Monday 20 April 2009

Barcelona deserve Champions League

author: Rob Shepherd
source: News of the World

date: 11 April 2009
editing: fcbtransfers.blogspot.com






FC Barcelona is the focal point of Catalonia, the proud province which sees itself as a country within a country. It is a club owned by its constituent member fans, not bankers. No oligarchs from Russia, American gold diggers or wealthy Arabs will ever have enough money to bribe the people of Barcelona to allow the family silver be sold in the way it has at Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and, possibly, Arsenal.

The Nou Camp fans elect a president and expect him to deliver not just a winning team but one which does so in exotic style. So heads will roll if trophies are not lifted with panache.

The night before Terry Venables was axed by the club, the wine flowed in a celebration of a reign that had seen him bring back La Liga for the first time in 11 years. But a penalty shoot-out failure in the European Cup final against Steaua Bucharest after a grim goalless draw was too much to suffer and El Tel was soon history. Barca eventually landed the big one in 1992 under the guidance of Johan Cruyff.

Now managed by Guardiola, the team is a legitimate son of that sensational Cruyff side. The pace of their passing movement and interchanges can be just jaw dropping. Just take the front three. Leo Messi is Cristiano Ronaldo without the antics. Samuel Eto'o is Didier Drogba without the diving and Thierry Henry is, well, back to being classic Henry. It is a mark of how wonderfully they combine that their frontline has improved since Ronaldinho left.

So far this season they have scored 113 goals in all competitions, 85 of which have been come in La Liga, many more than England's top scorers, Liverpool.They define Hiddink's philosophy of defending from the front. The midfield rocks of Andres Iniesta and Xavi are so good that even if Cesc Febregas goes back to his roots in the summer, Arsenal's talisman would struggle to get a regular game.

Taking off the English blinkers, they are a cut above all contenders at the moment. It would be damned shame if Barca don't go on to lift the Champions League trophy.

read the full and original article here


Read more:
Barça's beauty lies in their bite
Barcelona Is Winning With Style
Barcelona the team to avoid in Champions League

5 comments:

Bogman said...

I think it's blasphemy to compare C. Ronaldo whith Messi. Ronaldo does'nt stand a chance! He is just fluff, just like Robinho whith his endless scissors-moves, and an occasional good goal. That does'nt make him a god footballer...

Areign said...

this is a biased article. messi is cronaldo without the sucking.

also bogman, i'll let it pass this time, but ronaldo plays on Corinthians. Cronaldo is the woman playing on the flank at ManU.

sashi said...

seems Chelsea are without Carvalho too... so it would be 4 from the following guys defending at the Nou Camp : Essien, Belletti,Ivanovic,Terry, Mancienne( youth player who plays CB recently called up for England senior team)... he might be marking Messi at the left... check here...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1172202/Ready-Messi-Michael-Chelsea-consider-Mancienne-Barcelona-showdown.html

would be the perfect murder... :) Messi gonna kill Chelsea for sure...

Aussie Barca Fan said...

This article insn't bad. He is praising Barca and trying to be somewhat unbiased. He is right in many of the things he writes...We are far better than any of the English clubs in scoring, and we play with a certain 'penache' that excites football lovers worldwide. He is absolutely correct "It would be damned shame if Barca don't go on to lift the Champions League trophy." It would be a travesty for football if we didn't.

hieifcb said...

wont Alex(Chelsea) play the Camp Nou game?
Then I dnt think they need to grab a random youth player. lol

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