The encounter between Pepe and Dani Alves is the dark heart of things. It appears that for Pepe the ball’s an unwelcome intruder, interposing itself, to his frustration, between his studs and Alves’s shin. 
Those studs give the ball the merest glance as they pass and continue their rise towards Alves’s outstretched leg. But Alves’s reflexes must astonish the observer: only a great athlete could possibly have gotten his shin out of Pepe’s flight path—and yet, with the opponent’s onrushing boot just a few centimeters from his outstretched leg, Alves pulls that leg violently to the right, twisting his whole body into a spin. 
Pepe—and this is almost as remarkable—sees the leg escaping from his boot and adjusts his path as best he can, turning his leg and his body towards the (suddenly, inexplicably) elusive prey. But his extreme momentum carries him past Alves, and the shin remains miraculously unscathed.
It all happens in milliseconds. If only David Eagleman had had the two men wired to some fabulous machine that could represent for us the speed at which it unfolded for them. . . . But still: I’ll never understand how Alves got his leg out of the way in time.
Each of us will have to seek in his or her own heart an answer to the great question: Which of the two acts is more contemptible, Pepe’s attempted assault or Alves’s subsequent impersonation of a lawn roller? But whatever answer we give, I think we have to lament the transformation of the great drama of El Clásico into the pathetic melodrama of Wednesday’s anti-clásico—not least because hardly anyone is talking about Messi’s extraordinary second goal. It was such an outlying event, coming as it did against the run of non-play. Adebayor (who probably should have been sent off himself) was justified in saying that “every time you play against Barça, every time you touch them, they throw themselves to the ground”; and Pique was equally right to say of Mourinho’s tactics that “When you play with fire, at the limits of violence, you get burned.”
Mourinho’s tactics are often seen as risk-averse, but as Pique’s comment indicates, in fact they exchange one kind of risk—that of giving up goals—for another—that of getting players sent off. What’s most notable about his approach to Wednesday’s semifinal was not that he filled the pitch with defenders and left some of his most creative playmakers on the bench, but that he had those defenders playing so physically, seeming to find tackling the preferred option, rather than what you have to do when you’re caught out of position. (They looked like a team of John Terrys out there.)
One might argue that that’s a smart way to play Barça, whose players put every defense out of position sometimes, and a milder version of the same approach worked well in the teams’ recent La Liga draw. But if you’re going to do it you have to accept the risks you’re taking, and this Mourinho is clearly unwilling to do. Not content to get himself sent off in protest, he also refused to make any changes to his side even after Real fell behind, and, in the tones of a shrieking Wagnerian soprano, has insisted that his team has no chance of winning the second leg at Camp Nou.
There’s a really bad feedback loop here. Real’s physicality aggravates Barça’s histrionics, to which Real responds with further aggression, and so on. And when it’s not possible to be aggressive on the pitch, Mourinho uses fighting words instead. If I were Emperor of Soccer, I’d not allow these clubs to play each other for a couple of years. Xavi said after the match that “Football was the winner.” I don’t think so.
Read More: Barcelona, Real Madrid
by Alan Jacobs · April 30, 2011
Indeed, football was the loser
Fantastic as ever. I don’t want to see another Clasico for a long, long time either.
One quibble: Adebayor’s statements enraged me. Factually inaccurate, even if you allow for exaggeration. He alleged that Barca were a team of chronic divers. I just don’t think that’s true. (The refusal to accept that any red cards given against his team could be justified is right in line with his manager’s state of mind.)
I’d say football was definitely the winner. the side looking to play football, looking to attack and probe with invention and guile, won the game in the face of relentless thuggery and simulation (has everyone forgotten Di Maria’s four or five dives in the first half to generate all Madrid’s chances from set plays? Barça weren’t the only ones flailing) — ANYWAY — you’re right about the feedback loop, but it’s a loop Barça consciously plugged into. there was very little histrionics from them in the first two matches of this series, and the referees let Madrid kick the bejeesus out of them. so they reacted in game 3 by flailing around (they’re hardly built to kick back, are they?) and the referee started punishing Madrid. — THIS IS WHAT MOURINHO DOES — he makes everything he’s involved in ugly and bitter.
I totally agree. Football was the loser.
Shame, really.
I think Mourihno should go coach in Siberia. He’s killing Real Madrid. He should of watched Valencia and Villareal play Barca. Even though they didn’t beat them, they came damn close in amazing games.
I liked Pique’s quote. It’s almost a haiku (but not quite).
It wasn’t a great game, but it’s a joke to say we all haven’t seen worse. Want worse diving? Look to Portugal’s lower-end sides. Football without any real intent to go forward? Well, find an old 0-0 match of Italian catenaccio, naturally.
The difference, for me, is that everyone gives a damn because it’s a Clásico. The match was poor, but is there a real point in so many bloggers spending their free time describing their disgust in Barcelona/Mourinho/the game itself? Don’t think so. The backlash, this time around, became fairly monotonous and, for me, as disgusting as the match itself.
I watched on Catalan TV that outside the Bernabeú after the match there were dozens chanting of “Puta Barça y Puta Cataluña” (standard, really), but also “Que se mueran los catalanes”.
It was not to the same extent, however, many bloggers and writers hopped aboard the anti-Barça brigade. That’s fine, as a Barça fan I’m absolutely ashamed of Sergio Busquets (honestly, not so much of Dani), but everything has its limits. It’s a choice to obsess in negativity, and I just do not understand those that do. After hearing those chants a friend of mine made her facebook status, “Os retratáis hijos míos.” (more or less, ‘You’re showing your true colors, guys.’).
Always happy to come to RoP and find some balance and logic.
@Muhammad this idea of “football” being the winner – what does that mean? what team does “football” play for that it could have possibly won something? do barcelona have a monopoly on “football”? if other teams want to play it must they promise to do so in a manner which would please “football’s” putative owners? and how did barcelona manage to establish the rules by which “football” must be played?
when i watch ODI cricket and a team wins by scoring, say, an unassailable 350 runs, i am told that the team put on a fantastic offensive display. if, however, a team wins by bowling out the opposition for a low total (say 120 all out) i am told that the winning team put on a fabulous display of bowling and defensive fielding. by my admittedly feeble mathematical skills, that suggests there is more than one way to play cricket.
is this the same in “football”? please clarify.
Good article. Although I totally agree with what you’ve said, there is a part of me which see’s this as two of the biggest rivals in world football competing for the highest of prizes. How much can be explained away due to the fact that rivalries like this will produce huge amounts of anger and aggression even when it isn’t a Champions League semi-final?
Mourinho has ratcheted up the tension to incredible levels. Both sides displayed some fairly contemptible sides to their game. But surely there was always going to be an element of this just due to the nature of El Clasico? Just a thought
@David Adelman I think it might have more to do with the recent frequency of meetings. In high-stakes matches there will inevitably be some chippiness; if the teams don’t meet again for several months all that will recede into the background, but if they meet again in a week every resentment will still be fresh.
@Alan Jacobs True. The “World Series” factor has certainly made each game more combustible than the last. But this is still the derby which saw a pig’s head thrown on to the pitch. It’s the nature of the beast that the two self-styled biggest teams on the planet, coupled with the rivalry was always going to result in this sort of thing. In a sense it would have been more amazing if it hadn’t been a bitter, spiteful affair.
As I said, I wouldn’t argue that Mourinho and the Spanish press haven’t made the situation worse but I’m just wondering how bad it would have been even if he wasn’t Madrid manager. If it were say Pellegrini still.
Was football the winner? Did we witness how Mourihno’s “negative” tactics were overcome for the benefit of positive and free flowing football? Let me see… Despite it’s spoon-fed aesthetics Barcelona’s style is inherently negative. First, it is based on preventing opposition to play their game by keeping ball away from them. Secondly, it assumes waiting patiently for a perfect opportunity to score without taking unnecessary risks. It takes amazing individual and team skill but it is negative nevertheless. Barcelona’s style is reminiscent of “four corner offense” once practiced in the US college basketball which led to introduction of the shot clock rule. Lastly, diving and play acting is a natural component of the Barcelona’s tactics. It is vital for them to succeed. If the opposing team is successful in disrupting Barcelona’s passing/possession game they simply don’t have a plan B. So they employ play acting tactics and work the referee to get back to plan A. They exploit the officiating system that is very inefficient in dealing with such antics.
So Barcelona did demonstrate “invention and guile” to beat Madrid. But was it triumph of positive football?
@dgm it’s not that Barcelona have a monopoly on football, it’s that Mourinho had no interest in participating in football and has dragged Real Madrid down to his level. — LAST SEASON — this series of games would have been a festival of football, but not with Mourinho in charge.
Good article, found myself nodding at several points.
Alves’s mid-air pirhouette was remarkable, reversing direction so suddenly – like a marionette having it’s string yanked, or perhaps I should say like a dummy.
The shrill outrage resounding through the world would be more believable if the global football juggernaut didn’t rely on such heightened emotion on a daily basis.
Spanish football lives off this outrage to such an extent I wouldn’t be surprised if they start using it to pay for transfers:
“I’ll trade you Figo for 10mil Euros, a pig’s head, and 3 years of manufactured acceptable outrage.”
@Benderinho Throw in a mugging of a visiting English manager and you’ve got a deal.
On Barcelona:
I understand alves getting out of the way, studs to the shin hurt apparently; but to roll around after, and have all of barca’s players (even valdes) come and surround the referee.. It’s disgusting frankly. The referee really had no option, he couldn’t see what happened, and yet I’ve heard people blame him. It wasn’t really pepe’s fault either, he didn’t really do anything to alves, but it wasn’t very nice. I hope alves gets punished after the fact by uefa.
My second feeling is that barca feel that every match they play, they have a divine right to win, before the match is even played. There is more than one way to play the game, and it frustrates the hell out of me when people claim barca are some sort of “essence of football” protectors or something. I’m an arsenal supporter, and I love their style of play, but we all agree (my friends and I) that arsenal need to tweak it so they are more focused in their attack. Possession should be used to create chances, to tire the opponent, and to keep them form scoring, sure. But if you stop looking for goals and just pass it around, then things get.. aggravating – for all involved. This is why, given all their possession, arsenal frustrates fans. They don’t score enough goals, and then they’ve wasted their own time for recovering from defensive mistakes. If you could combine steel in defense and midfield, along with creativity and guile in attack, then it would be a success for football, because you are succeeding at all aspects of the game. Keep possession, as well as counter attack quickly. Work the ball around, but also chose the most direct path to goal sometimes.. (and play some bloody crosses in for once arsenal) Strikers drop back on defense, as well as have full backs push forward on attack.
I think one team combines all this, as well as having a good manager. Unfortunately that team is Manchester United, and i hate them for it.
Anyways, sorry about getting off track, my point is there are multiple ways to play football barca needs to stop acting so superior and expectant on everything going and being their way. Be humble victors and get on with it. Like messi. I dont like Madrid either. To even things out. ALSO SORRY I THINK I PUT THIS POST IN MULTIPLE TIMES
Great article as always. I’ll risk missing the point entirely by suggesting that it’s possible that Alves didn’t so much avoid contact with cat-like reflexes as he did realize that this was a “diving opportunity” when he saw Pepe moving toward him; he’s well-practiced at moving his body as if it were contacted, and it seems likely that his intention going toward the ball was to jerk his leg back when it got close to Pepe’s, and then fall to the ground. I’ve seen him begin yelling in pain the moment before he gets touched enough to find the theory that Alves pre-meditated feigning contact at least as plausible as the theory that Pepe premeditated actually contact.
@jrmrhr Also, obviously these theories are not mutually exclusive, and the likelihood that they’re both true is sort of the tragedy of these games.
So to balance that out I’ll just add: Good golly, that was some second goal by Messi.
@Andrei Despite what the pundits say, Barcelona’s football is inherently “toxic.” Their style of play depends on slowly “infecting” their opponents’ space with the contagion of their ball possession, leading to gradual asphyxiation and “death,” or spectacular goals. Yes, it takes extraordinary skill, and there are lots of moments that take your breath away, but I can define words to mean whatever I want, and therefore Barcelona are poisonous, the arsenic of the contemporary game.
@jrmrhr Oh, Alves certainly seized his opportunity to make the most of his evasive action. A single motion that produced two goods: avoidance of injury and getting Pepe sent off. (Though as I have suggested I think Pepe deserved the red card anyway.)
@Brian Phillips You forgot to mention that Messi’s 52 goals this season are more than twice the legal limit.
@Brian Phillips “Their style of play depends on slowly “infecting” their opponents’ space with the contagion of their ball possession, leading to gradual asphyxiation and “death”…”
Shall we say that Mourinho was acting in self-defense
@dgm Strange to me how many seem to be angry or critical of Barcelona because people enjoy watching them. As if the team, or the institution is somehow actually arguing that the way they play football is the only way to play. I see it frequently on other forums, as if Barça is not only playing their style of football but somehow arguing that it is the only way to play. I live in Barcelona and read the Spanish press and don’t ever get the sense that the team or its fans here are doing anything other than enjoying whatever success they may be having. You are reading too much into it if you think that Barça or its fans somehow think of themselves as the “putative owners” of football. We all know sporting success is fleeting. Those of us who like Barça will enjoy whatever success this particular group of players finds.
I think it’s important to differentiate between a defensive style of football and what Mourinho employed Wednesday. While it is stylistically imperialistic of Barcelona to claim that attacking, possession-based football is the only correct way to play the game, I think it’s fair to say that Mourinho’s approach in this last Clasico went beyond defending, to the limits of violence and truly away from any spirit of football.
Barcelona are not, as Adebayor would have us believe, a team of chronic divers – neither Dani Alves nor Busquets has really indulged that particular habit since the last Mourinho CL semifinal. I think this recent rash of playacting is equally a product of rampant Clasico morbo and a response to the sheer physicality of Madrid’s defending. Organized, positioning-based, effective defending by no means requires cynical tackles and off-the-ball challenges. What was a legitimate footballing style in the first two meetings did, I think, descend to the point of condemnation Wednesday.
@Andres The point is not that Alves or Busquets are chronic divers. I believe they are not i.e. they don’t do this habitually. For example, I can’t recall Alves acting like this when he plays for Brazil. However, Barcelona do use these tactics cynically and on purpose. This is their response to certain situations. It doesn’t come too often as for the most part they simply outclass the opposition to bother. However, when going gets tough they never fail to employ these tactics. Relatively recent examples are Barca’s antics in the games against Rubin Kazan or when they were loosing to Shakhtar in Donetsk a couple years ago. It didn’t get much attention as nobody cared about those minions.
Several rule changes would remedy the problem. Imitate hockey and institute a penalty box for fouls. 5 minutes in the box for a foul. 10 minutes for a bigger foul. The ref in soccer has too much power to dictate the outcome of a game. Allow contact, even deliberate, and this will toughen up the players. They look like a bunch of overpaid pre-madonnas rolling around on the pitch. This is why this sport will never be popular in the U.S. You don’t see these histrionics in the NBA or NFL, or NHL. I am a soccer fan, but less of one after this game.
Amazing. I live in the matrix. Alan, with all due respect to you and Brian, I love this site, but… stick to the facts man.
Alves is kicking his right foot upwards and is up on the toes of his left foot the moment he’ s hit (yes, hit!) – then, his right foot, not even at the end of its rise, moves clockwise 180 degrees at speed along his axis and he lands facing the opposite direction. Now, in the universe I live in that is not a move one can make. I saw the hit live, in replay, and several times since (the Punta Pelota fakery included) and there’s no way he can do that without an external force, and the simplest explanation I can come up with that accords with the laws of physics in this universe is that Pepe hit Alves. End of.
In your alternate universe however its apparently something one can actually practice. So, can you either 1) come up with a full and novel theoretical explanation of physics involved and go on to win a Nobel prize that shames all us dinosaurs of the old physics, or 2) make a video in your backyard of you doing the exact same thing (which should be easy since you claim that Pepe in no way touched Alves) and post it here for posterity.
Barring that you might consider writing another article on how Alves can walk on water and bend time or whatever.
PS: “es simple fisica, fijencen en la inercia q tiene el jugador de barcelona, como gira todo su cuerpo, no se puede girar tan rapido sin una fuerza externa(pepe)”
*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8U6D1dMq7o&feature=player_embedded
@ermengol Did you see the video I link to in the first line above? If not, then please do watch it (starting around the :22 mark, perhaps) and tell me this: does Alves’s leg start moving to the right because Pepe kicks it, or does it start moving to the right before Pepe’s leg gets there?
@Alan Jacobs – What the grand “Mission Accomplished” Hollywood production courtesy of Marca.com where George W. Bush lands on an aircraft carrier in a flight jacket at the end?
Yeah, I watched it. What about it?
@ermengol Nothing at all, we’re cool. That’s all I needed to know.
@Alan Jacobs Sorry, was writing from memory, so you’re right Alves’ leg is in fact moving his leg away before Pepe’s leg hits his. But Pepe’s leg still hits his.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItZSvV8dWsk&feature=related
@Alan Jacobs There’s a hit. Check the clip I posted above. That makes sense of the 180. Check Alves’ left foot and Alonso’s expression.
EVERYTHING IS TRUE AND EVERYTHING IS FALSE
@Brian Phillips
:^O
A lot of the arguments after this game seem kind of pointless to me. Many of the people and pundits who are speaking in “outrage” of this match seem to have been looking for the first excuse to discredit and sully the merit of the sometimes superior Spanish football……I’m looking at you EPL fanboys….I even remember at one point in the match when a player was down Andy Townsend just had to make the comment along the lines of how he’s glad they don’t have to deal with that every week in England.
While I for one am tired of Busquets clutching his face, it’s not like he does this habitually. Many have remarked correctly on the point that this “World Series” of Clasicos has somewhat tarnished the actual play and inevitably led to these acts of gamesmanship. It disgusts me though that there appears to be more outrage towards the “divers” as opposed to the thugs who are consistently pushing the boundaries of the laws and looking to bully and injure the opposition. And when as a player you have to deal with these “tactics” from Mourinho, sometimes you have to counteract one form of cheating with another, especially when it comes to protecting your health and career. In reality at least 2 or 3 players from Real Madrid should have been sent off….and that goes for the 2 games previously as well. If you look at the time when little Pedro clutched his face (I was disappointed by this admittedly) it was from yet another one of Arbeloa’s cheap off-the-ball body checks, of which I can recall him doing on 3 occasions in the CL match alone. Pedro had this done to him enough and felt the only way he could draw attention from the ref towards this act was unfortunately to simulate pain…and sometimes that’s what it takes for a ref to take notice and do his job.
When it comes to the Pepe incident, the fact of whether he hit Alves or not (which he did) is irelivent. The intent was there and Pepe had constantly rough-housed the Barca players…this challenge on Alves was never going to go unpunished at this point, despite Mourinho’s trademark intimidation of the ref.
@Seb “While I for one am tired of Busquets clutching his face, it’s not like he does this habitually.”
How did you grow tired of it if it doesn’t happen habitually? Do you read what you write?
@logan “It wasn’t really pepe’s fault either, he didn’t really do anything to alves, but it wasn’t very nice.”
Attempted murder – however skillfully the prospective victim manages to survive the attempt – is still a crime. What he “did” to Alves was thankfully reduced to mere intent but, if Pepe had his way, it could have been much worse.
This of course doesn’t change the fact that Alves play-acted but that’s irrelevant. Straight red to Pepe for dangerous play and a yellow to Alves for simulation would have been wholly appropriate.
@boxall Well I was tired of it after the first time when he did it against Inter, so what point are you getting at?
http://hkref.blogspot.com/
This link shows an interesting and unbiased perspective on the performance from Wolfgang Stark.
@Jamie Davidson i suppose youre right. if pepe had made contact, it would be a red, so theres not much difference. i guess i dont have a point after all =/
Alright, fun is fun but some people are taking the irony present in some of these posts too seriously.
Allow me to get serious for a millisecond.
At 00:21 in Alan’s ominously soundtracked video you can clearly see that the movement of Alves’ is initiated by both him and Pepe contacting with the ball at the sametime. Alves’ foot takes the initial impact, and you see his ankle rotate in response, followed by the rest of his body.
Alves’ body behaves according to the laws of physics.
It could be argued that Pepe doesn’t make any actual contact with Alves, but I think that’s beside the point.
Jamie Davidson has it as right as I think is possible: red for Pepe, yellow for Alves.
PS. Oooooh, Messi’s goal, Messi’s goal!!!
@Andrei “Shall we say that Mourinho was acting in self-defense” – you mean by taking the richest team with the highest paid players in the world bar-none (of any sport), and have them play the ugliest, meanest defensive game?
That man is poisonous. Every team he takes over has the same profile – ridiculously high-salaried players coaxed into playing like baboons.
The golden moment for me was Marcelo stomping on David Villa’s calves.
@Oxnard baseball players, are on average, paid more than any other sport actually.
Like coffee berries through a Civet this Classico was shite in essense, but after further examination the moments of quality/interest are clear. Messi’s 2nd goal WAS brilliant, Mourinho’s comments post match; tainted with bitterness, yes, but no “winner” likes to lose, and as conspiratory as they sounded their is some resonance with me, Pedro’s dive; disgraceful and sad given the ability of the team; Pepe’s “red” card, meh, was a bit harsh I suppose. What about Messi’s flying bodycheck ,ala Chris Pronger, on Arbeloa? Not even a yellow? I am a supporter of neither club but a lover of football, lets hope some gets played in the 2nd leg of the tie.
Great site by the way(that should temper any grievance)
oops wrote Pedro, meant Sergi Busquets. Sorry Pedro
@Logan Actually, not according to Sporting Intelligence. See: http://goo.gl/xkjAt
@Oxnard i stand corrected. OTHER than teams. daang. nut barca are paid more. does that make them more poisonous?
I love how you use a picture of a gorilla in a post describing a game where blatant racism occurred. Is your picture alluding to Marcello like Busquets was when he called him “mono”? Or are you just ignoring the racist act because it doesn’t fit into your idea that Barcelona is superior to all other clubs?
@Logan Nope. My point was that Mourinho is poison due to his ability to manufacture ugly, violent soccer even with the best paid, and extremely talented of players. Barca’s pay is at least justified, if you consider the numerous beautiful goals they produce each season. Messi’s 52nd of the season was proof.
Err… Linking to a Marca video does not do this article any favours.
@Lucy Yikes, I actually hadn’t seen the news about the Busquets slur. I’ll swap the Gargantua picture for something less accidentally allusive.
So Barca players did not dive frequently; is it fair to say Real’s did not resort to violence with the exception of when they face Barca only either?
I thought Mou wants to teach something to Barca . Certainly Barca is not playing ‘football’ by kicking the balls between the defenders all over again, so it seems fair for them to ‘not playing football’ too?
Which in this case, football never win since it is not even been played.
I looked carefully at the replay many times, this is what I saw. Alves was going to kick the ball when Pepe came in with, as we say in Spanish, “la plancha” (literally, the iron). Pepe made contact with the ball at high speed and, in my opinion, a very dangerous manner, causing Alves’s leg to whip back like in a cartoon and spin his body around. I don’t think it would have been physically possible for Alves to whip his body around in such a manner. It was only a matter of centimeters whether Pepe hit the ball, Alves’ ankle, or his leg. The way Pepe plays, I don’t think he cared what he hit.
@Oxnard they say money is the root of all evil, so surely barca are the more evil side then?
So even if you take Barcelona as a bunch of diving poor sports as granted, can someone explain to me the difference between that and Mourinho’s antics? Isn’t Mourinho’s constant manipulation of the press an attempt to influence referee decisions as much as Alves’ or Busquets’ play acting?
If you don’t like the play acting, fine, but you have to admit those tactics happen on the pitch and off. If you don’t like those tactics, speak out against all of them regardless of jersey color.
@Colin amen
Oh Xavi was wrong in your view? So you prefer the poisonous Mourinho and his thuggish anti-football that represents a betrayal of Madrid’s best traditions? Call yourself a football fan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ai2DJPCBQ
@Brian Phillips There is absolutely no proof that a racial slur was uttered by Busquets or anybody else during the match. It’s just another thing that has been made up by Real Madrid in the aftermath of Mourinho’s failure, and by extension Perez’ failure, in order to distract.
when madrid are kicking barca at every chance they get, barca have no choice but to exaggerate the fouls. madrid (pepe in particular) kicked their way through 3 games, each increasingly violent. it’s sad that barca decided to feign injury, but if you’d been getting kicked on the ankles after every pass, you would probably resort to exaggeration as well.
Yes Chris, you can only take the high road for so long.
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf
Direct free kick
A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any
of the following seven offences in a manner considered by the referee to be
careless, reckless or using excessive force:
• kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
• trips or attempts tnent
• charges an opponent
• strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
• pushes an opponent
• tackles an opponent
So I don’t really see the point in this discussion, wheather pepe made or didn’t make contact with alves shin. In my opinion and from the point of view of the game and the rules totally irrelevant. The way pepe positioned his sole on the ball/leg/small piece of the our world was and I hope it will always be a red card play. The fact that alves managed to pull his leg away can be discussed in the context of his athletic and motoric abillities which saved him from serious injury. In fact this is the kind of skill that a good and talented player should also posses. For the subsequent acting talents I don’t have anything nice to say, but I would never go and say that Barcelona is above or under the average when it comes to acting. There is acting in football period. It is true that Alves and Busquets have this awful habit (coincidentally(?) two Barca players I don’t appreciate very much), but Messi or Xavi on the other hand often defy gravity even when maintaining balance seems practicaly impossible. And yes when faced with that kind of deliberate beating in 3 consecutive games, well you just reach your limit and decide to react to that one special “legitimate” tactic.o trip an opponent
• jumps at an oppo
@logan Wow, that was some deep analysis, and conveniently avoided the point I was making about Mourinho, rather than the root of evil.
The Guardian said it better about the connection between Mourinho and ‘disgusting’:
“Mainly, it is all about disgust. José Mourinho says he is “disgusted to live in this world”. I believe him. He really does live in a disgusting world. Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face – but then so is endless, fluent, highly convincing bullshit. Mourinho’s entire existence is spent creating a vibe. Like a cardinal in a ritualistic high church sect he spends his time shaking his robes, incanting rhetoric and disseminating his pungent incense. This toxic vibe has now permeated Mourinho’s skin. Its odours have engulfed completely the current concatenations of clásicos. We have one more instalment of this fevered disgust to come. I really can’t wait.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/apr/30/real-madrid-barcelona
@Oxnard #sarcasm?
@chris I think you are right. There often seems to be more complaints or criticisms for supposed over-reactions, acting, diving, etc. than there is for obviously violent play. I don’t like the play-acting at all, but it is common across football, found among all teams. I put violence on another level. It should not be condoned. Real Madrid have used violence and the threat of violence when playing Barça consistently (not only this year).
Many Madrid fans are actually disgusted with Mourinho and his awful behaviour and negative football. For all the talk of how Barca dived etc., why not remember the UEFA Cup final between Porto and Celtic. Mourinho’s Porto dived like crazy in that game. The only football figure I have more contempt for than Mourinho is his hero in mendacity Sir Baconface of Manure.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/may/02/real-madrid-busquets-barcelona
Barcelona received a boost from Ottmar Hitzfeld, one of only three coaches to win the European Cup with two clubs (Mourinho and Ernst Happel are the others.) In Kicker, Hitzfeld wrote: “Luckily, Mourinho’s destructive tactics, aimed solely at provoking and destroying the opposition’s gameplan, did not work.
“Such a way of playing does not relate to the demands of Real, it’s really shameful for Real Madrid. It harms the good name and image of this legendary club. I’ve met him [Mourinho] at Uefa meetings and his behaviour is faithful to his image: arrogant, haughty, chewing gum and somewhat of a boor. Barça should make him pay on the pitch.”
When Ozil “the next Zizou” cannot complete two passes (be it because his teammates were too busy kicking, or because Barça were playing better) I’d have to say football won. I think Madrid made their players martyrs of their terrible tactic. This is not the Madrid we all know and “love” (love or love to hate).
Just discovered this website and just wanted to chime in to say that this is fantastic. I’ve been craving a site that indulges my desire for lengthy and insightful football pieces. Head and shoulders above all those “football blogs” which just regurgitate the same stuff going around.
Bravo sirs and madams. I will be back daily!
Xavi is a loser.
@Shann That…doesn’t sound right.
That’s because it isn’t. The lure of controversial, anti-Barcelona, run of play posts proved irresistible.
here’s what really happened:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVzDthbgV7w&feature=related
stopped reading after ‘elusive prey’. so boring to hear that going for the ball anywhere near a beautiful athlete is jeopardizing the beautiful game and thus the only reason for this beautiful blogs existence.
When someone is trying to hit you .. your body will react by moving it self . Pepe was going for danis leg not the ball .. it’s so simple
Every maneger in the world wants his players to take advantege from any tackle .. thats what dani tried to do .. he went far by showing it to the ref , I agree.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nuia8SGJQo&feature=mh_lolz&list=FL_AnPb-mcCt4
marcelo vs pedro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG0O5RUoDLc
I guess marca wants barca players to go shake hands with madrid players after every tackle !!