Yes, the first half of Bayern’s match against Barcelona at the Camp Nou was embarrassing for the Bavarians. Sure it could have been worse had Barca not taken their foot off the gas in the second half of that game. And no, we can’t know what the outcome would have been back at the Allianz without the the K2 like obstacle. However, all is not lost.

No, I am not at a Bayern supporter, but neither am a hater. I am quite ambivalent about them though. And while funner to watch, they rate on the Bochum level to me. So with that out of the way, when it comes to Europe, I am obviously a Bayern fan. And I was embarrassed after the first leg tie with Barcelona. It was a spectacle to behold, the way the Cules cut through Germany’s largest club; unfortunately, the spectacle was embarrassing for a Bundesliga supporter.

Then I watched last night when Chelsea visited Camp Nou and played a brand of football that Rangers would brand as dull and lifeless. I then revisited last year’s trip to Catalonia that eventual champion’s Manchester United made to the cathedral of attacking football. It was possibly more insipid than Chelsea’s performance, but a year has made us forget. And after watching the pathetic, inept and incredulous displays of football by two of the big four team’s of football’s homeland, I am proud that Bayern tried to play. Sure nil-nil looks better, but when it comes to football, I will always take style over substance. Better to lose by trying to play your game, even with a loss by a significant amount, than ever win with anti-football: what is fast becoming British-football. They may have money and success right now, but with teams that succeed utilizing football that would make 1989 Wimbeldon seem like November’s Hoffenheim, England is bound for a huge fall.

The are sustained by television revenue, and that will dry up when people begin to realize that our league and La Liga are much funner to watch. So, while I empathize with Bayern fans over the loss and it’s severity and I bemoan the lost coefficient points, I would still rather be a team/fan that lost with vision than one that won with flaccidity. And let’s hope that Barca score at Stamford Bridge.