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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Yes, it's been a week of good harvest for Barça. And why not? Now that the new Spanish La Liga season and the Group stage of the UEFA Champions League are kicking off, it might just be the best time to re-establish dominance. Whether or not that was what Pep Guardiola and his men had in mind last week of big days, they brought excitement to the Barça fans and many other followers of the beautiful game. However, work had been brutal for me, there was no time to capture the moment here. Even the extremely rainy Saturday demanded a full day's work... and more! Aaargh! But, hey, some people have to work for a living, and hobby always takes the backseat during brutal times. Reality, baby... and it bites, too! :( The good news is... it's looooong weekend! Yaay! :) And while I got away from work (very) late into the weekend... I'm back in my "happy place"! There will always be (plenty of) time to worry about work - as always. Yaaahoo! =)
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European Super Cup
So, the 2011 UEFA Champions League winners, FC Barcelona, and the Europa League winners, FC Porto, clashed in Stade Louis II
FC Barcelona and FC Porto vie for the 2011 UEFA
Super Cup at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.in Monaco last Friday. No, I didn't see it live... only managed to see the highlights after the match while uncoiling from a (very) long day at work so not possible to comment. I read that it was not the "typical" Barça game of exceptional brilliance. It was slow and peppered with mistakes - from both sides... the highlights confirmed that as well. I was on a "what-the..." mode after seeing Pedro Rodriguez waste a great opportunity, losing control of the ball, kicking too soon when the ball was still hanging too high in midair for what could've been a nice finish of an Andres Iniesta assist. But it was easy to forgive him, remembering how efficient he usually is in patrolling his side of the Barça wing. Most of the time, he seemed to be at the right place, at the right time, especially when a goal is crucial. He just needs more confidence in finishing big attacks.
Speaking of confidence, or the lack of it, David Villa was a quarter of a second too late to finish a Lionel Messi pass through five men. It's no secret that Villa has been having a painful "on-again-off-again affair" with his confidence in front of the goal. And the reason, I think, is these days, he usually takes a split second to position himself before firing when the ball arrives at his feet... and that gives defenders and goalkeepers plenty of time to position for a save. He should revive his risk-taking quick moves that baffled many defenders and goalkeepers in World Cup 2010. He shouldn't view himself as the next best thing to Lionel Messi in front
Guardiola's La Masia boys - Iniesta,
Fabregas and Messi: deadly trio. of the goal. He has an important role in the Barça line-up, and he should trust himself to be the best in that role... simply because, he is the best in that role!
But, yeah, there wasn't much in the match to launch a tired woman to her feet from her seat in the match. But even the most drab of matches will not supress the brilliance of Lionel Messi, that's for sure. Barça's phenomenal "resident genius" shot the first goal on the 39th minute. Picking up a pass from Pedro, who wisely put Andrés Iniesta's steal to safety by entrusting it to their #10, Messi avoided Porto's goalkeeper, Da Silva Helton, and then fired the first goal with no serious challenge. And then, as the match was nearing its close, set up by the stand-in Captain, Iniesta, the enclosed-in-a-circle-of-enemies Messi sent a brilliant pass to Cesc Fabregas, who came on from the bench with only 10 minutes left to play. Barça's new "precious one" caught the spinning ball with his chest for a quick control before volleying to a beautiful finish on the 87th - remarkable! That sealed the hold of the Catalans on the 2011 UEFA Super Cup title with a 2-0 victory over the Portuguese side.
Barça now earned their twelfth title under Pep Guardiola, making
FC Barcelona: 2011 UEFA Champions League
winners + 2011 UEFA Super Cup winners.the former Barça captain the most successful coach in the Club's history, in terms of titles won, surpassing the coaching achievement of the legendary advocate of total football, Johan Cruyff - Pep's mentor. The victory also made Barça's midfield "High Priest", Xavi Hernandez, the winningest player in Barça's history, with 18 trophies... and earned Fabregas his second trophy in just eleven days since his unveiling in Camp Nou. Awesomeness? Definitely... and the truly big days are yet to come... I hope! :)
In the meatime, congratulations to Barça!!!
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Little (in stature) yes... and, yet, the biggest (talent) in Europe
Speaking of historical achievements, Lionel Messi - Barça's phenomenal #10 - received the inaugural "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award" in a ceremony held in Monaco last Thursday. He finished way ahead of
Lionel Messi: 2011 UEFA Champions League
winner w/ Barça + 2011 UEFA Best Player in Europe.runners-up, his teammate, Xavi, and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF - the Spanish La Liga's 2010-2011 Pichichi awardee. Messi garnered 39 votes from the 53 sports journalists in Europe who chose the winner, while Xavi earned 11 votes. The three remaining votes went to Ronaldo. In his usual soft-spoken and thoroughly shy speech after receiving the unique trophy, Messi shared the award with his teammates (which, I suppose, included Guardiola?) and thanked them for their help in making his latest win possible. And, in response to host, CNN's Pedro Pinto's query, La Pulga assured everyone that while his personal trophies are quickly filling out his trophy shelves at home, there surely is enough room for more. Of course, I can imagine how that could be dismaying to many who aspire for the award in the future... at least, within the next six years or so.
The current winner of both FIFA Ballon d'Or Best Player in the World + UEFA Best Player in Europe... Lionel Messi is a "real genius" of football! Congratulations, Leo!
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"Whoa!" and "uh-oh..." moments at the EPL
Yep, 8-2... that's how awesome, or bad, depending on which team one is supporting, Manchester United and Arsenal's match was at Old
Whoa! Wayne Rooney
hat-trick.Trafford yesterday! :) One side was "trigger happy", firing at will on the pitch, while the other was completely trashed - obviously! And it was Arsene Wenger who felt "humiliated" after the final whistle sounded, and Wayne Rooney was the one celebrating his latest hat-trick that helped catalpult the Red Devils to the top of the EPL Table! So, yeah, the Gunners went out of the pitch with their man-bag of pride totally drained... they weren't just beaten by Manchested United, they were toyed with on the pitch like they were a bunch of disconcerted golf players who stepped on the wrong field of greens! :) But the truth is, I wasn't sure if Man U was really being absolutely brilliant out there, although there were strong evidences that they were... or if Arsenal was simply just in a "chaotic phase" after losing experienced midfielders in Fabregas and Samir Nasri, and Jack Wilshere and many others being sidelined due to injuries. Hmmm... I guess we'll find out when the Red Devils
Uh-oh... Arsene Wenger and his beautiful boys
faced thorough defeat in Old Trafford.face the current second place, the
reinforced Roberto Mancini squad, at some point, huh? In the meantine, let's leave Wenger alone with his thoughts - and pray that he could endure it - for now, shall we?
Speaking of Mancini, Machester City, in their own version of "weekend mission enemy demolition", routed Tottenham Hotspur, 5-1, in the latter's very own backyard at White Hart Lane! City's big guns, led by Edin Dzeko, unleashed big ones that choked Harry Redknapp's side, they could only manage to respond once.
And, over at Stamford Bridge, a surprisingly tight and dramatic contest against Norwich City sent Blues striker, Didier Drogba, airborne
Juan Mata, whoa!on a challege against John Ruddy, was knocked unconscious in midair, and then hit the ground flat in a horrifying thud. Oh, gosh! He was carried out of the pitch on a stretcher, still unconscious, with a breathing instrument strapped on his face. Meanwhile, on a happy note, the new Spanish conquistador on English pitch, former Valencia main man, Juan Mata, debuted in Blues jerseys with a third goal for his side - allowing the Blues to keep home supremacy with a 3-1 win. Ah, here we go, Andre Villas-Boas's response to Mancini's Sergio Aguero, who debuted with a brace of goals? Whatever it is, Mata looked perfectly fitted in the Blues line-up... and his good looks, which make him looked like AVB himself's brother or something, and enthusiasm on the pitch belie the lethal talent that will surely spark more excitement at EPL. I can't wait to see how the EPL Table will go this season.
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UEFA Champions League... on Group Stage
Hmmm... looks like most Clubs did some overhauling of their sides last summer (Ahem, sorry, Monsieur Wenger, didn't mean to sound insensitive. Please go back to your conversation with yourself now....). Perhaps, to stop FC Barcelona from winning the UEFA Champions League title again this season? I can imagine the sigh of relief from fans after finding out that their teams were not in the same group as Barça after the draw in Monaco. But, it looks like Silvio Berlusconi will have an opportunity to test his hypothesis. The AC Milan "godfather" acknowledges Barça to be the best squad in Europe today. However, in a subtle imitation of José Mourinho's complete lack of subtlety, he thinks that only 50% of Barça's success is due to class, skills and tactics.. and the rest is luck. Uh-hmm.... Well, awesome news for Mr. Berlusconi: AC Milan and Barça are in the same group! :) Please let us know your findings, Mr. Berlusconi (if you survived, that is)! BTW, how's Italy's economy these days? Cheers! :)
Oh, and Group A is a "nightmare" of a group! It has Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Villareal and Napoli! I'm sure these sides are hoping to wake up from the nightmare... and into the Round of Sixteen. Let's see who's better in surviving sleep apnea. Can't wait!
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Angry females
While New York prepared for the dangerous onslaught of hurricane Irenethis weekend, in Manila, people watched tropical storm, Mina, dampen a torrent of rain during the country's long weekend. Uhm, good thing, it's vacation time for me. The northern provinces of Luzon were badly hit by Mina, leaving many homeless and devastated. The government's initial estimates of agricultural damage alone were at a whopping PhP 880M! Tsk, tsk... y'see, that's why you shouldn't mess with a woman, 'cause she'd blow you away to devastation!
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Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website.
