31 10 2006 Barcelona 2 Spawn of the Devil 2
There have been few games which have got my blood pumping as much as those against the mighty Barcelona. This
was a crucial match which Chelsea did not look like they would lose.
It was a quiet media build up until Jose cheekily suggested that Eidur had learnt how to dive once he had joined Barca!
Amusing, but unnecessary. I doubt the relationship between the clubs is going to improve in the near future.
Although it sounds quite blasé, I was getting a bit fed up travelling over there again. This time, I decided not to stay
anywhere near La Rambla after two seasons ago (mobile phone pick-pocketed) and last season (riot outside my hotel).
This time I stayed in the South East of the city near the beach in a posh hotel ... nice. A few people I knew decided to
give this game a miss. I do love Barcelona as a city and it was good to see a different, quieter part of it.
Before the match,Chelsea fans were in much better voice than last year when it seemed we were doomed to be knocked
out of the Champions League. This time round there was nonstop singing (as usual in the Irish Bars!) The Nou Camp
stadium is magnificent and the fans were pretty friendly to us as usual. Which is why it was a shame to yet again see
Chelsea fans throw coins on the fans below... this year at least they put some netting in between the fans to stop the
celery attacks!
We had barely recovered from walking the 600 flights of stairs to the sold-out Chelsea end when we conceded a sloppy
goal. Tonight, the Cannibal looked a tad lost against old buck tooth and his slip-up lead to their opening goal from Deco.
Chelsea never really looked out of their depth and you felt that a goal was coming. Despite losing out on possession (as
most teams who play away in Europe do) Chelsea created some great chances which they spurned in the first half.
Then came the explosive second half. Lampard - who really has found his form recently - scored one of the goals of the
season and the Chelsea end went mental. Suddenly, Ronaldinho decided that he would start to play football and put in
a peach of a pass to set up Eidur for their second goal. The next 30 minutes were a nonevent punctuated by the odd
pathetic skirmish and dive - mainly from Barcelona I hasten to add! Just as it seemed that we had been cheated out of
yet another victory against Barca, Drogba scored after a magnificent build up begun by Essien - cue pandemonium in
the Chelsea end and a rush to the exits from the Barca fans. Barca are yet to beat a Chelsea team with eleven men on
the field.
At the final whistle I had not felt such joy after a Chelsea draw for a very long time. It has not often occurred under Jose
that we score last minute crucial goals - but well done to him for changing the formation to an even more attacking one
(Chelsea had more shots on goal throughout the game than Barca). It was also amusing to see the Saint of Rijkaard run
towards the referee - probably to berate him for not booking enough Chelsea players for no particular reason!
After the game as usual Chelsea fans were herded into one exit and forced to take the long way round to the tube
station as usual. The police seemed to be quite happy to let Chelsea fans disappear into the darkness. Hey, the more
inconvenient for us Brits the better! And if someone should get attacked - who cares - as long as it didn't occur on the
stadium premises....
Chelsea thoroughly deserved their point, although having returned on the airplane today and reading the 'papers you
really felt the disappointment from the media that we had not failed. The Daily Mail suggested that Drogba's last minute
strike against the European Champions saved the club from "embarrassment". Er... what from? Would Chelsea be
embarrassed to lose to a team that the media have waxed lyrically about for so long after they won the European Cup?
It flatters me to think that Barcelona are seen as such a second rate team that to lose to them is an "embarrassment". It
also claimed that Lampard's strike had been a cross! Who to fellas? There was noone to cross to!
Then that magnificent toilet paper substitute, the Sun, referred to Jose as "Lucifer" (I geddit - it's Halloween innit?). In
any case, the newspapers seemed to be full of wrath despite a magnificent performance and result from an English
team. Most of the articles seemed to concentrate on diving - Barca being the main protagonists. I feel they were pissed
off they had to rewrite their planned scathing articles about Chelsea that they had prewritten before Didier's last gasp
equaliser! I certainly don't recall much criticism off Reyes rolling onto the pitch to halt the Real Madrid vs Arsenal game
last season when they won over there....
Anyway... back to the real world. We have a magnificent opportunity to get Barca knocked out of the Champions
League. It would make my year to see them play in the UEFA Cup having seen all the sycophantic praise they receive
from the media. So, Jose, fancy playing a B side against Werder Bremen away, seeing as we only need one more point
to qualify? Ooooohhh... cynical...
was a crucial match which Chelsea did not look like they would lose.
It was a quiet media build up until Jose cheekily suggested that Eidur had learnt how to dive once he had joined Barca!
Amusing, but unnecessary. I doubt the relationship between the clubs is going to improve in the near future.
Although it sounds quite blasé, I was getting a bit fed up travelling over there again. This time, I decided not to stay
anywhere near La Rambla after two seasons ago (mobile phone pick-pocketed) and last season (riot outside my hotel).
This time I stayed in the South East of the city near the beach in a posh hotel ... nice. A few people I knew decided to
give this game a miss. I do love Barcelona as a city and it was good to see a different, quieter part of it.
Before the match,Chelsea fans were in much better voice than last year when it seemed we were doomed to be knocked
out of the Champions League. This time round there was nonstop singing (as usual in the Irish Bars!) The Nou Camp
stadium is magnificent and the fans were pretty friendly to us as usual. Which is why it was a shame to yet again see
Chelsea fans throw coins on the fans below... this year at least they put some netting in between the fans to stop the
celery attacks!
We had barely recovered from walking the 600 flights of stairs to the sold-out Chelsea end when we conceded a sloppy
goal. Tonight, the Cannibal looked a tad lost against old buck tooth and his slip-up lead to their opening goal from Deco.
Chelsea never really looked out of their depth and you felt that a goal was coming. Despite losing out on possession (as
most teams who play away in Europe do) Chelsea created some great chances which they spurned in the first half.
Then came the explosive second half. Lampard - who really has found his form recently - scored one of the goals of the
season and the Chelsea end went mental. Suddenly, Ronaldinho decided that he would start to play football and put in
a peach of a pass to set up Eidur for their second goal. The next 30 minutes were a nonevent punctuated by the odd
pathetic skirmish and dive - mainly from Barcelona I hasten to add! Just as it seemed that we had been cheated out of
yet another victory against Barca, Drogba scored after a magnificent build up begun by Essien - cue pandemonium in
the Chelsea end and a rush to the exits from the Barca fans. Barca are yet to beat a Chelsea team with eleven men on
the field.
At the final whistle I had not felt such joy after a Chelsea draw for a very long time. It has not often occurred under Jose
that we score last minute crucial goals - but well done to him for changing the formation to an even more attacking one
(Chelsea had more shots on goal throughout the game than Barca). It was also amusing to see the Saint of Rijkaard run
towards the referee - probably to berate him for not booking enough Chelsea players for no particular reason!
After the game as usual Chelsea fans were herded into one exit and forced to take the long way round to the tube
station as usual. The police seemed to be quite happy to let Chelsea fans disappear into the darkness. Hey, the more
inconvenient for us Brits the better! And if someone should get attacked - who cares - as long as it didn't occur on the
stadium premises....
Chelsea thoroughly deserved their point, although having returned on the airplane today and reading the 'papers you
really felt the disappointment from the media that we had not failed. The Daily Mail suggested that Drogba's last minute
strike against the European Champions saved the club from "embarrassment". Er... what from? Would Chelsea be
embarrassed to lose to a team that the media have waxed lyrically about for so long after they won the European Cup?
It flatters me to think that Barcelona are seen as such a second rate team that to lose to them is an "embarrassment". It
also claimed that Lampard's strike had been a cross! Who to fellas? There was noone to cross to!
Then that magnificent toilet paper substitute, the Sun, referred to Jose as "Lucifer" (I geddit - it's Halloween innit?). In
any case, the newspapers seemed to be full of wrath despite a magnificent performance and result from an English
team. Most of the articles seemed to concentrate on diving - Barca being the main protagonists. I feel they were pissed
off they had to rewrite their planned scathing articles about Chelsea that they had prewritten before Didier's last gasp
equaliser! I certainly don't recall much criticism off Reyes rolling onto the pitch to halt the Real Madrid vs Arsenal game
last season when they won over there....
Anyway... back to the real world. We have a magnificent opportunity to get Barca knocked out of the Champions
League. It would make my year to see them play in the UEFA Cup having seen all the sycophantic praise they receive
from the media. So, Jose, fancy playing a B side against Werder Bremen away, seeing as we only need one more point
to qualify? Ooooohhh... cynical...
