Catenaccio. It defined an entire generation of Italian players in the 1950s and 60s, and led to the invention of the sweeper, the libero. This deep lying center back was a one man wall in the 1-3-3-3 formation that became a familiar sight on the European continent at this time, first made famous by Helenio Herrera’s Internazionale. On Wednesday evening in a chilly Glasgow it’s quite possible that Culés of a more modern generation will be treated to a similar spectacle. Why the deviation from the tried and true 4-3-3 of the past few seasons? Simple: the Catalans are out of defenders.

Barcelona travel to Scotland this Wednesday evening to face a Celtic side that can count itself unlucky to have not taken a point in the Camp Nou on matchday three. Jordi Alba’s late winner broke Glaswegian hearts, and a Celtic side out for revenge will present quite a challenge to a defensively diminished Barcelona. Tito Vilanova will be without Carles Puyol, Adriano, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, while Gerard Piqué has not played a minute of competitive football in seven weeks. Whatever formation Vilanova chooses Wednesday, it probably won’t look like anything you’ve seen before.

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It’s an interesting time in European football. The bread and circus of the 21st century has become an outlet of public sentiment for the social changes taking place in Europe, at least in Spain; the ongoing financial crisis is evident in the increasingly empty terraces, while Catalunya’s movement towards a referendum on independence has transformed the Camp Nou into a cauldron of political slogans reminiscent of earlier days. Racism, too, has been at the forefront of these changes; UEFA and FIFA have branded Matchday 3 in this seasons Champions League as FARE Action Week to publicize the fight to remove racism and xenophobia from the game. Someone should mention this to the president of the Spanish FA, Angel Villa Llona, who was so kind as to recently point out that “…there is no racism in Spanish football”. Surely comforting words to the black players who have been on the receiving end of some less-than friendly gestures as of late, including the tossing of bananas onto the pitch. Perhaps Llonas is a believer in the theory of immaculate banana conception.

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The Champions League! It’s back! As if that wasn’t exciting enough, it returns at a pivotal moment in Catalunya’s history: for the first time in over seventy years, talk of independence from Spain has taken on a serious tone among those who are in a position to make it possible. Barcelona also find themselves eight points above Real Madrid in La Liga, and while this is a trivial note in the face of the broader political narrative, it’s just the icing on the cake, isn’t it.

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The Champions League group draw is an odd spectacle. Current and former players converge on Monaco to join Michel Platini and a bevy of attractive women, no doubt carefully selected for their scholastic achievements, in what is otherwise a very football-averse little principality. One gets the impression that the location of the draw is chosen to ensure that the UEFA president doesn’t have to cut short his vacation on the Côte d’Azur, but after a long summer full of European Cup action, doesn’t he deserve a bit of rest?

For Barcelona, the 2012/2013 Champions League will start off with relative ease. Teams like Benfica, Celtic and Spartak Moscow are by no means cannon fodder, but compared to this year’s group of death, things could have been considerably worse. For a moment let us cast our eye’s towards Madrid (but be sure not to look directly into the light, lest you awaken Cristiano Ronaldo from his slumber). Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax (the respective champions of their leagues) would have presented quite a different picture for the Catalans, so let us rejoice in what should be a considerably smoother few months.

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On Sunday morning I awoke with a sensation I have not often had in the four seasons since Guardiola took the reins at Barcelona: disappointment. Disappointment that certain substitutions were not made, that we didn’t play to our normal standards, and the regret that we likely lost the league to our bitter rivals on our own soil.

As I lay in bed trying to process the unfamiliar I was struck by how expectations have clouded the well from which we drink. That just two defeats can invoke these sorts of feelings illustrates how unbelievable the last few years have been. But, in a way, these feelings of shock are reassuring. We’ve become complacent in our expectations, treated as we’ve been to a four-year opera of accomplishment, and now we share the same seesaw of emotions that bind together all football fans. It’s a glib, clichéd sentiment, but sometimes a few moments of existence can be that way.

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There are few moments in life which foment the questioning of the limitations of time and space.  Watching a rocket lift into the atmosphere seems to defy these invisible laws to which we are all bound, but is readily explained through science.  Other moments, no matter how many times they are visited and revisited remain steeped in a cloak of incredulity.  Focused like so many others on the movements of the ball which would decide our collective fate, few registered the slightly balding figure lurking unmarked at the edge of the box.  By the time our minds were able to register what was about to happen, it already had.

Rare are the men and women intrinsically linked with a single action, an individual so bound to a defining event that they become almost a single thought.  It will be hard not to revisit these memories when the images of Stamford Bridge are cast onto our screens, but we must resist doing so.  Man must be allowed to continue to create a history, or surely history itself would end completely.  Perfection, after all, can only come from creation.

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The Champions League is not so different from the Buddhist notion of Karma.  Like a cosmic cycle of cause and effect, no past deed goes unnoticed by the footballing universe.  This must surely be worrying for Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he prepares to suit up against his former teammates on Wednesday evening, as AC Milan play host to defending champions FC Barcelona in the first leg of  their quarter-final match-up.  The normally abrasive Swede has apparently been taught how to speak to the press of late, managing a quote that doesn’t mention himself: “We have to stop Barcelona, not Messi, in the same way that Barça will have to stop Milan“.  Can it be that Ibra has learned both humility and team spirit in one go?  I find it doubtful.

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There is something to be said for continuity. Watching Guardiola’s post-match press conferences over the past few seasons is a lesson in seny [prudence], that most Catalan of traits, and at times it can be difficult to determine whether Barcelona have won or lost the match in question. Only the emergence of that sly smile, making the briefest of appearances across the face of  el mister gives away the result for those who look for it. For the footballing press in Spain, sustained as they are on speculative vitriol and invented transfer rumors, Pep’s measured demeanor must come as quite a disappointment. I don’t think they’d like his style much in London either, though no one seems to have told Chelsea.

Champions League football returns to the Camp Nou this Wednesday evening, offering a welcome respite from the on and off-field distractions that have been hounding the Catalans this past week. Needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg, Leverkusen will face a grim array of statistics as they take the pitch at the Camp Nou: Die Werkself have not won an away match in the competition since 2002, and have been eliminated each of the seven times they’ve lost a first leg tie.  Barcelona, meanwhile, are unbeaten at the Camp Nou since October 2009, and have progressed to the next stage of the tournament 31 of the 33 times that they’ve won the first leg. Even with the depleted squad at Guardiola’s disposal for this match, I suspect you’d be hard-pressed to find an optimist on the plane from Leverkusen.

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The return of Champions League football to the match calendar signals the end of a tumultuous few months for FC Barcelona, but brings with it a new set of expectations.  Expectations can be a terrible thing when the expectation is perfection. The Catalans now find themselves in the middle of a winter “crisis” if you choose to believe the MARCA headlines, ten points adrift of league leaders Real Madrid and with a growing list of injuries. Saturday’s league defeat to Osasuna has sent the sporting papers into a hysteria of doomsday headlines, with reporters falling over themselves to detail just why this Barcelona team is in free fall. Funny, I had thought that our winter wasn’t so bad: a Club World Cup trophy was added to the silverware cabinet, and a place in the Copa Del Rey final secured after hard-fought wins over both Real Madrid and Valencia. Odd then that Barcelona are “underachieving”.  I hadn’t noticed.

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Despite what common sense dictates, there are drawbacks to supporting a successful team.  As Barca wins more trophies, so does it garner more fans, but in the process is diluted.  The number of jersey sales increase, but the passion beneath those threads is dulled.  Who are these unfamiliar faces in the pub with Messi emblazoned across their backs, huddled in front of the game?  Where did they come from?  The answer is twofold.

The first is human nature: these are what Americans call bandwagon fans.  Can they really be blamed for being seduced by the Catalans’ beautiful play? Even in a country where football is played by men in helmets, it is impossible not to notice the joy with which Guardiola’s men play the game.  These fans should be welcomed and educated, their budding interest cultivated.

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The imminence of El Clásico brushes away most other thoughts as it approaches, with the week leading up to this epic match a blur of hysterical Marca headlines proclaiming the moral superiority of Madrid’s men in white. It is easy to forget, dear reader, that Tuesday heralds the last game of Champions League action for 2011, with the arrival of Belorussia’s BATE Borisov to contest the final game of Group H. Having firmly secured top spot in the group following a thrilling encounter against Italian rivals AC Milan a fortnight ago, Barça have little to play for but pride; for BATE things are not so simple. Sitting bottom of the table, the Belorussian side enter the final match day fighting for third place, and the golden parachute into the Europa League. As much of Barcelona’s first team rests for this weekend’s decisive match against arch rivals Real Madrid, Borisov look set to face a youthful Catalan side in what should prove an excellent opportunity for the younger players to gain some European experience in front of a home crowd.

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Evenings in the fall have a distinct air about them on the European continent, marked by the appearance of certain seasonal cues; early sunsets, the appearance of the winter market, and most importantly dear reader, Champions League football.  Now several matches into the season, the initial excitement of the tournament’s return has given way to more practical thoughts: have we played well thus far? Who do we face next? Is topping the group within our reach?

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Fresh from their fourth manita of the season, Barcelona fly East to face Viktoria Plzen this Tuesday evening in the fourth installment of Champions League Group H action.  Knowing that a win will book their progress to the knockout stages provided that BATE Borisov fail to beat AC Milan, the Catalans will look to extend their run of eight clean sheets in all competitions and shore up their position atop Group H.  As the first of seven matches in what is a crowded November calendar, Tuesday evening offers a perfect opportunity for Guardiola to fine tune his squad ahead of the decisive trip to the San Siro later this month.

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Barcelona will once again find themselves without the services of Gerard Piquè this Wednesday as they play host to the Czech Republic’s Viktoria Plzen in the third installment of UEFA Champions League Group H action.  Having banished any worries of a post-international slump with a 3-0 victory over Racing Santander over the weekend, the Catalans will look to continue their fine run of form against a team that has scored a solitary goal in group play, and has yet to register a win. Still, despite the increasing ease with which Culès can be dismissive of their team as lesser opponents, it must be remembered that the Czechs qualified for the group stage after seeing off Scandinavian giants Rosenborg BK and FC Copenhagen, the latter of whom managed a 1-1 draw against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League.  Do these earlier exploits hint at a possible challenge in the Camp Nou?  It seems highly unlikely; the biggest shock come Wednesday evening will be when the team from the city that invented Pilsner discovers that the only beer to be had at the Camp Nou is sense alcohol.

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Group H action returns this Wednesday as Barcelona travel to face Belarusian champions BATE Borisov, in what will be the Catalan’s inaugural trip to the tiny nation. Fresh from a 5-0 mauling of Atlético Madrid, Barcelona will look to take advantage of the gulf in class between the two sides to banish memories of the 2-2 draw with AC Milan on match day one, a game that highlighted the defensive shortcoming that have plagued the Spanish champions so far this season. The return to fitness of Gerard Piqué is offset by mounting losses in the midfield and up front, with Andrés Iniesta, Alexis Sánchez and Ibrahim Afellay all sidelined with various injuries. Nonetheless, the Catalan side will be aiming for an emphatic win on Wednesday with an eye towards securing top spot in the group before their trip to the San Siro in November.

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Champions League football returns to the Camp Nou this Tuesday evening  as Barcelona play host to AC Milan in a match that pits the two titans of Group H against one another.  Drawn in a group that includes two of this season’s minnows, Belarus’s BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plazen from the Czech Republic, Barcelona and Milan will no doubt view this season’s opener as an opportunity to stake an early claim for top spot in the group.  Both teams enter the match on the back of a poor result on the weekend, each having played to a 2-2 draw against Real Sociedad and Lazio, respectively.  Both teams enter Tuesday’s match with injuries in defence and attack, but the biggest piece of news coming out of the Rossoneri camp is the last-minute loss of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to an abductor injury picked up in training.  Despite the absence of Gerard Piqué and Alexis Sánchez the Catalans will look to begin the defense of their Champions League crown in style in front of what is sure to be a packed Camp Nou.

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Barcelona is a club intrinsically linked with the history and politics of Catalunya.  The club’s rise during the early 20^th century marked a time fraught with conflict, as the city was repeatedly torn apart by political infighting, the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, and finally, civil war. While fans and officials of the club were often at the forefront of these social and political upheavals, few experienced them with the intimacy of Josep Sunyol. President of both the Catalan Football Federation and FC Barcelona itself, Sunyol’s murder at the hands of Francoist troops in the hills surrounding Madrid remains one of the darkest days in the club’s history. On the 75^th anniversary of his martyrdom for the cause of Catalan independence (August 6^th), we pause to remember the man who gave his life for his club, and the people it stood for, the Catalans.

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A hail of missiles rains down from the stands as a figure in white steps to the corner flag, moving gingerly to avoid bottles and coins falling around him. A cacophony of boos and whistles greets his every move, his disregard eliciting even greater cries from the crowd: Pesetero!, Judas!  The pleas of Carles Puyol can’t restrain the Camp Nou from issuing its judgement. For an instant all seems to go quiet as a large, fleshy object careens through the air, landing a few feet from its intended recipient. The object: a pig’s head. The target: a former darling of the Camp Nou, Portuguese midfielder Luís Figo.

Today, more than a decade after his astonishing transfer to Real Madrid, the mere mention of the Portuguese’s name brings forth a tirade of visceral hate from even the most staid of Catalans. Several players have made the switch between Spain’s two greatest clubs, but none have ever done so with the calculating treachery that surrounds one of the greatest transfer sagas of the post-Bosman era.

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Midsummer is a philosophical time for a football fan.  Reflections on the past seasons’ performance give way to thoughts of new acquisitions, and an anticipation of what August will bring; this nostalgia mixes with the hope and anxiety that accompanies the start of each new season.  The success of the past few seasons means that many newer Culés haven’t yet built up a reservoir of historical memory that fuels the emotion that pours forth from the terraces of the Camp Nou on important nights. It is in this vein that I’d like to begin a reintroduction, of sorts, to some of the past players that have helped to shape the identity of our club today.

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Wembley; the name stirs memories of greatness in the hearts of Culés of a certain age. Cruyff pacing pensively on the touchline in his dapper raincoat, Koeman’s immaculate strike. Nuñez taking a celebratory midnight dip in the Thames. For Catalans and Manchunians of the red persuasion, the brilliant white towers of the old Wembley recall each team’s first taste of glory on the European stage. Twenty-four years separate these two events, but for both teams ’68 and ’92 (respectively) represented the culmination of each club’s determined drive to be crowned champions of Europe. FC Barcelona face Manchester United this Saturday evening in the final of the 2010/2011 Champions League, appropriately staged in the modern incarnation of England’s iconic stadium.

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FC Barcelona play host to Real Madrid this Tuesday evening in the final installment of what has been an epic, and at times surprising four game El Clasico extravaganza. Overshadowed by drama, on the field and off, this Champions League semi-final pairing of Europe’s biggest rivals has produced cards, profanity-laced press conferences, furious finger pointing, and a few moments of truly brilliant football. Racked with ever-increasing injuries, the Catalans will look to turn on the style at home in what is sure to be a thrilling encounter against José Mourinho’s hubris-swollen Real Madrid as both teams fight to book a ticket to Wembley in a few weeks time.

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I awoke the Sunday before the decisive first leg of Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final to an odd, if not disturbing quote from Sergio Busquets: “Real Madrid are the worst rival that we could face at this time.”  In Marca, no less.  While Busquets went on to give all of the tired platitudes that readers of international sport are by now used to (“We must stay by our philosophy”, “We are a united team”, etc.), this statement struck me as missing the point somewhat.  As the reigning Spanish champions, a title Barcelona now look set to retain, the Blaugrana should relish the opportunity to prove their philosophy against that of their most hated rivals on the European stage.
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Tuesday evening’s Champions League second leg clash between FC Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk promises to be a pivotal encounter for the Catalan side, the importance of which cannot be overstated. Yes, Barcelona enter the match with a 5-1 first leg lead. And yes, I do expect Barcelona to progress to the semi-final stage, where they will in all likelihood encounter Real Madrid. But this match has all of the signs of a potentially bruising encounter, at a time when Barcelona need all of their players in peak form as they look to wrap up their Spanish League title chase. They will be playing Real Madrid at least twice, but more likely than not four times. In three competitions. In two weeks. I’ll let that sink in for moment.

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Spring is a tumultuous time in the footballing world.  Dreams of league and cup titles are cemented or crushed, injuries mount, and for Barcelona fans those magical European nights in the latter stages of the Champions League beckon like the women of the night that prowl outside the Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona play host to Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk this Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, and with an eye on the challenging schedule that lies ahead will be looking to put the tie to bed at home.  Mounting injuries appear to have finally caught up with the Catalans, and coach Guardiola will be hoping that his players are capable of dispatching a Shakhtar side that have played some exciting football to reach this stage of the competition.

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Looking to banish the demons of their first Champions League defeat of the season, Barcelona play host to Arsenal this Tuesday in the second leg of their European tie with the North London side. The imminent arrival of Arsenal to the Camp Nou heralds the most important game of the Catalan’s season, one that looks set to be played with a makeshift defense. The suspension of Gerard Piqué and the continuing fitness problems surrounding Captain Carles Puyol have left a gaping hole in the back-line that will affect the look of the entire team as players are slotted around to fill in for the missing defenders.

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A Champions League Preview is always a pleasure to write, but presents stylistic problems after the long and unforgiving winter break.  Where do I begin?  Need I mention the madness that has become the January transfer window, the weeks of league play that have happened since December, or, perhaps, speculate as to what Platini and his cronies have been up to with all of that UEFA money?  There’s simply too much to rehash for these pages.  I’ll speak to the affects of this weekend’s game in Asturias, but we must first look forwards to look back.

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It is a fine time to be a Culé, isn’t it!  Winners of Champions League Group D with a game to spare, leaders of the Spanish league after the five-goal demolition of a Real Madrid team left in tatters at our flowing brilliance, and now soon-to-be recipients of this year’s Ballon D’or (the only question being will it go to Xavi, Iniesta, or Messi?).  And, just to top things off, fresh from an emphatic away win over previously undefeated-at-home Osasuna.  The biggest complaint from all of this?  We didn’t get our frequent flyer miles for the trip to Pamplona.  Yes, the last two weeks have turned out quite nicely, haven’t they.

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With all of the coverage surrounding last weekend’s 0-8 drubbing of Almeria and the bi-annual media insanity leading up to El Clàsico (and Catalan parliamentary elections thrown in just to make things interesting), you can be forgiven for forgetting that FC Barcelona have an important midweek clash in the Champions League this Wednesday.  Traveling Eastward to face Panathinaikos in Athens, the Catalan side can guarantee progression out of the group with a win; a win in Greece, combined with an FC Copenhagen loss at Rubin Kazan would assure Barcelona of winning the group outright.

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In high spirits following Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing of Sevilla at the Camp Nou, Barcelona now fly North to take on FC Copenhagen Tuesday night knowing that a victory in the Danish capital will guarantee them progression to the Champions League knockout stage.  With a crowded November schedule ahead in La Liga, including visits from Villareal and Real Madrid, a win in Denmark would solidify the Catalan’s position at the top of Group D with ten points from four games played.

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Fresh from a decisive league victory over Valencia at the weekend, FC Barcelona look to bounce back from their recent stalemate in the Russian steppe with a win over group leaders FC Copenhagen in Wednesday night’s European encounter at the Camp Nou. Group D leaders Copenhagen, two points clear at the top of the table after defeating both Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos, look ready to test the Catalan’s European pedigree in what could turn out to be a pivotal battle for the group.  Both teams look set to field their first-choice XI, and the result should be an entertaining encounter.

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