter had a 4-0 lead. It nearly wasn't enough.
Gareth Bale put the Hot Spurs on his back and brought the score back to 4-3 before the final whistle. Check out the video below.
Adding to the curiosity, Inter's coach Rafa Benitez returns to the league he is most familiar with: the English Premier League. Despite Rafa's clear advantage in familiarity and firepower, the home squad should give them all they can handle. It should be interesting.
Valencia and Glasgow should be interesting too. Valencia were punching well above their weight in Spain's La Liga until recently. They find themselves in 3rd in group C of the table; their 4 points trail Man U's 7 and Glasgow's 5. Can Valencia shrug off their cool streak and give the Rangers a loss? I think so.
I look forward to seeing Joaquin running rampant on the right flank and Valencia scoring 3 goals.
I'm less excited about the Barcelona - Copenhagen match. I expect Denmark's finest to sit back and play their best anti-football. Hopefully Barcelona can break through and get a few away goals.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sporting de Gijon 1 - Villareal 1: The Yellow Submarine Can't Keep Up
Villareal, known in Spain as the Yellow Submarine wasn't able to keep pace with Barcelona and Madrid. Their loss leaves them in third, 4 points adrift of Real and 3 behind Barca.
It would have been good to see U.S. forward Jozy Altidore score a game winning goal. It was not to be.
It would have been good to see U.S. forward Jozy Altidore score a game winning goal. It was not to be.
FC Barcelona 5 - Sevilla 0: A Question of "Feeling"
When asked why Barcelona would exchange the swift Cameroonian striker, Samuel Eto'o for the agile, athletic Swede, Zlatan Ibrahimovic; Josep Guardiola replied that it was a, "Question of Feeling." Now, a year and a half after Barca's failed forward experiment, Guardiola has Villa. By all signs David Villa does have "feeling" with his coach and his Barcelona teammates and the result was on display Saturday. Barcelona erased Sevilla from the field 5 - 0.
The difference between this and previous Barca matches this year was the intensity the team brought to the field, the movement of David Villa in relation to his teammates, and the accuracy that Barcelona displayed in front of goal.
Those traits, maintained with focus, provided Barcelona with a killer instinct that they haven't shown so far this season. Rather than be content with a 2-0 lead, the Blaugrana were on the hunt for goals up to the very last minute of the game. When Sevilla went down to 10 men early in the second half, Guardiola's troops didn't show any mercy. This ruthless, relentless attitude is necessary for Barcelona to win the league. Their laughable ball-possession can put other teams to sleep but it can also put their own team to sleep. When Barcelona falls asleep, a savvy team with a fast forward can quickly score a goal or two and change the course of a game. When Barcelona displays the killer instinct that they had on Saturday, there are few teams that won't be blown out.
Lionel Messi got things started with a hard, low shot off of a rebound. The tangled human fence of bodies in front of him couldn't stop or slow down Lio's powerful shot.
Nowhere was Barcelona's "feeling" more evident than in the second goal. As Messi received the ball on the right near midfield, David Villa cleared right from his center position to make room for Messi. Lio moved forward and dished the ball off to Villa on the right. As Villa entered the box from the right, it looked like he would attempt to cross. Instead, he slipped past his marker and let loose a perfect shot with his left foot that exploded against the net, just inside the left post.
It was also Villa that put the finishing touches on the evening with a run across the face of goal, outside the box. As he ran from (his) right to left, his shot crossed the goalkeeper to find a home inside the right post of the goal.
Villa's run mimicked that of teammate Messi earlier in the game. Both had the ball for significant time, crossed from right to left and unleashed a shot shortly after passing the middle of the box.
It was this kind of movement that allowed Barcelona to find the scoring chances that they had been lacking earlier in the year. That movement was evident last week as Villa set up Messi twice in Barca's victory over Zaragoza. Against Sevilla, that movement paid off over and over again.
Now that Messi and Villa have developed an understanding, I think you can expect to see a profane amount of goals. These two players are so fast, so generous and so lethal in front of goal; that I expect them to break scoring records. Also, impressive was Pedro's work (see below how he embarrasses Konko out of the game) on the left. Will he be able to move up the goal-scorer's board?
It's good to see Barcelona get that scoring feeling back.
The difference between this and previous Barca matches this year was the intensity the team brought to the field, the movement of David Villa in relation to his teammates, and the accuracy that Barcelona displayed in front of goal.
Those traits, maintained with focus, provided Barcelona with a killer instinct that they haven't shown so far this season. Rather than be content with a 2-0 lead, the Blaugrana were on the hunt for goals up to the very last minute of the game. When Sevilla went down to 10 men early in the second half, Guardiola's troops didn't show any mercy. This ruthless, relentless attitude is necessary for Barcelona to win the league. Their laughable ball-possession can put other teams to sleep but it can also put their own team to sleep. When Barcelona falls asleep, a savvy team with a fast forward can quickly score a goal or two and change the course of a game. When Barcelona displays the killer instinct that they had on Saturday, there are few teams that won't be blown out.
Lionel Messi got things started with a hard, low shot off of a rebound. The tangled human fence of bodies in front of him couldn't stop or slow down Lio's powerful shot.
Nowhere was Barcelona's "feeling" more evident than in the second goal. As Messi received the ball on the right near midfield, David Villa cleared right from his center position to make room for Messi. Lio moved forward and dished the ball off to Villa on the right. As Villa entered the box from the right, it looked like he would attempt to cross. Instead, he slipped past his marker and let loose a perfect shot with his left foot that exploded against the net, just inside the left post.
It was also Villa that put the finishing touches on the evening with a run across the face of goal, outside the box. As he ran from (his) right to left, his shot crossed the goalkeeper to find a home inside the right post of the goal.
Villa's run mimicked that of teammate Messi earlier in the game. Both had the ball for significant time, crossed from right to left and unleashed a shot shortly after passing the middle of the box.
It was this kind of movement that allowed Barcelona to find the scoring chances that they had been lacking earlier in the year. That movement was evident last week as Villa set up Messi twice in Barca's victory over Zaragoza. Against Sevilla, that movement paid off over and over again.
Now that Messi and Villa have developed an understanding, I think you can expect to see a profane amount of goals. These two players are so fast, so generous and so lethal in front of goal; that I expect them to break scoring records. Also, impressive was Pedro's work (see below how he embarrasses Konko out of the game) on the left. Will he be able to move up the goal-scorer's board?
It's good to see Barcelona get that scoring feeling back.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Hércules 1 - Real Madrid 3: The Giant Killers Almost Make it 2
Modest Hércules is a small team from the Spanish coastal town of Alicante. They've only recently made it to Spain's first division, and while they haven't threatened to take position at the top of the league table, they have racked up 2 very impressive results - beating both Barcelona and Sevilla. They almost had a third scalp against Real Madrid.
Their first giant killing took place in no less than Barcelona's Camp Nou, where their impressive display of counterattacking soccer was more impressive than that of Mourinho's 2009 Inter team. The team from Alicante scored 2 on quick Nelson Valdez counterattacks but had opportunities to make it 5 or 6 - 0. Despite have a little over 20% ball possession, they dominated the game.
The rest of the league hasn't been so sunny for the team from the Costa Blanca. Hércules had only 9 points after 8 matches, for a 3rd place in the league. Their match with rival Almeria looked promising, but ended in a 1-1 draw.
So it was surprising to see the team named for Zeus' bastard son go face to face with the galaticos of Real Madrid.
They got off to a great start when Cortés floated a perfect pass from outside the box on the right sideline. The ball landed squarely on the head of David Trezeguet and looped perfectly over Iker Casillas into the upper right corner of the goal. 3 minutes into the game and Madrid had been hit with a bucket of cold water.
Hércules continued their stellar play throughout the first half, attacking with speed and precision. Nelson Valdez almost scored the second with a close shot that San Iker De La Sagrada Camiseta Blanca only just saved.
Los Blancos played better in the second half, holding more possession and taking the sting out of the Alicante attack. A powerful shot from distance by Christiano Ronaldo was bobbled and pounced on by (possibly Madrid's best signing of the year) Di Maria.
In the end, Hércules' third task couldn't be completed. A superb Marcelo run along the end line, left defenders behind and set up a beautiful pull-back pass. Where the first shot was blocked, Christiano Ronaldo put in the rebound. Even Benzema got into the effort, setting up CR 7/9s second goal.
Perhaps the heroes from the Costa Blanca will be able to pull of the upset when they visit Madrid in Bernabeau.
Aside: Is there any more dislikable player than Christiano Ronaldo? His over-the-top victory celebrations, his constant pouting when things go wrong and his intentional kicks of fallen competitors earn him top-douchebag honors in the eyes of this blog. His miserable personality takes all the joy out of watching one of the world's best players. Sad! That's a matter for another post, though.
Their first giant killing took place in no less than Barcelona's Camp Nou, where their impressive display of counterattacking soccer was more impressive than that of Mourinho's 2009 Inter team. The team from Alicante scored 2 on quick Nelson Valdez counterattacks but had opportunities to make it 5 or 6 - 0. Despite have a little over 20% ball possession, they dominated the game.
The rest of the league hasn't been so sunny for the team from the Costa Blanca. Hércules had only 9 points after 8 matches, for a 3rd place in the league. Their match with rival Almeria looked promising, but ended in a 1-1 draw.
So it was surprising to see the team named for Zeus' bastard son go face to face with the galaticos of Real Madrid.
They got off to a great start when Cortés floated a perfect pass from outside the box on the right sideline. The ball landed squarely on the head of David Trezeguet and looped perfectly over Iker Casillas into the upper right corner of the goal. 3 minutes into the game and Madrid had been hit with a bucket of cold water.
Hércules continued their stellar play throughout the first half, attacking with speed and precision. Nelson Valdez almost scored the second with a close shot that San Iker De La Sagrada Camiseta Blanca only just saved.
Los Blancos played better in the second half, holding more possession and taking the sting out of the Alicante attack. A powerful shot from distance by Christiano Ronaldo was bobbled and pounced on by (possibly Madrid's best signing of the year) Di Maria.
In the end, Hércules' third task couldn't be completed. A superb Marcelo run along the end line, left defenders behind and set up a beautiful pull-back pass. Where the first shot was blocked, Christiano Ronaldo put in the rebound. Even Benzema got into the effort, setting up CR 7/9s second goal.
Perhaps the heroes from the Costa Blanca will be able to pull of the upset when they visit Madrid in Bernabeau.
Aside: Is there any more dislikable player than Christiano Ronaldo? His over-the-top victory celebrations, his constant pouting when things go wrong and his intentional kicks of fallen competitors earn him top-douchebag honors in the eyes of this blog. His miserable personality takes all the joy out of watching one of the world's best players. Sad! That's a matter for another post, though.
Happy Birthday Diego! Maradona celebrates his 50th
Diego Maradona turns 50 today and this blogger would like to wish him a happy 6th century. Maradona was clearly one of the 3 greatest football (soccer) players ever. I didn't have the pleasure of watching "La Pelusa" live but I have enjoyed countless highlights on video and on the internet. Feliz cumpleaños, Diego!
In honor of the man from Villa Fiorito, Argentina, I thought I post one of Maradona's favorite goals - his Copa de la Liga goal against Real Madrid from 1983.
One very accurate commentator pointed out that, "Diego didn't elude you, he humiliated you." He does so here, evading the goalie and a defender who slams his man parts into the goal post - ouch! When Maradona apologized to him, defender Juan José told him to "Vete a tomar por culo" (Go take it up the ass). Here's the full interview on Argentina's Olé.
If you've enjoyed reading this or any other post, please follow this blog. Also, please vote in the surveys at the bottom of the page. Thanks
In honor of the man from Villa Fiorito, Argentina, I thought I post one of Maradona's favorite goals - his Copa de la Liga goal against Real Madrid from 1983.
One very accurate commentator pointed out that, "Diego didn't elude you, he humiliated you." He does so here, evading the goalie and a defender who slams his man parts into the goal post - ouch! When Maradona apologized to him, defender Juan José told him to "Vete a tomar por culo" (Go take it up the ass). Here's the full interview on Argentina's Olé.
If you've enjoyed reading this or any other post, please follow this blog. Also, please vote in the surveys at the bottom of the page. Thanks
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Murcia 0 - Real Madrid 0: Ghosts of Alcorcón
In case the 2010-2011 Copa del Rey lacked drama, Jose Mourinho decided to add more: he announced that Madrid was out to win the competition that had embarrassed them the past few years. He also announced if his starting lineup didn't have the motivation to play in the Copa del Rey, he'd replace them with players from Castilla (Madrid's development squad).
How did Mou's motivational tactics go over? Not very well. Los Merengues could only tie Murcia and didn't play the most brilliant football. Christiano Ronaldo started but couldn't break the game open as he has the past 3 league matches.
Is Madrid still haunted by the Alcorconazo, the humiliating defeat at the hands of a 3rd division (Segunda B) team from the suburbs of Madrid? You bet they are.
That 4-0 defeat, more than any other game, sentenced last year's coach Manuel Pellegrini. It was also probably the death knell for Guti.
I'll explore this a little more in coming days but before I do, here are some of the amazing scenes from last year's King's Cup shocker! I wish I could find the video that showed Alcorcón's warm-up-suit-wearing youth storming the field after the win - that was my favorite part.
How did Mou's motivational tactics go over? Not very well. Los Merengues could only tie Murcia and didn't play the most brilliant football. Christiano Ronaldo started but couldn't break the game open as he has the past 3 league matches.
Is Madrid still haunted by the Alcorconazo, the humiliating defeat at the hands of a 3rd division (Segunda B) team from the suburbs of Madrid? You bet they are.
That 4-0 defeat, more than any other game, sentenced last year's coach Manuel Pellegrini. It was also probably the death knell for Guti.
I'll explore this a little more in coming days but before I do, here are some of the amazing scenes from last year's King's Cup shocker! I wish I could find the video that showed Alcorcón's warm-up-suit-wearing youth storming the field after the win - that was my favorite part.
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