The Slide

Mascherano pulls ahead at Levante

This season is in a desperate last push for the final month of play.

All of the pressure that accompanies vying for such high stakes is shown on the face of Pep. With it already nearly the end of the season, he still has not re-signed for next year. The speculation is rife about him being wooed to Chelsea.

There is a kitchen-sink mentality to the play. The formations are stacked offensively in order to create movement and--when possible--get the ball to Messi. Play 1-2s that let them pass the ball to the back of the net.

But the 1-2s haven't been as precise, some games.

The final key touch, when it's fallen to Thiago or Cesc or Pedro, has been slightly off. Though Cesc has had his highest goal scoring season to date, he has had a lot more opportunities than before by being moved to the front.

It was thought that he was coming back to Barça to replace Xavi in the mid-field, but he has instead been played with Messi and either Iniesta, Pedro, Alexis, Cuenca... up front. The mid has been occupied by Busquets, Xavi, Thiago, Adriano (labeled a "back"), Keita...

In the back there has been less Pique than before, as he has been reported to have had some static with Pep over his boisterous social life. Mascherano, who was loved in Liverpool's midfield, has been a strong and key player with Puyol in determining the defense. Like Puyol is partially orchestrating Masche to dart to the places he is not quite able to break for. The captain just turned 34.

No Abidal, as he is recovering from having a liver transplant. Many thoughts are with him.

Ibrahim Afelay has finally been declared fit to play, though he has not been in a match in six months. Which brings us to this upcoming week's contests: A trip to London to play Chelsea on Wednesday, and then returning to the Camp Nou to play Madrid.

First things first--Chelsea.

This is a tough time to play Chelsea because they are getting visibly fired up at their successes since Andre Villas Boas was given the sack. They played today and scored 5 on Tottenham. It was a fairly sordid scene, too. The Chelsea mob wouldn't shut up during the moment of silence for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster where 96 Liverpool fans died at a FA cup game against Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest. That about sums up Chelsea fans: Vocal.

This lot...

In fact, its safe to say that the London fans will be as hostile to the Spanish champs as anyone they could meet. It was three years ago that Barcelona put their champions league run to sleep with Iniesta's wonder goal.

Of course, the psychology of the game is going to be destabilized with the trade whispers currently going between the two sides. Romeu has gone to Chelsea from Barça B, and we might want to get David Luiz soon coming back the other direction...But if Pep is potentially on his way there anyway, how can we plan ahead for trades as comparatively insignificant as that of defensive backs? After all, Chelsea don't have any svengalis freeing up in the transfer window, do they?

Pep looks completely stressed. When his team is ahead, he is freaking out that they will give up opportunities. When they are behind he is confirmed in his fearful judgement that winning the league is nearly "impossible." He screams and shoves his guys around for being the fat cats he'd warned them about. The satisfied winners that don't deserve to wear the crown anymore.

Though he pushes them like a rabid mule cart operator, part of the reason that nets any results at all is the fact that he himself was a club legend, and the idol of more than one of his current star players. With a team so largely home-grown, and he himself a product of the youth cantera system, the players perform in front of Pep like he was the guy up the block that dated their older sister, drove a bitchin' Camaro and gave them their first beer.

But if he was at another club, though his legend would still loom large, it would not be the same as the ingrained awe that he received from his team at Barcelona.

Right now, the team should be racing forward at full bore with all of the momentum they have accumulated through the year behind them. To win the league they must win every single contest and hope that Madrid also drops points along the way.

They will have to beat a resurgent Chelsea over two legs, and then save enough mojo to stomp the tall men in white.

They have to satisfy the desires of an unsettled shaman.

Is this the end?

What to do?

To Rock Madrid

This week is starting to get busy, as Barça are going to play their galactic rivals in Madrid for the first leg of the Spanish Supercopa.

The Supercopa is a cup played over two games between la Liga's champion (the blaugrana), and the Copa del Rey winners (these dudes). Sunday should bring the starting team together for the first time since the championship to unofficially kick off their season at the Bernabeu.


Pep isn't scared of white people

Before the game, it looks as though Cesc Fabregas will indeed be coming back to Barça (probably for around £35M--at least 5M less than what Arsenal had wanted to give him up for, but the little guy gave them the puss-n-boots face and they caved). It is said that he himself will shell out 4M on the move, but some things are worth more than millions.


Francesc Fàbregas i Soler

So what have Barcelona done in the off season? They have gotten rid of Milito, Bojan and Jeffren. Pep has signed Alexis Sanchez (Udinese's Chilean striker) and (almost certainly) Cesc, thus further empowering his attacking midfield.

The defense remains a concern, with the job of the backs frequently being given to players more accustomed to the midfield. But that is how Pep seems to want to augment the defense. Since the barcelona defense is also keen to switch positions and move to attack, their versatility and refusal to be purely reactive keeps their opponents on their toes. Last season every single member of the squad except for Javier Mascherano scored. Pretty illustrative of their defense's creativity.

Mascherano himself came to the squad from Liverpool, where he was a (you guessed it) midfielder. Though he was known as a hatchet-man to deliver tackles, he was not employed defensively in the back third.


Masche got serious love in Liverpool

He made the switch to Barça last year after the World Cup, where he was captain of Argentina under Maradona. When Maradona first took the coaching position for his short and curious tenure as the national manager, he was asked who he wanted for the team. "Mascherano and ten other guys."

Puyol hasn't played much lately, still working on his fitness after yet more surgery, and the dudes they have played in the pre-season have not covered themselves in glory along the back line. Losing against the prides of both England and Mexico isn't a great look.

But now the first team is fittin' to re-form like Voltron and have a cup showdown with their nemesis. Their small statures are towered over by the broad boys of the capital, but they take the pitch in Madrid like Jay Adams hit the ground at Del Mar.


Rascal

Since Pep has taken the coaching gig at his alma mater, Barça have not lost in Madrid. Like a wave of bees, the blaugrana have flooded their senses over and again. If the Mourinho team will opt to continue their barrage of fouls and negative-play in order to grapple the little guys to submission (as they did for their Copa del Rey win [Madrid's only victory in the last three years against Barça]), remains to be seen.

But for anyone who likes to see a littler kid walk up to the face of a bully and dis him, this is the kind of contest that is the sweetest. The kind we pull for and giggle at. Time to play, time to play...


Even in Madrid they know who rocks
\m/