Congratulations to Barcelona (And Good Football)

By: Corey | May 28th, 2009

Of course it would be remise to not congratulate Barcelona for winning the Champions League yesterday. I watched the game and although I knew what Barcelona would play like from all the La Liga I watch, I still enjoyed what I saw. It reminded me of the Euro Cup final against Germany, where Spain passed the ball around the ankles of the Germans for 90 minutes. It was really something to behold, and all credit is due to the squad and the manager for executing such beautiful football with a winning formula. A formula that has its heart in the club, where its preached from the u-9 squad all the way to the top. Something Real does…well they start at u-9 and somewhere around the Castilla team it gets a little confusing as to what the motto and playing style is.

I wrestled with my conscience over whether to congratulate Barcelona, they being the eternal rival. I dislike Barcelona obviously given my Real Madrid ways, but an article by Eduardo Alvarez made me think a little harder about the situation. Check out the article so you know where I am coming from with this and don’t think I suddenly switched allegiance, as that is not the case.

I love watching the Furia Roja play, and I was super excited when they won the Euro Cup this summer. It was a pleasure to watch all of their games, and they won something finally! Im still happy about it, and Im not even Spanish. But when you think about it from my standpoint, Im rooting for Spanish players that I have come accustomed to watching every weekend either in La Liga or other European leagues. And since Real Madrid supplies exactly 2 Spanish National Team players, I find myself tracking the progress of players on a lot of other teams whose name may start with a Real, but never ends in Madrid.

So while watching Barcelona play, and having it remind me of Spain vs. Germany, I realized that rooting for Barcelona because they were Spanish was more then acceptable. It was no different then an American rooting for the entire Spanish NT. I cheer the team on because they are Spanish, and I love Spanish football. Of course Barcelona is Catalan sure, but they play in La Liga, and any good exposure my favorite league gets is okay by me. Inter league rivalry aside, I prefer a La Liga team to win the cup then an EPL team, and if they do it with some style and class that gets the other neutral fans paying attention, awesome. Plus, it was a chance to see Whiskey Nose beaten despite the considerable press bias towards an MU win because Barcelona “were not physical enough to keep up with the Manchester United players”. What a load of crap.

So in the end, congratulations again to Barcelona and shame on you Real Madrid. I want to see something like that week in week out and in major finals. Hell, I would expect the football to be better then Barcelona, but lets stay realistic. But dont get to comfy Barca, Real and the rest of Europe will be gunning for you next season. I can guarantee that.