<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="image"></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"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3281" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100429_WST_72181_Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=311" alt="" width="500" height="311"></a></figure></div>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"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3283" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100429_WST_72181_Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=368" alt="" width="500" height="368"></a></figure></div>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 - World Soccer Talk

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

<div id="attachment_17259" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/4480199428_93262bcd5a.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>The Captain (Via Flickr)</div>
Since I’m new at EPL Talk, I’d like to talk a little bit more (before I discuss Wednesday’s match) about my history as an Arsenal fan. Slowly becoming a soccer fan in college, a 2006 trip to Europe with my girlfriend really cemented my love of the Gunners. Arriving in Paris just days before the Champions League Final, little did I know what would await me. The year before, I had been in Israel during the Liverpool-Milan game. Taking a cursory interest, I sat down with several Israelis who were screaming about how dominant Milan were. As everyone knows, it didn’t end up that way. But it was enough to turn me into a soccer fan for life.
Flash forward a year. After taking the train by the Stade De France the day of the match, and seeing the Arsenal and Barcelona fans peacefully hanging out, I knew that, unlike certain English clubs, this was going to be the club for me. The night was truly magical. Settling down in a Parisian cafe with the match on a HD screen, my girlfriend, for reasons unbeknownst to me, decided she was going to root for Barca. While I did watch a number of Arsenal matches that season, my fandom paled in comparison to how it is now, so I didn’t object.
After 17 minutes, Jens Lehmann was sent off. Sol Campbell scored, and the number of Arsenal fans in the cafe yelped in delight, myself included. Sadly, the night did not end up well for Arsenal. A 2-1 defeat, but it was hard to not be proud of Arsene Wenger’s team. Despite this, it was unmistakable: Barcelona were, even then, the perfect team. They played exciting soccer, and attacked &nbsp;mercilessly. Seeing them in the Champions League Final in 2009, it was again just beautiful to watch. You couldn’t help but root for them. My feelings toward them in both those games were of both awe and jealousy–Why couldn’t Arsenal be that team?
The reality, we can’t be that team. Watching the first half yesterday afternoon on delay, I realized that Arsene Wenger’s boys can’t be Barcelona. Rather, they have to (and are) shaping their own identity. Completely dominated for the first 55 minutes, an Arsenal team based on grit and fitness slowly came alive. The introduction of England International Theo Walcott changed the complexion of the game.
(As an aside, if you think that Fabio Capello wasn’t whetting his chops at the thought of Theo making runs like that in South Africa, you are kidding yourself. The kid can only show up in big games on the biggest stage. World cup qualifiers? Barcelona in the Champions League? He’ll be there. Stoke away in February? Not a chance!)
After that, a team with superior fitness finished it off. While I’m not sure that Puyol deserved a penalty for knocking off Fabregas, the reality is that the referee saw a foul, and at that point you have to send him off. Fabregas showed the reason why he should be footballer of the year, by knocking in a penalty with a broken leg! At this point, Wenger should have pulled him off–who knows what kind of damage that Fabregas could have done to himself in the remaining ten minutes.
Meanwhile, even despite the comeback, the old nemesis of Barcelona still struck awe and fear into the eyes of Gooners all over the world. Even despite the draw, it still seems likely that Barca will send Arsenal out of the champions league for the third time in the last 11 years. While the domestic rivals Chelsea and Man U continue to demolish the Gunners head-to-head, it is this talented, free-flowing, and altogether better group from Barcelona that makes Arsenal fans feel inadequate.
—-Notes on the Game:
1. Arshavin: The reality is, at this point, Arshavin is simply not good enough to make the starting XI of a club such as Arsenal. His runs and passes are incredibly wasteful, and he simply does not track back on defense. He should be used only as a super-sub, and nothing more. Eboue and Rosicky provide more right now than Arshavin does. Yes, his 4 goal performance at Liverpool was incredible. But better teams (Chelsea, Man U, Barcelona) will destroy you down the wing when a player doesn’t track back, as Arshavin is prone to do.
2. Nasri: While Arsenal fans sweat having to go to the Camp Nou without Cesc Fabregas, the young Frenchman, in my opinion, is having the best season of his life. He has been excellent, and a midfield of Diaby-Denilson-Nasri with Song in the back scares me much less than you would think. The loss of Fabregas will not be the reason why Arsenal loses in the 2nd leg.
3. Messi: For all his talk as the best player in the world, Messi seemed extremely absent from this game. Hopefully he doesn’t decide to “wake up” before the 2nd leg.
4. TV: As all of you know, Fox Sports Net is going to be broadcasting the second leg into most US homes with cable. Frankly, this should be the game that you DVR for your non-soccer-loving friends and family, and tell them THIS is the reason why you’re a fan. If the first leg was any guide, the second leg should be a barn-burner.
Jordan Acker is a law student and Arsenal supporter from Detroit, currently exiled in Washington, DC. Follow him on twitter: @JAcker2L

Barcelona, We Meet Again - World Soccer Talk

Barcelona, We Meet Again

<div id="attachment_2953" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/03/Manolo-Jimenez.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>A forlorn Manolo Jiménez rues his side&apos;s inability to capture the moment against CSKA Moskva.</div>
With the advantage of the away goal, Sevilla looked in prime position to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.&nbsp; Unfortunately, Manolo Jiménez’s team played as though they were already in the next round.&nbsp; A 0-0 score line would have sent Sevilla through, and even though Diego Perotti declared that they could not be confident in their advantage or rely on the fact that they were playing at home, there was little impetus from Los Nervionenses in their attack.
CSKA Moskva also played this cat-and-mouse game, knowing that they did not need to push forward and leave themselves open to a swift counter-attack.&nbsp; When Tomáš Necid scored in the 39th minute from a seemingly harmless throw-in deep in the Sevilla half, Sevilla woke up from their slumber and immediately responded with a goal of their own two minutes later.

The CSKA defense allowed a long ball from an Andrés Palop free kick to bounce near the penalty area, and Jesús Navas capitalized on this good fortune by gathering the ball and squaring the ball to Diego Perotti, who coolly finished with aplomb from seven yards to equalize at 1-1.
Jiménez substituted Diego Capel to start the second half in favor of Frédéric Kanouté to have another out-and-out striker with Luís Fabiano, but play reverted to the opening thirty-eight minutes of the match.&nbsp; Sevilla went into hibernation again, and it cost them in the 55th minute, when Palop palmed Keisuke Honda’s free kick into his own net.&nbsp; Although Honda fiercely struck the ball, Palop got himself into perfect position to catch it or deflect it away.&nbsp; Palop rightly decided to push the ball away instead of attempting to snatch it in the air, but he somehow managed to deflect it into his own goal in one of the worst blunders in this year’s Champions League.
Galvanization did not repeat itself after Sevilla fell behind a second time, and they timidly fell out of the competition 1-2 in the match and 2-3 on aggregate.&nbsp; The ineffective performances ran rampant across the Sevilla squad.&nbsp; Renato failed to muster any extended possession in midfield, Luís Fabiano became a ghost as he could not be seen through most of the match, and Andrés Palop made the mistake that forced Sevilla to score twice without conceding in the final thirty-five minutes.
It would be easy to say that without Palop’s error, the match would have gone into extra time, but with all of these “what if” scenarios, any single event in a football match is not mutually exclusive.&nbsp; Assuming that the rest of the match would have gone as it ended up without CSKA’s second goal would be fallacious.&nbsp; CSKA had the slight upper hand throughout the match, and they were the more likely team to score anyway, whether it occurred with a goalkeeping error or by CSKA’s own brilliant play.
Sevilla deserved to be knocked out of the Champions League, and they face a fight from multiple angles to qualify for the Champions League next year.&nbsp; Deportivo La Coruña, Mallorca, and Athletic Bilbao are all within three points of Sevilla for the fourth Champions League spot, and while these teams do not possess the talent and the European experience like Sevilla, the Andalucians cannot take for granted that they will finish in the top four.&nbsp; If they finish the La Liga season in the same nonchalant fashion and attitude as they played against CSKA, the Europa League beckons.
<div id="attachment_2959" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/03/Lionel-Messi.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2959" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2959" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100318_WST_72169_Lionel-Messi.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=353" alt="" width="500" height="353"></figure></div></a>The "Best Player in the World" debate should be tabled for the time being.</div>
Someone forgot to tell Stuttgart that there was a crucial Champions League match this evening.&nbsp; As confident and daring as they were at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the first leg, Die Roten were timid and meek at the Camp Nou.&nbsp; Obviously needing at least one goal in order to have any legitimate chance of brushing the defending champions away, they only had two shots all night, and neither of those shots were on target.
The match, however, told more about Barcelona’s dominance than Stuttgart’s quiescence.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola made the bold move of leaving Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the bench in favor of Thierry Henry, a man who has only scored three goals in La Liga and has found it difficult to break into the starting eleven.&nbsp; His revealing performance in the second half against Valencia on Sunday gave Guardiola the confidence to employ him as the central striker against Stuttgart.
A thigh injury ruled Xavi Hernández out of the Stuttgart match, and with Seydou Keita not fully fit to start, Touré Yaya became the choice for Guardiola, although there was little alternative.&nbsp; Mainly used as a defensive midfielder, he patrolled the left side of midfield as though he were a tricky winger.&nbsp; Numerous counter-attacks saw him bomb down the left flank with astonishing ease, and he directly contributed to Pedro Rodríguez’s opening goal with an unselfish squared ball across the penalty area that he could have easily shot himself.&nbsp; Another player that has been stuck on the substitutes’ bench for most of the year, Guardiola shows the ability to inspire even the most disgruntled of players.
Then there is that man again.&nbsp; Without waxing poetic to the point of veneration, Lionel Messi continues to befuddle the opposition while involving his teammates in many of the attacks in which he is involved.&nbsp; Lately, due to the inconsistencies of Ibrahimovic, Pedro, and Henry, Messi had to shoulder more of the scoring load, and he looks to take a crack at goal more often than at any other time in his career.
Messi always possessed the skill and the guile to be one of the best players in the world, but in the last couple of seasons and especially in the last few months, his clinical finishing ascended to world-class level.&nbsp; When Messi scored the first goal in the 14th minute, the Stuttgart defense decided to back off him instead of closing down his space in fear that he would make one move and slice them in half.&nbsp; With this clearing, Messi popped a top left corner laser that Jens Lehmann had no chance of saving, and the rout commenced.
On Barça’s second goal, Messi played the provider, as he floated a ball over the top of the Stuttgart defense to Touré Yaya, and he squared the ball to Pedro, who delivered it into the back of the net.&nbsp; Messi would score another goal in tandem with Dani Alves later in the match, but the damage was done, and Barcelona marched on into the quarterfinals, where no one would want to draw them on Friday afternoon, when the matchups for the rest of the competition will be sorted out.
Bordeaux’s talisman Yoann Gourcuff already declared that his team would like to face anyone but Barcelona in the quarterfinals, and every other team left might have this same request.&nbsp; Now that Olympique Lyonnais eliminated Real Madrid and CSKA Moskva bounced Sevilla from the Champions League, Barcelona represents the only Spanish team remaining in the competition, and they are peaking at the right time of the season.&nbsp; They wrote this script last campaign, and they won the treble.&nbsp; Why deviate now?
<div id="attachment_2963" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/03/DSC03475.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2963" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2963" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100318_WST_72169_DSC03475.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=334" alt="" width="500" height="334"></figure></div></a>My nieces, in blue, combining to nullify the opposition attack.</div>
Apologies to those who expected the usual Monday column that recaps the latest round in La Liga.&nbsp; I did not watch a single La Liga match this past weekend because I attended my twin nieces’ soccer tournament.&nbsp; Although classified as U-9, their team played in the U-10 group, and they won the championship, proudly accepting the winners’ medals with an everlasting gleam in their wondrous eyes.
The older U-10 team that my nieces’ team faced held a 2-1 lead with seconds remaining, but a late equalizer forced extra time.&nbsp; After two scoreless periods in extra time, both of these teams would encounter the cruel ending that is penalty kicks for the first time in their lives.
My precocious nieces feel the nervousness when they perform penalties on FIFA 09, and now, they were selected to be two of the penalty takers in the shootout.&nbsp; They invoked the power of prayer as a vehicle for their jangling nerves while they watched their teammates take their penalties and awaited their own.&nbsp; They both made their penalties, but after each team took their five penalties, both teams were still tied.&nbsp; The sixth penalty proved pivotal as my nieces’ team converted their penalty and the opposition missed theirs.&nbsp; Even at such a young age, the famous Jim McKay line “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” felt appropriate because while my nieces’ team celebrated, their opposition could not hold back their tears.
The most telling difference between watching professionals in various European leagues and watching children in this U-10 tournament was the willingness of the children to adapt to their surroundings versus the paid football players.&nbsp; A torrent of rain surged through the city hosting this tournament the night before the competition started, and when my nieces’ first match kicked off at 12:30 PM the next day, they trudged through a mushy pitch that bore little grass with which to begin because the last vestiges of winter still reigned even though spring temperatures had sprung up sporadically.
Bad bounces, balls halting to a complete stop while dribbling, and frequent slips that these children endured would discourage many professionals.&nbsp; The chronic carping and lamenting of the surface would have been endless from the professionals, but the children continued to play their football as though the pitch compared to the old Wembley Stadium.
Covering professionals for a living can jade the most optimistic of journalists, but if they need a break from the constant petulance and complaining of grown men who earn millions of Euros, attend a match or competition involving young children.&nbsp; They just want to play.&nbsp; Although you get the occasional parent who goes overboard, the purity of the sport lies here in these children.

La Liga in the Champions League: Sevilla Stumbles While Barcelona Bedazzles - World Soccer Talk

La Liga in the Champions League: Sevilla Stumbles While Barcelona Bedazzles

Hi Guys, I’m here with my first post. I’m going to be doing a weekly post on the reasons why I love the beautiful game so much. This week I will be starting, ironically, with last gasp goals.
It doesn’t matter how they are scored, whether it’s a tap in like Aaron Lennon in last seasons dramatic 4-4 in the North London Derby&nbsp;and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer winning the treble at the Camp Nou, or beautifully crafted like Beckham lighting up Old Trafford once again to send England to the 2002 World Cup and Gerrard smashing home against Olympiakos in the 86th minute, giving them the 2-goal lead they needed to progress past the group stage of the 2004 Champion’s League, a competition they would go on to win.
A late goal is what’s beautiful about football, and highlights how quickly a game can change. You just drift away from the real world for that split second and find yourself in a state of ecstacy with no control over your actions.&nbsp;Andy Gray’s commentary during the Gerrard goal illustrates that so beautifully.
There aren’t many moments that give me goosebumps&nbsp;8 years on after countless times of watching, but Beckham v Greece is one of them. It was almost poetic, and there was only ever one person who was going to carry us through to the World Cup Finals. It was the turning point in his career after the controversy of the 1998 World Cup, and had that goal not gone in, how different could David Beckham’s career have turned out.
So never give up hope, and never leave a game early. No&nbsp;amount of traffic can ruin that perfect moment.
Last gasp goals are why we all love football.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "camp nou" - Page 3

Andres Iniesta

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

General

Barcelona, We Meet Again

Athletic Club

La Liga in the Champions League: Sevilla Stumbles While Barcelona Bedazzles

General

Why I Love Football Vol. 1 – Last Gasp Goals