Napoli Barcelona - Joan Gamper Trophy

The traditional Joan Gamper pre season trophy is about to start with Barca: Pinto - Montoya Pique Fontas Adriano - Cesc Keita Thiago - KikoFemenia Villa Iniesta. Looks like it's Fabregas' first start with Barca and Montoya's first game with the first team since he underwent shoulder surgery at the end of last season. Good to see Fontas finally getting some game time.
I've actually pre-recorded this game, so apologies for the lack of enthusiasm.
and we have for Napoli: De Sanctis - Campagnaro Cannavaro Britos - Maggio Dzemaili Inler Dossena - Lavezzi Hamsik - Cavani

Ah, finally, here's iniesta with the armband getting the match underway. Good god after 20 minutes the ref finally blows for time on.
2' After two minutes of domination with Barca, Napoli finally get some touches on the ball.
3' Thiago was about to take a shot and the commentator is still talking about Joan Gamper changing his name.
3' Fabregas down in the area and no foul or anything given.
4' I ONLY WISH THE FUCKING COMMENTATOR WOULD STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS FUCKING HISTORY. MOTOYA AND FABREGAS BOTH WENT DOWN AND SOMEONE SET UP PLAY BUT I CAN'T SEE WHO IT IS AND HE WON'T NARRATE WHAT IS GOING ON.
6' Campagnaro fires one into the area but Maggio completely ran out of space.
7' Iniesta is down from falling awkwardly and landed in a crash... he's back up but it looked painful.
8' Montoya gives the ball to cesc fabregas and it's a good shot but De Sanctis comes out for an easy save
9' Goal for Napoli! Oh wait ruled out. Pique is on the ground. It was 1. offside, and 2. as Cavani took the shot Pique was kicked in the face
11' Cavani with a shot on target with a header, Pinto with a save.
12' Villa trying to fire it into the area but it's blocked off by the napoli defense.
13' Iniesta literally running in circles because no one can take the ball off him, so they're all just standing in his way trying to obstruct him.
14' Cesc Fabregas giving the ball to Villa into the area but it's too long and Villa just manages from making it a goal kick by forcing it out of the touch line.
15' a string of shit passes forces the ball all the way back to the barcelona defense. It's good that they're actually having some defensive formation now. With madrid it was just all over the place.
17' Villa with an excellant chance but he's forced to send it away from the area as he is run out of space.
18' aaarrghhh Iniesta, Villa and Fabregas make an excellant run into the area, Fabregas is one on one with the keeper and he's completely off target! what!
20' Iniesta and Thiago put their efforts together to take a shot but it's sent away by the Napoli defense.
20' ball given away in the area again.
21' The flag is up for offside against David Villa. Partially Fabregas' doing with the late pass.
22' Inlter trying his luck from distance but it's nowhere near the goal.
22' Cannavaro looks like he's in a bit of pain as Kiko stepped on him earlier.
25' WOW. Adriano running into the area beating 3 defenders on the way, sends it across goal to an unmarked fabregas, who tips it into the goal. first goal for Fabregas at Barcelona! he's not fixing his chest strap as the camera is still zoomed into him.
27' Fumbling in the Barcelona end and Napoli corner. Britos heads it to the goal but Pinto finds a firm grip on the ball.
28' Lavezzi sprinting down the flank with Fontas on his tail, Pique drifted off to mark others in case he makes a cross, he goes for the shot himself and Pinto is forced to block it out.
30' Iniesta putting it into the area, soaring above everyone in front it goes to straight to Keita with a magnificiant header and it's a goal! the goalkeeper couldn't get to it in time.
31' Napoli now in the counter attack, Fontas clashes with Pinto as they both rush out to clear the ball.
32' A bit of a mess in the defense as Napoli get it near the area and no one is doing anything to clear it. Pinto picks it up before any shots were taken.
33' Pique lauches the ball all the way up the field to Villa who is massively offside.
34' Thiago fouled as he's tripped over but the ref has blown for thiago's handball. it wasn't a handball, we can see it in the replay now. what a stupid decision.
35' Kiko tripped up and Lavezzi kicking the ball away in frustration. He's booked for it.
37' Iniesta with a brillant pass to Adriano, who sends it to David Villa who has an easy chance now, just needs to tap it into the goal. but the keeper slides out and makes the save. shame.
38' oh what, Keita does a little flick with his heel sending it up and towards exactly where Iniesta is standing. impressive skill.
39' Britos is down now.
41' Britos off for treatment, subbed out for aronica.
42' Iniesta trying to clip it over the goal but the keeper dives out for a save.
43' long ass spell of posession only broken by once loose passes once or twice in a couple of minutes, but Barca keeps winning it back.
45' Fabregas pushes the ball forward for David Villa in front of goal, he flicks it towards the goal but it's cleared out just in time by the Napoli defense on the line.

Half time.
Stats! 71% posession for Barca, 5 shots on target, where Napoli only have 1. only one booking for Napoli so far.
Puyol and Afellay are in the stands. Afellay looking on awkwardly as Puyol signs something for an executive.
Dos Santos for Kiko, Bartra on for Pique, Pedro on for Villa, Cuenca on for Montoya, Sergi Roberto on for Iniesta. many, many changes for Barca. Keita has the armband now.

46' Cuenca fires the ball across goal but it's cleared by Napoli.
47' Fantasic strike from Pedro from outside the box but it's gone for the woodwork.
48' My god. Cuenca strikes from distance hits the woodwork again, Pedro catches the rebound and yet another strike on the posts! Guardiola literally has this face on :O 3 shots and hitting the woodwork 3 times in 2 minutes!
50' Cuenca falling rather slowly after a tackle on him. Played advantage. Messi is warming up.
50' Bartra preventing any danger for Napoli as he clears the ball out.
52' Adriano just not paying attention and letting the ball hit his foot and roll out of play.
53' Pedro flalling about as he's held back by the arm several times.
56' Adriano just handed Maggio in the face. free kick near the area.
56' Fabregas off for lionel messi!
57' Cavani's goal is ruled out for offside. AGAIN. it was very obvious and there were two people offside at the time.
58' Xavi on for Adriano, Donadel and Zuniga on for Napoli.
60' Messi making a break, offloading to Cuenca.
60' Cavani and Messi go down but no foul given on either.
60' Lavezzi this time given the foul against Messi. Free kick for Barca.
61' Messi takes the free kick, fires it toward to goal, it's hit the woodwork again! pedro catches the rebound off the keeper and heads it into the goal!
62' Fontas off for Mascherano, Adriano for Abidal, Keita for Busquets.
63' Pinto is the only one on pitch who started this game now.
64' Messi out runs a batch of defenders, passes to the left and kept in by Abidal.
65' GOAL NUMBER 4! Messi to Xavi to Pedro, crossing back to Messi, smacking the ball into the net again. Goal keeper tried to block Pedro's cross so Messi had no trouble avoiding him.
67' Roberto outmuscled and taken down but no foul is given to Barca.
68' Hamsik is off for Santana.
73' Excellant defending from Xavi, coming back to clear the ball cleanly and very nicely.
74' Barca looking for a way it but it's booted all the way up field again by solid napoli defense.
76' in the past minute alone i reckon Xavi has made 10 completed passes. literally.
76' Lionel Messi makes Goal number 5! Abidal gives him the ball, he makes the run and scores the goal. quick, efficiant goal scoring. excellant.
78' Almost through with another attack but Napoli pull back just in time to defend.
79' Dos Santos giving a free kick away with a foul near barca's corner.
80' a foul and a push on Roberto, a free kick for Barca.
81' Xavi fires the ball up the pitch for Messi but the keeper has come out of the area to head it to safety.
81' Late challenge on Cuenca by Victor Ruiz. the ref has chosen to keep the card in his pocket.
84' Xavi plays it through to Sergi Roberto and De Sanctis has come far out of the area to block a shot from him.
85' through ball form xavi, pedro running into space, had a space of a second to be one on one with the keeper and to score it, but it's far wide.
86' Pedro slips and fails to bring the ball in for a cross.
87' Cuenca down again, free kick given to Barca, Barca on the attack, taken really quickly, but messi is flagged offside.
90' Napoli looks to be taking a defensive approach with about 8 players in defense, a little too late i suppose.

Full time! good game, very relaxed and finally showing signs of what barca was like last year, i think the team's settled down a bit more since the earlier pre season games. some lovely plays out there today, but a little unlucky to have hit the woodwork so many times and so many off target shots that could well have been goals. At the same time it's a bad score for Napoli but i'm sure all the fans of barcelona are grateful that they took part in the joan gamper trophy this year, unlucky that both goals were ruled offside, they really were not as bad as the score seems to show.

Real Sociedad Barca

Pinto, Montoya, Piqué, Milito, Fontàs, Keita, Xavi, Thiago, Jeffren, Afellay and Messi
That is our lineup for tonight. interesting.
so we've rested valdes because pinto is on match ban for champions following the red card. and it would be risky if valdes got injured, because we er, only have two keepers in our first team. which is fine unless your second keeper gets booked when he isn't even on the pitch.

o' kick off! tons of youth team/ b team players on tonight. it would be nice if we have a win here, considering that madrid lost earlier. not sure why xavi isn't being rested.
1' Montoya and Fontas on full back tonight. Fontas is normally a centre back. but we're running out of fit full backs so... yeah. that's what we've had to do.
3' break from jeffern who continues the run but his pass to messi is a fraction wide and gets to the defender infront of him.
3' Pique dropping the ball fowards for messi, it gets intercepted but Messi gets back on the end of it but it's over the bar. close though!
4' Messi gets the ball into space for Afellay but it's a good save from Bravo.
5' Fontas with a run but the play in front of him goes down with contact, foul given.
6' Corner for Sociedad and Pinto is fouled and
7' Ball goes out when Afellay runs out of space and it's a goal kick for Sociedad.
8' there's a weak tv signal this is bad news.
9' Free kick as Thiago is pulled back. the sound has gone off my signal. grrrr.
9' Pique getting himself in trouble... He fouls with an arm on the shoulder but he doesn't get booked.
10' Montoya gets caught with a late chellange off Tamudo. Montoya with a swollen collar bone, might be dislocated or something... he's off to the sidelines for treatment, Dani Alves is warming up. shit.
12' Real Sociedad on a break, Tamudo gets caught by Pique who comes back for the clearence. It's a free kick for Sociedad.
13' Montoya is off. The commentator calling it his debut for the first team. ACTUALLY he did play for the cup. so he can shut up.
14' Free kick comes it, Pique heads it out, it comes back to Sociedad, they get a shot! oooh it's so close.... but wide. from the angle for the camera it looked like it went in....
15' Dani Alves goes down and gets striaght back up. Not stirring shit up again. Thank you.
16' Messi gets obstructed and a free kick given to Barca.
18' Afellay puts the ball in for Keita but it doesn't get there and striaght to the keeper.
19' grrrr.... Messi to Afellay and the linesman calls offside but replay shows it isn't. AND was caught by the keeper. anger.
21' Pique goes down... after being caught by Tamudo... he looks like he's taken a while to fall too... maybe he's too tall.
23' Frozen TV.... getting fucking annoying now. Alves makes a run but can't get it there.
23' emudo goes down, and a foul is given... getting booked? no...
26' oh god..... nothing is happening.... it goes all the way down both sides and then gets blocked. this is duuulllllll.
27' shit pulling on messi for a good 10 seconds and nothign given. Thiago goes down and it's a free kick.
28' THIAGOOOOOO!!! OH WHAT A GOAL!!! hahahha milito is holding Afellay's face in a group hug. Ball goes from Xavi to Messi who MISSES it and it goes ti Thiago, shoots it in, and onto the crossbar into the net.

29' Sociedad on the counter attack but Pinto catches it. god he cannot kick. it goes like 10 metres and Fontas has to double back.. lol people trying to appeal that it was over the goal line. replay shows not even close. Pinto laughing about it.
11' Jeffern trying to get the pass into the area but gets cut out...
34' Sociedad corner. headed out by Milito, comes back to Sociedad, Pinto forced to make a save.
36' Jeffern makes a run and goes with a pass but falls over as he is obstructed. Free kick for Barca.
37' Ball falls onto the feet of Messi but he can't strike it on time.
38' Pinto gets the ball from Milito and hovers over it as if he cannot really decide which direction to kick it.
38' Messi penalised for handball. He's a card away from suspension.
39' Afellay goes for the ball but he's also caught a leg with it, and it's a foul. He's motioning the shape of a ball saying it wasn't a foul. whatever. it's a free kick.
40' Corner for Sociedad when the ball is caught by pinto out of play. it's swung into the area and pique takes his time in clearing it out. boucing it several times his head first before deciding to kick it out.
42' Tamudo going for the shot but he's forced really far back by Pique and his shot can't get anywhere.
44' Dani Alves miles ahead of the defense off Real Socidad by the time it gets to him. He's actually offside anyway.
45' Milito with a strong challenge on Tamudo but it's not a foul and he goes down anyway. Referee waves play on.
46' end of first half. 1 - 0 to barca... would be nice to get another.
half time.... time to get some food. not so intersting first half.
oh god. montoya's shoulder was dislocated.
45' coutner attack by sociedad. Milito caught in the face in the clearence but there was a handball. so Sociedad free kick in. sholving in the 6 yard box.
46' Pinto punches it out. comes back to Sociedad and it's shot and it's wide. looks like Pinto might've screwed up his shoulder there.
47' went to fetch my pastery which was in the toaster... didn't miss much though heard more barca posession from the commentator.
48' Jeffern goes for goal for a long shot and the keeper spills to afellay who is taken down but nothing given.
50' Jeffern is taken down and there's a booking and Messi takes the free kick but it goes straight to the keeper.
51' Xavi getting away from trouble....
53' Milito and fontas working to pressure in defense. Squeezing the space out for Sociedad.
53' Martinez with a wide shot. it's very close but apparently offside anyway.
54' Gerard Deulofeu is seen warming up! oh! might be a debut for him!
56' Tamudo through the gaps in defense and Milito is there to run him out of space and Pinto to hold on to the ball.
57' Messi given a free kick after being fouled and he takes it back instead of going forwards.
58' Afellay's ball stolen by Martinez but doesn't realise until after... he's taken down again and free kick for Barca is given
59' Tamudo going for a shot, Pinto spills it and it gets back to him but Milito is calm and kicks it back to safety
60' FUCK. Alves clutching his face. GOD he's another fucking controversy. the crowd is roaring up. He was actually caught this time. replay obviously can't shut the crowd up though.
61' Pique off by Mascherano. interesting...
63' Fontas fouls Peretto and then gets fouled.
64' Linesman gives a wrong offside for Sociedad.
65' Clash of heads between Alves and Griezman. Alves is down.
66' Now Keita is down with a clash of heads in the area...
66' aah fucking hell. Messi runs a 60 yard fucking sprint and gets it to Jeffern, the keeper is nowhere near and he can't get it in. fucking shit. The look Messi gives him .... frustration.
68' Corner for Barca. Afellay controls and the shot isn't good.
68' Rivas subbed off.
70' Martinez goes down. Crowd gets angry and it's a free kick. Keita just caught him a bit there.
70' GOAL! SOCIEDAD! HOLY SHIT HE DOES A DOUBLE BACKFLIP IN CELEBRATION. totally saw this coming. IFRAN. I would say even though we're now drawing the celabration was cool. Fontas didn't see it coming and let Ifran run through and shooting it past the far side of Pinto. Pressure is on for another goal. Things might start getting interesting.
73' Obvious handball for Sociedad.
75' Xavi just obstructed there. He's really strangely calm....
75' Jeffern taken down again! Xavi takes a shot and Milito heads it in, it's a goal but it's actually onside but rulled offside. time to pretend not to be angry. Milito limping as well. god.
77' Busquets coming on for Milito. would like to see
79' God jesus Peretto coming in with a shot, Pinto just there to block it. Close.
80' Penalty. For Sociedad. fucking shit. Mascherano takes him down. god. jesus. christ. come on. pinto. goal. goal. fuck. 2 - 1.
9 minutes. would you believe it. fucking shit. pinto is angry at himself. Mascherano angry at himself.
83' Pep. Sub jeffern out. I'm dying here. he's either on the floor or missing shots. either time the clock is ticking.
84' Bravo spills the ball off a shot from Jeffern and Messi is almost there to take another but Bravo puts a hand on it.
85' Afellay's ball in is deflected. it's a corner. god. jesus. christ
86' Afellay goes through like 5 defenders and Jeffern fails again and Thiago's shot is way over the bar. this is. so. annoying. come on, we're undefeated away.
88' For fuck's sake what is going on. people can't make their minds up about who's throw in it is. And Markel comes on for Sociedad.
89' three minutes to be added.
90 fucking. shots at the goal. messi's pass is too long for afellay and he puts it in for Busquets but it is deflected. GOD.
92' Keita missing the chance of getting a header in goal as Bravo gets it.
93' it's over. Sociedad have got the record of longest unbeaten run tonight. oh well. better tonight against Sociedad than Espanyol next week. Imagine how they'd laugh in they were the ones who ruined our unbeaten away run.
something weird is going on tonight. Blackburn beat Bolton, Aston Villa lost to West Brom, Zaragoza scored 3 goals against Madrid and won, and Barcelona losing to Sociedad. this is... fishy....

Levante - Barcelona.

Messi is in the stands. oh i am angry now. why was he given special permission to stay on holiday! GAH!
dani alves has shaved his head.
Milito isn't playing even though he is fit.
Bojan is starting for the first time in the league for months.
and this game will be posted in 2 parts because i need to get up early tomorrow and shouldn't be watching his at all.

this first part is live.
5 minutes in: 0 - 0.

1.Bojan's size plays him down a bit as he's pushed around a little bit. For the first few minutes he still hasn't completely gotten control over the ball yet.
2. Villa takes the stranges pass which went about 15 metres up and only 2 metres across.
3. Iniesta takes a short and it is saved by the levante goal keeper.
4. Xavi takes a shot from distance and it is again saved.
5. now I am annoyed because the commentator is listing the absensces of Barcelona and didn't mention Leo Messi. GRAH.
6. Iniesta's cross to Bojan is overshot and is taken by the keeper.
7. David Villa's shot is wide after a great run.
8. Just wanted to point out that Levante's home kit is actually the same colours as the Barca home kit. how annoying. but obviously they're in their away kit at the moment.
9. what a horrible moment. on the counter attack levante forwards are tearing after the ball, but only to be beaten by abidal who passes it to goal keeper Valdes. Valdes passes it back but it was taken by Levante and they almost take a shot. Valdes redeems himself by making a save.
10. Pique, Puyol and Afellay are in the stands. Ibi is looking bored as fuck. I assume that until Afellay learns spanish or catalan he'll be pretty stuck to pique.
11. Commentator says that Lavente is on the tall side. no, Barcelona are on the short side.
12. Barca are asleep and Levante take advantage of the situation and are looking threatening. Abidal does well to clear. Levante are appealing for a penalty. None given. We literally have no central defense today anyway. With Pique on suspension, Puyol injured and Milito still not match fit.
13. Villa's free kick is sent over the crossbar.
14. Pique is on his blackberry in the stands. The commentator is wondering whether he's posting on twitter, saying that he is a pretty regular poster on social networking sites. I am now going to find out.
15. Bojan clashes with two Levante players in a
16. Iniesta is in the sidelines just having a bit of attention from the physios. Dear god i hope he isn't injured.
17. Shit, Bojan misses two chances when Iniesta's ball goes to him, onces when it rebounds off the keeper's save, and one off the defender. They do have a corner though.
18. After a series of fumbles iniesta's goes to ball to bojan and the shot is missed, dropping to Alves, who is literally about a quarter of a foot from the goal and shoots it WIDE. what a waste.
19. shit, everyone is failing. Valdes is forced to make a save because of the slack defense. We're missing the wall in defense that is Carles Puyol.
20. Alves is diving. he isn't even touched.
21. This is incredibly frustrating. at 32 minutes no one has scored.
22. In a replay it shows Bojan was fouled and completely ignored by the referee.
23. Again, missed chances again and again from Bojan and Pedro. In the replay it shows Bojan mouthing something that looked like "I AM SHORT" and looking very, very annoyed. Obviously it was in Catalan and i am a terrible lip reader and even if i wasn't I can't understand catalan.
24. Our attack is simply being completely SLACK. every pass and every cross is just completely off.

5 minutes left in this half.

25. Bojan's shot is deflected off Robuste, captain of Levante tonight, and he seems to have a concussion. He's up and okay now.
26. Why are Barca forcing all these corners? the ONLY tall player to take headers is pique and he's off. What needs to happen now is for Xavi and Mascherano to stop fucking around in the midfield and actually get some balls into the penalty area without Bojan and Villa fucking up.
27. I swear to God the commentator just said "best chance of the game, almost put pique off his penis" Oh, a replay shows he was referring to Pique dropping his peanut and picking it back up to eat it off the floor. nice. nice.
DAVID VILLA IS OFFSIDE.
28. some stuff is going on here. Bojan looks fouled or something. Not sure. Either he's booked for complaining to the ref, or the Levante player is booked for fouling him.

HALF TIME.
Commentator said Barcelona were suffering from a holiday hangover... HA.
Apparently it was Nano who got carded, not Bojan, before the half time.

PEDRO! SCORE! Alves was waiting... and waiting.... and waiting....and threaded the ball through 4 defenders, Pedro obviously thinking on his feet scored it. shit, i forgot i was writing in lists.

29. Thiago is on for Mascherano. cool. hope the Barca B player does well today.
30. Shit, Bojan went down and got kicked in the chest. He seems fine though, no foul given either.
31. Thiago instantly with a shot from distance. It's of course saved by the brilliant keeper Reina from Levante.
32. Pedro got whacked in the gut. Looks painful. Free kick is given. Xavi better not fuck this up. Shot taken and saved.
33. Close save by Victor Valdes. thank god they didn't equalise.
34. PEDRO GOAL! superb. That was from outside the box as well. Dani alves assist. Impressive to the maximum. I must say he's one of the most underated players in La Liga.
35. Levante are a loud side. Their shouts can be picked up beyond the crowd and commentator.
36. Bojan goes down. No foul.
37. AHH BOJAN IS OFF! no goal for krkic... what a shame. Keita is on for him. it was not a good game for Bojan today. Sorry.
38. Thiago with great control and speed there. It's a shame Pedro's shot hits the bar.
39. Milito is warming up! yes! the commentator lied to me, saying he wasn't match fit.
okay. first part out. sign off time 67.47.
first part will be posted first, and then later edited to finish the game off.

EDIT: sorry, i realise that i was meant to get back to this. but either way everyone knows it ended 2 - 1, Levante having scored in the last 5 minutes or so. I would say this victory is a bit of a stretch, too close for comefort, as well as Barca's cup quater final 0 - 0, 1 - 1, just barely pushing through with away goals. not sure what's going on lately...

Ibrahim Afellay. - among other things.

(Left: oh right yeah, they speak english! ...and pique is in new NIKEiD tiempo shoes)


So Ibi is training with the squad.
I think I do like him, but am not sure where his place will be. Hopefully he won't be one of those new signings glued to the bench (Adriano), and adding to the already burdening debt of FC Barcelona, which is now said to be 15M Euros, having reduced from 22M because of the new Qatar Foundation sponsors.

Having said that I think, (and if im wrong then, whoops, egg on my face), ibi will play into the roles of a combination of Andreas Iniesta and Xavi, and permanently benching keita. or not. Guardiola likes Keita, no matter how much he lacks shine when he's compared to Xavi. In that case, Afellay will get a lot less game time, because Iniesta barely needs to be substituted. And that would be a shame because he's such a star back at PSV, being captain and all, and at Barcelona he'll be like Mascherano, who's captain at the Argentina national team, and Sergio Busquets substitute at Barca.

Also intresting was the game between Cataluyna and Honduras. In that game, Bojan Krkic scored two goals and made two assists, and the final score was 4 - 0. which means Bojan contributed to every goal, and that maybe Guardiola should take the hint that he's actually leaving a very talented son of a bitch on the bench every weekend. I understand that Bojan has also just signed a new contract until 2015, hopefully he doesn't spend his youth benched in the shadows of David Villa or Leo Messi.

Speaking of Leo Messi, where is he? apparently Guardiola gave him special permission to stay on holiday until the 1st or 2nd of January. I swear to God if he's getting married and his marriage affects his footballing abilities then I will kill someone. Hopefully he'll be back for the fixture against Levente on January 2nd/3rd, because there is a dispute between the Footballing Federation and the players, who claim that the 2nd of Jan is still a holiday for them.

So we'll see on the 2nd/3rd of Jan how Barcelona will hold up against Levente without Puyol or Messi.

Barcelona Real Sociedad - LATE

so in the middle of my christmas break i've decided i really want to watch the match against sociedad that i'd missed earlier this month. again, i already know the score, and will be pretty brief with this one because it's on dvr and i can fast forward if i want to.


After a few early attempts there is a foul on victor valdes. it was a close call though... don't think sociedad would've scored from that anyway.
You know xabi alonso spent his youth and early years in sociedad, i can't help but feel some respect for the club who groomed such a man.
oof! Iniesta is in new nike ctr360s! i like them.

Mascherano is booked 7 minutes in. yes, it was a very late tackle, it was a good call.

VILLA GOAL! it looked like an easy goal, great timing from Pedro's assist, and great finish. This is 9 minutes in.

Ah damn, pedro's shot goes over the crossbar after Alves' cross. so close!

Commentator is making fun of Messi! "David Villa's cross is overshot, little Leo Messi was his target man at the side of the goal, not a large target man of course" - cruel. whatever he lacks in physical form he makes up for in talent. hugely.

Dani Alves weaving through the sociedad defence. There's just way too many of them in there, he does make a typical Barcelona run.
And there was a pass so badly aimed at that it resembled something I would have done on PES.

The camera man is so obviously trying to gesture the commentator to talk about Barcelona's last apparence in the shirt with the World Champions badge. He's just not taking the hint. So I'll say it. Because of the Club World Cup final taking place after this game, new World Champions will be named, who we now know to be Inter Milan. (also showing how important the Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Inter Milan was, considering that they won the Champion's League and qualified for the club world cup, and potentially if Barcelona had held their early lead during that game they could've gone on to do all that)

What an effort wasted from Sociedad. A ball from his own half saw a run 50 yards on and no good finish. -wait, why am i writing so strangely obsurely?

And then what a fucking mess this is. 5 shots were taken time after time. Messi's original shot, and then these shots followed: Xavi, Messi again, Villa, and then Dani Alves is offside. 5 shots in a row, and 5 misses in a row. ANGRY FACE! >:(

GOAL! INIESTA! In a one-two with Pedrito he's scored in the corner of the goal left empty by the keeper.

And then came the series of fumbles. David Villa takes a shot at the keeper, who manages to block it but not hold on to it, and it wobbled back to David Villa, who shoots it straight at the keeper again. why though? the keeper was about 5 yards from the goal! the GOAL WAS EMPTY.
ANGRY FACE AGAIN! >:(

Sociedad takes a shot and is deflected far away from the goal. for some strange reason though Victor Valdes is on the floor. BUT NO ONE TOUCHED HIM? no ball was near him. Im really confused.
and then nothing happens for 5 minutes. I know this because im reading the commentry.

Second half!
LEO MESSI CUT YOUR HAIR PLEASE. POR FAVOR.
if after the christmas break Messi cuts his hair short i will be a happy child.

MESSI GOAL! perhaps i shouldn't be talking about hair when messi scores 2 minutes into the half. so there was 3 one-twos between Alves and Messi, beating 6 Sociedad players in defence. I do like team effort goals, i do also like their relationship on pitch.

Busquets is on for Mascherano.
WHERE IS BOJAN.
i hate it when they swap sides after half time.

fuck, busquets is diving again. i mean, yes it was a late challenge. but he needed have gone down. it annoys me just a bit when he does that. okay, some 5 minutes after he's "taken down" again. fucking hell. show some respect. 2 minutes later something is up and the medical staff are poking at his eye. think he's contacts are giving him trouble.

61 minutes in - Bojan is on for Pedro! did i just fast forward to this? maybe....

Iniesta is taken down in the box! no one ever gives penalties to Barca! not even a spot kick. but seriously, in 4 months, there has only been ONE penalty given to us, which Leo Messi took.

Xavi is off for Keita. Well, now that Ibi Afellay has signed for Barca, either he's going to be a bit of a waste of a signing or Keita will be permanently benched, or iniesta will have some rest time. But i will comment more on afellay later.

Fuck Messi's shot goes off the post. You know you can really see the power put into a shot when it's rebounding off the post.

LEO MESSI GOAAAALLLL! WHAT! that was amazing! he just runs around 5 defenders who just don't know what to do with him! Bojan passes to him, and he out runs 5 defenders who were IN FRONT of him. so lets put this on a linear view. If this was a race, of the 10 yards he just ran, the 5 defenders would've been paced one after another each about a yard a head of each other, and they all start running. Messi, at the start of the 10 yards would beat all of them.

BOJAN GOAL! YES! right that was amazing too! going to rewind it.... so he's running down top speed to the goal, takes a shot, it's saved and rebounded back to him, and then he just fires it to the back of the net. what a goal. Messi is the first one he hugs. obviously.

I was really impressed by how chilled Eric Abidal is all the time. it seems like nothing could actually annoy him. Probably just really experienced.
where was gerard pique? Alves was in the backling with puyol, maxwell and abidal. which also works, apparently.

and that's all. i need to go watch the arsenal v chelsea game now.

EL CLASICO!!!!!

okay so my annoying friend ruined the game for me.
but it's the BIGGEST GAME OMG!
either way, ruined or not i heard it was the best clasico in a while and am SO excited to watch it.
KICK OFF!
14s in and ronaldo has already dived!
a few oppertunities with the ball in the area but no real attempt yet.
Hand ball from Pedro.
The camp nou is in chants: "boti boti boti madridista qui no boti" consequently my favourite chant from us.
Valdes witha good save blocking a cross from ronaldo.
He is taken down by pique who has run into his head.
Pinto warming up in case anything happens to Valdes.
oh my god WHAT! messi with an amazing run. people are argueing that it went out.
The corner is taken and messi's shot hits the post!
Madrid has some really annoying defence tatics. they just keep kicking it out of play.
Ronaldo with some crazy as skill on the ball. he looks like a puppet or something. could be a new dance move.
XAVI GOAL!!! OMG WHAT I DIDN"T SEE IT! REWINDING.... whoops over did it...
OMG FUCK THAT"S A BEAUTIFUL GOAL! the ball flips on from iniesta and xavi plays it past with crazy control! 10 minutes in and we're in the lead!
Di Maria going for goal! saved by victor valdes. good save!
Ozil takes the corner... he hasn't really made an impression this game until now... Ramos with a failed header...
Benzema is blocked bu Valdes and Abidal! it's out for a madrid corner.. another failed header from ramos!
I love that barca are just passing around to mind madrid up... OMG PEDRO! GOALLLLLL!
2 - 0 ! 17 minutes in! I think they just caught madrid off guard. WHAT A GREAT CROSS FROM VILLA AND GREAT FINISH FROM PEDRO. ramos and casillas were caught off guard.
Villa with one of his many offsides...
Xabi Alonso takes a free kick... ginger beard in the close up... Benzema with a failed cross.
Ramos is freaking out. He's talking to the ref, asking for a free kick.
Guardiola is shouting again... "yes we're winning 2 - 0, but i can never be satisfied!".... I love guardiola.
Barca just won 4 consecutive headers. amazing.
Ahhhh Pedro bailed on his one on one with Casillas with a chance of a shot.... i guess he got intimidated.
I hope the rain gets hard enough for us to see ronaldo's hair flop...
HAHAHHAA THEY JUST DID A SPLIT SCREEN OF THE COACHES ON THE SECOND GOAL.
dude fuck some fight is getting on...
Valdes has left his box, pique is fired up. OHHHH
ronaldo pushed guardiola on the chest. but it was disrespect. i think i would freak out if i was there... the man is looking like he's done nothing wrong. he's just smiling. Valdes is carded for taking the 50 yard run to shout at ronaldo, and ronaldo is also carded. What's strange is that pique is the one trying to calm them down, yet he's normally the one that causes trouble.
Villa is carded for pushing Khedira. Ronaldo with a free kick some 30 yards out. the barca fans are going crazy. He goes for goal! the shot is wide!
Pepe is carded for lashing across Messi's neck with his hand...
Villa is offside... the second time on my count. Xabi with am amazing pass... but the ball is cleared by puyol. Corner is blocked.
Ronaldo is blocked by Valdes. He asked for a penalty... a goal kick is given... ownage.
What a Jedi run from Messi, but the shot is wide. his hair is getting to an annoying length now.
Messi is taken down... no foul.
Di Maria and Busquest both diving... ronaldo takes a shot from distance... Easy save for Valdes.
MESSI IS ELBOWED IN THE FACE BY CARVALIO! OH WAIT NO. MESSI HAS DIVED. WHAT!. well, actually he just exaggerated a bit... he was just swept in the face... messi is booked.
...oh the commentator is so confusing....
-------HALF TIME------- 2 - 0 to Barca.... couldn't have asked for more...
It's been a violent and intresting half. What a great game so far...
i'm laughing now because the stats say barca had 61% of the posession in the first half...
The Channel switched back to the pitch to early... they're just playing a compliation of the fails and coaches' reactions... waste of advertising time...
Marcelo's cross is stopped by Valdes.
UH MESSI HOLDS ON THE THE BALL WHEN VILLA WAS COMPLETELY FREE. WHY MESSI. WHY!
Xabi alonso is booked. that's two late challenges in 2 minutes.
damn, xavi was challenged by khedira... could've been a second goal for him. it was close...
It seems madrid has stepped up a bit since half time... finally finding their usual form...
VILLA GOAL No. 3!!!! what a goal! messi in assist! Alonso is so annoyed! i love alonso, and as much as i hate to see him frustrated i am delighted that Villa has scored his first clasico goal!
OMG FUCKING GOD VILLA SCORES AGAIN! 4 - 0 WHAT IS THIS AMAZING NIGHT! VILLA!!!!!!! That was about 2 minutes after his first! AMAZINGG! and his play against his spanish captain was such an amazing one... can't believe i ever doubted this man...
the commentator is saying that "if ronaldo had any fans before this game, the might have lost them all... " do they exist? catalan ronaldo fans? such a creature is hard to imagine.
OHO almost a goal from behind the half way line. sergio busquets' shot just over the crossbar. not a bad effort considering the distance.
Messi with a few other Jedi runs.
Carvalio is booked for deliberate handball.
i'm still waiting for the violence that i was told of.
Villa is taken down by serigo ramos! Ramos is booked. he just kicks him in the back of the knee!
Khedira is booked for a late challenge! HAHA Real Madrid have 9 yellow cards!
Villa is off for Bojan! what a great night Villa has had...
Bojan's first touch is at crazy speed but he lose his balance and his second shot is straight at casillas!
HAHA Ronaldo trying to call for a corner when it's actually a goal kick... the fans are all giving him the finger! I love this! Spanish football at its best.
Casillas looks like he's about to cry. I feel sorry for him, he's such an amazing keeper and it's not his fault.
Pedro is brought down. for some strange reason xavi is doing the medical on him. where is the physio team... fail...
Puyol is injured... something up with his ankle.
Keita is on for Xavi. Pedro for Jeffern. Oh i don't like Jeffern.
HAHA as soon as ronaldo gets near the stands all the boos roar up. amazing.
Jeffern GOAL! 5 - 0 from a cross from Bojan! doesn't change my views about him. But it was STILL an amazing goal.
alright a fight is comming up. ramos red carded for a foul on messi. omg it finally happend. was waiting all game for this. Casillas the captain tries to settle things. Messi is injured. Let's lookn at the replay. He first kicks Leo Messi, then pushes Puyol in the face, that Xavi comes down from the stands and he ramos pushes him as well. what a riot. that's what i was waiting for. Casillas is shouting at Pique. It's hard to believe they're a team in the national team. they seem to HATE each other! i'm sure it all stays on the pitch though. I can't wait to see what the real madrid website has to say about this. they normally have some cocky slogan after each game.
What a great game and amazing night it has been. and as they walk off the pitch it becomes apparent that messi is incredibly short. Shame he didn't score tonight. He's had a great game. Hope the injury isn't long lasting.

Gah, amazing victory. Barca is also at the top of the league now. what a game! and what a riot it was as well. AND WHAT A MIDDLE FINGER THIS HAS BEEN TO REAL MADRID. YEAH. IN YOUR FACE.
Well, that's it for now. It's been amazing football all the way.

Almeria Barcelona - hahaha.

So i forgot that my google homepage had football scores on it and accidently saw it before watching my recorded game.
and therefore i KNOW that real madrid is still ahead of barca before the match against the two. which is rather annoying to me.

1. Loving the turquoise away kit! We'd seen it a few times this season before, maybe i should get one for myself.... it's my favourite out of the three. Mint Chocolate Chip coloured.

2. Fontas is in for Pique because apparently he picked up a minor injury against portugal with spain earlier this week, and he's a card away from a match ban, with el clasico around the corner.

3. David Villa's shot is just half a meter wide! this is 2 minutes into the game.

4. Valdes with a very comfortable save. weak attempt.

5. i'm thinking of fast forwarding til the first goal... Gerard Pique is looking bored on the bench.

6. I am hating Xavi's lime green Adidas Predator boots.

7. Right, Alves is wearing a long sleved base layer shirt under his short sleved shirt. not a good look. just wear the long sleeved shirt! actually he's not the only one. i am not liking this.

8. what a goal from messi!

9. just 2 minutes later iniesta with another goal!

10. guardiola is firing up. why? it's 22 minutes in and we're winning 2 - 0.

11. ALMERIA OWN GOAL. from the captain as well! and it wasn't one of those "debatable and accidentally lightly deflected" own goals, he actually, kicked it in. so it's 3 - 0.

12. Fontas isn't the worst looking chap in the world.

13. why is messi taking a corner when xavi is there?

14. easy easy goal for pedro! fontas assist! i did also mention he's a decent footballer didn't i? his assist was from about 50 yards away. amazing that it's both on side and on target.

15. just one minute later messi scores a second! 37 minutes in 5 - 0 to barcelona.

16. half time.

17. Thiago is on for xavi and Keita for iniesta, or keite, as puyol calls him.

18. Thiago with a shot on target. it is saved however. when does he officially get on the first team squad? he's come on like 5 times for them this season. that's more than adriano.

19. Thiago is booked for a late tackle. I don't think he's ever been booked with the first team.

20. Bojan is on for Pedro. Good. Good.

21. fasting forward... nah. i want to watch this. bojan with a good run.

22. Valdes with a great save! it was a great strike as well, just about to curve under the crossbar.

23. GOAL for BOJAN! first goal in la liga! just flicks it past the defence! great solo effort.

24. HAT TRICK for leo messi! ball came of a sloppy save from the goal keeper. 7 - 0, one goal left.

25. Piatti is really pissed off. As i would be if i were losing by 7 goals and kept getting denied of my goals.

26. messi crosses to bojan and it's another goal! this is a good night for bojan. okay. that's all the goals. it is 8 - 0. it looks rediculous. it's kind of funny. i like this.

okay. i'm going to stop watching this now.
im so annoyed that real madrid is still on top of the league after this.
you know they should stop counting penalty goals as goals. because then messi would be ahead of ronaldo on the goal sheet.
right. next game is champions league. i will not be watching it live.

Barcelona Getafe

basically last night i watched the first half and now can't be bothered to rewatch it.
before half time:
1. leo messi and david villa both scored, although they did miss some oppertunities before.

2. they all look rediculous in their hot pink away kits. seriously, no one looks good in those colours.

3. the commentator was quite baised.


4. he also said "other players may have opted to go down but leo messi chose to stay up, not naming any names", and then later he said it was ronaldo who obviously is a cheat and dives all the time. i too admire leo messi's honestly.

5. am rather annoyed at the shit games arsenal have played this week. but am super impressed about the liverpool win.

6. this stadium, alfonso perez, has an old, run down look to it. the lights make the game annoying to watch.

7. i ruined this game for myself by reading the score on the internet.

so this is a pretty slow game so i'm going to skip through some of it.

I think mascherano is doing great so far.
everytime xavi plays now i think he's straining himself. but he thinks he's doing okay so i shall not complain.
messi is denied again with the offside.
skipped to see messi's injury.... what's this....
ouch... looking bad. ew his legs are bruised.
alves with a rediculous attempt at the free kick. shame really.
puyol with a friendly arm around the getafe player who tried to claim an obviously barca throw in.
hahahaha mascherano with a sucessful dive. if it were against barca i would be annoyed.
HAHAHAHHAHAHHA PEDRO WHAT A FLUKE OF A GOAL! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA.
basically, messi intercepts a getafe playing casually passing it to his keeper. and he just flicks it to pedro. and since the keeper had came out for the ball pedro was already in front. and so he just lightly taps it into the net.
whatever, it's a barca goal, it's good.
WAIT WHAT. pique is red carded! WHAT. WHAT!
oh right he handballed. but he's really pissed. like really pissed.
valdes can't save the penalty.
3 - 1
pique is at risk of missing the madrid game again. he better not screw up in the Almeria game, because if he gets a yellow card he will be suspended for el clasico.
if i were guardiola i wouldn't play him that game, i would play milito, and save pique for el clasico.
damn, iniesta's goal is denied by the keeper.
boeteng is booked for the second time and sent off for nailing mascherano. so it's 10 a side now.
you know what? that's all the goals in the game. i don't care anymore.
yeah that's it.
also real madrid beat atletico 2 - 0 in the madrid derby.
so barca is still one point behind.
i'm really annoyed about that.
next week saturday game, against villarreal, shall be a hard game.
so that's it for today.
WTF the pink kit looks orange in the pictures.

Barcelona Zaragoza

So i just got back and it is 9 minutes into the game.
actually i thought it started t 11.30, but the local broadcaster lies to me all the time.
pedro's beard making him look more italian than ever.
oh right yeah he's back from injury.
busquests keeps loosing the ball... like he's drunk or something. that's kinda annoying me, just a bit.
dammit, villa is blocked again. he needs to score soon.
dude, messi is comming in with these amazing attemps.
dammit zaragoza have a good keeper.
you know if gerard pique just jumped for a ball it means it's more than 6'4 high.
and i have a feeling it's going to be one of those mallorca/hercules games. like all 11 players in defence from zaragoza. annoying.
dude, the linesmen just called an offside when it really wasn't. fucking shit.
HAHAHA the ref just called a no go for leo messi's free kick, apparently he was moving.
he just did a "huh? not sure what you're talking about" eyebrow raise. it was rather funny looking.
barca has 81% posession and it's still 0 - 0
free kick, like 20 years away, leo messi poor attempt.
villa is denied. again and offside. again.
OH DEAR. pique is injured.
i think he's dislocated his shoulder. lucky it's football.
pedro misses a very good counter attack. dammmiiitt.
pique is firing up asking for a freekick. i dunno if it's a dive or not from sergio busquests.
zaragoza people are diving a lot. annoying shitface.
keita collides with the goalkeeper who does a full backflip... he feels no pain?
pep is looking really crestfallen... like his cat died this morning or something.
LEO MESSI SCORE omg. 1- 0. great counter attack. amazing. loving the messi/villa bromance.
lafeta is diving. annoyence.
Leo messi is fouled.
end of first half.
im rather annoyed because my mother forgot to put the cheese in the fridge for 3 hours.
God it would suck if zaragoza won... they haven't won a single game this season.
Dani Alves is down.... OMG red for zaragoza. he's so pissed off. the commentator is so stupid. he said it was pedro down, even though it was clearly alves who rolled over with the number 2 and his name was waaay to long to be pedro.
he looks like he's been hit in the ear. the red is probably because he didn't even have the ball.
i actually didn't see it til the replay, was mostly concentrating on the ball.
my mother just changed the channel. excellent .
changed back, it's still 1 - 0
shit... villa ran out of space.
thiago is warming up with mascherano.
leo messi goes for goal twice, once after a block. miss. shame.
villa is playing really far back... maybe he knows he can't score.
OMG MESSI. SECOND GOLLLLLL. shit. that was from like 17 yard away. what the hell.
it was from a double deflection. wow. wowowowowow.
i hope thiago is comming on for keita, not iniesta. pep is talking to him.
omg people need to stop killing alves. again. he's basically wrestles.
oh fuck. it is iniesta who comes off. WHY PEP WHY.
whatever, thiago is good as well.
bojan is warming up. he's on for pedro. coolio.
bojan's shot is extra wide.
actually it was deflected extra wide. super powerful though.
haha bojan is pushed down. foul is given. i am happy.
pique with a great challenge.
valdes with an amazing save!
villa is offside again. gosh. annoyence.
bojan is really annoyed because he was the better person to pass to.
6 minutes left. i want to see another goal though.
Villa is denied. i am so annoyed for him.
mascherano is on for busquests.
pique is booked even though the fucking zaragoza dude fired the ball at his arm.
i am fucking annoyed. what the fuck. no justice here.
there's a replay of a zaragoza shot, valdes has leaped at least a metre and a half in the air. looking a bit weird.
GOD THAT WASN"T OFFSIDE THIS LINEMAN IS SO SHIT I HATE HIM WITH ALL MY HEART.
GOD VILLA IS DENIED AGAIN. oh my god.
pep looks like a 5 year old who dropped his ice cream.
FULL TIME. annoyance.
okay done. next game. erm. barcelona..... copa del rey.... tuesday.
well. i don't know if i will watch it, given that it's like the first round. and it's late
i'm not even sure if i get coverage of it. yeah i don't think i'll watch it.
anyway, sevilla in the spanish league next... it's also bloody late so i'll just record it. plus i'm back from my 3 day hike so i will be dead!
okay. that's all for today.