GUUS tells Barcelona’s cry-babies to stop moaning
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WARNING ... Michael Essien
MICHAEL ESSIEN has told Barcelona’s moaners that Chelsea will be just as tough in next week’s Champions League semi-final return.
Barca stars Xavi and Andres Iniesta complained of being kicked during Tuesday’s 0-0 Nou Camp draw.
But Blues midfielder Essien declared: “In modern football you need to be strong.
“That is the way we play. Any time we tackled them they seemed to fall over.”
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Ballack taunts Barca
MICHAEL BALLACK has piled the pressure on Barcelona by claiming: You’re in Real danger of winning NOTHING this season.
The Catalan giants have to face their hated rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu just three days before they come to London for the second leg with Chelsea.
Madrid have slashed Barcelona’s gap at the top of La Liga to just four points and it means a defeat in Saturday’s clash will leave Barcelona’s season hanging by a thread.
Chelsea star Ballack insisted: “Barcelona are under pressure. “It will be really, really difficult for them. They can win a lot and they can lose a lot.”
Ballack added: “It was one of our best defensive performances. As they came closer to our goal we defended well and it was a great compliment to get this result.
“Last year you could see how we came through to the final and were really focused and knew what we had to do. Now we have real experience but Barcelona have that as well.
“It would mean a lot to get back to the final again. But we don’t just want to reach it, we want to win it.”
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May 1, 2009
Europe's vision trapped between art and graft
Europe, is rooting for Barcelona...
The most powerful man in European football left Manchester without saying a word, in keeping with his silent departure from Barcelona 24 hours earlier. The prospect of another all-English Champions League final had moved a little closer for Michel Platini and, while he is always eager to refute charges of Anglophobia, it does not take a conspiracy theorist to suggest that the Uefa president will be praying for a Barcelona victory at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Platini emphasises that his only grievances against English football are ethical, based on issues such as the trend towards overseas ownership of Premier League clubs and the number of foreign teenagers stockpiled in those same clubs’ youth academies. But the idea of Chelsea joining either Manchester United or Arsenal in the final in Rome on May 27 may be too much for Platini to face, simply because he, like others throughout Europe, is rooting for Barcelona, who, he says, “make you love the game”.
Barcelona are indeed a wonderful team, one whose artistry and technical brilliance draw awestruck gasps from any audience, but the European Cup does not always go to the team that plays the most beautiful football. Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona “Dream Team” of 1994, featuring the likes of Ronald Koeman, Hristo Stoichkov and Romário, were trounced 4-0 in the final by Fabio Capello’s AC Milan. Hard-luck stories are nothing new to Barcelona or anyone else in this competition.
Bitter experience tells Barcelona that you need more than technical brilliance to win the European Cup, but their players could not help themselves after Chelsea sucked the life out of a goalless semi-final first leg at the Nou Camp on Tuesday. Xavi Hernández, the captain on the night, complained that “there was no fair play from Chelsea at all. We played football. They did not play anything at all.”
Football is not a beauty contest, which is why Platini and others must hope that Barcelona can prove that there is substance beneath their undoubted style when they travel to London next week. They must illustrate that there is more to their game than the glimpses of magic that they showed against Chelsea at the Nou Camp. If it was enough just to play beautiful football, if possession was nine tenths of the law, they would already be in the final, but it is not, which is why the gut feeling is that Chelsea, bigger, stronger, more powerful and more experienced, will beat them to Rome.
It is an insult to players such as Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and the injured Joe Cole to call Chelsea the antithesis of Barcelona, but, in Champions League terms, they are. Whereas Barcelona are defined by the numerous flair players in their team — such as Daniel Alves, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi — Chelsea are epitomised by the mental strength of John Terry, Lampard and Michael Ballack and the power and aggression of Michael Essien and Drogba.
Barcelona’s players, who almost invariably lack such qualities, will have to dig deep if they are to avoid being overpowered on Wednesday, particularly since injury to Rafael Márquez and the suspension of Carles Puyol will leave them with Gerard Piqué and Martin Cáceres, both 22, in central defence.
A lack of physical presence, an unswerving devotion to beautiful football and a shortage of experience in key areas of the pitch. It sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Arsenal are the closest thing to Barcelona that the English game has to offer, but they have nothing like the experience of the Catalan side or indeed either of the other two semi-finalists.
When it comes to the average age of the four teams’ starting line-ups this week, Barcelona, Chelsea and United were all about the 27-year mark. Arsenal, with five of their team aged 21 or under, had an average of 24. It is a handicap, albeit one that is insisted upon by Arsène Wenger.
Beyond that, there is a question of quality. For all their talent and potential, do Cesc Fàbregas, Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott really compare at present to Xavi, Iniesta and Messi? There was certainly a lack of fantasy in Arsenal’s performance at Old Trafford, where they were indebted to Manuel Almunia, the goalkeeper, as they escaped with only a 1-0 deficit against United on Wednesday.
By the time they had begun to get to grips with United and to pass the ball with any degree of composure, they were trailing to John O’Shea’s seventeenth-minute strike and, while their second-half performance was improved, they asked few questions of a United defence that had leaked ten goals in their previous five home games.
Wenger is confident that we will see “a different Arsenal” in the second leg and that United will regret their failure to add to O’Shea’s goal, but the gut instinct is that Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, their flair allied more strongly to organisation and a team ethic, have enough about them to score at least once at the Emirates Stadium. As such, although both semi-finals hang in the balance, a repeat of last year’s Chelsea-United final is perhaps the easiest to imagine at this stage.
Even if last season’s final in Moscow was more vibrant than some care to remember, a repeat showing in Rome is not the most appealing prospect, least of all for Platini or anyone else who believes that England’s domination of the Champions League must be brought to an end, artificially or otherwise.
They still cling to a reasonable hope that Barcelona can do the job for them, perhaps quietening some of the demands for drastic reforms, but only if Pep Guardiola’s side can show that they are prepared to battle for the right to prove that their beautiful football can conquer all.
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ballack also no sportsmanship one la lol.
If chelsea play the way they did and win next week, oh god....i hope they nvr win anything in their entire life.
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I actually prefer Chelsea to beat Barce as it would make the rest of Europe back United (If they get through)... Chelsea won't win many fans with the kind of football they played...
And I think it would suit United better to face Chelsea rather than Barce in the final... United isn't as physical to handle Barce cos they like to attack as well...
But if Barce and United gets to the final... It would be a great match of attacking football on the night though...
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Originally posted by zocoss:
I actually prefer Chelsea to beat Barce as it would make the rest of Europe back United (If they get through)... Chelsea won't win many fans with the kind of football they played...
And I think it would suit United better to face Chelsea rather than Barce in the final... United isn't as physical to handle Barce cos they like to attack as well...
But if Barce and United gets to the final... It would be a great match of attacking football on the night though...
serisously.
i prefer the time when zola play..
at least last time chelsea play nice football
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So, can Chelsea be the heavyweight champs of Europe?
The tale of the tape proves Chelsea have the power and presence to see off Barcelona and book their place in the Champions League final in Rome.
Complaints about Chelsea's tactics at the Nou Camp continue to emanate from Catalonia, but an examination of the physical attributes of both sides suggests Guus Hiddink once more got his approach spot-on.
Nearly two stone per player heavier than Barcelona and with a height advantage of 2in, Chelsea's reliance on power rather than precision worked like a charm as they emerged with a creditable goalless draw.
The gym has become as important as the training pitch for the top-flight player and while Barcelona moan about refereeing decisions and being prevented from strutting their stuff, the fact Chelsea used their bulk to great effect should not be derided.
An admirable sentiment. But, as Tuesday demonstrated, all the tricks and flicks in the world can sometimes be no match for two equally fine qualities: Chelsea's brawn and Hiddink's brain.
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Man Utd vs Chelsea final is gonna be damn boring. I really hope United get to play Barca
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barca FTW!
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GUUS HIDDINK has told Barcelona’s cry-babies to stop moaning about their Champions League kicking.
Chelsea chief Hiddink came out fighting last night following 48 hours of endless excuses from the Spanish champs.
And the no-nonsense Dutchman insists Barca’s lightweights have NOTHING to moan about following Tuesday’s goal-less draw in the first leg of their semi-final at the Nou Camp.
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Take it like men: Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink pours more scorn on Barcelona's Euro whingers
Standing accused: Barca star Dani Alves points out Didier Drogba after suffering a late challenge
Guus Hiddink has told Barcelona's moaners to expect another large helping of Chelsea power on Wednesday in the battle for a Champions League final place.
Barcelona's players have not stopped complaining about the tough tactics Hiddink employed at the Nou Camp on Tuesday as Chelsea's physical superiority helped them grind out a goalless draw.
Midfielder Andres Iniesta even suggested the only way opposing teams can stop Barcelona's flowing football in its tracks was by kicking them, while one Catalan newspaper claimed Chelsea's tactics were born out of fear.
But Hiddink, Chelsea's interim manager, brushed off such comments, describing the encounter as 'a man's match' before insisting Chelsea had stayed on the right side of the law.
'We do not know fear. I challenge and invite everyone to watch the DVD to see what really happened,' said Hiddink.
'It was a man's match, in the rules. There were some collisions, but from both sides.
'There were some good fights, for instance between Dani Alves and Flo Malouda. That's normal friction. I don't think there was a lot of theatre from either side. There were some good duels - Thierry Henry and Alex - without any intention to hurt each other.
'Analysing the game I saw, we could have done a little bit more, but we were rushing a bit in possession and lost it too easily. We didn't want to play anti-football. This team have proved for several months, and at the beginning of the season, that they can play football.'
Walking away: German referee Wolfgang Stark (R) issues fellow countryman Michael Ballack a yellow card following a foul on Thierry Henry
Dismissing the suggestion that German referee Wolfgang Stark had been too lenient with his tough-tackling side, Hiddink added: 'There was one challenge from Michael Ballack that was punished by the referee. It was punished with a yellow card from the referee, his fellow countryman. It's a man's game. We played our game. We don't like to lose.'
Hinting that Barcelona's gripes had more to do with their failure to take advantage of their dominance on home soil, the Dutchman said: 'Many, many teams - big teams - could not resist Barcelona and conceded three or four goals. We didn't want to do that. We can't say "Sorry" for not conceding a goal. They are used to scoring. They had done so in all their previous home games this season. This was the first time they hadn't scored, so that was disappointing for them.
'Tactically, we did what we had to do. I can understand their disappointment that they didn't score. When I saw the DVD we had one chance to score in the first half, but they had one or two. If you're used to scoring, then the reaction is one of disappointment.'
Hiddink readily concedes that Chelsea cannot match Barcelona in terms of footballing panache. And while he would like to see more of an attacking threat from his players when the sides meet at Stamford Bridge, he is ready to again employ whatever tactics he deems fit to make sure his side book their place in the final on May 27 in Rome's Stadio Olimpico.
'We don't like to lose but to win in a proper way,' said Hiddick.
'But if we can't play in the way we like, we don't throw in the towel. We don't like to allow them to take the victory. This team have the character to fight as well.
'We would, of course, have liked to play more, but we were playing the best team in their concept of football. Even if we wanted to punch, figuratively speaking, we were not able to, due to them and also due to ourselves.
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holy shit.....another boring semi nex week? I agree that chelsea shouldnt play into barca's hands by playing their style of attacking of football....but "to employ whatever tactics he deems fit to take them into the final"??
haha shit man.
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ownage man!
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I think Chelsea will suffer some setbacks in the 2nd match with all these comments going on... Whoever the referee for the match may be reading all these stories and come the match... might give out yellow or even red cards if it gets to physical...
What ever way you look at it, I think chelsea got more to lose than Barce... Even if they win, it may come at a price... yellow cards or red may get some of their players suspended for the final...