Village Idiot

The Madrid press has turned on him already. I expect them to call for his sack if they don't turn around the CL tie.

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It all started in the last 16 against Spain. Was immense from there on. He also had a quite terrible club season. I think of Zidane as a big game player. He indeed delivered the goods immensely on the biggest stages, but across a season I'd say that Ronaldinho and Ronaldo were more consistent at their peaks. Ronaldo did it on the WCs too. Messi can be immense when he's 26-27 if he doesn't burn out. Add experience and improved decision-making to his ability (and he's starting to show how good a playmaker he can be already) and he should be something to behold.

Can't wait to watch Real Madrid and Barça players playing together after all that has gone down in the clásico series. Should be interesting.

The stretch from the first Clásico of the season until January was the best football I have ever seen us play. Wish we could recapture that form but we are obviously tired. Something gone wrong with the fitness plan? I remember you saying about how your training was designed to help you peak at the end of the season - are injuries and the thinness of the squad playing a bigger part than expected? On the plus side, you have free reign to rotate up until the CL final, what with the league already won. That said, I think Pep will want to play a strong side on Tuesday to try to comprehensively beat Real again. I suppose the WC has weighed down on the players' shoulders more than was expected. Also injuries (particularly in defence) have pretty much removed our ability to rotate. We'll see what happens. And you never rotate against Real Madrid.

To be frank, they wouldn't have played since the league game is pretty meaningless (and Zaragoza at home isn't a hard fixture). Still, refreshing to see Cronaldo admitting this. It's criminal with the sheer amount of talent Madrid has on its books that they play the way they do. Pellegrini's Madrid was a much better watch, and ended with a better record in the league.

The stretch from the first Clásico of the season until January was the best football I have ever seen us play. Wish we could recapture that form but we are obviously tired.

I think a lot of people seem to assume the Brazilian league of Pelé's times is the same as nowadays. It was the strongest league in the world back then.

The sponsorship deal we signed with Qatar should help us a real deal, €30m plus some bonuses every season. We'll also cash in the €24m for Zlatan. Word is our transfer kitty is €50m.

Busquets biggest virtue is his tactical discipline, imho. He's one of those players that always seem to pop up where he's needed: covering in defence, plugging holes here and there. He doesn't catch the eye but what he does he does it very well.

Also, I think people tend to overrate the "cleanliness" of past sides. The 2000000000000 cameras we have on pitches now allow to scrutinize modern football far better. Something which should be used to the game's advantage.

To be frank, I'm on the opinion that if you aren't wearing a captain's armband and you speak to the referee without being asked, you should get a booking. All this methodical pressuring of the refs is a disgrace and they should be protected from it.

VI, you're a sensible Barca fan, are you not more embarrassed by both sides than anything else? It's great to beat your rivals, and make them park the bus from minute one of a two-leg time (and at home, no less), but given the previous two games - do you not feel sad that Barca had to playact like them to break the deadlock rather than rely on their undoubted football brilliance? Diving is really killing this game. It's got progressively worse over my lifetime, but it's beyond absurd now. Very little dignity left in the once beautiful game. It is killing the game, but it's a race to the bottom at this point sadly. Do it or die to it. I really hope we start getting some help to officials on this regard.

And yes, I don't like what Busquets does at all but he's a great player. What I'm supposed to do? Support Espanyol due to the iniquity it represents?

Serious question - What do you make of the antics of Biscuits and Pedro? I'd be thoroughly embarrassed to have such players at my club. See above. What did Pedro do though?

Busquets really is a cunt

Best part of last night wasn't Messi's goal, or even Mourinho's complete meltdown at the press. It was the beauty of the mighty Real Madrid playing for 0-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu in the first leg of a CL semifinal. That's what he has reduced them to, and they swallow it whole. I'm a happy man

Oh, I agree about this. It's pretty much assumed around here that we will make a token effort for Cesc and then go for defenders/striker.

If they manage to keep their current squad and Herrera develops as he should, Bilbao will have their best team since the early 90s, imho.

Man, why do I always get a lot of gigs at the worst times... sorry for not being around during these interesting times. Really looking forward to tonight, it's going to be epic. Thanks Sergio Ramos for making the cup loss more bearable

Yes, my guess is that he'll stay one more year and then move back to England. No way in hell he ends up at Spurs.

i kn ow what you mean but i disagree, he was the epitome of a strand that had been going for a while with beckenbauer and bobby charlton, george best, players who were quite far ahead of their times and cruyff came after them really. Can't see how Cruyff relates to these players in style. But I agree that you can't peg total football just on him. But what that Dutch side did for football is one of the game's greatest revolutions, imho. in the style that they had a much newer idea of the game than what had been before. and were very, even as we would know it now "modern" footballers. Can accept that.

i kn ow what you mean but i disagree, he was the epitome of a strand that had been going for a while with beckenbauer and bobby charlton, george best, players who were quite far ahead of their times and cruyff came after them really. Can't see how Cruyff relates to these players in style. But I agree that you can't peg total football just on him. But what that Dutch side did for football is one of the game's greatest revolutions, imho.

Can't imagine he'd be first choice if he went there unless they sell. Probably one of Nilmar/Rossi going for a pretty penny to balance the books, I guess.

The league game is the least important of them all right now. If they won it, they'll get a chance to claw back into the league, but still 5 points (6 if they don't destroy us 6-0) with 6 games remaining and our respective fixtures (they go to Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal) looks a tough ask. The Spanish cup is a "meh" trophy as of late, but since it would be won against the main rivals it carries a lot of bragging points this year.