Gracious Losers

Nothing makes me happier than seeing Barcelona lose! Due to their crashing out of the Champions League at the hands of Chelsea, my euphoric attitude has lead me to show you some of my favorite pictures from yesterday's huge embarrassing failure; with commentary.

Lionel Messi tasting disappointment. It looks bitter!

Pep Guardiola flashing the "deer-in-headlights - we lost?" look. Also could be interpreted as the "sh*t I don't really know how to coach look." 

 Andres Iniesta performing the Messi mating stance.

 

Iniesta: I'm nothing without you...
Messi: Don't leave me...

Xavi trying to rub the tangy defeat out of his mouth. "What is this taste, Papa Pep?"

Poor whittle Cesc Fabregas couldn't even win La Liga or the UCL in his first year at Barca.

 Alexis Sanchez, wanting his mommy.

 Gerard Pique, crying for Shakira but remembering "Whenever, Wherever..."

 Guardiola reflecting on how horrible the last week has been. Who's hiring?

Messi: "F*CK YOU"

These are my favorite shots! If anyone can find any more (tears preferred), please link me so I can add them in. I want to savor this defeat forever via my blog!


Photo Credits:
AFP
Associated Press
National PostYahoo Sports

Ibrahimovic: I'm Sick Of You

At first, the hard man attitude of Zlatan Ibrahimovic was alluring. A tough guy backing up his tough talk through gritty performances usually is. His prolific scoring record and affinity to win titles - currently nine in a row - speaks volumes about his talents as a footballer, regardless of an inflated ego. However, I'm getting sick of his over-the-top arrogance. As Ibra has gotten old, so has his antics on and off the field. Lets review some history:

Incredible efforts at Ajax garnered the attention of many leading clubs around Europe. Hilarious interviews after matches endeared fans to the tall Swede's tough, yet playful style:

The cool-talking Ibrahimovic was a delight at this point of his career. Seeing a player sensibly spar with a prying journalist is always enthralling.

At Juventus, Ibra rose to stardom. His flicks, tricks and flashy goals drew the attention of the world audience. Moreover, he arrived in a top league and immediately made an impact, scoring 16 goals while leading the Old Lady yet another title. Check out the scope of his dope skills during one of Nike's Joga Bonito clips prior to World Cup 2006:

That had to be Dubble Bubble! Ibra's tenure at Juve was cut short due to the Calciopoli scandals, which lead to his move to Inter.

In the Serie A post-Juve fallout, Inter was evil. They were essentially the Yankees of Calcio, scooping up every serious star in the wake of the scandals, one being Ibra. His dominance continued at Inter, winning three titles and securing Capocannoniere honors - top scorer in Serie A - in his final year.

Ibra silences San Siro boo boys and lets them know to shut up

Towards the end of his tenure at Inter, tempers began to flare. Though goals like these brought fans to their feet, but Ibra's inability to make an impact in games of importance angered fans. On this unsteady ground, Zlatan's hard man from Malmo act made matters much worse. As seen in the picture above, there were several instances where Zlatan threw dissent right back in their faces. No love was lost when the striker flew the coop for Barcelona in exchange for Eto'o.

Barcelona probably could have done without the services of Ibrahimovic. Even after a strong start, it was evident the striker did not fit into Pep Guardiola's system. After the fact, we have learned (through Ibra's biography) about severe problems Ibra had in the locker room. He seemed like the bad kid in school who always acted up in class. To him, Guardiola was not in control, while no one questioned Messi or Xavi. To Barca, he was polluting a good ecosystem. For a person with this sort of ego, I am sure authoritarian problems hit hard. The result: a summer move back to Italy with city rivals AC Milan.

Fortifying his complete lack of care for Inter, Ibra traded over to city rivals AC Milan a year after departing the Nerazzurri. In Italy, this is a serious dis to fans. This move dovetailed into the Swede's current over-the-top arrogance. He was always kind of a jerk, but while in Rossoneri, he has never failed to anger me. His track record:

Constant red cards jeopardized Milan's title winning efforts towards the end of last year.

Fighting to the death with American man-machine Oguchi Onyewu.

An infamous kick on a teammate during training:



Another kick, this time on Antonio Cassano, after winning the Scudetto:


A well placed slap against a Napoli player last month put him in the doghouse.

A temper-tantrum post Champions League progression vs. Arsenal.

And most recently, a spat with a reporter resulted in Ibra asking her "What the F*ck are you looking at??" followed by a headband throw:


What is wrong with this guy? Have years of success made his ego boil over? Maybe it's because he looks like Zorro right now? I used to admire the hard man attitude, but as of late, it just seems excessive.

To conclude this rant, I offer you a hilarious video dissecting Ibrahimovic's attitude via the Barcelona tensions with Pep Guardiola:




Photo/Video Credits:
world-football-report.blogspot.com
blogs.reuters.com
Youtube

El Clasico-FIFA '12 Correlation

El Clasico is nothing more than a bad FIFA '12 dream for Real Madrid.

Ramos receiving his marching orders after jumping near Messi

Ever play a crunch match in FIFA where you know you are better than your opponent? With the buzz of your 360 in the background, you dominate the first half, cause constant pressure, and have a bundle of goal-scoring chances. You're play is so flawless that it's only a matter of time before you score.

But then, you don't. Shots rifle off the post and your striker for some reason doesn't convert a chance he would nine times out of ten. Doubt creeps in your mind. It's going to be "one of those games," where this jerk I'm playing, who is a cheese team like Barcelona, pulls one back against the run of play. And then before half-time that exactly happens. Bam, Messi does something and somehow the balls in the back of the net. Then to compound this misery, a ridiculous strike from nowhere is scored leaving you to say: I hate this game. It's 2-0, it's Barca, there's no way back.

Nothing is more unnerving. This is El Clasico for Real Madrid. Things simply do not go their way. They deserved to win yesterday, the other day, and usually. They pounded Barca in the first half and wound up two nil down. This logically means Barcelona are so good they're cheap. They are the left trigger + Y pass to a fast player move in FIFA: downright annoying.

I could care less about La Liga, Barcelona, or Real Madrid, but watching highlights of last nights game screamed to me FIFA '12 injustice! Disagree or not, the scenario that happened to Madrid last night has happened to you while playing FIFA online or with friends.

Perhaps I'm playing too much FIFA '12?



Photo Credit:
EA Sports

The Blur of a Brazilian: Pato

Did everyone see the ridiculous fashion in which Pato scored last night a mere 25 seconds into Milan's Champions League clash with Barcelona at Camp Nou? Well if you didn't, you must watch this video:



Truly amazing. Pato made the Barcelona midfield and defense look like school children! Why doesn't he do that all the time?!

I know there are some Pato haters out there who believe he will not live up to his potential, but after seeing a piece of magic like that I would reserve room for hope that he can produce magic like this consistently. Imagine Milan with a healthy, in form Pato? They hardly had him last year and took the title.

Keep your eyes on this young man and the Italian champs, people.

Side note: during this blog post I kept erroneously writing Pato as Patio, which lead me to wonder if Pato would be as awesome on the field if his name was actually Patio. After thinking it through, a Brazilian named Patio would probably just draw laughs, not first team call ups. Alexandre Patio. Haha.

Alexis Sanchez To Learn Style From World's Best

Dude, what are you wearing?

The style of Alexis Sanchez - an infusion of Chilean duds and Udine flare that (re)creates the look of a rural farmer - was on display as the player was presented to Barcelona fans today. Admitting he wants to "learn from the best," Sanchez already picked up style tips when someone made him change before his press conference.

What's next for the crafty Chilean winger (besides lengthy receipts from Gucci and Prada)? Well, at peabrain.com aka goal.com, the obvious next step is to compare Sanchez with Cristiano Ronaldo, like they do with every top player ever. I'm so tired of these waste of space comparisons! Enough goal.com...really.

The King, Has Returned...

Hi all:

After a month of relentlessly searching for an apartment, finding one, paying for one, packing, moving, unpacking, and living - I am back and it feels good! Now that I am all settled, let me tell you about certain things in world football that are unsettling to me at the moment:

Barcelona
They have won it all. Everything. Their players are the best ever. Their team is the best ever. And I am tired of it. I am fed up with their success and style of play. Sick of it! Just when I thought some Barca-relief was on its way after the season ended, quite the opposite has occurred, as every news source indicates any player, anywhere, of any age,  is tied to a summer move to Barcelona. Any semi-large move in world football has at least two teams interested in the player: Team X and Barcelona. For more on that, see below.

Transfer Sagas
The summer window is a super-exciting time to be a football fan. Each hour, die-hardistas like myself sit on the edge of our seats and pray to Pele himself that the next big star will put pen to paper for our team, not Lazio merda. Along with this on-the-edge prayfest, comes the long, drawn-out sagas that will capture headlines for weeks, months, or even the whole summer. Here are some of those sagas:

Cesc Fabregas Arsenal

Price Tag €30M - €40M

Fabregas fuels speculation of a move to the New York Mets ...

Another summer, another saga. Will Cesc Fabregas finally leave Arsenal for Barcelona (or the Mets)?! The young captain's future was made clear, in a muddled way, as he was omitted from Arsenal's new kit photo-shoot earlier this week. Football pundits see this as a great big sign that Cesc will leave. My opinion: I think they are right.

Alexis Sanchez Udinese
Price tag €35M - €45M
The Chilean winger has certainly caused quite the coup on football's front pages as of late, with both Manchester teams and Barcelona, naturally, interested in the player. Sanchez has publicly stated it's Barca or bust, and the Catalan giants have put in their final bid for the player (supposedly). Will this drag on? I'd wager he leaves Udine and gets dumped into the talent ocean in Barcelona.

Future star/got2be spokesman

Neymar Santos
Price tag €40M - €50M
We might never see the end of the Neymar saga which means we might never see the end of a rooster haircut appearing on our browser every single day, at any time of the day. The talented young Brazilian, who apparently has the Midas Touch, is wanted by five clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City and the Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. I'm not sure where the young gun will end up, but frankly, I'm too tired of hearing about him to care.

Javier Pastore Palermo
Price tag €30M - €50M
Argentine hitman Javier Pastore could certainly be headed for an exit this summer, but to where, I know not. Palermo President Mauro Zamparini seems willing to let the player go and is up to his old, not-so-sly tricks of asking for ridiculous amounts of money for players, then randomly accepting less. Pastore should make a move, but who knows with a crazy old man pulling the strings.

Charlie Adam Blackpool
Price tag Who cares?
Despite all the big money moves on the line in world football, nothing makes me more angry than constantly seeing rumors about Charlie Adam. It started during the winter window: he was going to Liverpool for sure but the move fell through at the penultimate moment. Now here we are again: he's going to Liverpool but the move has stalled because blammo, Chelsea and Spurs are in the mix! Is this player really worth all this speculation? Please stop.

The Gold Cup
I know the Gold Cup is not tremendous news to those around world football, but to us Americans, it's pretty much all we had this summer. Which is why I am sad to say, it sucked bad. The USMNT played sub-par the whole tournament on their way to getting smashed by their fiercest rival Mexico, again. Bob Bradley seemed to have no grasp of his lineup and fielded a few question marks consistently.

I agree with Sweat Pants Bob on benching leading USMNT scorer of all time Landon Donovan for the match in which he arrived from his sister's wedding at 7am on gameday, but the rest of the games? Are you kidding me?

FIFA's new rankings came out and supporters of American soccer should have cringed when they saw the top ten: 9. Mexico. Our benchmark just jumped into the top ten! We're in the top 25 though...barely. I think it is time for some changes in the national team camp. Sorry to say, but I think Bob Bradley must go.

Well, that's all that's bothering me at the moment. Stay tuned for some more regular Sensible Soccer posts!

Told You! Told You!

Well, I was right. I didn't flat out predict that Real Madrid would beat Barcelona, but I alluded to it in my last post describing the three exciting non-league Clasicos over the coming weeks.

The evidence was clear: Jose Mourinho outwitted Pep Guardiola. The Madrid gaffer infused Pepe in a central midfield role higher up the field to cancel out the movements of Xavi. Pepe did the job on Xavi, which stunted Barca's passing game early on, and created a proactive approach for Madrid to deal with the crafty Catalan midfield: pressure them up high when they receive the ball.

The plan also called for balls to be played down the wings to expose Barca's wing-backs and swing in crosses. Cristiano Ronaldo was incorporated as the squads main striker and he did what any good striker does: nodded home when called upon.

All in all, Mourinho's tactic of neutralizing the midfield and banging balls down the flanks paid dividends. Hell, he even let Barca come at Madrid in the second half, as Zonal Marking highlights in a much more comprehensive look at the game.

In the next two Champions League Classicos we will truly see what Pep Guardiola is made of as a coach. Mourinho's got the drop on him now, but can Pep respond with some wily tactics of his own? We'll see.

Oh and I had to add this:



It's been over a decade since Madrid won the Copa del Rey...and now the trophy is smashed to bits thanks to Sergio Ramos and the team bus.

Real Madrid - 2011 Copa del Rey Winners

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Matches 3, 4, and 5

Two Clasicos per year is the standard. Three, a gift. Four and you're wondering if the planets have aligned. But five?! WOW. Usually the two Clasicos pitting Real Madrid against Barcelona are the feature of the La Liga season, but this year, they take a back seat to the next three matches.

The additional three Clasicos this year will establish bragging rights for quite some time. Nothing resonates more than raising your league's domestic cup in the face of your foe and/or  knocking your enemy out of the Champions League. Real Madrid and Barcelona: sh*t just got real.

Copa del Rey Final
Today, 3:30pm EST

Champions League Semifinal - Leg 1
April 27th, 2:45pm EST, Bernabeu

Champions League Semifinal - Leg 2
May 3rd, 2:45pm EST, Camp Nou

Feast your eyes on these three matches, friends, because they will most likely be the best we see all year.

Predictions: Are you crazy?! Who can predict these games? The only thing I will say in lieu of a prediction is that I believe Jose Mourinho is a better coach than Pep Guardiola. Guardiola is pretty good, but I think Mourinho pips him tactically. And the more Mou sees of a team, the higher his team's chances are of winning. That's logical.

Enjoy these football delights!

Champs League Q-Finals: High-Time For a Hero, No Time For Mistakes

It is nitty-gritty time in the UEFA Champions League. At this stage, minor gaffes and blunders could cost a team the chance to vie for the final. As we approach the crucial quarter-final matches of the tournament this week, I thought I would remind you of who's playing who, and lend my expert opinion on who will win:

Inter Milan vs. Schalke 04
Inter comes into the first leg of this match after being demolished by Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. Though morale might be low, the form of the holders is still on the rise. They have clawed their way back towards the top of the Serie A table, after a dismal start to the season, and will be ready as ever for a reaction against Schalke.

Schalke on the other hand, have been spotty all year round. They currently lie in 11th place and have recently fired their coach, which is strange for a UCL quarter-finalist. That said, they've been brilliant in Champions League play. Raul has been a real leader on the pitch and contributions from crafty Peruvian Jeffrey Farfan have created a beacon of hope for the struggling Bundesliga side.

Prediction: Inter will win this tie...their record against German opposition has been tremendous. But please note, I have been wrong about every prediction involving Schalke this season.

Real Madrid vs. Tottenham Hotspur
The Spurs run through Europe is subject to a major obstacle in Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid. Tottenham gaffer Harry Redknapp has guided his side through some difficult challenges thus far, but a quarter-final date with Madrid is the toughest yet.

Each team has a few notables missing: Karim Benzema for the Merengues (Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo are in the squad but doubtful) and Steven Pienaar for Tottenham (William Gallas is in the squad but doubtful). Welshman Gareth Bale most likely will feature and it appears that Gonzalo Higuain is back from a long injury layoff.

Prediction: Real Madrid will take the tie...Tottenham has ridden luck for far too long in such a high-caliber competition.

Manchester United vs. Chelsea

Two English powerhouses square off in what should be an entertaining quarter-final. Chelsea continue to falter in Premier League play while Manchester United remain on course to lift the title. At this moment, I do not think Chelsea has the form to overcome a sturdy side in United. Perhaps Fernando Torres will choose this vital moment to bag his first goal for the Blues?

Prediction: Manchester United will run away with this one...Chelsea are under-performing in the EPL and will most likely carry their poor form with them to the tournament.

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Barcelona
Prediction: No description necessary - Barcelona will dominate this tie and waltz into the semi-finals. Shakhtar got lucky with their draw against dreadful AS Roma, but that luck has run out. This one was over at the drawing.

Well, what do you think?

Barcelona Were Always Going Win - Refuted

In the news today is your typical after-the-fact journalism on Barcelona's narrow Round of 16 win over Arsenal. Most sources I've read have completely discounted the closeness of this tie. Even though they carried 74% possession, had 20 shots, and generally dominated the game, the clash hung in the balance until the final whistle. Despite the red card and failing to register a shot, a fine piece of finishing from Nicklas Bendtner would have turned the tie around near the death. Barcelona were not always going to win; they ended up winning.

Last year's semifinal between Barcelona and Inter Milan played out in a similar manner. Going into the second leg at Camp Nou, Barca, after losing 3-1 at San Siro, commanded 86% of the possession, and held ten-man Inter to 1 shot. They ended up winning the game 1-0, but lost the tie on aggregate. Inter's superb defensive effort was lauded after the game, and rightfully so. But, had Bojan's disallowed goal in the final moments been allowed, would we have seen a similar description of that tie? Probably.

Sportscasters love to side with Barcelona's luscious style of play. They are fluid, clinical, and outplay most sides, even when they lose. If Arsenal had notched the crucial goal, they would have been through to the quarterfinals. I am shocked at all the negative light being shed on the Gunner's play since they were actually close to winning. Sure they were outplayed, but they remained in the hunt until the referee looked at his watch one last time. The coverage of Barcelona's dominating play is exhaustive and overshadowed a tie which could have gone either way.

Round of 16 Continued - Match Day 2

Today's Champions League fixtures fired us into the most enthralling part of the tournament: the knockout rounds. Tottenham conquered AC Milan at San Siro, winning the match and grabbing a crucial away goal through Peter Crouch's 80th minute strike. Valencia and Schalke 04 drew 1-all in a heated contest. Legendary Spanish striker Raul grabbed the vital away goal for the Germans, who should be thrilled with this result.

Now for the previews of tomorrow's matches:

Arsenal vs. Barcelona

 

Leg 1 will be played in London at the Emirates.

Managers were crossing their fingers at the December draw in Geneva in hopes of avoiding Barcelona in the Round of 16. Unfortunately for Arsenal, they drew the short straw and have the monumental task of taking down the Catalans in an enticing encounter. When the two clubs squared off in last year's quarterfinal, Arsenal were smashed to bits by an awe-inspiring Messi performance at Nou Camp. What about this year? Mission impossible for Arsenal? Most likely.

Frankly, Arsenal brought this difficult draw upon themselves by failing to top their easy group. Inconsistency has racked the Gunners' campaign, which is not a good sign when facing arguably the most consistent side in the world. Barcelona have been on a tear in La Liga, with the exception of a draw at the weekend, and sit 5 points clear at the top of the table. We all know the pedigree of the Blaugrana, so there's really no use in describing how dominating they can be.

Missing Persons: In defense, Arsenal will be without Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna (suspension). Wojciech Szczesny will must likely start between the sticks in lieu of Lukasz Fabianski's season-ending injury. The Gunners have been boosted by the return of Alex Song and Samir Nasri to the team sheet.

For Barcelona, Carles Puyol will miss out on the trip to London. This could force Pep Guardiola to field the experienced Eric Abidal at center back.

Key Questions
1. Can Messi be stopped? No. But he can be contained (sometimes). Obviously Messi is not the only threat on the team, but he undoubtedly has the ability to tear a side to shreads at any given moment during a match. Arsenal's only hope is to try not to give too much space and isolate him. This may be tough without the fleet-footed Sagna in the lineup, but the Gunners will have to do what they can.

2. Can Arsenal's wingers send some in-swingers? For Arsenal to have any chance at winning this tie, they need Theo Walcott to hit the byline and hit it hard. The hope is that the crafty winger and his left wing counterpart (Rosicky/Arshavin) can send some telling crosses into the area that might find the head of Arsenal's big men. Since Puyol will miss this leg, it is quite possible that the back line could be exposed in the air.

3. Will Arsenal impose their physicality to the tie? We know Barcelona's game plan: possession and build up in attack. But, can Arsenal inject enough physicality to throw the slick passing side off their game? If they do so, they might be able to dictate some play.

Prediction: Forget about the draw over the weekend: Barcelona is a machine that produces wins. The players in the squad have won this competition, the Euros, and the World Cup. Though Arsenal may put up a fight, Barca will win the away leg and most likely the tie.

AS Roma vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

Leg 1 will be played in Rome at Olimpico.

One of the weaker draws in the Round of 16, perennial underachievers AS Roma take on Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk in what I believe will be a close two legs. The Giallorossi have had a torrid time this campaign, often winning a few on the trot then playing miserably and dropping points. As a frustrated Romanista, I can attest to how aggravating it has been to watch this team play. We simply do not know what kind of Roma will walk onto the pitch any given day. Luckily for the Lupi, Shakhtar may lack a bit of cohesion due to the winter break in the Ukraine.

The two squads have faced off in this competition before, so they are no stranger to each other. Roma are the more talented side, but since they rarely play to their potential, I think we will see a very evenly matched two games. 

Missing Persons: Roma have some question marks in their lineup, which could be coach Claudio Ranieri keeping his cards close before match day. In attack, Mirko Vucinic and Marco Borriello are listed as doubtful for the match, but I would not be surprised if they featured heavily. Unfortunately for the Giallorossi, first-choice goalkeeper Julio Sergio will not play tomorrow. So, we could see one of two characters in place of the Brazilian: Alexander Doni or Bogdan Lobont, who each have an unfortunate case of the butterfingers.

Shakhtar have a bit less to worry about, as they will only be without the services of Fernandinho and Olexandr Kucher.

Key Questions:
1. Which Roma will emerge from the tunnel? Will it be the 'Jeremy Menez running at people, linking up with Totti and Mirko' Roma? Or the 'why does the midfield seem 20 miles away from the forwards' Roma? Only time will tell.

2. Can Eduardo break through Roma's defense? Eduardo is obviously the Ukrainians biggest weapon, but can he do enough to trouble in-form Frenchman Philippe Mexes and his Brazilian counterpart Juan?

3. Will Roma's morale effectively see them implode? A great possibility coming off the wings of two important losses in the Serie A, players voicing concerns about the state of the club, and takeover talks. 

Prediction: I am curious whether Ranieri will allow iconic captain Francesco Totti to feature in the match. If so, Totti will see this as an opportunity to prove his worth and lead his side to victory (I hope!). I think Roma will escape Olimpico tomorrow with a narrow lead heading into the second leg.

Stay tuned for more Champions League match previews!

Match Day Observations - Feb. 12

Wayne Rooney wins the Manchester Derby in dramatic fashion

"It defies description." Well said.

Edinson Cavani stares through souls

Half Jesus, half Antonio Banderas in Desperado, Edinson Cavani freaks the world out with stares that see into your soul. Today, the Uruguayan hitman scored a brace against Roma, keeping Napoli three points behind leaders AC Milan in the Serie A.

Kranjcar does it again

Niko Kranjcar wins it for the Spurs again! After well played game, the out of favor Croatian has made Harry Redknapp's selection process that much harder days before Tottenham's Champions League clash with AC Milan.

Barcelona stutter...
...and the whole world comes crashing down on them? Absolutely not. The talented side unluckily drew against Sporting de Gijon, who grabbed an early lead, then sat 11 men behind the ball all game. Was it utterly horrible that Barca didn't win?? Come on, critics.

Finally, Van Persie is scoring regularly

Twinkle-toed Robin Van Persie is finally bulging the net like we know he can. The flying Dutchman netted a brace to help Arsenal to a 2-0 win against Wolverhampton today, keeping them on pace with United.

Lyon crush derby host St. Etienne
In a heated rivalry, Lyon dispatched of St. Etienne 4-1. Note: Carlos Bocanegra scored St. Etienne's lone goal...nice!

Bayern crush Hoffenheim 

FC Hollywood smacked do-gooders Hoffenheim at Allianz Arena this afternoon, with Arjen Robben doubling up. In the victory, the Dutchman was reunited with his favorite playmaker, Franck Ribery, for the first time in months. In addition, Robben is your Sensible Soccer ridiculous picture of the day!!! Congratulations, weird constipated old man face!

Please stayed tuned for a rather comprehensive Champions League leg one preview!

Messi vs. Ronaldo: The Repetitive Comparison

It seems to me that over the last year there have been a myriad of articles from respected soccer media sources highlighting the now age old question of who's better, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. My answer: who cares.

Both players are incredibly talented and will go down as two of the best in history, yet this comparison is beat to death in the media. A fellow enthusiast and like-minded thinker pointed out, after my Ballon d'Or post of disgust, that these names are household names now. He's absolutely right. If any person with a remote interest in soccer is asked to name a few players, I am positive the names Messi, Ronaldo, or Beckham will be uttered. These men are what's hot in world football and being leeched on by the media as a result. And to the media's delight, fuel was added to the fire when Ronaldo joined Real Madrid, the top competitor to Messi's Barcelona in La Liga. This rivalry is so hyped that you can type in "Messi v" in Google's search and you will find the term automatically filled in with "s Ronaldo" (and vice versa).

One particular news source that upsets me is Goal.com. Usually, I am delighted by their diligent and comprehensive soccer reporting, but their weekly insistence on pitting Messi and Ronaldo's stats against each other is ridiculous (see this week's comparison here). It's shocking that a source of such esteem chooses to focus weekly on this topic. At this point, it's almost like 'selling out'.

There are other topics of importance to discuss. Not everyone cares about La Liga. Not everyone cares about Real Madrid or Barcelona. And not everyone cares about Lionel Messi or Cristano Ronaldo. Stop wasting our time by comparing these two over and over again.

Ballon d'Or (Part 1): Disappointment is Brewing

Wesley Sneijder: Club & Country Hero

The decision for this year's Ballon d'Or winner has not been made yet and, as I foresaw in my previous Ball of Gold post, I am severely disappointed. As expected, Wesley Sneijder, the man who should be lifting hardware again, has been snubbed. 

Either Xavi, Iniesta, or Messi will win the coveted award this year, as FIFA selected the Barcelona trio as finalists from the 23-man shortlist. I can't wrap my head around why Sneijder has not been included in the final 3. If he was and either Xavi or Iniesta won the award, I would accept it (begrudgingly) given their club and World Cup winning efforts. But no, FIFA does something dumb for the millionth time in the last month and neglects to acknowledge a player who should in fact win this award, let alone be a finalist for it. Even Xavi agrees. 

I found a blog post on Football Italia highlighting this situation. The blogger asserted that there was "no disgrace" in this snub. He obviously has mental problems. His arguments were not opinion, but fact. He reviewed past World Cup year's Ballon d'Or winners and most of the time, the players who won the award were World Cup winners that year (Cannavaro, 2006; Ronaldo, 2002; Zidane, 1998; etc...). He then failed completely in his argument when he described Sneijder's rocky start to this year's campaign. Why would that matter, moron? His overarching argument is that it's normal for FIFA to snub players during World Cup years, so there is "no disgrace" involved. I disagree completely. This award should be given to the player who made the greatest impact on their respective teams. I believe that player is Sneijder, therefore I find disgrace in this snub. Read this retarded blog post and resulting comments tearing this asshole to shreds, here.

FIFA is despicable. Please stay tuned for 'Part 2' of this post, which I imagine will be called "Disappointment Brewed Bitterly," or something of that nature. Finally, I leave you with this image, which explains a lot:

FIFA President Sepp Blatter