4 May 2010
RESPECT: Does Barcelona’s Pretty Face Hide A Dark Heart?
By Russell Drury
And so the beast conquered the beauty. Jose Mourinho’s ultra-defensive Inter Milan sent everybody’s second favourite team, Barcelona, tumbling out of the Champions League. And the competition, apparently, is a poorer one for it, as the final will be contested by ugly Inter and those ‘typical Germans’, as Alex Ferguson labelled Bayern Munich.
Absolute nonsense.
Seeing Inter and Bayern in the final gives me no great pleasure. Mourinho’s team dived and fouled its way past Chelsea in the second round, while Frank Ribery’s waving of the imaginary red card against Manchester United ensured Rafael’s dismissal would eventually see Bayern sneak through.
But seeing Barcelona get knocked out gave me some satisfaction.
I have had a soft spot for the Catalan giants ever since one of my boyhood heroes, Gary Lineker, played for them. I love their kit, their stadium, their football and the many fantastic players who have passed through their doors.
However, in recent years, their almost ‘holier than thou’ attitude towards any team who dares to defend well against them has seen my admiration diminish considerably.
Take last season’s Champions League semi-final against Chelsea. The Blues were criticised from all angles for being too defensive in the Nou Camp, but most of the whining came from inside the Barca changing room, about how Chelsea did not come to play football, but to destroy the game itself. In fact, in the return leg at Stamford Bridge it was arguably Chelsea who played Barcelona off the park and were only denied a place in the final by some poor refereeing.
Arsenal tried to play an open game of football with Barcelona and look what happened. Did anybody ever really think that Jose Mourinho was going to be quite so naive with his Inter Milan team?
Far from being football ‘purists’ - as they are often portrayed - when it comes to the dark arts of deception Barca are one of the world leaders.
Thiago Motta was foolish in thrusting his arm towards Sergi Busquets last Wednesday, especially on a yellow card. But Busquets’ behaviour on the ground, rolling around in fake agony but keeping an eye out to check the red card was produced, was a disgrace. He knew no contact had been made with his face, and he knew the world would see that for themselves on the endless television replays.
But no matter. Busquets knew his job was to help get Barcelona through, however low he had to stoop. But his shameless bit of cheating ultimately failed as the 10 men of Inter stood strong.
I am not suggesting there are no other players in the competition who would have done the same. On another day the roles of Busquets and Motta might easily have been reversed.
Look elsewhere in the team, to Xavi for example. He is one of the finest passers of the ball in the world and his partnership with Iniesta is hailed as one of the most creative in football. But Xavi also has a history of diving. I could point to a number of ‘great’ players that have played for Barcelona who could never be considered purists in terms of fair play; Rivaldo, Deco, Romario, Ronald Koeman… Thierry Henry.
Yet their flaws as proper sportsmen are often overlooked because of the football they produce.
But it is time that this club stopped believing that an easy route to the final playing beautiful football is their divine right. Just as Gordon Brown brands a voter as ‘bigoted’ for daring to discuss immigration, any team who dares stop Barcelona’s game with a few tough tackles are labelled as ‘dirty’, and that is grossly unfair.
As attractive as Barcelona can be to watch, football is meant to be a competitive sport, not an oil painting. It is a game of tactics and no team is obliged to let their opponents run rings round them.
Barcelona are respected for many reasons, but it is time they started showing some respect back to their opponents who don’t necessarily always want to play nice.
