Football opinion

Are Barcelona worthy champions of the modern game? JOE gives you half a dozen reasons why they're not.

By William Costello

If Barcelona is considered more than a club, then El Clasico is certainly more than a game.

Such is the importance of this fixture that it is often depicted as a reenactment of the Spanish civil war. Real Madrid representing the oppression and fascist dictatorship of the Franco era – a time when a Barcelona fan stood for freedom to rebel against adversity. This, in truth, is how Barcelona became more than a club.

So, historically, Real Madrid would always be cast as the stereotypical villain in the soap opera that is “El Clasico”.

History put to one side, modern day interpretations of the two teams would dictate who shall be cast as the villain in this struggle. Real Madrid with their free-spending nature, flexing their financial muscles every summer to assemble a new team of “Galacticos”, unashamedly paying above the odds for players, inflating the transfer market almost single-handedly. The man they have had the helm is the self titled “special one” who some have accused of inventing “anti football”.

Mourinho is totally obsessed with the result and achieves it often at the expense of attractive football. His teams are an example of organisational skills over flair, the ultimate case in point being last year’s Champions League semi final victory over none other than Barcelona.

Last night’s champions league first leg victory at the Bernabeu should be celebrated by all football lovers and considered victory for football, right? Wrong.

Barcelona, in stark contrast would be considered the peoples' champions. The team for the purists, an indigenous bunch of players raised with the ideals of the club instilled into them from an early age.

These ideals of total football, and a philosophy of attractive football, were brought to the club by the Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. The current Catalan national team head coach employed these ideals to become the most successful manager in the club's history. Who better to ensure the continuity of these very ideals only current Barca manager Josep Guardiola, the captain of Cruyff’s dream team?

So with the contest poised as such, good vs bad, freedom vs oppression, purist vs pragmatist, the shock 5-0 victory for Barcelona at Camp Nou in November and last night’s victory at the Bernabeu should be celebrated by all football lovers and considered victory for football, right? Wrong.

Barcelona have shown us that they deserve to be considered our champions. So, as our champions, they should represent the game with honesty and integrity.

But Barcelona have been anything but good champions for the beautiful game. They are almost untouchable in the media on account of the brand of football they play.

1. Victory for football

Allow me to take you back to the Champions League semi-final of 2009 at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea hearts were broken by an Andreas Iniesta goal in the dying embers of the game.

Despite the fact that it was Barcelona’s solitary shot on target that night, despite the fact Chelsea had several legitimate penalty claims turned down, despite the fact Pep Guardiola and his staff showed little to no decorum in flooding the technical area and with an overzealous goal celebration nearly inciting a riot among an already hostile home crowd, and despite the fact that Guss Hiddink had been the architect of an almost flawless defensive display, this night was hailed as a “victory for football”.

A victory for football because it was Barcelona and it catered for the dream final between Manchester Utd and the Catalans.

But there are many reasons why victory for Barcelona is not always a victory for football.

2. The Fabregas issue

In a transfer market where there is constant scandal in relation to the tapping up of players Barcelona demonstrate supreme arrogance in their pursuit of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, launching an intense media campaign including several stage managed pronouncements from some of their own stars.

It is as though Barcelona consider themselves the rightful owners of the player who left their “La Masia” youth academy for London when he was less than 15 years old.

Once more the Catalan giants are depicted as the good guys, with Arsene Wenger playing out the role of big bad wolf as he holds the player captive at the club he is contractually obliged to play for.

What Barcelona have done is clever manipulation of one of the most powerful weapons in a club's arsenal (for the want of a better word) – the media. By ensuring the player states he does not want to play for anyone else other than Barcelona it means they know there is no competition for his signature, thus reducing his market value drastically.

The most probable eventuality is that Cesc Fabregas will see out his “sentence” at Arsenal diligently like the professional that he is, at which time he will return to Catalonia as a free agent. Barcelona will get their “entitlement” and Arsenal will get nothing.

3. The Eto'o blunder

Real Madrid are quite rightly criticised for their approach to the transfer market, casting off Dutch trio Wesley Sneijder, Rafael Van Der Vaart and Arjen Robben deeming them “surplus to requirements”. It’s okay though, it’s not as if any of those players went on to do any good for their new clubs. Barca are celebrated and again quite rightly for their organic development of players as opposed to reliance on injections from the transfer market every couple of years.

However, I digress, just because they have this admirable philosophy it should not give them immunity to criticism for certain examples of financial indiscretions. I am talking of course about what I feel is the worst bit of business this century, the trade/sale of Samuel Eto’o in 2009/10.

Barcelona paid €48million PLUS Samuel Eto’o and the loan of Alexander Hleb for Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, meaning he cost a minimum of €68million. Eto’o had just won a treble with Barcelona, his goals being an integral part of their campaign, it’s not as if his star was waning. Eto’o went on to fire Inter to an unprecedented treble, beating Barcelona along the way.

The following year, Barcelona announced that they were to loan Zlatan Ibrahimovic out to AC Milan with an option to buy at €24million. Effectively Barcelona paid €44million for one season and 16 goals for a striker while casting off a striker that had scored almost double that the year before and went on to prove his pedigree by winning a treble at his new club.

4. Sore losers

Allow me to once more take you back to a Champions League semi final second leg, this time it's 2010 and Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, to everyone’s surprise, lead Barcelona 3-1 going into the Camp Nou thanks to an extremely efficient and impressive display at the San Siro. The game took a drastic turn when Thiago Motta was sent off on account of a cynical act of cowardice from Sergio Busquets.

Busquets peers out to see if he had gotten a man sent off

As he lay writhing in agony on the ground, the Spaniard can be seen to peer out between the hands he weeps into, checking to see if his actions had the desired effect. They had. Inter were down to ten men. The special one’s hand was forced, this was the biggest task he had yet to face. Could Jose’s ten men keep the creative force that is Barcelona at bay? Could they ever.

Barcelona completed 555 passes compared to Inter’s 67, and produced the most dominant display of possession in European competition that year, 86%. And yet, for all that – how many times did they actually get the ball into serious goal scoring positions?

Barcelona were undone by the same tactics that when employed by Guss Hiddink’s Chelsea so very nearly yielded success the year before.

I do not expect Barcelona to be infallible, but you must play, win and lose like a champion. Barcelona, having been outwitted fair and square by Mourinho’s 10 men, behaved like a spoiled brat who would take the ball home with him. As Mourinho relished the success of his pragmatic approach, he was leapt upon by Victor Valdes and no sooner had the Inter players begun to celebrate when the sprinklers were turned on in Camp Nou, literally raining on Inter's parade in a sickening example of sore losing. Is this the example we want our champions to set?

5. Tainted victory

November 29, 2010, Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, a night when Barcelona were the embodiment of all their ideals and showcased all the skills we know and love that they possess in abundance. They were every bit the champions in the way they played but they lacked character in what could have been one of their greatest nights in an illustrious history. The man who is meant to embody all the ideals of this magnificent club - more than a club, the dynasty that is Barcelona, coach Pep Guardiola - behaved like a child.

At 2-0 and the game not out of Real Madrid’s sight, Guardiola shows the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo before throwing the ball away in an act of total disrespect for one of the greatest players to ever play the game. If you can’t act with grace when you are winning 2-0 and playing the best football ever seen, it’s difficult to ascertain when indeed one can show grace.

6. Bernabeu farce

It is a massive pity that Lionel Messi’s wonder goal isn’t the major talking point from this week's game.

Crimes were committed at the Bernabeu last night, but by Daniel Alves and Pedro, both of whom went down faster than a first year Arts student during rag week, although Alves did show tremendous commitment to his role making great use of his props as he was stretchered off.

Sub goalkeeper José Manuel Pinto was sent off at half time for slapping a Real Madrid player in the face. Barcelona did as much as anyone to reduce El Classico to the shambolic farce it was, yet it was Jose who cast the forlorn figure behind the gates of the “prison” he was banished to, “arrested” for speaking his mind to a linesman.

Dutchman and total football pioneer Johan Cruyff, Mr Barcelona, the man responsible for inventing the ethos of Barcelona said that he was ashamed of his home country’s display in the World Cup final against Spain. I feel he should be equally ashamed of this crop of Barcelona stars and their moral deterioration.

It is infuriating how close they are to perfection and if they sorted out this petulance (which surely wouldn’t take much) I would tag them as the greatest team ever. Until then they are simply masquerading, unfulfilled potential. They are, as Eamon Dunphy might say, “a cod”.