A home clasico, no restrictions on attendance, and a classic 6-pointer. What more could you ask for? If Barça win, they’ll leapfrog Real Madrid into 3rd in the table (pending other results, of course). Mighty Osasuna is in 2nd, but they’ve played 10 matches while most other teams have played 8. It’s Real Sociedad at… Continue reading It’s that time of year again: El Clasico
Busquets, hopes, dreams and affirmation
“I’m not the man I once was.” Once a man gets to a certain age, this universal truth stomps the terra like a mastodon, banging a gong marked “Truth.” Second to second, minute to minute, the brutality of the passage of time and its effects on performance are part of life. Athletes are particularly aware… Continue reading Busquets, hopes, dreams and affirmation
A Strange and Twisted Tale
We often remember things and people as a series of emotional moments. We don’t really control them, but we have vivid recall when it matters most. I remember the moment I met my wife more than 14 years ago, although she was just a friend-of-a-friend and at the time it was no more momentous a… Continue reading A Strange and Twisted Tale
Distant Stadiums and Broken Clubs
Today is really about one thing: crumbling infrastructure. It may seem like it’s about other things because I’m going to mention food, the Lord of the Rings, and even Power Rangers, but it’s actually all about infrastructure. As an American, I am no strange to oddly placed stadiums. In fact, it’s weirder to me to… Continue reading Distant Stadiums and Broken Clubs
Barça 3, Levante 0, aka “Freedom means no fear”
The late, great Nina Simone, when asked what freedom meant to her, had a simple answer: “I’ll tell you what freedom is to me. No fear.” And for the first and probably last time that the iconic singer’s words have a football parallel, it’s impossible not to have those thoughts come to mind in the… Continue reading Barça 3, Levante 0, aka “Freedom means no fear”
Without Messi, what is there?
From 1991 to 1998, the Chicago Bulls won six championships, in two blocks of three, a span interrupted by the time that Michael Jordan was away from the team. Jordan left the Bulls after that last championship in 1998, and the Bulls have been varying degrees of janky ever since. Last season, Lionel Messi produced… Continue reading Without Messi, what is there?
The problem with Koeman
Back when everyone was raving about Quique Setien after his Betis side got a result against Barça, I had a TV show appearance in which that question came up. My answer was, “I don’t want him anywhere near the Camp Nou, because his teams still make the same mistakes, even after all of his time… Continue reading The problem with Koeman
When Koeman goes …
Here is what a new manager at FC Barcelona will have to look forward to: –A brilliant collection of young talent, all nurtured in a hothouse that pretty much ignores modern football–A nucleus in the person of four captains, all of who are past it and psychologically about as strong as a house of cards–Placing… Continue reading When Koeman goes …
Barça 0, Bayern Munich 3, aka “There’s hope, but …”
Nothing about the FC Barcelona experience is like a modern club. As grim reailty goes, that is a good place to start. The Camp Nou is, like the team, a construction zone. It’s in too many parts dusty, gray and musty, redolent with a scent that only a romantic would consider history. It’s just old.… Continue reading Barça 0, Bayern Munich 3, aka “There’s hope, but …”
Barça v Bayern, aka “Not again!”
Bayern has a tendency to pop up at seismic times for FC Barcelona. One style of play has reached its end of life? There’s Bayern. The most powerful front three in the game need a showcase? There’s Bayern. A team is reeling from a managerial change and is a psychological mess? There’s Bayern. And now,… Continue reading Barça v Bayern, aka “Not again!”
Barça’s transfer window, aka ‘Boulevard of broken dreams’
Imagine if, during election campaign season, Laporta said, “The summer is going to be a salary dump. I will probably have to move Messi on, and a bunch of other players. Bear with me, though, as we get through all of this together.” He still would probably have won, but eyes would have been open.… Continue reading Barça’s transfer window, aka ‘Boulevard of broken dreams’
Ain’t no love when it comes to money. It’s just … money
Emerson Royal, delighted to be a player for FC Barcelona, complete with presentation and giddy signing ceremony, was shipped off to Tottenham in the next-to-last day of the transfer window. His career at his dream club lasted some training sessions, two matches and most of a transfer window. Clubs demand loyalty and set themselves up… Continue reading Ain’t no love when it comes to money. It’s just … money