Posted 07 August 2009 - 02:52 PM
I used to like Barca when I was younger that is because the first match I ever saw was Milan 4 0 Barca final in athens and I thought barca's colours were cool (I was just 7 and Milan always play all white in Finals). Then I thought I like both teams but they didnt have coverage for Italian football in my country so I followed la liga and Barca had a nice squad that included players like Ronaldo, Luis Enrique (who was my favorite), and many dutch players then came another beautiful era led by Rivaldo, Figo and Kluivert but after Laporta's early term I began to like them less because I thought they were turning too commercial, always making the headlines much like Chelsea and Madrid were instead of sticking to their tradition and besides by that time Italian football was being aired and my love for Milan was too much for me to like any other team so Barca became an enemy... However, last year I felt that old admiration I had for them came back again not because they were winning or because they were playing beautifully (they were doing that under Ronaldinho and Deco anyway) but because they were one of the few teams that trusted their youth system and they also played pure football without the use of dirty tactics... when Iniesta scored against Chelsea I though Good defeated Evil, Chelsea kept hacking down Barca players throughout the tie but no player ever complained, particularly Iniesta who was trying the hardest, while Chelsea kept looking for penalties instead of going for goal, It was amazing that Barca qualified despite going a man down and remarkable what Guardiola achieved in his first year as professional coach.
That being said, my favorite team from Spain is Valencia, I was overwhelmed by their style of football when they had the likes of Claudio Lopez, Mendieta, Baraja, Angloma, Ayala, Canizares, Vicente it was quick and sublime football and I thought they deserved to win the final against Bayern in 2001, they and Depor gave some extra spice to Spanish football and it is sad to see Valencia in their current state, I wish they had a better management they deserve to be in the same league as Barca and Madrid they have always shown they are up to par if not better than them on most occasions when they were a competing squad.
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PeanutButterWolf,
on 02 August 2009 - 09:03 AM, said:
MultiQuote
