Josep Guardiola, known for his cool demeanor inside and outside of the technical area, channeled his feelings for all things Madrid when he refused to give Cristiano Ronaldo the ball for a throw-in on the half-hour mark. Unlike his outspoken and demonstrative counterpart José Mourinho, Guardiola usually keeps to himself, shouting and dictating to his […]

The José Mourinho – Pep Guardiola headline and the Lionel Messi – Cristiano Ronaldo headline have been covered and written many times over, so this preview of El Clásico will try to avoid these subjects and focus on the other, less talked about aspects of the biggest game in Spanish football this season. The man […]

A select few matches each season define the league in terms of pecking order and/or overall footballing ability. Obviously, the two editions of El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona usually determine the fate of La Liga's crown. More specifically, in the past five seasons, the team that won the most points in El Clásico […]

Before this current season, Hércules CF had tasted top flight football only twice in the past twenty-five years: the 1985-86 season, when their neighbors to north, Valencia, also suffered relegation for the first time in its illustrious history; and the 1996-97 season, when the Alicante club spent one campaign in La Liga before subsequent relegation to […]

Reporting from Camp Nou (although belatedly) As Ronaldinho took to the field, the last player to do so for either team, 96,315 people cheered and applauded. A chant of 'Ronny, Ronny, Ronny' started around the stadium. People smiled as he lined up with the Barcelona team for the photo just before the Joan Gamper trophy […]

Once Lionel Messi scored his club record-tying 34th goal of the season in the 76th minute to increase the lead to 4-0, the 98,772 Culés at the Camp Nou, save for a few hundred Real Valladolid die-hards, began to chant the song that every team wants to hear at the end of the season, "Campeones, […]

The sprinklers rose up from the pitch and sprayed the Inter Milan players and staff. 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. This sense of confusion permeated throughout the […]

Throughout Barcelona's two-year run of groundbreaking excellence, Josep Guardiola i Sala role as a tactician tended to be undervalued. He reinstituted the "Total Football" concept that Johan Cruyff, Guardiola's former manager at FC Barcelona, instilled when he was a player and a manager at the club, and he changed the culture inside the dressing room. […]

With the advantage of the away goal, Sevilla looked in prime position to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, Manolo Jiménez's team played as though they were already in the next round. A 0-0 score line would have sent Sevilla through, and even though Diego Perotti declared that they could not […]

The Almería – Barcelona match had not concluded when Real Madrid took to the pitch, but a few minutes into their match with Sevilla, they knew that Barça slipped at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos and dropped two points with a 2-2 draw against Almería. Expectations were that Real Madrid would not have the […]

A ridiculous question with what should be a simple answer. First, a cursory investigation. Is Barcelona on top of the standings in La Liga? Yes. Has Barcelona obtained sixty-one points from twenty-four matches, one more point than it had at the same point last season? Check. Does Barcelona have the edge in its UEFA Champions […]

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. Villarreal was a mere afterthought as the Barcelona players deservedly received their plaudits for a year of literal perfection. Even Villarreal showed them respect before the match when they created […]

The hype, the pomp, the circumstance. All of these rose to a higher level for this episode of El Clásico at the Camp Nou on Sunday evening. Coming into this match, FC Barcelona turned their fortunes around in the UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan. The scoreline hardly gave any justice […]

After a workmanlike 1-0 victory against Almería and a mediocre showing in their 0-0 draw at the Mestalla against Valencia CF on Saturday, FC Barcelona looked to reverse their form in the Champions League against a supposed weaker team in FK Rubin Kazan. To their credit, Barça did not make any excuses about their performance […]

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. Football's common nickname is "The Beautiful Game," but from where did that phrase initially originate? Credit is usually given to 50's and 60's […]