...as usual!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo
And so the illustrious Kings of Donbass Arena fell in the hands of their hesitant conquerors from Catalonia in the second leg of their quarter-final
UEFA Champions League tie. 1-0 in Donbass, 6-1 on aggregate... the Catalans did what no other European side
have managed to do over the past couple of years now: beat
Shakhtar Donetsk FC in Donbass Arena in a European competition... and in a fashion most awesome, worthy of mention in football records, too. The Catalans received nothing but respect and admiration from the Donbass miners led by their brilliant head coach,
Mircea Lucesco. Even the Pitmen fanatics in Donbass were happy to see the best football player in the world today -
Lionel Messi - re-write the football book of records in their very own
oh, so daunting football field.
***
Serious business for the 'big boys'
No, Barҫa wasn't looking to bring the Pitmen on their knees. After that 5-1 first leg quarter-final win in
Camp Nou six days earlier, they were simply "taking
care of business" in Donbass. The
business was to secure a slot in the "last four" of the UEFA Champions League, and to augment their confidence going into the Spanish
La Liga's '
El Clásico' on the weekend at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. And so, the Catalans tried to dictate the pace of the game from the very start, and it was a blindingly fast-paced game, too!
Josep Guardiola's and Lucesco's men took off - full throttle - as soon as the referee blew his whistle. They left no chance whatsoever for restroom breaks! The Pitmen obviously loved that pace, and they totally stepped on the gas - matching Barҫa every exciting step of the way, reiterating their ownership of Donbass. Soon, they appeared to be in the driver's seat. Their game plan was clear:
get into the
goalmaking business the soonest possible time, and try to force a miracle of making five goals in 90 minutes, with Barҫa remaining without a goal all night! They made it appear like it was doable by creating a dizzying slew of chances for themselves to score early on in the match! If the Catalan defenders appeared to have had a momentary dizzy spell care of Shakhtar's inspired aggression,
Victor Valdes was not one to get dizzy though. Valdes protected the Barcelona goal with speed, agility and ferocity like he was the best goalie in the history of football, constantly forcing a frustrated shake-of-the-head from Lucesco! Valdes's beautiful but I'm-on-my-limit-here-guys-so-please-let's-get-our-defensive-act-together moves and Pep Guardiola's to-the-rescue instructions urgently yelled from the sidelines, sent a strong message to the rest of
Azulgrana's first 11 to tighten the defensive wall. Quickly, Barҫa was on it, with
Xavi Hernandez - the team captain - taking charge...a change in tactic: defend from the front.
As the early Shakhtar storm of goal attempts started to wear down, thanks to the very consistent Valdes and the go-ahead-try-us-it's-your-shin tough stance of the defence crew, which was reinforced by a menacing midfield, Catalonia's first 11 resumed
business. They slowly rotated in front, converting defense-up-front to ferocious
attacks. Soon the Catalans were firing at will! Lionel Messi was at the point of the spear,
David Villa at his wing, and
Ibrahim Affelay serving as "the other" surprising
triggerman. Affelay, of course, was one of Pep Guardiola's yet-another-ace-up-my-sleeve-because-I-can-afford-it winks at the 'old wily cat' Lucesco.
Sweet! And Lucesco probably thought Andres Iniesta's yellow card in the first leg would hurt the Catalans's chances in Donbass.
Nope! Even without Iniesta, the Catalan attacks were solid and ferocious that Shakhtar was forced to slowly back off, feeling the heat. The pace went from blinding to are-you-guys-for-real blinding, and the excitement level went from
whoa! to a
killer, killer, killer pounds on the chest! At some point, even the referee who had all his
instruments out to follow the incredibly fast-paced action took a tumble! The Donbass crowd, feeling the pressure on the Pitmen, also stepped up - cheering from the depth of their passion and lust for football! Shakhtar was willed by their fans to response to Barҫa's tough attacks, and they did so with raw adrenalin rush.
The rest of the first half of the match was a pull-push in the tie, with the young
Shakhtar crew pushed to their limit and the Catalans having their hands full containing the fast-and-furious bullish Pitmen. Both Lucesco and Guardiola were on their feet - designing strategies on-the-spot to outdo the other side. And, so the two sides were engaged in "dynamic" strategy making, sending the players flying, and it was absolutely exciting! And then, in a moment of frenzied attack-defend, push-pull
between the two sides, about two minutes before half-time, that "tricky" little genius from Argentina slipped through a trio of markers. While all was busy containing one another's marked men, Messi received a beautiful pass from a sprinting
Dani Alves. He then went zigzagging around busy thoroughfare towards the Shakhtar goal. After breathtaking seconds of beautiful Messi moves, he slotted his 48th goal of the season against the dumbfounded Andriy Pyatov
and a band of Shakhtar defender - to the dismay of the rest of the struggling Pitmen! While Shakhtar reeled from the sting of Messi's strike, knowing that their quest for a first UEFA Champions League title just slipped their precarious grasp for sure, the rest of the Catalan warriors knew they have moved to the semi-finals. The
business deal sealed! And they celebrated
like they have, indeed, moved to the semis! :)
The Catalan's first-half goal was extra-sweet in that Lionel Messi, who is this season's UEFA
Champions League highest scorer so far with 9 goals, just surpassed a Club record for the most number of goals in one season. The Barcelona "talisman" has also equaled the global record for the most number of goals in one season. Even Pep Guardiola, aware of the significance of that goal, saluted Messi - pointing to him with a nod and a knowing smile. Even the Donbass crowd also showed appreciation, and understandably so! While Messi may have soured their team's Champions League aspirations, they were a part of football history unfolding right in their very own hallowed football ground. I was glad that from thousands of miles away, I was a part of it, too! :)
***
Little boys at play
When it was clear that all sorts of danger to unhinge the Barcelona hold on one of the four UEFA Champions League semi-final slots have been taken care of, Pep Guardiola started pulling out his first eleven from the Donbass field. Obviously, he was saving them for the big task come weekend in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium - the clash with Real Madrid CF in the first of four
El Clásicos within three weeks. Shortly, with about 25
more minutes to play, the Barcelona side was dominated by substitutes. It was interesting though that Guardiola retained Dani Alves, Ibrahim Afellay and Lionel Messi in the field. Later, it became apparent to me what his intentions may have been. He was trying to help Lionel Messi thoroughly re-write history by surpassing even the global record of most goals in one season, and perhaps, reaching his half-century of goals in the season - all in the same match. And if Leo was to do that, Guardiola was wishing he'd do it in Donbass... not to spite the Pitmen, but to honor the hallowed grounds of Donbass - home of the next best squad in European football today, in my opinion - as a venue for such an awesome feat! But if he were to retain Messi in that dangerous field where Lucesco's men were still hotly gunning to, at least, retain their kingship in their home stadium notwithstanding the sweetness of a Messi record, Messi would need reliable wing men. Thus, Dani Alves and Ibrahim Afellay's extended stay in the field.
If Guardiola thought Lionel Messi had the smallest ounce of selfishness in his footballer's blood to use the energy and aggression of his peppered-with-substitute-and-therefore-have-nothing-to-lose side though, he was wrong! Lionel Messi, didn't own up to his stardom - once again. He chose to be a playmaker for Barcelona instead, stealing balls even from the fingertips of Pyatov and passing it to an open teammate for a goal. At one point, he went for an assist for Ibrahim Afellay in the latter's what could have been
a moment of greatness. He stole the ball from a crowd of hungry boys and sped towards the goal, leaving a number of Pitmen struggling to catch up behind him to no avail. He aimed at Afellay, who matched his speed a few meters up front. As
Adriy Pyatov went low to spring at Messi's strike, Messi passed the ball to Afellay who knew exactly what to do. Unfortunately, Pyatov have learned his lesson from Messi already and was quite ready for a shift to stop Afellay's assault. He stretched to prevent Guardiola's third trigger from causing a 2-0 Barcelona domination in Donbass, only to give Dani Alves a chance to kick the loose ball with brute force towards the goal from the midfield - he missed. It was a beautiful playmaking that even Pep Guardiola gave his men two thumbs up. While it didn't complete to a goal, the Catalans didn't even show disappoinment. They knew what business they came to accomplish, and they also knew that, at that point, the business deal was all wrapped up and in the bag... and they were ready to head back to Barcelona... and on to Bernabéu in the weekend with a 6-1 win on them against Ukraine's best! :) In the meantime, they were treating themselves to the sweetness of
little boys' play - they deserved it, too! Even Pep Guardiola was indulging them. :)
***
Girls just wanna have fun
Oh, by the way, this may be unrelated, but I love the Catalans's away jersey! They look lovely in them, too - soft color over tough muscles!
Aaaaw... :) Well, what can I say...
hmmm, "while the boys took care of business, the girls were having fun"? :) That's just the way it goes, I think... and it feels just right as well! ;)
***
Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from Zimbio - thanks! :)
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