The year 2008 might well stand as one of the best transfer summers that our beloved club has ever had. We grabbed Gerard Pique, Dani Alves and Seydou Keita, all in that same summer.
And at the time, people giggled as Del Nido rubbed his scaly fins together, saying that we were taken to the cleaners with the 14m for Keita and the 28m (and counting) for Alves. There were a lot of “What did we buy him for,” for the former, and “Boy, did we overpay” for the latter.
Only now, in the light of history and overwhelming success on the part of our club, do those transfer fees now seem a bargain, as both players have been crucial parts of our machine of victory. And today was no exception. Keita slid into the role of defensive midfielder and did an excellent job, and Alves just raised pure hell, with a hand in all three of our goals, one crappy little samba and a performance that earned the enmity of Valladolid’s home faithful.
So what the hell is this picture of Victor Valdes doing up here, right? Continue Reading
As I noted in Isaiah’s most excellent preview, that Copa loss was going to do one of two things: Focus the hell out of us, and woe betide the next opponent, or start a downward spiral of “We can’t catch a break.”
Unfortunately for Sevilla, it was the former, not the latter. We put our foot down today and claimed a nice cushion in the Liga, while returning a favor of sorts to Sevilla. You killed our Copa chances, now we’re going to kill your Liga chances. Bet.
This was far and away the best match that we have played the entire season, even with our 60 million dollar man having a shit sandwich. Continue Reading
Today is a new day, one in which for the first time since 2008, we have been knocked out of a competition.
And I will tell you right now, that I hate it when our club loses. Anything. Period, full stop. A match, a competition, its way, some keys, a Euro …. anything! Further, I know that I am supposed to feel pride in the way that this club fought in that second half, and the brilliant plays that just missed being goals by a whisker. I know that I am supposed to believe that since Sevilla had two perfectly legitimate goals taken away, justice was ultimately done in this Copa del Rey tie. I know that I was saying “Dump the Copa, so that we can concentrate on the big-time competitions.”
I know, I know, I know, I know.
But this morning, I still feel like Guardiola looks in this picture, dejected and lost. Continue Reading
The record will show that we beat Tenerife like they stole something, in a 0-5 runout featuring a hat trick for Messi, a passel of assists for Krkic and the kind of gaudy scoreline that we got so accustomed to running up last season, back when we were good.
Reality is that were it not for the man you see here, Victor “Human Wall” Valdes, that scoreline might have been reversed.
Which is why he’s my Man of the Match, by a country mile. Because we were pretty awful early in this one, and he came up with the key stops, time and again. Continue Reading
Well, now what? We let an undermanned Sevilla club with no stars come into our home and rub shit in our faces. They walk out with not one, but two away goals, goals that allow them to park the bus at home. Yes, Ibrahimovic scored a goal for us but really, who would bet against them on their home pitch, against a club that seems to have, however temporarily, lost its swagger.
I have one and a half pages of notes for this match, that was not only awful, but boring. If losses can be wake-up calls, this one was the equivalent of someone stringing every alarm clock in Spain together, amplifying them with an 8×12 Marshall stack, roping the lot to some church bells and turning it all loose.
You’d think we’d have learned by now not to celebrate shit when Villarreal is in town. Last season, we feted the Liga trophy, and they left a turd in the punch bowl with a late goal. This year, we celebrated the 6 cups and again, they had the audacity to come in and out-Barca Barca.
These guys just ain’t broad minded.
And for the record, we should have lost this one. So rather than two points dropped, think of it as one point stolen, because we were outplayed for most of this one, in part because only a few of our lads came to really play, and one of them was my MOTM, Grampa Henry, the guy people love to hate. Continue Reading
We are living in a rare and glorious time, one in which cules who have suffered through lean years, various funkiness and close but no cigar kinds of seasons, can bask in the amazing glow of 6, count ‘em six trophies in less than 12 months.
Staggering. But even in that time, there have been highlights. Here are my Top Ten:
10. Grinderball. Last season was all about flash, dash and champagne football gaudy scorelines and giggles all ’round. This year, we are getting every team’s best match, and we’ve learned to just win, baby. Because sometimes, this game is about the strategy, the not letting the other side score and working out some way, any way, to get a goal. Last season, it was pretty easy to coach. Just turn the horses loose. This year is hard. And still, we win. Continue Reading
Great galloping Jesus, what a match. Pedro! sums up how I think we all feel here, in the wake of a gritty victory that found us not even approaching our dazzling, sparkling best, a victory that defines this club in a way that few others have, and that left me weeping right along with Pep Guardiola.
6 trophies, 6 competitions, less than 12 months. Pause for a second, to let that one sink in, then we’ll continue. Continue Reading
Okay. Is it just me, or was that about the most boring dismantling of a side that I have witnessed in the semi-finals of a not-particularly-major competition?
Just asking.
I mean don’t get me wrong, the win is nice, as our beloved club goes for its 6th trophy in just barely over 6 months. But Mexican side Atlante, once they scraped out a wonder goal, never really looked like doing anything more than scrimmaging with us, particularly Guardiola walked over to Cabinet No. 10, the one marked “in case of trouble, break glass.” Continue Reading
In this match of two halves, the view as to whether we got away with one or got our just desserts, will depend upon the status of your glass, and whether its color is Blaugrana.
No doubt, the Parakeets are still chirping about the penalty that counted for the only goal of the match, and maybe they should be. But more about that later, because I want to take these first few paragraphs to celebrate my Man of the Match, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. My view, by the by, on what I could give whether anyone agrees with me, falls into the rat’s ass category. Continue Reading
10. Grinderball. Last season was all about flash, dash and champagne football gaudy scorelines and giggles all ’round. This year, we are getting every team’s best match, and we’ve learned to just win, baby. Because sometimes, this game is about the strategy, the not letting the other side score and working out some way, any way, to get a goal. Last season, it was pretty easy to coach. Just turn the horses loose. This year is hard. And still, we win.
