Another road test, another victory for reigning Spanish Primera Division (La Liga)Champion FC Barcelona in what many thought would be a challenging match against league rival Atletico Madrid. Having lost in their three previous trips to Vicente Calderon 2-1, 4-3 and 4-2, Barca was able to reassert itself and come away with a 2-1 victory in front of packed crowd in Madrid.
FC Barcelona earned all three points and it earned them it style with two first half goals from stars Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique. The first came in the 13' when a beautiful through ball found a streaking David Villa was sent off the right post. The deflected shot was corralled by a Spanish player who hit a cutting Lionel Messi at the top of the box, and well the rest is history. Messi laid a beautiful one touch and struck it with his outside left, sending the ball towards the far post and into the back of the net for the first goal of the match.
While Barca looked to take charge early with an aggressive combination of precision passing, ball control and off the ball skill, Atletico Madrid answered in the 25' with a beautiful set piece from the corner that saw Raul Garcia go sky high for the header, knocking it into the back of the net. With momentum clearly lost, Barca didn't waste anytime answering back with a perfect set piece of its own, this time from the left side. In the 32' Gerard Pique lined up near the far post, settled the corner off his chest and one touched it far post to put Barca up 2-1, eventually sealing the game for the Spanish club.
All things aside this was a very up tempo game that was controlled largely by a superior and far more athletic Barca squad, a team that has seen its fair share of success in recent years. Coming off of a 2009-10 campaign that saw the club win their second consecutive La Liga title and their 20th in club history, Barca looked in mid season form early and never looked back. The 2009 season was also a dominating one for the club, finishing with a 31-6-1 record and +74 goal differential. Its only loss came to this same Atletico Madrid team 2-1 last season, but this time they were sent home packing after a tough loss yesterday afternoon.
But how does a squad, in an elite futbol conference like La Liga put up such astonishing numbers, equal to that of say a 15 year old cracked out on Mountain Dew playing hours of FIFA 10 on end. FC Barcelona's roster is a great place to start and upon further inspection it becomes apparent that theres is a strong correlation between their recent World Cup and La Liga success and the players with the team fields. A team that cruised its way to the 2010 FIFA World Cup title, having only lost its opening round Group Stage match against Switzerland 2-1, Spain ripped off an amazing streak of textbook, ball hawking possession style futbol that saw them win their last four games by a final score of 1-0. This aggressive, yet controlled form of play was made easy by a group of professionals with years of experience and countless hours of play that could have only been done by a squad with this much collective experience.
To further back this point, FC Barcalona's Roster boasts a handful of its 2010 World Cup squad including David Villa, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Pedro Rodriguez, Victor Valdes, Xavi, and Andre Iniesta to name a few. Having concocted what many could consider a "Dream Team" amongst club soccer fans worldwide, its easy to see how the recent successes of Spanish soccer could be easily tabulated from looking at this trend in player/personnel acquisition and development. I guess Pat Riley and Co. were not that far off in their ability to turn international success (2008 Olympic Gold) and lasting friendships into a so called Super Team, set to dominate the NBA regular season in always popping Miami, Florida. To say that they were the first to sign large contracts and "conspire" to play together would be an understatement, as it seems the Spanish are on pace to continue to dominate the world of soccer using similar, yet effective tactics.
While I am not saying that I oppose such a move, because I feel that teams like this are great for sports fans and are often entertaining, the mere fact that Spanish soccer is at the forefront of International and Club play should not come as a surprise. One could only hope that similar soccer frenzied countries should find a way to do the same. Keeping their local talent in house and on the same team would only serve to benefit clubs and national teams as a whole, because we all know at the end of the day that practice makes perfect and there is a strong correlation between flawless execution, team chemistry and good old fashion home grown talent.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Seeing Double: FC Barcelona 'Dream Team' doubles as World Cup Squad
Another road test, another victory for reigning Spanish Primera Division (La Liga)Champion FC Barcelona in what many thought would be a challenging match against league rival Atletico Madrid. Having lost in their three previous trips to Vicente Calderon 2-1, 4-3 and 4-2, Barca was able to reassert itself and come away with a 2-1 victory in front of packed crowd in Madrid.
FC Barcelona earned all three points and it earned them it style with two first half goals from stars Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique. The first came in the 13' when a beautiful through ball found a streaking David Villa was sent off the right post. The deflected shot was corralled by a Spanish player who hit a cutting Lionel Messi at the top of the box, and well the rest is history. Messi laid a beautiful one touch and struck it with his outside left, sending the ball towards the far post and into the back of the net for the first goal of the match.
While Barca looked to take charge early with an aggressive combination of precision passing, ball control and off the ball skill, Atletico Madrid answered in the 25' with a beautiful set piece from the corner that saw Raul Garcia go sky high for the header, knocking it into the back of the net. With momentum clearly lost, Barca didn't waste anytime answering back with a perfect set piece of its own, this time from the left side. In the 32' Gerard Pique lined up near the far post, settled the corner off his chest and one touched it far post to put Barca up 2-1, eventually sealing the game for the Spanish club.
All things aside this was a very up tempo game that was controlled largely by a superior and far more athletic Barca squad, a team that has seen its fair share of success in recent years. Coming off of a 2009-10 campaign that saw the club win their second consecutive La Liga title and their 20th in club history, Barca looked in mid season form early and never looked back. The 2009 season was also a dominating one for the club, finishing with a 31-6-1 record and +74 goal differential. Its only loss came to this same Atletico Madrid team 2-1 last season, but this time they were sent home packing after a tough loss yesterday afternoon.
But how does a squad, in an elite futbol conference like La Liga put up such astonishing numbers, equal to that of say a 15 year old cracked out on Mountain Dew playing hours of FIFA 10 on end. FC Barcelona's roster is a great place to start and upon further inspection it becomes apparent that theres is a strong correlation between their recent World Cup and La Liga success and the players with the team fields. A team that cruised its way to the 2010 FIFA World Cup title, having only lost its opening round Group Stage match against Switzerland 2-1, Spain ripped off an amazing streak of textbook, ball hawking possession style futbol that saw them win their last four games by a final score of 1-0. This aggressive, yet controlled form of play was made easy by a group of professionals with years of experience and countless hours of play that could have only been done by a squad with this much collective experience.
To further back this point, FC Barcalona's Roster boasts a handful of its 2010 World Cup squad including David Villa, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Pedro Rodriguez, Victor Valdes, Xavi, and Andre Iniesta to name a few. Having concocted what many could consider a "Dream Team" amongst club soccer fans worldwide, its easy to see how the recent successes of Spanish soccer could be easily tabulated from looking at this trend in player/personnel acquisition and development. I guess Pat Riley and Co. were not that far off in their ability to turn international success (2008 Olympic Gold) and lasting friendships into a so called Super Team, set to dominate the NBA regular season in always popping Miami, Florida. To say that they were the first to sign large contracts and "conspire" to play together would be an understatement, as it seems the Spanish are on pace to continue to dominate the world of soccer using similar, yet effective tactics.
While I am not saying that I oppose such a move, because I feel that teams like this are great for sports fans and are often entertaining, the mere fact that Spanish soccer is at the forefront of International and Club play should not come as a surprise. One could only hope that similar soccer frenzied countries should find a way to do the same. Keeping their local talent in house and on the same team would only serve to benefit clubs and national teams as a whole, because we all know at the end of the day that practice makes perfect and there is a strong correlation between flawless execution, team chemistry and good old fashion home grown talent.
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