Someone once said that in England football is war, in Italy it is chess, and in Spain it is theatre. José Mourinho has proved that he can battle it out in England by winning the league title twice with Chelsea. He has also just shown he can manoeuvre with the best of them in Italy by winning the Scudetto, the Coppa and the Champions League in the same season. So now he comes to Spain, set on continuing an extraordinary campaign of European conquest that began in earnest when he announced himself to the world by leading Porto to the Champions League title in 2004. But if, as anticipated, he becomes Real Madrid’s new coach, can he provide the kind of success and theatre the club … [Read more...] about Mourinho: Madrid’s saviour, Barça’s anti-Christ?
Champions League
Seeking the perfect leader for a two-horse race
The Spanish league season that has just ended may have been a thriller, with Barcelona only securing the title on the last day of the season, but in a couple of ways it has been an entirely predictable affair. Once again, only two teams were ever serious contenders; and once again, Real Madrid seems intent on replacing its coach. Manuel Pellegrini, the former Villarreal manager drafted in to mould a team from an expensive but disparate collection of summer signings at Real Madrid, is a man whose days are numbered; so much so that the Chilean can count them on one hand. There is little in the way of reassurance emanating from the Bernabéu boardroom that Pellegrini will be invited to see … [Read more...] about Seeking the perfect leader for a two-horse race
Guardiola’s masterwork is based on Cruyff’s art
Barcelona’s latest triumph on a seemingly inexorable march to another domestic and European double –a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Bernabéu on April 10– was described in the Spanish media as cartera ganado por cantera – roughly, the youth team beats the wallet. It has become one of Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s favourite jibes towards the team from the capital and the outspoken lawyer, who stands down from the stewardship of the club in the summer, is enjoying his personal finale immensely. “It was a victory for our mode of football and as a club,” Laporta told reporters after the match with thinly veiled glee. Of the two starting line-ups, Real’s contained one product of its … [Read more...] about Guardiola’s masterwork is based on Cruyff’s art
Arsenal vs. Barça: a purists’ treat
For football purists, the Champions League quarter-final between Arsenal and Barcelona represents all that European competition should be: two teams that play an aesthetic passing game and who do not rely on extravagance in the transfer market to bolster their chances of continental glory. The tantalizing prospect of the Premier League and La Liga’s silkiest sides going toe-to-toe for a semi-final place presents a tactical dilemma for the managers, Arsène Wenger and Pep Guardiola. Arsenal and Barcelona’s playing styles are very similar and it is unlikely that either coach will lean toward over-caution in the first leg. Barça will play to win, and Arsenal will not eschew their own … [Read more...] about Arsenal vs. Barça: a purists’ treat
What now for Real Madrid’s €250-million flops?
Legend has it that on one of the several occasions that Real Madrid was wooing Arsène Wenger in the hope of persuading him to become the team’s new coach, he visited the Bernabéu to meet with senior club officials. After the meeting, as the unimpressed Arsenal boss drove away from the stadium, he said to his translator: “Real Madrid thinks it’s a big club, but it behaves like a small one.” When Real crashed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage after drawing 1-1 against Lyon at the Bernabéu, the gap between the club’s lofty ambitions and reality was plain for all to see. This year, of all years, was when the nine-time European champions were supposed to return to the top of the … [Read more...] about What now for Real Madrid’s €250-million flops?
Laporta: first we take Barcelona
What do you do after making one of the world’s most successful football clubs even more successful? If you’re outgoing Barcelona president Joan Laporta, you think about going into politics. Catalan politics. Bound by the football club’s two-terms-only rule, the 47-year-old will be out of a job by June 30, by which time Barcelona’s 100,000 members must elect a new president. Press reports suggest that Laporta will announce his intention to run in the regional elections due in Catalonia this autumn. Over the last year, his political ambitions have gradually taken shape. He briefly flirted with the two main nationalist groupings, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), and the conservative … [Read more...] about Laporta: first we take Barcelona