Monthly Archives: April 2010

Real Madrid v. Barcelona – Sublime Summation

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First off, Barcelona deserved to win. There was no phantom call. There was no atrocious officiating. Barcelona deserved to win. And they won. I’m sure that Sir Alex could find some fault with a close off-sides call, but Madrid lost, fair, square, & full circle.

Still, this game failed to live up to the hype of a clasico. Messi did have handful of clear cut chances, only for San Iker to intervene, but ultimately Madrid’s full court press did cause problems for Barcelona “build-from-the-back” approach. Valdes, not used to seeing a forward run at him full speed, booted his fair share of balls to the sideline. A moral victory? More like a morale victory by immoral means. But I’ll take it. Continue reading “Real Madrid v. Barcelona – Sublime Summation” »

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona – Life's a Beach….

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So, the space-time continuum remains firmly intact. My blog has failed. My tweets? Worthless. As long as the world gyrates around the sun, the weight of my writing will have had no impact on the Earth’s rotation. But…there is hope.

As the collective footballing conscious surfs the Somalian-Pirate infested internet waters in search of streams, or the lower class with middle class pretensions pay for cable, I….I will be not watching the game. Yes. I am not watching the game. Instead, I am relying on my input of the game on my readers. Yes. YOU. Your tweets are all that I will see, feel, touch, and smell as Madrid duels with Barcelona.

I also will be at the beach, with my feet in the sand, the sun on my chest, and hopefully a delicious chocobanano in my mouth.

Please don’t lie to me. Please don’t hurt me. And be descriptive in your tweets!….. Continue reading “Real Madrid vs. Barcelona – Life's a Beach….” »

Real Madrid v. Barcelona Preview – It'll Be A…

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I don’t want to come off as too conceited, but I am 90% sure that one of the following three possibilities will occur: (1) Madrid will win, (2) Barcelona will win, or (3) Neither team will win.I GUARANTEE that both teams cannot possibly win. Not a chance. And you heard it here first.

Of course, something odd or bizarre may come up. And the strange happens more than we would like to think  (or fathom).

Junito: Make Way for the MAGs!

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Pacifier The development of a professional footballer begins early. While I am uneasy about all premature Junito hype and initially started this series to try to coax coaching tips off readers, the beast has grown horns beyond my grasp. Yes, that’s right – barely three years old, and Junito has said his first piropo!

For the non-Spanish speakers, piropo is perhaps best translated to “catcall,” although a piropo is occasionally more refined than a whistle and/or grunt. Occasionally. Here’s the situation: every morning, a teenage girl walks by our front porch on the way to school. And Junito? Like a wind-up doll, he instinctively gravitates to the lawn at the same hour, saying to the apple of his eye “Adios, mi amor.”

No, I am about to talk about birds and bees with him. I’m more preoccupied with the implications for his career as a player. Emphasis on career; not “player.”

Continue reading “Junito: Make Way for the MAGs!” »

Arsenal vs. Barcelona – Recap, Stats, Video

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I have a theory – search engines prove that machines will never ever be able to supplant human beings, only replacing the flesh & bone eventually with cold steel. Leo Messi has boldly left the cocoon behind, never again to caterpillar up or down a leaf. Is he secretly the lovechild of a Maradonna mariposa? How far can his golden wings take him? Only the wind knows….

Arsenal, Barcelona, & the Beautiful Game Myth

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In the soccer sporting world, certain assertions are taken as universal truth. A headed goal is ugly. A pass in the air that sales for over 30 yards is “direct.” A team unwilling to pressure for possession, instead waiting to capitalize on mistakes, is cynical. The linear equation of “pass + pass = beauty” can be replicated on an exponential scale. Arsenal & Barcelona, of course, embody this principle in the flesh & blood. But, in anticipation of the Kantian ideal of beauty vs. the slightly-better-looking Kantian ideal of beauty, the rematch, I suggest such statistics fail to account for certain integers that loiter in a gas station parking lot between X and Y.

And, of course, we are to blame for not seeing them. Continue reading “Arsenal, Barcelona, & the Beautiful Game Myth” »

FCDSTT – The Cleansing of the Flock

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I am alarmed by recent news revealed by the NY Times. You see, I had long believed that supporter participation would mathematically lead to long-term planning and an avoidance of debt. However, in Spain, where the top two clubs hold elections for top officials, this democratic formula has backfired. Even ignoring the Madrid summer spurge, it seems Madrid and Barca pay the most in salaries to players.

How can we ensure that FCDSTT does not fall into this trap? How can we ensure that supporter pressure does not lead to big summer signings and further debt? It’s quite simple – we must turn the death threat focus to within FCDSTT. Continue reading “FCDSTT – The Cleansing of the Flock” »