UEFA Champions League

La Liga Preview - FC Barcelona v Valladolid. Do It For The 100 Points!

I know, I know. No one gives a damn about any more. The Liga is safely ours, and all that's left to do is to show off the trophy, which the team gets to do tomorrow. And since Atleti managed a surprising win against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, Barça fans even have some warm schadenfreude to go with with their celebratory drinks.
[caption id="attachment_9982" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="We care so little that even the club\'s official photographer has taken up nature photography."][/caption]
So, since winning is not an pressing concern any more, why should Barça bother to do something more than turning up in their pyjamas tomorrow evening?

Don’t be nice. Beat Nice.

OGC Nice vs. Olympique Lyonnais
Matchday 37, Stade du Ray, Ligue 1 - 2012/13

The Plot

This is the biggest match of the season for Nice. It is their last match EVER at Stade du Ray before moving to the new Allianz Riviera for the next season. For Nice, ...

Utd News Roundup and preview of Fergie's last game

I perhaps should have done this earlier, because there has been plenty of Utd-related news strolling across the bottom of Sky Sports News this week. So let's run through some little news bites and see where we go....

Match review: Atletico de Madrid 1 - 2 FC Barcelona - Cliché title alert...WEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIOOONS!

[caption id="attachment_9978" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The guard of honor from the Atleti players"][/caption]
Probably one of the strangest matches of the season. Ten men and three injuries later (or "discomforts"/"precautions", who can be sure?), Barça manage to stumble home and add three more points to their overall total. But most importantly - the league is ours! Barça didn't win the league as a result of yesterday's match (RM's draw against Espanyol on Saturday did that) so it was rather anticlimactic, but still! Champions!

Fergie's Farewell: The Master and one of his greatest apprentices bow out of Old Trafford

And so, 26 years, 6 months and 7 days after his appointment, Sir Alex Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford looking to oversee his final encounter in the stadium he has made home. A capacity crowd of 75,572 were in attendance to show their appreciation for the work of the greatest club manager the football world has ever seen. A man who took a struggling side and made them into champions, not just once, but 13 times. A man who built a side, and built another, and more still, each achieving success in their own right. A man who has become synonymous with the name, Manchester United Football Club. A man who has written an enormous chapter of the club's history. They were there to watch him turn the last but one page, the last ever in front of his followers, the last in front of the stand that will forever bear his name. Sir Alex Ferguson. The Greatest.

Lyon vs QSG : a playoff final

Meeting this year's PSG is never a pleasing prospect. The remembrance of last winter's game in Parc des Princes is still painful, as with many absences and a fair dose a bad luck, OL had struggled to exist. It's not a reassuring prospect either to meet them just when there's ...

La Liga Preview: Atletico de Madrid v FC Barcelona. Can We Or Can We Not?

Wake up! Wake up, I say! La Liga is not won yet. 'But Ade,' you say, 'maybe Espanyol will take points from Real Madrid tonight and..." And I can't hear you over how loud I'm scoffing. Even if Espanyol managed to score a manita over RM tonight, they would proceed to score six own goals in injury time, just to spite us. No, we can't rely on our perico neighbours for an easy way to La Liga. We'll have to do it the hard way.
ETA: they did! Espanyol held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw! BARÇA ARE 2012/2013 LIGA CHAMPIONS!!!
[caption id="attachment_9963" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="If the league were about hugging instead of football... we\'d be in the same position. Huh."][/caption]
And you can trust it's going to be difficult. Playing Atleti is always difficult for Barça. Even when Atleti have not had their best season in years and Barça aren't hobbling to the season's finish line, they always manage to put Barça through the grinder.

Moyes is the man for Manchester United

Well, in the last few moments, the fastest moving and most important sports news story of the year has thrown us the expected, with the confirmation that David Moyes will become the new Manchester United manager. Over the last day or so, Moyes' name had come firmly to the front of the likelihood list, and now it is a done deal. This will come into effect on July 1, with Moyes signing a SIX-year deal. With the length of the contract, it signals a very strong vote of confidence from the Utd management, with a unanimous approval from the board.

Of Transfers, Form And Key Learnings

This is a very disconcerting decision. Should this be a brimming, positive piece on how the team is so close to winning its fourth Liga title in five years? Or do we throw in sufficient despair & doom predictions owing to the scoreline-that-must-not-be-mentioned vs Bayern Munich in Champions League semis? Judging by the transfer rumors swirling around that has us selling the entire team and retiring La Masia based on a result, we're guessing most of the press is veering towards the latter approach. Considering we'd resolved to do away with inspirational quotes on how it's not about getting knocked down but picking yourself up yada yada, there's not many options left. Sorry.

Thank you Sir Alex, the greatest manager of our time

The shock of the news of Sir Alex's retirement this morning hit me more than any sports story I have ever read. Can I write a fitting tribute? No, I am not a good enough writer. It is a time every Utd fan knew would come one day, but like ...

La Liga Review: FC Barcelona 4, Real Betis 2. A Messi In Shining Armour

Three points and the 2012/2013 Liga title is so close I can smell it! Those are the nice things we should focus on, because if we focus on the actual football played by our lovely team, well, then things get depressing.
[caption id="attachment_9939" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="You know it\'s bad when Piqué\'s decision to sacrifice his beard to the Football Gods isn\'t the worst part of the evening."][/caption]
Tito chose Pinto, Alves, Piqué, Adriano, Jordi Alba, Song, Xavi, Iniesta, Alexis, Villa and Tello. With VV and Pedro unavailable due to "discomfort" and a stomach bug respectively, and Messi and Busquets just coming back from injury, that was as close to our best XI as we could get... and isn't that an awful thought? Anyway, a must-win match is apparently no place for people like Thiago, Bartra or Montoya. Because, why give chances to the youngsters, huh? Especially after they have already proven themselves in difficult circumstances. Nah, better to keep testing the (very suspect) durability of Xavi's tendons and how much Adriano can fail at being a centre-back before he breaks.

Man Utd vs Chelsea Match Report (The fire's gone out for the Reds as Chelsea look to Champions League place)

I suppose the key point to make before we start is the fact that Utd have nothing left to play for, whereas Chelsea still have to do the business to get a Champions League place. They'll be aware Arsenal and Tottenham are watching their games with interest and for a large part of yesterday, with pleasure. For Utd, after clawing back to a draw last week, the chance was there to put in a carefree performance. Instead it was as sluggish as a sluggish man caught in a particular sticky and sluggish marsh. The team lacked a cutting edge in the same way a spoon does, and it was incredibly boring to watch. But, if only in the interest of completeness, review it we shall.

T-Four!

AS Nancy-Lorraine vs. Olympique Lyonnais
Matchday 35, Ligue 1, 2012-13

A passable 1-1 draw against Saint-Etienne later, OL travels to Nancy this evening in the hopes of getting a firmer footing on 3rd spot. Marseille is provisionally 7 points ahead with 67, while PSG will definitively win the league if ...

Match preview: FC Barcelona v Real Betis - Let's do this, Leeeeeroy Jenkins!

[caption id="attachment_9931" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Today is Cesc\'s birthday! Happy birthday!"][/caption]
"Leroy Jenkins", I hear you say. "What does this have to do with Barça? Looks like the folks at Barca the Offside have well and truly lost it."
Well, if you've never heard of Leeroy Jenkins before, here's the video, watch it! And once you have, you'll understand why it relates to Barça - I hope. My point is, we've suffered a huge defeat (thanks, Bayern!) and now is the time for our players to throw caution to the wind, get back out there and GO FOR IT!
Except, you know, Barça's version of throwing caution to the wind is allowing JDS on the pitch for a few minutes. But, umm, that's something?

Champions League Semifinals: FC Barcelona 0, Bayern Munich 3 (0-7 aggr) - Defeat and Disaster!

"Dissolution and Despair!" said the Pins and Needles. "Defeat and Disaster!". Is this a quote from Edward Gorey's Inanimate Tragedy or the after-match comments from Barça fans? It's all doom, doom, doomity-doom as far as the eye can see...
[caption id="attachment_9915" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="''Pride. Barça.'' Words we need to remember in the bad times and the good."][/caption]
It's an awful result, I'm not going to argue that. I expected something better; maybe not a miraculous comeback, but certainly a more equilibrated result, a goal or two for the home side, maybe even a win to soothe the sting of the first leg. That 7-0 aggregate scoreline it's going to haunt our dreams for a long time to come. But is it the end of the world? Is the sign to toss out our coach, half the squad, and the philosophy that's brought us to the point where reaching the Champions League semifinals is disappointing?

Champions League, FC Barcelona Vs FC Bayern: When you put titles aside, and play for your pride

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Image by: George Christakis"][/caption]

Thrown to the lions' den at the Coliseum to entertain the crowd. With audience hailing the melodrama of the unfortunates, screaming their terror and trying to roll themselves in their arms seeking survival for another minute, hoping for a miracle to come true and for their prayers to wake up the universal clemency to show its life-saver mercy. But in vain.