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 kicked off. Before the match Ronny had bowed to every corner of the stadium and did a few tricks with the ball before rattling the crossbar with a piledriver of a shot in the final shooting practice. The day was a ‘fan day’ but it turned into Ronaldinho’s swan song, in a much publicised letter Ronaldinho paid tribute to the fans he was leaving behind one last time.

Ronaldinho had left two seasons previous, after an unsuccessful season. He moved to AC Milan and immediately professed his love for his previous club but his desire to win in Italy. In reality he was no longer needed at Barca as they got rid of Frank Rijkaard and promoted the Catalan Pep Guardiola as new manager. Guardiola was and is a legend for the club, he played 250+ games before journeying around some other European teams. He had managed Barcelona B for a year and now was ready for the main job. We all know by now what became of him, he was unbelievably successful winning the treble in his first year. A year where Barca had ‘lost’ Deco and Ronaldinho to european rivals, they won everything in sight and did so playing attractive attacking football with Leo Messi being touted as the best player in the world. Xavi and Iniesta became cruxes that the team played around and Ronaldinho was a distant flickering memory. Until that was, his return.

The match started and Ronaldinho promptly faded, he barely influenced the game. It was a sight many Barca fans were used to in his final season but even as they parted they parted on good terms, parting for them was such sweet sorrow as they remembered his unbelievable brace against the arch-enemy Madrid. Ronaldinho played the majority of the match before being summoned for a farewell substitution he applauded the stadium and left the field. Barca won the match in the end on penalties. As they lifted the friendly trophy ‘Ronny’ helped Carles Puyol, “Mr Barca”, carry it around the field. The press were deferential in their post-match comments as they said ‘Barca loves you’ to which Ronaldinho replied “& I love Barca”. They talked for 5 minutes with permanent smiles on their faces, the Studio crew flew through what little touches he had in the match before cutting to another interview. This time with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had arrived last season in a flurry of Hype, the Swedish striker joining for Jose Mourinho’s Inter with the lacklustre Samuel Eto’o going the other way, with 30m+ in cash. It was an astonishing transfer and was the biggest transfer of the summer. Zlatan was never fully welcomed, some worried he wouldn’t fit into Barca’s tactics, others argued he was the final piece of the puzzle and that he would give Barca the plan B they required. Ibrahimovic had a good season for Barca in statistical terms he finished with 22 goals in 42 games a Ratio that exceeded Ronaldinho’s first year and his overall totals. However, statistics just didn’t tell the full story, it was a warm night in Barcelona as the team beseiged the 10 man Inter in search of an elusive goal that showed how all Catalans fealt about ‘Ibra’ as Barca were battering the door down and with no need to defend, Guardiola made a substitution Bojan was summoned from the bench and was to replace the swede. Pep had taken off a striker as Barca searched for a goal, surely it was madness. In reality it was a change that was made too late. Ibrahimovic was terrible, again, he never was the Plan B Barca needed and as Barca were eventually eliminated it seemed to spell the end for Ibrahimovic.

As the interview aired on Catalan TV after the game, Ibrahimovic was barracked. Are you moving to AC? When? He responded in kind, hostile and combative Ibrahimovic didn’t give any definitive answers but showed his Irritation at Guardiola, i’m paraphrasing here but it went along the lines. ‘He [pep] doesn’t speak to me, when I walk into a room he leaves,maybe he is scared of me?’. The press continued to harangue him before he left.

A few days later he would move to AC Milan on Loan, the very same club that Ronaldinho had left to two years previous. The parallels with Ronaldinho’s move are evident. Both were big ticket items, showy forwards with all the skill in the world but not the mental resilience to do it week in week out in the mould of Leo Messi or David Villa. As they have both moved on (at 28 I might add) to Milan their values had dropped and they were ushered out the door at Camp Nou, the one difference is that with ‘Ibra’ it was not with a warm goodbye. I don’t expect that should AC return in a few years with Ibrahimovic leading the line he will get the same adulation that Ronaldinho did. But why?

P.S. The veteran striker whom Ibrahimovic will take playing time from, Pippo Inzaghi, played in the Gamper trophy too. He also scored, one of the best goals I have ever seen, you probably haven’t seen it but you should. Watch it here. From Seedorf (A legend) to Inzaghi (A legend) it was a pleasure to be there to witness it

The Captain (Via Flickr)

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  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

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 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. Andy Gray’s commentary during the Gerrard goal illustrates that so beautifully.

There aren’t many moments that give me goosebumps 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 amount of traffic can ruin that perfect moment.

Last gasp goals are why we all love football.

How do you stop the best player in the world, Lionel Messi will probably be keeping Guus Hiddink awake tonight as he prepares for his stiffest test yet as Chelsea’s interim manager. Whilst I appreciate the bravado that Hiddink is giving in regards to his own players, he is right to dampen down the furore over just concentrating on the supreme Argentine magician. He knows that Barcelona are the best side in Europe right now, by a country mile and to focus all their energies on Messi will see Chelsea fall straight in to Guardiola’s trap. The loss of Ashley Cole is a major problem, without another left back in the squad means the balance of the Blues will be off kilter. Dealing with that lack of balance will be Hiddink’s major concern.

Sometimes, I’m not sure people actually watch European football before commenting on it, if anyone thinks that Barcelona are a one man team, then they need their eyes testing. Of course, Messi is in phenomenal form this season, continuing on the excellent season he had for club and country in 2007-2008 and proving finally that Argentina can produce a player to cope with the tag of being “The Next Maradona”. 34 goals in 45 games for Barcelona plus 5 for Argentina is a phenomenal record, simply mind blowing.

Yet, this is a Barcelona side rescued from the indignity of underachievement through Frank Rijkaard’s last two seasons and their are several factors for this. Firstly, Daniel Alves’ signing was a masterstroke, in another season he’d be favourite for the World Player Of The Year and Chelsea and Liverpool must be kicking themselves after watching his performances this year. Thierry Henry’s second season has shown him return to form after a season of transition, with 24 goals so far and now forms part of Europe’s most famous attacking trio with Eto’o and Messi. Eto’o has also been reborn this season, with 32 goals this season.

Yet, Barca’s side oozes quality throughout but it’s the back line where perhaps Chelsea may profit, with Puyol still struggling, Marquez and Pique join Alves and Abidal in front of Victor Valdes. Now Valdes perhaps gets a little more stick than he deserves, of course he’s not one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, but he’s probably the most underated. The midfield of Xavi, Iniesta and Toure shouldn’t be underestimated at all. Toure adds the steel to the silk that Xavi and Iniesta provide and the ammunition they create has seen the strikers at Barca score 90 goals between them so far in all competitions. A staggering amount under any circumstances.

The British media seem to feel that if you stop Messi, you stop Barcelona, but that simply smacks of jingoism of the highest order. This is a side that could rule Europe for the the next 3 or 4 seasons if they strengthen the back line and tonight is the beginning of a three game period that could define Barca’s season. Hiddink knows that Chelsea are about to face their sternest test in any competition this season and if they can achieve any positive result tonight, it will be his biggest achievement so far in his short tenure at Stamford Bridge.

The general feeling from the British pundits is that Chelsea will have too much for Barcelona, but Hiddink will be instilling in his players in the dressing room that to believe their own hype is the basis for them to come away from the Camp Nou with a kicking. Even a 1-0 defeat will be viewed as a great result so for the Blues to get anything else will be an astounding result. Let’s hope it lives up to the build up and Chelsea fans will be hoping that Hiddink has their team switched on to concentrate on Barcelona and not just Lionel Messi.