Two from two... Barca are the Copa del Rey Champions !

Hello everyone,

It was a carnival atmosphere before the start of the game at the Camp Nou, with equal support for both sides. The Barca team looked up for it right from the kick-off. Luis Suarez was restored to the starting line-up following his recovery from a minor injury earlier this month. Lionel Messi simply looked determined to take home the Copa Del Rey trophy and boy, one can hardly stop him when he's in that mood. The 1st half was all Barca. The time-off afforded to them by Manager Luis Enrique after the last League game seemed to have had it's full effect thankfully. Barca looked sharp pressing high up the pitch and creating lots of spaces for each other, needless to say that they dominated the possession. It was a real treat to watch. Leo Messi was absolutely everywhere up and down the pitch doing everything - defending, creating spaces, dribbling, cross-field passes and you name it. The Barca trio of MSN were finding each other with ease and the goals looked only a matter of time. 

Barca did score the 1st goal but that was soon ruled offside, albeit incorrectly. Messi found Neymar with a glorious cross-filed ball and Neymar put it into the back of the net with a peach of a finish. The Brazilian was definitely onside on that occasion but the referee thought otherwise. Barca were unfortunate to have that goal ruled offside, but they continued to play with a good intensity to find the opener. And it came from the magical left-foot of, you guessed it right, Leo Messi. It was such a goal, that you can just write a book about that one goal alone - the pace, the balance, the dribble and the exquisite finish to match it all. It was an absolutely out-of-the-world goal scored by this out-of-the-world player.

Leo Messi received the ball from Dani Alves close to the half-way line and with three Athletic Bilbao players approaching him, Leo Messi just created space for himself out of nothing with a moment of genius as he skipped past them at such pace, I say this again, at such pace and with such control and he managed to leave them behind for dead before he had entered the 18-yard box. Messi then cut-back to his left to leave another defender in his wake and then unloaded a perfectly timed curled effort past the keeper at the near-post, after he initially looked like going for the far-post. This momentary shaping to shoot for the far-post by Messi had the Bilbao keeper completely outfoxed.The placement of the shot toward the near-post was as precise as a Swiss watch as he had very little angle to work with in order to beat the keeper, but he did that in great style. One can only admire and be in awe of everything about that goal. This goal from Messi will certainly rank right up there with the best he has scored in his career till date. Have a look at this latest piece of Messi magic in this video!

The 2nd goal came in a typical Barca fashion. It was the result of some clinical Barca one-touch play which just opened up the Athletic defense for Suarez to make the run to the goal, but the Uruguayan striker unselfishly squared the ball to Neymar to fire home into an open goal. It was a lovely team goal that portrayed the very core of Barca's footballing philosophy. The 2nd half was not as intense as the 1st one was, with the game seemingly over in the first period itself. The 3rd goal took some time coming and it was Messi again who scored a poacher's goal with a flick off the outside of his left boot. A couple of Bilbao defenders were guilty of waiting for the ball to come to them inside the 12-yard box and Messi made the most of that lapse to make it 3-0 for Barca. That took the MSN's combined goals tally to 120, which broke the record held by their Real Madrid counterparts, BBC (Benzema, Bale, Ronaldo).

After I saw Messi's opening goal, I had only wanted to see Barca end the game without conceding any goals. But that wish was hit out of the park when Bilbao did eventually manage to get themselves on the scoreboard with 10 minutes of normal time remaining. Barca keeper Ter Stegen looked slightly suspect for not making a save there, but it is a goal nevertheless. And the scoreline remained the same for the remainder of the game until the final whistle was sounded by the referee to confirm  Barca's victory in this competition. To make the victory even more sweeter, it was Xavi and Iniesta who lifted the trophy together in celebration for Barca. It was the final appearance for Xavi at the Camp Nou as a player (sad:( !), who now has the most number of trophies for any Spanish player, ever (29 titles). And this latest triumph is a record 27th time that Barca have won this competition. 

Next up is the big one in a week's time. FC Barcelona and Juventus FC have the chance to complete a treble at the Olympiastadion Berlin on the 6th of June. And that promises to be a thriller in the offing, with both the teams trying to end this 2014/15 season in perfect fashion. Forca Barca!

Thanks for reading & cheers! See you soon!!   -- yps05

Thanks Xavi !! #6raciesXavi

Hello everyone,

Today, I woke up to the news that Xavi Hernandez is leaving the FC Barcelona at the end of this season. It was shattering and more than a bitter pill to swallow to put it bluntly. Emotion is getting the better of me as I write this post. He's been such a great person besides being one of the best midfielders ever to play the game. Xavi is definitely the greatest midfielder FC Barcelona has ever produced without doubt. After 24 years at the club, which includes 17 years in the first team, numerous titles and accolades, Xavi has called it time at Barca. He currently has 23 club titles, all with Barca, more than any other player in the history of this illustrious club. And he has the chance to add to that tally before he leaves the club as a player. 

This is what Xavi said when he announced his exit from the club:

" It will be difficult not to wear the Barca shirt. The Club had offered to renew my deal until 2018, but my mind had been made up for many months now. I don't want to neglect the fans, beause they've been spectacular with me. I hope I don't disappoint anyone. It's time to move on. My main goal is to return to Barca [in the future]."

I really hope he comes back to the club someday. I've said this before and I'll say that again. Xavi is the player I'd love to be if I were a Soccer professional, any day of my life. Xavi is Barca to the core. The Club's motto says "More than a Club", and Xavi is "More than a player". He simply is phenomenal to the say the least. He has been the architect of all the success during all these seasons both for Barca and for Spain. 

Beginning next season, Xavi will ply his trade at Qatar's Al Sadd football club. He will have a huge role to play at that Club, as a player, Coach,  Sporting Director; and I'm sure Xavi will have a lot to offer to that Club with all his quality and experience as a player. 

But before that, the focus should be on giving this absolute legend a fitting farewell at Barca. Xavi has 3 games left at Barca as a player. On Saturday, he'll play his last league game for Barca. It will be played at the Camp Nou fittingly, before all the adoring Cules, and it will be quite an occasion for this midfield maestro and also for the Club. Xavi will hoist the La Liga trophy for one final time. Fortunately, with the league already won, I really hope Barca Manager Luis Enrique gives Xavi the start in the Saturday's game against Deportivo la Caruna. And it will be some sight I'm looking forward to, to see Xavi play out the entire game before the Cules, which he absolutely deserves. 

FC Barcelona players will wear a commemorative jersey in that game to mark the occasion, which is a truly special and deserved tribute for such a phenomenal player. The kit will bear the logo 'Thanks Xavi - 23 May 2015' (In Catalan).

                       

The two games following the Saturday's Liga clash are two Finals. On May 30th, Barca will play the Finals of the Copa Del Rey competition at the Camp Nou against Athletic Club Bilbao. And  the Champion's League Finals will be played again Juventus FC at Berlin, on June 6th. I really hope Barca play well and lift both the trophies to cap a spectacular season, thereby giving the perfect send off to this one-of-a-kind player, Xavi. Forca Barca!! #6raciesXavi

Thanks for reading & cheers! See you soon!!    -- yps05

FC Barcelona are the Spanish Champions !!

Hello everyone,

The La Liga clincher came with a great result at the home of the outgoing Champions, Vicente Calderon. Fate had it that Barca reclaim the Liga title at Atletico's ground after they had lost it to the same opposition, on this very day last season, at the Camp Nou. All in all, Barca clinched the Spanish Premiera Division title with a game to spare with a 1-0 win. This is Barca's 23rd Liga title overall. Barca could have won the title with a win in their home ground next weekend, but it was only fitting that they did it against Atletico and even more fittingly it was Leo Messi's goal that decided the game and title in Barca's favor. 

Atletico threatened to score with every single attack of their's early on in the match as they seemed determined to not let Barca go home with title. It took a really sharp Claudio Bravo to twart Atletico from scoring early on as the Barca keeper made a couple of outstanding saves to deny them the lead. Bravo thoroughly, thoroughly deserves the Zamora Trophy handed out to the best keeper in a La Liga season. He has been phenomenal for Barca this season. As the game wore on, Barca slowly managed o control the tempo of the game. Sadly for the Cules, Luis Suarez did not recover sufficiently to start alongside Messi and Neymar, and so Pedro go the nod. This forced change seemed to affect Barca's edge in the final third as Neymar and Pedro were reduced to mere spectators during the initial period. And this meant Messi had to take the entire responsibility to make it count for Barca. Messi did try all that he could - a header saved, a couple of shots blocked, a set-piece hitting the crossbar - but needed to produce something special against the determined Atletico. 

The 2nd half seemed to go in the same way as the 1st, but Barca were never really troubled as Atletico barely managed to threaten their defense. But Barca had to find a way to win this match since Real Marid were winning their own game against Espanyol. The breakthrough did arrive in the 65th minute courtesy of clinical Lionel Messi left-foot finish into the bottom corner after he had expertly found an angle from among tight spaces with many players surrounding him. Barca looked hungry for more and soon had a chance to kill off the game without delay. It was Messi again who dribbled past the entire Atletico defense and then passed the ball to Neymar to score. It was set up on a platter for Neymar who had only the keeper to beat from close range. He's very good in one-on-one situations, but this time Neymar somehow inexplicably ballooned his shot over the crossbar and that was easily the best chance of the game. That would have saved some nerves in the end, but Barca did hold on to their slender advantage to the end of the game with no problem whatsoever. Every single member of the squad has stepped up as Barca looked hungry for titles after a barren campaign last season. And we are now the La Liga Champions!! Forca Barca!!

One title's in the bag and two more within sniffing distance. FC Barcelona have made it to the UEFA Champions League Final where they will face Juventus FC on June 6th. And Barca will face Athletic Club Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey final on June 30th at Camp Nou. It is a brilliant result already for Barca following their trophy-less campaign in the previous season. Following a spectacular turnaround to their season at the beginning of 2015 and their phenomenal performances right through, it is only fitting that Barca win the Champions League this season and all the other competitions they are fighting for right now. And again, each and every player of the Barca squad has played a part in this. And it will only be ticked as perfect if we manage to bag the other trophies too. With the way are playing and have played this year, Barca well and truly deserve it.Forca Barca !!


Thanks for reading & cheers! See you soon!!    -- yps05

A win is a win !

Hey everyone,

It was not the kind of rout I was expecting to watch from FC Barcelona in their game against Real Sociedad played at the Camp Nou today. The 1st half was all one-way traffic with Barca dominating the proceedings and looking to take the lead. But the Sociedad defense and their keeper withstood every Barca attack and ended the half 0-0. They were defending well and managed to frustrate Barca for the majority of the half. Sociedad managed to defeat Barca when they hosted them at the beginning of 2015; and that was probably making them play well against Barca today.

Barca Manager Luis Enrique made key changes to the side that won against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The reasons being obvious that Barca will be facing Bayern Munich on Tuesday and will then travel to Madrid to face Atletico. Xavi, Rafinha and Adriano started for Barca in place of Busquets, Iniesta and Alba, respectively. Barca lacked their usual swagger as a result of those changes, but the result was never under real threat. The Barca front-line of Messi, Neymar, Suarez could not find the back of the net despite trying all their tricks. The 1st goal took a lot of time coming, but it did come eventually in the 51st minute courtesy of a Neymar header from close range. Even after the 1st goal, the intensity didn't pick up by much and Barca had to wait until the the 85th minute to double their lead and seal the points for the match. A well taken overhead kick by Pedro was easily the highlight of the game and ensured the win. 

The regular starters in the line-up seemed a notch down from their usual level, but quite frankly they did not have to be at full throttle for the entire game in order to win it. In the end, it was a win and 3 points for Barca which is all that matters with 2 games to go. I must say that I'm disappointed with the Rafinha and Adriano since they did not make the most of this rare start in the game offered to them by Coach Luis Enrique. Given the level of the opposition, they should have done a lot better than that to prove that they deserve to be considered for other games as well. But both of them, especially Adriano offered very little service to the team's cause today. And after Real Madrid drew their game against Valencia FC at the Bernebau, the gap between the Clasico rivals is now 4 points with just 2 more games to be played in this 2014/15 La Liga season. That means Barca have to win either of their last 2 games for them to be crowned the Spanish League champions. I seriously hope that the current row between the Spanish Government and the RFEF gets settled in time for the next weekend, so that the remaining 2 games are played out without any suspension.

But first, FC Barcelona now have all their attention focused on the CL semifinals' 2nd leg game against Bayern munich at the Allianz Arena. Barca are very much in control of their progression from this tie, but have to be cautious in not giving Bayern even a sniff of a chance to beat them. I'm sure that Barca will definitely go for the win in the 2nd leg too and will not just look to defend their advantage in that game. Barca will want to seal their place in the CL showpiece event in Berlin on June 6th. Forca Barca!

Thanks for reading & cheers! See you soon!!    -- yps05

Total command from Barca !

Hey everyone,

There was intense heat at the start of the game at Cordoba; and then there was intense pressure from FC Barcelona to find the opening goal during the majority of the 1st half. Barca looked better prepared to face both the heat and their opponent for the evening as they looked to go for the kill right from the referee's whistle. But it the opening goal wasn't easy to come by. The Cordoba defense looked solid at the back making crucial interceptions to the Barca passing juggernaut and barely allowing any build up play to really threaten them. The opportunities were sparse and few for Barca during the 1st half and there was one half chance for Cordoba as well. 

Leo Messi, after brilliantly dribbling past 4-5 Cordoba players, had innocuously fired a shot too close Cordoba keeper. Then Neymar hit the post after receiving a lobbed pass from Leo Messi. It seemed that the 1st half would end with a 0-0 scoreline, but Barca persevered and continued to put pressure winning a series of corners in their favor. That pressure paid off when Leo Messi found Rakitic free on the left with a peach of a ball and Rakitic controlled the ball well and fired a shot into the roof of the net to make it 1-0 for Barca in the 42nd minute. Barca looked hungry for more right before the half time whistle and deservedly doubled their lead to make it 2-0 just before the break. Barca knocked the ball around the Cordoba defense for a while before Don Iniesta found Suarez with a glorious ball over the defense and the Uruguayan made no mistake to guide it into the goal.

Barca ran riot in the 2nd half though after a tight first one. Leo Messi scored his first goal of the match when he ghosted past all the Cordoba defenders to meet a superb Dani Alves cross into the box. Messi was no where in the picture when the cross was struck, but was in the right spot at the precise time to head the ball past the diving keeper. He later missed a header though in what would have been a carbon copy of his first goal after he received a brilliant cross this time from Pedro. A little later, Dani Alves provided another excellent assist to Suarez, who struck with the back of his head to place the ball perfectly into the far corner giving the keeper no chance to stop it. That was Dani Alves' 2nd assist of the game and he's just showing how important he is to the Barca side. Although Barca have Marc Bartra and Martin Motoya to fill he shoes should he leave Camp Nou at the end of this season, I feel Alves is quite a character to let go at this stage, especially since he's just 31 and has a lot of influence on and off the pitch. 

Barca scored the 5th goal of the night courtesy of Gerard Pique. It was another headed goal, this time from a set piece. Leo Messi scored the 6th goal for Barca and his 2nd of the match after playing a delightful one-two with Pedro and won the ball to tap into an empty net. It was probably the easiest tap-in of his entire career. Suarez could have had a 3rd when he had created time and space from himself with an unbelievable touch and then fire just wide of the post. Barca keeper Claudio Bravo made a tremendous save to deny Cordoba a consolation goal. It was a difficult one to handle, but Bravo again maintained his clean sheet on the night and he looked always in control. Neymar then won a penalty for Barca after being tackled in the 18-yard box by a Cordoba defender. 

Leo Messi, who is in a close battle with Cristiano Ronaldo for the Pichichi award this season, handed the penalty shooting chance to Neymar. Leo Messi moved one clear of Cristiano in the top scorer race for the meantime and the lead could have easily been two goals had he chosen to take that penalty himself. This was the 2nd time this season when Messi has handed the penalty taking opportunity to Neymar; but unlike the last time, Neymar showed composure to slot home Barca's 7th of game. Suarez scored from a rebound to complete his fully deserved hat-trick; and Barca duly maintained pressure for the rest of the game till the final whistle to end the game with a resounding 8-0 scoreline. 

This was the perfect preparation ahead of the Champions League clash with FC Bayern Munich. That will be the 1st leg of the Semifinal match up between the two European giants and will be played at Camp Nou. 

Thanks for reading & cheers! See you soon!!   -- yps05

Barca win the Catalan derby 2 - 0 !

Hello everyone,

It is the perfect response that every Cule would have wanted to see from FC Barcelona following the Friday's Champions Leauge Semifinals draw. Barca were drawn to play German giants FC Bayern Munich in the Semifinal stage of the CL in a fortnight's time. And Barca needed to show that they are up for that challenge in today's La Liga fixture against their city rivals Espanyol FC, playing away from home. And boy! Barca did make their statement indeed ahead of the final run-in of games before curtains fall on this 2014-15 season. 

Barca looked to dominate from the word go and maintained all the possession in the opening exchanges. Their attacking front three of Messi, Neymar, Suarez were finding each other with ease, especially Leo Messi playing from the deep managed to play-in delightful balls for his other two strike partners. Barca fired an early warning shot when Neymar managed to disturb the Espanyol goal, albeit from the top, after Leo Messi found him with a delightful ball into space. But the opening goal arrived a little later when Messi again played a wonderful cross field pass to Alba, who squared off the ball to the onrushing Luis Suarez. Suarez could have taken a shot on goal but showed great awareness to back heel the ball to Neymar who was also right in front of the goal with a better chance of scoring. Neymar did slot in the ball from close range to give Barca the lead. 

Messi then doubled the lead on the 27th minute to fire home from a narrow angle after Suarez again laid the ball for him with a pass across the mouth of the goal and Barca were in cruise control for the remainder of the 1st half. Luis Suarez set up Neymar again, this time with a dream of a flick into the air and behind the Espanyol defense. Neymar did manage to get the perfect connection on the volley with his weaker left-foot, but the goal was thwarted by an equally exceptional stop from the rival keeper to deny Barca's 3rd goal of the evening, which might well have killed off the game.

The 2nd half seemed a familiar story for Barca during the initial period. Sergio Busquets robbed the ball in the midfield and played a superb ball into space for Neymar on the left. Neymar had all the time in the world to square it for the unmarked Suarez and return favor for the latter's assist earlier in the game. But Neymar had other ideas and he chose to chip it over the Espanyol keeper, who managed to block the effort much to the dismay of Suarez (and me even more). Nevertheless, Barca had another golden opportunity to score the 3rd goal courtesy of an Iniesta and Suarez link up play, and when the latter unselfishly squared the ball to Neymar, the Brazilian somehow shot it over the bar with no one at the goal post to block his shot. Suarez did not manage to get on the score sheet but he played a superb game today and played his part in both of the Barca goals. 

Then came a point when the Barca left-back Jordi Alba was given a questionable yellow card for dissent and then a totally unwarranted 2nd Yellow to be sent off with about 30 minutes left on the clock. It was a needless 2nd Yellow and a subsequent Red card from the Referee against Alba. But thankfully he remained consistent to give another Espanyol player another rash Red card late in the game. Both those decisions were totally unnecessary given that they were not as a result of a clash between players, but because of the players complaining about the two separate decisions and a caution would have sufficed in both of those situations. The Barca defense, especially macherano and Pique, kept things tight at the back and on a few occasions when the Barca keeper was called into play, Claudio Bravo showed great composure and strength to preserve his clean sheet. 

Gladly, the Referee's decisions did not affect the result which was a great win for Barca ahead of some more crucial, and tough, games lying in wait for them. And after the way they have bounced back in this season at the start of 2015, Barca, and the Cules, definitely would want to end the season with more than one trophy. The treble is still on. Visca Barca! Come on Cules!!

Thanks for reading & cheers! See you soon!!    - yps05

A day of mixed results

Hey everyone,

FC Barcelona added 3 more points to their La Liga tally this season with a hard fought win over Valencia FC. It was always going to be a tough game against Valencia who play attacking football and are sitting 4th in the current La Liga standings, and the game did not disappoint by any stretch of imagination. There were goals in the 1st minute and the 90th minute of the match, and there was end-to-end football throughout the game separating these goals. It was tense throughout and match could have ended with any result until a late 2nd goal confirmed the result just seconds before the final whistle.

The encounter opened with a goal in the opening minute itself. Lionel Messi threading a perfect ball into the path of Luis Suarez to shoot from a tight angle. Suarez made the perfect connection to pierce the ball between the onrushing defenders and the Valencia keeper to give Barca the perfect start. The tempo of the game match remained high on both ends of the field, with clearer chances for Valencia in particular. Valencia had an opportunity to equalize courtesy a penalty awarded to them by the referee, but the Barca shot-stopper Claudio Bravo proved his worth to the side once again with a save to his right. He has been phenomenal with a couple more saves during the remainder of the game. It is very easy to forget that this is his 1st season in a Barca jersey and I must say that I'm mighty impressed with Bravo who took almost no time to settle into the first team this season to replace the great Victor Valdes. He has made his presence felt throughout the La Liga season and has proved to be more than a good signing for Barca. Bravo's consistency has allowed the Barca defense the chance to be more assured during the tough games, which was precisely what was missing last season and cost us titles. But it's all in the past now and Barca look stronger and more motivated than ever to win trophies again this season. It is going to be a tough run of games between now and the end of the season for Barca.

The 2nd half was much of the same and substitutions made by either side had little impact on the game as the level was already very high. Leo Messi seemed to be slightly off his best today despite some typical bursts down the right-flank. It seemed to me that Barca were trying a bit too hard on many occasions to kill the game with another goal and this always invited Valencia to attack. Leo finally managed to get on the score sheet though, a touch of fortune involved, to score Barca's 2nd goal of the game and his 400th overall in the Barca jersey. Congratulations Leo on this landmark and I hope he scores many more which help Barca win matches and trophies. Vamos Leo! Visca Barca!

On another note, Rafael Nadal lost to nemesis Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo masters 1000 Semi Finals. The 6-3 6-3 scoreline is deceptive but it was a lot more tighter affair than that suggests, although I admit that I'm disappointed that Rafa didn't manage to take a set off Djokovic despite a good start to the match. All in all, Rafa seems improved after returning to his beloved clay stretch of the season. This should help his confidence after his wins over opponents like John Isner and David Ferrer. That must have helped him a big deal. And Rafa can look to get even better in the upcoming clay tournaments leading up to the French Open. The chances are much more positive now than they were a few weeks ago. Keep fighting Rafa!

Thanks for reading guys & cheers! See you soon   - yps05