It’s all over and we’re all done. At least with La Liga. And, really, it was pretty fun despite some saying it wasn’t. People who don’t like children. And probably hate puppies, happiness, and rainbows too. Bah humbug and all that. But it really was entertaining and a great way to watch the youngsters. Now we can begin to break everything down, complain or rejoice in the relegations, and do the same for the promotions.

We started the match with Pinto, Adriano,Bartra, Fontas, Abidal, Maxwell, Thiago, Sergi Roberto, Afellay, Bojan, Jeffren arrayed in what looked like a wonky 3-4-3. The shadows at La Rosaleda kept me from understanding what was going on for about 30 minutes, but whatever, we were kind of trash and Maxwell kept trying to gift them the ball. They scored right as I figured out how to watch the game without squinting and I kind of wish I had kept doing it. Pinto did well, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop it.

And then we took over.

After being pinned back for so long that I noted to a friend that people would probably crap on Bojan for this game without considering that the ball hadn’t gotten out of our half, we suddenly figured out where to be and how to open up their midfield. We didn’t get more chances from that improved possession, actually, at least not before halftime, but we did end up winning a penalty. I haven’t seen it since the biased view I had from the bar, but at the time it looked stone cold and the tussle that ensued was pretty unbecoming of what had been a largely calm affair. Eliseu and Abidal were booked and frankly, Eliseu was lucky to escape with his feathers un-singed. He may be a kinder, gentler Abidal in everyday life, but as van Persie can attest there’s a different King Eric on the field. Would you tempt fate like that?

Bojan did celebrate his goal like he’d just scored the CL-winning goal and while that’s sorta lame because it was a penalty, it’s hard to really blame him. He’s 12, after all and hasn’t scored for a while. Give the boy a break, will ya? He actually played pretty damned well. Get off my back. I mean his. I…moving on!

You know who was also good? Jeffren. And Afellay. And Sergi Roberto once he found his rhythm. Bartra was never that great despite his later aerial prowess and he failed to clear the ball before Seba could get to it and Fontas was of and on.

Afellay’s goal was gorgeous and well deserved after his many runs through midfield over the last few games. He blew some chances before his goal, including his breakaway that he touched badly (I believe on his second touch–it went too wide right and boxed him in, so to speak, keeping him from being able to open his hips for the easy putaway with his left), but he really did put some sweet finesse on his shot and it curled beautifully beyond Willy.

After Bartra rose brilliantly to head home off a corner (a corner!), Málaga replaced their goalie with Francesc Arnau:

Yeah, he played for Barça from 1996 until 2001 after a long spell with Barça B. He then moved to Málaga and Victor Valdés took over. And it was his last match for Málaga and it was great to see him out there one last time. Whee and all that.

But now it’s over. It’s over over over over no more liga I get a break yay wooo. One more match, one more intense and amazing match that I’ll be going absolutely bah-nah-nahs over and previewing like I’ve got something to prove. And then I get my summer vacation. Which, of course, will be about as long as it takes for the rumors to pile up into publishable numbers after the final whistle. So…3 minutes? Crap.

La Liga in Review coming up later this week, folks. I’ve just got to write a screed about how I don’t care that Depor went down even though I really, really like Valeron.

Liga Preview: Málaga CF vs. FC Barcelona, Saturday 12noon EST, GolTV

Long-time reader and my penya buddy Andrew M agreed to write this week’s preview because the rest of us can’t be bothered to give a rat’s petuitary gland about the Málaga match.

For some, it could not come soon enough, while for others, it causes them to retract in horror as if a rabid badger just slithered up their spine…yes, it is May 21 but no, it’s not the Rapture; it is, in fact, the last match-day of La Primera Liga. Our brave lads will go into this final game against Maulaga “amb dos pebrots” as we are up against a team known to us for their kicking, stomping and generalized violence (Booo Weligton!).

In a largely meaningless encounter, Barça having secured first place and Maulaga being safe from the drop zone, Pep has chosen to withhold a number of first team players from the squad that will travel to Andalucía: VV, Xavi, Messi, Iniesta, Villa, Puyol and Pique. This “core” of our team are being “rested” and left behind to avoid injury, although, according the Barcelona’s official website, they will be doing Champions League preparations behind closed doors at the Ciutat Esportivo on Saturday.

The players that are making the 2 hr 15min trek south are: Pinto, Oier, Busi, Pedro!!, Banjo, Maxwell, Afellay, Adriano, Alves, Abi, Keiteeee, sMasch, Jeffren, Andreu Fontàs (my twin), Thiago, Jonny Two-Saints, Bartra and Sergi Roberto.

I honestly expected  to see the big boys given the run around this weekend to maintain match fitness but as usual, Pep has chosen to ignore what I want/think and go with his own “ideas”. It’s possible that we will see Abi in the starting line-up on Saturday as he needs the match minutes. With Xavi and Iniesta away I imagine that we will see Busi, Thiago and Keiteeee in the midfield, with Pedro, Afellay and Bojan forming an attacking trident up front. Keiteee, having made the most appearances of any player in our squad this season, took the reins of the midfield nicely last weekend, making his 6-legged horse runs from defense to attack and helping to coordinate the often erratic play of the youth in front of him.

This line-up will strongly resemble the starting 11 against Depor, yippee…. But seriously, it is good to see some of the fringe players get some time, specifically Thiago, who is allegedly going to be promoted next season. I can imagine that Pep is using these games to test some of the youth like Fontas and Bartra to see whether or not they would be capable of holding down a first team spot next year and saving us from having to splurge on more CBs. With that said, I think we will see that youthful centre-back pairing tomorrow flanked by Abidal and Alves. We could see Adriano strutting his stuff up and down the left as a substitute for Abidal as he has been given the green light to play after recovering from injury. Pep might want Adriano to get some minutes as I am sure we will see him on the bench at Wembley and not to mention having a fit Adriano as a back up for Abidal is fairly comforting in the event that (god-forbid) anything should happen to our greyhound. I almost feel as if the omission of Messi is Pep’s underhanded way of telling M*drid that he/Leo/Barça do not give a shaved-caterpillar’s eyebrow about this so called “Pichichi”. And while I am on the topic: If Marca can just decide to give this award to the “top” (see Crynaldo’s not-goal goal deflected off Pepe) scorer in La Liga, surely Sport or MD could do the same? Invent the Eto’o. Then Messi can win the Eto’o every year.

It is a shame that Valdés does not make the trip as he will miss his opportunity to pass Zamora himself and set a new personal best goalkeeping coefficient. If he had managed to keep a clean sheet at La Rosaleda, he would finish with a coefficient of 0.48 goals conceded per game or 20 goals in 33 games. As it stands, this season he will finish on 0.627 goals per game which is still incredible and beats his record from last year of 0.63 goals per game. Perhaps next year he can pass Zamora, Ramallets, and ultimately Depor’s Paco Liaño who holds the Liga record at 0.47 goals per game.(Source: fcbarcelona.com)

Málaga (13W-7D-17L), who have won 5 of their last 8 games, will be without 2 of their marquee signings that were made under the Qatari investor Abdullah Ben Nasser Al Thani. “The Beast” Julio Baptista, the scorer of this goal that won the Clásico at the Camp Nou for Berndt Schuster and his EE in 2007, will be watching from the stands as he is ruled out with a muscle tear that he sustained against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames last weekend.

Baptista has been a key player for Málaga this season since his debut in their 4-1 defeat to Barcelona at the Camp Nou. After surgery in Brazil earlier this year, he returned to action on April 16 to score 2 goals against Mallorca to pull Málaga out of relegation and a secure them another season in La Primera. Málaga’s official website rules him out until next season.

Martin Demichelis will also play no part in this game due to suspension after being sent off against Bilbao following two yellow cards. Despite this momentary setback, the Argentinean has spoken out positively of the coach, Manuel Pelligrini, and his time at the club since his signing from Bayern Munich and has subsequently renewed his contract until 2013.

Malaga will also be without Eliseu, who misses the match on accumulated yellow cards while Duda and Camacho make a return from suspension.

The Andalusians’ danger-man this season is Rondón with a not-unimpressive 14 goals in 29 appearances, making him the highest scoring Venezuelan in La Liga history since passing Juan Arango, formerly of Mallorca. Málaga also have Juanmi, the Spanish under-19 International who, at 18 (his birthday is May 20- Happy Birthday Juanmi!) has 4 goals in 13 appearances. Interestingly, according to www.noticias.123.cl, Málaga are looking to reinforce their ranks this summer by making a bid for the ol’ onion-eating, horsey-face himself, Ruud van Nistelrooy.  Supposedly, the Paraguay international Nelson Valdez is their other option.

Realistically, I expect to see a game that will be duller than a donkey ride through a city of clones. Passing, possession and general tika-taka with little enthusiasm will be the hallmarks at La Rosaleda. Some players will be trying to avoid injury while others will be playing their heart out trying to secure a place in next year’s squad.

The spotlight instead this weekend will fall onto the six burras teams in the relegation zone. We know for certain that we will see Hércules and Almería in La Segunda next season to be replaced by Betis and possibly Rayo Vallecano, who have a 9 point cushion in second place, 9 points above Elche, who have the one up over Rayo in head-to-head. One point for Rayo send them up to La Primera, meaning two exciting teams which I welcome back to Primera Liga football.

According to Sid Lowe, there are 8 possible permutations at the end of match-day 38 in which 2 teams finish level, in which case they get ranked on head-to-head and then goal difference.

There are also 7 possible combinations in which 3 teams finish level and 2 possible combinations in which 4 teams finish level. Despite the La Liga haters (you know who you are, England), we have seen a very close-fought relegation battle with only a handful of points separating rock bottom from the first half of the table.

To simplify this a little, here is some direct explanation of possible outcomes:

1. If Zaragoza loses to Levante, they are relegated.
2. If Zaragoza win and Deportivo do not get anything against Valencia, then Depor goes down.
3. If Zaragoza win and Depor draw or win, then the Getafe vs. Sociedad becomes a playoff to see who goes down into La Segunda.
4. If any of Zaragoza, Depor, Getafe or Sociedad wins, they guarantee themselves safety.
5. Sociedad can afford to draw and stay up.

I predict that Zaragoza will beat a Levante who have nothing but pride to play for as they are safe and that Valencia will beat Deportivo sending them to the second division for the first time since 1991.

The betting site, William Hill, interestingly enough Málaga’s former kit sponsor, dropped as sponsors because gambling is against Al Thani’s religion, make Valencia 6/1 favorites to beat Deportivo while Getafe are marginal favorites to beat Sociedad at 19/10. Strangely enough, or indeed, not so strangely going on the form of our last two games, we are pegged at beating Málaga with odds of 11/10 for us to win, 23/10 for a draw and 5/2 for a Málaga win.

My official unofficial lineup: Pinto, Alves, Mascherano, Fontas, Abidal, Busi, Keite, Thiago, Pedro, Bojan and Afellay.

I expect Adriano will replace Abi later on in the second half and Jeffren will come on for Pedro to preserve his precious legs (and teeth, now that it seems he has had them fixed?).

Official Prediction: 1-2 to us. (Rondón, Thiago, AFELLAYYYYY)

In other news:

Pep says that seeing Abi return to the pitch is his highlight of the season so far. Abidal says, unsurprisingly, that Cancer has changed him. “I thought that I wouldn’t play again, It was during a short period of time, when they detect a tumor you immediately think the worst and it was the first thing I asked the doctors.” He told journalists. He went on to mention his diminishing materialism that has led to the sale of all of his cars, “When you suffer a problem like mine, all the cars you have don’t serve for anything. For this I’ve sold them and the money will go to the fight against illnesses with some associations that I have had contact with.” #Ilovethisman

Liverpool are said to be preparing a bid for Jeffren, who says he would prefer to hang around and fight for a place in the squad. Considering our squad depth, or lack thereof, it might not be a bad plan to hold onto him, especially if he is willing to ride the bench for long spells. Some believe we should sell him should Liverpool be willing to pay top dollar, around 12-15million Euros.

When I went to the Meadowlands just outside of NYC to watch Barca vs. New York Red Bulls, they fielded a number of youngsters, two of which stuck out to me: Pedro and Jeffren. Jeffren is fast as lightning and I firmly believe if he could remain uninjured he could be an incredibly valuable player to have in the squad. He is to Pedro what Victor Vazquez was to Messi: equals when young, but held back by injury allowing the other to blossom.

Messi is said to have submitted an official recommendation that we pay the 30-40 Million asking price for Palermo and Argentina attacking midfielder Javier Pastore. This transfer would surely prohibit the club moving forward on the Cesc bid, due to price and also because the players share many similar qualities.

According to the Catalan rag, Sport, we have come to agreements with Cristian Tello, Sergi Gómez and Oriol Romeu to renew their contracts. Sergi Roberto and Martin Montoya are next in line.

Javi Martinez has renewed with Bilbao, wisely removing himself from the transfer rumor list.

We were the only team in Europe to retain our league title this year. Holler!

Also….

Sergio Ramos said something, Christiano Ronaldo did something, Dive Maria is still in desperate need of a feeding (#feedthatboy) and Kaka and Benzema swear that they are not leaving Madrid for greener pastures and more playing time.  We will see…

Enjoy the game as we will: shout, scream and hurl invective, just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do…wink wink. Our little Brooklyn Barcelona Karlovačko $5 Penya will be welcoming @emcardenas this weekend as our special end-of-the-season guest while I have it on good authority that @analogmina is making cookies in the shapes of players and The Camp Nou including individual fan detailing. Isaiah has warned all of us not to touch his Xavi cookies. In fact, he warned us in a text message using all caps! Scary stuff.

It’s been a roller coaster of a season and I know many of you have been broken by the incessant Clásicos, but how about it for a final hurrah as the boys stretch their legs one last time before the big Finale in London.

Visca el Barça, Visca el Campeon, y vamos a por Wembley!

On this day in 2006 something or other happened in Paris.

Visca el Barça!

Please post your favorite memory of this match and day. Mine is what Juliano Belletti did moments after the above shot went in:

Guardiola rolled out a singularly awesome B lineup (plus Abidal and Valdes) that I sort of predicted (except I got like half of them wrong) and which I think was only appropriate given the condensed and packed calendar over the last couple of months. Not that Depor, coming needing points like I need chocolate to write these posts, actually cared to do anything other than possibly, hopefully manage to steal a point. I think we had 100% possession, but I haven’t checked the official stats so I could be a smidge off.

The lineup: Valdes, Bartra, Fontas, Abidal, Mascherano, Keita, Thiago, Jonathan, Afellay, Bojan, Jeffren.

The most notable of these inclusions was, for me, Jonathan dos Santos, though Bartra coming in for Montoya thanks to the latter’s injury was also pretty cool. Little Two Saints was played as a wide midfielder, a position he was obviously uncomfortable in. When he was switched to the middle he immediately blossomed and the team got much better. Part of that was the reversion from a 3-4-3 to a 4-3-3, to be sure, but he did a great job in the middle. He showed some good positional sense and has obviously made strides in his rhythm, though he’s still not ready to be a regular first teamer.

Thiago is obviously ready. I think we all knew that, though. And then there’s little Banjo Crickets. What oh what to do with the guy? He showed some absolutely lovely skill, but was otherwise relegated to the sideline (pretty much literally) and never really came into the game. He’s a brilliant support striker, but not a line-leader. He could be Fernando Torres’ best friend, but he’s not playing with El Niño; he could be the next Raul, but he’s not playing in a system where predatory instincts for the space behind the striker helps the cause. And yet he was millimeters from scoring. Okay, maybe inches, but for him it would have been a major coup and a much needed confidence boost.

Alves’ introduction was a huge boost, as you’d expect, but it wasn’t enough to free up Afellay in the middle for more than a few seconds. Still, how awesome was the Dutchman? Ibi was thrillingly direct whenever he got the least amount of space. He goes down easily, but was fouled on each of those occasions and stayed on his feet several times when there was a chance he’d get to the ball. He was even smacked in the face a couple of times and got on with his game pretty quickly. Awesome. We’ll go ahead and give him Man of the Match even though Eric Abidal was on the field and I feel like a traitor giving it to anyone else.

Jeffren is also one of those players that failed to produce, but he was also unlucky a couple of times and could have had some extra chances if it weren’t for poor crosses or good, last-ditch defending. And make no mistake, Depor defended well. Very well, in fact. They were negative and it nearly cost them a couple of times, but they were playing for a point at the Camp Nou and it’s hard to really blame them. Real Madrid forgot to defend and that was a 5-0, if I might remind you. So Depor, needing points to survive, got what could be the most precious point of the season, depending on next week’s results, or it could be the great disaster that sends them down. It all depends on what happens against Valencia at the Riazor or in Zaragoza’s match.

As suspected, there’s just 1 relegation spot in play. With Hercules going down now and Almeria long confirmed, Depor really needed to get 3 points. By that showing, Barça B would stay up in the Primera, which is either a ringing endorsement of the filial or a damning demonstration of Depor’s fall from grace. Juan Carlos Valerón is still full of genius, but his legs seem full of lead; he’s no longer able to command a midfield like the man Xavi has said he learned so much from.

And so this is clear: I’m happy with our performance. Obviously I wanted something more from the game, but the kids were solid and showed flashes of what we can expect in the future. Afellay is the real deal, which is great news for next season’s squad depth. Guardiola looked pleased as well, though interested in what he’s doing wrong with the middle of the field. Why is there no more room, why so many defenders packed into the middle and yet so little space down the wings? These questions will be answered, I think, over Memorial Day weekend here in the US on our trip to England.

More later today as the rest of the Busquets information becomes available and we come up with things to say. For now, how about you shush it up and enjoy this here review? Yeah, okay, deal.

Liga Preview: Barcelona – Deportivo La Coruña, Sunday 3pm EST

As champions—champions!—we’re going to receive the pasillo. As champions—champions!—we’re going to be able to rest whoever we want and I hope it’s a large portion of the starting lineup as the squad has played too many matches in this (championship winning) season. There’s one more major match to go and 2 “tune up” matches that Martin Ferguson analyze with zeal.

But if we don’t play our starting lineup, if we put in subs and second stringers, there will be those who call us naughty names because we didn’t put in the proper effort. It’s the end of the season, after all, and teams are battling not just their particular opponents, but the results of other teams in the relegation zone. This means Depor, which sits in 16th, 3 points above 18th placed Zaragoza. Getafe is sandwiched between them while Sporting Gijon sits just 1 point above Depor.

Last week the number of teams in danger of relegation was something like 84, but now it’s a much smaller group. Almería has been confirmed down for a while and Hércules has essentially booked its place in the segunda as well, though they could survive with some sort of miracle. So Depor need to earn points to ensure their safety and there’s no better time than now for picking up even a draw. It’s just that Zaragoza and Getafe might whine that we didn’t treat them the same way (starting subs), that Depor is getting away with murder, that it wasn’t fair.

As champions (champions!), though, we’re entitled to rest whoever the hell we want against whomsoever we want. If it was Valencia we were playing, I’d say rest people, give Thiago and JDS chances to play against superior opposition. Let Muniesa start at center back, give the other nod to Mascherano, start Maxwell on the left, and put Montoya on the right even though he is injured. The middle could be Alcantara, Afellay, Alves, and Andres. And up front we should go with Jeffren and Jonathan. Sure, some people are out of position, but what do I care when that spells JAM. Like NBA. Like raspberry (my favorite!).

Quickly: Depor and Messi have scored the same number of goals this year in the league: 31. So I’m assuming they’ll score the same number of goals tomorrow as well. 1 each.

Official Prediction: 1-1, Messi coming off the bench, ending the JAM session.

Sorry this is so truncated, but (soon-to-be) Mrs. The Lady is graduating from grad school today and I have to run uptown for that. I haven’t even had time to casually look this post over or make it of substantive length. But whatever, we’re champions (champions!). Enjoy the pasillo, folks.

The Busi affair has taken a turn for the official. It’s about time too and it’s a very good thing, no matter what side of the controversy you’re on. UEFA has released official notice on their website that they’re opening proceedings against Sergio Busquets for allegedly calling Marcelo a monkey during the first leg of the Champions League semifinal at the Bernabeu. The decision will be handed down either May 15 or 16.

There are several things that are worth discussing beyond the procedural things.

Thing the first

It is imperative, as it always is in civil or criminal cases, to maintain a level of rationality about all of this. UEFA has not found Busquets guilty of an act of racism. They have opened proceedings to determine whether or not the alleged act occurred. These are extremely different things and the precise nature of this language is extremely important at the moment. We’ll all have our time to froth at the mouth on Monday if a guilty verdict is handed down, but until then, maintaining innocent until proven guilty is more important than being the first in line to throw rocks.

Secondly

UEFA may have taken longer than expected and led some to believe they were sweeping this under the rug, Madrid may have pushed the envelope too far via the media, and Barça may have remained unaccountably silent throughout rather than dealing with things head on in a proactive manner, but it is being dealt with and it appears to be a fair and properly executed case. Like the criminal justice system of any country, state, or region, there are problems with UEFA’s judicial approach, but until it has run its course, it is hard to say whether anything wrong was done. In lieu of knowing that, again, innocent until proven guilty, and that means we should give a measure of trust to the proceedings.

Thirdly

The detail that stands out in all of this is the line, “The proceedings have been launched on the basis of evidence provided by Real Madrid (video and statement of club and player).” It is not news to anyone that there is video evidence involved, but it is news that Marcelo (presumably) gave a statement to UEFA. Without knowing what that statement is, it is impossible to speculate on its veracity (either in the affirmative or negative), but it seems rational that this statement will be the crux upon which Madrid’s accusations rest.

Thing the last:

Whatever the outcome of this trail, if that’s what we can call it, it is important that Barça (both the club and the board) confront it head on and openly discuss the very real aspect of racism in the world and its very real existence in the game we all love so dearly. In a lot of ways, this point has little to do with whether Busi is guilty or not and everything to do with setting the tone for future and putting Barça squarely in the driver’s seat of the fight against this insidious foe. There is absolutely no room for racism in this game and airing these grievances, putting them front and center, and actually dealing with them is far more important than what happens to the trophy cabinet or the club’s coffers. This is a club that wears UNICEF on its shirt (at least for now) and displays anti racism banners at matches, but is it a club that is paying lip service to an idea or actually embodies it? The club’s reaction will go a long way towards establishing FCB as either a leader in the fight against racism or just another faux do-gooder failing to live up to its own hype.

Much more later.

UPDATE: Toni Freixa has, according to journalists Roger Saperas and Sandra Sarmiento, made the following statement to BarçaTV:

Busquets diu que no és veritat el que diuen que va dir. El nostre jugador assegura que va dir ‘mucho morro’

Busquets said it wasn’t true what they said he said. Our player maintains he said “mucho morro“.

The term “tener much morro” means “to have a lot of nerve”–so, in essence, Busi claims he was saying “what nerve.”

This may devolve into a he said he said thing or UEFA may take a particular stance depending on what Marcelo’s still unknown statement is. Or at least unknown to me at the time of writing these words. There has, at the very least, been a response from the club and it looks like they will defend him come hell or high water.

If he really did say “much morro”, well, Busi has some nerve of his own saying that to someone after he dove clutching his face…

UPDATE 2: It was pointed out by Ramzi on Twitter, but it deserves repeating here: Busquets’ denial does not mean he didn’t do it, but it is worth reporting. Someone is lying and there’s no reason to assume it’s Marcelo and not Busi. Marcelo too is innocent until proven guilty.

UEFA has a lot more information than the rest of us and thickly laying on the morality does no one any good at the moment. There’s a long ways to go in this saga, that’s for sure.