A Biased Opinion: Barcelona Vs Milan

For this article, I am throwing all the unbiased bullsh*t out and writing about how I truly feel.

I have been a supporter of AC Milan for as long as I can remember, since 1996 to be exact, that is when my interest in the game started. 16 years of ups and downs, 16 years of sadness and joy that I have shared with hundreds of players that have come and gone at my beloved AC Milan. From the days of CostaCurta and Albertini , Weah and Bierhoff, Boban and Ruicosta, Kaka and Shevchenko, to the more recent Prince and Ibra. I stood by and supported them with a heavy heart when we had a bad season, and with unrelenting ecstasy when we were winning. I even refer to AC Milan as "we"! Isn't that funny, as if I had some affiliation with the club, a club that knows nothing of my existence or support. Heck I have never even been to Italy, yet still consider them a part of who I am. It defies logic, it is beyond logic that their performances and results affect my mood and stir up hidden passions and feelings of anger and rage that I wouldn't normally show. I cannot explain why or how this happened, but I love them unconditionally. As Paolo Coelho puts it: "One is loved because one is loved, no reason is needed for loving".

You can imagine my frustration when sitting with a self acclaimed Barca fan as he said "If Milan were the best team in the world, I would support them". To him it is logical, the man wants to see pretty football. To a loyal supporter like me who loves his club, it is simply outrageous to switch clubs just like that! Barcelona fans have been growing exponentially since their European domination 5 -7 years ago, come to think of it, I have never seen so many Barcelona fans in my region before. But I don't know if i'm comfortable calling these new fans, "fans" at all. Like every great team, Barca too will go through a bad cycle, and when that happens, how many of those new fans will stick around for an unpleasant ride? Right now, they are invincible, the new fans go into every game confident of winning, even crushing their opponents, they have rarely tasted defeat, they do not know what it feels like going into a match as underdogs. Their arrogance annoys me to no bounds.

 I remember feeling as confident as the new and old barca fans once upon a time when AC Milan's line up alone would send shivers down their opponents spine . I don't feel as confident now, but I still cheer on. 

There is no dispute that Barcelona play great football , although I feel like they could do with some more shooting from distance, but they are undoubtedly the best team in the world at the moment. I have no problems with my AC Milan losing to the best team in the world in the Champions League Quarter Finals. 

We had a shot at going through to the semi-finals, we really did. Our players put up a great display of grit and character to prevent Barcelona from scoring at the San Siro. We came to Camp Nou to give it our best shot, but we were prevented, not by Barcelona, but by external factors. That is what I have a problem with. 

Football is not played on paper, if it were, we could just crown Barcelona with every trophy there is. As I stated before, I have been a fan of AC Milan for 16 years and I've experienced being knocked out of a competition, even losing a Champions League final in which we had a 3-0 lead at halftime, I've been angry, but never this annoyed with my opponent (Apart from Dudek's "Spaghetti Legs" goalkeeping tactics in the 2005 CL final against Liverpool). 

I do not feel we were robbed as Barcelona played better over both legs, however, it was expected that Barcelona would play better, and in a game where the only thing that counts are goals, Barcelona were awarded 2 penalty kicks, 1 of which should have NEVER been given in a match with such high stakes where a single goal would change the course of the game. The Champions League Quarter Finals is not the time or place to be setting a refereeing example for the world, shirt tugs and pulls happen before thousands and thousands of corner kicks in every league in the world. 

Calling a penalty ...for a shirt tug.. when the ball was out of play. A simply ludicrous decision that one simply cannot, with a clear conscience agree with. This decision honestly robbed Milan of a fair fighting chance against the world's best team, and also robbed Barcelona of a possible deserved victory. 

At 1-1, the game was in AC Milan's hands, all we wanted to do was defend , but the referee robbed us of that opportunity and decided that Barcelona should win this game. 

It was disgusting seeing the Barcelona players pressure the referee into that decision, where's the glory and honor in that? It was pathetic seeing their manager justify it after the game. For the Greatest football team in the world to resort to diving, pressuring the referee, time wasting, and an unsporting winning at any cost mentality is simply needless and unfitting of their title. 

I will never know what would've happened had that 2nd penalty not been called. Could we hold on for 50 more minutes? Even losing by 5 or 6 goals would have been easier than to go out like this.

If there are any true football fans who support Barcelona, they would not have wanted to win like this either as they will now need to deal with more controversial conspiracy theories surrounding their team.  

Alas, what's done is done, an unfair match, and an unfair albeit deserved win for Barcelona (if that last line makes any sense) 

Barcelona Always Complains...

It was a tightly contested match, both teams had scoring opportunities but both teams were also uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal. 

Although Barcelona dominated possession, they found it difficult to penetrate Milan's defense and were often playing at a pace that Milan were greatly comfortable with. 

Apart from the tactical and technical aspects of the game ,the Catalan's chose to file an official complaint to UEFA about the state of the pitch at the SanSiro. 

While the pitch is indeed not in great condition as it has been relaid twice over the last 3 months and there have been problems with sunlight not reaching particular areas of the pitch, Barcelona's complaint was uncalled for. If any team had the right to complain , it would have been Arsenal, as the pitch was in far worse condition when Milan faced the English side.  

Instead of praising Ambrosini's gladiator like performance, or the legendary Allesandro Nesta's ancticipation and reading of the game, the astute defending of Bonera and Antonini, the clever tactics deployed by Allegri, or focusing on their team's own missed chances, by filing a complaint with UEFA, Barcelona has indirectly blamed the result on the pitch. 

Complaining has been synonymous with Barcelona lately, obviously a characteristic that does not befit a team of Champions. Due to their constant complaints, their concerns have naturally lost their weight in the footballing world , and instead of sparking anger, have evolved into a series of humurous reactions on twitter, here's a few of them:

Defensive football isn't football. We deserve to win always.#barcacomplaints

The referee was Swedish, so out of admiration for Ibra; he denied Sanchez a sure penalty. #barcacomplaints

Milan's goalkeeper played good. It should be RED!! #barcacomplaints

Milan played with 11 players till end of the match. #barcacomplaints

Busquets has never been recognized by the Screen Actors Guild :(#barcacomplaints

The referee only booked Milan players 80% of the time that we asked him to #barcacomplaints

why messi slipping when executing the free kick? #barcacomplaints

Ibrahimovic didn't let Mascherano climb him like a climbing frame#barcacomplaints

They left all of our gear on the highest shelf in the changing room. #barcacomplaints

#barcacomplaints Sandro Nesta is too old to play football

The grass was too green #BarcaComplaints"

The light was reflecting too bright off Ibra's nose. #barcacomplaints

Messi can't see his friends because the grass is taller than him#barcacomplaints

AC Milan Vs Barcelona : Preview

Barcelona: Dubbed as the greatest football team in the world, Barcelona are keen to defend their Champions League title and become the second club in history to defend their title after their opponents AC Milan accomplished a similar feat 22 years ago.

Barcelona developed their own style of football with high tempo short passes and flicks, and a frantic obsession with recovering the ball. They generally attempt to man-mark players all over the pitch limiting their opponent’s options and forcing them into pressure. Aided by a group of world-class players like Messi, Xavi, Fabregas, Iniesta, and Puyol to name a few, Barcelona find little trouble in penetrating the opposition’s defense and finding the net making them the toughest team to beat out of the final eight teams remaining in the competition.

AC Milan: A club with a glorious history that has won the Champions league on 7 occasions and in total has lifted more trophies than any other European club. They’re team slowly emerging from a transition phase after a combination of selling off, retirement, and ageing of key players that won the Champions league in 2007. They won their 18^th domestic league title last season and are currently leading the table to capture their 19^th Serie A trophy. The most notable reinforcements that led to the Rossonerri’s resurgence were led by the signing of Ibrahimovic, Robinho, and Kevin-Prince Boateng. Milan has endured a long injury crisis this season and has have played most of their matches with at least 10 to 14 unavailable players.

Head to Head: Having already played each other in the group stages with both matches providing great football entertainment and intensity, this is undoubtedly the most anticipated match-up in the Quarter Finals stage of the CL this season. AC Milan has not defeated Barcelona in their last 5 matchups with their last victory against the Catalan side dating back to the 04/05 CL group stage match-up. The historical record between the 2 teams stands at 4 draws, 4 wins for AC Milan, and 5 Barcelona wins in a total of 13 clashes.

Key Points: For both legs of the tie, Barcelona will be without one of their key defenders, Abidal , who is undergoing a liver transplant, his replacement, Adriano, is also doubtful, which gives Guardiola a few things to think about in defense as Pique has been out of form recently.

AC Milan’s list of injured players would make one of the strongest teams in Serie A with Pato, Cassano, Robinho, Van Bommel, Strasser, Flamini, Abate, Merkel, and Thiago Silva all currently out with injuries. Without Abate or Thiago Silva in defense, Milan, like Barcelona, also look vulnerable in defense.

AC Milan’s objective was to reach the quarter-finals, Barcelona on the other hand are expected to win the competition. Regardless of objectives, I have no doubt that AC Milan will play with great intensity and with the belief that they can cause a major upset. However, the pressure is primarily on the Spanish side in this tie. 

Possible Line-ups:

Ranieri Gets The Boot!

Nicknamed “Tinkerman” for changing his system more often than most managers, Ranieri has been sacked after his short stint at Inter.

Ranieri was hired to pick up the pieces of a shattered Inter side that found themselves dwelling in the bottom of the standings after Gasperini failed to record a single win in his first 5 matches at the helm. Ranieri’s entrance was a breath of fresh air as Inter picked up their first win of the season and recorded another win in the champion’s league.

Ranieri’s good start did not last long however, as Inter’s form was far from consistent and it wasn’t until December where results started to go their way.  Ranieri guided the team to an 8 match winning streak which saw the club climb the table and looked to mount a serious race for third place, until he finally succumbed to defeat at the hands of Napoli for the second time this season. After that, the team went 9 matches without recording a single win destroying any hopes of a third place finish and champions league football for the Nerazzurri.  

Ranieri was in a tight situation, many thought that the only thing between him and his job was that Inter were still within a fighting chance to reach the Quarter Finals of the Champions league where they had to overturn a 1 goal deficit against Marseille. It wasn’t too much of an ask as they would be playing at the San Siro , in front of their own fans. While Inter managed to open the scoring, Marseille scored a dramatic equalizer in the dying minutes of the game to send Inter crashing out of the competition.

Surprisingly, Moratti did not take any action and Ranieri got to live for another day. The Tinkerman further tested Moratti’s patience with a goalless draw against Atalanta at the San Siro, and finally, a 2-0 loss against their fiercest rivals, Juventus, in The Derby d'Italia this weekend was enough to force the president’s hand and show the 60 year old coach the door.

Interestingly, Tinkerman has found a unique coaching dynamic where he keeps failing, gets paid generously and everyone feels sorry for him.

Although he has coached teams like Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Chelsea, Juventus and Roma, and had the resources to mount serious title challenges, he has never won a domestic league title. His only notable trophies include winning the Coppa Italia with Fiorentina in 1996 and the Copa Del Rey with Valencia in 1999, with his last trophy dating back to 2004, when he won the UEFA Super Cup during his second stint at Valencia in 2004.

Ranieri led Inter for 34 games and while he managed to collect 16 wins and 5 draws, he lost 13 games, much too many for the liking of Inter fans and management.

Inter’s Primavera coach Stramaccioni has been appointed as the man to replace Ranieri which may be just what the team needs. Time will tell if this is the beginning of a long-term project with Stramaccioni bringing through Inter's promising youngsters who recently won the NextGen Series, an international football tournament where the world’s best football clubs showcase their youngsters in a knockout competition.

With not much to play for in their domestic league, the pressure is off and it would be an ideal time for Inter to start their rebuilding process and give their younger players a chance to show what they can do. After-all, they really can’t do much more damage than what has already been done this season. 

Reactions to the Champions League Quarter Final Draws