Barcelona reigns supreme over Real's fading stars

Rob Hughes

Herald Tribune


Monday, November 22, 2004

The "Catalonia is not Spain" banner had many connotations.

One was political, the call of separatists.

Another was a tacit denouncement of the vile racism .., of Spanish supporters throughout the friendly encounter between Spain and England in Madrid on Wednesday.

The joy for the rest of us was twofold: The purity of Barca's soccer, and the demonstration that, in-built rivalries aside, the game and the audience knew how to behave on the big night.

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Catalonia is not Spain" read the banner in the Nou Camp Stadium where, in front of 95,000 Catalans and on television screens in 86 countries, FC Barcelona decisively and beautifully deflowered Real Madrid as the kings of Spanish soccer.

The banner says almost everything. Barcelona represents six million Catalans who see themselves as separate from Spain.

If you have not been to El Gran Clasico in the cavernous Nou Camp, you have not experienced the unique sound, the atmosphere, the soul of the world's most meaningful soccer "derby."

But if you watched on Saturday night, even through the keyhole of television, the performances of Samuel Eto'o, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and, most especially, Ronaldinho, I defy you not to have felt uplifted by their desire and their class.

Those three were the goal scorers as Barca outplayed, outwilled, outshone the fading galacticos of Madrid. Ronaldinho did not just round off the 3-0 score line, he transcended the night with a wondrous, impudent and joyful exhibition of his skill.

The "Catalonia is not Spain" banner had many connotations.

One was political, the call of separatists. Another was a tacit denouncement of the vile racism that had been verbally demonstrated by hundreds, maybe thousands, of Spanish supporters throughout the friendly encounter between Spain and England in Madrid on Wednesday.

It should not be lost on anyone that Eto'o is the African Player of the Year, that van Bronckhorst (who is simply known as Gio to the Barca fans) is Dutch, and that Ronaldinho - of course - is Brazilian.

It would not normally be of any use to spell out that all three are foreign, and all three are black.

Soccer has, surely, shown the world for at least the past half century that it is the color of a player's shirt, rather than the tint of his skin, that counts.

If you doubt that, consider which player took the most abuse from the 95,000 customers, some of whom paid more than 400 euros on the black market for a ticket.

It was, as it has been for four years, Luis Figo, the white Portuguese player who for money traded his loyalty from Barcelona to Real Madrid.

Every move that Figo made was greeted by the shrill whistle of mass derision. He looked angry, forlorn, and taunted like a bull in the ring. He even spilled blood when, by accident, Deco, his Portuguese compatriot, stood on his hand.

With the crowd baying, with Deco apologizing, with Madrid humbled, Figo was instructed by the admirable referee to leave the pitch and have his wound bandaged. He returned, but to a lost cause.

Even Sunday morning's Marca, the sports paper of Madrid, acknowledged: "Spanish soccer has entered a new cycle. Hail Barcelona, the new Emperor." Hail, indeed.

From the kickoff to the final whistle, it was no contest. In movement, in speed of thought, in passing, and in fantasy, Ronaldinho was the leader and Eto'o was the runner whose speed penetrated Madrid's feeble defense.

Xavi, the young playmaker groomed by Barcelona, was dictating the rhythm, and Carles Puyol, refusing to bow to a pregame injury, mastered the defense.

And Madrid? Alas, Madrid.

Those of us who have thrilled for so long to the talent of Zinédine Zidane must begin to accept that his greatness is wearing as thin as his hairline.

Those who suppose David Beckham is anything like a star on the pitch as he is in the marketing arena saw his ineffectiveness as he was withdrawn in less than an hour.

Figo, at 32, is not the wonderful amalgam of pace and industry he was when Madrid stole him from Barcelona. Ronaldo looked tired, and Raúl disappeared into anonymity.

It was beautiful to watch if you have Catalan sympathies, painful if the power of Madrid is your favorite. And for once in Spain, the prime minister is a Barca supporter - José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

Since Zapatero is from Valladolid, his choice is not, as it has been with previous prime ministers, a matter of constitutional preference. He chose Barca because he liked what he saw.

And as Ronaldinho toyed with the opposition Saturday, as he danced, as he made the ball obey his every touch, not even a matador could have looked so much in command.

Yet Ronaldinho had taken the same journey, the thousands of air miles and the sapping midweek match at high altitude in Ecuador, that appeared to tire his two compatriots and opponents, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo.

He simply wanted the victory more, and it was his pass that produced the hesitation between Roberto Carlos and goalkeeper Iker Casillas that opened up the first goal.

Eto'o, schooled by Madrid but discarded by it, swooped swiftly to get between them and score.

Then Ronaldinho and Deco paved the way for the van Bronckhorst goal, and, finally, when Eto'o was fouled by both Walter Samuel and Guti in the penalty box, Ronaldinho sweetly, almost nonchalantly finished off the game with the penalty kick.

One victory does not a season make, but the signs read by the Spanish media across the spectrum reflected the passing of the Madrid era, and the beginning of the new Barca.

The joy for the rest of us was twofold: The purity of Barca's soccer, and the demonstration that, in-built rivalries aside, the game and the audience knew how to behave on the big night.

Blatter backs England

Sepp Blatter, the president of soccer's world governing body, FIFA, said on Sunday that he would have supported England players had they walked off the field when fans in Madrid shouted racial abuse at them during a friendly match against Spain last week.

On BBC Radio, he also said that FIFA committees were considering a proper response to the incident.

But the solution would appear to be already within the rules of the game.

In September, Anders Frisk, a Swedish referee, was hit in the head by a cigarette lighter thrown from the stands of AS Roma's Olimpico Stadium during a Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev.

The referee abandoned the game, Kiev was awarded a 3-0 victory and the Olimpico was closed for Roma's next two home games in the competition.

This action by the referee, FIFA's appointed arbiter on the pitch, precludes any accusation that either team, or either set of supporters, could deliberately seek to have the match abandoned. The Greek referee in Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium last Wednesday, however, took no action.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/11/21/sports/soccer.html