Meet Your Captains!
By: Isaiah | September 23rd, 2008
Come get your Captains! Get your Catalan captains here, full of piss and vinegar! 4 for the price of 1! Rebajas rebaixas savings!
There’s little else on earth cooler than having a major club with four (count ‘em!) homegrown captains, as FC Barcelona now does. They are, in order of preference, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Victor Valdés, and Andres Iniesta. Indeed our boys, pictured above, have much to celebrate as it’s just such a rare day that the youth system of any team produces 4 captains, three of whom are Catalans by birth (Iniesta is from Albacete; in Spanish that means he’s an Albaceteño, but in English does that make him an Albacetan? Albacetinian? Albacetine?).
Yay for our captains.
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Andrew, if it’s on Saturday like they’ve said, I’ll be there. On Sunday I head out on a two-week business trip (unless it gets canceled…keep your fingers crossed!).
Posted from
United States
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Salgado came from Celta, I said he is not a youth teamer. And yes, Guti is a captain, has been for awhile now. As for Raul, I dont buy into the whole he was an Atletico player first thing, as youth players move teams alot. He was in the youth teams for more then one year, so that means to me he is a youth team player, just as much as Javier Modrego is even though he was purchased from Valladolid this year after spending last year on loan with us in Castilla.
Posted from
United States -
So if Caceres played this season in barcelona Athletic, he become a Barcelona youth player? and fabri is an Arsenal youth product, pique is a Man UTD youth product and so on? you just turned football standards making a big mess
Corey…now if you feel better to believe what you r saying, we can keep it like that, but there is a criteria for a player to be considered as a youth product, raising thru youth ranks, Raul was already an established talent when moved to madrid.Posted from
Germany -
Even Phil Ball considers Raul from the AM youth system (for what that’s worth)
Posted from
United States -
The memory of Realisimo fans tends to be rather selective. Raul is a product of Atleti’s nursery and, as Ramzi says, he went to the other side when the nursery was closed. But I’ve got another example -the best IMO- of EE’s selective memory: they hate to be reminded that their club was founded by two Catalan brothers, Joan and Carles Padrós. Few of you did know it because they don’t talk about it. In fact, they weren’t even mentioned during Realisimo’s celebration of its 100th anniversary…
Ha!
Posted from
Spain -
They need that kind of memory Genis, so they feel clear conscious to celebrate all the titles they won without remembering how they won it, who helped them to win it, they need to forget some franco stuff if u know what I mean, those things that boosted the name of their club based on nothing related to sport and made them the club they are today, and as I mentioned once, the most ironic thing is that this “club” was named as the club of the century by the FIFA sending a clear massage that its not important how you win, as long as you win, and let the “fair play” slogan go to hell!
So I think “selective memory” is not a problem, but a choicePosted from
Germany -
Funny to think, Jesus Gil disbanded the Atletico youth teams and Raul jumped ship to Real. If their youth teams had not been reopened players like Fernando Torres could have come up through their ranks. may be unlikely though, Torres comes from the white side of the city but bleeds red and white.
Congrats to Valdes and Iniesta who definitely deserve it. And Pique is very much inline to add his name to that list in a few seasons…Posted from
Ireland -
And didn’t they change the spelling of the brothers’ last names to be less Catalan too?
Posted from
United States -
looks like titi is getting upset:
Posted from
United States -
the news about Henry isn’t surprising, but it is a bit troubling. both because it reflects his own disappointment and the attitude of the new coaches towards his positioning. we’ve all seen what Henry can do, and at his best he’s truly a special player in ways that Eto’o can only dream about. i understand that Pep might want him to show more work on the pitch or be unimpressed with him on the left, but Henry not getting a chance to prove himself in his best position in our system would be truly a shame.
i’d like to think putting him in the middle consistently will start a cycle of increased confidence which will lead to better play and a bigger increase of confidence ad infinitum. surely he’s feeling hard-done-by and out of place, which must be doubly disconcerting for a player of his status and natural ability. and let’s not hear any “well he should just play where the coach tells him”, because that’s more than a bit silly.
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United States -
“They need that kind of memory Genis, so they feel clear conscious to celebrate all the titles they won without remembering how they won it, who helped them to win it, they need to forget some franco stuff if u know what I mean, those things that boosted the name of their club based on nothing related to sport and made them the club they are today, and as I mentioned once, the most ironic thing is that this “club” was named as the club of the century by the FIFA sending a clear massage that its not important how you win, as long as you win, and let the “fair play” slogan go to hell!
So I think “selective memory” is not a problem, but a choice”Well… RM possess the modern era legacy of conquering 3 Champion Leagues in a decade….i’d say that’s based on sporting issues wouldnt you? nothing really to discuss unless somebody believes the RM presidency is managed by civil guards….
Raul played his most influential years at Real, sure he was brought up at atletico but it is true many players swap at an early age. In the end, Atletico let him go and he grew up along with guti and casillas in la fabrica.
P.S: I wouldn’t use Phill ball as a reference.
Posted from
Spain -
barca rocks
Posted from
India -
Well when a dictator force players to switch their signature and play in Real madrid even if they have already agreed terms with barcelona (just as an example to explain to those who lack info), when the fortune of a nation (even if rubbed by a royal family from the mouths of children) became a mine for RM to create a squad that is sexy enough to be the fascistic slut, then no, the metal things u get for wining titles will not impress me, they turn to become a symbol of disgrace, but I think some people lack the knowledge to make the right judgments. lead as sheep by that evil propaganda (and I admit, devil is the best when it come to promotion).
so yea I prefer the team that faced all odds, and suffered from all kinds of evil challenges and still standing as a wonderful rose after all those who thought being immortal, fall with shame.
i prefer the team that cry for the loss of a poet, rather than dance around a bloody criminal.
Posted from
Germany -
I apologize in advance for the long post (almost worthy of Cojonudo
)For the first -and I hope the last- time, I’ve entered and leaved, without any phisical or mental harm, the Realisimo’s web site. I’ve accessed the official history of the club, which is presented by decades. I wanted to copy-paste the English version of the 1900-1910 decade but, alas, that’s the only one I can’t acces (history: null; “a miniature is missing” says the error). Anyway, I’ll present here an abridged translation of what the spanish version says about Reaalisimo’s foundation; Please note the convoluted wording and the twisting of the facts in order to conceal the identity of the true founders (the asteriks used to stress some words are mine, and there are *a lot*):
“In Madrid, Julián Palacios *founded*, in 1900, the *embryo* of *what would later be the future* Real Madrid. In 1902, a *group of enthusiasts* creates officialy the Madrid Foot Ball Club, and establishes its first board, with *Juan Padrós as president*. … Thus, Juan Padrós *”legalized”* a team that, *two years before*, had been presided by Julián Palacios. The board established also the uniform of the team…”
Ha! Talk about the totalitarian liking for manipulating history! Notice how they force/shoehorn that guy Palacios into the picture: “the *embryo* of *what would later be the future*…”. It’s the same mentality that considers that the Atapuerca Men, who happened to live and die in the Iberian Peninsula more than a million years ago, were the first “spaniards” (and the poor guys lived and died without the faintest idea of their glorious -albeit embryonic and quite later in the future- identity…).
And yes, RUV, they’ve changed the spelling, and therefore, the real sound, of the name and the second surname of the *only* Padrós brother they still mention quite in passing: According to them, he was “Juan Padrós Rubio”, but the real name was “Joan (this one doesn’t matter much anyway) Padrós Rubió (and that does sound very different, since Rubio stresses the “u” and Rubió stresses the “o”).
Anyway, what they do or don’t do with their history is *their* problem, their tough luck.
Oh, and 9 CL’s, when you say “the modern era legacy of … 3 CL’s in a decade…. [is] based on sporting issues… Nothing really to discuss unless somebody believes the RM presidency is managed by civil guards…”. Well, only a “merengue” would label as a “sporting issue” the so called “pelotazo” (fishy/shady real estate business) that Florentino Perez made thanks to the PostFranco political party (Partido Popular) and that let him burst the football market with the gains (Figo, Zidane, et al). The same PostFranco political party that keeps backing up all things RM (no civil guards needed so far).
And Ramzi: At least for me, it’s been quite moving to see that a Barça fan from Germany has so a clear vision of our history. Thanks a lot!
From BCN
Posted from
Spain -
(About rewriting the history, Genis: not so long ago the Wikipedia page almost portrayed them as victims of the Franco era. It has been deleted in the meantime. You can push things too far.)
What happened in the 60s is simple, Franco wanted international recognizition and he thought the best way to do that was through popular culture. He bought Madrid some European titles, bought Spain the European Championship and bought Massiel a Eurovision song contest. Without Franco there would have been a duo Kubala-Di Stefano. No need to say more.
The Aznar-Florentino link is right but the bottom line is that the 3 they have won recently are a direct consequence of the 6 they won before. They are the “great” (in terms of trophies won) club they are now (and so they can attract the sponsors and so the players and so the fans from abroad) just because they won those 6 before.
That’s why from here to eternity all their trophies won will be based on the six trophies they bought in the sixties and will in that perspective be damaged goods. And that’s also why our two are worth so much more than their nine…
Posted from
Belgium -
Sniff.
The kind of posts that make me proud to be a culé.And pep, most of the tainted titles were in the 50s, but your inclusion of the Eurovision fix more than makes up for that.
Posted from
Italy -
Ah, Pep, but THERE WAS a duo Kubala-Di Stefano with the Barça shirt, albeit only for a Christmas friendly match against Fiorentina, if I remember well. My father, who didn’t live to see our first CL, was very proud of having been there and when he talked about this match his face brightened… (sniff).
I could google for the details about that match, but I won’t: I want this memory to remain just as foggy as it is now.
OTOH, I’ve restrained myself in my post to 9 CL’s. I was going to remind him of something very painful for us, but I thought that it would carry this theme too far. One thing is to needle each other within certain limits; another is to wake painful things from our dark and recent past. Having said that, perhaps now it will be more acceptable to repost one fragment with the words that I wrote initially and that I deleted afterwards. The original fragment said:
“The same PostFranco political party that keeps backing up all things RM (no civil guards needed so far, *unless someone wishes to execute by firing squad and without trial another of our presidents, like they did with Josep Sunyol i Garriga in 1936*).”
There, it is said (and sad).
From El Montseny.
Posted from
Spain -
clap clap clap lol if all those excuses make you feel better, then suit yourself. I’m sure Fifa ranked Real Madrid the team on the century due to franco and PP lobbyists lol. I can’t believe the sht i read at times. Was mijatovic, raul, ilgner and co florentino’s illegal signings? Now regarding your blasfemous ideas on spain’s PP as a profranco party…all i can do is break it down to a world repetitive notion: each country is usually polarized with two mainstreams…the center left and right…liberals..conservatives in the US…and then there are many extremist parties as “La falange de la jons” -which for the record was franco’s party…”los carlistas” “la segunda republica”…and more..The PP is simply a centre right wing party that encourages a milder capitalistic free market compared to the panregulationists, also known as the socialists. Half of the party votes for the PP, which brings me to ask myself..is half of the nation fascist or actually misses the good ol’ days ey? ….your claim is just as saying the PSOE is the extention of karl marx and stalin.
This is the typical stuff cules will tell one another and slap each other’s backs in search of consolation. You speak as if Real was the big fish and poor barca has had it so hard, i beg to differ…barca is one of the largest clubs in the world….they’ve had it as good as Real. Regarding the old times…its the players who played not the soldiers…people tend to exagerate it all when nobody really has full evidence of such matters except for the president’s assasination… RIP. I’ve lived and celebrated 3 CL….thats something not all fans can appreciate and barca had its opportunity but failed to reach Real’s success…or are you telling me Eto (who by the way we pretty much wrapped him as a present) ronaldinho, messi, deco are not superstars? were they signed by the post “manuel azaña” second republic and now contemporary “Ezquerra republicana”? was it carod rovira who pressured the players? Actually i do buy that duo Carod Rovira and Laporta…two of a kind.
Posted from
Spain -
That would of course be the same “milder” PP that are currently doing everything they can to stop the public recognition of the more than 125,000 people their ideological forebearers murdered during the Civil War.
It is certainly the case that not all members of today’s PP harbour Falangist sympathies, but claiming that none of them do just denies reality (just as claiming that the Republican side never engaged in any atrocities would be similarly without foundation).
Though it is cheering that you’ve finally figured out how many Champions Leagues the Merengues have won.
Are you going to change your name now? Or should we just keep discounting everything you say by 67%?
Posted from
Italy -
Ursus, my friend, let’s all stop here, do you agree? I can tell you, because of my age, and because I live in Catalonia, that all this debate is utterly useless, and more so in a blog like this one. In the worst case, it gives more pleasure to those that *still* feel, think and act as the winners of a bloody coup d’etat against a democratic society. And in the best case, it’s only conducive to bitterness and resentment. We know what we know, and, try as they might, no one can take it from us. That’s something to be very proud of.
Posted from
Spain -
I couldn’t agree more with every single word of your post, Genis.
Fin.
Posted from
Italy -
Sure Ursos…the PP is criticizing Garzon’s initiative to dig out corpses simply cause the government is looking for scapegoats for the financial crisis they didnt recognize right before the elections. There was a general amnisty after democratic transition…this entails both parties….all this historical memory just distances all of us once again. Of course im against any sort of dictatorship but many historians all coincide in that the republican party was absolutely dismembered by socialists and anarquists who couldnt find any type of bondage. The so called ideal party PSOE was against the 11 M bombings investigation in madrid….there are many lost links and for some reason…the psoe just wanted to stick to the easy story, the story that rolled the red carpet to office.
I’ve lived 3 CL and boast about 9, just like milanistas will about their 7…are you going to bring up berlusconi? of course we all know he fixed the matches as far as franco did…or perhaps we think…? Real played other teams in europe…not just barca and take away all the CL you want….Real still possess more in a decade than barca in its entire history.
Posted from
Spain -
You don’t understand Fin, do you?
Posted from
Italy -
no, i don’t understand the word fin when the supposed person calls it out taking the last word to his/her benefit. I didnt start this argument anyways and it can also “give pleasure” to those who will eternalize playing victims-as if in madrid the citizens were happy people for the love of god- an outdated issue by a group of people that wanted to change the society inside out in a given day…just as if a president closed down most power plants for green political issues…there would be many families pssed off and seeking explanations..makes sense.
Posted from
Spain -
Now regarding football and focusing on your team…rather than hating the nemesis…id say barca made some excellent signings but the crowds cant expect to indulge the rijkaard era once again, that was superb but quite unreal if you ask most people. I don’t think any of europe’s top teams nowadays can compare to barca’s former shape. What guardiola needs to keep in mind is to focus on a strategy that works rather than listening to laporta’s insistence in jogo bonito, yaya toure, keita, abidal are not technical players and can’t fullfill deco’s or zambrotta’s style, they are far more physical and should close lines rather than opening spaces like in the good days, betis took advantage of this bold problem.
Posted from
Spain
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