And the Championship dream stays alive

Even the wall falls for Ronaldinho.

This was the most nerve wrecking match for anyone who remotely cares about Barcelona. Werder Bremen vs Barcelona. A draw means elimination, a lose is a most definite elimination. Only a win would ensure Barça to stay on till the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League.

The final score is 2 – 0 with Barcelona being the winners.

And it was a performance by champions indeed. Granted that I began to fall asleep during the second half. It was already 4.30 am and I was running a fever, but nevertheless, I shall do the best I can to report.

Determined to win
The match started with Barcelona dominating very strongly. The commentators for the match were eagerly jabbering about how the first twenty minutes would go a long way to determine the winners of the match. I hated to admit it, but they were perfectly correct. Anyone with sufficient experience in match watching will know this and it is especially true for big matches. Barça definitely knew this too and they went all out to secure the first blood.

It was stunning night in Camp Nou. I remember how the fans were cheering SO loudly and determinedly, “Barça! Barça!”. Normally, I never hear any audible words from the spectators, but that night there was no mistaking that the word ‘Barça’ was on everyone’s lips.

The minute the whistle was blown, Barcelona launched straight into attack mode. There was no hesistation and the ball only went in one direction, towards goal. It took Barcelona no time at all to find their rhythm. In comparison, Werder Bremen looked somewhat disorientated and there were pockets of inconsistency.

First blood: Ronaldinho’s cunning free kick

In the 13th minute, Ronaldinho had just won a free kick for Barcelona. Some people had words to say on how the free kick was won but no one could deny that contact had indeed been made. As usual, Ronaldinho took up his position behind the ball. Just as everyone expected him to do his usual left curling overhead free kick, Ronaldinho tucked the ball under the wall! During the split second when everyone was wondering where was the ball, it burst through from under the wall and beyond Bremen keeper, Tim Wiese’s reach.

The entire Camp Nou gasped at that bit of artful trickery.

Compounding goal: Eidur Gudjohnsen’s goal

Before the rest of Camp Nou could put their hand over their hearts, Barcelona broke through with another goal. A long cross from the right by Ronaldinho reached Giuly. Some artful planning and Giuly skipped being offside by giving the ball to the waiting Gudjohnsen. Gudjohnsen, having a good run with strikers Eto’o and Messi out, made the best of his chance and scored the second goal of the night. During that 18th minute, Barcelona never looked stronger.

Nervous game
The night wore on and everyone was still horribly nervous. While Barça scored two convincing goals in the determining 20th minute window, the ball is round and anything can happen. Werder Bremen, shell shocked by the two goals that occurred in such quick succession were reacting badly. Barcelona continued to dominate the ball and went for the attack time and again. Then at the half hour mark, Werder Bremen began to snap to action. Wome of Bremen delivers a threatening cross that was swept away by the alert Gio van Brockhorst.

Giuly, a slip up

Late in the second half, Giuly missed a great chance to make the tally 3 – 0 before half time. Deco shone with all the midfielder prominence and brilliance. He tore up the midfield with such speed and grace, the Werder Bremen midfielders were just trying to catch up with him. The waiting Gudjohnsen relieved Deco of the ball and sidestepped four Bremen defenders with supreme agility and attempted a shot. The ball glanced off the post and landed within Giuly’s reach, but Giuly screwed it up. And it was an open goal too. A dreadful finish to a great buildup.

The rest of the ten minutes were unremarkable as the game folded into half time.

Second half, the German domination
To be honest, I paid scarce attention to the second half. Partly because I felt slightly relieved as Barcelona had already bagged a convicingly lead in the first half. The other part of the reason was because I was getting drowsy from my medication.

The Werder Bremen players clearly had a rousing pep talk during the half time break. They came on very strongly, determined to dominate and score. In the first half, they played a slow, cautious game. Their initial strategy was probably to gain ball possession, retain possession and wear out the Catalans with the ball chasing game. But they underestimated the power of the offensive style that Barcelona is so feared for. In the second round, tactics have changed and Werder Bremen was ready to show the world their glittery lineup of offensive players.

Diego, a diamond in the rough?
Early second half, Diego had a brush with Carles Puyol. Apparently, Puyol had been too eager to defend and had landed an ugly challenged on the midfielder. Diego was a consistent player in the match with an eye for goalscoring chances. He showed that when he attempted an overhead scorer in the 48th minute. His efforts flew wide but it went a long way to show that he’s not afraid to try to score. If he brushes up on his finishing, he might become a true force to content with.

Klose, not close enough
The man to be feared from the Bremen side. I saw him perform during the World Cup for Germany. Young, sharp and terribly swift within the box, Klose is indeed almost every team’s dream striker. In the match this night, Klose breached the Barça more than couple of times and on one memorable occasion, responded too late to an effort by his team for goal.

In the 54th minute, Klose worried the Barça defence and made Valdes sit up as he had to race to thwack the ball away with his hand. Klose has a sharp eye for gaps. Many players have that too, but he shines for he can actually utilise them to his benefit. He made me nervous when I was watching. I felt if there was one single Werder Bremen player that could TRULY worry the Barça defence that night, it was only him. And perhaps, some assisting from the very willing Werder Bremen midfielders. But I’m not dismissing the rest of the Bremen team.

So I end this
I don’t want to go on about this match forever. Then isn’t even much to analyse. The match is simple. It a match between a German side and a Spanish side. A Spanish side that is VERY sure of they want and very insistent on achieving it. For now, that much is clear. I will supplement this post with the respective videos when it’s up.

In response to readers
I’m SO happy to have so many people reading my reports. Yes, I will try to post as soon as I can. With regards to the videos, it is very much dependent on the availability in Youtube. Usually within 3 days of the match, videos will be available. Once again, many thanks for reading and posting observations.

Shiren
Thanks for your very rich insights. I have to agree about Victor Valdes not being the best that Barça should have. But Valdes has a spirit that shows he will be willing to die for Barcelona if need arises. I do suppose loyalty counts for nuts in times of the crunch. But soccer being one of the most emotional sports in the world, I’d gladly have a loyal keeper than one who can fly by night at the lure of a 30 million pound transfer fee.

On the attacking front, when Eto’o and Messi return, we can only expect it to become more colourful and awesome. I’m looking forward to that. On Larsson’s departure, it’s a shame but Barcelona can still shine without him. The idea of signing Buffon is something that’s very interesting to contemplate. Yes, the Barcelona defense could do with a more vibrant defense and more responsive and energetic midfield. I always feel that the Barcelona midfield lacks something to shine to brilliance. It’s a lot better now, used be to just shameful. Especially during the times when Barcelona lost to Chelsea and Real Madrid in quick succession.

Lastly, Ronaldinho scored two goals that night. The first one with the 5-0 hand sign is the penalty that he scored. After careful observation, the still image is not the one he scored the bicycle kick goal. It should have been taken when he scored the penalty. Thanks for pointing it out.

Source of report: FC Barcelona, ESPN Soccernet, Youtube

Barcelona still in Champions League

Iniesta weeps with joy after scoring.*

The match against Levski Sofia was a very important match for Barcelona. Losing it would mean they were almost definitely out of the Champions League. Drawing it would their fates would be decided by the result of the Werder Bremen – Chelsea match. Only winning it would secure their place in the CLs, for now.

As fate would have it, Werder Bremen beat Chelsea with a 1 – 0 score. But the Barça team did not disappoint, they won Levski Sofia with 2 – 0 thus ensuring they would be in to face Werder Bremen on 5 December.

Despite this match being a crucial match for the Blaugrana, it wasn’t a spectacular match. The entire match was fraught with a sense of cautious playing and a wait-and-see approach. The cold weather was probably another reason. The home team, on the hand, gave it all they’ve got. They swarmed time again against the Barça defence but a lack of big match experience and a lack of strategy thwarted all their efforts.

Barcelona held an unusual formation for this game. The formation was 4321. A defensive formation, said Mr. X. True enough, it was indeed a passive gameplay by Barcelona. The opponent had 4231. A similarly defensive approach too. Most minnow teams when up against offensive teams like Barcelona, they employ defensive stances, which may or may not work…. results occur in varying degrees.

Levski raring to go right from the start
Levski Sofia bared their intent to win or at best, give Barcelona a hard time right from the blowing of the whistle. Levski kept the ball to their side of the pitch by playing the passing game. They’re pretty good at the passing game too. Levski would rather get the ball cleared than let it to slip to their opponents. But during the 2nd minute, Deco shot the first shot on goal, perhaps trying to emulate the early 3rd minute goal in the earlier game against Chelsea. But the shot missed. Not to be outdone by the Blaugrana, Levski grabbed the ball upon re-entry and darted horribly close to goal. They missed.

First goal
Barcelona drew first blood in the fourth minute when Giuly seized the right cross from Zambrotta. Levski failed to intercept the ball in time. In my opinion it was a goal that should have not happened but too bad that Levski did not intercept the long cross from Zambrotta in time. Good for us, bad for them. Good for Giuly who seized the moment perfectly. If it were Gudjohnsen, he might have missed the chance for Gudjohnsen has a tendency to hesitate in the box.

Face-off
Later in the sixth minute, Gudjohsen was tripped and a free kick was awarded to Barcelona. Ronaldinho was unable to get the free kick into the net this time. Just two minutes later, Ronaldinho had his face mashed by a Levski defender. Ronaldinho looked visibly annoyed as he clapped a hand over his blinded eye. As though one fash mashing incident was not enough, Gudjohnsen had his face mashed too during a free kick scuffle in the twelfth minute.

Valdes saves
A couple of times Levski got too near to goal but Valdes was always there to save the ball in time. Sometimes when the defenders got distacted and Levski seized the chance to try to score, Valdes proves to frustrate their efforts. While Levski seems to finish rather poorly, running out of steam just before the goalpost, Valdes left no room for accidents.

Missed chance by Barcelona
Gudjohnsen fumbled a chance to score by hesitating for one second too long in front of the goal. He had gotten ahead of the defenders, should he had taken a decisive kick towards goal, he might have scored. But he dawdled and the defenders caught up and wrangled the ball from him.

Second goal
The second goal was from Iniesta, man of the moment. Deco had the ball and decided it was time to go for goal. But he missed by just a bit. Just as everyone thought the ball would surely be cleared soon, Iniesta burst right up and finished the goal in an extremely classy fashion. Once again, Iniesta left his opponents slackjawed as he danced around celebrating with his team. Iniesta has proved himself to have a sharp eye for finishing and a certain speediness and agility in his movements. In the days to come, watch this man, he will become an essential gear in the Barcelona structure, if not already a major gear.

Well, so what I think..
I did not watch the match to full time because I felt certain that another goal was not likely to happen. Rijkaard obviously told his players to play it low key and prevent overstretching themselves. That was being practical for Levski Sofia is hardly a team to bring out all the artillery for. The ball possesion was a mere 46% for Barcelona. They were hardly touching the ball yet managed to score two goals. A perfect showcase of watching waiting, effective goalscoring. There were barely any wasted movements from Barça. Levski Sofia was owning all the football teams in their own home league, but they’re still long way from becoming world class, apparently. Perhaps if they were in another group, they might have stayed a little longer in the league.

I was surprised at first that Chelsea lost to Werder Bremen. But upon reflection, I realised it wasn’t so surprising either. Werder Bremen won by a penalty and Chelsea was without Frank Lampard that night. But above everything, Chelsea no longer needed any points to advance to the knockout round, unlike Barcelona. They could afford to take it easy, play it slow.

For now, we are safe. The next match against Werder Bremen has several factors to our advantage. One being that the match will be played in Camp Nou. The support from the home crowd will be even more uproarious and passionate than usual, given the nature and severity of this match. The other being Rafa Marquez attaining his Spanish citizenship. This enables Barcelona to acquire another non-EU player for the senior squad. With our long list of casualties, another player for the flanks is most welcome.

Next match for Barcelona is against Villareal. This match looks to be a challenging one for Barça given that Barça has never won Villareal with a crushing victory before. One thing for sure, Barcelona will give it all they’ve got.

* I REALLY wanted to put a naughty caption like “Deco and Iniesta, what a sensational duo!” or “Deco tries to give Iniesta some much needed comforting”. But I’ll leave you all to wonder about that strange photo by yourselves.

Updates: Mrs. Ronaldinho is back from her shopping téte a téte. I will squeeze opinions from her to supplement the reviews again.

Source of report: FC Barcelona

Backlash

Still feeling passionate and impossibly furious about the match, I went to the Barcelona site to read about what news they have to put out. I wanted to know I was truly overeacting or there was indeed some foul play involved.

Boy, bad mistake.

Chelsea is really the most fucking ridiculous club I’ve ever read about. They talk shit, they play with no ethics and they never admit they are wrong. I have several reports from various sources to illustrate my point. And I so need to rage before I get myocardial infarction or aneurysm or a stroke or all three.

ESPN Soccernet: Chelsea to face fine over yellow cards at Barca
Source of report: EPSN Soccernet (click here to read report)

Quotes
Chelsea can expect a fine for ‘unsporting behaviour’ – any team collecting more than five yellow cards in a match faces action – and Barcelona could find themselves in more serious trouble.

UEFA are waiting for reports from Farina and their match delegate Wolfgang Thierrichter to see if they mention Rijkaard’s conduct – he had to be pulled away by Barca skipper Carles Puyol – or the Barcelona players’ pressurising of the referee by surrounding him during the game.

My take
I never knew that if a side gets more than 5 yellow cards, investigations will be launched. Well in some sense, this could be in good stead. ‘Unsporting behaviour’ is an understatement, I’ve never seen another club that plays as foul Chelsea does!

On the reaction of Rijkaard. He has always been a calm man, even he was overwrought by the ridiculous refereeing. He was just short of beating up Farina and it was Puyol that prevented that from happening. From a human standpoint, YES BEAT THAT FUCKING BASTARD UP! But from a logical standpoint, beating the bastard up isn’t going to help Barcelona earn 3 points… so don’t bother. Save up your rage for the next Chelsea clash.

Next..

Rijkaard: “It was a game to win”
Source of report: F.C Barcelona (click here to read report)

Quote
Referee Stefano Farina chose to add six minutes of extra time at the end of the game. Unfortunately, it was during this time that Chelsea snatched an equaliser. The real problem, though, was that the official then blew for full-time after 95 minutes. The reaction of many of the Barça players was to approach the referee and it was only Rijkaard’s intervention that stopped them. The Dutch coach did make use of his walk to the centre of the pitch to let Farina know what he thought as he gesticulated with six fingers to put his point across. It was an uncharacterisitc(sic) move by the Barça coach.

My take
(Barcelona should REALLY hire someone who actually proofreads his/her editorial properly.)

Mrs. Ronaldinho was right. Farina stopped the match before the stoppage time ran clean. But little difference it made. Chelsea was just angling for time wasting and more fouls on us. What a stupid match. Even Rijkaard was furious at the slipshop manner the match was concluded. If the referee can decided to end the match as he pleases and not respect the minutes on the clock, why even bother with stoppage time? Just end the match when you wife calls you home for dinner then.

Mourinho disappointed with Barcelona’s tactics
Source of report: ESPN Soccernet (click here to read report)

Quote #1
‘It was both sides contributing but clearly one was doing it more than the other.’

Farina incensed the home team in the first half when he appeared to book Ashley Cole without sending him off.

But it later emerged Lampard had received the first booking for dissent.

Mourinho said: ‘It was a yellow card for Lamps and it was always a yellow card for Lamps.

‘The fourth official answered my question immediately. The yellow card means Lamps is now suspended from the game against Werder Bremen and Ashley got his yellow card later.’

My take:
What the fuck. Both sides contributing and one side more than the other. Did you WATCH the match with your ASSHOLE, Mourinho? Did you see whose side was it that instigated the entire crapology? And if the yellow was mean for your ‘Lamps’ then what has Messi to do with that incident? So many unanswered questions.

Farina gave Cole TWO yellow cards but failed to remember he book Cole earlier and hence did send him off. To cover up his boo boo, he gave the yellow card to Messi (who was duly shocked and confused). I know Lampard was given another yellow card later, but I did not think it was part of the Cole-Messi incident. What a farce.

Quote #2
”Technically we were always under control against a very technical team. We are playing very well. The team is very mature

My take:
Mature? You got to be so kidding me. Or do you mean mature as in expiring soon?

Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea: Last-gasp Drogba
Source of report: ESPN Soccernet (click here to read report)

Quote(Insight onto the Cole-Messi yellow card incident)
He flashed the first yellow in the direction of Cole after giving a foul against Drogba. Lampard was standing near Cole at the time and it later emerged that he had been the one cautioned.

The booking for Lampard was his third of the competition and he will be suspended from Chelsea’s next game, away to Werder Bremen.

The seriousness of the confusion became clear, 10 minutes later, when Cole mistimed a tackle on Motta and was booked.

He showed the defender a yellow card but did not produce a red – and memories of Graham Poll in the World Cup were rekindled.

Barcelona players crowded the referee to convince him that the full-back was already in the book.

Farina went to the touchline to talk to Mourinho. He came back and booked Messi, presumably for something said – but still did not show Cole a red card.

My take
Thank you, Soccernet. So that’s how it happened, maybe. The next thing I want to do is to watch that whole sequence again. Given that Lampard really commited dissent, Messi really shot his mouth off (I really want to know what he said that warrants a yellow card) and that Cole tackled Motta…. I don’t understand why he can give Cole TWO yellow cards and not send him off?!

Righteous reward for Lampard
Source of report: UEFA.com (click here to read report)

Quote
Match suspension
The only down note for Lampard was that a first-half booking, which many had assumed was a yellow card for team-mate Ashley Cole, will rule him out of Chelsea’s Matchday 5 encounter with Werder Bremen. “It turns out that I was booked without knowing it and I did think when Ashley was shown ‘another’ yellow card I thought he was off,” he said. “I just hadn’t been aware of the ref booking me and I’m a bit frustrated that I’m now out of the next match. But it was all pretty simply sorted out when the referee looked at his notes and confirmed that I’d been booked in the first incident and not Ashley”

My take
Finally, I get it. So in early game, the yellow card flashed for Ashley Cole which was the REAL mistake. That one was meant for Lampard. Later during the fiasco between Messi, the yellow card was indeed meant for Cole. But because it was mistaken that the card for Lampard was awarded to Cole, everyone thought Cole already had TWO yellow cards. Truth was , it was only one.

Messi, therefore isn’t really embroiled in this… save for whatever he allegedly said to the referee that earned him a yellow card.

Wonder what he said?

Terry blasts ‘cynical’ Barca
Source of report: TEAMtalk(click here to read report)

Quote
Terry said: “Maybe Barcelona feel a little bit threatened by us. They were under pressure from their own fans going into the game after losing at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago.

“They are a great side but we are not too sure why they are so cynical. It is a shame when you see world-class players trying to get others booked. They tried all game.

My take
Wow, I hate what John Terry said so much, I scare myself. Whenever someone from the Chelsea camp comes up and talk about the other team being ‘all game’, I always throw this question back. The question is, “Do you happen to know Drogba and Lampard?”

This match has made me a fullblown Chelsea hater.

Sources of all reports: ESPN Soccernet, F.C. Barcelona, TEAMtalk and UEFA.com

Pride comes before a fall

That is what it is.

Barcelona lost to Chelsea in the highly anticipated CL group stage. I’m kind of upset about this, so bear with me.

When the match first kicked off, it was clear that Barcelona was in control of the game. Even within the first minute, I can see that Barca had already found that rhythm and were systematically passing the ball towards goal. What I noticed was different about Chelsea was that they were playing an oddly defensive manner. I ignored that at first, all focused on watching Barca take the first shot on goal. Zambrotta took the first shot after some extensive passing by Ronaldinho, Deco and Messi. It was foiled by Hilario. Hilario would in the later parts of the match prove that he would not let Mourinho down. He made Valdez look like an amateur beside him.

Messi’s legs were tied by Ashley Cole. The Chelsea fans weren’t exactly kind to Messi either. Mrs. Ronaldinho was telling me to listen carefully to the boos whenever Messi was on the ball. Messi’s performance today could have been better if a better strategy was employed. Messi spent or had to spend too much energy covering gaps in the midfield, to win chances to bring the ball near to the goalpost. He was one man playing three roles. Yes, he IS talented, but it doesn’t mean EXPLOIT him. Messi

Ronaldinho played fine today. Not spectacular but not as poor as he appeared to be in earlier matches. He managed to close the gaps between midlfield and the strikers. While in the first half, things worked out as such. When Ronaldinho managed to win the ball to his side, he’d pass the ball to Gudjohnsen, who in turn would analyse if he should score or pass. So sometimes, the ball went back to midfield or over to Messi. But Messi was unable to convert anything to a goal for Barcelona. Neither did Gudjohnsen manage. The Chelsea defence was just too impressive.

In the first half, Marquez was one man that saved half the Barcelona day. He was constantly deflecting shots delievered. He was like a human shield. The insurance against Valdez and his unpredictable behaviour. I’ll make a bold statement and say this, Barcelona can benefit a better keeper. While Valdez has his merits, his somewhat inconsistent keeping makes it painful for supporters to feel secure. To Valdez’s credit, he is willing to risk his limbs for Barcelona. One classic example was in the second half, after Drogba took the first goal, Drogba was in for the second. Puyol and Marquez were out to stop him from more carnage, while Drogba managed to flop to the ground like a shit (oh I mean, sheet), the ball was rolling dangerously near the goal. Valdez dashed forward and tucked the ball under himself with Drogba’s heavy, studdent foot on his arm. Never did Valdez flinch. He just got up and went on.

In the second half, where the horribleness happened. Drogba scored in the 47 minute with a demanding straight goal in. Then Chelsea played even more defensively… To the point of the formation becoming 8-1-1. Barcelona had to play stupidly. Like an ox smashing it’s brilliant horns against the wall. Time and again, Barcelona tried to weave into the Chelsea defence, hoping that the ball with stay STUCK on their feet and somehow cheat Hilario and score. That was how it was played. No strategy, no planning, NO THINKING. Like the Queen song, “And you’re rushing headlong, you’ve got a new goal. And you think you’re so strong but there’s nothing, nothing, nothing you can do about it.” Before long, the entire Barca team was utterly worn out by the rush-to-defence-try-break-defence-see-ball-sail-back-to-own-goal-rinse-and-repeat.

I am not sure what was Rijkaard thinking. Or if even was thinking.

Chelsea played well today. Mrs. Ronaldinho said that Barca reacted poorly to Mourinho’s change in tactics. Mourinho didn’t even really needed to use his substitutes. Shevchenko has made improvements. Not much stinky tricks were pulled, except for Drogba, who is incorrigible. Hilario is most impressive as a third choice keeper. His eye never left the ball. And their defence. Their eight man defence. So much like the weak teams in World Cup 2006. From the style of play, it IS apparent that Mourinho wanted to guard heavily against Barcelona and hence employed the defensive play, thereafter exploiting Barca’s weakness: her midfield. Match after match, I notice that about Barcelona, but nothing has really been done to correct it. Today it was Marquez to prevent a true dual goal tragedy… who’s next? Puyol? Zambrotta? Deco? Iniesta? That’s definitely not way to go.

Barca’s weak midfield created a form of blockage between strikers and defenders. A lot of ball possesion was snatched and lost in the midfield. Messi probably was aware of that and tried to apply himself. While his intentions are pure, it worn him out. In 87th minute, Messi tried to head a goal in but his moves were a tad slower than usual. Everyone had a look of sheer weariness, even Deco was wearing irritation all over his features. Later when Presas, Iniesta, Giuly came on for Puyol, Van Bronckhorst and Gudjohnsen, it was already way too late make an impact. Though there WAS and inflection of energy, it just flowed into chasing after the ball.

This match was stupid and a severe, FUCKING disappointment for me. Barca had EVERYTHING in their favour and still fuck it up. It take some kinda genius to do that. Total football? Try total foolball. Maybe this match will shake them up and let them realise that being strong, being favourites, being full of expectation is a truly heavy yoke to bear.

Source of report: Discussions between Mrs. Ronaldinho and me.