Christof Koepsel (Bongarts/Getty-Images)

At the end of yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Stuttgart, I was struck by one of the commentators babbling on about how the result was terrific for the German club. That suggests, then, that it was the opposite for Barcelona. Perhaps what he was suggesting was that Stuttgart was happy not to have lost to us, but that, I think, is insulting towards a club that could very well have come out the winners themselves.

Still, is Stuttgart happy with this result? Are we? Obviously the match itself was frustrating for a Barça fan used to the squad turning in controlled performances rather than a first half filled with grievous errors that really should have been punished by Stuttgart–Die Roten, or The Reds, as they’re known–but instead a missed handball in the box by Pique and a missed handball on a goal line clearance by Molinaro kept the aggregate score lower*, which is a good thing for Stuttgart in many respects. A 2-2 draw would have given Barça the absolute upper hand because only a win or a 3-3 draw or greater in the return leg (March 17) would put Stuttgart through.

Continue Reading

Champions League is back, as is the liveblogging! This game is being broadcast on Fox Sports en Español as well as your local Fox Sports affiliate in HD (for me in the NYC region with Time Warner it’s MSG+). Check your local listings. Kickoff at 2:45pm, this liveblog will be starting a few minutes prior to that.

The Hlebian Ballet Company: Grace and Art Combined

CL Preview: Stuttgart – Barça, Tuesday 2:45pmEST, Fox Sports en Español/Fox Sports HD Affiliate

Seventy-seven. That number sounds big even when you don’t know what the units are. Put on days and you’re suddenly looking at over 2 months. Seventy-seven days since we last played Champions League football. Seventy-seven days since we beat Dynamo Kiev. In that time we’ve won the Club World Cup, recorded infinity plus one injuries*, and have lead the league by as many as 5 points. And now we return to the tournament that cemented us as the team to beat, as the media darlings of last year. Finally.

I’ve missed you, my twice-weekly previews, with your absurd taxing of my mental capabilities (they are rather small, after all) and your always welcome taxing of my liver capabilities. When there’s no on-the-field action to distract them it seems like the Spanish rags can’t get enough of shouting Cesc! Ribéry! Ochocinco! But now we have something to consider between now and Málaga’s visit on Saturday.

And, indeed, it’s a trip to Stuttgart, to southern Germany. The city itself is located in the state of Baden-Württemberg and is known primarily for its vroom-vroom car industry: Porsche is headquartered there and even stole the city’s coat of arms and adapted it to its own needs when it was founded in 1931 (along with some of the Württemberg coat of arms. Mercedes-Benz and its parent company, Daimler AG, are also based in Stuttgart while Bosch is located just outside of the city in Gerlingen.

Continue Reading

So good I have to kiss myself!

We have a few things to discuss, as per some of the very interesting points raised in the aftermath of our rather lackluster victory against Racing, including the qualities of one Sergi Busquets.

But first, some news:

–Aleksandr Hleb says that a resurgent Stuttgart have a “10 percent” shot against us in our upcoming Champions League match. The good thing for us is that we start the tie at their house, which means that if we can steal an away goal or two, we’re sitting pretty for the home leg.

There is, of course, bad news ….
Continue Reading

This one just HAS to go in ....

Here he is, our Man of the Match, scoring his first goal since the Iniestazo against Chelsea, Andres Iniesta. And truth be told, it was a shot that was far, far more difficult than it appeared on the screen. It needed to apply control, accuracy and body control to take advantage of the open net created by having a French wolf at the doorstep, looking to take advantage of a pretty darned perfect pass from Rafa Marquez.

It was also the early goal that is such a crucial part of our success, because when we score early, the other side has to come out and play. And if we are at all on form, it’s all over but the shouting.
Continue Reading

While we all wait in giddy anticipation of Kevin’s review, I thought a translation of Pep’s press conference after the game would lead to some good talking points. Pep always does a good presser. What separates him from other coaches is that he is not bombastic, generally avoids controversy, and is usually refreshingly honest in his answers while still being entertaining. Here are the goods:

Continue Reading

Sorry, but no liveblog today as the blog squad is out of the house for this one.

Barça: Valdes, Puyol, Piqué, Márquez, Maxwell, Yaya, Busi, Iniesta, Messi, Bojan, Henry
Bench: Pinto, Milito, Chygrynskiy, Jonathan, Thiago, Pedro, Jeffren

Racing: Coltorti, Crespo, Henrique, Torrejón, Oriol, Lacen, Diop, Toni Moral, Óscar Serrano, Canales, Xisco
Bench: M. Fernandez, Luis Garcia,  Luisma, Moraton, Espolita, Arana, Pinillos

Take it away, folks.

Liga Preview: Barça – Racing Santander, Saturday 2pmEST, GolTV

There will always be tough moments in a campaign, when things look dismal and darkened, the storm clouds seemingly gathering overhead to unleash hell. But let me ask you this: Did Lot’s wife ever falter in her step? Should Vizzini have been more prudent? Was Homer wrong to question the power of gravity over daredevilry? Er, right…ahem! Like Galileo questioning the foundations of science and faith, we too must forge ahead mercilessly in the face of criticism and misfortune, never release our hold on what we know to be true, and get false credit from future generations for throwing weighted stones off badly built towers.

So, yeah, basically I’m calling for Busi’s inclusion in the starting lineup. More on that later.

Continue Reading

Badass has a new name.

With only two days to go before our next match (Racing  at the Camp Nou), there’s a lot to discuss. I can’t wait for our next match and might just start on the preview immediately after publishing this post simply because, well, I’m an obsessive fool. While you’re reading this, consider sending in a picture to our background design. If you haven’t done so, please do so as soon as possible.

News after the jump.

Continue Reading

If the press is to be believed, we’re down in the table by something like ten points to an all-powerful Real Madrid team that shows no signs of losing this season. Only a shocking, utterly unforeseeable, and completely impossible self destruction by the blancos would enable us to get back into the race. It is a sad day in Barcelona history, indeed, when we can only fight for a Europa League spot.

Wait, we’re first, up by 2 points, have scored more goals and allowed fewer than anyone else, have lost just once to RM’s three times, currently own the tiebreaker with the merengues, and face Racing at the weekend while they face an up-and-coming Villarreal? And we still have Messi? Oh. I guess we should accept that we’re the best team on the planet and we’re having some injury problems, but that everything will be fine and we’ll continue to win matches because we’ve got a supremely talented squad filled with competitive mofos who won’t even think about losing, much less accept it as an inevitability.

The willingness to overreact is understandable in the short-term, but given the light of day and the length of the season, failing to put the league away by mid February is not the least bit surprising. Would you want the season to be over by the coming week? I wouldn’t, though I’ll admit that I’d gladly take that over Real Madrid still having a shot at the title, but even better would be Valencia, Sevilla, and someone else still being in it rather than12 or more points out. That’s just me, though. I don’t like losing, but I understand it’s merits in terms of making things a bit more interesting.*

The news itself is, actually, somewhat depressing.

Continue Reading