Barca 6-Atletico Madrid 1, a.k.a. “Everybody, shut your stinkin’ holes!”

"Pep was *never* a defensive midfielder, among other things because of his physical fragility....his role was purely that of an offensive “postman”, distributing the play quickly and wisely to the other midfielders and forwards. And in this role, he was the best. OTOH, Busi is something *new*, a “modern” DM."

I've been one of the folks who has compared Busquets to Guardiola, Genis, and your description, quoted above, is precisely what I mean. I think that's also what diffrentiates Busquets from Yaya, and quite possibly makes him more desirable in the Guardiola scheme.

Yaya's agent's comments have the big, giant suck. Yaya should have immediately said "I'm here for as long as Barca want me, my agent is crazy." I'm kinda bummed that he didn't. It picks at my man crush a little bit.

And hey, all of our captains are from the nursery. How 'bout that?

I think that Busquets is just a different kind of DM than Yaya. There will be sides for which Yaya is better, and sides for which Busquets is better. Remember Yaya chasing down Brandao during the Shakhtar match, saving Alves' bacon and calmly stopping an attack.

The problem is 3 DMs. I can't think of a side that carries 3 DMs. Keita was just purchased, Busquets is here to stay I think, which means what for Yaya?

as you well know, statistics aren't everything. he could have completed 67 out of 69 passes, but if the 2 he missed directly led to goals that would be a bad game. in this case, one did and another should have. the DM needs to be the most consistent player on the pitch in his passing and tackling, because he plays in what is arguably the most dangerous area of the pitch. having watched the game a few times now with an emphasis on watching Busquets, he just didn't have it together.

naturally, he did make some good passes and tackles, but we shouldn't expect anything less from a starting player for FC Barcelona. however his erratic passing was a problem, and i would wager a large sum that we wouldn't see Yaya making similar errors. everyone that plays football has bad games, from me to Messi, so we could say that this just wasn't a good game for Busquets. but i think on this game we could say that he's not quite ready for a starting place yet.

i also think Bojan would take exception to your estimation of youth-team products :P.

BA, let me repost what I said on september 23:

"[I think] that some comments that I’ve read here are *downplaying* Busi's performance, perhaps because their authors see Busi as a threat to Yaya. I think that Busi doesn’t deserve AT ALL those comments…”.

Busi didn't make "a handful of giveaways directly to Atleti players in dangerous areas". He did only *two* and in the first minutes. Accordig to TV3, he gave 60 good passes out of 69. I don't remember how many steals he made, etc. But sure he did *something* more that those two giveaways, sure he did contribute something to that 6-1: I wouldn't say that, apart from those two giveaways, he was a mere bystander the rest of the match. And as far as opinions go, mine is that he's the most talented nursery guy we've seen since Messi. Not that majority means anything, but, as I commented elsewhere, there's been an almost unprecedented unanimity among the Catalan (and Spanish) sports media celebrating his unexpected appearance and praising his game.

Now that I'm at it, let me address some comments here and at Pep's blog talking about a supposed resemblance between Pep and Busi that favors Busi in the eyes of Pep. That resemblance is practically non-existent. If Pep wanted a clone of himself, that was Marc Crosas, but not Busi. Pep was *never* a defensive midfielder, among other things because of his physical fragility. He occupied that position (called "number 4") in the Dream Team, but his role was purely that of an offensive "postman", distributing the play quickly and wisely to the other midfielders and forwards. And in this role, he was the best. OTOH, Busi is something *new*, a "modern" DM.

I don't wish Yaya to go. He sacrified himself for the team when other players were bailing out on it. I think we need him. This season is very long and there will be plenty of play time for everybody, and, as other have pointed out, he is the most apt DM for certain important matches. Having said that, let me tell you the *bad* news: Last night (CE time), at the Catalan sports radio program with more audience and influence ("Tu diràs", RAC1), they interviewed by telephone Yaya's agent. And the bad news is that the agent *complained* on Yaya's behalf because of his lack of play time. That was a very unintelligent move on the part of Yaya and/or his agent because that means that he's leaving the "pinya". The half dozen commentators that gather at this program each night were really consternated by that reaction, and the same happened with the audience according to the telephone calls and e-mails they received. So, unless Yaya contradicts publicly and quickly his agent's words, things will only get worse during these days devoid of other news until the Liga resumes.

From El Montseny

Busquets made several errors, in particular a handful of giveaways directly to Atleti players in dangerous areas. each of these could have cost a goal. those are giveaways that Yaya doesn't make. he also failed a few tackles in key place/times. tackles that Yaya does make.

look, i think Busquets is a good player with tremendous potential: he's just not up to the task yet. on Pep's blog i recommended he be given the position of Yaya's understudy. not only would this be in keeping with my opinions on their relative abilities, but would seem fair; Busquets being a recently promoted former B-teamer and Yaya putting in a refreshing and vital performance over last season in the first team. we need to keep the former to often fill in for the latter if we're going to be involved in 3 competitions a season.

comparing a dumb giveaway on our side of the pitch to a chance created out of nothing after taking on 4 players isn't quite the same :P.

but i'm inclined to agree about Keita. i don't know who was in charge of his transfer. he was an excellent and integral part of the Sevilla side for the past few seasons (that did play some very exciting football), but the style of play that he honed in his time at Sevilla doesn't seem to translate here. i hope he can make the adjustment, he's a good player. but we're not seeing it so far.

"and Busquets was awful against Atletico. potentially game-losingly awful. if Gudjohnsen had played as bad as Busquets had, we’d be calling for him to be fed to wolves"

i dont think its fair to say that at all.

(A) Gudjohnsen is a 30 year old man, captain of a national soccer team. Seasoned veteren is an understatement.

Busquets is a 20 year old rookie who was putting in his (second?) appearance ever for a senior side. It is not a fair comparison to make. He is young and inexpereienced. Pique sometimes shows sloppy defending, and Messi quite often shows sloppy finishing. its something that will wane as they gain years and playing time.

(B) This one is more opinion that fact, but was Busquets awful against Atletico? If you look at the whole game. Did he play awful? or Did he make commit one error that was emphasized by the fact that it resulted in a goal. Had the shot gone high, would people make that big a deal about it? (or if valdez was on his line where he belongs?) Was there miscomunication between him and Xavi?

I think that besides this play, where he commited a mistake, he played a good game, specially considering he is 20 years old facing Atletico Madrid.

His mistake caused us a goal against. Messi's miss cost us a goal in favor.

Btw, in my above post, I'm not so much saying that we should get rid of Keita, as saying that in hindsight he might not have been the best of purchases. But who knows... no one could have guessed Busquets playing as well as he is. And besides, even the deepest of squads wear thin as the season progresses, theres no doubt Keita get opportunites to show his worth... i hope...

Ciaran I would love that. Send me a friend request! :-)

I think that Keita will only play when he is partnered by Busquets and Xavi. Yaya is definitely first choice if we only start with 1 DM IMO though.
Keita and Yaya didn't play well together. He and Busquets on the other hand were a little better suited.
The problem with Keita is that he is not as disciplined as Busquets and Yaya are.
In terms of raw talent it goes Yaya, Keita and then Busquets but Busquets jumps Keita in my ranking of suitability to our system.
I will give Txiki credit where it's due, Keita does add balance. In matches where we play with 3 centre backs and Dani Alves then Keita is better able to cover left than Busquets or Yaya would be.

As you pointed out Jason, Marquez can adequately cover the defensive midfield position also. If Txiki had known of Busquets' emergence I wonder if he would have added a midfielder with a little more forward thinking? Maybe the likes of Lucho Gonzalez who is a solid CM who is deadly arriving into the box...

Tomatutomate, if I am ever playing online I'll surely join you in a few games.

once we get to play actual strong sides in the Champion's League, we're going to realize how much we need Yaya. Keita just doesn't seem to fit into our system, at Sevilla both he and Alves went forward with far more directness and linearity. Alves i believe has the skills to adapt, especially with Messi, but i don't know about Keita. i'd certainly sell him to Juve before i sold Yaya.

and Busquets was awful against Atletico. potentially game-losingly awful. if Gudjohnsen had played as bad as Busquets had, we'd be calling for him to be fed to wolves.

I think certain games call for a certain type of DM. Against Numancia, for instance, Yaya was clearly the wrong choice. EVERYONE knew that they were never going to attack us directly, and that we were going to dominate possesion anyways. In that game i would have perfered to see Busquets, because of his technique, and because hes a half step quicker than the rest ouf our DMs.

If were ever in C.L. however, and are facing an english team, or a team with a strong CAM, then i would hands down start Yaya.

I unfortunately dont see one specific case where i would start Keita. I'll admit i was excited when i head we bought him, but his performances have been, not bad, but not impressive. And i think that 3 DMs for barcelona are too many. The last thing we need is unsettled players leading to locker room drama.

I think we only really need 2 DMs. Toure if we need a strong force in the midfield that will destroy any attack, (like Gattuso plays) and Busquets, a technically gifted midfielder who can contribute to the attack, and provide extra cover to the back line (like Pirlo plays). Besides, if God forbid, one of our DMs gets injured, Rafa Marquez can hold down that position quite well. Specially considering how deep our list of Center backs is; Puyol, Pique, Marquez, Caceres, Milito (when he comes back), and Abidal knows how to play CB.

I hear ya, BA. I think that we're all on record as believing that Yaya is the best traditional DM in the Liga, and for my money the best in the world.

There HAS to be a reason that he isn't getting the playing time that he deserves. I do think that Guardiola like Busquets' footwork and fluency with the ball, when he isn't passing it directly to bombers such as Maxi Rodriguez (should Valdes have been closer to home? Just asking after watching the match again last night.)

I would say that someone must think that the skills of Busquets are more in keeping with what the side needs.

I just can't get my mind around Yaya being endangered. Isaiah is going to hit the ceiling when he returns.

i'm sorry but Busquets is simply not anything close to a replacement for Yaya. yes, i know they are different sorts of players. but a strong DM gives our game tremendous stability, and Yaya is still much better at that than Busquets (who isn't a bad player, but who i certainly don't think is a good one). i haven't seen Keita play that role consistently either.

all Yaya-love aside; he's just a better player in that position than anyone we have or anyone we could get on the horizon, and that position is very important to our style of play. i don't think we would have to wait long to regret getting rid of him, the next time Busquets passes the ball right to an opposing player or Keita misses a tackle.

I wouldn't put much faith in statements such as that, Andrew. I think that if he looks as if he isn't going to get playing time thanks to Keita and Busquets, statements such as that one start to not hold water.

Now, if we can use him to prise someone loose from Arsenal (Walcott? Adebayor?). But I still can't get my mind around the idea of selling Yaya. He just GOT here, and was our best player match in match out last season.

didnt yaya say he would only go to arsenal to play with his brother? otherwise he would be happy at barca?

Gnus we all can yoos:

Nobody can quite nail down the story, but it seems that the club is planning to offer Eto'o a contract extension, but at LESS money than he is currently making. There's a convoluted bit of writing over at Goal.com.

http://www.goal.com/en-US/Arti...

From this "report," it sounds like a trust issue. Eto'o wanted his buyout clause lowered. Mistrustful minds can only speculate as to why that is, right? But the fact that he is playing the way a player in the last effective year of his contract often does, and the summer contretemps is making the powers that be skittish.

Hmmmm.

--Laporta is being quoted as saying that he should have sold Ronaldinho a year earlier. Duh. Long-timers will recall that a few of us raised that possibility, but were a) shouted down and b) came to our senses, or so we thought.

The same interview said that he also considered Cruyff as coach. I think that we're all happy that he didn't.

--The EE is, like most other big clubs in Europe, lining up a bid for Benzema, who will almost certainly be finding a new place to lace up his boots next season. Stay tuned for some crazy-ass numbers. Aulas values him at 50 million. Yikes!

--Rumor is that our very own near, dear, Yaya is on the Juventus radar, and that they might make a January bid for him. Ain't gonna happen. You heard it here first. He's going to be expensive, for sure, and he should be. But also, he's played in Champions League, which makes him in effect useless to them. They don't need what he does to be in contention for the Scudetto. Now over the summer, I expect a LOT of teams will be knocking around Yaya. But I just don't expect us to make any January moves. Maybe it's just me.

Italian papers are saying that Juve has tabled a 5-year offer through Yaya's agent, and that Yaya has said wait a month to see what happens with his situation with us.

I'm calling BS on that one.

Why does fifa come out in Europe alot faster than in the U.S.???

:-(

I still got 5 more days of waiting...

Oh i didnt know so many people play games here :) ...i have fifa 08 and my neighbour is currently out to get fiaf 09 for xbox 360 :D hahah im going to have fun, i was also a free kick master in fifa 07,08.
The great thing about fifa 09 is that messi is 90!!!:D

Jake, I fear that we let Yaya go, too. But let's not despair: Both Yaya and Busi (the only possible reason to transfer Yaya, together, perhaps, with Henrique) have played for years in Xavi's position, as attacking midfielders, so I think there's still some hope that Yaya will stay with us for some years more (I'd rather transfer Keita if he doesn't improve; personally, I still don't "see" him, although I've felt the same with other players totally trusted by the Barça managers of the moment).

Ursus, about the Program Crackòvia: Being a sports spinoff of the program "Polònia" (Poland), they play also with the word "crack", which we use here to refer to the big football stars. By the way, the first time I knew about that "Polish" thing was when Bernd Schuster, then playing for Barça, wondered why the crowd in some stadium out there yelled that word as an insult to our players!

About Sant Andreu: Please feel free to visit their web site:
http://www.uesantandreu.cat/in...

and use http://traductor.gencat.cat/js... to translate whatever you wish ;)

The club's name is "Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu" since 1925, so it's not been recently renamed. What happened is that, since Catalan was forbidden during Franco's regime, they saw their name changed to "Club Deportivo Sant Andreu" (at least, they didnt change "Sant Andreu"). And the same thing happened to Barça. According to the *official* Barça web site ( http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web... ):

"In March 1940 a close collaborator with the Franco regime, Enric Piñeyro, marquès de la Mesa de Asta, was appointed President. At the same time, the name of the club was changed from its anglicized original 'Futbol Club Barcelona' to the more Spanish 'Club de Fútbol Barcelona' (a change which was finally reversed in *1973*), and the four red bars of the Catalan flag on the coat of arms were reduced to two [i. e. the Spanish flag], the original not being put back until 1949."

You ask, and I answer!

FEM

No sabia donde colocar este comentario, pero me parecia interesante una página que me e encontrado y que funciona muy bien, WWW.BARCELOOGLE.COM en pocas palabras... el google de barcelona.

a disfrutarlo

Apparently Juventus has tabled a bid for our dear Yaya. If we let him go, we are crazy.

And Gràcies again for explaining the Cracovia thing, which has puzzled me ever since I first heard it.

My mother's family is from a hamlet about 150km northeast of Krakow, and I can assure everyone that Catalan sounds nothing at all like Polish.

And here I thought that 9CLs was coming around . . .

Genis, can you tell us a little something about Sant Andreu, who won the Copa de Catalunya last night?

All I know is that they play in red and yellow stripes, were recently renamed (from the Castillan San Andres), are an old school lower division team from the Sant Andreu neighbourhood of Barcelona, just promoted to the Segunda B (aka the regionalised Third Division), and that this is the first Copa de Catalunya in their 100+ year history.

I apologize, in retrospect I understand why no one else responded to 9CL's comments. I thought that maybe no else saw them as I did, now I realize they were ignored on purpose. Shame on me! :-)

Wow 9CL's. Tu comportamiento parece estar tildado con animocidad y escornio. ¿A poco entras en estos foros para hablar de temas tan complicados como la imigracion en España? La ultima vez que mire el título de este blog era de el FC Barcelona y no " Catalunya es responsables de los problemas de índole migratorio ". Además sigues citando a Genis como sí algo tuvieras contra el. Te advierto que esta es una comunidad muy amigable y cercana y cuando atacas a uno, nos atacas a todos. Pero quizás ese es tu deseo, decir algo polémico para empezar controversias. Sí ese es el caso, entoces me arrepiento de dirigirte la palabra. Pero aún es una pena que uses un tema tan inadecuado como ese. Si por alguna razón te he mal interpretado y tus comentarios fueron echos con una intención casta y no malsana, entonces me disculpó. Temo, sin embargo, que ese no es el caso.

Wow 9CL's. Your demeanor seems to be tainted with animosity and scorn. Do you really come into these forums to talk about such complicated matters as immigration in Spain? Last time I checked the name of this blog was about FC Barcelona not " Catalunya is responsible for immigratory problems". Also you keep quoting Genis let me apprise you that this a very friendly and close community and when you attack one of us you attack all of us. Maybe that is your objective to proffer something polemic to sturr up contraverse. If such is the case then I regret even responding to you. However it is a shame to use such inadequate topic as this one. Of for some reason your comments were meant in a benign way, than I apologize. I fear however, that that is not the case.

IceMel, Tomate, Andrew, I'm glad that you've liked that info on the castles, but remember that my goal was to point to the second photograph of the last link, that in Black & White, that with Black and White people interlocking hands and arms in solidarity in order to achieve a common goal. I think it is a very powerfull symbolic image that tells a lot about our society.

Those castle groups, or "colles", are open to anybody irrespective of their origin, race, age and gender. In the National geographic photo you can see two old men -one looks like 90!- contributing to the "pinya". As for women, you'll see few of them in the pinya, but you'll see a lot of them in the castle itself, specially from the thitd-fourth level upwards. As for the children that climb to the top, about half of them are girls.

FEM

thanks andrew. I might have to give it a go.

here is a link to football superstars the online football game for anyone interested:

http://footballsuperstars.com/

yeah RUV, the tournament run late, but thats only if we make it to the playoffs. its a once off thing so thats why it is running so long into the night.

1am? Man, I thought my indoor games went late...

Andrew that game your brother helped develop sounds fun. Pls let us know when the US beta starts.

hey ciaran and tomatutomate, i am waiting here in the usa for fifa09 and pes09 to be released, i think pes launches in a few weeks.
i have always been a fifa man but the later editions are to demanding for my crappy graphics card on my pc and pes seems to work better. i hate the free kicks in pes though, i was a ronnie master in fifa08.

tomatutomate, i will look you up when i get it.

ciaran, my brother lives in nottingham and he works as a game developer and they are working on a game called "football superstars" which is an online game where you create a player and you have to train, play, work your way up through crappy clubs, buy clothes and equipment etc. and you and your mates go online and play games, and you only control your own guy. its a bit out there and a new idea but it launches in a few weeks, i think nov 3.

i only tell you because the server for the game takes too long to respond for players in the usa so it will only originally be available to players in the uk. you should sign up its free and give it a go.

thanks as well everyone for all the info about the anthem and all that.

and i have come to the conclusion that there was never a EE player called Javier Montenegro. i have also come to the conclusion that there was a creepy liar on the subway on saturday.

genis, i have seen video of those human castles before, although it was on reality tv and usually was only the videos of when things went wrong and all the people fell down!!

i have one last thing to say:

to everybody here who lives in New York!!:
on friday the 10th oct (this friday) there is a charity soccer tournament at chelsea piers (pier 40 courtyard) and my team and i will be playing.
come on down and support us! us team is palermo fc (our coach is scicillian (spelling?))

it would be good to have some good old cule style support. it starts at 8 and run till 1am. there are group stages and then playoffs, 7 v 7 in 20 min games.

ok thats all, good night everybody

"Hi, Tomatito: Yes, TV3 only brodcasts in Catalan, and the same happens with Crackovia. (Crackovia is a sports spin-off from Polònia [Poland], a program centered in Catalan-Spanish politics that gets its name from the fact that some people living in the barren plateau that forms the center of the Iberian Peninsula calls us Catalans “polacos” [Polish] because, given their neuronal system, Catalan sounds to them as Polish (no that they’ve ever heard real Polish in their lives, but… Hence the name Crackovia, too)."

...or perhaps because all illegal eastern europe inmigrants access throgh cataluña...? not sure if it sounds like polish.... the test is to put a clip on your nose and see if the nasal tone runs close. I wouldnt say so.

Thanks anyway Ciaran:-) if you ever want go play me let me know. Anyone else can send me a friend request. I doubt any one will though.

tomatutomate, I have never played Fifa online. I usually go solo.

Icemel, I have a 2.5 yr birthday present for you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
At 1.09 it shows the first free kick goal - over the wall and straight after shows the 2nd - under the wall. He completed that hat-trick with a very rare header if I remember 01/02 well. That was a tester. Did a bit of searching but it wasn't too hard to watch lots of Rivaldo videos.
Rivaldo was the best free kick taker ever IMO. And he was one hell of a player...

Genis, thank you for that.

ciaran any chance you would share your profile name for ps3. Mine is you guesses it tomatutomate

aha...as a 2.5-soccer-year-old I thought R10 invented that! I did see a famous hattrick of Rivaldo on youtube...was a crucial La Liga game though and was capped off by an incredible Fallrückzieher (inherently more painful than the English bicycle kick or tasty Spanish chilena)

Icemel, I still miss having a certain Vitor Borba Ferreira Rivaldo taking our freekicks.
He was awesome. Anyone else remember the hat-trick against Milan where he put the freekick under the wall as it jumped. I loved him. He had a star quality unrivalled at the time

Hi, Tomatito: Yes, TV3 only brodcasts in Catalan, and the same happens with Crackovia. (Crackovia is a sports spin-off from Polònia [Poland], a program centered in Catalan-Spanish politics that gets its name from the fact that some people living in the barren plateau that forms the center of the Iberian Peninsula calls us Catalans "polacos" [Polish] because, given their neuronal system, Catalan sounds to them as Polish (no that they've ever heard real Polish in their lives, but... Hence the name Crackovia, too).

PS3, It was released here on Friday.
Very good so far. One slight problem... video games seem to have a hard time identifying just what makes Iniesta great. Messi is easy, give him savage dribbling, pace and ball control but Iniesta is very effective in reality but in games he never is nearly as good.

Ciaran,
...yeh but how do your virtual boys do with set pieces?

That Marquez 2008 title was crazy BTW, who knew. I don't think I've ever seen him take one...I guess it's a bit risky putting a Center Back up for a 20 yarder....but at least maybe he could take those 50 yard Juninho-Style bombs.

..damn I miss the fear factor of Ronnie lining up for what always to me seemed a 70 % chance it was going in. Well if we can handle corners now...

Ciaran what console or PC are you playing Fifa 09 for? I'm going to pick up the PS3 version when it comes out here.

Season 1 down in Fifa 09. My Barca team has been fine-tuned to a well-oiled youth machine with changes to the older non-factory players and an influx of young talent from around the continent. I have a philosophy of never signing anyone over 25. The younger the better normally. Here's my squad for season 09/10 for anyone interested football games:
Valdes, Sergio Asenjo (Valladolid)
Alves, Caceres, Pique, Puyol, Milito, Abidal, Juan Manuel Vargas (Fiorentina)
Toure, Keita, Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Xavi, Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Messi, Iniesta, Bojan, Alexis Sanchez (Udinese), Karim Benzema (Lyon), Jo (Man City)

I wouldn't sign all of those players in real life but then again you can't push everyone forward in real matches.
I have the most fun with Alexis Sanchez. He is very much like he is in real life - all flash but no end product. He has crazy skills but can't kick the ball straight. I only bring him on when I'm winnind cos he is sure to create chances but messes them up...

Larm, you're right, but Sevilla had a very different setup for Keita, who might become another Henry (right player, wrong position) unless we figure some stuff out. At Sevilla, they had a very defined attack, with Kanoute at the point.

We are all over the place in front, with Messi running around, and Xavi running around, and Iniesta on the left and middle, etc. He doesn't really know where to be. At Sevilla he had that railway between Kanoute and Fabiano. With us, our attack is more of a maelstrom.

And yet, he isn't the rock of a DM that Yaya is. But nor is he the fluent, ball-skilled DM that Busquets is. So what is he? In our system, I dunno.

Gudjohnsen is another example of good player, wrong system (or league).

I can see Keita kicking out the jams in a setup with Henry or Eto'o as a real central striker, working with Iniesta on the left and say Hleb or Pedro on the right. Then he has some working space. As it is, he doesn't, because wherever he goes, one of the Mighty Mites is already there.

Yaya works because he knows exactly what he is supposed to do: break shit up. If any attack that originated in the midfield gets to the back line, then he has failed. Keita is an offensive defensive mid, but Busquets is a better offensive defensive mid, because of his ball skills.

It's a quandary. Hleb is an easier problem to solve. Xavi and Iniesta will need rest at some point. Gudjohnsen isn't sufficiently fluid with the ball to replace either (okay, eidur) of them.

Now, if anyone has visted Pep's Place today, they're wondering, if we're already deep as hell in the midfield, where does this Rakitic guy fit in, right? Do we NEED another attacking midfielder?

Well, we do if we're going to sell Gudjohnsen's ass, something you can bet on. So I dunno.

Genis those videos were amazing. Thanks for the interpretation of the Crackovia skit, I know how hard It is to do that. I have a question does TV3 only brodcast in Catalan? I love some of the programs that come on in Spain. I love El Follonero and Buenafuente wish now switched to La Sexta right? I also like Los Guiñoles, though they tend to sound anti-Barça. Is Crackovia broadcasted only in Catalan?

perhaps hleb and keita will be switching off? personaly keita has not impressed me at all yet this season.

"Though I still think that a healthy Hleb is going to mean less time for Gudjohnsen. We’ll see."

I'm interested to see where Hleb fits in, with Iniesta taking full time duty at left wing. Maybe attacking mid, and left wing on occasion to give SPF 45 a breather?

Wow Professor G!
Thank you re Towers ...those other mirades on the last link really made me want to visit La Ciudad Condal...one day.
So I guess if we are a real strong Pinya this year we can risk playing 3 de 10 (where 3 play defense and 10 play offense!)

...and thanks for the translation ...sorry if it kept you up too late..."..."Holy Shit Guddy scored" je , je je...

True that, Colin. I think it's a clean sheet but not for Busquets putting the ball on a silver platter for Maxi Rodriguez, who admittedly nailed the strike of a lifetime for many players.

Doesn't it sound funny saying that Gudjohnsen has the hot hand? I think that Guardiola has no shame about a nice, fat rotation. You have to play the hot hand. Though I still think that a healthy Hleb is going to mean less time for Gudjohnsen. We'll see.

Sorry, IceMel, I will only offer you a transcript of the first part of the sketch because it takes tooooo much time...

=====================================================
Pep: I wish to make use of these first minutes of the match to read to you a poem by
       Miquel Marti i Pol [a good friend of Pep, deceased in 2003,
       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...í_i_Pol ] titled...

Players: Gooooolllll!

Pep: Shit! I didn't see it! Eh, now who told you to shoot to goal so soon? Who did it?
        So, come, come, that I must read this to you, come here...

Players: Gooolll!

Pep: But I know that we've scored, it's 1-0, I already know...

Puyi: No, "mister", we've scored another one, it's two now...

Pep: Two? But I told you that the first quarter-hour we were to assess the game in
        order to disconcert our rivals...

Puyi: Well, it seems that it just struck us to score goals in a jiffy... We score one each
        three minutes, you'll see... Three, two, one... Goooolll... Well done, well done,
        children...

(And it goes on... There's a moment, when the players are in the deck chairs, that Puyi says: "Holy shit, Gudjohnsen has scored!" And Messi replies, "I'd bet that even Henry will score in this match").
=====================================================

Anyway, I've done it, IceMel, because you've been the only one commenting on the Castle thing.

A “clean” castle, 9 levels of 4 people each (”4 de 9″) with a single base):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

The first “3 de 10″ in history (10 levels of three people each, with triple base):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Info in English:

http://www.cambrils-urlaub.de/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...

And why did I wish you to see this? Well, because when the team is as united as it is now, we say that the team is a "pinya". And what the f**k is a "pinya" apart from meaning a "pine cone". A pinya, my friends, is the name of the human structure that forms the basis of those castles, and I wished to lead you here in order to see these other photos:

http://photography.nationalgeo...
http://www.fotolog.com/abril_6...

And, specially this one, the second in Black &White:

http://www.bcn.cat/mirades2007...

I wish Isaiah and Kevin would use this last one as a symbol of the team mentality that Barça has at its very roots.

Sorry for the loooong post.

FTWOEM

damn Genus! I just got over my Brandão nightmares and now you show me those "castles". I don't understand the numbering at all, that last one looked like 8 levels to me...how do they count 10? and x 3...3 what? Did any one get hurt on that last one...that's just crazy.

Ok for those who prefer comedy to horror movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
this is that TV3 - Crackòvia show they were talking about with Ronnie...now if we only had a human translator...(or at least a transcript)

Ramzi, about Piqué, I don't think that was the case... I've researched a little more about Amador Bernabeu, his grandfather, and these are some relevant data:

- Ex-board member of FC Barcelona for 25 (!) straight years, between 1978 and 2003 (during
   the Núñez and Gaspart eras).
– Ex-vice-president of Barça (I don't know when and for how long).
- Ex president of Barça Atlètic when the B team was kind of legally "independent".
- *Responsible for Barça's nursery, as board member, during those 25 years*.
– He was also on the board of the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (I don't know when
   and for how long).

So, obviously, this man had *a lot* of power in Barça -and in Barça's nursery- and there's no doubt that he was really pissed off when Laporta won the presidency. Remember that, some years earlier, Laporta had created an opposition group called "The Blue Elephant" that raised a vote against Núñez continuity (hence the "revenge" that meant the vote against Laporta's continuity this summer, a motion that was supported by all the net of media influences that Núñez and Co. had weaved during all those years).

So, his words sound to me as a rather poor -or too conspicuous- excuse in order to get his promising grandson out of Laporta's hands. Piqué was 16 then, so he complied, but I would say that he didn't really wish to leave and that, now that he's a man, he has decided to come back and play for Barça as he always wished.

FEM

Just got to see the match, my two cents:

- The Messi - Eto'o - Iniesta combination is devastating, they simply shred defenses with classic Barca style: aggressive dribbling, runs, and too much speed for defenses to handle. They are making all the difference, and Iniesta clearly is the left wing for this team.

- Guardiola wanted to add a scoring touch in midfield, Keita was given the chance and now it's Guddie. Guariola probably goes with the hot hand all season.

- Not a good start for Busquets, three giveaways in the first fifteen. He was bound to come to earth somewhat after his great start to his senior team career. He is still the future, Guardiola is going to mold him in his own image.

http://traductor.gencat.cat/js...

ok I found this one, and thought I post it here for public benefit.

Well Genis, if thats the case, now I feel surprised that he returned.
Off Topic, I usually depend on Freetranslation.com to translate sites from other languages to English. is there a site that translate Catalan?

And, Pep, I don't know exactly the details of the Piqué case, but I don't see how the fact that Piqué left later contradicts the rumor. On the contrary, it seems quite congruent with it: Although Piqué is as culé as anyone, one can imagine his grandpa nagging him and/or his parents until they gave in.

Here's a google-translated fragment, slightly edited, of http://www.terra.com/deportes/... , about the leaving of Cesc and Piqué; the asterisks (for emphasis) are mine:

«"... My dream had always been that Gerard [Piqué] had stayed in Barcelona... his career has always been with the Barca shirt and I would have preferred the continuation of my surname for many years here," said today Amador Bernabeu, former member of the Barça board and grandfather of Pique..."This year he had to play in the Junior B and he went directly to A, which shows *that they had total confidence in him*," he said.

Bernabeu commented that "for some time, many teams have been after Gerard". "Barça was aware of this and started to *make his life a little impossible*. He has suffered because of that, and that's why you have to make decisions in life. Barça has had *four months* to think about this and about what to do," *warned* the former board member.

[...] He affirmed that Barça *"has made life impossible" to his grandson*, because the Barça board, after knowing about the offer from Manchester United, "went so far as to negotiate with Arsenal". *???*

"They *punished* him. They demoted him from [Junior] A to B and he spent two months without playing. And if that is not a punishment I don't know what could be," said Bernabeu, who remarked that, "you can't play with the feelings of a child aged 16... I'll never blame the managers, which I believe wanted him to play. I suppose that those responsible of the nursery headed him off," he insisted.

Bernabeu said that ManU and Barça will have to sit down and reach some kind of agreement, because, otherwise, "some other part (FIFA) will have to rule on it."... Bernabeu believes that, at 17, one "can not think" about economic issues. "... "To speak of money at this time is an insult to me and to my family, "said the former board member.»

Well, guys, I don't know what you think of this words, but you don't have to be a psychologist or something like that in order to see quite clearly that there's *something* going on here...

FEM

Aha ok...I am getting old.

I think that was Fran Merida (who then went to Arsenal), Ramzi.

Thanks, Genis, interesting link! I understand Catalan, just don't expect me to speak it, si us plau. Freixa (who denies having paid one euro) was/is close to Rosell and knows Giralt from their time at university.

Pep but isn't it true that He was away from football for few months where know one was sure where he is Man UTD announced that they signed him? I am not sure of the story but I am sure something like that happened to one of Barcelona youth products.
I think at the end of the day, it was a win deal for barcelona, he went to Man utd who paid his salary and took care of him before they packed him and sent him back to Barcelona, I think if he stayed with barcelona he would have cost them in the past 4 years more than the price they paid to get him back, and we never know if he would have been the player he is now.
So the principle is, for a youth player who leaves,it has to be a deal that the team cant resist in order to consider it. And in Cesc case, I cant see a possibility that this may happen. We have enough in his position, and he will cost too much.
the more we make it seem as a one way out, with no return, the more we make youth players think twice before leaving.

Pep, aqui tens el link. Si mal no recordo, o ets català o entens la llengua, oi? (Pep, here's the link. If I remember well, either you're Catalan or you understand the language, don't you)

http://www.avui.cat/article/te...

Ramzi, I still don't know if those "ex-Barça board members" Toni Freixa is related to are those that leftwith Sandro. Surely the major sports radio shows will talk about it this afternoon/evening. I'll tell you what.

"12,000 more from Toni Freixa, ex-legal advisor for Barça and related to several ex-Barça board members."

May be thats What I was talking about..

"The Piqué case has been rather special. Rumor has it that, just when Laporta became president, he left Barça for ManU at his granfather’s behest, Amador Bernabeu, who had been a member of the Núñez-Gaspart boards and was totally against Laporta."

That rumour somewhere went wrong, Genis, cause Piqué left one year later. Cesc left just after Laporta got elected and some blame(d) Laporta for not having done enough to keep him at that time.

You have a link to that Avui article? Minguella (the man who brought Maradona to Barcelona and the ex-agent of rivaldo) was the first "medium fish" who signed Giralt's petition.

No funds from Sandro?
I think with time lot of secrets will be revealed.

EMD interviews Ronaldinho:

http://translate.google.com/tr...

=========================

From AVUI newspaper (Catalan language, Godó Group, the same as EMD): Oriol Giralt, the man who, according to himself, "had Laporta on the ropes bare-handedly" with the vote on Laporta's continuity, received 24,000 euros to finance his move: 12,000 from Josep Maria Minguella, an important ex-FIFA agent and ex-candidate to the presidency of Barça, and 12,000 more from Toni Freixa, ex-legal advisor for Barça and related to several ex-Barça board members.

=========================

By the way did any of you know something about this?

A "clean" castle, 9 levels of 4 people ("4 de 9") with a single base):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

The first "3 de 10" in history (with triple base):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

From El Montseny, waiting for this autumn's first "Llevantada" (strong winds from the East -the Mediterranean-, loaded with moisture, that bring on *very* heavy rains that last a week...)

You're right, IceMel, it's a long time until Bilbao. I haven't been posting since I've been on this business trip, but I've been reading most of the comments, which are, as always, refreshing and interesting.

9CLs is right to question us; we're also right to answer. It's cool to have someone question you sometimes -- if no one questions you, you, like your answers, stagnate and become meaningless.

I'll try to work a post out before the end of the week, but no promises since I've got other things to do (people to see, places to go, HBO to watch).

Maybe I should start a post suggestion thread so that all of you can suggest things/topics you'd like to see covered by this blog. I love research after all...

I didn't know you had it in you Icemel. Thanks for posting the english translation for those of us with language barriers.
I'm not too bad language-wise: English, Irish, French and Polish in that order.

Set pieces have been diabolical for us for a long time. Leo's freekick was our first since November of last season where Ronnie stuck in a couple. That is a long time.
Am I the only one who consistently wonders why Rafael Marquez is allowed near the freekicks? Turns out he won the Free Kick Masters 2008... hmmm? He hasn't scored from a direct free kick for us since I don't know when.

The penalty situation is also very interesting. Messi, Eto'o, Messi, Eto'o. Keeps both on their toes and certainly keeps them both high on the scoring charts. What will happen if someone misses one though? I can't imagine Messi standing back letting Eto'o take one if Eto'o had missed his last for example. Not a good system long term methinks

"One goal every 16 corners"
If we did this last year we win la Liga...and maybe CL too. (Last year it was 1 for 189!!)

...I just remember the disgust after Atletico counterattacked us into oblivion last year 4-2.
It stimulated me to poetry (on another blog):

Pienso que los primeros 30 minutos eran una trampa. Como muchos partidos anteriores ...como Valencia.
"Deje que el barca tener el balon 70% del tiempo."
"Deje que los azulgranas creer 'hoy será fácil y es ya nuestros.'"
"Espere como serpientes en la hierba y cuando (o si) nos muerden, muérdalas, rápidamente y repetidas veces."
Y todos nuestros rivales están aprendiendo este truco y serpientes que se convierten. Allí no hay serpiente-matanza-martillo en el cielo... allí no es ningún peligro en el aire.
¿Porqué debe estas serpientes tener miedo?
¿Porqué no permitir corner después de corner después de corner después de corner?... Barca no crea ningún peligro en el aire pero solamente en la tierra donde los colmillos del contraataque están ocultando todo el tiempo.

1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... I feel poisoned. ))

How appropriate that we should solidify this seasons obvious reversal of destiny with a Marquez header off a corner.
I have no peotry for this years Atletico stomping...the poetry was on the feild...and in the sky! Bye bye all last years demons and snakes.

(Sorry for long post..but hey it's a long time 'til Bilbao...and it seems many come here for a bedtime story!)

No worries, 9 Champion Leagues. Thanks for clarifying.

Ciaran makes a good point. Transfer fees are craziness right now, placed on a player by a team to keep other teams from sniffing around. When a side is ready to sell, there is a real number.

What messes that up is when the Citehs of the world come in with big, honkin' ass pocketbooks and pay those crazy prices. Kun Aguero is NOT worth 60 million Euros, just as Benzema isn't worth his 50 million valuation. If a side comes in and, because they have the money and want to make a splash say, "Sure, we'll pay it," then what's left? Then again, I would never have thought we'd pay 35 million for a right back.

The mind boggles at the prospect. Citeh's owners could, this summer, afford to bid on both Aguero AND Benzema, and splash a mere 20 mil on Henry to train 'em in the ways of being a big-time striker. Why not, since there aren't really salary caps in world footy, right?

Poor Gerard Lopez flailed around for a few seasons then did similar for Monaco if I remember correctly. He is back in La Liga now. At Recre?
He scored one or two good goals for us but was never worth the money spent on him.
At that time we had quite a habit of overspending. It's a habit that is very easy to fall in to.
Rochemback, Saviola, Overmars, Petit, Patrick Anderson, Sonny Anderson, Simao, Bogarde, Reiziger, the list of expensive almosts is long.
Others could be added to that list. Kluivert, Quaresma and Vitor Baia would be on it but for my personal softspots for them.
It would be easy to get new recruits added to it. If we go crazy with transfer fees then in a decade we could end up talking about Benzema and Aguero in the same breaths. Not likely though

One more thing about i go, have you read Xavi speech in Marca trophy celebration, or whatever you call it? About the fact that he feel he don't deserve to become FIFA player of the year. There is no other player like him! The perfect and unique one and only one!
but I will not start this thing, or else no sleep , so seriously, goodnight.

Im not insulted or upset, just simply pointing out the anthem nothing else. I couldn't care less really but these discussions gives many of you a chance to explain your points instead of the redundant 'barca rocks'. Same goes for us vikingos.

Beside, In the presence of Xavi (who still can serve for at least 4 years), Iniesta, Hleb, and hopefully crosas (in two years), I am not sure if this guy is really needed. Barcelona produce a talented midfielder each and every sunshine, unlike some other positions like big strikers, so I don't think in the middle term at least, Barcelona will feel in need to pay big to get a midfielder. its not that I don't like him, he is a talent, but I see him fit more arsenal style and needs, Barcelona have what it need.
well, time for Ramzi to sleep, was a long day and need to recharge my batteries.
enjoy your time all and goodnight.

More on this issue: Everyone at Barça remembers very well the recent case of Gerard López. He came to Barça when he was 11 and left for Valencia in 1997, when he was about 17. He excelled there during the 1999–2000 season -Valencia played the CL final- and Gaspart got him back paying 21,6 million euros (!) to Valencia. Most of you know the rest of his sad story (for those who don't, he never was the same again and fell in a kind of Ronnie spiral...).

FEM

RUV, I've remembered that Laporta's board had been working on this nursery issue with some success and I've found a news agency report from a year ago (published by Marca, Google-translated and a bit edited):

"Arsenal will pay to Barcelona for Fran Merida

Arsenal will have to pay to Barcelona a compensation of 3.2 million euros for the signing of Fran Merida, according to FIFA. Barca had requested that amount to compensate for the formation of the player. Merida left for the English club at age 16 in a situation similar to that of Cesc and Pique. In all cases, Barcelona demanded a compensation.

The verdict of the Merida case can be decisive so that, in the future, the English clubs can not take players sub-16 with impunity. The payment of more than three million euros is a powerful argument for not signings these lads.

The president of UEFA, Michel Platini, was in favor of the ruling about Fran Merida, believing that such rulings protect the nurseries of the clubs."

The Piqué case has been rather special. Rumor has it that, just when Laporta became president, he left Barça for ManU at his granfather's behest, Amador Bernabeu, who had been a member of the Núñez-Gaspart boards and was totally against Laporta. On the other hand, if he's been "allowed" to come back, I don't doubt that the reason has been the very reasonable price of 5 mill that Barça payed to ManU for his transfer. Txiki has been very clear about this: if someone leaves Barça the way they did, it will be very difficult for him to come back unless the condicions are similar to those of Piqué.

FEM

**************
By the way, the reason I didn't include Puyol in that starting XI is that I don't see Cesc making that decision in the next couple of seasons
**************

As soon as Cesc tells Arsenal "so long and thanks for the memories" then I'll welcome him home with open arms. I'm sorry but the kid is talented.
The problem is that until he forces Arsenal's hand his valuation is crazy.
Pique did it. He said that he wanted to rejoin us and didn't want to sign a new contract so little could be done to keep him in Manchester.
We got Pique for buttons. He was by far and away the best value of all of our signings since Yaya.

If we got the opportunity to re-sign Cesc for under 20million lets say, then it would be great value. At the end of the day, if/when it happens it would be for life.

Valdes, Alves, Pique, Caceres, Vargas, Busquets, Cesc, Xavi, Messi, Bojan and Iniesta. A starting XI with 8 nursery players in it. Imagine the possibilities...
I tend to ramble....

Thanks Genis. The business of professional sports certainly can be quite sordid.

I agree with Genis regarding Cesc issue, i think getting him back will even send a wrong message to the young players in the club "u can go and seek a better option and u will be welcomed back anytime" not a smart message.
beside i am more interested to the news we may get from Scotland - Celtic- hoping its good enough so we need no Cesc, with all my appreciation to his talent.

RUV, from some years now, the most powerful PL clubs have scouts living in Barcelona solely dedicated to watch Barça nursery players and mess around them. When these players have already shown their true potential, they try to "steal" them from us at practically no cost *just before* they can sign a professional contract, on the basis of a FIFA (or UEFA) rule which says that, if the parents of a pre-professional player *have* to move to other city or country, the player can leave his actual club and enroll in any club based in his parents' new place of residence. Sure, Barça has done that some times, but *never* in such a barefaced style. One thing is to bring a child 8-12 years old to our nursery (called "La Masía" because it is one of the last ancient farmhouses -"masíes"- still existing within the city of Barcelona) in order to rear, educate and care for him for years, an another thing is to pick up the fruit for free when it is ripe.

So, the parents of players such as Cesc have to willingly pretend that they *must* move, normally under the excuse of a new job, to the city of their new club.

Sorry I can't explain myself any better...

FEM

Your jokes are not as bad as mine, Genis. :)

I plead ignorance, but what do you mean in your last sentence about Cesc and his family?

And, regarding Agüero, however good he is -and he is very good- I'd rather not sign him. I don't like at all the idea of Maradona "Messing" or "Aguering" constantly around (sorry for that pitiful joke)...

Regarding Cesc dreams, they will be difficult to fulfill unless he comes back for free or almost for free. He and his family played along willingly with Arsenal that game of a "less than 17-year-old Barça nursery player whose parents *have* to go to live in London".

Ok, 9Cls, I'm sorry if I've offended you. Let me, then, rephrase my comment in a less subjective, non-political way:

Most anthems of other teams are quite martial and, in the case of Realissimo-EE, it is straight bellicose: not only does it sound as a 1940’s recording; its lyrics contain military terms of past times, like the second verse [of the pet phrase], “Noble y bélico adalid, caballero del honor”, which means, literally, and according to the Oxford Spa-Eng Dictionary, “Noble and warlike (”bélico”) military leader (”adalid”, which is a word of past times in the class of “caudillo”), gentleman of honor”…

I hope that settles it. For me, it does.

FEM

Is the last word of Hala Madrid really "lol"?

That is intrinsically funny.

No correction necessary, Genis. I simply meant that the MP3 version doesn't sound as martial as it does when everyone is singing it, drowning out the recording. And by "martial," rather than "warlike," I mean "stirring," which is a better descriptive than the ambiguous "martial." Sorry 'bout that.

Also, what Fabregas said is that coming back "home" would be a "dream." He ain't leaving Arsenal anytime soon. Bank on that. And whereever he goes next, there will have to be a LOT of zeroes after the number. But I'd rather spend 60 million on Fabregas than Aguero, for sure. (I know some will think me crazy for that.)

And Henry will leave in the summer, but not in January. I foresee another raft of departures, unfortunately, but this isn't the time to talk about that.

9 Champion Leagues, I understand your need to defend your side. But please don't turn an innocent question from a commenter about Barcelona's anthem into something more than it was. A question was asked, and it was answered. One of my comments mentioned goosebumps as a factor of a memory of being part of a live match experience. Period.

Genis' comment, which you cited, is a matter of interpretation, which you are welcome to take issue with. Politics is part of the perpetual Clasico that seems to crop up whenever our two teams play or are under discussion.

Everyone is welcome here, all comments are welcome. We don't hew to the "if you've nothing nice to say, say nothing" worldview. My ears are still ringing from the Henry/Eto'o debate that was raging during the pre-season transfer period.

But my simple, respectful request is that you do not twist words or attack people who come here, in an effort to kick-start something contentious. That's a request that we make of everyone. It keeps this space civil. John is frequent visitor, and supporter of the same club as you. His interaction with the space and the commenters is very different.

No, nobody expects you to emulate him. But I hope that I have made my expectations clear.

The same rules are in effect whether someone is the world's most vociferous Barca supporter, or someone who thinks that the side should fester in a slow-roasted Hell.

"Most anthems of other teams are quite martial and, in the case of Realissimo-EE, it is straight bellicose: not only does it sound as a 1940’s recording; its lyrics all full of purely fascist terms, like the second verse, “Noble y bélico adalid, caballero del honor”, which means, literally, and according to the Oxford Spa-Eng Dictionary, “Noble and warlike (”bélico”) military leader (”adalid”, which is a mothball-stinking word in the class of “caudillo”), gentleman of honor”…"

De las glorias deportivas
que campean por España
va el Madrid con su bandera
limpia y blanca que no empaña.

Club castizo y generoso,
todo nervio y corazón,
veteranos y noveles,
veteranos y noveles,
miran siempre tus laureles
con respeto y emoción.

¡Hala Madrid!, ¡Hala Madrid!
Noble y bélico adalid,
caballero del honor.
¡Hala Madrid!, ¡Hala Madrid!
A triunfar en buena lid,
defendiendo tu color

¡Hala Madrid!, Hala Madrid!, Hala Madrid!
Enemigo en la contienda,
cuando pierde da la mano
sin envidias ni rencores,
como bueno y fiel hermano.

Los domingos por la tarde,
caminando a Chamartín,
las mocitas madrileñas,
las mocitas madrileñas
van alegres y risueñas
porque hoy juega su Madrid

¡Hala Madrid!, ¡Hala Madrid!
Noble y bélico adalid,
caballero del honor.
¡Hala Madrid!, ¡Hala Madrid!
A triunfar en buena lid,
defendiendo tu color
¡Hala Madrid!, ¡Hala Madrid!, ¡Hala Madrid!

"Y viva España lol"

Your approach is rather defensive since there is no clear reference to what you claim, perhaps you should focus on the sport and get over politics. For the love of god, you guys play a great match and there you go giving each other goosebumps by singing the team0's anthem. Congratulations though, it was a magnificent display by the blaugranas, but in my opinion, an even worse performance by los del manzanares.

Just read on Pep's blog that Cesc dreams of coming back. Now that would be a welcome sight-- Cesc back in the blaugrana... maybe in a couple of years as Xavi's eventual replacement?

I'm banking on TH's statement that he'd never play for anybody in the EPL but Arsenal.

Kevin, I'm going to copy your tradition and play the hymn before every match I watch on the computer! I had previously just rifled through my pics of the Camp Nou tour this past summer.

Andrew, are you sure you weren't being hit on? :) Just askin'...

Sorry to contradict you, Kevin: the site MP3 is *exactly* the version that sounds in the stadium, even the same recording. In fact, if you look at the translations of the Lyrics, there's practically nothing "martial" in it (even less so in the Catalan original), and it was intended that way: according to its author (Josep Mª Espinàs), it pays homage to Barça as a major focus of social integration in Catalunya.

Most anthems of other teams are quite martial and, in the case of Realissimo-EE, it is straight bellicose: not only does it sound as a 1940's recording; its lyrics all full of purely fascist terms, like the second verse, "Noble y bélico adalid, caballero del honor", which means, literally, and according to the Oxford Spa-Eng Dictionary, "Noble and warlike ("bélico") military leader ("adalid", which is a mothball-stinking word in the class of "caudillo"), gentleman of honor"...

FTWOEM

And now, for the english speaking people, I'll *attempt* a phonetic transcription of the first part of the anthem in Catalan, just in case you visit the Camp Nou and wish to "sing it with a full-throated roar as part of 90,000+ Camp Nou denizens"...

Tawt all kahmp
ehs oon clam
Sawm lah gent blau-grannah
Tan seh val dawn vehnim
See dahl sood aw dahl nawrd
Ahrah stem daccord, stem daccord
Oonah bahn-dehr-ahns ahgermannah
Blau-grannahl vent
Oon creet vah-lehnt
Tan-eem oon nawm all sap too-tawm
Barça, Barça, Baaarça...

As before, please feel free to correct it *and* don't laugh too loud...

"Blaugrana flying" is correct, Genis. It could not only imply the flag flying in the wind, but the colors on the players backs.

I have the MP3 download from the official site on my computer at work, and play it at kickoff of every match day when I am stranded at the office.

The only down side to the site MP3 is that it sounds a little too jolly, rather than the martial anthem I think it becomes when being sung by a full stadium.

Andrew: According to the Official Barça Web Site ( http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web... ): " 'El Cant del Barça' [name of the anthem] has been so successful that all the previous anthems were soon forgotten, even 'Himne de l’Estadi', which was the official tune in 1974. And it has now become such a part of club tradition that, 30+ years later, nobody could possibly imagine there to be any need for a new anthem". You can dowload an mp3 version from that page.

You can find an english translation of the lyrics at the Penya Nevada Smiths web site ( http://www.fcbarcelonanyc.com/... ), although I offer you this version, perhaps more easy to sing:

The whole Camp
is one voice
We’re blaugrana people
No matter where we are from
Be the south or the north
Now we all accord, we all accord,
One flag brings all of us together.
Blaugrana flying
One valiant cry
We have a name everyone knows:
Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

Players and,
Supporters,
We are strong all together.
So many years full of feats,
So many goals we have sung
And we've shown ourselves, we've shown ourselves,
That no one will never, ever, break us.
Blaugrana flying
One valiant cry
We have a name everyone knows:
Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

Please feel free to correct it (for example, does "Blaugrana flying" imply a flag, or should it be "Blaugrana flying in the wind"?).

FTWOEM

And Andrew, you haven't lived until you've sung it with a full-throated roar as part of 90,000+ Camp Nou denizens. Genis knows how amazing it feels. I even get goosebumps just typing this.

In the "this just in" file, Sport (I know, I know....SO reliable) is saying that Aguero to Barca is an inevitability, that Guardiola wants him, even more than Benzema, the transfer fee won't be a problem, yada, yada.

Prima facie, this is absurd. First off, it's WAY too early to be talking about next summer's transfer window. We aren't even in the January window yet. And I can think of a lot better things to do with 60 million Euros.

Rumor is that Citeh is back in the January frame for Henry. I sure hope that isn't true. Goal.com is citing ooooold stuff (unhappy playing on the wing all the time....he isn't any longer/wants to see his daughter more....he is) as the reason, and that Citeh wants to see him as a strike tandem with Robinho.

Sorry, but after seeing the "defense" that Robinho plays, I just can't see Henry being anything remotely happy with the work rate of his superstar front line mate.

Further, he is showing signs that he is going to have a kick-ass season here. Whyever would he leave and further, why would we let him leave? Crazy talk, if you ask me. I know that even after this season's displays a lot of people still don't like him and consider him a waste. No accounting for taste, really.

Kinda funny how the rumor mill never, ever stops.

Andrew, I don't remember any Ecuadorian ever playing for the Merengues, think the story is highly dubious and wonder if the guy has created his "stage name" by combining those of two well known Argentine midfielders, namely Javier Mascherano (or Saviola) and Daniel Montenegro (now at Independiente).

To andrew,
This is a link to 'The Barça anthem' or 'el Himno del Barça' lyrics.

http://www.webdelcule.com/vari... (look at the right of the page)

And here is a youtube version of Beth(a singer from Barcelona) singing it in the Camp Nou before a match...

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=...

Good morning all
John, Actually I just read your post on that page, You are highly respected, and don't worry I am not a victim myself, I can be Ultra harsh, and now that I read my posts I can say I wasn't the victim :)

Regarding The fixtures, I think we can see it also in another way, when Barcelona win a tricky game - Like Atletico - they put more pressure on RM, and when they win scoring high even against small teams, that will also put a pressure on RM not only to win but to match performance. If Barcelona did that well, it will be exhausting both physically and mentally for RM to track. And when the game between the two clubs arrive, This schedule will make Barcelona ready for it mentally more than RM.
I am saying that because I don't like to put excuses, and thats why even though I believe Barcelona offered a chance for RM to win titles but also RM didn't waste the chance, so good for them, means, they deserve it.

Kxevin, too bad I cant have more than one keyboard on my pc, I have to cool it from time to time,so it doesn't melt while my fingers hit it like a psycho, thats why I am only typing that much here and there and every where:)

Andrew... this is a link to Barcelona of Ecuador famous player, there is a name that is similar to your guy, but not exactly the same. ( Ithink searching RM players will be easier)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...

i'm hoping that Messi's Olympic Gold, or Xavi's Euro 2008 capture will be enough to keep the Fifa player of the year and balon de'or out of Ronaldo's hands

hehe i dont mean national anthem, just anthem...oops

i have some slightly off-topic questions, perhaps they suit Genis the best, but anyone who may know the answer...

1) i met a really weird ecuadorian guy on the nyc subway this weekend and he saw me with a soccer ball and we started talking because he said to me, "do i know you, did you used to play football in spain" and i was pretty perplexed as i am only 23 and if i was a pro in spain what would i be doing in nyc. so i told him no, and we talked a bit and he said he used to play for real madrid in the mid-90's. i found this hard to believe obviously, but he was dressed smart, and looked reasonably wealthy and he said he used to play for barcelona of ecuador. he said his name is Javier Montenegro and i was wondering if anyone has ever heard of him. i took his story with a pinch of salt but wanted to look him up anyway just to check. i cant find anything about him as its not a very uncommon name. so does anyone know anything about this guy?

2) what is the name of the fcb national anthem, where can i download it and what are the words?

thanks guys

interesting quote from la liga loca

"
In other words, Sevilla-Barcelona, Barcelona-Valencia, Madrid-Sevilla, Barcelona-Madrid, Sevilla-Villarreal, Madrid-Valencia, Villarreal-
Barcelona, Valencia-Atlético, and Madrid-Villarreal all happen within a six-week period.

Two six-week periods, in fact - Weeks 13 to 18 and 32 to 37."

man are those going to be the deciding weeks of la liga. its stupid, but i cant wait!!

And one last comment, I love the photo with this post. We are much more of a team this year than last and the joy of playing (and winning) together is much more evident.

/kumbaya music off :)

I'm with Kevin... I give the EE credit. Someone had to rise to the challenge, knock in some goals, and get the points to win La Liga title. And for 2 years, they did. We weren't up to the task, but I think now we are. The way I see it, there are two major strategies to beating us-- park the bus and counter very opportunistically or try to overrun us with sheer brute force (a la Shakhtar... or at least Brandao). The team can definitely overcome either of these with the difference this year being that they are mentally up for said challenge. This is a young team (in terms of Pep's influence) and will only get stronger.

As for TH's wrist thing... I thought perhaps it was a reminder to himself that he doesn't stink as bad as people say. I had also thought he was kissing a tatoo of his daughter's name but after perusing a bunch of pics, I don't think he has a new tatoo on his wrist. Whatever the case, I'd like to see more of this mysterious celebration... it would mean he was scoring!