The Unsurprising Upset

Snow got me out of work early and also gave me an opportunity to catch some Champs League without making pretend I had something to do. I caught almost the whole second half of Lyon-Madrid and I have to say it was worth it. Real's troubles in France are well documented and in the lead up to the match the Spanish press seemed confident this time would be different. But it was not. I did not see the first half but Lyon were clearly in control in the second. They had a game plan and held to it rigidly. They made it very difficult for Real Madrid to move the ball up the field on the ground and as a result they began using searching/hoping longer passes that were gobbled up by the backline. Positionally Lyon were very sound. Madrid did get forward on some occasions but there was very little real danger. Kaka especially seemed to be devoid of ideas with the ball at his feet and 25 yards or less from goal. The Lyon counter attack was superb knowing when to commit men forward and when to put on the breaks and wait, sucking Madrid's attacking players back down the field. Of the Madrid players the only one I thought looked really good (in attack at least, the defense was not too bad, the one goal aside) was Benzema. At times Granero had some good touches but he disappeared for stretches of the game.

What to expect in the return leg? I don't know. Lyon didn't fluke into this win and they can very realistically get a result. That said Madrid will have a lot to play for and are absolutely capable of erasing the minimal deficit. I would note Roma and Liverpool have gotten results at the Bernabeu at this stage of the competition the last two years, and neither were elite teams. They both crashed out in the following round.

In the other Tuesday game United got a 3-2 win at the San Siro which is not really a surprise. United are not the team they were when they came with in a game of doing the double back to back, but it is clear that United minus Tevez and Ronaldo is still better than Milan minus Kaka.

Barcelona Win Again

For the last few weeks the jealousy and frustration and general how can this be happening of the Real Madrid universe has manifested itself in anti-Barcelona campaign. When The Greasy One was given a two match ban for breaking an opponents nose via elbow his teammates and and people from Real Madrid's staff went insane, demanding (in Jorge Valdano's words) that the disciplinary committee take into account whether or not the player being sanctioned plays attractive football before issuing a ban. Sergio Ramos and others were indignant at the ban because and noted that Lionel Messi, Barcelona's star and the best player in the world, once elbowed someone too. I am not making this up. As almost an asterisk or after thought the Real partisans admitted he didn't do damage to the other player. That is the one small difference between the two incidents. Which is kind of like saying if two people get drunk in a bar and one drives home while the other walks a DUI is unfair because they were both drunk.

The other strand of Barcelona hating is an insistence that Spanish referees are bent on pushing them over the top. This campaign has gained a lot of steam in the pro-Real Madrid media, particularly the paper/webiste As. (I actually like a lot of what As does, but their bias on this is annoying). When a quick free kick pass to Pedro resulted in the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal against Sporting, there was an uproar about offside. To be fair it was a close call, but replay showed it was at best a tie and Pedro was probably onside. He was also more than 50 yards from goal at the time. As ran a still image showing him ahead of the Sporting defenders by about half a yard. What the supposed proof of favoritism ignored was that the ball was already in the air. This is campaign is particularly irritating considering it is in support of Real Madrid, a club so morally corrupt it hired a retired official as a liaison to referees and didn't even hide it.

So all this leads me to say I was very pleased watching Barcelona's 2-0 win today over Getafe and am a little curious how the Madridista outlets will play it. Barcelona's squad was missing several key players like Carles Puyol and Dani Alves and played Iniesta up front initially instead of in midfield. They deservedly went down a man in the 25th when Pique was sent off, making them play on 10 men for over an hour. Marquez was also sent off in a play that resulted in a Getafe spot-shot and their only goal. Barcelona dominated the match start to finish and if Keita was a little less erratic it would have been 4-0. Truly masterful, but more important the calls went against Barcelona and they did not blink. I am curious how this game will play in the capital.

FIFA Rankings are Absurd Ex. # 1,000,000,000

FIFA released their latest national team rankings. At the very top it is about right for the most part and a case can be made for the teams in the single digits. And then... Egypt is supposedly the tenth best national team in the world. Okay. Yes I know they just won the third rate ACoN again but seriously, who cares? This is a team that failed to qualify for the upcoming world cup (and the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that, etc) playing in a region that has never sent a squad as far as a world cup semi-final. Can anyone name an Egyptian player that has an impact role on a team that will legitimately challenge for a title in Spain, England, or Italy this year? Or the Champion's League?

As The Window Shuts

An interesting flurry of moves as the January window came to a close. Here are some thoughts on the bigger ones:

Mancini to AC Milan- Good riddance. I know it is a loan but I hope they keep him. What does it say about a player when his club thinks about including him in a swap with their most hated rivals who are also currently directly behind them in the title chase? And more importantly what does it say about that player when the other team decline the swap and they say "eh, whatever, take him anyway"? Mancini was never a good fit at Inter and they don't need him. It would have been nice to get Ledesma but all in all this squad is in good shape.

Robbie Keane to Celtic- I was kind of surprised at this one. I know he hasn't been getting too many minutes but I just didn't see him leaving, and especially not to the SPL. Not yet anyway. Keane is a very good player and in the watered down competition in Scotland he will tear it up. Despite his flops at Inter and Liverpool I kind of have a soft spot for Keane. I hope he does well. As he moves to Celtic Scot McDonald is leaving the club for Middlesborough, underscoring the difference in class between the two leagues.

Mariano Pavone to Catania- I am surprised he stayed in Spain as long as he did. Pavone never got settled there and a few times I assumed he had moved elsewhere. The reason I think this is interesting is because he joins Maxi Lopez on what I have read is the most South American heavy side in the history of Serie A. I am not sure if that is true but it has to be pretty close.

Fulham- I think the addition of Okaka will give them some more depth up front and Nicky Shorey will do the same in the back. Good moves both. Fulham are a team that I think were beginning to slip from the middle of the table but with these moves they should be able to hold their ground.

Man City- Adam Johnson is a nice addition but I get the feeling he is going to be one more in an already bloated squad. Maybe he gets significant minutes, but I think not. On another front I think City won by losing. Their deal with Madrid for Fernando Gago collapsed at the last minute and I suspect they are better of for it. Gago is a very good player but Manchester City is not the team and the Prem is not the league for him. His game is ill suited for England and Gareth Barry has an iron clamp on Gago's best position.