Panel discussion: why are anterior cruciate ligament breakings becoming so sadly common??

First, it was Afellay. Then, Ion Vélez, from Girona FC. Then, Eneko, from CE Sabadell FC. And now Villarreal's star striker, Giuseppe Rossi. All them have fallen victim to the "fashion" injury: anterior cruciate ligament breaking. So this is the question:

Why are anterior cruciate ligament breakings becoming so sadly common??

Don't hesitate to answer if you got anything to say!!

No doubt on who's da best (5-0)

Handful after handful. Barça is a bruiser, with all it's letters. I'm really sorry for Mr. Caparrós.

Caparrós seemingly also founs a way to override the 3-4-3, as Joao Victor has the first goal in his head, but will it be because he was nervous, will it be somewhat else, he missed (luckily).

Messi (who else?) vanished up all hesitations in minute 13: unlucky move for Mallorca, as while trying to stop Barça's pass and pass flood, Nsue, one of Mallorca's forwards (forward!! A forward defending?? It does not sound logical... Well, except in catenaccios) touched the ball with the hands (you'll say: supposedly involuntarily, then fault and direct free kick). Not exactly, as he did this inside his area, thereby committing a penalty that was transformed by Messi with a high ball-breaking shot.

Again, "La Pulga" struck in minute 21: Isaac Cuenca (a Barça B forward that had done merits to climb to the first team) managed to avoid Ivan Ramis, connected a long center that was mis-volleyed by Adriano, and that mis-volley landed right in front of Messi, who was right in front of the goal (what a coincidence, isn't it?), and he did not forgive.

Again, AGAIN!!, Messi struck, just nine minutes later, when he cannoned in a great pass by Alves (this guy has managed to do something worthy of YouTube, you'll see).

Four minutes after the beginning of the second half, Isaac Cuenca finally had the price he had been so desperately looking for: line-breaking assist by Thiago, Cuenca dribbles Aouate and scores at pleasure.

And in the late second half extra time, Alves scored an impossible goal that could be the goal of the month: Messi takes a fault short, Alves gets the ball, and out of nowhere he connects an almost 25 meter mindless cannonball from the vertex of the area that goes straight to goal, hits the lower crossbar, and bounces in the net (OMG you don't see that every day).

Poor "bermellones". Poor Mr. Caparrós. Well... this is football, folks, this is football.

Now, La Liga takes a breath to allow the UEFA Champions League to take over, this time we lay exactly the last match, but reversed (instead of Barça-Viktoria, Viktoria-Barça), so that means Barça will travel to Czech Republic, more concretely, to Prague (why? because Viktoria's stadium is like BATE's one: it does not accomplish UEFA's requirements). So, this Monday (ooooofffff, three matches in a less than a week... that must be tiring), 20:45 (TV3?? PPV??), Viktoria-Barça at the Struncovy Stadium in Prague.

That's all for now, folks, see ya after the Viktoria-Barça!!

Anesthesically boring three points (0-1)

...TRANSMISSION BEGINNING...

No doubt that this match has been a wake-up call for a Barça that is slowly getting asleep.

As happened in Gijón, the first half had many clear chances that went scratching he post, or were saved in the last instance by Roberto, Granada CF's goalkeeper (dubbed "The Pink Cat" in Granada, because of his more than once shown feline reflexes and Granada CF's first goalkeeper outfit, which is almost completely pink).

Excepting for one: In minute 33, Xavi received a foul from Mainz, one of Granada's centre backs (who later made an heroic act), and when it came to shoot it, Xavi loaded his right leg, and launched a masterly thread-effected cannonball, unstoppable for Roberto (0-1, the only goal of the match).

The second half was quite a difference from the first. The hesitations began when Pedro injured himself when he was trying to retain the ball while avoiding Dani Benítez's continuous tackles. In one of these, he made a 180º turn, but his left foot got stuck in the ground, he twisted it and he fell to the gound, having the bad luck of also landing on his foot. Ankle distension. Two weeks down. You see, there's no way to stop the injuries curse.

Later, in minute 64, Nyom, Granada's left back, gave a present to Villa by accidentally giving the ball to him, so Villa did not hesitate in giving the ball to Messi, who vaselined it over Roberto. When everybody thought that the 0-2 was about to be settled in the scorer, Mainz, running like no one did in this match, managed to kick away the ball with a last-chance dive as it was about to cross the line. Really, when Mainz did this, the whole Nuevo Los Cármenes became a joy explosion.

And I was forgetting that there were two sending offs in this match, both by double yellow card: one for Jaime Romero, when he was fighting a ball near Barça's area, made a risky dangerous play move; Maxwell anticipated him, tried to head out the ball, and so he (Maxwell) received a horroful kick in the chin which supposed Jaime Romero's sending off.

The other one was for Dani Benítez, who was getting despaired because the match was ending, and the draw was so close yet so far. So after Roberto kicked a very long ball from his area, Dani Benítez reached for it, but was whistled offside by the referee (replay shows that when the ball was kicked by Roberto, both Dani Benítez and Alexandre Geijo were in clear offside), so he ended up losing his temper and kicked the ball to the other pitch, to which the referee did not hesitate in showing him his second yellow card, and thereby, sending him off.

Amazing on how much juice can anesthesic matches have...

After all this endless chatter (don't worry, I'm about to finish), just remember the next opponent: RCD Mallorca, now commanded by a good'ol known Joaquín Caparrós (yes, the former Athletic Club de Bilbao's coach), but they have the field handicap: yes, we play home.

So, Barça-Mallorca, this Saturday, 20:00, at the Camp Nou (Suppose it'll be by PPV, as TV3 always broadcasts the 22:00 matches)

That's all for now, folks, see ya after the Barça-Mallorca!!

END OF TRANSMISSION. OVER AND OUT (finally)

Maginot Line (0-0)

Much like Inter did, Sevilla formed an almost unbreakable Maginaud Line with 100% effective defenders. And the many balls that the defenders coludn't kick away were saved by "the octopus", Javi Varas, most probably the man of the match today. Conclusion? An adamantium bunker.

Both teams had chances, although Sevilla was the first one to endanger, as seemingly Marcelino García had found a way to "override" the 3-4-3, hence Sevilla's most dangerous opportunity: a poisoned thread shot by Jesús Navas, answered with a world-class dive by Valdés. As Guardiola put on the field the B scheme (4-3-3), things apparently normalized: Sevilla was still trying, but Barça was beginning to endanger Javi Varas's goal.

So Marcelino said "no more. I'm happy with a draw" and ordered his players to form an unbreakable catenaccio. Along the second half, many chances fell, but all, ALL of them collided with Javi Varas. Really, Sevilla's goalkeeper won't forget this match. The biggest chance came in what was almost the last chance of the game: Iniesta manages to sneak in, only to receive a penalty (Finally!! A penalty whistled for Barça!!) by Federico Fazio. As logical, Sevilla players tried to lose as much time as they could, but really, Kanouté went too far away. First by annoying Messi when he was about to kick the maximum penalty, to which he received a yellow card. Immediately after being booked, he toyed around with destiny by kicking the ball away; luckily, the referee was writing his name on the bookings notebook, so he didn't see him, and then, the Malian made one last gamble by seemingly starting a reasonless, meaningless brawl with Cesc, to which he (Kanouté, of course) was directly sent off.

All that lost time (about three minutes) affected Messi's keen accuracy sense, so when he kicked the penalty, Javi Varas already knew where he had to dive, he did, and he blocked it. There was one last chance, a foul near, very near the area by Fernando Navarro (a few steps nearer and it's another penalty) that supposed Navarro's sending off via double yellow card. Messi made the last gamble by trying to direct it straight into the goal, but AGAIN, it collided with the defense and with Javi Varas (yes, again. It can really be said that is thanks to Javi Varas that Sevilla managed to rip a point from the Camp Nou)

Not always you can win, it's true, but losing this way, with the opponent never daring to make at least a decent attack... it simply and really pisses you off.

Well next opponent is recently promoted Granada CF, Tuesday, at 20:00, PPV (we really have to watch out this time, as we play in the Nuevo Los Cármenes stadium, where Granada proves that, whenever they want, they can stand face-to-face with the biggest and best of this league)

Well, that's all for now, folks, see ya after the Granada-Barça!!

Shallow flavored "viktory" (2-0)

We won, yes. But we deserved more.

Viktoria didn't even dare to attack, concentrating all their efforts in overloading their own area with white-shirted players.

Like always, no much time was spent before the first one came form the boots of "Lo Puto Gusiluz" (Andrés Iniesta; he was called this way by the RAC1 speakers when he scored that dramatical extra-time goal at Stamford Bridge): zig-zag walling between Messi and Iniesta which Iniesta ends up by leaving a defender stuck with an awesome hat, and then connecting a merciless left shot.

The second one did not come until minute 82 (the czechs transformed themselves into a human bunker for almost an hour, also, Messi seemed to have a collision with David Bystroň, which unstabilized him (Bystroň) and Messi ended up having the bad luck of having Bystroň with all his weight falling on his right ankle. He's injured FOR SURE.) Well, after all this chatter, let's retake the main thread: the second one did not come until minute 82, as an already-damaged Messi tried to culminate a counterattack driven by Villa, and again, AGAIN!!, he was object of a penalty which was not whistled, but luckily for us, between the referee's and the defender's confusion, Villa managed to sneak his right foot between the mess to connect a ball-breaking shot.

It's a "viktory", yes. But it has a shallow flavor. I shall repeat we deserved more.

Ok. Now the Champions League takes a breath to allow La Liga to return, and this time we face Sevilla FC (OMG!). OMG?? Don't worry, dude, we play home!!

So, you know, this Saturday, at 22:00 (I wonder it's gonna be broadcasted by PPV), FC Barcelona-Sevilla FC from the Camp Nou.

That's all for now, folks, see ya after the Barça-Sevilla!!

FIFA Virus?? I don' have that word in my dictionary (3-0)

FIFA Virus, eh?? That's no more than a cheap excuse.

True is that Racing began trying to trouble up barça with five players in the midfield and an the advanced pressure standard always used by Héctor Cúper .

To that we have to add something (guess what): another injury (this time Piqué is the fallen one). Yes, that's not a jinx anymore. It has directly become a CURSE!!

When Barça seemed to lose the north and Racing began putting more and more pressure, the "Polaris" of the team (guess who) came up with one of his classical maneuvers: dizzing up the rival with countless passes and then the classical "all-people-dribble-around" (dribbling even Toño, Racing's goalkeeper) and finishing with the right foot (Min. 11).

Sixteen minutes later, we could clearly appreciate that Cesc is having his own trace in the team, with his classical, yet still nasty and deadly second line incomings (well, he did not play, as he's injured, of course, but midfielders seem to be taking example from him), as Pedro made a quite forced high pass from the left which Xavi, making a surprise incursion from the midfield line, headed in at pleasure (really, he has to see it very clearly to use the head, as Xavi isn't very good when it comes to air play)(min. 27)

The next one would not come 'till minute 60 (I remark that in minute 58 Messi received a clearer than water penalty, which the referee (classical) did not whistle): Iniesta manages to connect a ball-breaking shot with his left foot (this guy also has to see it very clearly, as Iniesta uses his left foot almost only for running and walking) which almost shatters the left post, Messi catches the rebound, and does not forgive.

And finally, in minute 87 or 88 (I don't remember which), an almost-goal by Abidal (surpirsing): a high pass by Messi, Abidal chests the ball, and then connects an overhead cannonball, answered by Toño with a Superman-like dive in order to stop the ball.

FIFA Virus, FIFA Virus... I know we are in an economical crisis, and we need money, but this is going too far away!!

Well, now, La Liga takes a deep breath, as the UEFA Champions League group stage returns:

after a cruel draw against A.C. Milan, and a walk against BATE Borisov, we receive the last contender of the group: FC Viktoria Plzeň (did I write it well?). Should be another walk.

Well, that's al for now, folks, see ya after the Barça-Viktoria!!

Panel discussion: Do we really have to worry about the "injuries jinx" that Barça is suffering?

He, he... Seems I'm getting used to panel discussions... Here's another one:

Do we really have to worry about the "injuries jinx" that Barça is suffering?

Don't hesitate to answer if you've got anythin' to say!

Dark grey, almost black (0-1)

Dark grey match. That's what happened in El Molinón.

Barça began the match with the usual high energy, and we did not have to wait much for the first goal: min. 11, as a missile from Xavi crashes against the right post, Adriano catches a forced rebound and manages to connect an irregular, low and slow shot that, luckily, is refracted by a defender and ends inside the net.

We can't complain, coming from a defender, but comparing to other goals and masterpieces we've seen, this is quite an ugly and flawed piece. Well, the most important is that it ended in the net.

Barça had more chances along the first half, but the second never fell. In the second half, the madness began, first beacuse Abidal went to enlarge the injuries list (it's a second degree contracture, one week down, luckily), and then Barça seemed to sink, and Sporting began to add pressure and freak out the culés (you'll wonder why precisely freaked out. What about Maxwell's many gifts to the opponents??).

And things kept this way till the match ended.

Well, as La Liga takes a breath to let a national team takeover, I'll say the our next match is on Saturday, the 15th, at 20:00, vs Racing de Santander, playing home.

That's all for now, folks, see ya after the Barça-Racing!!

BATEd away (0-5)

Sorry for not being able to write sooner.

Let's begin.

Someone said: "Rubin Kazan, Rubin Kazan..." Excuse me? I didn't hear you!!

Just amazing. BATE began the match planting the tank in front of the goal (everybody, even the referee, defending) and it wasn't until minute 18 when that tank was blown up: great high pass by Alves, Messi intimidates (I don't know how, as he's quite smaller than him) Volodko, making him hit the ball as he steps backwards and net an own goal.

Then, four minutes later, a superstar-class center by Villa is awesomely headed in by Pedro.

Eight minutes later, BATE suffered from bad luck again, as what it seemed an easy ball wasn't well caught by Gutor, and Messi, pricking opportunism, headed it in.

Almost twenty minutes later, Messi equaled Kubala as the second top scorer of Barça's history, after a good pass from Alves followed by a ball-breaking shot from him.

Scrapping the second half's extra time, Villa finally was gifted with what he had been desperately looking for: a goal, after a present from the belarusian defense, Villa and Messi drove the counterattack, and, whereas everybody thought that Villa would give the goal to Messi, the "guaje" performed an awesome low, ball-breaking shot to beat Gutor for the fifth time in the night.

OK. Back home. Puyol injured. Recovered. Cesc injured. One month down. Along with Afellay, Adriano, Iniesta and Alexis. It seems that Espanyol has spreaded the jinx of injuries to Barça.

And, man, that's bad luck, beacuse our next rival is Real Sporting de Gijón, and we play in El Molinón... remember, last season they managed to rip away two points from us there after a masterpiece from their star striker, David Barral...

We should not be off guard, but if we play like we know, it should be an easy job.

That's all for now, folks, see you after the Sporting-Barça!!