THE BEST PERFORMANCE IN HISTORY?

What else could I possibly discuss other than FC Barçelona’s incredible performance against arch-rivals Real Madrid?

Last week I hailed José Mourinho to the heavens but on Monday night his Real side were destroyed by one of the finest team performances seen in my lifetime. Prior to his first ever El Clásico Mourinho had never seen any team under his management loose by more than three goals in a game. Barça hit him and his capital crew for five with stunning style, intelligence and ruthlessness.

Everybody has their own opinion as to which is the world’s greatest derby. Some will say the passionate Boca Juniors vs River Plate derby; others will say the ferocious Milan derby. For me El Clásico is the world’s biggest fixture.

The political history of this match dates back to before the Spanish Civil War. Barça vs Real became more than a game during the Francoist era. As Catalan nationalism grew, CdF Barcelona (as it was known back then) became a symbol of Catalan resistance to Castilian oppression. Likewise, Real Madrid (the club of Francisco Franco, the fascist Spanish dictator) came to symbolise the regime, and Spanish right-wing nationalism. Matches between the two have always been fine examples of the better aspects of the beautiful game. Both clubs passionately believe in playing the game the right way, with priority given to attack ahead of defence. Due to this policy matches between the two clubs tend to be memorable.

Over the years each club has had its periods of domination and FC Barçelona are certainly enjoying life at the moment at the expense of their enemies from Madrid. Monday’s victory over Real was Pep Guardiola’s fifth El Clásico victory in a row since becoming manager in 2008. However none of his previous matches have been as conclusive as the 5-0 at the Camp Nou on Monday night.

Barça started the match in their usual manner, passing the ball elegantly and keeping possession with ease. Two goals in the first twenty minutes from Xavi and Pedro gave the Catalans a deserved early advantage as they stretched the Real Madrid defence to breaking point.

Barçelona were doing all the attacking and the frustration began to show for Real Madrid when a discontented Cristiano Ronaldo shoved Pep Guardiola in the chest, triggering outrage in the stands and on the field.

Soon after the unsavoury incident Ronaldo struck a thirty yard free kick a few feet wide of Victor Valdés’ right hand post. This was the closest the team in white came to scoring all night.

The second half saw Villa score twice before substitute Jeffren finished off the scoring in the dying minutes. There was still time for Sergio Ramos to receive a red card for sticking his palm in Carles Puyol’s face in the ninetieth minute. Barça had scored five goals without conceding one against a previously unbeaten side. In doing so they managed to rack up 62% of the possession. However these statistics flatter Real, who in truth could have been humiliated even further.

Tuesday’s Marca (Madrid’s number one sports daily) claimed Barça were “a machine.” Britain’s Sky Sports correspondent at the match instantly proclaimed the Blaugrana’s performance one of the greatest in football history. I find it hard to argue with that conclusion.

All day I’ve been sifting through memories of some of the greatest performances during my lifetime. Most of them were by FC Barçelona as well, though I couldn’t find one that struck me as better than what I saw from Barça against Real Madrid on Monday night.

The passing was the most accurate I’ve ever seen yet at the same time it was purposeful and sophisticated. The level of skill on show from the likes of Messi, Xavi and Villa was out of this world. All too often we saw the men in white chasing shadows, being lead astray like puppets on strings by their Catalan superiors. Equally incredible was the determination and hard work of the players when they didn’t have the ball. The pressing and tackling by FC Barçelona was something we rarely see from Spanish teams. It showed energy, drive and a willingness to play that was highly refreshing.

FC Barçelona's players were clearly enjoying this match, their smiles lighting the stadium as effectively as any floodlight. And not even the relentless precipitation could dampen the moods of the thousands of seguidors who got soaked viewing their beloved team crush their despised opponents. The final whistle brought deafening, appreciative cheers from the crowd, fuelled by the purest elation.

Everybody who was fortunate enough to have seen that game, in the Nou Camp or on TV, will forever be blessed with the memory of one of football’s all-time great performances. In the years to come I have a feeling we’ll look back on this team and celebrate it as the best ever. Monday’s Clásico will support that claim better than any other performance.

Is Mourinho good or bad for football?

Is José Mourinho good or bad for football? It’s a simple question with a not so simple answer.

Last month whilst randomly trawling through the vast expanse of videos on YouTube I stumbled upon a collection of video tributes to Mourinho. I watched them all with a smile on my face. So many unforgettable memories packed into a small compilation. I chuckled as I watched the great man sprinting excitedly down the touchline at Old Trafford after his FC Porto side grabbed a late winner in 2004. I laughed out loud when he gave a shocked Carles Puyol a smack across the face in the Nou Camp tunnel.  I admired his cool demeanour as he casually shook the hands of his coaching staff shortly before the end of a game, declaring “Job done.”

His cheeky, flamboyant, entertaining antics never fail to make me smile. His personality impresses me, yet what impresses me most are his incredible achievements as a manager. Mourinho’s 47 years old, 21 years younger than the great Sir Alex Ferguson. The Portuguese has been a manager for just 10 years, meaning the current Manchester United boss had been in management for 26 years before a young José was handed the reins at Benfica in 2000. However in the last ten years Mourinho’s won two Champions’ League titles, an achievement that took Fergie 36 years. In addition to his Champions’ Leagues, Mourinho’s won six domestic titles (two with Porto, two with Chelsea, two with Inter), three domestic cups, two English League Cups, three domestic super cups and the 2003 UEFA cup with FC Porto.

Upon his arrival at Chelsea he declared himself The Special One, and who could really argue. His success with numerous clubs is unparalleled in the modern era.

What baffles the football community is how he commands unearthly respect and love from his players. Frank Lampard struggled to explain his methods, simply stating “He makes you feel ten feet tall. He makes you think you’re the best player on Earth.” He inspires his players to achieve great feats through his unique and mysterious motivation techniques.

Mourinho is one of the most impressive men in world sport. In fact I would say he’s one of the most impressive men in the world at the moment.

Love him or hate him, every man would love to be him. He’s the most successful football manager in recent times. He’s a man of outstanding intelligence, wisdom and wit with incredible linguistic abilities. He’s a man of style and elegance who despite nearing 50 is still adored by women of all ages. In short he’s the perfect man.

However every now and again he causes controversy in a way that forces us to question his greatness.

Last night Mourinho’s Real Madrid were leading 4-0 against Ajax, and on their way through to the knock-out stages of the Champions’ League with a game left to play in group G against Auxerre. In the closing minutes of the game Xabi Alonso, one of the top footballing brains in Europe, inexplicably took an age to take a free kick inside his own half. After losing patience the referee showed Alonso his second yellow card of the night and Alonso was sent off. Nobody could understand why Alonso had been so careless, having already been booked.

A few minutes later his team-mate Sergio Ramos copied Alonso and delayed the taking of a free-kick to a point where the referee had to show him a second yellow card. As Ramos walked off he shook the hand of the bemused ref and thanked him for the dismissal. Every viewer across the world was wondering why Alonso and Ramos had seemingly deliberately sough red cards, thus ruling them out of the clash with Auxerre.

And then it hit us!

Though the match still holds some importance for Auxerre who need to beat the Spaniards to have a chance of qualification for the Europa League,  this fixture is little more than a friendly for Real who have cruised through to the last 16 of the Champions’ league.  Therefore Ramos and Alonso’s red cards mean the two are suspended for a friendly. This means that their disciplinary slates have been wiped clean, effectively eliminating the risk of them getting suspended in the vital knock-out rounds for an accumulation of yellow cards.

This move has received a mixed reaction. Marca, the Madrid sports daily called it “cunning” yet Sky Sports’ Richard Keys thought the move was “not in the spirit of the game.” It’s the kind of tactic that only Mourinho could devise. His mind is perfectly engineered to bending the rules in such a way and he deserves credit for spotting the fault in the rulebook that allows his team to act in such a manner.

Yet I’m sure we wouldn’t appreciate his intellect quite so much if this became a regular sight in European competitions.

This isn’t the first time Mourinho’s failed to act in the interests of the sport. A known advocate of diving, he’s gone to great lengths to defend his players in the past when they’ve committed indefensible tackles or used violent conduct on the pitch.

Can José go too far at times? Of course he does! Who can forget his shameful, unsubstantiated accusation that ref Anders Frisk met with Frank Raijkaard at half time in Chelsea’s 2005 fixture against Barcelona in the Nou Camp. This accusation led to Chelsea fans bombarding Frisk and his family with death threats, forcing the referee to retire.

Is Mourinho good or bad for football? That’s for you to decide. It’s his controversial side that makes him the marmite figure he is today. Love him or hate him, he’s provided us with many great talking points and tremendous entertainment over the years, and long may it continue.

I’m salivating at thinking of Real Madrid’s clash with FC Barcelona in El Classico next Monday!

HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION IS GOOD NEWS FOR ROMANTICS

The question’s been repeated over and over again over the last fifty years or so; whatever happened to Hungarian football?

The country that revolutionised European football during the 50s hasn’t qualified for a World Cup since 1986 and hasn’t progressed past the first round of the competition since they made the quarter finals in 1966. Not one member of the starting line up against Lithuania in yesterday’s friendly has any memory of their homeland playing in a major tournament.

How did the inventors of extravert, expansive football get so average?

It’s impossible to over-emphasise Hungary’s effect on football. The Magnificent Magyars, as they were romantically nicknamed, was the Hungarian team of the early 50s that broke all records and conventions under the stewardship of their tactically astute coach, Gustáv Sebes. Hungary was the first team outside the Home Nations to beat England in Wembley. Not only did they beat an England team that were seen as invincible at home, they crushed their spirits with a 6-3 thrashing before inflicting a record defeat on the three lions with a 7-1 massacre in Budapest. The amazing attacking abilities of Puskás, Hidegkuti, Bozsik and Kocsis tore teams apart as Hungary went on a record-breaking run of 31 games unbeaten between 1950 and 1954.

The stylish Magyars’ run came to an unexpected end in the 1954 World Cup final against underdogs West Germany. The reasons behind Hungary’s failure to lift the Jules Rimet trophy remain debated to this day. Many believe the star players had become arrogant and complacent due to their incredible results. They had scored an average of 5.4 goals per game in the tournament, including a 9-0 victory over South Korea, and West Germany had been dependent on their super striker Fritz Walter to drag them from post-war blues to World Cup finalists. Others simply believe Coach Sepp Herberger outwitted his opponent on the day.

Whatever the reasons behind their shock defeat, Hungary lost the game 3-2 and Hungary’s golden era was about to end.

However their style, beauty and elegance inspired many teams, including Spain and the Netherlands. The likes of Puskás and Kocsis are still admired today for their revolutionary approach to the game. The Hungary team of 1954 are regarded by many as one of the best teams never to win a World Cup along with the Dutch sides of 74 and 78, and Brazil’s brilliant 1982 team.

With a culture that has lasted more than a millennium and a glorious history of conquest and rebellion, Hungarians are a proud people. Engage a Hungarian in conversation about their history and you will not be able to change the topic of conversation. The Magnificent Magyars stir up similar emotions of pride and admiration; however it’s unlikely that any Hungarian would wish to discuss their footballing history after this glorious period.

Due to a lack of funding and a lack of enthusiasm the national side has been stuck in a very long rut. The production line that once churned out magicians of outstanding individual skill has only been producing average players of moderate abilities.

Yet things are slowly changing.

A new generation of young, energetic, technically gifted Hungarians are trying to resurrect the national side, with some success.

Hungary were unlucky not to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; losing out to Portugal and Denmark in the last round of matches. However they now sit second in their qualifying group for Euro 2012 with three victories in four matches.

This promising crop of youngsters consists of a blend of home-grown and foreign-based players. Pál Lázár is one fine example of the new generation of Hungarian footballers. The Videoton FC full-back is quick and intelligent with an eye for a pass. The 22 year old is proving that the Hungarian league is now capable of providing the national team with top class players.

The two flair players of the side are Ádám Szalai of high-flying Bundesliga outfit Mainz (formerly of Real Madrid) and Balázs Dzsudzsák, PSV’s flying winger. Both players are blessed with ferocious pace, great ball-control and accurate shooting.

The recent results have been positive, yet what will please Hungarian fans most is the style of the team. Their crisp passing and subtle yet effective movement has lead Hungarians to dream of a brighter future.

It would be outrageous to suggest that this fresh, boyish squad can emulate the great side of the 50s. The aim of this auspicious generation of players is to restore some much needed pride and passion in the national team. The first step towards achieving this goal is qualifying for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Next up for Hungary is the tough test of world cup finalists the Netherlands.

I certainly hope we see Hungary in a major tournament soon because a strong Hungary is good for football.

CALCIO HELD TO RANSOM BY PLAYERS

Rarely will you hear the general public sympathise with the plight of top flight footballers. They’re generally seen as overpaid, self-obsessed prima donnas who quit the real world long ago for a life of wealth and luxury.

So for shame on the Italian players’ federation for threatening strike action!

What’s wrong? In need of one more gold-plated Ferrari? Has Serie A refused their demands to legalise supermodel bigamy? Or do they want to ban heading so as to prevent them from ruining their pristine hairstyles? Not exactly.

The players’ association (AIC) is complaining because Serie A clubs are proposing measures that in the words of the head of the AIC, Giancarlo Abete “would seriously curtail the rights of players.”

The most controversial of these proposals is Serie A’s wish to hand clubs the ability to offload a player to another club if said player only has a year remaining on his contract, whether the player wants to move or not. This transfer would depend on the other club offering the player the same wages as he’s earning at his present club.

The aim is to stop clubs losing money through the dreaded Bosman ruling (the rule that allows players to leave a club on a free if their contracts have expired).

Since the introduction of the Bosman ruling in 1995 players nearing the end of their contracts have been able to move freely between clubs, in many cases costing their parent clubs a small fortune. Club owners view top players as valued assets, so losing a 6m€ player for free can be a real smack in the face. How often do we see owners desperate to flog their big names as their contracts approach their expiry dates, just to get a bit of money back for their investments?

Should Serie A clubs get their way owners will never ever have to convince a contracted player to leave early; because they’ll be able to force them out!

There are two ways of looking at this. One perspective is Serie A’s perspective. Compared to English Premier League and La Liga clubs, the modern Italian top flight club is a model of good financial management. It’s been a few years since Parma’s near collapse as a result of the bankruptcy of their major local funder. Though the odd scandal rears its head every now and again like the refereeing bribery case in 2006, debt in Italian football is considerably lower than debt in English and Spanish football. However clubs still work with fine margins; which explains to a large extent why AC Milan, AS Roma, Juventus, Lazio and Inter aren’t competing as strongly in the transfer market as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Man City.

With these fine margins to adhere to, transfer fees become a vital source of income. Losing a top player without any compensation is therefore a pizza in the face for these directors. It’s very easy to see their point of view on the subject.

On the other hand the new ruling could violate players’ human rights. Imagine if Andrea Caracciolo of Brescia Calcio, with one year remaining on his contract, is told to pack his bags and head to Lecce. He’d have to move his family from Northern Italy where they’re settled, all the way to the peninsula’s heel. He’d have to leave his friends, his home, his way of life, and resettle in another city without any say on the matter.

To me this sounds like paid slavery. The Geneva convention gives us all the right to choose where we work, something the proposed legislation by Serie A doesn’t give players.

For once I’m on the players’ side. These are human beings (albeit highly paid human beings) with families, who would undoubtedly be deeply affected by this new ruling.

Though nobody wants to see the likes of Ronaldinho, De Rossi and Sneijder on a picket line I have a horrible feeling it’ll be unstoppable if Serie A don’t change their stance. With Serie A the weakest it’s been in many years can the league really afford to provoke industrial action?

SWANS TRIUMPH IS VICTORY FOR BEAUTIFUL GAME

First of all welcome to my new blog.

You may be put off by the title of my first post, however I assure you these are not the ramblings of a miserable lower league fan whose disillusion with top flight football has lead him to rant at everything to do with Sepp Blatter, extortionate transfer fees and agents........ and of course Wayne Rooney!

Not at all!

My aim is to document some of the major incidents in European football, and give my opinion on the subjects. You may find many of my views controversial. Many of you will disagree with my posts yet I feel you will find yourselves nodding in agreement with a lot of my views.

Therefore why, I hear you ask, am I kicking off with a subject that at first glance seems to only relate to a few thousand football supporters from South Wales?

It’s because the South Wales derby on Sunday reflected all that is great about football.

These two clubs have been flying high at the top end of the English Championship table, with Cardiff City second and Swansea City third, going into the game.

Cardiff hit the headlines during the summer by luring Man City striker and Wales captain Craig Bellamy to South Wales on loan. The cash-strapped club pulled off the coup of the season, also getting ex-bluebird Jason Koumas, Hull midfielder Seyi Olofinjana and Wolves striker Andy Keogh on loan to beef up their small squad.

Swansea on the other hand had a turbulent summer. After having to say goodbye to fans’ favourites Lee Trundle and Leon Britton their pre-season plans were thrown into disarray when the club lost a manager for a second summer in a row. Paulo Sousa, who led the club to within a point of the play-offs the season before, departed the Liberty for Leicester City and once again Swansea were searching for a manager. They found Brendan Rodgers, a man who had been sacked before Christmas the previous season by Reading. Rodgers’ big signing was former Chelsea youngster Scott Sinclair, yet the club failed to land most of their transfer targets.

Though both teams have had positive starts to the season Cardiff, due to their big names, were favourites to win this red-hot derby.

Yet the match ended Cardiff City 0-1 Swansea City with Dutchman Marvin Emnes grabbing the winner with a superb finish on the turn on 74 minutes.

How did this happen?

Simply put, beauty triumphed over the beast!

I admit I’m slightly biased here, being a Swansea City supporter. However looking at this from a footballing point of view, this was a good result for the sport.

Cardiff, though their team-sheet was laden with big names, attempted to muscle their way to victory, depending on long-balls for attacks. Swansea on the other hand travelled to the Welsh capital looking to get the ball on the floor and pass their way to victory in an entertaining manner.

Swansea kept possession for long periods of time, passing the ball from defence to attack and throwing in bouts of individual skill whenever possible. Cardiff’s constant and at times malicious fouling failed to prevent the Swans winning and outclassing their South Wales enemies.

What does this tell us about modern day football?

It tells us that no matter how many big names there are in a team, old fashioned hoof-ball, bully-boy tactics don’t work anymore. Gone are the days where teams could win games simply by being bigger and stronger than their opposition.

There’s no better example of this than the FIFA World Cup last summer.

England’s squad included world class players such as Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole yet they failed to reach the World Cup quarter finals. They were spectacularly knocked out by a German side that boasted no household names, yet aimed to play aesthetically-pleasing football.

Germany reached the semi-finals where they were beaten by eventual tournament winners Spain.

In the final in Johannesburg, Spain took on a tough, organised Dutch team that had abandoned their traditional total-football in favour of a more Machiavellian style of play. With the eyes of the world on Soccer City the Iberians defeated the Netherlands thanks to an Extra-time Iniesta winner. The Spaniards used skill, flair and entertainment to lead them to the FIFA World Cup trophy. The Netherlands on the other hand were very lucky to have only received one red card after attempting to kick Spain into submission.

The Spanish victory in 2010 marks the end of what many would call FC Barcelona’s decade. For over the past ten years Barça have continuously educated the world on how to win titles through spectacular football.
This begs the question, has the day football purists have been waiting for finally arrived?

No longer can teams be bullied into defeat. No longer can the hoof-ball tactic work effectively. No longer can you foul your way to success.

Beauty has finally triumphed over the beast!