Trying to explain to your 16 year old daughter that, despite losing in the Champions League, defeat is not the end of the world for Barcelona isn't easy. She's only been a football fan for three years and her team has won seven trophies, I've followed West Ham for the best part of fifty years and we've won four!
Inter did what all Jose Mourinho teams do well, they wriggled, they dived, they pulled shirts, they feigned injury and inevitably they won. The team of misfits and outcasts are through to the Champions League final in Madrid against Bayern Munich and the way they played against Barcelona over two legs you have to say they will be favourites.
Barcelona have lost some spark this season, the zip, the speed that set them apart for all of 2009 has gone. Whether it's the injuries to Iniesta and the transfer of Samuel Etoo I don't know but something has been missing. Even tonight with a pitch watered to assist the speed of the ball their play was too slow for seventy minutes, faced with two banks of four they passed in front of the Italians for too long rather than trying to get round the back. At times it was as infuriating as watching Arsenal play whilst at the same time wishing I could watch a West Ham side play that way.
Barcelona need to sign David Villa in the summer and maybe bring back Fernando Torres to Spain because the 'Ibra' experiment hasn't worked. His style is an anathema to the way Barcelona play and whilst he has been a good player he won't ever be the player Barca are looking for.
1 comment:
Had to laugh when they turned the sprinklers on! There were fireworks where I live...there would have been loads more had Barca won but it just shows the animosity there is...I think a lot of people get pisssed off with the way Barca seem to expect teams to bow down as "we are 'entitled' to win".
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