<div id="attachment_3279" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Inter-Milan-Player-Celebrations.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3279" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3279" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Inter-Milan-Player-Celebrations.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333"></figure></div></a>Diego Milito, Iván Córdoba, and Wesley Sneijder celebrate their passage to the Champions League final.</div>
The sprinklers rose up from the pitch and sprayed the Inter Milan players and staff.&nbsp; The Barcelona anthem, “Cant del Barça,” blared through the loudspeakers as the Culés did not know whether to clap off their Blaugrana heroes or vehemently whistle at the unwanted visitors from northern Italy.&nbsp; This sense of confusion permeated throughout the Camp Nou after referee Frank de Bleeckere blew the whistle for fulltime, but two things were certain: FC Internazionale Milano would face Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, and FC Barcelona would not.
Inter manager José Mourinho fueled the fire, in typical Mourinho fashion, in the pre-match press conference when he spoke of Barcelona’s ambition to compete in the Champions League final in Madrid:
<blockquote>“We (Inter Milan) have the dream of winning the Champions League, and for Barcelona, it’s an obsession.&nbsp; This is the difference.&nbsp; A dream is purer than an obsession.&nbsp; There is pride in a dream, anywhere in the world.&nbsp; For Barcelona, it was a dream to reach the final in Rome, but to reach the final at the Bernabéu is an obsession for them.”</blockquote>
If this quote were analyzed on its own grounds, very few people would know what the hell he was talking about; however, Mourinho’s ingenuity for creating distractions away from his team and onto himself has served him well with his previous teams.&nbsp; FC Porto and Chelsea put up with his antics because they worked.&nbsp; This formula seemed to sour at Inter Milan, where the Italian press were unimpressed with his brash personality, and even Inter president Massimo Moratti started to suffer from Mourinho fatigue.

With the 3-1 triumph at the San Siro in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals against Barcelona, Mourinho had free reign, and his quote struck a chord with Barça and its fans like no other manager could accomplish.&nbsp; They immediately went on the defensive.
Some Barcelona supporters reportedly attacked Mourinho’s car after the press conference, punching the windows, throwing various paraphernalia, and attempting to topple the car on its side.
Barça TV, the club’s television channel, created an advertisement where various Barcelona players promised to “leave their skins” on the Camp Nou pitch to audibly declare their intentions on Wednesday night, accompanying the shirts they displayed after they beat Xerez on Saturday which showed the message, “Nos vamos a dejar la piel,” (We will leave our skin).
Another section of Barcelona fans tried to disrupt the sleep of the Inter players Tuesday night into the early hours of Wednesday morning outside of their team hotel, making constant noise with drum, horns, and firecrackers.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta gave his rebuttal to Mourinho’s “obsession” quote, stating that anyone who assesses Barcelona as obsessive is a second-rate psychologist.
A strong reaction from many arms of the Barça establishment, but why?&nbsp; There is no doubt that José Mourinho can get under the skin (no pun intended) of his opposition, but whenever all of this huffing and puffing occurs, usually it means that there is doubt, and they engage in all of this extracurricular activity to convince themselves otherwise.
When Barcelona traveled to Stamford Bridge in last year’s Champions League semifinal second leg without scoring at the Camp Nou, this same rah-rah fervor did not exist prior to the match.&nbsp; Although it took a 93rd minute goal by Andrés Iniesta to slug past Chelsea into the final, the confidence that Barcelona had of breaking through a resolute Chelsea defense was enough for them.
Although they only needed to score once at Stamford Bridge last season, a 2-0 result at the Camp Nou, even against a José Mourinho defense, was not an impossible situation by any stretch.&nbsp; All of the extraneous motivation mentioned above was inconsistent with this team and teemed with a desperation not seen since the end of the Frank Rijkaard era.
When the players took to the pitch at 20:45 CET, the choreographed displays of the Catalunyan flag from each goal side and a Barça trophy resplendent in garnet, yellow, and blue from the sideline stands would inspire the most jaded of players.&nbsp; Not only the Barcelona players, but the Inter Milan players who would want nothing more than to spoil Barcelona’s magnificent run since the origins of the Pep Guardiola regime.
With Carles Puyol suspended for this match, Gabriel Milito was expected to deputize in central defense, but Guardiola threw a wrench with Milito starting at left back and Touré Yaya in central defense.&nbsp; In the first leg, most of Inter’s successful attacking moves originated down the right flank, and they took advantage of Maxwell’s constant forward runs and left him out of position for Maicon, Samuel Eto’o, and Wesley Sneijder to perform their duties.
For Inter Milan, yellow cards became their main concern, as, save for Lúcio, the rest of the back four was one yellow card away from missing the final should they reach that stage.&nbsp; The burning question lingered about whether Maicon, Walter Samuel, and Javier Zanetti would be hesitant to throw themselves into challenges, knowing that one late tackle could mean suspension from the biggest match of their careers.&nbsp; Ask Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, who missed the 1999 final when Manchester United completed their astonishing two-goal turnaround in stoppage time against Bayern Munich.&nbsp; According to Keane, “Although I was putting a brave face on it, this (missing the final) was just about the worst experience I’d had in football.”
Inter clearly frustrated Barcelona through the first twenty-seven minutes, ceding nearly 80% of the possession but allowing nothing to bother their goalkeeper Júlio César.&nbsp; Then the inevitable controversy ensued when Frank de Bleeckere sent off former Barça player Thiago Motta for a hand to the face of Sergio Busquets.&nbsp; As the modern game would dictate, Busquets reacted as though he suffered a knockout blow from Mike Tyson.&nbsp; He had the audacity to take a peek at de Bleeckere to see if he flashed a card before “regaining his senses,” and he accomplished exactly what he set out to do when Motta raised his hand to his face.
Understandably, Motta could not believe the decision and needed to be held back not from de Bleeckere but from Busquets.&nbsp; A harsh decision by de Bleeckere, but if the roles were reversed, Motta would have likely done the same thing and also try to coax that red card.
Until Gerard Piqué scored in the 84th minute, however, Barça’s one-man advantage appeared irrelevant, as Inter Milan continued to clear any ball that entered their penalty area.&nbsp; Júlio César made a spectacular diving, fingertip save on a Lionel Messi curler, and Bojan Krkic missed an absolute certainty of a header two minutes before Piqué’s goal, but the vast majority of Barça’s attempts on goal were fired from the twenty-five to thirty-five yard distances, nothing that would seriously trouble Júlio César.
More newsworthy than Barça’s lack of cutting edge involved the substitution of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 63rd minute in favor of Bojan Krkic.&nbsp; With twenty-seven minutes on the clock, there remained plenty of time to score the necessary two goals, but Pep Guardiola believed Bojan had a better chance of galvanizing the offense than Ibrahimovic.&nbsp; Ibrahimovic’s reputation had been linked to his shrinking violet act in the most important moments for both club and country, and his listless performance against Inter Milan will do him no favors in shaking this reputation.
The last ten minutes became purely riveting, as the siege on Inter’s goal had actual consequences, and when Bojan appeared to net the clinching goal in the first minute of stoppage time, the city of Barcelona actually lifted from the ground, but Frank de Bleeckere blew his whistle before Bojan’s goal transpired for a handball on Touré Yaya.
No one claimed any doubt that Touré Yaya did not intentionally handle the ball, as Walter Samuel smashed his clearance straight into Yaya’s tucked arm from less than three yards away, but that call always goes against the attacking team and in favor of the defending team.&nbsp; If that same situation happened, where the offensive player kicked the ball into the defensive player’s tucked arms in their own penalty area, the referee would rightfully continue play because the handball was unintentional.
<a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3281" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="311"></figure></div></a>Barcelona did not do enough on the pitch, and their 1-0 result might be their most hollow victory in many years.&nbsp; Legitimate questions will be asked about this Barça team.&nbsp; Would Andrés Iniesta have made the difference between advancing and failing?&nbsp; Does Pep Guardiola need to develop an alternate plan when the opposition decides to employ ten men behind the ball?&nbsp; Did Barcelona miss the inspiration of their captain, Carles Puyol, even though Inter Milan made little to no suggestion of troubling the Barça defense?&nbsp; Was the Ibrahimovic for Eto’o swap a potential bust?
All of these inquiries will either never be answered or answered over time, but now they must focus on their tenuous one point lead over Real Madrid in La Liga.&nbsp; Failing to reach the Champions League final in Madrid hurts, but if Barcelona cannot hold on to the La Liga crown after having at least a share of the lead for all but a couple weeks of the season, this potentially historic team will become just another good team that played nice football.
<a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3283" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="368"></figure></div></a>As for now, they will seethe over José Mourinho, pejoratively referred to as “The Interpreter” in Barcelona, and how he defiantly pointed to the crowd in revelry after his Inter Milan team achieved for what they set out.&nbsp; Mourinho deserved to do whatever he wanted, however, because he earned it.&nbsp; He slew the beast.&nbsp; Those windmills were actual giants, and he defeated the enchanter.&nbsp; Joan Laporta, Pep Guardiola, and the rest of the Blaugrana nation will look internally soon enough, but this pain that they will have to put away in time for Villarreal on Saturday stings much more than the joy they felt from any of their six trophies from a year ago.

Inter Milan Completes The Italian Job on Barcelona in the Champions League

Inter Milan Completes The Italian Job on Barcelona in the Champions League - World Soccer Talk

<a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Nino.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3226" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Nino.jpg" alt="" width="361" height="500"></figure></div></a>“NINO, NINO, NINO!” chanted Los Chicharreros in the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López.&nbsp; When shouted aloud, the chant sounded like an onrushing ambulance through a traffic-jammed street, and for Getafe, who fell victim to the brilliance of Nino, they needed the assistance of EMT workers.
After a 0-0 draw at home to Real Valladolid last Saturday, a result most favored by new Valladolid entrenador and former Tenerife head man Javier Clemente, Tenerife stood seven points behind Málaga for the final place of safety in La Liga.&nbsp; The criticisms laid upon this team fell squarely on José Luis Oltra’s naïve tactics.&nbsp; In the same way that Tony Mowbray’s West Bromwich Albion team in last year’s Premier League was deemed too naïve as they were relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship, Oltra’s Tenerife incorporated an open style that needed clinical finishers in the front line to be successful because there would be several chances for their opponents to capitalize on the counter-attack.
Nino and Alejandro Alfaro scored forty-nine goals between them in the Segunda División last season, and Nino’s twenty-nine goals earned him the Pichichi trophy as the highest goal scorer in the second division. &nbsp;Seventeen goals for the pair in the top flight this season is not a bad return, but when their team has conceded the most goals in La Liga, seventeen is simply not enough.

No single match illustrates Tenerife’s frustration more than their 0-5 humbling by Barcelona at home at the dawn of the new year.&nbsp; Through the first thirty-five minutes, the islanders completely outplayed the Blaugrana in every facet of the game, but Alfaro failed to exploit three wonderful opportunities, two of them created by Nino.
Tenerife’s high defensive line initially surprised Barça and put them off their game, but this gamble would soon prove to be suicidal, as Bojan Krkic’s blistering pace left the Tenerife defense in shambles, and Lionel Messi finished Bojan’s cutback pass with aplomb.
Sucker punched in the gut, the prudent play would have been to drop deeper and work more on the counter-attack.&nbsp; Call him brave or declare him stubborn, Oltra kept to his strategy, and at fulltime, Tenerife conceded five goals, including an Ezequiel Luna own goal and a Messi hat-trick.
While José Luis Oltra has somewhat toned down his offensively aggressive tactics since that match, the flair associated with this team has not left them.&nbsp; Consequently, Tenerife still had not won away from home all season, an unwanted feat only shared by a few teams in all of the European leagues.
Tenerife righted this wrong on Tuesday evening when they went to Asturias and defeated Sporting Gijón 0-2 with that same end-to-end mentality instilled by Oltra.&nbsp; Unfortunately for Tenerife, their compatriots in the bottom three, Xerez and Real Valladolid, also won in the mid-week.&nbsp; Racing de Santander, one of the teams teetering just above the relegation zone, scored a 3-1 victory over Espanyol with the help of two deserved penalties, both of whom were scored by Mohammed Tchité, to further complicate the situation for Tenerife.
Málaga, however, heeded the bottom three’s protestations of slowing down their point accumulation.&nbsp; Two points in their last five contests left the Andalucians only three points above Tenerife and the drop zone.
Tenerife had to keep their focus on Getafe and away from the other matches affecting their standing. No one understood this more than Juan Francisco Martínez, otherwise known as Nino.
Nino has played every minute in every match for Tenerife this season, an astonishing accomplishment in this modern age, where squad rotation and injuries beset even the fittest of players.&nbsp; Standing at a relatively minuscule 5′ 7″, a center forward like Nino would not strike fear into the hearts of central defenders.&nbsp; Tossed around often due to his slight frame, Nino fought through these nicks and knocks to lead the line every single minute he plays on the pitch.&nbsp; With the season on the line, his hard work came to fruition with a hat-trick that will be remembered by Los Chicharreros for many years.
After Pedro León scored early for Getafe, Nino’s equalizer on the half-hour mark was the result, from all the different ways he can score, of a header!&nbsp; A seriously demented betting man would have gone away with bucketful of cash for predicting a Nino header, but Román Martínez’s perfectly weighted cross from deep in the right flank found a completely unmarked Nino in middle of the penalty area.&nbsp; David Belenguer and David Cortés stood frozen as Nino rose in the air between them.&nbsp; Of course, it would have to be unchallenged for Nino to score a header, but the box score will not indicate that he had enough room to build a house with all the space that the Getafe central defenders gave him.
His second goal to give Tenerife the 2-1 lead showed his technical ability to control a ball in the air.&nbsp; Marc Bertrán headed a hopeful, looping ball into the penalty box, and nothing seemed to come of it; however, Nino kept himself onside while the Getafe defenders were heading forward, and Nino found himself all alone in the box.&nbsp; He had to take down the lofted header softly, and his first touch was nothing short of immaculate.&nbsp; It took a bounce, and he whacked it to the left far post, where Jordi Codina could only watch as it passed by him into the back of the net.
Getafe would score to even the game at 2-2 several minutes later, and it could have been a crushing blow to this club that continues to fight for its La Liga life.&nbsp; Nino would have none of that negative behavior, and in the 76th minute, exactly a minute after Javier Casquero headed the tying goal for Getafe, Nino completed his hat-trick to whisk Tenerife back into a lead they would not relinquish.
Alejandro Alfaro and Nino combined yet another time, with Alfaro perfecting a through ball that sliced through the Getafe defensive line.&nbsp; Nino still had work to do, as Jordi Codina rushed off his line to attempt to clear the ball away from Nino outside of his area.&nbsp; His third goal exhibited his calm composure, dribbling to his left to avoid a sliding, lunging Codina and slotting the ball into the unguarded goal.
Three goals.&nbsp; Three different goals.&nbsp; One outcome: three points for a thankful Tenerife.
Tenerife would find out later that Málaga and Real Valladolid would draw 0-0, and Xerez could only draw 2-2 at home against Racing de Santander, so the Nino hat-trick meant more than an isolated three points.&nbsp; Tenerife is now only one point behind Málaga for the magic 17th position, and 16th is not too far away with Real Zaragoza only two points ahead of El Tete with five games remaining.
In a place where two well-known British names, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/apr/18/volcano-iceland-trapped-tenerife">Gill Hornby</a> and a certain <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8627831.stm">Barcelona striker</a> from the 1980s, were forced to stay in Tenerife a little longer due to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud, they both could have enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López to witness two desperate teams in one of the premier matches of the second half of the season.
“Riki-raca, zumba-raca, sim-bomba; ra-ra-ra, Tenerife, Tenerife, y nadie mas!” the fans sung throughout the match and after their team came out victorious.&nbsp; The first part is merely a set of rhyming words, but the latter half translates as, “Tenerife, Tenerife, and no one else.”&nbsp; If Tenerife rises above the relegation zone and extends their stay in La Liga, Los Chicharrones may alter this chant in honor of Nino, “Nino, Nino, y nadie mas!”
Fueras de Juego
– Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop might be better with his head than his hands, and his hands are quite superb.&nbsp; His best individual moment in his career occurred in the Round of 16 of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup when his last-gasp header sent the tie against Shakhtar Donetsk into extra time, which Sevilla would win 3-2.&nbsp; Sevilla would go on and lift the UEFA Cup trophy for the second consecutive year by defeating Espanyol on penalties in the final.
In the early Saturday kickoff, Sevilla led Sporting Gijón 2-0 when Sporting central defender Grégory Arnolin headed the ball on target from a corner.&nbsp; The header came so quickly from a short distance that Palop could not get his hands up in time to parry it away.&nbsp; Instead, he decided on the next best option: counter Grégory’s header with a header of his own.&nbsp; It was just as effective as if he used his hands to slap it away, and Sevilla would eventually add a third to win 3-0.&nbsp; In dire situations, Sevilla should use Andrés Palop as a center forward.
– If one would want to introduce people to the flair and skill of Spanish football, do not show them a tape of the drab 0-0 draw between Deportivo La Coruña and Almería from this Sunday afternoon.&nbsp; Two teams going nowhere, and the match fit their paths.&nbsp; When there were decent opportunities to score, both teams scorned them with such poor technique that it was literally laughable.&nbsp; The fans at El Riazor did not share the same mirth.
– The champagne for Barcelona’s La Liga title can be put back on ice for the time being, as their 0-0 draw at derby neighbors Espanyol, combined with Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Valencia, means that Real has shaved Barça’s lead to a mere point.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola’s 4-4-2 did not work against Espanyol, and Inter Milan boss José Mourinho surely took some notes on how Espanyol flooded the midfield to prevent Xavi’s distribution across the final third of the pitch.&nbsp; The absence of Andrés Iniesta may loom large for the Blaugrana as they continue their drive for a domestic and European cup double for the second straight year.

La Liga Jornada 33 Review: Tenerife Rises to Within One Point of Relegation Salvation

La Liga Jornada 33 Review: Tenerife Rises to Within One Point of Relegation Salvation - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2562" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/01/Barcelona-Six-Trophies.jpg" alt="Barcelona Six Trophies" width="500" height="293"></figure></div>A festive atmosphere enveloped the Camp Nou on Saturday evening as the boys of the Blaugrana celebrated their unprecedented six-trophy year with their Barça faithful.&nbsp; Villarreal was a mere afterthought as the Barcelona players deservedly received their plaudits for a year of literal perfection.&nbsp; Even Villarreal showed them respect before the match when they created a tunnel for Barcelona to run through as the Villarreal players clapped and appreciated their host’s achievements.&nbsp; When referee Bernardino González Vázquez blew his whistle to commence the game, however, the lovefest ceased, and Villarreal showed Barcelona and those watching in the stands and through their televisions why they have been a European force in the last six years.
Manager Pep Guardiola gave Lionel Messi the day off, as Pep gave him some extra vacation time.&nbsp; Messi was there for the celebration, but he had just arrived from Argentina, and he was not match-fit.&nbsp; Jonathan dos Santos played in Messi’s place, and it was his first start for the senior team.&nbsp; For Villarreal, Ernesto Valverde left Giuseppe Rossi on the bench in favor of Nilmar as the lone striker, and he gave David Fuster only his third start of the season and positioned him just behind Nilmar.
When Barcelona scored in the seventh minute, there was a sense of a blowout as the feelings of euphoria brought about from the pregame fiesta carried into the opening minutes of the match.&nbsp; The goal came from a typical Barça move.&nbsp; In the final third of the pitch, Xavi Hernández played a diagonal ball to Dani Alves deep down the right flank.&nbsp; Alves did well to whip in a cross into the middle of the penalty area.&nbsp; The ball bounced in the box and into the vicinity of Thierry Henry.&nbsp; The cross was a little behind Henry, but leaning on his left foot, he unleashed a half-volley missile that rocked the crossbar.&nbsp; Pedro Rodríguez was alert, kept himself onside before Henry’s shot, and slotted home the rebound coolly to give his team the 1-0 lead.

If there is a criticism to be laid upon Barcelona this season, they have tended to start slowly in their matches, but with the quick goal against Villarreal, it would not have been unusual for Barcelona to get the second and third goals in quick succession.&nbsp; Marcos Senna and Villarreal made sure that the seventh minute would be the only one conceded on this night.
Barcelona had their chances in the first half to add a second goal, including a sitter from twelve yards that Zlatan Ibrahimovic failed to get on target and a Henry header that flew over the crossbar in the 45th minute, but Ernesto Valverde employed tactics that few managers embarked on against Barcelona.&nbsp; Villarreal played how Barça plays against all of their opponents: ball possession, a high defensive line, and constant pressure on the ball.
For all the recognition that Barcelona receives for their flowing, attacking style, their unending and unrelenting energy on defense is arguably the most important aspect in their six-trophy season.&nbsp; Many teams sit back in their own half of the field and hope for a quick counter-attack against Barcelona, and this is why Barcelona has sixty-five to seventy-five percent of the possession in each match.&nbsp; Valverde knew that this type of strategy would only lead to their demise, so when Barça was on the ball, a Villarreal player or two would immediately shift towards that man.&nbsp; Barcelona was not used to this type of pressure put upon them, and it led to more turnovers in midfield and in their own third of the field.
<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2573" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/01/Yellow-Submarine.jpg" alt="Yellow Submarine" width="500" height="375"></figure></div>Obviously, with this Barça tactic, a team has to have the players that can execute this game plan.&nbsp; Clubs like Xerez and Málaga could not play the way that Villarreal did against Barcelona due to a lack of quality players, but with Marcos Senna and Bruno Soriano providing the steel in the midfield, and the attacking quartet of Cani, David Fuster, Santi Cazorla, and Nilmar working tirelessly to retrieve possession immediately after losing it, they out-Barça-ed Barça for a majority of the match.&nbsp; The statistics would not necessarily support this statement, as Barcelona had a 60-40 ratio of possession in their favor, but the 60% is a low number for them, and many observing the game could see that Villarreal rattled their cage that slight bit, and Barcelona hardly had to cope with this throughout the season.
David Fuster made the most of his rare start by roaming around in his free role behind the striker and disrupting the normally tight Barcelona defense.&nbsp; In the 28th minute, Cani crossed into the area near the end line, and Fuster flew from the penalty spot and nodded down a header that, ironically, he hit too hard.&nbsp; Always taught to bring the header down, Fuster did exactly that, but it bounced off the turf and over the crossbar.
Eventually, Fuster’s presence in the Barcelona half of the field turned to gold in the 51st minute, when he converted after numerous chances to equalize earlier in the match.&nbsp; Villarreal maintained a spell of possession in the final third, and when Nilmar’s shot was blocked, the move looked to be over, but Cani was first to the ball and provided sweet service to Fuster at the back post, where he perfected a technically difficult half-volley across goal and past Victor Valdés into the back of the net.
Barcelona stemmed Villarreal’s momentum when Andrés Iniesta came in for the largely ineffective Jonathan dos Santos in the 58th minute.&nbsp; Dos Santos showed flashes of his enormous talent, but he was overmatched on this night, and his 19-year-old legs will see much better days.&nbsp; Two minutes into Iniesta’s shift, Pedro played a skillful pullback to him around the 18-yard penalty line, but the pass was a little behind Iniesta, so he could not take the shot first-time.&nbsp; Iniesta took a touch and shot an off-balanced effort that Diego López handled easily.
López nearly paid for a poor goal clearance in the 65th minute, when Iniesta reclaimed possession and curled a wonderful shot toward the top right corner of the net, but López made a soaring save to tip it around the goal.&nbsp; The match ultimately finished 1-1, with Villarreal fully deserving a share of the spoils.
Villarreal has the reputation of playing pretty, passing football but not necessarily having the physicality needed throughout a long campaign.&nbsp; They committed fifteen fouls as well as suffering twenty-two fouls against Barcelona, so at least for this match, they were not afraid to go into challenges and be fully committed to the job.&nbsp; Iván Marcano and Diego Godín were stellar in central defense as they closed down Xavi and Ibrahimovic.&nbsp; They frustrated Ibrahimovic, and this frustration boiled over when Ibrahimovic received a yellow card in the 88th minute for a late tackle on Godín.
A controversial no-call on a penalty claim by Nilmar on a clumsy Carles Puyol challenge may have given Villarreal all three points, but even though they earned only the solitary point, they know now that their poor early-season form was not a sign of future play.&nbsp; Moral victories do not mean much in terms of position in the league, and Villarreal remains ninth in the table, eight points behind the final Champions League spot.&nbsp; If they remain healthy in the midfield with Bruno, Santi Cazorla, and their inspirational captain Marcos Senna, their overall ability should see them rise into the European spots by the end of the season.

Villarreal Spoils Barcelona's Party at the Camp Nou

Villarreal Spoils Barcelona's Party at the Camp Nou - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2400" src="/files/2009/12/Messi-226x300.jpg" alt="Messi" width="226" height="300"></figure></div>As expected Lionel Messi succeeded Cristiano Ronaldo as the winner of the Ballon d’Or award. The Barcelona star comfortably won the prize but he&nbsp;admitted&nbsp;his&nbsp;surprise at the margin of victory as he received 240 points more than Cristiano Ronaldo who finished second.
Messi&nbsp;was quite close to winning all 480 points &nbsp;possible as he finished with a near perfect 473 points while Real Madrid’s Ronaldo got 233 points which is less than half of Messi’s total! There is no doubt the Argentinian deserved to win since he was one of the main driving forces behind Barca’s treble winning season. He led all scorers in the Champions League with nine goals and scored in the final triumph against none other than Ronaldo’s Manchester United. The Catalan club’s star also scored 23 times in la Liga and was on the score sheet six times in the Copa del Rey.
The goals scored by Messi do not tell the whole story since his contributions transcend beyond the occasions he found the back of the net to include the assists he provided his fellow Barca players&nbsp;with. Messi’s assists&nbsp;totalled 18 in all competitions. The top spots on the list were dominated by Barca players which is also not surprising considering the influence of the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta as well as current Inter striker Samuel Eto’o.
Messi mentioned to France Football he is honoured to win the award and dedicated it to his family. He also said he was delighted to become the first Argentina to win the Ballon d’Or. Given the performances of Messi the past year, it is near impossible to find any other player more deserving of the individual award. It will not be a shock if Messi repeats next year, but his chances&nbsp;will be hindered if&nbsp;his country continues to struggle&nbsp; under Maradona’s leadership and fails to impress in South Africa 2010. Despite the concerns over Argentina and Maradona, who can bet against Messi repeating as the award winner?
<a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2324441/">Who Will Win The Ballon d’Or Next Year?</a>(<a href="http://www.polldaddy.com">polls</a>)

Messi Wins Ballon d'Or

Messi Wins Ballon d'Or - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_2077" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2077" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2077" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2009/10/Xavi-Hernandez.jpg" alt="This is the kind of space Xavi thinks he deserves." width="500" height="330"></figure></div>This is the kind of space Xavi thinks he deserves.</div>
The theory is that because of the low amount of scoring in football, using particularly protective and cynical tactics ruins the sport whose nature inhibits a high amount of goals per match.&nbsp; Football’s common nickname is “The Beautiful Game,” but from where did that phrase initially originate?&nbsp; Credit is usually given to 50’s and 60’s Brazilian star Waldyr Pereira, universally known as Didi, and those Seleção teams spoiled the world with their slick passing, their showmanship, and their creativity.&nbsp; In today’s football, FC Barcelona would be the team that most resembles this vision of Joga Bonito.&nbsp; Barcelona survived a 1-0 victory over feisty Almería on Saturday to maintain their perfect start and their position at the top of the table.&nbsp; While the game itself was not that interesting, the postscript afterward <a href="http://www.sportinglife.com/football/overseas/spain/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/09/10/04/SOCCER_Barcelona.html">brought attention to a long-standing feud between defensive tactics and football</a>.&nbsp; Xavi Hernández, the main orchestrator of the Barça attack, had some bold statements regarding Almería manager Hugo Sánchez’s strategy to stifle Barcelona’s flow:
“We will have to get used to it.&nbsp; It’s a shame that they come here to pack the defense.&nbsp; I’ve never been marked like that.&nbsp; It was madness, obsessive.&nbsp; Even when they had the ball or when I was going to take the corner they marked me.&nbsp; (Coach) Pep (Guardiola) told me to use the wings to create space so that Busi (Sergio Busquets) and (Lionel) Messi could get the upper hand in the middle.&nbsp; I practically had to leave the game.&nbsp; It was very boring for me.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who played in the Italian Serie A for the last five years, was far less incensed with Almería’s style of play:
“It’s difficult to play against five defenders.&nbsp; We didn’t play well, but we’ve won.&nbsp; This is also important.&nbsp; I’ve not scored, but I’ve made another.&nbsp; This is important.”
The tight marking of Almería was something Ibrahimovic faced in Italy weekly, so he was not as frustrated as Xavi.&nbsp; Ibrahimovic also keyed on a point that Xavi failed to address: Barcelona did not play that well.&nbsp; Xavi deflected the criticism of their play by pointing out how Almería did not let them play their football.&nbsp; Does Xavi make legitimate claims concerning the opposition?&nbsp; Last year, Almería lost both meetings to Barcelona, 5-0 at the Camp Nou and 0-2 at home.&nbsp; Almería wants to win just as much as Barcelona, and there is no doubt Hugo Sánchez remembered those matches and was wary of what Barcelona could do to his team.&nbsp; In terms of pure technical ability, there is no argument that Barcelona has the most technical ability in Europe and uses it to the fullest extent, so a team like Almería, who does not have the resources or the players like Barcelona, has to be much more pragmatic with their approach.&nbsp; Every team wants to entertain and provide a spectacle for their supporters, but results are most important, and sometimes, they have to make sacrifices in order to get the outcome they want.
Even European powers like Chelsea and Manchester United knew that trying to fight fire with fire would only lead to their demise.&nbsp; They swallowed their pride and played with nine to ten men behind the ball for the majority of the time, not worrying about the chastisement they would receive from the fans and the media.&nbsp; Manchester United pulled off a 1-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the 2008&nbsp; UEFA Champions League semifinal, and Chelsea was a couple of minutes from completing the same task as Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League semifinal before Andrés Iniesta banged home the equalizer and the 1-1 victory on away goals.
So how is defense treated in other sports?&nbsp; In baseball, while a home run fest excites many fans, a pitcher’s duel with great defensive plays is equally appreciated.&nbsp; Two of the most storied teams in American pro football history are the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who each had tenacious defenses and held their opponents to less than thirteen points per game.&nbsp; Hard tackles and tough defense are paramount in succeeding in rugby union.&nbsp; The closest sport that would identify with association football’s loathing of ultra-defensive tactics is hockey.&nbsp; The New Jersey Devils won a few Stanley Cups with their employment of the neutral zone trap, but many criticized the Devils for this scheme because it drastically reduced scoring and made their games boring in the eyes of fans.&nbsp; The NHL took action during the 2004-2005 lockout by implementing changes in the rulebook to penalize teams who employ such methods.
Unfortunately, for Xavi, unless FIFA changes its rules, Barcelona will most likely face opponents that employ Almería’s tactics to limit Barcelona’s goal-scoring machine.&nbsp; What Xavi fails to recognize is that there is more than one way to play football.&nbsp; The sexy football that Barcelona plays is an ideal that almost no teams can accomplish.&nbsp; If teams want to play like Bolton Wanderers or Stoke City and use their physicality and direct style to stymie Barcelona, then it is up to Pep Guardiola and the team to figure out how to unlock the defense.&nbsp; If clubs like Villarreal and Valencia want to compete with their passing football, it will likely be a better display for the fans, but the task is still the same: to unlock the defense.&nbsp; Barcelona has a very good chance to retain all three crowns from last year as well as adding other trophies to outdo last season’s treble-winning season.&nbsp; Worrying less about their opponents’ tactics and focusing on their own game will greatly benefit Barcelona in the long run.

Why is Defense So Reviled in Football?

Why is Defense So Reviled in Football? - World Soccer Talk

<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BallonDor.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2014/10/BallonDor-600x368-600x368.webp" alt="The FIFA Ballon d&apos;Or trophy sits on show" width="600" height="368" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-120062" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a>
The FIFA World Player of the Year is the greatest individual honor a footballer can win in the sport. As it is well known, the ’08 award was won by Manchester United’s Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo. After the award presentation, attention shifted to who could win the 2009 FIFA POY Award. Almost immediately, the 1st person that sprung to mind was the 2nd place finisher in 2008, Barcelona’s Argentine stud Lionel Messi. 
<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="http://s.bebo.com/app-image/7926306797/5411656627/PROFILE/i.quizzaz.com/img/q/u/08/04/11/lionel-messi_1_.jpg" alt="http://s.bebo.com/app-image/7926306797/5411656627/PROFILE/i.quizzaz.com/img/q/u/08/04/11/lionel-messi_1_.jpg"></figure></div> 
The brilliant La Pulga is the clear cut favorite to win the ’09 honor and would be the 1st Argentine to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Messi is probably going to win and deservedly so after consecutive 2nd place finishes in 2007 &amp; 2008 but I would like to name a new front runner to the award. Its a fellow Culés,&nbsp; he doesn’t score a lot of goals but he is arguably Barca’s most important player and its not who you think I am thinking of.
His name is Andrés Iniesta 
<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="http://www.soccernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/andres_iniesta.jpg" alt="http://www.soccernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/andres_iniesta.jpg"></figure></div> 
He’s not as explosive or dynamic athletically as Lionel Messi but he is just as effective in his position. Iniesta has the best vision on the team and is Barca’s sharpest passer. That’s saying a lot considering that Barcelona has Xavi on its books. Maybe I’m a little drunk from Iniesta’s performance against Sevilla where he was the Man of the Match and single-handedly sliced Sevilla’s defense like a Samurai does an intruder in a 4-0 win that saw Messi on the bench resting.
Iniesta has missed a few games this season due to injury and Barca is not the same team when he’s out. The 2 game losing skid that Barca suffered losing to Espanyol &amp; Atletico Madrid, Iniesta was out for both matches. Even Barca’s 2-0 victory over Real Madrid earlier in the season was sloppy, if Iniesta had played Barca’s possessions would have been cleaner and the offense would have been sharper leading to a larger margin of victory versus Real.
Iniesta is also an underappreciated part of La Furia Roja’s amazing 31-game unbeaten streak. Spain’s national team is a beast right now.&nbsp; However his presence cannot be underestimated, besides name a current Spanish midfielder not named Xavi that’s better than Iniesta.&nbsp; He possesses a deceptive combination of speed, dribbling, patience, hustle, passing, and attitude that has lead to him being called El Anti-Galactico. That’s a compliment. 

Andres Iniesta isn’t going to win the Pichichi or Golden Boot but football is a sport where the numbers don’t always measure the greatness or importance of a player. Ask Real Madrid how The Galacticos struggled without Makelele and Hierro. Iniesta is the difference between a possible historic treble and an already seen double.
Andres Iniesta is massively important for the best club team in the world and the best national team in the world. Based on those things, El Anti-Galactico is my new front runner for the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year.

New Frontrunner For '09 FIFA World Player of the Year

New Frontrunner For '09 FIFA World Player of the Year - World Soccer Talk

Latest news from andres iniesta. Find out about all the news related to andres iniesta on worldsoccertalk.com

ALL POSTS TAGGED "andres iniesta - Page 2"

News

Inter Milan Completes The Italian Job on Barcelona in the Champions League

News

La Liga Jornada 33 Review: Tenerife Rises to Within One Point of Relegation Salvation

News

Villarreal Spoils Barcelona's Party at the Camp Nou

News

Messi Wins Ballon d'Or

News

Why is Defense So Reviled in Football?

News

New Frontrunner For '09 FIFA World Player of the Year