Visca Barca Campeon
No amount of Cava ejaculating across the Camp Nou last night could hide the fact that after the nail-biting scramble with Sevilla last week, Barca’s encounter with relegation-bound Valladolid was somewhat of an anti-climax.
And yet there were touches of brilliance and wonderful goals to remind one of why Barca is the best football team in the world and deserving of the Spanish championship. Messi and Bojan combined beautifully. Toure was a tower of strength, behind and in-front. And Pedro confirmed himself as one of the great revelations of the season, potentially one of the best Spanish wingers since Gento. In the few last minutes he was allowed to play, Iniesta showed his genius mastery of the ball, and why he will be so important to the Spanish side in South Africa. Finally, Victor Valdes pulled off an amazing save, throwing himself the full length of the goal, making up for early nerves, and justifying his place in the Spanish selection.
Elsewhere, Henry’s perfectly calculated cross, and Ibrahimovic’s inability to capitalise on it, summarised the sad and the ugly of the season. The sadness in knowing that Henry, who in his prime at Arsenal played some of the best football we could ever hope to see in the Premier League, has reached the end of the road at Barcelona. The ugliness of Ibrahimovic’s stumbling play, so out of step and spirit with the rest of the team- a terrible waste of money. Bring on Villa, and Cesc, if possible.
Other enduring images of last night?
Laporta glowing like a Cheshire cat, the look of a man who can claim responsibility, along with Pepe Guardiola, for a job well done and who retains high hopes politically.
Clemente in the dug-out, reduced to impotence. How far away must have seemed those glory days of the early 1980’s.
Messi, shaking the Cava from his hair and showing a a touch of annoyance at feeling its sting in his eyes. A player already thinking of being fit and ready for the next, biggest challenge of his life: playing with Maradona’s Argentina in the World Cup. Much will rest on Messi’s shoulders, just as it did at Barca for most of the season.
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