The defending from Mario Suarez on the goal is pretty pathetic. He could have easily stuck on Messi before he even got the ball the first time before the 1-2. But we'll take it !
I was thinking the same thing. You know it's a special day when we win the match thread day battle ! Then again they had 40+ pages vs Juve. A flashback to the good old circus days.
The managers of the Dutch, Spanish and German champions, with the Curaçao NT manager. Would be nice to have one that has all 3 champs with a certain translator/ bag carrier who worked for the club at the time. Edit: found one. The managers of the Dutch, German, Spanish and English Champions. The Ajax and Almería Managers (and Judas )are present as well. Now, if someone could find one with Laurent Blanc in it.
He is on the right under Pep isn't he? That same team, from 1996 also had Stoickhov, Sergi, Lopetegui, Abelardo and Pizzi who became coaches. Maybe I'm even forgetting someone.
Good find! I was looking for one with Pep, Blanc, Mou and Lucho with Cocu as well. But apparently Blanc left when Cocu arrived. Otherwise we would have one with the French, German, Spanish, English and Dutch champions. And if Porto had won theirs... Oscar Garcia coached in England and Israel, Celades is the Spain u-21 coach. Albert Ferrer managed Cordoba this season but was sacked.
I was confused about that photo. It can't be 1996 because we went trophyless that year. But it's the 1996 Supercopa de España, at the start of 1996-97. (Proof) Atletico had won the Liga and CdR double, and we were playing the Supercopa because we had been CdR finalists. Where were Ronaldo Fenómeno or Figo at the time of the photo? Probably on the phone with LPB already... And Bobby Robson, Giovanni, Amor, and Nadal? More Where Are They Nows from that photo: Popescu (under Sergi and Ferrer in the photo) is in prison for money laundering and tax evasion, so that's nice. De la Peña was to be on Lucho's staff at Roma in 2011, but he left after 2 months for family reasons. Ángel Cuéllar (#11, 2nd from left on bottom row) is playing pádel, a kind of mini tennis sport.
Thought I could find a better video of just drunken Andres but no, this has Pep, Andres at :25, then Leo again: http://www.trilulilu.ro/video-haioase/discurs-guardiola-iniesta-messi-drunk?b and who can forget Madrid Cabron:
Yes, it's from the Supercopa. Found this article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ers-four-Champions-League-quarter-finals.html Where are they now? Barcelona XI that won the Spanish Super Cup under Bobby Robson in 1996: Julen Lopetegui: Porto boss Albert Ferrer: Former Cordoba coach Gheorghe Popescu: Jailed for money laundering Abelardo Fernandez: Sporting Gijon coach Laurent Blanc: PSG boss Luis Enrique: Barcelona manager Sergi Barjuan: Almeria coach Guillermo Amor: Adelaide United sporting director Pep Guardiola: Bayern Munich coach Hristo Stoichkov: Former Bulgaria and Celta Vigo coach Juan Antonio Pizzi: Former Valencia boss now at Leon in Mexico Where are they now? And the Barcelona 1992 side produced a few too: Andoni Zubizarreta: Former Sporting director at Barcelona Albert Ferrer: Former Cordoba boss Ronald Koeman: Southampton manager Fernando Muñoz: No coaching roles Eusebio: Former Barcelona B boss Pep Guardiola: Bayern Munich coach Jose Mari Bakero: Coached at Malaga and Real Sociedad Michael Laudrup: Former Swansea, Getafe and Mallorca coach Juan Carlos: Coaching role at Valladolid Julio Salinas: Television pundit Hristo Stoichkov: Former Bulgaria and Celta Vigo coach Then there is also Giovanni who is a scout for Olympiakos, Prosinecki (Azerbaijan U-17) and Amunike (Nigeria U-17). This is really amazing, there can't be any other club that had so many players who played together and then moved on to become coaches for top clubs.
This guys is nuts.. let see who he fights with this time now when Song is gone.. https://instagram.com/p/20WF2UtsBq/?taken-by=3gerardpique
So what is Pique singing anyways (other than the FCB part) ? I hope Neymar got out of the way before pique tried to rub his balls in his face !
It's kinda sweet to celebrate the "La Liga" title at "Vicente Calderon" after they celebrated at Camp Nou last season. It would have been even sweeter to celebrate it at Bernabeu, though. Congrats to Luis Enrique & his guys.
I debated whether to give my obligatory "way too late" match commentary, but it feels good that Barcelona are the champions again. I was watching the Spanish call of the match, and they stayed with the visuals after the match. I saw Verm on the field finally. Anyhow, it looked a tad bit dicey in the initial 5-10 minutes. Bravo came up clutch again off the header and he made a wonderful save on the Griezmann chance (which was ruled as offside, but Bravo didn't know that initially). Oddly enough, that was Griezmann's only chance. I think both corners conceded were preventable (maybe not so much Pique's), but they didn't end up hurting us. Messi scores another important goal, and played really well today. He was up for it, ghosting by players. His finishing wasn't the best in the first half (especially the header). He has certainly delivered all season, especially since that Sociedad match. He has been overdrive. Don't know how Neymar missed that sitter, after Messi did all the hard work. Great to see Pedro playing well too, he wasn't on the same page sometimes, but I thought he was going to score with that left footed attempt from outside the box. It turned out to be quite a tidy match at the back. Shoutouts to all the defenders. Alves didn't cross very well, but almost had a golazo that would remind people of his Sevilla days. LOL@Gilmango and his comments regarding Alves renewing or not renewing depending on whether he made good or bad plays. Congratulations to the team and Luis Enrique. Suarez was integral to this La Liga win, so it was great to see him out there, and hopefully he can come back in time for the next two finals and we can see him play. Next weekend, agreed, Mascherano as the number nine. I actually don't think it would be a bad idea for MATS to play next week against Depor. I don't think it would happen, but it would give him some constant playing time. Sid Lowe: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/may/18/barcelona-la-liga-champions-sid-lowe
Always enjoy your commentaries (and those of various other posters) so thanks for including them. Especially on a game like this where I knew the result and only half watched the game.
He was an agent. And he decided paying taxes is for other people. And he was dumb about it. He was found guilty but he got suspsended sentence so no jail. He appealed so he got 3 years in jail
Always nice to have Barca's games written up by Michael Cox in his original tactics analysis outlet, Zonal Marking, especially after big wins, hopefully it happens two more times: http://www.zonalmarking.net/2015/05...d-pedro-combination-wins-barcelona-the-title/ Here's the conclusion if you don't have time to click through and read it all: Conclusion An excellent, controlled performance by Barcelona, and revenge for Atletico winning the title at the Camp Nou exactly a year ago. This was the perfect mix of patience and penetration, a balance Barcelona haven’t always found when playing against Atletico – sometimes too slow with their passing, sometimes leaving themselves exposed to quick counter-attacks. Messi was the obvious star, both of this game and of Barcelona’s season overall, but Pedro deserves praise too. As always, his intelligent movement, combined with his sheer speed, makes him a hugely difficult opponent. No other forward has combined with Messi so consistently well over the years, and his talents shouldn’t be underestimated. Barca are deserved champions, and while this side isn’t as tactically fascinating as their other recent title winners, Luis Enrique has performed an impressive job. He’s found a system that supports three superstar attackers – not always easy – and helped Barca successfully move on from the Xavi Hernandez era – even if he’s still been part of the squad, he hasn’t been a regular. The side is more structured, and a little more direct, than under the previous three managers. This could, of course, only be the first part of another treble…