Comments on: Barça Butchering Their Brilliance

By: Thomas Gaunt

Thomas Gaunt — Sat, 07 May 2011 08:26:07 +0000

Santiago, please answer me one question, without talking about ANY other team or ANY other incident. What do you think about Busquets holding his face, then peaking through fingers to get Motta sent off, and more recently Pedro running into Arbeloa with shoulder contact and then holding his face in order to try and get him sent off? I would be ashamed and appalled if that was my team – it is the most disgusting behaviour in football. Please answer my question, and remeber just this question :-)

By: Thomas Gaunt

Thomas Gaunt — Sat, 07 May 2011 08:23:09 +0000

BRILLIANT ARTICLE. I was just penning somthing myself, then saw this and you have articulated it for me :-)

Couldn’t agree with you more, and i think the responses show how blind the world is (or choses to look the other way) to Barce’s cheating. Many teams dive, many teams foul and get punished… so i am happy to not look into that. HOWEVER – Busquets, Pedro, Alves, Mascherano commited the ultimate sin in football, feighning injury in an attempt to get another player booked or sent off….. and noone has said or done a thing. I dont support madrid but i felt sick watch barce and their cheating. If they are favoured by refs, there is nothing the manager and players can do – BUT they can do something about their cheating and so can FIFA – but obviously they wont.

By: Mahesh

Mahesh — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:04:16 +0000

There is truth to both side. As Real showed, they can play an awesome game and play like champions as they did in the return leg. But the first leg was a bitter case of narrow mindedness by Mou and a bad example of sportsmanship by some Barca players. A true champion who loves to play football will play football rather than preventing your opposition from playing theirs. I dont see that as often as Mou does. All great coaches (Van Gaal, Hitzfield, Wenger, Sir Alex to name a few) play to thier advantage rather than to only counter your opposition. Mou has always trued to play the victim card to use his negative tactics and he is doing the same. Being a Real fan, it embarasses me that we have stooped to this level to beat Barca. I agree that Barca is superior now but complaining about it all the time and winning against them at any cost is not the way to go about it. Everything has a cycle. Its Barca’s time now.
When Mou used such negative tactics, why is it wrong that Barca used negative tactics of play acting to counter Mou’s.
And wrt to Messi diving, he dint dive looking for a red card from Del horno. If he had to dive, he would dive a a 100 times for every game with all the foul that’s been committed on him.
All in all just a disappointment for both sets of fans who wanted to watch a few good classicos irrespective of the result.

By: Brandy

Brandy — Fri, 06 May 2011 08:42:41 +0000

Good article. Whilst we rightly admire the passing-game that graduates from La Masia are brought up on, we can’t ignore the fact that they are also encouraged to behave as they did over these 2 legs.

Busquets, Pedro, Iniesta, Valdes, Puyol and even Messi constantly dive, feign injury and surround the referee. Yes, other teams may do this, but not to the extent or frequency that Barca do.

Xavi often mentions how he and his team-mates have been brought up to play ‘the Barcelona way” – I couldn’t agree with him more.

By: issa

issa — Thu, 05 May 2011 19:33:19 +0000

segz already said alot of what i wanted too but thier are a few things i want to add.Barca dive and simulate under minimal contact but this should not allow them to paint themselves as victims of the brutal madrid, Busquets made a tackle on Alonso worse than Pepe’s red card, and Barca players comitted numerous fouls-the difference being that players like Lass, Pepe, Alonso didn’t behave as if they had been shot. As to Marcelos stamping on Pedro, I do not believe that anyone could prove that it is intentional- if it is 1 it is a step not a stamp and 2 while i don’t condone Marcelos actions people should remember that Pedro had twice previously tried to get Marcelo booked, as well as poking him and hounding him with comments. It is also important to remember that another player Busquets had done the same as well as mouthing the word mono at Marcelo( which means monkey), I think in the circumstances Marcelo showed remarkable restraint- Barcas place in the final is tainted, (Copenhagen, Arsenal , Madrid) as is thier 2009 title(chelsea) and the bias shown by the British press and pundits as to condoning thier flagrant and disgusting gamesmanship is pathetic.
btw props to the auther for the guts to admit that Messi behaves just like the rest of the FCB dramatics society.

By: Bear Crotch

Bear Crotch — Thu, 05 May 2011 11:06:56 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQUGK7fWP3Y&feature=related

Yep, he sure is an angel isn’t he? Sorry, but Catalan shit is as foul Pep’s potty mouth that also went unpunished.

There may not be a conspiracy, but it is financially beneficial for the media to swoon at Barcelona’s every move and sweep the bad under the carpet. Be objective and call a spade a spade.

By: NICEGUY

NICEGUY — Thu, 05 May 2011 10:21:34 +0000

No true. Decision should be or foul by Pique or goal for Higuain.

This was never Ronaldo’s foul on Mascherano, because he was falling because Pique stopped him.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 05 May 2011 05:22:06 +0000

Ive no problem with people taking issue with diving and simulation, but Barca ought not to be singled out for it. Its a disease that is infecting the game all over the world.

Oh and Messi is one of the most impecibly behaved footballers in the world. Dredging up the Chelsea games from seasons back is a little desperate.

By: Cam

Cam — Thu, 05 May 2011 01:42:21 +0000

Barcelona were by far better over the two legs, and would have won by more if they weren’t being fouled every time they had the ball.

Mourinho’s tactics have been to kick and foul them so that if they lose and get men sent off they can then moan. Sadly, it makes Mourinho to be the arrogant and bitter man he is and the whole ‘us against them’ attitude he carries on to all his clubs has rubbed off on to this Real Madrid side, which is a shame.

And the whole Barca can’t beat Real with 11 men is nonsense, they were 5-0 up before Ramos got a red card for kicking Messi.

In the end, what is worse? A player feigning injury or a team playing and going about the game with complete cynicism.

By: karen

karen — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:55:55 +0000

couldn’t agree more.