Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona

Having seen most of this game and read the reaction to it by the players and coaches, I must say, it's a travesty. Real and Barcelona have been the two proudest football clubs in Spain since the 1940's, and Fulham-Bolton was far more entertaining than the game they played in Madrid on Wednesday. There's a few issues I have here, from both sides.

1) Play-acting
Play-acting has always seemed to me as a tactic used by lesser-quality players to make up for a lack of talent. Why on earth is Pedro clutching his face? Why is Angel Di Maria flopping around on the ground like he's been shot? It's pathetic, and it really takes away from the game's quality and flow, because the referee has to blow the whistle, walk over, and see if the player is fine, which he obviously is. Now, the real problem I have with this tactic is that it changed the game. Pepe's challenge was reckless, yes, but he barely clipped Alves. Worth a yellow, yes, but the performance by Alves brought out the red. Real were a different team with 10 men, and the 0-2 result was an effect of the red. To me, the game is 0-0 without the sending off.

2) Surrounding the ref
This is more of the same, but why do these players form a wall around the referee every time there is a foul? Get on with it, play the game. Referees must start booking players for these actions (Valdes, the goalie, joining in...why?) to end this because it's a huge waste of time. Play the game, fouls are fouls, and if something very severe happens, I understand, but it was literally every ten minutes in the game.

3) Tactics
Now many people have a problem with Jose Mourinho's tactics, because he is "negative" and looking merely for a result, not a flowing game. I personally think his goal in this game was to make sure Barca did not get an away goal. Had the sending off not occurred, I think he would have accomplished it. Is this wrong? It's not entertaining, but against Barcelona, that's how you have to play. If you open up, you get burned (see: Arsenal). He has had success playing this way, like the Copa del Rey final, so why change? Real Madrid has scored 79 goals in 33 league games this season, so it's not as if he employs these tactics constantly. He simply knows how to beat Barca, it just depends on his players' execution.

4) After the match
Mourinho's comments indicating that Barcelona is favored by the referees is an inaccurate statement and a result of his frustration. I've had my own experience of Barcelona being helped through by the referee, so it would be easy to side with him, but I think it is the influence of the players on the referee, not the conception of the team. Because of the way they surround the referee, the players bully him into making decisions that favor them. I don't believe referees come into games with that mindset, it just happens over the course of the game. It's silly that all of this takes away from the game, but maybe it's better here because the game was so awful.

Neither of these teams are favorites of mine, especially Barcelona, because I cannot stand the play-acting. But there is so much talent out there, I can't understand how we don't see a better game than this. Hopefully the return leg will feature some fantastic football, instead of a bunch of whining and complaining.

Introduction; About Me

This is my new weekly soccer blog, in which I will write an article each week about something in the world of football. I may write more if there's a lot going on but as of now it'll be weekly. Anyone is welcome to comment on my posts or suggest topics for me to write about. Topics will include: previews of upcoming games/seasons; reactions to results of games; opinions on players/coaches; etc. I have my biases but I'm going to try and cover all points of view here.

It might be helpful to know a bit about me. I played soccer for nine years competitively, but I haven't since eighth grade. I've still been playing though and I love the game, both watching and playing. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Chelsea F.C., so all those who are not also fans probably don't appreciate that. I understand. We will continue to dominate though. Blue is the color. Overall, I enjoy watching teams who play in a free-flowing style, but I also like the differing tactical approaches to the game.

I hope these will be interesting and I will receive some feedback, because discussions about soccer are great.