Much aDroo about Nothing ? – The Fell-ski Story
I have finally experienced the full wrath of Mumbai university. That means more work than a certain Norwegian refree had at a London theatre some days ago. With exams lurking menacingly around the corner, I will certainly not be able to write something meaningful for a while. But then, I had to get this off my chest.
Football is a funny game. I’ve watched so much of the game at a young age, that I often wonder if I’ve seen everything there is to be seen. I’ve consciously cut down on my football time in the recent past, catching only a few games every once a while. But then, the overall response to the Chelsea-Barcelona semi-final has evoked the ire of the one-time football purist in me. There was a time where I used to vociferously fight for my opinion when it came to football matters, voicing my opinion on worldly popular forums, fighting for my stance against highly experienced people. Won some, lost some. But learnt a lot. Mainly to have a rational view about things. There I learnt a very important lesson. People on the internet will always be wrong. You might cry hoarse. Fight for justice. Fight for rational thinking. But you’ll be chasing a chimera.
Thus, when I met a lot of people who ‘blamed’ Chelsea’s defeat on the bald Scandinavian, I just shrugged my shoulders. More like, been there, seen that. No strength to retort. There’s one fact that is absolutely certain – Chelsea lost because they did not have the fire in the belly to score a second goal and kill the tie, they fell, whined, barked, argued while the Catalans were disciplined and worked tremendously hard off the ball to retain possession. As I always maintain, the hallmark of truly great teams is to nick a result when they are not playing well. Not to their potential. Everyone wins on their glory days. Winning when playing poorly is what separates the wheat from chaff. Ask a certain Alex Ferguson and he’ll point to a certain Frederico Macheda.
Let us take one argument at a time.
i) Chelsea derserved to win.
They did not have the quality to score away at the Nou Camp. They did not have the quality to score a second deciding goal. They did not have the mentality to finish the game with 2 strikers. You deserve a lot of things. But you have to work towards them. Chelsea deserve to have another shot at the Champions League. They’re free to try next season. Its a simple equation. Any team that scores goals deserves to go through.
ii) Chelsea f*cked Barcelona in the a*se
Last I cared to check, semi finals are played over two legs. In the first leg at the Camp Nou, Barcelona had 19 shots on goal in comparison to Chelsea’s 3. 10 corners in comparison to 2. 59 percent possesion. Barcelona bossed the game. And if I can stick my neck out, they “deserved” to take a lead to England. But, their inability to score was their bane. Chelsea are a very good team. And as I say about good teams, they got a result when the chips were down. Perhaps, they failed to understand that Barcelona were an equally good team. And they had no divine right to go through at home just because they had surprised themselves by keeping a clean sheet away from home.
Chelsea fans are being very myopic in their view. Out of the 180 minutes of the tie, Chelsea dominated for about 70 minutes. Barca for 110. There is a feeling that Chelsea outplayed themselves. By claiming to have lorded over the tie after dominating it in minority, one is actually conceeding that Barcelona is a better team and that 70 minutes of domination over them is the highest that they could ask for.
iii) We lost to the ref
For me, there were two very strong penalty shouts and at least one could have been given. Especially, the Pique handball. But again, the Abidal red was a disgrace. The refereeing was poor. But it wasn’t the cause for Chelsea’s defeat. It was their inability to match Barca’s hunger and ineptitude to finish. A top of the Premier League team like Chelsea wins at least 5-7 games a season to the ref. You don’t bring the house down when you lose a couple. If you want to know what losing to the ref is like, then ask a West Brom or a Sunderland or a Hull.
Chelsea did lose to the ref – their dignity, the following of any neutral supporters and any sense of sympathy that one could have towards them.
As one Oswin Diniz says very eloquently on his Facebook :
I don’t understand all the fuss about Drogba grabbing a TV camera and saying ‘Fucking disgrace’ live on air. He should be applauded for giving an honest assessment of his performance.
Given that I support a ’smaller’ club, I sometimes consider myself to be on a higher moral plane than most other fans. Put it down to vanity. Yes, you are free to disagree. The problem with most fans I guess, is that they want to support a winning club rather than wanting their favored club to win. Supporting a losing club, suddenly becomes a taboo. Most fans have seen their club win trophies at domestic and European levels. And a sense of false pride has crept in. Nobody has a divine right to win on past glory.
It would be nice to see more and more fans putting their hand up and criticise their teams, their players & managers and accept their faults and imperfections. Accepting one’s shortcoming isn’t really a sign of weakness. This isn’t really a tirade against Chelsea football club. Although I have no real respect for the club as a whole (I don’t really like their footballing philosophy. Period.), I would love the likes of Lampard, Essien and Ricardo Carvalho to be in my team. Three Chelsea players who are honest triers. This is more of a disgusted moan towards majority of the “Top 4″ supporters. Do not try to malign the whole footballing world to justify the shortcomings of your own team. Feel happy that you don’t fight relegation every second season. It’s fine to lose at times. And there’s more to the footballing world than tending to egos of overpaid footballers.Most clubs in the world never play in a Cup final at any level. Their fans yearn for a trophy for decades together, a Cup final if not a trophy so that they could take their grandchildren out for a Cup final treat. Not surprising that most fans fail to realise this dream.
If Iniesta would not have scored, I assume, Barca would have taken disappointment in their stride, won 2 domestic competitions and would have ended the season with some cheer for their fans. No funny comments. No snide business. No mudbaths.
The way I see it now, Chelsea will end the season without a trophy (Everton, help here). And when 10 years down the line people will rave about Guardiola’s first season in charge – Chelsea fans will still feel cheated. Howard Webb is incharge of the FA Cup final. Be ready for fireworks. Because a certain team in blue wants to have their cake and eat it too.
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Tagged as: barcelona · champions league · chelsea football club · fans are fickle · fans are mypoic
if you are a gary neville, i’m a keiron gibbs when it comes to football punditry…but i tend to agree on your take on chelsea’s moans and cries…
although i’ve been supporting a club since the season they won the premiership…i’ll always want them to lose but play like the ‘invincibles’…rather than ‘do a chelsea’….and thanks to Iniesta… the final is now watchable…
(btw…the other semi final…babies totally outplayed by men…and atleast now… wake up wenger…)
I have several issues with this.. but since this is a comment Ill keep it short. No disrespect to you and your views mate… here’s some facts
1) Call it catennaccio ,,, call it ugly football ,,, say what the hell you want… there’s a reason why every team that went to the Nou camp has conceded this season. And Chelsea did not.
Because the so called ‘purists’ define beautiful football as being able to string a move together and finish it off. Dont call it beautiful football…. call it entertaining. I choose to see more beauty in a perfectly placed tackle than in a glorious passing move finished off. People tend to forget that football isnt about the midfield and the strikers only… Its equally about the defenders. And they have as much right to beauty as any other player on that field. Barcelona (the so called greatest and most beautiful team in Europe) managed 1 goal over 180 minutes against someone. Why? because unlike other teams… we can defend. It may not be what you love but who in the hell cares… Its effective. So if a pathetic team who is supposed to be the best attacking force in the world can’t score at home… they dont deserve shit!
2) About that second leg… sure we could have killed it off… we should have. But you talk about domination as if Barcelona had more than one shot on goal in the entire match. For all their possession, all their passing, what did they get…. 1 shot on goal. We played boring, defensive crap and still had more shots and opportunities than they did.
3) And about a certain Tom Henning Ovrebo… deny whatever you want. When a referee screws you out of 4 penalties in 1 match ( Abidal on Drogba, Pique handball, Yaya push on Anelka, and handball right at the end) then you have cause for complaint. For all the dirty, ugly football that Chelsea plays, it was the tackles in the Barcelona box that were dirty, and it was Lampard who went off bleeding with an elbow to the lip.
4) Trust me, if and when this was you’re team… we would have been reading a very different post. So don’t question the passion and ‘whining’ of other teams fans.
5) and another thing…. about a team like Chelsea winning coz of the ref time and again…. We lost to arsenal because of an inept linesman who can’t see a damn staright line.
We lost to liverpool because Lampard was sent off for something that wasnt even a foul.
We lost to Tottenham and drew to Everton and Hull because penalties werent given.
6) So yes, Im a little sore at this season. And i have cause to be. So blame it a little less on the whining and a little more on the facts.
Sorry for the long comment and the outburst, but that stirred up a lot of stuff!
This is rare from a United fan to a City fan.But, I agree. Even Man Utd try to blame it on the ref for some of their bad performances(rare, but many this season). When it comes to accepting defeat I guess Arsenal are the best among the ‘top four’.Their players dont get sent off when they are 2-0 down for kickin an opponent.They strive and that’s why they entertain(its not often you see a team gettin two 4-4s in a season).Their manager does not whine about a penalty not given but about the missed chances.I know its about winning trophies but its more about playing well and winning trophies.That’s why,inspite of winning nothing for 2-3 years(I consider them unlucky more than anything to not do so), Arsenal have a good fan following.Sorry for making this look like an arsenal community blog.But being a United fan I think of only them as worthy opponents to beat United, besides…..6.00 pm IST at OT.
this is the 1st football post that i read right till the end. understood a lil.lot of doubts sir. waiting for the next session of learning football terms on the canteen table…n i saw that match u guys r toking abt..but i have no opinion as of now. let me learn more..then i will write football posts too!
I totally agree with Brett. Chinmay, as fans, and sensible ones, we know and criticize the shortcomings of our team, like the inability to finish off Barcelona in the 2nd leg. But I bet if it was City on the day we lost, you’d be feeling downright disappointed too. True, for 3-4 days, I kept blaming the referee too, but then I saw the futility of that (because neither is UEFA going to change, nor are they going to stop being partial to United). But I still couldn’t understand why people were praising Barca for being the better team in the 2nd leg. Barcelona were determined, yes, they kept trying till the end, yes, they played their regular entertaining football, check, but the fact is that they were actually toothless in attack. (Every team worth their Champions’ League salt has to work till the end, Chelsea did too, over both legs). Eto’o had a disappointing day, and aside from 2-3 brilliant runs, Messi was tame. I also agree that Barca are the best team we’ll be seeing for a long time, but you cannot, I repeat, cannot attack against a quality side like Barca. You’ll be kicked swiftly in the nuts, as Madrid found out to their obvious displeasure. Chelsea performed magnificently in the 2nd leg, however “poor” and boring they were over the 2 legs. Finally, it all boiled down to the fact that UEFA seem to be an incompetent organisation (and a partial one as shown by their acceptance to even hear a United appeal for Fletcher’s card) and Drogba’s obvious incompetence. So, please do not insult Chelsea by saying Barcelona played well in the 2nd leg. By now, we have faced 2 horrible decisions against us in 2 different semifinals over the years, and for your information, the whole world seems to dislike us, so an idea of any kind of 50-50 decision involving us never goes our way, against any team. When we have been beaten fairly, we have accepted defeat fairly. I am not saying that Drogba or Ballack’s behaviour was justified, but having played football and having seen the passion in such games, I would have felt for any team going out under such circumstances.
Quote from Slaven Bilic
“I’m always for football. I want the better team to win. My friends, Chelsea eat Barca for lunch. They gave them the ball and useless domination. Unfortunately, the big semi-final was ruined by the referee. It’s unbelieveable that so many wrong decisions could be made on account of one team. Barca shouldn’t fool themselves and think they were better in 180 minutes.”
@ Brett, Shridhar : I had decided not to respond to any comments as it would have led to a prolonged rounds of mudslinging. But it would have been downright disrespectful for not replying to your arguments.
My basic argument is that refereeing decisions are minor inconsistencies in the ethic of a football club. The way your managers & players react to situations, the way the club treats the opposition, its own fans, its youth team players, fans of other clubs all contributes to what we say an identity of the club. By constantly cribbing about opposition tactics, refereeing decisions, playacting, simulation, getting involved in unnecessary player tapping controversies Chelsea have not really endeared themselves to neutral supporters. Barcelona on the other hand have a strong footballing philosophy with an impeccable youth system. There is a lot of sincerity in Barcelona’s approach to the game as compared to Chelsea.So, I do have a lot of empathy to Barcelona’s cause as compared to Chelsea.
Things even themselves out in football.I don’t know if I’m right in saying this, but Arsenal were the better team last Sunday and ‘deserved’ to win.And had a decent penalty shout at 1-3 down which was refuted.Arsenal may have deserved to win but Chelsea ‘deservedly earned’ their 3 points by good finishing and no one can take the points away from them, like Barcelona who took their chance at the Bridge.
Ronaldo’s opening goal in the Manchester derby came from a free kick which was given for a challenge that was never a foul. Did City ‘deserve’ to get a draw out of the game then ?
At times you have to put your hand up and say that our players have not been honest enough. That they don’t try hard enough. That they don’t have the right attitude. Like Robinho. He’s just the wrong player at the wrong time for Manchester City. The club would do very well without him. Chelsea lost because their were people on the pitch who weren’t honestly trying on the field. The left winger starting with M, the strikers starting with A & D to name a few – who would never get into a Barcelona side.
With reference to directly arguing against the points that you guys have made, I don’t really want to get into a fistfight. Why not for once consider that the last handball shout (just a shout, it wasn’t really an offense) was in the 7th minute of time added on. Why play seven minutes when there were only 4 added on ? Small petty things that good teams look through, ignore and carry on with their work. “Effective” teams milk it, juice it up, try to gain mileage and get back to their old ways.
Chelsea played a tactically astute game. Negated Barca’s strength and kept them tied down for over 180 minutes. And that is not really a surprise, because Chelsea are very effective team. But why not for once question RA’s decision to hire Scolari ? With Hiddink at the helm for an year, with his own methods, own set of players, could Chelsea have made the final ?
Chelsea are a strong, effective team. They’ll win loads of trophies in the next few years. More than Manchester City or perhaps even Barcelona for that matter. But I’ll be surprised if they attain the same level of honesty or integrity that some of the other teams on this planet (not just Barca) play with. As a neutral I just can’t get myself to appreciate their work. My opinion doesn’t matter a hoot though. Chelsea may deserve to be in the final of the CL, but they don’t really deserve my admiration.
Ill leave the cross replying for another day. As you say, lets not turn this into a mud slinging fest. However I would like to point out that the whole point of your original post seemed to be directed at something else. How totally wrong it was for Chelsea fans to blame the defeat on the referee. And you’re right… we may not deserve the neutral’s admiration. We never asked for it or wanted it. Let me remind you that there was a time before a certain mr. Abramovich when I supported a club that actually was a ‘neutral’. But again, we dont need admiration, just a bloody sense of justice.
This is my first comment here but im a regular reader of ur blog.I found this post of quite intriguing after a long time hence all the effort to write a comment.. :p
I feel both Brett and Chinmay have valid points
firstly the two semis were two valuable lessons in football the Arse-nal vs Man Utd one ws for most of it over the 2 legs quite a open and flowy affair
whereas the Chelsea vs Barca ws a cagy,evenly fought,dirty defensively brilliant one.
I personally enjoyed both equally.
I m not going to comment on what is right or wrong…i just feel u always get what u deserve be it through ur own mistakes or through somebody else’s(the refree in dis case)…..Bt somedays u just hv 2 put ur hand up and say it ws just nt our day v gave it our best bt it just wasnt to be ….
Yes Barca played as people call it beautiful football bt chelsea and Barca are two very different sides playing two very different leagues and the two legs v saw justifies this…..
The only thing i found disgraceful ws the Chelsea players conduct on the pitch.Yes their were some poor decisions bt that happens in every match and one u play football u hv to live with it and move on
Bt the way Ballack ws hounding the refree fr a penalty claim it ws as if he ws going 2 pinn the refree down and pulverise in2 an affirmative….Nd Drogba looked like a small puppy barking,squeaking on the camera it ws bloody disgraceful…….u Hv press conferences,news paper articles,uefa officials express ur grievances dere nt on the pitch after the whistle has been blown..it leaves a sour taste
whatever ny1 says the chelsea players conduct on that day has lost dem many a fans all over the world and the ones who support dem strogly would certainly hv second thoughts!
just for curiostiy’s sake….what made you a fan of Man City?
” But I’ll be surprised if they attain the same level of honesty or integrity that some of the other teams on this planet ”
just wanted to ask what’s your definition of integrity ? How do you say if a person has integrity or not ?
Oh, and Chinmay, just let’s consider how much people will love City, right? Even With money on their side, they can’t do anything right.
I don’t think we’ll see anymore football posts on this blog in the near future.