Farewell...

...to the 'Total Football' master.
=====================================================================
by PAM


It does look like I've been ignoring football for quite sometime now, and it's perfectly understandable that people assumed I have 'abandoned' my love for the 'beautiful game'. None of it is true, of course.  I have been paying attention.  I just couldn't find the time to show my appreciation here as I used to.  I do admit that, over the last year or so, I have been usually a step behind.  It's unacceptable, I know... but, under the circumstances, I'm afraid I was left with very little choice.

***
The legend of Johan Cruyff

But, I digress... this post is not about me.  It's about the great Oranje who wore the number 14 shirt, Johan Cruyff... the late Johan Cruyff, that is.  He passed on yesterday after losing his bout with lung cancer.  He was 68 years old.  

It does bite some to refer to the great footballer, who had a strong presence in and out of the pitch, in the past tense.  It does make one sadly realize of how huge a void he's left in the face of the 'beautiful game'.  What's even sadder is to realize that, despite the rich pool of talents the game has now, no one will ever be of as grand of character and daring as the master himself to fill that void.

The legend of the fearless knight of the 'beautiful game' who wore the #14 shirt
on the pitch for the Oranje.

Johan Cruyff was not only a brilliant footballer, he was a legendary strategist for the game as a coach/manager, and his leadership was, indeed, worth emulating.  Sure, he can be too daring at times, crossing the fine line between fierceness and arrogance, but it was all a part of the whole 'package'.  It takes even a bolder attempt for brilliance to avoid the rough patches in the Cruyff persona when one emulates him... and that's where the greatness of his 'students' in the game, such as Pep Guardiola, lies.  They recognize the flaws, and avoid them... and Cruyff did not mind as he took pride in the gained wisdom of his 'students'. 

***
Brilliance that pulls like gravity    

As I was a mere toddler in the early '70s when Cruyff was 'flying high' as an Oranje, I gotta admit I knew very little about him before.  Football news that reached the Philippines in the '80s and '90s were dominated by Diego Maradona (due to his World Cup fame) and David Beckham (as English Premier League's biggest star), respectively.  And, since Maradona was briefly under the Cruyff coaching days in Barcelona, there were a few mention of the legendary Barça coach.  However, Pep Guardiola adored him like Cruyff was his "football creator"... like a new vampire's "creator", that is.  And because I have humongous respect for Pep, anybody he adored, I believe was worth knowing.  And so, in the early 2000s, when Pep was on his way to his own legendary tenure as Barça's coach, I did my very best to know as much as possible about Cruyff... and I never looked back since then.   I found that his brilliance was like gravity... it just pulls you in - especially, his famous "Cruyff turn".

The Master:  Total Football personified.

  
At some point, while watching a footage of his best runs, so daring as he shunned opponents, darting to the goal in laser precision, with the ball seemingly glued to his foot, long hair flying, I thought it gave one a glimpse of a young Lionel Messi... doing exactly the same as a 17-year-old Barça forward.  And, as I watched his famous "Cruyff turn", which he executed as he eyed an "opening" to the goal while dribbling, getting rid of the defenders that swarmed him as he changed direction towards the opening, I thought it was a preview of a Xavi Hernandez patent move as he creates a play for his team... and even a move by Pep himself.  The surprise attack when it's least expected by the opponents that Andrés Iniesta is famous for, winning Spain their first World Cup in 2010, is a part of the Cruyff arsenal, too.  Wouldn't you believe it?

***
His true legacy in the 'beautiful game'   

Indeed, there are a number of Barça players who, while legends in their own right, are 'Cruyff iterations' in a way.  This is partly because of his coaching days in Barça where he nurtured young talents, such as Pep, to find their greatest strengths, polished them, and taught them to use these strengths to make the sum of an arsenal of strengths for their Team.  This is the fundamental of "Total Football" v. Cruyff.  It was all about fluidity of movements, the adaptability to any situation

Legends:  The Master and the Student.
(Photo credit: www.taringa.net.  Thanks.)

in the field by all players.  As such, it requires versatility among players, the ability to take on any role that an unfolding scenario calls for... keeping the integrity of their tactical approach at all times, and successfully executing it to secure a win.


Cruyff, being a versatile player, who had the speed, stamina and eye for goal opportunities was Total Football personified.  He was in possession of a complete arsenal of talents, the utter fearlessness to use all of them, and the sharp feel for the flow of game that gave him the sense to know when to use which talent.  These allowed him to move about a lot in the field, exploiting weaknesses of the opponents, or effectively creating damage in areas of strength of his side's opponent to make opportunities elsewhere.  Indeed, he was a real genius of the beautiful game, and the fluidity of his movement on the pitch made him so awesome to watch, too.  This brought so much success to his Dutch side, Oranje, in the world stage of football, and tremendous glory to his domestic side, Ajax, during his tenure with them in the #14 shirt.

Later, as forward in Barça in the #9 shirt, he helped his side win La Liga in the 1973-1974 season after an epic transfer from Ajax.  The Catalan side won the trophy after more than a decade of drought.  He also helped  Barça win Copa del Rey in the 1977-1978 season, showcasing his unforgettable "phantom goal" - while on a sprint for the ball that was going wide, he broke his speed, shooting up to a jump that doubled his height, going almost horizontal while on air, kicking with fully stretched legs and catching the ball with his right heel to put it in the goal.  All of these happening in a second, too awesome!  As the Catalonia was undergoing a tumultuous political upheaval that time, Barça's good form on the pitch was a source of strength and joy for the region... and Cruyff was in the center of it all, making him Catalonia's favorite 'adopted son'.

During his tenure as Barça Coach/Manager for eight seasons, he formed his "Dream Team", with Pep Guardiola at the center of it all as midfielder.  They won the La Liga four times,

La Masia: A succession plan that works.
(Photo credit: www.fcbarcelona.com.  Thanks.)

the European Cup once, the UEFA Super Cup once, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once while reaching the final twice.  He also guided Barça to the UEFA Champions League final once.  Overall, he won 11 trophies for Barça, making him the most successful Head Coach/Manager of Barça that time.  More than the wins that he and his "Dream Team" brought to the Catalan side, he was most proud of how much the fans of the beautiful game appreciated the beautiful "Total Football" played by Barça under his leadership.  As Catalonia continued to experience political tremors that time, the Catalan side, was the regions biggest source of pride and joy, making FC Barcelona 'more than a club' to them. 

While his years as player and manager were marked with many milestones, his tenure as manager in Barcelona was, by far, of most lasting impact.  The FC Barcelona Youth Academy, La Masia, was his brain child.  It was this Academy that nurtured to greatness raw talents like Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets... and even Pep Guardiola himself.  The Academy churned fresh addition to the Barça side, with the Total Football philosophy and its many variants and iterations ingrained in their playing styles, while allowing them to develop their own unique strengths to become 'special' players of the beautiful game.

With the Youth Academy in place, there is very little doubt that FC Barcelona may maintain their good form with a "succession plan" that works.

***
Moving forward without the Master

With his invaluable contributions to the continuous development of the 'beautiful game', the Total Football Master will be terribly missed.  And yet, his legacy will continue to inspire new generations of players to keep the beauty in the game that is so loved by a multitude of 'devotees' in the world.  

Therefore, the game will move forward without him.  Inspired by his legacy, it will, however, keep turning a new leaf and will continuously flourish to a greater beauty each time.

Rest in peace, Johan Cruyff.

***
Video Credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.

***

Farewell, Tito...

...may you rest in peace.

Today is a day shrouded with black for FC Barcelona fans everywhere in the world as it brings the sad news of Tito Vilanova's passing.  He was 45 years old.  Yesterday, I went to bed with the alarming news of Tito's emergency surgery as his condition reached a critical level after suffering a relapse from his bout with throat cancer.  This morning, I woke up to the news of Tito's passing.  It was heartbreaking.

The former manager of FCB, who had to step down as his throat cancer recurred, succumbed to the killer disease today after two and a half years of fierce battle.  He was diagnosed with the deadly disease in the last quarter of 2011 while effectively filling-in the big shoes of Barça's Assistant Manager.  He was the personal choice of the then Manager, Pep Guardiola, to be the second in command in the FCB Coaching Team.  He was also Pep's

Terrific coaching duo:  Pep (left) and Tito (right).
(Photo credit: AP)

first choice for an Assistant Manager when the latter was called to coach Barcelona B prior to their "terrific-duo" days in the Primera Division of the Spanish La Liga.  Yes, Tito was an integral part of those glorious years - historically, the most successful years of FCB's first team - when Barça was winning trophies left and right, including the treble in 2008-2009 season. Whatever the competition was, they were the Team to beat, with the expressively passionate Pep as Manager, and Tito as his cool-headed right man.  


Tito took over the daunting task of manning the Barça helm after Pep finished his tenure as Manager and went on sabbatical in 2012.  Tito was supposed to have defeated the disease, and therefore, was welcomed by the battalion of culés around the world as Barça's new chief strategist.  Being a 'true blue' Barcelona man himself with authentic blaugrana heart, culés around the world had high hopes that the glory days will continue.  Indeed, they did, albeit less stellar as the Pep-Tito days. 

And then, Summer of last year, Tito stepped down from the Barça helm as he reportedly suffered a relapse. Of course, most culés missed him as soon as the first FCB kick on the pitch was made without him.  However, there is hope in the notion that he might just be recovering... after all, he's done it before, fought the same battle before... and won it.  These days, there is no telling as to how the reality of Tito's now permanent absence in the coaching team would do to Barça.  With Pep in another country - another League, another Club - and with Tito gone, the Barça that we knew for the past how many years is gone, too.  

But we go on, with our blaugrana hearts ablazed with the passion for the beautiful game... it's the best and the most fitting way of honoring Tito's memory.

Thanks, Tito, for the great journey in that beautiful pitch of green that we all love.  Sadly, that journey has come to an end, and we send you home now.  We shall always remember you with great fondness for as long as the beauty of the game that we all love endures.  Rest in peace.

***
Top photo credit:  Thanks, Getty image.

***

My world of sports...

...can it get worse? ==================================================================================
by PAM


Tennis, football... what on earth is happening?  It feels like the planets have been re-aligning or something.  Yes, of course, I've been paying attention!  I just didn't have enough leisure time to supply the sports ingredient in my blog these days.  But today, I feel I need to make time for it... or the balance in my world would tip to the dangerous 'burnout' end.  I have to say though that all is satisfying in the work front as far as outcomes are concerned... but burnout is slowly creeping in, too... and it's not even one year yet.  I'm feeling the pressure on my body... and it doesn't feel good. 

Therefore, bring on football and tennis!

***
Alright, football first... let's break it down.

First, Sir Alex Ferguson retired, ending his 27-year tenure as Manchester United's big boss... but that happened ages ago already, it seems, at the rate things are going in the football world.  It's just that Foodball Captain chose to write about David Beckham's retirement - only - when the 'shake-up' was happening.  I needed to rely on FC that time just because I was too busy with my 'day job' to write about my sentiments.  Oh, well... what can I say, except you go for what's in front of you... and complain later? :)

Second, Pep Guardiola, my man, finally started his stint with FC Bayern Munich last month... and it felt odd to see the cule legendary coach mentoring the already 

Pep Guardiola (5th from left, 2nd row) is the Bundesliga

Champs' new boss.

(Photo credit:  grabbed from Daily Mail UK.)

'perfect' Bundesliga current champions... okay, not to mention the UEFA Champions League holders, too. Okay, in fact, they are treble winners last season.  So, there, big job to keep that up - perhaps, even for Pep!  Pep was greeted by a jab on the face by Bayern Munich's reserve goal keeper, Tom Starke.

On the other hand, Barça's future seems uncertain, even when they regained the Spanish La Liga Primera crown back to Camp Nou (yaay!)... an achievement that contributed to the shortened stint in Madrid of the, now confirmed, not-so-special-one, Jose Mourinho, who is now back at Chelsea FC's helm.  Yep, when a 'Pep news' comes up, somewhere, somehow, a 'Mou news' pops up, too.  But, who cares?  About the Mourinho out-of-Madrid, gone-to-Chelsea piece of news, I mean.  Well, it matters to Roman Abramovich, obviously... and, perhaps, John Terry, who was assured - not - by Mou of being in the first team.  Alright, here we go... more colorful drama at Stamford Bridge next season!  Bring on the popcorn!   In the meantime, we wait in giddy anticipation of the Bayern Munich-Chelsea match soon... and the Bayern Munich-Barça match even sooner!  Big matches, alright.  Hah, sorry work, you just gotta share time with football now - seriously! :)

Third, so many player movements across teams and Leagues... and even across continents!  Barça's very good home-grown young midfielder, Thiago Alcantara, for instance, is now Pep's new recruit - from Catalunya to Bavaria.  David Villa now plays for Atletico Madrid.  Brazil's current best player, Neymar, is Barça's newest 'boy wonder #2'... Lionel Messi being (and always will be) #1.  How would that figure in Leo's false 9 position in the Barça scheme... we shall see - soon enough.

Fourth, Tito Vilanova's cancer so sadly recurred... and he had to step down as FC Barcelona coach two days ago to resume treatments. :(  Oh, boy... talk about uncertain future!  That piece of news was

Snatched from the touchline by a horrible illness... anims, Tito!

(Photo credit:  Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

the turning point for me.  It made me decide to snatch back some of my personal time from my 'day job' to write something here!  Just when I'm beginning to really, really like Tito's calmness, and his thoughtful and serene-looking face in a handsome stance on the Barca touchline... he leaves!  What's more, it's all because of a life-threatening illness. :(  I feel guilty for not writing about his stint with Barça, which I appreciated and enjoyed, too.  The Barça players lead the football world in wishing Tito the very best... because, as Andres Iniesta points out, in the end, this more about a man's life rather than just football.  Anims, Tito! 

Now, the search is on for the next Barça coach. Who would it be? I hope it'd be Rubi. His ideas seem fresh, and his personality seems right for the Barca philosophy: work hard, observe discipline, be a teamplayer, keep ball possession and bring it to the goal, play well - to win... and play beautifully.  He seems to be passionate enough about leading and leading well a great football team, and he seems to have enough youthful energy to match that passion.  He could be in the same wavelength as most of the key Barça players.  He has Pep's aura... not to say that Barça needs to look for another Pep, because there is only one Pep Guardiola... and he is now in Allianz Arena in Bavaria.  Just look for one who respects the Barca philosophy, and will keep it alive and well.

Man, I lied low on my 'football thing' here for a few months, and I came back to a completely new world of football!   Whew!  But, life goes on... the ball rolls on the turf, and the men kick it to keep the beautiful game alive and well.  Therefore, we hope for the best... and we get ready for schedule adjustments to accommodate football in my sked.  I'm excited!  :)

***
Next, tennis...

Yes, yes, and yes, I have been paying attention to tennis, too! 

And yes, I did follow the French Open and the Championships at Wimbledon... alright, I admit, I did an unacceptable in-and-out (of consciousness) in the middle of matches.  I was just too tired to stay awake most days... but, hey, I exerted tremendous effort to stay awake.  That should keep my "licensed" tennis fan status! :)  

I have to admit that I almost fell from my seat when Roger Federer exited Roland Garros in the quarter-finals.  But, I was totally, totally awed by the greatness on clay by Rafael Nadal!  He was sooooo awesome - on clay - the greatest ever, in my book!  I'm so glad he was back to play strong, and regain his seat as one of the Top 4 players in the world.

Ooops, I know, I know, I spoke too soon... because Rafa exited Wimbledon, a few days later - in the (freak of a) first round - against an unseeded player!  Imagine?  A day later... there went the defending Champ, Roger Federer, out of Wimbledon, too - in the second round!  Ow!  Just a year ago, after bowing to Andy Murray in the London Games to claim the silver medal, the King of Grass was back, and made history by claiming his 17th Grand Slam in Wimbledon - the most GS ever by a male tennis player in the Open Era.  This year, he was not good enough to overcome the challenge of another unseeded player, 'causing him to slide down the ranking to #5 - for the first time since 2002!  Ow, ow, ow!  Too bad, there hasn't been enough time for the world to watch the cute antics of his adorable twin girls.  Oh, well....

There's a saving grace though... Juan Martin del Potro is towering tall again on court, giving Novak Djokovic a spirited run for his money in the Wimbledon semis, and the Andy Garcia look-alike, the beautiful Spaniard, David Ferrer, went up to #4 in the ranking, for the first time... and played in the semis in Wimbledon - for the first time, too.  Woot-woot!  And the biggest tennis drama of the year went off from the tough, tough racket of Andy Murray... he claimed his FIRST Wimbledon Cup - the first British man to win in more than 70 years!  Woohoo!  You can just imagine how happy Judy Murray was... immensely happy - maybe, happier than Andy himself! ;)  By the way, that was heartfelt, the woot-woot, I mean... CONGRATULATIONS, Andy!  :)

Alright, I have work to do *sigh* .... ciao!

***

(B)Ending it like Beckham - gooooaal!

And with sadness, too.
=============================================================
by FBC

"I want to go out on top.
It's the right time.  I believe it's the right time."



Yeah, PAM is busy with 'serious stuff' (her words, not mine), but we can't just let this important moment in the "ballin' world" pass us by without a word just because she is busy with 'important things' (once again, her words, not mine... not that I don't believe that what she does in her 'day job' is really important. :)  OK, I know, if I didn't get an 'honorable mention' in her next post here, it would be a miracle. Haha...). Therefore, yours truly just had to step up to the plate even without the Boss' request. I'm a good "lieutenant", y'see. :)     

Anyway, PAM had to grab the TV's remote control last night to up the volume when CNN's Don Riddell - PAM's fave sports news presenter - came on to report that the world-famous football and pop culture

Bend it, and bend it good - like Beckham!

 icon, David Beckham, is retiring from the ballin' world.  This means that next season, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is going to have to rely on Zlatan Ibrahimovic to draw oohs and aahs from football fans around the world during their matches.  Of course, as to the possible reasons for the oohs and aahs that Ibra could be drawing from the crowd in Becks' absence... well, that remains to be seen.  While it will be fun to find out, I'm sure the world will understand if PSG's 'biggies' would decline to comment later regarding what other things Ibra is capable of on (and off) the pitch aside from making goals.  But I digress....

Going back to Becks, even PSG's current head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, had to grope for words to make a comment on the 38-year old Beck's impending retirement.  Are we sad about it?  Boy, do vampires suck blood?  Of course, they do!  So, of course, we are - sad!  In fact, I imagine PAM is just making an excuse about being busy with 'serious stuff' and all that to escape having to write about Beck's retirement.  The old girl is in denial, and I'm quite sure she's bent like Beckham - in sadness - right now.

Twenty years of 'bending it', garnering League Championship trophies in four countries (with Manchester United in England, with Real Madrid in Spain, with LA Galaxy in the US, 

Role Model: The 'Baller is a good family man.

and now, with PSG in France), a treble with his boyhood Club, Man United, and the first to earn 100 caps for England - the home of football - and serving as England's Three Lions Captain for six years, too, plus constantly in the Top 10 of biggest earners in the Sporting World.  Why, his face is almost equivalent to that round leather thing!  Only, no one dares kick it around - it's too beautiful of a metrosexual face!  And the owner of the face is also a certified nice guy apparently, and you may go ahead and ask Prince William if you'd like.  In fact, Becks is a role model for most sportsmen in that, in 1999, he married, and still is married to, a thin 'spicy woman' who doesn't smile with whom he has a picture perfect family.  I bet PAM is subscribed to a site where Beck's family pictures are posted regularly.  In fact, her iPad is full of Becks fam pics.  :)   

So, are we going to miss Becks bending it on the pitch?  Hell, yeah!  Good thing he has life outside football, and we'll be seeing him often enough - that's for sure.

***

Hello, Pep!

Speaking of 'going out on top', here's one who knows the art involved in doing that.  He is one of the winningest coaches in the history of the 'beautiful game'.  He left the team he built, which was hailed by football fans and sports analysts alike as one of the best football squads ever put together, while the world was at their feet. 

See, when a door closes just because someone said 'goodbye', another door opens because someone is about to say 'hello'.  In this case it's 'hello again'.  Yes, Pep Guardiola will be  back next season.  Nope, not in Barcelona, but with Bayern Munich in Germany's

Munich bound... Pep is, and we're excited!

Bundesliga.  Of course, it would've been a perfect 'love story' if he was returning to Barcelona, but for as long as the beautiful (as PAM puts it frequently) 'Bald and Bearded One' returns to the ballin' world, especially now that there will be a deficit of talents, passion and good looks as the Becks say 'bye, bye' to us, Pep's return to the scene is most welcome!  The only problem is I'm not sure how PAM's sked in her day job would be 'messed up' by Pep's return.  I guess there's going to be some limit of time allotted to these 'serious stuffs' 'cause our old girl has been dedicating at least 18 hours of her time per day on her day job.  While Becks and Pep are all about passion and commitment to what they do, they dislike this sort of 'enslaving dedication'.  Variety - that's what Becks recommends, old girl!  Pep had to stay away from football for a year to recuperate from the enslaving dedication to FC Barcelona that made him 'sick' in the end.  It would be a good idea to bend it and listen to these midfielder's wisdom, old girl.  :) 

Anyway, yes, we are looking forward to seeing more of those Pep moves at the touchline, in his trademark suits, complete with deep worry lines on his forehead, and the coolness that he exudes during pre-match and post-match interviews.  Man, I thought we won't be seeing those in a while.  We're glad that he's back.  Of course, we're excited to see, too, how he'd deal with Mario Gomez and his shirtlessness-related antics.  Then again, Pep kept Dani Alves's penchant for drama under control back in his Camp Nou days, making the Brazilian defender actually really productive in the process, and his role vital in FC Barcelona's tremendous success under Pep's guidance.  So, nope, we're not worried about the impending Pep-Mario tandem.  In fact, we are looking forward to seeing it unfold among the Bavarian crowd.  So, bring it!               

***

Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

***

QOTD

QOTD #11: On personal glory and teamwork. ====================================================================
by PAM

"Goals are only important if they win you games."

-Lionel Messi
 Argentine/FC Barcelona football star
 On valuing team success over personal glory
 via Time Magazine, "The 100 Most Influential People in the World"

In a few hours, the FC Barcelona's 'little magician', Lionel Messi, will be picking up the FIFA Ballon D'Or for his performance in 2012. Yes, I said "will"... I am that confident that he'll win it!  It will be his fourth in a row (the first time as Ballon d'Or and three times as the merged Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best Player, the very
Leo Messi: Eyes on the ball...first merged prizes he won for his 2010 performance) - an unprecedented achievement.

Last year, he became the fourth man to win the golden ball three times, stepping on the same glorious platform as the great players, Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten. Leo leaves the three men on that platform as he steps one notch higher with his fourth Ballon this year, setting two records in the process: (1) the first player to win the prestigious prize four times, and (2) the first player to win in four consecutive years. Awesone feat?  It is!  But Leo doesn't think as much of the prestigious individual prize as he does of titles won in a team victory.

Of course, there's that little issue on another two incredibly talented players in Messi's generation: Real Madrid CF's flambouyant striker, Cristiano Ronaldo, and FC Barcelona's midfield genius, Andrés Iniesta. The two superstars are also in contention of the golden prize for their remarkable performance in the field. Earlier, Iniesta ran away with the
...the golden one.UEFA "Best Player" award primarily for his dazzling performance that helped Spain's La Roja win Euro 2012 - for the second time in a row. Ronaldo, the 2008 recipient of the Ballon while with Manchester United, for his part, helped Real Madrid win the Spanish La Liga Primera Division title - their first since 2008, and powered Portugal to their quarterfinal finish in Euro 2012 as team captain and the side's top scorer.  Both players are worthy recipients of the Ballon, too, in any generation... except that, there's Messi in this generation.

Leo, even when he continues to downplay his incredible contribution to Barça's success as a team, especially over the past four years, have had a jaw-dropping string of achievements in 2012, even when Barça only managed to win the Copa del Rey last season, failing to defend their La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles on Pep Guardiola's last term as Barça's most accomplished manager. While highly improved, his national side, Argentina, can only progress to the quarter-finals in the Copa America in 2011, but with him as team captain in 2012, the Selección has been doing well in the 2014 World Cup qualifying matches as they lead South American teams in the qualifying rounds. At 25 years, Leo continues to develop into a highly prolific striker for Barça and for Argentina. He broke Gerd Muller's 40-year record of most number of goals (85) in a calendar year with a staggering 91 goals in 69 matches - for Club and country. Yes, that's 91 - and, in this day and age of 'supermen' on the pitch, too!  And we thought he was already at his top form in 2011 when he hit the 50-goal mark!  His 2012 tally allowed him to pick up his second Pichichi (highest goal scorer in La Liga), and his second golden boot for Europe's highest goal scorer in the 2011-2012 season. Aside from being the UEFA Champions League's highest goal scorer in the 2011-2012 season, he also set the record for the most number of goals in one game, finding the net five times in Barça's winning match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Of course, he dazzled the football world as he did it!

Yep, it's always a joy to watch Leo weave breathtaking magic on the pitch... dribbling skillfully, breaking from zero velocity to a Usain Bolt-ish sprint towards the goal, with the ball rolling smoothly by
The greatest? A great PART of a great TEAM
is more like it.his feet, hooking up with his teammates fast and in precise manner to score the winning goal - all with boyish gusto and the passion of an honorable man who values teamwork and hardwork in making things work... for his team. Too beautiful! But what is more dazzling about him is his humility - in success and in defeat.  And what is most admirable about him as a player of the 'beautiful game' is his great desire for teamwork to work... his visible commitment to working hard for team success rather than individual glory, his heartwarming little figure as he visibly glow in celebrating team success than when accepting recognition for personal achievement. This is the reason why I SO ADMIRE Lionel Messi. He obviously is a genius... but that isn't what makes him worth all the praises.  It's his character and what he does on and off the pitch that do.  He is great, too, and he probably knows it, but trophies for personal recognition do not serve as gauge of greatness for him. It is TEAM SUCCESS that does... and that is worth emulating. And it is primarily because of him why my long standing 'soft spot' for the 'beautiful game' has grown to 'true love' over the past four years or so.

Congratulations, Leo! You are simply THE BEST! :)

***

The morning after: "Power outage" in Spanish football...

...breaks hearts all over the globe.
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by PAM


First, both FC Barcelona - the current Cup holder - and Real Madrid CF were ousted by Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Munich in their respective 'say-what??' Champions League semi-finals... at home.  And then, three days after Barça's deprivation of a chance for a back-to-back European win, the most illustrious Spanish football knight currently in-charge of the formidable Barça helm called it "quits"!  Pep Guardiola will step down as Barça's manager at the end of the season.  Yep, after four exciting seasons and staggering 13 trophies, which included a treble on his first year of tenure as Barça's head coach, the 41-year old, regarded by many as among the most successful football managers in Europe to date, who turned Barça into a phenomenal football force that it is today, announced his decision to not renew his contract with FC Barcelona.  Pep will turn the Barça helm over to his assistant, Tito Vilanova,  at the end of the season. Surprising?  Uhm... not really.  Sad?  Absolutely!

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Short circuit on the pitch....

Barça was disappointingly held by a 10-man über defensive Chelsea crew in their Catalan fortress, Camp Nou, in a 2-2 draw that robbed them of the chance to defend
El Clasico of penalty misses. And the
winner is... bad luck!their title via 3-2 defeat, on aggregate.  Two sublime goals from the Catalan powerhouse brought the score to 2-0 in the first-half of the match, which was enough to turn the tide from their 0-1 loss in Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the tie, to a winning 2-1 lead.  However, on stoppage time in the first-half, Ramires got away from the scattered Barça defense and beat Victor Valdes to a successful assault of the Barça goal, bringing the score to 2-2 on aggregate, with the Blues leading via away goal rule.  That shook Barça's confidence.  Fernando Torres cemented the Blues lead through a lucky break, and beating Valdes in their one-on-one duel in front of the Blaugrana goal, with less than a minute to play on stoppage time.  While Barça dominated possession and attempts on goal, luck was not on their side, with Peter Ĉech shooing it away most of the time.  Lionel Messi buried his face in his jersey in his utter disbelief and disappointment as the final whistle was blown after missing a penalty kick that would have been Barça's ticket to Munich before even Torres came on. 

Real Madrid, on the other hand, managed to match the Bavarians, stride por stride, gained grounds via Cristiano Ronaldo's brace of great goals in Estadio Santiago Bernabéu to bring their 2-1 deficit in Munich to 2-3.  Crissy et al. ran
The Bavarians... uh, nah, they didn't?like they were Munich-bound and José Mourinho shouted instructions from the touchline like a manager with one hand on the Cup... until Pepe brought down Mario Gómez in the area, and the German squad was awarded a penalty, which Arjen Robben connected.  That brought the score to an all-even 3-3 on aggregate with one away goal each, forcing a 30-minute extension time... and, later, a penalty shoot-out!  Man!  While the brilliant Iker Casillas made a lot of incredible saves during the match, he choked in the "lottery", allowing the first two goals from David Alaba and Gómez to come through!  On the other hand, one of the 2010 World Cup wonder German young guns, Manuel Neuer, made himself his team's hero by stopping the King of Penalty, Crissy, and later, Kaka in
Uhm... yeah, they did!their respective attempts!  Awesome!!!  Crissy's face then was a picture of... uhm, well, Oscar-worthy pain?  :)  While Toni Kroos failed via a sublime save from San Iker, Xabi Alonso kept it simple... and safe - he scored for Real Madrid!  2-1 - for Munich, whew!  Munich's captain, Philipp Lahm missed, too... and all of a sudden, there's hope for Madrid... until the nerve-wracked Sergio Ramos messed it up with a fly ball that sent over cheers to Munich!  And then, the moment of truth:  Bastian Schweinsteiger kept it together, held a poker face, and fooled Casillas, who hurled his weight on the opposite side where Basti sent the ball to bring Bayern Munich a mere inch away from claiming their 5th European Cup.  As usual, the Bavarians peeled off their shirts on the pitch to celebrate their success.  Cheers! :)   

And so, summing up this last week's European saga... Spanish brilliance sparked bright and beautiful in small fireworks on the pitch... and then all the lights went out, pfffft:  short-circuit!  Oh, well....

***
Oh, Pep!

It isn't like we weren't expecting this.  Obviously, all the pressure of being one of the most successful European football managers of all time, certainly the most successful FC Barcelona manager, at a very young age of 41, has weighed down heavily on Pep Guardiola. His explanation for stepping down says it all:  "The reason is simple:  four years is enough.  I'm drained and I need to fill up."

If you think about his age, his young family (who obviously see very little of him, given his herculean task as the manager of the arguably greatest football
Pep Guradiola, one of the best
and most accomplished managers
of all time. Class act!squad of all time), his physical and mental health given the demands of his job and his level of competitiveness, the stratospheric expectations from him and his men given their unprecendented success, I don't think there is a man, no matter how brilliant and talented, that can stay in the level where he put himself on without collapsing from sheer physical exhaustion and breaking down mentally from all the relentless pressure at some point.  Indeed, four years is a long time to stay at such a high level. 

Do I think that Pep "threw in the towel" as many (mostly in Madrid) suggest, given that the announcement of his decision not to renew contract with Barcelona came after failing to defend the La Liga title against Real Madrid via a 2-1 loss in El Clásico and the UEFA Champions League ouster in the semi-final round?  No, not at all.  As he explained, he has made his intentions known to his Club since October last year.  And with big and crucial matches coming up, he chose to wait until they're all over to make his decision public rather than announcing it on February, like in the previous years. 

Pep is right, four years is enough.   And he is right when he said that after
Visionary trainor and game architect.sometime, it's either you get tired of the players or the players get tired of you.  And while Barça remains to be an incredibly massive force in the football world and the relationship between him and his players is still amicable, it is the best time to step down... to turn over the helm to someone else with enough energy to match the demands of the job, all while the Club is "good and healthy", too.  I imagine that, as a manager, the last thing you would like to do is to turn over a wreck of a team to the next caretaker.  Hopefully, this will freshen up things within Barça as they rise again from nagging injuries and strayed focus among some "celebrity" players who basked a little bit too much in their team's success, and prepare to bounce back next season, re-claim La Liga and the UEFA Champions League titles.

Are we going to miss Pep?  DEFINITELY!  There is no doubt about that!  How is
Making brilliant players world-class phenomena! it possible to not miss the brilliant tactician who gave the football world the most beautiful way of playing football - graceful in its inherited tiki-taka rythmn, fierce and fast in its steady attacks, exciting in its brilliant free-flowing spontaneity, joyful in its cohesive teamwork-based movements - through the incredible Barça, his Barça?  How can one withstand watching football and not have that visionary manager who turned the pure potential talent that was the youthful Lionel Messi into the mercurial magician that he is today, hailed three years in a row now as the BEST PLAYER in the World?  How is it possible to not miss the wonderful manager who re-molded and re-packaged Xavi Hernandez as one of the VERY BEST midfielders to play this beautiful game - ever!  How can you not miss the manager who made Andrés Iniesta believe
Making winning look easy, joyful and beautiful. that he can be this sheer awesomeness that could captivate fans of the beautiful game, regardless of Club affiliation and loyalty, as the biggest superstar of the 2010 World Cup?   How could one not miss the manager who gave Carles Puyol the second wind in his career, even when the man was short on depth of talent, by merely capitalizing on El Capitan's burning passion for the game alone, and extracting incredible brilliance in the process?  How is it possible to not miss the manager who found brilliance in seemingly ordinary players like Sergio Busquets and Pedro Rodriguez, and turned them to world-class, World Cup-winning talents?  Why wouldn't one miss manager who has eye for talents even before they bloom as he illustrated in his trust for youngsters like Thiago Alcantara, Christian Tello and Isaac Cuenca?  And, how could you not miss that youthfully dashing and good-looking manager (there, I said it
Passionate, animated... just brilliant.already!) whose cool stance and composure amidst joyful or adverse situations had given a whole new meaning to football's definition as the "beautiful game"?  NO, IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.  Pep will be thoroughly missed!

While it's incredibly saddening to see him go, we can't help but feel gratitude for those four years of wonderful, wonderful football that he created!  It's hard to imagine how the football world would be like after he leaves Barça... but life goes on, and Pep deserves some peace and quiet with his loved ones, and the time to recuperate from the incredibly gut-draining, energy-zapping, soul-gnawing, heart-tearing gloriously brilliant football that he himself created... and that the whole world enjoyed immensely!  And now that he has given his confidence in Tito Vilanova's capacity to lead Barça in reaching new heights of greatness next season, because "in Pep we trust", then we feel confident in Vilanova, too, moving forward... except, there will be no more of those animated "Pep moves" on the touchlines after the 1st of July.  

Therefore, as we say, "from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU, PEP," we also wish him all the very best!  Godspeed, "el puto amo"!  

***  
Photo credits:  All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!