Hello to all. Tonight Barcelona FC suffered a heavy loss to their bitter rivals Real Madrid 1-3 at the Camp Nou Stadium. This was but one of their disappointing performances this month, as earlier they were subject to a 2-0 surprise defeat at the hands of AC Milan in Italy, for the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Barcelona have had their fair share of troubles this season. Manager Tito Vilanova has been forced to leave the team behind because of his heart condition quite a few times. Tonight was one of them. As good as an assistant as he may be, Jordi Rooura was not hired to coach the main team by himself, yet he has had to do this for almost half a year. Yet, despite all this, the staff at FCB remain faithful to Vilanova and await his recovery.
All this just comes to show that no matter what players are on a team (Messi has won 4 Balon D'or, Iniesta was voted as Best Footballer in Europe) and how long these players have been playing together, if there's no one there to guide them, it's pretty much a lost cause. Sure, Barca may be close to yer another Championship, but their primary goal, the Champions League, is almost too far gone for them to reach for it. And Real Madrid just gave them yet another bitter lesson.
Near the end of last season, when Pep Guardiola announced his resignation from the club, there were people saying that it was the end of Barca's era. That neither Vilanova, nor anyone else would be able to fill the gap left by "Pepe". This "prophecy" seems to be true.
Barca under Guardiola were nearly unstoppable. They had no "good" or "bad" nights. It was obvious that every game for them was more than just work, or an obligation. It was fun! They were a group of kids enjoying their football. And that paid off in the pitch. They knew how to play, they knew how and when to pass or shoot. It made no difference who had the ball. Ok, maybe Messi, Xavi and Iniesta made some difference, but for the rest it was the same. Players like Busquets, Pique, Adriano, Pedro, Bojan, Tello, Thiago and many others were able to flourish under Guardiola's wing. All because he had made a good enviroment for them.
These players knew each other practically from 8 years old. And Guardiola had also grown up in La Macia, Barcelona's training camp, so he knew all about how the kids were taught. Which is yet another reason that Cesc Fabregas was able to fit in so well with the rest of the team after his return to Barca in 2011.
Unfortunately, it's nearly the end of this era. Guardiola was just the beginning. Xavi and Puyol are both getting older and aren't able to keep up the pace, Abidal's health problems don't allow him to play professional football as much as he would've wanted to and there will be more players coming in, year after year, to replace the old ones.
We should all be thankful in the end that these people were at the right place at the right time and created the best team to ever grace the football fields with it's presence. Because, if the older generations had Santos of Carlos Alberto, Pele and the rest, our generation had Barcelona of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and so many others...
Barcelona have had their fair share of troubles this season. Manager Tito Vilanova has been forced to leave the team behind because of his heart condition quite a few times. Tonight was one of them. As good as an assistant as he may be, Jordi Rooura was not hired to coach the main team by himself, yet he has had to do this for almost half a year. Yet, despite all this, the staff at FCB remain faithful to Vilanova and await his recovery.
All this just comes to show that no matter what players are on a team (Messi has won 4 Balon D'or, Iniesta was voted as Best Footballer in Europe) and how long these players have been playing together, if there's no one there to guide them, it's pretty much a lost cause. Sure, Barca may be close to yer another Championship, but their primary goal, the Champions League, is almost too far gone for them to reach for it. And Real Madrid just gave them yet another bitter lesson.
Near the end of last season, when Pep Guardiola announced his resignation from the club, there were people saying that it was the end of Barca's era. That neither Vilanova, nor anyone else would be able to fill the gap left by "Pepe". This "prophecy" seems to be true.
Barca under Guardiola were nearly unstoppable. They had no "good" or "bad" nights. It was obvious that every game for them was more than just work, or an obligation. It was fun! They were a group of kids enjoying their football. And that paid off in the pitch. They knew how to play, they knew how and when to pass or shoot. It made no difference who had the ball. Ok, maybe Messi, Xavi and Iniesta made some difference, but for the rest it was the same. Players like Busquets, Pique, Adriano, Pedro, Bojan, Tello, Thiago and many others were able to flourish under Guardiola's wing. All because he had made a good enviroment for them.
These players knew each other practically from 8 years old. And Guardiola had also grown up in La Macia, Barcelona's training camp, so he knew all about how the kids were taught. Which is yet another reason that Cesc Fabregas was able to fit in so well with the rest of the team after his return to Barca in 2011.
Unfortunately, it's nearly the end of this era. Guardiola was just the beginning. Xavi and Puyol are both getting older and aren't able to keep up the pace, Abidal's health problems don't allow him to play professional football as much as he would've wanted to and there will be more players coming in, year after year, to replace the old ones.
We should all be thankful in the end that these people were at the right place at the right time and created the best team to ever grace the football fields with it's presence. Because, if the older generations had Santos of Carlos Alberto, Pele and the rest, our generation had Barcelona of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and so many others...
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