An Open Letter To Barcelona FC

Dear Barcelona players, coaches staff.

Firstly, I would like to extend my congratulations to you for reaching the European Cup final for the seventh time in your 111 year history. It is of course, a wonderful achievement, and you will exercise the privilege to play against the English Champions Manchester United at the wonderful stadium that is Wembley in North-West London.

As I am absolutely sure you have heard countless times, your football can often be quite stunning, with "out of this world" passing and movement, ferociously graceful and relentless attacking ability and football players with stunning quality. Yes, it is true, you deserve to be in the final on your footballing merits.

However, there is another side to your team which fans and admiring pundits often hide away from. Many are so blinded by the talent that the team possess, they are distracted, or perhaps use selective viewing to ignore many of he areas most unwelcome in a fair game. I am sure you would also like to gloss over the subject I am talking about, and allow the praise to rain on you without a hailstone knocking you out.

Well put your umbrella's up, because the hailstone is coming, and it's been coming for a while now.

Cast your minds back to your Champions League semi-final, and even fans, admiring pundits and neutrals all over the world could not cover for you as they watched as you used disgraceful, anti-footballing tactics to gain the advantage. What am I talking about? I'm sure you already know - after all, you were the ones committing the offences. Diving? Gamesmanship? - Cheating?

I know this would be the point when you would like to stop reading, screw up the letter and forget what I say, muttering furiously under your breath about how wrong I am, and how your football is what the world wants to see. "Cheating" is of course, a very strong word, and a terrible accusation, but unfortunately, the name of Barcelona may forever be associated with it if you do not stop.

If you are still reading, then I would just like to ask a few players in particular who will be playing against Manchester United on Saturday a question. Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets, Pedro and Javier Mascherano, this next message is aimed at you:

Bear in mind that not everyone will be at Wembley on Saturday. Bear in mind that millions will be watching on televisions - high definition televisions, with the added advantage of slow motion replays. Please, please, please, would you refrain from diving, or I, and many other football fans around the world will need a new television - and a new window, because the two may be colliding viciously if we see any what was seen in the previous Champions League games.

Arsenal have already fallen a victim of a dubious refereeing decision in their Champions League game against you in March, and although not your fault, Arsenal cannot help but feel hard done by as they could have progressed to the next stage if it wasn't for van Persie's sending off.

Who knows, it may have been an Arsenal - United final? Nevertheless, the other red card which was vastly different from the Arsenal incident was the Pepe sending off when you played Madrid. Although high, there was little contact, and Alves unsurprisingly was the perpetrator, completing several ballerina like pirouettes before going down in apparent agony.

I hope that the referee of the game is not in any way influenced by outside party's, and I hope he will not need to reach for his pockets and little black book to withdraw some cards - whatever colour.

I do not want to see a repeat of the red for van Persie when you played Arsenal, nor do I want to see a repeat of the first leg of the Real Madrid semi-final.

Reluctantly, I wish you good luck for Saturday, as I very much hope that Manchester United v Barcelona will be a fair, diving free zone, and will not go down in history as a farce of a game.

Thank you for your time,

DBS Football

P.S: I have previously dedicated two articles to you. Find them here:

http://dbs-football.blogspot.com/2011/05/guardiola-making-mockery-of-football.html

& here:

http://dbs-football.blogspot.com/2011/04/diving-disgrace-to-football.html

Follow Me on Twitter @DBSFootball

An Open Letter To Barcelona FC

Dear Barcelona players, coaches staff.

Firstly, I would like to extend my congratulations to you for reaching the European Cup final for the seventh time in your 111 year history. It is of course, a wonderful achievement, and you will exercise the privilege to play against the English Champions Manchester United at the wonderful stadium that is Wembley in North-West London.

As I am absolutely sure you have heard countless times, your football can often be quite stunning, with "out of this world" passing and movement, ferociously graceful and relentless attacking ability and football players with stunning quality. Yes, it is true, you deserve to be in the final on your footballing merits.

However, there is another side to your team which fans and admiring pundits often hide away from. Many are so blinded by the talent that the team possess, they are distracted, or perhaps use selective viewing to ignore many of he areas most unwelcome in a fair game. I am sure you would also like to gloss over the subject I am talking about, and allow the praise to rain on you without a hailstone knocking you out.

Well put your umbrella's up, because the hailstone is coming, and it's been coming for a while now.

Cast your minds back to your Champions League semi-final, and even fans, admiring pundits and neutrals all over the world could not cover for you as they watched as you used disgraceful, anti-footballing tactics to gain the advantage. What am I talking about? I'm sure you already know - after all, you were the ones committing the offences. Diving? Gamesmanship? - Cheating?

I know this would be the point when you would like to stop reading, screw up the letter and forget what I say, muttering furiously under your breath about how wrong I am, and how your football is what the world wants to see. "Cheating" is of course, a very strong word, and a terrible accusation, but unfortunately, the name of Barcelona may forever be associated with it if you do not stop.

If you are still reading, then I would just like to ask a few players in particular who will be playing against Manchester United on Saturday a question. Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets, Pedro and Javier Mascherano, this next message is aimed at you:

Bear in mind that not everyone will be at Wembley on Saturday. Bear in mind that millions will be watching on televisions - high definition televisions, with the added advantage of slow motion replays. Please, please, please, would you refrain from diving, or I, and many other football fans around the world will need a new television - and a new window, because the two may be colliding viciously if we see any what was seen in the previous Champions League games.

Reluctantly, I wish you good luck for Saturday, as I very much hope that Manchester United v Barcelona will be a fair, diving free zone, and will not go down in history as a farce of a game. I also hope that the referee of the game is not in any way influenced by outside party's, and I hope he will not need to reach for his pockets and little black book to withdraw some cards - whatever colour.

I do not want to see a repeat of the red for van Persie when you played Arsenal, nor do I want to see a repeat of the first leg of the Real Madrid semi-final.

Thank you for your time,

DBS Football

P.S: I have previously dedicated two articles to you. Find them here:

http://dbs-football.blogspot.com/2011/05/guardiola-making-mockery-of-football.html

& here:

http://dbs-football.blogspot.com/2011/04/diving-disgrace-to-football.html

Follow Me on Twitter @DBSFootball

DBSFootball in association with: http://www.watch-football.tv/football/ - Live Football Streaming.

Guardiola Making a Mockery of Football

I, like you reading this now, am a fan of football. Many of you will also be a fan of beautiful football, that of which Barcelona have been praised for countless times. Indeed, their play is admirably graceful and magnificently elegant with splendid passing and exquisitely dominant attacking play. It is something that many clubs around the world aspire to be like, with Arsenal and Arsene Wenger trying their own style of beautiful passing to create the perfect goal. However, we all saw a far uglier side to their football last week in the "El Clasico" - the first leg of their Champion's League semi-final against Real Madrid.

For those who have watched the fixture before in recent times, it will have come as no surprise. It would have come as no surprise that certain players were falling on the floor as if they had been shot, rolling around on the grass as if they were on the verge of death, and screaming in absolute agony as if someone had repeatedly kicked them in the stomach with steel toe capped boots. It was a disgrace. Yet nothing was done to punish the players who were in blatant wrong.

Real Madrid, knowing that they have little chance of winning the tie thanks to the sublime Lionel Messi, resorted to accusations that some Barcelona players had been racist to their defender, Marcelo by calling him a monkey. Of course, if that is true, there must be enquiries; UEFA cannot simply sweep the matter under the carpet like no doubt they would love to do. In response however, Pep Guardiola said something quite amazing. It actually made me laugh a little in exasperation. He leapt to the defence of his player Sergio Busquets by saying:

“I know these kind of players, all of them. They are an example of professionalism, of honesty. They love the values of the sport.

“They know we play for the rest of the world. Of course they can make mistakes but as a human, they are an example as a player of Barcelona, as players of Spain.”

Professionalism? Honesty? Was this not the player who was rolling around on the floor in the first leg after jumping on a Real's player's back? Replays showed that there was no contact on his face, yet he persisted to clutch it in pain and suffering, and even required medics on the field to cure his complete and utter lie of an injury. How can he possibly "love the values of the sport" when he is purposely attempting to get a fellow professional sent off for doing nothing wrong?

Guardiola goes on to say that his side play for world, and Busquets sets an example for the players of Barcelona and Spain. What kind of example does faking injuries to get other people unfairly in trouble set? When the children of Barcelona, the children of Spain, and the children watching anywhere in the world see him do what he did, it suddenly makes them start to think that perhaps this behaviour is acceptable when in fact, it is the very behaviour that we do not want to see in football.

I have never had a problem with Guardiola before, but those words wound me up. It is a blatant ignorance of the facts that a lot of his players are clear cheats, who in their competitiveness, will attempt to shamelessly con the referee into thinking that they have been the subject of red-card worthy tackles. In view of hundreds of high definition camera's, which will tell us all whether there is contact or not, it is unprincipled, and unfair.

Guardiola added that he “was getting sick of playing Madrid” because of all the noises off the pitch. Well that is something I can agree on. I'd much rather watch Arsenal, Manchester United and the rest of the Premier League who, though far from perfect, and not free from diving and cheating, do have some restraint on their diving practice on the pitch, and get on with playing football - entertaining football. Arsenal, United and the rest may not have the inch perfect passing and extraordinary attacking force as Barcelona and sometimes Madrid do, but I'll be glad when this semi-final is over, so we can all watch some football free from so much blatant cheating.

Follow Me on Twitter @RealDan7 or @DBSFootball

DBSFootball in association with: http://www.watch-football.tv/football/ - Live Football Streaming.

Diving - A Disgrace to Football

I hesitate to take away the stunningly bright light that Lionel Messi has thrust himself into after creating beauty amidst an ugly cloud of controversy, but how can I not, when many Real Madrid and Barcelona's player's were an utter disgrace for much of the game.

The play acting and - well, just plain diving was clear for all to see. Maybe not the referee, who didn't have the benefit of replays, but luckily, or unluckily for us watching at home, we could witness the diving in it's full,  disgraceful, slow motion picture. It is despicable behaviour from grown men who should be setting an example to young footballers with their fair play. What was broadcast all over the world on Wednesday night was not fair play, and it is certainly not something which I want to see future generations of player's participating in.
I noted down several of the incidents that were particularly shameful and abominable excuses for fouls:

•  Sergio Busquets fell down clutching his face in apparent agony. Replays show that he jumped on the back of a Real Madrid player, and jumped back off of him as soon as his hand came anywhere near him. There was absolutely zero contact, yet uproar among protesting Barcelona players.

• Real Madrid defender, Marcelo went down from a foul. It was a foul - his feet had been taken away from him, and it was nothing more than a free-kick - and it was given. Yet rolling around was the added effect and waving his arm in the air to indicate a card to be shown added insult to... "injury".

• Next up was Pedro. He ran into a Real player and fell down, holding his face whereas replays clearly show there was no contact. To carry on the act - or to hide his shame, he needed medics to come on and check on it, whilst pouring water on it. What's worse is that the Barcelona players hounded the referee like hungry dogs as if Pedro had been assaulted.

• Hypocrisy was also rife. Dani Alves - a serial diver if I ever saw one, complained about a foul given against him, claiming that the Madrid attacker went down to easily. Amazing.

• The last two involve Madrid's Pepe. Firstly, he was the perpetrator, jumping - almost flying through the air like a deranged bird after a slight touch from Mascherano. Yes, it was a foul, but there is simply no need for the play acting.

• Finally, the sending off. Dani Alvez was up to his old tricks again, and this time conned the referee into sending Pepe off. It was a high foot from Pepe, but a yellow card at the worst. However, professional ballet-like pirouettes from the Barcelona defender added to theatrics. Replay's showed that the contact was minimal, and was on his shin pad. Unless his pain thresh-hold is nothing on a scale of 0 - 10, surely he wouldn't have needed a stretcher to take him off the pitch.

I want to know why such talented footballers, who have made it to the top of their games and managed to reach this stage of such a prestigious competition feel the need to cheat. That is what it is - cheating, and it is an absolute disgrace. 

I don't want to draw comparisons, but when Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney swore into the camera, he was banned for a few games. In my opinion, what I saw in the Real Madrid - Barcelona game was just as bad. It is cheating, cheating, cheating. That is what they are doing - cheating. It is infuriating, and it is something that millions of young kids will have watched and thought "I could do that", or "they did it, so I can". Many of the principles that were broken by Rooney swearing into a camera were broken in this game, with an awful, explicable example being set to young, aspiring footballers. 

The game was ruined by all of the controversies, sending off's and cheating but sprinkled in glory and glamour in the end by a fabulous footballer, and one who does not get involved in all of the blatant deception of the referee. Lionel Messi - a true example of a fair and honest football player, and the best in the world without a doubt. Some of those cheating divers should take a leaf out of Messi's book, and start playing football, letting their skills do the talking. It isn't too much to ask is it?

DBSFootball in association with: http://www.watch-football.tv/football/ - Live Football Streaming.

Arsenal Outplayed & Dominated by Relentless Barca

Watch Goals Here
Barcelona achieved 76% of possession against Arsenal. Need I continue?

When Barcelona have the ball and keep it, which they do tenaciously and in apparent ease, the opposition has very little chance of getting anything from the game. Arsenal attempted not a single shot on target. Not one. The utter dominance of Barcelona in all areas of the pitch meant that the absence of their two centre halves, Puyol and Pique was irrelevant in an easy win for the classy Spanish side (I use classy very loosely with Dani Alves, but more on that later).

Arsenal may say that they were hard done by, with a red card brandished to the hard of hearing Rob van Persie early in the second half as he shot wide after the whistle had gone for offside. His pleas that he could not hear the whistle due to the 95,000 screaming fans - a good defence - fell on deaf ears, and the referee decided to show the second yellow in an extremely harsh move which all but ended any fair competitiveness in the painfully one sided match.
Van Persie complained after the match of his red card:

"I think it was a total joke. How can I hear his whistle with 95,000 people jumping up? How can I hear it? Please explain that?"

"I can't understand the view from the ref. One second from his whistle to my shot is a joke. He has been bad all evening. He was against us. I don't know why he was here tonight, it's a joke.

"We feel betrayed, almost. We tried really hard. When it was 1-1 it was all to play for. But, in my opinion, the ref killed the game."

Even so, Arsenal were being controlled, pinned back, outplayed before the sending off, and if anything, Arsenal spent more time in the Barcelona half after the Dutchman's sending off. It was simply a story of the better side winning; I have never seen a game so one sided in possession and chances in the Champions League.

The first goal was inevitable. Wojciech Sczcesny went off early on after his first save of the game injured his finger. Almunia came on, and had a good game - probably Arsenal's best player, but he could do nothing to stop Messi from dinking the ball over him and swiping it into the back of the net for the opener.

In between the action, there was the odd pathetic dive. Diving infuriates me beyond belief, the replays shown on Sky making my fists clench in anger and jaw tighten in utter fury. Although so many footballers are at fault in this department, Dani Alves is one that so many times throws himself to the floor, clutching some part of his body - any part of his body all to con the referee. He gets away with it too. Maddening.

Arsenals goal was scored by Busquets - from a Nasri corner. Perhaps he felt sorry for them, wanted to give them a fighting chance - something to work with and hold on to. Probably not. But for all the intricate passing from Barcelona, their beautiful football was countered by a simple ball into the box, headed into their own net by their own player. A little ironic.

But Barcelona fought back with their wonderful football. Intricate passing, great vision, umarkable movement, all leavin Arsenal defenders on their rear ends, as the tricks and turns left them flat footed. Carved open, Xavi passed the ball into the net, as if it were his team mate, and wheeled away, jubilant. Onto the third.

The Arsenal box was occupied so often by Barcelona, and so it was only a matter of time before someone went down and won a penalty. To my diving hating relief, it was a penalty, fairly awarded for a Koscielny tackle which brought down the Barca player with a late, trailing leg. Messi duly stroked it artistically home, and the game was won.

The deserved winners march on in the competition, leaving Arsenal licking their wounds in preparation for a crucial clash with Manchester United in a far more winnable FA Cup tie. Time to pick themselves up and push on.