Barcelona vs Bayern Munich 2nd Leg (RTE2 and SS1) KO 7:45pm

miralize

Hulk Hands wrote: »

I know, and the incorporation of other sports and fan ownership is a great concept. But that is no reason for their fans (most of whom arent from Catalonia), to rub that in people faces as a reason why their football team/club is the greatest ever

Tbh its mostly the media that does that. I hate it myself.

miralize

Liam O wrote: »

I'm sure they can have some advertising for them there with the multi million shirt sponsorship. They used to say they would never have a shirt sponsor if I remember correctly, the Unicef thing was good but then to get into bed with the Qatari's in such a way is a bit of a sellout for a club who seemed to pride themselves so much on not having shirt sponsors.

The club obviously couldnt sustain it.. especially with the likes of Chelsea, City & PSG throwing money at everything.

Hulk Hands

Andersonisgod wrote: »

It has a few different meanings. For a very long time they had no sponsors on their jersey. They still have UNICEF on their jersey. The club is more than just the soccer team.

But for me, it means that this is a club with principles. A club with beliefs, beliefs laid down by Johan Cruyff. A club with the greatest youth academy the world of football has ever known. A club who play a certain way, the Barca way, whose principles are represented anytime a team steps onto a pitch in the colours of the blaugrana. A club who represent a nation.

Right, forgetting about the 'more than a club' concept for a second. When did Barcelona become 'The Great Club' in a football context as you just described them? Truth is that they are on the level of a few, and well behind one when taking history into account. Were they footballs shining white angels with the greatest academy ever, when they were in the doldrums a mere 10-15 years ago?

batistuta9

Hulk Hands wrote: »

I have great respect for Barcelona and all they have achieved over the past few years, one of the greatest sides ever with wonderful players.



But this crap from their fans annoy me. Since when did Barca become 'the club'? Bigger than Madrid, Milan, or even Manchester United? The 'more than a club' crap is even more annoying

this is to do with the Spanish dictatorships, etc.

Ferris_Bueller

Enjoyed tonights game, Bayern were superb once again and really dominated over the two legs. Have enjoyed watching Barcelona over the past few years but tonight I was glad to see them go out. I think in Ireland, possibly the UK too by the sounds of things, people have seen Barcelona and thought "yeah, this is the way we need to coach our players to play" and that every player/team needs to play like this, but maybe the German model has shown that we shouldn't solely focus on the 'tiki-taka' way of playing. Bayern played some lovely football over the two legs, very quick effective transitions and put on two great technical and physical displays (tactical too, obviously). Maybe this is more of a conversation for the coaching forum or a different thread, but I am happy to see Bayern go through so comprehensively even if it is for people to maybe sit up and think the Barcelona way isn't the only way.

I do think Barca will come back however, and hope they do. Had some big players missing tonight and Messi wasn't fit for the first leg, if they could sort out one or two positions I'm sure they will be back challenging for it again next season.

PhlegmyMoses

Andersonisgod wrote: »

It has a few different meanings. For a very long time they had no sponsors on their jersey. They still have UNICEF on their jersey. The club is more than just the soccer team.

But for me, it means that this is a club with principles. A club with beliefs, beliefs laid down by Johan Cruyff. A club with the greatest youth academy the world of football has ever known. A club who play a certain way, the Barca way, whose principles are represented anytime a team steps onto a pitch in the colours of the blaugrana. A club who represent a nation.

Pass me the bucket.

The_Kew_Tour

I am willing to put on large bet that within 5 years we will be talking about decline in German football, just like we have for every major football country.

Timmyctc

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Right, forgetting about the 'more than a club' concept for a second. When did Barcelona become 'The Great Club' in a football context as you just described them? Truth is that they are on the level of a few, and well behind one when taking history into account. Were they footballs shining white angels with the greatest academy ever, when they were in the doldrums a mere 10-15 years ago?

For the "best club ever" they've only won the best prize in European football 3 times in the last 20 years.

Cienciano

Andersonisgod wrote: »

It has a few different meanings. For a very long time they had no sponsors on their jersey. They still have UNICEF on their jersey. The club is more than just the soccer team.

But for me, it means that this is a club with principles. A club with beliefs, beliefs laid down by Johan Cruyff. A club with the greatest youth academy the world of football has ever known. A club who play a certain way, the Barca way, whose principles are represented anytime a team steps onto a pitch in the colours of the blaugrana. A club who represent a nation.

miralize wrote: »

Not really, Unicef is still on their jersey.

Spare us the "charidee" crap about unicef. We all know it was originally a way of easing in jersey sponsorship. And this is the same club that regularly flys into Uzbekistan to do photoshoots with brutal dictator Islam Karimov when he throws them a million or two.

The_Kew_Tour

I know its been discussed but this sum up Barca nicely in past couple of years.

http://www.football365.com/f365-says/8684327/F365-Says

Two years ago at Wembley, an imperious Barcelona side beat Manchester United 3-1 to win the Champions League with a line-up that featured a front five of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Pedro, David Villa and Lionel Messi. Two years on, the only change of personnel in that front five for their semi-final second leg demolition was the introduction of Cesc Fabregas for Messi. Now we like Fabregas, but even he would struggle to spin that as an upgrade.

The problem on Wednesday night was not simply that Fabregas is not as good as Messi but that there simply has not been enough evolution in this Barcelona side. Extraordinarily, all 11 of the players who started that 2011 final are still at the club and seven of them started on Wednesday night. Of the four incomers, how many of you thinks that Adriano, Alex Song, Marc Bartra or Fabregas is superior to Eric Abidal, Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano or Messi? This is a side that has barely changed in two years but those barest of changes have been for the worse.

It's often said that standing still is going backwards in football so there is little wonder that this Barca side has gone backwards. The greatest side many of us have ever seen is now two years older and the considerable money they have spent on Song, Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez in those two years has improved the squad while the starting XI has got worse, with Xavi the old man of a side that now has an average age over 27.

Is it simply complacency? An absolute belief in the 'We are Barca' mantra that has been repeated and almost believed over the past week even though logic told us their Champions League campaign had ended in Munich? Did they think they were immune from the footballing maxim that even a successful side needs to evolve? Manchester City have presumably learned that lesson with an underwhelming season but Barcelona may have needed bruising humiliation to learn theirs.

Meanwhile in Munich, Bayern have retained just six of the players who started the Champions League final in 2010 - shedding the likes of Hamit Altıntop, Ivica Olić and Martín Demichelis and replacing them with better players. An evolving, financially blessed team should be upgrading one or two first-team players every season. Bayern have done exactly that while Barca have stood steadfastly still, seemingly oblivious to other teams across Europe investing to get stronger.

The idea that their style of football has been eclipsed is a fatuous notion. That style would still be effective and would probably still beat a stronger, faster side like Bayern if they were equally as good as they were two years ago. Being Barca would still be the best option if the Barca of 2013 really was the Barca of 2013 and not just the Barca of 2011 after two years of complacency.

Andersonisgod

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Right, forgetting about the 'more than a club' concept for a second. When did Barcelona become 'The Great Club' in a football context as you just described them? Truth is that they are on the level of a few, and well behind one when taking history into account. Were they footballs shining white angels with the greatest academy ever, when they were in the doldrums a mere 10-15 years ago?

They've been a great team for years, the great team, the defining team of their era. At club level they have won it all, at international level they have won it all, and they have won it in a way that has never been seen before, with a style that is unmatched.

Yes they have been in the doldrums before, and each time they have emerged, stronger than before. This is another challenge for the club but I have total belief that they will emerge stronger than before as a result of this.

dreamers75

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I am willing to put on large bet that within 5 years we will be talking about decline in German football, just like we have for every major football country.

No way cant happen, never happened before so cant happen.

Andersonisgod

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I know its been discussed but this sum up Barca nicely in past couple of years.

http://www.football365.com/f365-says/8684327/F365-Says

I definitely agree with that.

Son Of A Vidic

I've long grown bored of Barcleona's tiki-ticka brand of football. So I was delighted to see Bayern Munich win tonight. They comprehensively outclassed their opponent over the two games. As even the PSG game clearly demonstrated, without Messi, Barcelona are clueless.

Boskowski

Don't know what to say really, never expected THIS.
Were Bayern this good or are Barca only a shadow of their former selves, I don't know. Bit of both I'd say.

Anyway... BOOOOM

Andersonisgod

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

I've long grown bored of Barcleona's tiki-ticka brand of football. So I was delighted to see Bayern Munich win tonight. They comprehensively outclassed their opponent over the two games. As even the PSG game clearly demonstrated, without Messi, Barcelona are clueless.

Clueless, weird isn't it how so many of these Barcelona players make up the Spanish side, a Messi-less team that has won 3 major championships in a row.

Boskowski

As they say all good things come to an end. Tonight we've certainly seen the end of an era. In club football anyway. Can't say I liked the style of that era all that much (tiki taka, boring, all that) but its been a great era and a very successful one all the same.

As much as I like everything about Dortmund, hopefully Bayern will be able now to get it over the line. They put so much into it they are truly due one now. And as much as it would break Dortmund hearts how could you begrudge that Bayern team a European title.

On a sidenote.
Surely we must be able to take the players from those two teams and make a serious challenge for the World Cup next year. I mean seriously.

Luckycharms_74

the_monkey wrote: »

Can someone please put that up on youtibe ? the RTE lads ....

Dunphy is a clown. End of.

And this nonsense about the poor champions league final

Brady having none of it from Giles

Boskowski

What Dunphy said in that 1st clip wasn't all that outrageous tbh. Bar the fact that he had to jump on that Barcelona are holier than thou bandwagon and of course he just hates to give Bayern any credit.

However I agree that Bayern are not Barcelona. In fact they haven't even won this competition yet. So far they have lost 2 finals in 3 years and while that is an achievement too they have lost them all the same. They have improved every year since 2010 but have kinda choked last year again. In 2012/2013 they have improved again and that shows something, but again they haven't won it yet. And whether they can build something that may be dominant for a number of years or even come up with an era that is a whole other story again. I have to agree with him on that.

However, Dunphy always has targets. I believe some years ago his preferred target was in fact Barcelona, then of course Ronaldo, and now since German teams began to challenge again at club level and internationally he just can't pass a minute without emphasizing how much he doesn't rate German football.

i used to get riled up by him but I gave up paying too much attention. Just watch it for the comedy factor these days.

Jelle1880

Luckycharms_74 wrote: »

Dunphy is a clown. End of.

And this nonsense about the poor champions league final

Brady having none of it from Giles

Absolutely cringeworthy...

Boskowski: Are you talking about this year ?
Because Bayern have actually won it before, in 2001.
4 times in total if you include the European Cup.

miralize

Boskowski wrote: »

What Dunphy said in that clip wasn't all that outrageous tbh. Bar the fact that he had to jump on that holier than thou bandwagon and of course he just hates to give Bayern any credit.

However I agree that Bayern are not Barcelona. In fact they haven't even won this competition yet. So far they have lost 2 finals in 3 years and while that is an achievement too they have lost them all the same. They have improved every year since 2010 but have kinda choked last year again. In 2012/2013 they have improved again and that shows something, but again they haven't won it yet. And whether they can build something that may be dominant for a number of years or even come up with an era that is a whole other story again. I have to agree with him on that.

However, Dunphy always has targets. I believe some years ago his preferred target was in fact Barcelona, then of course Ronaldo, and now since German teams began to challenge again at club level and internationally he just can't pass a minute without emphasizing how much he doesn't rate German football.

i used to get riled up by him but I gave up paying too much attention. Just watch it for the comedy factor these days.

Winner (4): 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001

Red Crow

miralize wrote: »

Winner (4): 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001

I think he's talking about this particular Bayern side.

Boskowski

Yes I mean this year of course. And this group of players in general.
I'm well aware they have won it three times in a row in the mid seventies - the Beckenbauer, Mueller years, essentially the team that won the 74 World Cup - and of course also a couple of years after the awful 1999 final.
Sorry didn't phrase that right.

Paul Tergat

Boskowski wrote: »

Yes I mean this year of course. And this group of players in general.
I'm well aware they have won it three times in a row in the mid seventies - the Beckenbauer, Mueller years, essentially the team that won the 74 World Cup - and of course also a couple of years after the awful 1999 final.
Sorry didn't phrase that right.

i thought it was beautiful!

Timmyctc

Paul Tergat wrote: »

i thought it was beautiful!

I too seem to have rather fond memories of this final. Its well known for some reason. Can anyone remember what that is?

Red Crow

Paul Tergat wrote: »

i thought it was beautiful!

Licking Sami Kuffour's tears from the tele!

P_1

Honestly I'd say it was more a case of Bayern being so strong this season than Barca being in decline.

There is a reason why Bayern -1 has tended to be odds on in most of their matches this season

Turtwig

I enjoy RTE as a sideshow but their analysis is shoite.

Bayern are a fantastic team at the moment and with Guardiola coming next year they've got a very good future ahead of them. Bayern's problem next year will be that teams won't be taking the game to them as much. They'll also be trying out other approaches to see what stymies Bayern. Which is why, in my opinion Guardiola joining them can only be a good thing. He managed to keep Barca fresh and subtly altering their style and tactics for 3 years. Barca dominated on fitness and technique.
Bayern have the fitness, physicality and technique but the fitness gap will be bridged. So they need someone to change their system when that happens. Or rather, have the system changed and ready to adapt when it does happen.
Heycknes is a terrific manager, really admire the guy, and I think he'd be just as capable of doing it. Pep though has already done it. Question is can he do it again?

Personally, I'd like Dortmund to win the Champions League. But the only team I didn't want to win in the last four was Madrid. They didn't deserve to get out of Old Trafford that night. United capitulated.
(Partly also because Mou was managing them too!)

As for this ****e about German football. Semi final and finalists in World Cup and Euros what more can you say?

Also if the rumours with Heynckes about the German national team are true then I can't wait for the world cup.

jamesbere

Jernal wrote: »

I enjoy RTE as a sideshow but their analysis is shoite.


Also if the rumours with Heynckes about the German national team are true then I can't wait for the world cup. [/B]

I have heard this rumour as well, if he joins up with the national team they're going to be serious contenders for the world cup.

Seaneh

I'm just going to say this.

Highest ever aggregate defeat in the history of the champions league.

Barcelona weren't just beaten in the last two games, they were humiliated, completely.
Bayern in the last two games, Celtic in the last group game and Milan in the San Siro have all proven that the best way to beat this Barca team is to get in their faces and not allow them space. The problem is that for the last few years everyone has done the reserve of that and allowed them to retain the ball in the first two thirds and sit deep and wait for the attack, that is just suicide.

7 fecking Nil.

Cry me a river, build a ****ing bridge and get over it, Bayern weren't just comfortable winners tonight, they were like rampaging barbarian hordes overwhelming the iberian defence.

dfx-

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Over the top like the Busquets peekaboo a couple of years ago, ultimately what this ended era should be remembered for.

Does this result help you let that go?

Overall, the last 30 minutes were a bit farcical with Iniesta and Xavi taken off. You could blow the whistle then. Barcelona need some fresh impetus in the playing staff, particularly upfront that isn't Neymar.

Xavi6

eagle eye wrote: »

This thread tonight is a good one to find the people you want to put on ignore imo.

Putting people on ignore because they don't wax lyrical about Barca like you do? Really?

By all means enjoy your own little bubble though I guess.

LiamoSail

]

Andersonisgod wrote: »

.

But for me, it means that this is a club with principles. A club with beliefs, beliefs laid down by Johan Cruyff.

Yea, I hear this whole "no pasaran" business and notions of Catalonian Independence all stemmed from cruyff changing their style of play twenty odd years ago. Prior to that they had been strictly a football club

Jelle1880

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1dliwHJARM

And then Ribery gives him his shirt :pac:

SlickRic

dominant.

absolutely overwhelming.

Barcelona were well and truly destroyed over the 2 legs. Messi would have made some difference, but nowhere near a 7-goal difference.

i could barely believe what i was watching.

those dancing on the Barcelona grave, I can understand it. but those going way over the top, and denouncing their legacy, particularly forgetting the years between '08 and '11, are just making fools of themselves.

last night does not prove that Barcelona were not one of the elite teams of all time. and it does not prove that they never belonged in the conversation of greatest teams of all time. they still do.

1) every team has cycles. last night heralded the abrupt end of this one. we had warnings with the 1st leg in Milan, and particularly the Celtic game.

2) last night had no Puyol, Abidal, Busquets or Messi. 4 players absolutely vital to those prime years. basically Barca '08-'11 would have put up a momentous fight in this semi. Barca '13 does not taint that team's brilliance, at all.

i get how one can hate Barca. the "mes que un club" shíte. the tapping up. the remonstrating. the diving. Busquets.

but i think it's silly to say last night was proof that the team was never one of the greats.

saying they are definitively the greatest is completely subjective. objectively though, you'd still have to include that class under Pep as one of the greatest of all time.

Andersonisgod

LiamoSail wrote: »

]



Yea, I hear this whole "no pasaran" business and notions of Catalonian Independence all stemmed from cruyff changing their style of play twenty odd years ago. Prior to that they had been strictly a football club

Mes que un club refers to many different things. One of those is that this is a club with principles, a club that plays a certain way, the right way, a club who will never sell out those ideals in the same way other clubs have. A club who develop players from a young age to play the game in a certain way, a way they believe in, the right way.

They represent a nation repressed. This Barcelona team has been a great representation of Catalunya. Made all the sweeter by so many of the players being from Catalunya.

LuckyLloyd

dfx- wrote: »

Does this result help you let that go?

Overall, the last 30 minutes were a bit farcical with Iniesta and Xavi taken off. You could blow the whistle then. Barcelona need some fresh impetus in the playing staff, particularly upfront that isn't Neymar.

I'll never let it go. That was Barcelona. Cheating brought to never before seen levels. They passed it pretty well too, but the former should never have been given the free pass it got from media and fans alike.

Cienciano

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Mes que un club refers to many different things. One of those is that this is a club with principles, a club that plays a certain way, the right way, a club who will never sell out those ideals in the same way other clubs have. A club who develop players from a young age to play the game in a certain way, a way they believe in, the right way.

Lots of clubs do this. They don't do it out of principle, they do it to win. Barca still poach players, still tap up players and as I mentioned earlier, they dont mind giving dictators some nice propaganda if the price is right.

Andersonisgod wrote: »

They represent a nation repressed. This Barcelona team has been a great representation of Catalunya. Made all the sweeter by so many of the players being from Catalunya.

Catalunya isn't a nation. What national team do most of the Barcalona players play for?

Giggsy11

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Mes que un club refers to many different things. One of those is that this is a club with principles, a club that plays a certain way, the right way, a club who will never sell out those ideals in the same way other clubs have. A club who develop players from a young age to play the game in a certain way, a way they believe in, the right way.

They represent a nation repressed. This Barcelona team has been a great representation of Catalunya. Made all the sweeter by so many of the players being from Catalunya.

This is absolutely bull ****. More than a club has nothing to do with playing style.

A HISTORIC SLOGAN

The slogan ‘més que un club’ (‘more than a club’) was coined on an exact date and by a particular person.
It was president Narcís de Carreras, in his presidential acceptance speech in January 1968 who was the first person to use these words to describe the social importance of FC Barcelona in Catalonia. And, a few year later, in 1973, in his campaign for re-election to the club presidency, Agustí Montal i Costa gave it its definitive form when he adopted it during his election campaign. Barça is “quelcom més que un club de futbol” (“something more than a football club”), was the slogan used in the build up to the elections that were eventually won by Lluís Casacuberta.

Gamper, the key

At the same time, the roots of ‘more than a club’ go back much further. It was an idea first induced by club founder Joan Gamper during his first presidency in 1908. The period when Gamper took the reigns of the club, thus avoiding its dissolution at a dramatic assembly, is well documented. In fact, Gamper’s gesture to save the club from closure has often overshadowed his other great deed of the time. On that famous December 2, 1908, given the collective desertion, Gamper stood up to say “Barcelona cannot and should not die. If there is nobody who wants to try, I shall take full responsibility and look after it in the future.”

Gamper, who had founded the club, was now going to save it from disappearing. But more important for the future of the club was they way he wanted to run it. To the original reason why the club was founded, that of doing sport, he added another: for it to be a pro-Catalan club and actively serve its country. And so it was that the club approached the most actively pro-Catalan political sectors and had no doubts about coming out in defence of the identity and national rights of Catalonia, whether than be in support of the ‘Autonomy of the Commonwealth’ or to bring the Olympic Games to Barcelona.

The ‘sport and citizenship’ programme created by the executed president Josep Sunyol during the years of the Republic or the actions of president Agustí Montal in leading FC Barcelona to support the 1977 campaign for a Statute of Autonomy and to invite the restored president of the Generalitat, Josep Tarradellas, to the Camp Nou just a few days after his return from exile, were just a few of the practical applications of the idea of being 'més que un club' (‘more than a club’).

Written into the club statutes

The spirit that Gamper injected into FC Barcelona from 1908 (the year when it could be said that the club was ‘refounded’), has survived to this day and is even present in the current club statutes. It is article 4, describing the functions of the club, which states that the second objective is “complementarily, the promotion and participation in social, cultural, artistic, scientific or recreational activities that are adequate and necessary for maintaining the public representation and projection that the club enjoys, the fruit of a permanent tradition of loyalty and service to club members, citizens and Catalonia”.

'Més que un club' (‘More than a club’) in Spain

For different, but not contradictory, reasons, for many people living in the rest of Spain, FC Barcelona has also been seen as being 'més que un club' (‘more than a club’). If in the Catalan case the starting point can be dated to a deliberate decision made by the directors, or better put, that of its president Joan Gamper, in the Spanish case this movement came from below. It was the intellectual classes and left wing politicians that become Barça supporters in recognition of its role in defending democratic rights and freedom.

This movement reached its peak during the Spanish Civil War and under the Franco regime. There were some particularly poignant episodes, such as the tour of America, in which the team was received as ambassadors of the Republic, or the tram strike in 1951, with received the support of Barcelona fans much to the surprise of the Francoist authorities who could not understand why, on that Sunday in the pouring rain, the fans left Les Corts stadium after beating Santander 2-1 and refused to catch any trams. It is moments like these that show how FC Barcelona represents much more than just Catalonia for so many forward-thinking Spaniards.

The Franco regime explains much of the extension of 'més que un club' (more than a club’) to the rest of the Spanish territory. But it also goes back even further than that. Certain Spanish intellectuals had already alluded to the club back in the twenties, such as poet Rafael Alberti, whose 'Ode to Platko' is the prime example. Others used the figure of Josep Samitier, another of the key people for understanding the way that FC Barcelona managed to reach much further than its natural sphere of influence.

http://arxiu.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/club/club_avui/mes_que_un_club/mesqueunclub_historia.html

klose

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Mes que un club refers to many different things. One of those is that this is a club with principles, a club that plays a certain way, the right way, a club who will never sell out those ideals in the same way other clubs have. A club who develop players from a young age to play the game in a certain way, a way they believe in, the right way.

They represent a nation repressed. This Barcelona team has been a great representation of Catalunya. Made all the sweeter by so many of the players being from Catalunya.

La masia would want to churn out a couple of prodogies soon as the team could be well bypassed by munich in the next fee year. Two centre halves and a rw atleast for ye lot

dfx-

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I'll never let it go. That was Barcelona. Cheating brought to never before seen levels. They passed it pretty well too, but the former should never have been given the free pass it got from media and fans alike.

That's a terrible shame that you have chosen to define them by that given all the moments you could pick. Ah well.

I'd choose the 5-0 vs Madrid myself.

Andersonisgod

Giggsy11 wrote: »

This is absolutely bull ****. More than a club is nothing to do with playing style.



http://arxiu.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/club/club_avui/mes_que_un_club/mesqueunclub_historia.html

Yes, anyone who has read any literature on Barcelona is well aware of its historical precedence. However since the Cruyff years, and in particular during the Guardiola years, it's also been used in relation to their style of football, the dedication to the academy and that, regardless of circumstances, they stick to their philosophy.

You will note in previous comments I've acknowledged the historical overtones and creation of the phrase mes que in club.

Andersonisgod

klose wrote: »

La masia would want to churn out a couple of prodogies soon as the team could be well bypassed by munich in the next fee year. Two centre halves and a rw atleast for ye lot

It has. Tello is an outstanding prospect as us Delofeu.

Seaneh

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Mes que un club refers to many different things. One of those is that this is a club with principles, a club that plays a certain way, the right way, a club who will never sell out those ideals in the same way other clubs have. A club who develop players from a young age to play the game in a certain way, a way they believe in, the right way.

.

Absolute bollocks.

The lost any credibility in that nonsense when they agreed to let their players be walking billboards promoting Qatar, a country where a totalitarian islamist monarchy allow natives to force asian migrant workers into involuntary servitude, where you if you happen to be convicted of the "crime" of consensual homosexual sex you can spend 5 years in jail.


More than a club, yeah, until someone offers you a couple of hundred million euros, then you sell out your identity and whore yourself to some despot.

Lovely Bloke

Says the Milan fan.

how's that glasshouse pal?

Seaneh

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Says the Milan fan.

how's that glasshouse pal?

When have Milan fans ever claimed a moral high ground?
When have Milan fans ever claimed that the club they support is somehow special and representative of the struggle for equality and freedom?

Shove your "more than a club" nonsense up your arse.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Seaneh wrote: »

Absolute bollocks.

The lost any credibility in that nonsense when they agreed to let their players be walking billboards promoting Qatar, a country where a totalitarian islamist monarchy allow natives to force asian migrant workers into involuntary servitude, where you if you happen to be convicted of the "crime" of consensual homosexual sex you can spend 5 years in jail.


More than a club, yeah, until someone offers you a couple of hundred million euros, then you sell out your identity and whore yourself to some despot.

Em... you are aware of the difference between the State of Qatar and the Qatar Foundation, right?

Andersonisgod

Cienciano wrote: »

Lots of clubs do this. They don't do it out of principle, they do it to win. Barca still poach players, still tap up players and as I mentioned earlier, they dont mind giving dictators some nice propaganda if the price is right.

Catalunya isn't a nation. What national team do most of the Barcalona players play for?

They've never betrayed their philosophies on the pitch.

That's the point. It's a nation repressed, Barcelona are a representation the people of Catalunya can be proud of. They play for Spain, but of course they also play for Catalunya, each player being proud to do so.

LuckyLloyd

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Em... you are aware of the difference between the State of Qatar and the Qatar Foundation, right?

Ha! Different as the US and UK pronunciations of potato

gimmick

This thread is full of LOWLZERS.