Having been in attendance in 2014-15 at five FCB Barcelona matches at the famed facility of Camp Nou in Barcelona, it is time to pen a few observations, information already known to aficionados around the world and the two billion youngsters who right now are playing the world’s game:
The field is huge, which cannot be gleaned from television.
The specific skills are unreal—players do incredible things with the ball that you could not do with your hands. The different ways their bodies, excluding hands/arms, interact with the ball are endless in number and creativity.
Headers are not only concussion-inducing stops of free kicks coming straight to the noggin or attempts to redirect corner kicks into the net, but just as frequently are clever strategic passes in the run of play. [Watching one game played in a downpour, I remember from my high school soccer days, how heavy a soccer ball can become and how it jars the head even harder.]
Goalies are more involved than might be thought if one believed they are there simply to stop shots. They direct their defenders where to pass, and they either throw in a strategic fashion or kick the ball well past the midfield line or pass it short to one of his defenders.
The speed of players from end to end is impressive.
One of the many beauties of the game is the constant shifting from defense to offense. At the same time, the ability of a team to control possession time is usually associated with victory.
Often it appears the ball is on a string, such is the precision of open field passes.
The triangle offense is totally apparent, and originated before Phil Jackson hit the NBA.
Finishers are rare and their ability to put the ball in the net is disproportionately important because of the low number of goals which are scored.
Lesser players are conflicted. At times, it appears they are ignoring “good” scoring opportunities in order to get the ball to the finishers, who by definition are better at this objective. Other times, it appears the former are lusting for glory, to be garnered when their low probability shot somehow eludes the opposition’s keeper.
Top finishers are targets for physical abuse for sure, but Messi does not seem to hit the turf that much. Ronaldo, in contrast, is on his back more than Madonna., crying for a penalty like Madonna cries out for love.
The head of UEFA is recommending a 10-minute white card. While no details have been disclosed as to its usage (which the traditionalists will fight), these come to mind:
Excessive delays on corner kicks or throw-ins or not getting back 10 yards from a direct kick, extended arguing, celebrations which are political (orgiastic tackling of the goal-scorer is okay as is pointing heavenward even when it was an earthbound teammate who set things up with a nice pass). .
The Barcelona team is akin to the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, but with bigger egos.
All of the fans at Camp Nou are some combination of coaches/critics.
I have read the offside rules, I have seen—many times—the rules enforced by the side linesmen who assist the referee. But I still do not thoroughly understand them. I do know one thing, however: if offside rules were abolished in the penalty box, there would be more scoring and Americans would be more likely to attend, which would mean more money, which would mean more likelihood of young people adopting the game as a possible career. None of this is going to happen of course.
P.S. A bar sign in Sitges, a coastal resort town a half-hour from Barcelona:
ON DAYS OF FUTBOL MATCHES, FIND OUT WHAT HOURS THE BAR IS OPEN BY CHECKING FACEBOOK OR CALLING THE BAR OR SEEING IT POSTED HERE.
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