Thursday, January 26, 2012

Cry "referee"

Whenever Jose Mourinho (who notwithstanding anything, is still the best coach in the world) loses a match, he blames the referee. Do not mind the other team has played great football, or that some tactical choices have been wrong. No, the referee is to blame! So when it actually happens, it just seem like yet another lame excuse of "cry ref".
And this is what happened today.
Barcelona has lately always been superior to Real Madrid, but today, in the second leg of the Spanish Cup quarterfinal, Real Madrid was clearly the better team. They should not have been down by two at halftime, but many missed chances, a brilliant play by Messi (scored by Pedro), and a lucky shot by Dani Alves, put them undeservedly behind. Still, they rose in the second half, and the most nervous Barcelona side I have seen for ages had their luck and a very friendly referee to thank for making it to the semifinal.
I am not a Real Madrid fan (nor a Barcelona fan either, but they do play great), and they often have had favorable referee calls. But today, the referee was against them, and can be largely blamed for the loss.
Still, the remains the most boring tournament in the world. It is only the quarterfinals, but as the ESPN commentator said, Barcelona will now win the Copa del Rey, and Real Madrid and Barcelona can continue their fight for the league.
Sadly, it is true, and I still think they should just cancel all other matches in the Spanish league or Cup, that do not involve Real Madrid or Barcelona.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree Erik,

Lets hope that Barca and Real will only met one or two more times this season. With one match being on neutral grounds.

//jim