Interesting Article on STV website re Barca

[4MenHadADream 122]

http://m.stv.tv/sport/uefa-champions-league/245200-football-victims-barcelona-are-far-from-an-attractive-proposition/

Thoughts?

[Creampuff 22,628]

Nail on head.

Some on here won't like it though.

[weshallnotbemoved! 714]

It's an interesting take on things. Good article and thanks for sharing.

[Gaz52 11,837]

You'd think they don't play with defenders the way they talk about other teams

[DavieCoopersLeftFoot 56]

While it is good if football is entertaining it's original roots is going to support your local teams. It's only very recently with the rise of TV coverage that there is this need to play sexy football. You go to see you're team and ultimately you are only concerned with the win.

What teams like Barca complain about is "you didn't let us just win" is equivalent to soldiers complaining the enemy is too hard to shoot because they are moving about. Ultimately play to your strengths.

[Creampuff 22,628]

I find Barcelona hideous boring at times.

Their highlight package is usually nice, but the actual game is full and slow.

[Johnstone Burgh 1,658]

True. I always think that complaining about 'anti-football' or whatever they want to call it is like moaning that they basically aren't letting you win.

[JamieD 19,129]

Some on here won't like it though.

Well, this has certainly been borne out by the subsequent comments

[King Jela 20,658]

Fucking superb article.

Although he would have saved a bit of time and got my vote for king of the world had he simply just written "fuck Barca".

[Turnberry18 3,204]

I like both Barcelona and that article. I agree completely with the sentiments of that article; who wouldn't when a garbage Celtic team thought of themselves as a paragon of football distinction, when they had made Messi's bitter comment about us straight after a 0-0 draw with us their own? Football comes in all shapes and sizes; and I would rather win ugly than get beat beautifully.

[Ricky_ 893]

HALA MADRID!

Barcelonas philosophy is an inspiration, how ca the other team score if they dont have the ball?

At times though they become boring as hell, and they are the biggest cheats ive seen in football in recent times.

Oh, and Ronaldo is twice the player of Messi.

[nelsonRFC82 305]

Personally a huge fan of how Barca play football, but wold never try to defend some of the more unsavoury aspects of their game; the haranguing of referees and the penchant for diving (Alves & Buquets the worst culprits for me).

The anti-football retorts after a poor result are quite predictable and boring; although it shouldn't be forgotten that these are generally post-match comments and can be made when passions are running high (last year JM blame ranged from UEFA to UNICEF for a defeat to Barca). Xavi, for example, I find to be intelligent and quite perceptive about football from interviews I have read.

Slight irony in posting a comment saying "Hala Madrid" and then complaining about cheating; I suppose it is OK for the likes of Ramos, Carvalho, Marcelo, Pepe & di Maria to cheat consistently so long as they play in white?

[Ricky_ 893]

Personally a huge fan of how Barca play football, but wold never try to defend some of the more unsavoury aspects of their game; the haranguing of referees and the penchant for diving (Alves & Buquets the worst culprits for me).

The anti-football retorts after a poor result are quite predictable and boring; although it shouldn't be forgotten that these are generally post-match comments and can be made when passions are running high (last year JM blame ranged from UEFA to UNICEF for a defeat to Barca). Xavi, for example, I find to be intelligent and quite perceptive about football from interviews I have read.

Slight irony in posting a comment saying "Hala Madrid" and then complaining about cheating; I suppose it is OK for the likes of Ramos, Carvalho, Marcelo, Pepe & di Maria to cheat consistently so long as they play in white?

Pepe and Ramos and co are more guilty of harsh tackles, sinister fouls etc... and are punished accordingly with bookings/sending offs. I dont mind that, some teams will be physical, and give their lives to defend there own goal (such as Inter Milan under Mourinho, the ultimate display of defence).

Barcelona lead the way at diving, feinging injury, rolling around the floor, surrounding refs & linesman, etc... which i really cannot stand. I dont wish ill on many players but if Busquets never played football again, the world would be a better place.

Have to conceed however that Real recently have started to sink to Barca's level with the rolling around and such, but i think the last year or so has built up to an all out war.

I remember the so called "shame game" OF last season when mccoist and yellow teeth pushed each other. Not a patch on the shame of a classico.

[nelsonRFC82 305]

Really don't think Real have only "recently" started to dive & feign injury. In every Classico I have watched over the past couple years, di Maria & Alves seem to be having a competition to get each other booked by diving, rolling about on the floor and then running to the ref with their imaginary yellow cards.

You say Barca's antics have caused Real to try combat this with likewise; could alternatively say Barca feign injury and pressure refs because they know they will get fouled a lot and want to exaggerate this and highlight this to the ref so as to ensure he acts upon it. If it was Barca's actions that caused Real to sink to their level answer this; when was the last time Real beat Barca when the only thing you could talk about in the game was the football being played not the antics of the players?

I also wouldn't accept Pepe to be guilty of some sort of more noble cheating in that it is only hard tackles, he also seems to love throwing himself to the ground and holding his face, while also being guilty of cynical and sometimes brutal attacks not hard tackles. The standing on Messi's hand, stamping on Villa's knee last year and before that did he not receive something close to a 10 game ban for laying boots into a player who was lying on the ground (not in a classico and can't remember the opposition). If Busquets never plays again, he can take Pepe with him!

Fact is the feigning injury & haranguing refs etc. is endemic of the Spanish game not simply Barca, it is even within their fans nature. Watching games here I see fans roaring and shouting at TVs for yellow and red cards when it is clear their player is at it, holding his face or whatever. And then when an opposition player does likewise it is greeted by mocking laughs and criticising the cheek of the player...basically it is OK for your team to do it but not the opposition. I know when I saw Lafferty's dive against Aberdeen, for example, I cringed and certainly not shouting for Mulgrew's red.

This may be heightened and exaggerated by the pressure and media attention given to El Classico but it is really widespread regardless. I love the technical ability displayed in Spanish football but hate the cynical side of it, although the more I see it the more numb to it I probably become and just sort of accept it as "normal" sad as it is to say that.

Playing physical and defending with your life is not the same as kicking everything in front of you. The sheer number of fouls committed by the likes of Carvalho, Pepe, Lass & Ramos make red cards inevitable despite JM's attempt to coerce refs in to not doing by claiming beforehand he expects his team to get a player sent off...maybe tell them to stop committing so many fouls?

The Inter game may have been the ultimate show of defence, but didn't JM previously critise teams going to the bridge and "parking the bus", much like Xavi criticises Barca's opposition for being defensive. Sticking with this game, it is often used to highlight Busquets play acting for Motta's red...rightly so; but there were numerous instances of Inter players doing likewise, Maicon slid in to an advertising board got up walked forward 5 yards to get back on the pitch and then collapsed so the game to waste time. Lucio on numerous instances gave the impression he was having some sort of fit rolling about in apparent pain only to recover when the medical team arrived but with a couple more minutes wasted.

JM also took last year to say Guardiola should be ashamed at never having won a clean UCL (citing refs influence at Stamford Bridge and El Classico semis), I take it he feels the same about Inter beating Barca with the help of an offside goal & a clear penalty denied in the 1st leg and the incorrect decision to rule out Barca's winning goal in the last minute of the second leg...without which he would not have won the UCL with Inter.

I have never tried to defend the unsavoury side to Barca's game, but find it quite tiresome that they are constantly vilified for such actions while many others do likewise and it somehow is not so much of an issue when they do it.

[bluenose_jr 6]

Desperately trying to be controversial.

On this forum alone the hatred towards Barca is staggering, the constant talk of Alves & Busquets diving???? I admit (just as I have about Naisy) that there are times when these 2 players go to ground easily but in the last 2 seasons el classico's Real Madrid have been embarrassing, Pepe (the so called hardman), DiMaria et al.

& what about Messi getting kicked up & down the place?

Plus the guy above who said Ronaldo is better than Messi?

Puh-lease all I can say is show us your medals!

[Duncan 23]

Fantastic article.

[50ShadesofBlue 667]

Desperately trying to be controversial.

On this forum alone the hatred towards Barca is staggering, the constant talk of Alves & Busquets diving???? I admit (just as I have about Naisy) that there are times when these 2 players go to ground easily but in the last 2 seasons el classico's Real Madrid have been embarrassing, Pepe (the so called hardman), DiMaria et al.

& what about Messi getting kicked up & down the place?

Plus the guy above who said Ronaldo is better than Messi?

Puh-lease all I can say is show us your medals!

I agree with you.

I watched the Barca game last night and some of the football is just beyond belief. I think Messi contributes a lot more to the team than Ronaldo does for Madrid.

[ClintonGrey 365]

I don't like Barcelona for the same reasons I don't like Marseille.

[ScottBF2 3,540]

I don't like Barcelona for the same reasons I don't like Marseille.

There is no relation, in any way, between the two sides.

[debear 603]

Rangers fans greetin about Barca/Madrid are bent as fuck.

[Gid 46]

Really don't think Real have only "recently" started to dive & feign injury. In every Classico I have watched over the past couple years, di Maria & Alves seem to be having a competition to get each other booked by diving, rolling about on the floor and then running to the ref with their imaginary yellow cards.

You say Barca's antics have caused Real to try combat this with likewise; could alternatively say Barca feign injury and pressure refs because they know they will get fouled a lot and want to exaggerate this and highlight this to the ref so as to ensure he acts upon it. If it was Barca's actions that caused Real to sink to their level answer this; when was the last time Real beat Barca when the only thing you could talk about in the game was the football being played not the antics of the players?

I also wouldn't accept Pepe to be guilty of some sort of more noble cheating in that it is only hard tackles, he also seems to love throwing himself to the ground and holding his face, while also being guilty of cynical and sometimes brutal attacks not hard tackles. The standing on Messi's hand, stamping on Villa's knee last year and before that did he not receive something close to a 10 game ban for laying boots into a player who was lying on the ground (not in a classico and can't remember the opposition). If Busquets never plays again, he can take Pepe with him!

Fact is the feigning injury & haranguing refs etc. is endemic of the Spanish game not simply Barca, it is even within their fans nature. Watching games here I see fans roaring and shouting at TVs for yellow and red cards when it is clear their player is at it, holding his face or whatever. And then when an opposition player does likewise it is greeted by mocking laughs and criticising the cheek of the player...basically it is OK for your team to do it but not the opposition. I know when I saw Lafferty's dive against Aberdeen, for example, I cringed and certainly not shouting for Mulgrew's red.

This may be heightened and exaggerated by the pressure and media attention given to El Classico but it is really widespread regardless. I love the technical ability displayed in Spanish football but hate the cynical side of it, although the more I see it the more numb to it I probably become and just sort of accept it as "normal" sad as it is to say that.

Playing physical and defending with your life is not the same as kicking everything in front of you. The sheer number of fouls committed by the likes of Carvalho, Pepe, Lass & Ramos make red cards inevitable despite JM's attempt to coerce refs in to not doing by claiming beforehand he expects his team to get a player sent off...maybe tell them to stop committing so many fouls?

The Inter game may have been the ultimate show of defence, but didn't JM previously critise teams going to the bridge and "parking the bus", much like Xavi criticises Barca's opposition for being defensive. Sticking with this game, it is often used to highlight Busquets play acting for Motta's red...rightly so; but there were numerous instances of Inter players doing likewise, Maicon slid in to an advertising board got up walked forward 5 yards to get back on the pitch and then collapsed so the game to waste time. Lucio on numerous instances gave the impression he was having some sort of fit rolling about in apparent pain only to recover when the medical team arrived but with a couple more minutes wasted.

JM also took last year to say Guardiola should be ashamed at never having won a clean UCL (citing refs influence at Stamford Bridge and El Classico semis), I take it he feels the same about Inter beating Barca with the help of an offside goal & a clear penalty denied in the 1st leg and the incorrect decision to rule out Barca's winning goal in the last minute of the second leg...without which he would not have won the UCL with Inter.

I have never tried to defend the unsavoury side to Barca's game, but find it quite tiresome that they are constantly vilified for such actions while many others do likewise and it somehow is not so much of an issue when they do it.

Fantastic post. Can't argue with a single word.

[Creampuff 22,628]

On this forum alone the hatred towards Barca is staggering

Are you blind?!

The Barca love-in on here is staggering.

Plus the guy above who said Ronaldo is better than Messi?

Puh-lease all I can say is show us your medals!

Djimi Traore has a Champions League Winners Medal, as does Antonio Nunez.

Kleberson has a World Cup Winners Medal.

Having medals doesn't make you a good player.

[JamieD 19,129]

Are you blind?!

The Barca love-in on here is staggering.

Ahahahaha

There's like, a page of "fuck barca" posts and about three "they aren't that bad" ones in this very thread.

[Laudrup91 35]

HALA MADRID!

Barcelonas philosophy is an inspiration, how ca the other team score if they dont have the ball?

At times though they become boring as hell, and they are the biggest cheats ive seen in football in recent times.

Oh, and Ronaldo is twice the player of Messi.

Messi is shite

[theweebluenose 4,335]

"This is undeniably a great football team, but it seems that no matter how successful the club is, they cannot dispense with their victim persona. Their victories are “for football” and their few defeats are due to heinous acts against the spirit of the game. For the Catalans, Mourinho personifies this kind of treachery. If that is the case, then I hope the bad guys win."

Exactly how I feel about Barcelona.