SirBalon

So this is how Wenger will sell to the Arsenal fans that we're still playing in Europe and his record keeps on going on and on...

I don't know if he's an "elite player", but I do agree that his best move would be to go back home to Sevilla.

Indeed he committed various fouls worthy of yellow cards (not just two) on Messi. But the first one was a straight red for these two reasons; Retribution. Professional foul committed in an aggressive manner. The first point is a red card always in football mate.

I hope it's more than just interest that they have in Giroud. It would be great to get rid of him as that would force a signing in that position.

D10S (GOD) I've decided to put my thoughts on last night's latest edition of El Clásico here on the FC Barcelona discussion thread because in the match day thread these things get lost in time and something like yesterday deserves to be recorded here where future newcomers or people simply browsing can refer in an easier manner to a moment that in Spain will be recalled and remembered for decades to come as have other great gestures from both respective clubs in this clash throughout history. There are too many reasons as to why what occurred last night (23/04/2017) is another amazing feat especially considering Barça's more than just sensitive situation before last night's game at the Santiago Bernabéu. And that's what the papers all over the world reflected this morning in the news stands... There were other great individual performances in the Barça side last night aside from Messi's messianic show which tends to occur every time the followers of this great sport all over the world start to doubt. Sergio Busquets was one who was a giant last night... Without him Barça would never have been able to accomplish the victory because in the sporadic moments Real Madrid pressed Barça like a hound of wolves baying for blood, it was him who was covering for the varying errors that were occurring at the hands of other players like Ivan Rakitić, Sergio Roberto and even Gerard Piqué. Not only did Busquets have to defend his own patch in midfield by robbing potential third quarter creative moments from the Real Madrid midfield, and then in his own unique manner start off any Barcelona attack. But he also had to cover for those mistakes and lapses of concentration from those players I mentioned. It has to be said that Paco Alcácer in his own way completely out of position as he is a pure 9, was also very good although nothing by comparison on who should've been there which was Neymar. The Brazilian had had his suspension extended for applauding a referee's assistant when he was walking off the pitch two weeks ago after a second yellow. Thankfully after yesterday's result, that suspension has turned into a rest period for Neymar, who in actual fact gatecrashed the Barcelona dressing room to celebrate with his colleagues at the end of the game. But last night was all about one man and only one man (if you can call him a man... He is obviously God's football representation on the planet because God loves football) He seemed to be playing with anger, with an impetuous mannerism where aggressive runs starting from deep were the common factor. The Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane caught onto this very quickly indeed and he put Casemiro (Moon Face) on Messi and one of the first actions between the two saw Messi purposefully overuse his technique (I say overuse, as the move he opted for was totally unnecessary, watch it again and you'll see) to make the fat Brazilian look like a Pub Sunday League player. Casemiro duely scythed him down with also the same venom Messi had used on him for the move... An over the top physically aggressive move to stop Messi getting away. That should've been the red card for Casemiro right then and end of. But the referee was permissible with many things, especially with the manhunt on Messi which Casemiro was a major protagonist in and Gerard Piqué reflected that on a comment he made after the game where he responded to the question on what his thoughts were on the physical aspect of Real Madrid's play foremost on Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos' comments defending his teammates on that for him there wasn't any major physical aspect to the game on their part and that for him his red card should've at most been a yellow. Piqué responded with; "Of course... The problem they had tonight is that they've been used to permissible officiating all season" Ex-Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello for Fox Sports also had a few things to say about what occurred in the game with these being some of the quotes; On the Sergio Ramos red card tackle on Messi: "You only have to see that particular moment. Look at the tackle, it's criminal. He was correctly red carded" On the difference between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo: "Messi is a genius, Cristiano is a great player. It's incredible to see what Messi did in the game because he took the team on his shoulders and lifted them. He's a genius and everything else varies from fantastic players or great players because where Cristiano is something so special in the area and has a nose for the goal opportunity, Messi can diversify his game and play anywhere by dominating and becoming the focal point of the adversary. How many different things have we seen Messi do over the years? Well today I saw him play in a way I've never seen him play and it was totally different" On how La Liga stands now: "La Liga is very much alive with this result. Real Madrid look to be in good physical condition, but the two games they have coming up with Atlético Madrid will be like playing 4 games in a week physically." But some things are just meant to be and sometimes they're designed in that way by a divine being because it means something more special. Only a few nights ago FC Barcelona were eliminated by a great Juventus side from the Champions League and at that moment Messi stood on 498 official club goals for Barça. He didn't score a single goal in the two legged tie, but neither did anyone else in the Barcelona side (that's another story). It's as if destiny took it all to a more meaningful happening, something more registered in the Culé mindset and that's the eternal enemy, the house of everything that's anti-Barça, the Santiago Bernabéu. It wouldn't have been enough to have just scored one goal there and reach that 500 feat. No! It would be two goals there and both beautiful works of art in different ways that describe everything Messi has been about in his career where goalscoring is in question.... Oh, but it doesn't end there... God works in mysterious ways they always tell us and not only did he score two goals, have a great individual performance, was also the object of a manhunt, but he went and scored the winner in the very last second of the two minutes the referee had awarded for injury-time. No more time to play because it also gave him time to be inspired with a particularly unusual method of celebrating a goal for him. A godly mercurial action which is designed to leave a message aside from his magic. 500 were accomplished goals at the Santiago Bernabéu which resulted in a victory for Barcelona and sent them to first place putting all the pressure on their rival. It couldn't have been written in a more fitting way when doubters were already creeping out of dark corners questioning the whole symphony the supreme being had set for everyone to enjoy in the shape of Lionel Messi.

Llorente done the same thing that same night where he left all his stuff in the dressingroom. Fernando Llorente refused to sign a new contract with Athletic because in his words "I'll retire from the sport if they don't let me go. I can't take another season of that!" There are other stories during that period like Muniaín calling in sick for Monday training three weeks in a row, Ibai Gómez hiding Bielsa's notes briefcase in his rucksack (he was dropped for two games for doing that).

Well everywhere he's been after 5 or 6 months the players end up going mental and I tell no lie. I've already told of the story where Javi Martínez while at Athletic Bilbao escaped screaming and cursing at 02:30 in the morning where Bilesa still had them in the dressing room at the training ground going over tactics and videos from Bilbao games in the 70's. Martínez was spotted jumping over the fence in the training ground where the guard dogs stopped him until the night guards arrived.

The guy is a football guru and a cult figure within the game. Few know more than him where this sport is concerned and none are as methodical as him. But he runs his players to madness in the end and isn't a good longterm figure which is something the club should be searching for.

Well both the Queen and Wenger have a few things in common. They both came into power on her Coronation.

James Rodríguez should've gone last summer. He wanted to go, Zidane wanted him to go and James' agent had done all the work for him to go. But it was Florentino Pérez who stopped the whole thing as he hadn't found a marketable replacement in that transfer window. James Rodríguez brings in a hell of a lot of money from Latin America where he is a massive celebrity... Paul Pogba was nowhere near that level and that's why they (Real) opted out of the push for the Frenchman and kept James. It's inevitable the Colombian will leave Real Madrid because the situation seems to be a nightmare for both the player and the coach who doesn't want him.

Just look at the history involving Arsene Wenger and all past iconic figures with the club. He is well known for not wanting to give past players a chance and very few (mainly submissive figures) have remained working there. In recent history involving Wenger... Vieira, Overmars, Pires, Adams, Bergkamp, Arteta and Henry who are all involved in coaching or football associated jobs have all had to look elsewhere. He's been called a dictator and some laugh at that but the facts (more than just this subject) are all there to be seen and judged.

Antonio Valencia is world class?

He definitely has from his major alcohol problems years back. But he's still a dabbler.

I've got a good one working for me.

I feel for Adams on that one... It must be hard to obtain quality Spanish assistants while living and working in Spain.

And here's the proof on what Gerard Piqué's tweet was all about. He has made the Madrid based press cavern evident once more with an article MARCA (a sports newspaper that purports to be neutral and in national sporting interests) published today referring to the Barcelona fans reaction during the final 10 minutes where in unison they made the Barça players know that they are behind them. The chanting and flag waving was non stop until the referee blew the final whistle. The article in today's MARCA says this; Headline: "Do you think it's correct that the Camp Nou fans backed the side's elimination so vociferously correct?" After 94 minutes which was what the game lasted between FC Barcelona and Juventus lasted, the Barça faithful forgot everything about the team's disgusting performance in Turin. The fans valued the intent to overturn the result but forgot everything about how Juventus ran over Barcelona in the away leg. On top of that they didn't even show ambition in the Barça stadium. Gerrard Piqué responds in today's Tweet by saying; "It seems to rub some up the wrong way seeing how the Camp Nou backs their team even when they are eliminated. They're used to whistling even when they qualify."

The Barça players thank the fans for tremendous support FC Barcelona were obviously out... There had been no second miracle with the the players, fans and the whole watching world seeing how the end of the road had arrived in this year's edition of the Champions League. The player's heads had gone down around the 78th minute and a famous commentator on Spanish national radio (RNE) said; "Look at them, there you go, they now know and it's all over". It was at this precise moment that something unusual that you don't tend to see in football anywhere to be honest and much less in Spain. Infact the usual scenario is either one of silent murmur indifference or whistling (in Spain they whistle, they don't do booing), but not last night. In the 79th minute the 98,000 all took to their flags and chanted to the players by telling them they were proud of them. The whole stadium was in unison with no dissent and all wanting the players to know that they were behind them all the way. You could see some of the Barça players off the ball even with 5 minutes remaining gesturing their thanks to the crown. The players felt humbled and understood the real sentiments of the Culé faithful. To this effect the players took to social media right after the game with Gerard Piqué being the first (my previous post above which I will repeat here) to give thanks to the crowd and let the fans understand how they felt. Here are some of the social media posts from a few of the players: Andrés Iniesta: "We didn't manage to accomplish one of our objectives this season and even though it's a difficult moment, we have to rise up. Thank you once again to all the fans for your support, you're unbelievable! Today and always a team. Força Barça!" Gerard Piqué: "Thank you to the fans. Never before have I witnessed the Camp Nou react like that after the team being eliminated. Proud and emotional." Luis Suárez: (Has translated into English himself) Sergi Roberto: "We tried right until the end. It wasn't to be! Thank you to the fans for that amazing support right till the final whistle. Força Barça!" Ivan Rakitić: (Has translated into English himself) Marc-André ter Stegen: (Has translated into English himself and also posted a video of how the fans acted like they were supporting the winning side)

"Thank you to the fans. Never before have I witnessed the Camp Nou react like that after the team being eliminated. Proud and emotional" The truth is that those final 10 minutes were amazing from the Barça fans making the Camp Nou an amphitheatre of noise and song getting behind their team. Beats the usual whistling and dissent. This with the fact Barça fans have been spoilt for so long is something that must fill everyone connected with the club with pride.

That's unfortunate to be honest and even though he is football's mister sick note these days, this one is on a whole different scale. You can't do anything about something like this and I feel kind of sorry for him even though he did turn down AC MILAN for Bournemouth. That one will never be lived down.

A lot of people have been talking about Mariano. He looks quality although he is prone to the odd error. The most important thing about him is his endless energy from minute 1 till the ref blows the whistle.

It is a graceful header but he was unmarked in that one and it was more an error of the United defenders that what he achieved. All the same, it's in a major final and that adds more quality to the fact he spotted the gap and exploited it.

It doesn't matter because you're right. Maradona's goal is much more valuable for all the reasons that can be established. Although we have to understand Messi was only 19 years of age then and that counts for something too... What's being celebrated is the fact that he managed such a goal. A goal which against any opposition in professional football is very difficult indeed. There's the other side to things where it's so similar to the Maradona goal which is why it's remembered so much. I agree that he's scored countless better goals than that in his career and that says a lot about him.

Made a mistake there... Getafe were in the first division though. The goal was in April of the 2006/2007 season and Getafe were in La Liga. 2006–07 La Liga - Wikipedia

Actually Villarreal were already a first division La Liga side when that goal was scored. All the same, scoring a goal like that means something special because otherwise it would be happening every season when sides like Real Madrid or Barcelona face lower league clubs i the earlier rounds. It doesn't happen, it has never happened! Infact I reckon Messi scored a better goal of that type against a more historical side in the actual final... That was against Athletic Bilbao