FOOTY FAIR

Football's Greatest Sides - Part 4 of 5: Barcelona (2009 to 2011)

2016-03-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Having watched his Manchester United side dismantled in the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium by Barcelona in 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson later reflected that the Catalans were the best team he had ever faced. "No one," he said, "has ever given us a hiding like that."

Although the final score was only 3-1 for Pep Guardiola's side that day, it was never that close as United had spent most of the night chasing shadows. They had few answers for the incisive passing movement of Andres Iniesta and Xavi in the middle of the park, the clever runs of David Villa and never mind the mercurial little genius known as Lionel Messi upfront.

Having also beaten United 2-0 in the final in Rome two years earlier, Barcelona had made it two Champions Leagues out of three and cemented themselves as a side for the ages.

It's sometimes forgotten that a Ronaldinho-led Barcelona had won the Champions League in 2006 under Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard, a match that saw Messi out through injury, while Xavi and Iniesta looked on from the bench, but by 2008 in-fighting had destroyed that team and changes were desperately needed.

Ronaldinho made his exit, as did Rijkaard, and in came Pep Guardiola who had been a key part of Johan Cruyff's mythical "Dream Team" who had won the European Cup at Wembley in 1992.

Following in Cruyff's footsteps in that he was looking to emulate the Dutchman's ethos of Barcelona playing with a fluid passing style, Guardiola made Messi the focus of his attack, while Xavi and Iniesta were there to supply the ammunition.

Besides Barcelona's "carousel of passing", as described by Ferguson, the side worked incredibly hard to press back opponents all over the pitch, so in the rare instances they lost possession they worked doggedly to retrieve it.

Ringing in Guardiola's changes, the club won a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the aforementioned Champions League title in 2008-2009 and they were just getting started.

They followed that up by winning the league again in 2009-2010, along with the Spanish and European Super Cups, and the FIFA World Club Cup. They would fall to Jose Mourinho's Inter in the Champions League semi-final after a two day bus trip to Milan necessitated by the grounding of all flights following an Icelandic volcanic eruption.

They would return in 2010-2011 with another league and Champions League double to return to the summit of domestic and European football.

Guardiola would depart the next season, but what he put in place at the club is still largely in place. Despite the exit of Xavi, the heart of Pep's side, Barcelona now have one of the scariest front three's ever seen in club football with Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar laying waste to defences throughout Europe.

Although it's easy to get annoyed by the irritating nouveau football fanboys and fashionistas that have attached themselves to Barcelona since Guardiola's time in charge, ignoring their brief steamy love affair with Borussia Dortmund in 2012 of course, this Barcelona side can rightly consider itself to be one of the greatest squads ever and even the most hardcore haters or Madridistas have to admit that.

The Spanish national side have much to thank Barca for as well, as it was their core of players and their approach that helped Spain to victories in Euro 2008 and 2012, along with victory at the 2010 World Cup.

Andrés Iniesta - THE Man of the Match

2015-06-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

Spaniard central midfielder Andrés Iniesta has had a spectacular career for both club and country. Playing his entire professional time with Spanish giants Barcelona and of course for Spain's national team, Iniesta has an impressive collection of awards. Having won 7 La Liga titles, a total of 9 domestic cups and 4 UEFA Champions League titles, the more impressive stats are actually in his personal award list.

By receiving the Man of the Match award after Barcelona's victory in the Champions League final win over Juventus this past Saturday, Iniesta became the only footballer to be named Man of the Match in the final games of the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and the European Championships.

Needless to say, the man is "clutch". Always showing up at 100% effort and contribution during big matches.

His first of the three came in 2010 when he was named the best player during Spain's 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final game of the World Cup in South Africa. It was his 116th extra-time minute goal that separated the two teams, giving Spain their first world cup title.

Two years later in Kyiv, Ukraine, it was Iniesta again who claimed the best player in the final of the 2012 Euros, helping his squad to a 4-0 thrashing of the Italians.

And again yesterday, Iniesta picked up his 3rd Man of the Match award in a major competition's final game, this time a club award as Barcelona finished off Italian side Juventus in a 3-1 final in Berlin.

Famous Footballers Doing Other Work - Illustrations

2015-03-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder what the world's biggest stars would look like if they had careers that were not football? Well, Italian illustrator Denis Medri (@DenisMedri) created this little piece for the Gazzetta dell Sport, showcasing four talented stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrés Iniesta, Robin Van Persie and Gerard Piqué doing jobs that we could have possibly seen them doing if they did not become rich and famous through football.

Andrés Iniesta the tractor driver

Cristiano Ronaldo the construction worker

Gerard Piqué the butcher

Robin van Persie the IT geek

5 Iconic T-Shirt Messages

2015-03-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Players have always found ways to have their thoughts and messages delivered to a much larger audience, and the days of Twitter and Facebook have done very little to change the most primal and rudimentary form of doing it, a message written in sharpie on a t-shirt.

Any player these days has a legion of followers on Twitter or Facebook, but nothing seems to get that message across better than a t-shirt with some handwritten message on it that can be displayed during a goal celebration. For some reason, that act of rebellion seems to have a much larger impact than a plain message being sent through the internet. It makes the players almost human and connects with all of us, and shows us a side that we are not always privy to.

Some messages are funny, some are heartfelt, some are political, but all are personal to the one displaying it. Here is what I consider five of the most iconic t-shirt messages displayed by footballers during a game.

Andres Iniesta

After scoring the winning goal in the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Netherlands, Andreas Iniesta, used that moment to give his condolences to former footballer Dani Jarque.

Dani Jarque had died of a heart attack at the age of 26 the previous year, and Iniesta used the greatest stage in the world to once again ensure the memory of Dani Jarque continued alive in the memories of all us.

The message on his t-shirt said: “Dani Jarque Always with Us”.

Mario Balotelli

The now infamous “Why Always Me” t-shirt is sadly one of the highlights of Mario Balotelli’s time at Manchester City. After scoring against Manchester United in the Manchester derby he revealed a t-shirt with that message, becoming almost instantly a cult hero for City fans.

If there is one thing Balotelli is not known for is his cool and collected personality, and that goal celebration was a microcosms of what Balotelli is and what he represents.

Kaka

After a heartbreak loss in 2005 to Liverpool in the Champions League final, AC Milan would finally win the trophy in 2007 against the same opponent.

At the end of the game, Kaka, fell to his knees and removed his kit, showing a t-shirt with a message that read “I Belong to Jesus”. His deeply religious believes were on full display during that significant victory in a true display of his own convictions and believes.

Robbie Fowler

One of the t-shirt messages that perhaps most marked English football was the one worn by Robbie Fowler during the European Cup Winners Cup in 1997 against Brann.

It was done in show of support for the 500 dockers that had lost their jobs since 1995.

It was a very political driven message that affected Liverpool and its supporters, done in one of the largest stages. He was already a cult hero at Liverpool, after this he ensured that his name and Liverpool would forever be intertwined.

Thierry Henry

He did a few t-shirt messages during his playing days, but perhaps none was as witty as the one he wore in 2000 when Arsenal played Liverpool.

He scored the winning goal for Arsenal, after three players had already been sent off during the match, and once he gave his team the lead, he lifted his kit, displaying the message “Bang goes the 0-0 draw”.

The goal not only won Arsenal the game but it broke a three year drought in which no Arsenal player had scored against Liverpool.

The Monday Meltdown - FIFA's World XI Stinks

2015-01-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

It’s Monday, January 12 in the year of our lord (Sepp Blatter) 2015 and everyone’s favourite football governing body has handed out a few awards.

Unable though to take a simple leak in a urinal without spraying piss all over the floor, FIFA have announced a World XI that is as laughable as their claims of integrity.

Although there are a few obvious names on the list like the bronzed Cristiano Ronaldo, noted tax dodger Lionel Messi and the 57 year old wing wizard Arjen Robben on the team, there are some inclusions that have prompted howls of derision on social media.

First of all FIFA, also known as the Swiss Mafia, hung on to the rule that there has to be a Barcelona midfielder on the World XI, despite the fact that Barcelona weren’t very good in the last calendar year and the player in question, Andres Iniesta, looked tired, sweaty and balding at the World Cup for Spain.

The defense is where things get really hilarious though. To start with we have Thiago Silva, who is a good defender that plays for the only decent team in France and had a decidedly average to poor World Cup, the excellent Phillip Lahm, who actually played most of last year for Bayern as a defensive midfielder and it’s really a defender in the true sense anymore, Sergio Ramos who is always a calamity waiting to happen for club and country, and then the funniest of all… David Luiz. They actually included the clown of World Cup 2014, who cried and capitulated as the German’s ran riot in the Semi Final. He was also decidedly average for Chelsea last season, before his ridiculously overpriced move to PSG.

David Luiz’s inclusion is almost as hilarious as the World Cup going to Qatar in 2022.

On a somewhat controversial note, some are arguing that Angel Di Maria shouldn’t be in the XI, after his injury plagued and somewhat spluttering start to life at Old Trafford, after his move to Manchester United from Real Madrid last summer. Di Maria was impressive for Madrid in 2014 and did play a prominent role in Argentina’s run to the World Cup Final, so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt though.

In terms of exclusions, there was no place for 2014’s breakout star James Rodriguez, and despite him sinking his teeth into a bit of Italian in Brazil, it was a poor decision to exclude Luis Suarez, who nearly single headedly dragged Liverpool to their first title in 24 years. Likewise, Gareth Bale, Diego Godin, and Diego Costa will feel a bit hard done by.

It also seemed that despite Atletico Madrid’s heroic La Liga title and run to the Champions League Final, they still aren’t fashionable enough to warrant anyone in the World XI.

Apparently the team is made up of votes by players, but if that’s the case you have to wonder if the players put any thought into these selections at all?

FC Barcelona Post Match Meals Revealed

2014-09-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

The list of food preferred by the FC Barcelona players after a match has been leaked and it seems that pizza is the front runner as the food of choice after a match.

Barcelona caters to all their players and provides them with their comfort food of choice following a match and it is obvious that pizza is the big winner with even Messi going for a slice or two of pizza following a game. I wonder how long before a famous pizza chain tries to get their brand in that locker room; the advertising would be worth millions. Papa Johns is currently rubbing his hands and dollar signs are scrolling through his eyes.

Following their tie with Malaga the menu list was leaked to the media, not sure if it was by coincidence or by design, but while the Malaga players celebrated the tie, Messi, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Dani Alves and even Suarez were perhaps enjoying some incredibly tasty pizza.

Below is the list of food preferences by player:

Ter Stegen: sushi and Nutella sandwich

Montoya: ham and cheese pizza

Pique: Nutella sandwich and fruit

Rakitic: sushi and fruit

Busquets: pizza with ham and fruit

Xavi: chopped chicken breast and ham pizza

Pedro: pizza with ham and cheese, turkey and cheese sandwich and fruit

Iniesta: pizza with ham and cheese and bologna sandwich and chorizo Iberico

Luis Suarez: ham and cheese pizza and Caesar salad

Messi: cheese pizza

Neymar: pizza with ham and cheese and fruit

Rafinha: ham and cheese pizza, sushi and banana

Bravo: white pasta and fruit

Mascherano: pasta salad and fruit

Bartra: ham and cheese pizza and sushi

Douglas: cheese pizza

Jordi Alba: pizza with ham and cheese, turkey and cheese sandwich and fruit

Sergi Roberto: sushi and triple Nutella sandwich

Adriano: ham and cheese pizza

Alves: four cheese pizza

Mathieu: ham and cheese sandwich

Masip: tuna pizza, tuna and veggie sandwich

Samper: pizza with ham and fruit

Sandro Ramirez: pizza with ham, cheese and tuna and fruit

Munir: cheese pizza and fruit

Overweight Football Star Caricatures (Gallery)

2014-08-16T18:00:00.000-04:00

Ever wondered what your favourite football stars would look like if they let themselves go?

Well, wonder no more as Colombian graphic artist Fulvio Obregon has put together the following terrific illustrations of what would happen if our favourite players piled on the pounds. My favourite from the bunch is Benzema, whereas my least favourite is Rooney as I've actually seen him come into pre-season looking not unlike his caricature.

2014 World Cup Match Day 7: Goals & Highlights

2014-06-18T21:30:00.000-04:00

Game 18: Australia 2-3 Netherlands

Game 19: Spain 0-2 Chile

Game 20: Cameroon 0-4 Croatia

2014 World Cup Match Day 7: Recap

2014-06-18T20:30:00.000-04:00

Day 7 saw three countries being eliminated from the tournament and some amazing goals.

Game 18: Australia 2-3 Netherlands

After Netherlands dispatched of Spain 5-1 in their group’s opening match it was only natural to expect the same sort of performance today against an Australian side that had played well against Chile but lost.

This is the beauty of the game, sometimes things are not what they seem, and the first 45 minutes have proved that. Australia came out very personalized looking at playing an equal game to Netherlands. Not a possession game, but a game where they defended high on the field, trying to force the turnover and then move quickly into attack. The plan looked to be working until the 20m mark, when Arjen Robben, stole a ball from an Australian player, and darted half the field and finish it with his left foot. It looked like Australia was going to have a long day, but in the following play; a ball is crossed into the area and Tim Cahill scores on a volley with his left foot. What an incredible goal.

The game was back on level terms and for what both teams had done until that point it was a well-deserved result. For the remaining 25 minutes both teams had chances to go ahead, but were unable to convert. Netherlands is having a hard time building from the back, and that is due to the fact that Australia is defending far up the field.

The second half was electrifying. This has to go down as one of the best games of the tournament so far. Australia started the second half as they had played the first half, applying pressure up on the field, and quick counter attacks on the wings. From one of those attacks came Australia’s second goal. Bozanick tried to cross a ball into the box but Janmaat with a hand ball to concede a penalty early in the second half. Jedinak would score the penalty to give Australia the 2-1 lead at the 54th minute mark.

The lead would not take long, four minutes later Van Persie would equalize for the Dutch. A very nice play between Sneijder and Memphis with Van Persie putting the final touches on it. We were back at level score and for the neutral this game could not be going any better. 2-2 was the score at the 58th minute mark, and somehow you had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be all the goals we would see in this game. Either teams looked like they could score again and regain the lead.

Ten minutes later and the Dutch would take the lead by Depay. A shot from outside the box that had a bounce to it and Ryan, the Australian keeper, wasn’t unable to stop. He still managed to get his fingers on it, but wasn’t able to stop it from going in. Looking at that play you are left with the impression he could have done more to prevent it from going in, but there was a lot of movement on the ball.

At this point it looked like the match had leaned over to the Dutch side and it would take something special to see them lose this one. Australia still tried to push for an equalizer but the Dutch remain organized at the back and were able to see this game through. This was an important win for Netherlands that has them with 6 points and top of the group. A difficult loss for Australia that has played two wonderful games and has nothing to show for. They are now officially eliminated from the World Cup, with still a match against Spain to be played.

Game 19: Spain 0-2 Chile

Chile came out looking for an early lead and only 2 minutes into the game a bit of confusion in the Spanish penalty area almost sees Chile going up 1-0 in the game, but the deflection went inches wide of Casillas net.

It was a sign for Spain that Chile wasn’t here to just defend or wait for Spain to control the game. The midfield play of Vidal and Isla had more muscle than Spain’s Xabi and Busquets. Spain wasn’t able to play their passing game and was struggling to deal with the physical play of the Chileans. Chile on the other hand was recovering the balls quickly and effectively in Spain’s own half and the speed of Sanchez and Vargas was causing Spain’s defense a lot of problems.

You could feel that a goal was coming and Chile didn’t disappoint, in their second real opportunity, the speed of Sanchez and Vargas came into play and Vargas nets the leading goal. It all started with Vidal getting the ball back from Spain in their half and using his speed and passing ability to break through the defensive zone.

Chile after the goal continued to apply pressure on any Spanish player that had the ball, this incredible pressing is leaving Spain without the ability to string three passes together and even approach the Chilean penalty area.

Chile wasn’t done yet and at the 44th minute following a free kick from Sanchez, Casillas punched the ball forwarded and it landed on Aranguiz feet. It was all he needed to toe punt it into the open net. Chile was up 2-0 at the half and Spain looked decimated.

It was obvious that if Spain was going to come out in the 2nd half playing the same way they played in the first half that they might as well packed their bags and take an early flight home. Spain swapped Xabi Alonso with Koke at halftime hoping that it would give them some more spirit, and offensive abilities. At this point they needed a goal so it was time to risk a bit more and put more offensive players on the field.

Chile had a two goal lead and they knew all they had to do is control the middle of the field and force Spain into their own half that they had done enough to win the game. Chile allowed them more ball and more space but never too far deep in their own end and even with Chile taking their foot off the gas, Spain was still not able to having a fluid passing game that they have become known for. It was almost an unrecognizable Spanish side. Going down 2-0 at halftime had made some serious damage to their confidence.

Diego Costa was absent to the game, so when he was subbed off for Torres it wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was that Xavi and Fabregas were left on the bench as was David Villa.

Bravo, Chile’s goalkeeper, had some good saves to keep the scoreline at 2-0 but Spain never looked like they were able to turn this result around. The game ended in a 2-0 win for Chile and now Spain is left wondering what went wrong in 2014.

Game 20: Cameroon 0-4 Croatia

Coming into this game I had predicted that Mandzukic would be the player to keep an eye on for Croatia and Alex Song was the player I had singled out for Cameroon. In the first 45 minutes both proved to be critical for their team’s hopes of making it to the round of 16.

Croatia looked very fluid with Mandzukic in the lineup; he gives more quality up front to his team and is a better target man than when Olic is alone in that role. It didn’t take long for Mandzukic to make an impact and at the 12th minute mark, Mandzukic with a low pass in the box to Olic that only had to tap it in to put Croatia up 1-0.

Cameroon was never able to bother Croatia and a game that already seemed out of reach for Cameroon became an uphill battle at the 40th minute mark when Alex Song punched Mandzukic in the back and saw a straight red card. Croatia with a lead at halftime and with one more player on the field, have everything going their way.

The second half started in the best way possible for Croatia, with a goal by Perisic in the 48th minute. This was the final dagger in the Cameroonian coffin. Down a man and now 2-0 in the game, this team didn’t show any signs of being able to fight back and perhaps level the score. The question became how many goals would Croatia score?

In my game day preview I had mentioned Mandzukic as the player to watch for Croatia and he would prove me right. Already with an assist, Mario Mandzukic, would go on to score two goals in the second half and settling the final score line at 4-0 for Croatia. Cameroon never looked comfortable on the field, with no true leader and a bunch of players that looked at being in Brazil on vacation and not to play this tournament. This was obvious when Assou-Ekotto head butted one of his team mates near the end of the game. Another sign that Cameroon, more than beaten on the field by their opponents, they actually beat themselves. They are now the third team going home, following Spain and Australia that were also eliminated today.

Match Day 7 - Staff Picks

These were the staff picks for these games:
Pedro: Australia 0-3 Netherlands, Spain 1-1 Chile & Croatia 2-1 Cameroon
Kon: Australia 0-3 Netherlands, Spain 2-1 Chile & Croatia 1-0 Cameroon
Iain: Australia 0-2 Netherlands, Spain 0-1 Chile & Croatia 2-0 Cameroon

Nobody got any of the exact correct results today. Everyone had Croatia and Netherlands winning just not by the correct score.

The Art of Football - 15 Wonderful Portraits

2014-05-31T15:00:00.000-04:00

In a recent rant post I raged against the evils of crappy football Photoshop jobs, but once in a while a talented graphic and/or fine artist will take on football as a subject and the results can be stunning.

The following are some of the best pieces I've seen in the past few months:

FOOTY FAIR

Football's Greatest Sides - Part 4 of 5: Barcelona (2009 to 2011)

Andrés Iniesta - THE Man of the Match

Famous Footballers Doing Other Work - Illustrations

Andrés Iniesta the tractor driver

Cristiano Ronaldo the construction worker

Gerard Piqué the butcher

Robin van Persie the IT geek

5 Iconic T-Shirt Messages

Andres Iniesta

Mario Balotelli

Kaka

Robbie Fowler

Thierry Henry

The Monday Meltdown - FIFA's World XI Stinks

FC Barcelona Post Match Meals Revealed

Overweight Football Star Caricatures (Gallery)

2014 World Cup Match Day 7: Goals & Highlights

Game 18: Australia 2-3 Netherlands

Game 19: Spain 0-2 Chile

Game 20: Cameroon 0-4 Croatia

2014 World Cup Match Day 7: Recap

Game 18: Australia 2-3 Netherlands

Game 19: Spain 0-2 Chile

Game 20: Cameroon 0-4 Croatia

Match Day 7 - Staff Picks

The Art of Football - 15 Wonderful Portraits

George Best by Stan Chow - @stan_chow

Carlos Valderrama by SAKIROO - @sakiroo

Toronto FC's 3 DPs by Michael Marsicano - @MMillo

Andres Iniesta by Gonza Rodriguez - @_GonzaRodriguez

Roberto Baggio by Steve Welsh - @miniboro_dotcom

Eusebio by Dave Merrell - @DaveMerrell

Eric Cantona by Zoran Lucic - @zoranlucic

Hand of God by Richard Swarbrick - @RikkiLeaks

Lionel Messi by OTTO LI - http://www.galleryec.com/artist/otto-li

Ramon Diaz of Yokohama F. Marinos by Aki Enu - @aki_enu

El Clasico for Howler Radio by Noah MacMillan - @NoahMacMillan

Zamora Sends QPR Up by Art of Football - @Art_of_Football

The Last Painting of Ninian Park by Philip Watkins http://www.axisweb.org/p/philipwatkins/

Arsene Wenger by 11 cannons - @11cannons

Stiliyan Petrov by Daniel Nyari - @danielnyari