Reds Triump In Spain

Riise & Bellamy Puts Dispute Behind To Score

UEFA Champions League
Last 16: First Leg

Barcelona 1 - 2 LIVERPOOL

Scorers:

BAR - Deco (14 min);
LIV - Bellamy (43 min), Riise (74 min);

Match Highlights:

Countless of teams were slaughtered over at the Nou Camp in recent times but Liverpool did the near impossible by coming from behind to beat the overwhelming favorites, Barcelona over at their own backyard. The Reds inflicted Barcelona with their first defeat in 21 home games and now, the only British team to defeat them twice at the Nou Camp.

Touted to be the 'tie of the round', the two former champions of the European Cup slogged it out for a full 90 minutes which saw a poor Liverpool side defeat Barcelona, who have been out of form and looked like a shadow of their former selves.

The Barcelona we saw last night was mind-boggling poor and some shocking defending gave Liverpool the chance to take the advantage in the two legged clash. Now with the 2-1 aggregate, Rafa and his men will surely feel they have every right to believe that they can kick the Catalan giants out of the competition.

After Sunday's defeat to Valencia, Barcelona made changes to their side. They welcomed back Thiago Motta in the defensive midfield position and switched Rafael Marquez back to partner Carles Puyol in defence. Argentinian Javier Saviola replaced Eidur Gudjohnson in the starting line up to add the extra pace up front.

The man that Barcelona marked as the dangerman, Peter Crouch, was surprisingly left on the bench as Rafa preferred Kuyt and Bellamy up front. Both added mobility upfront while Gerrard was moved away from his preferred central midfield role to play on the right.

This move was a bold one as we all know he mentioned in the autobiography that playing on the right flank is like a 'grave yard shift'. Perhaps Rafa wanted him to neutralise the threat coming from Ronaldinho and Zambrotta on the left. But the skipper was partly at fault for Barcelona's first goal.

Zambrotta looked to have been stopped in his tracks by Gerrard but somehow, he missed the interception and the Italian left back was able to float in an inch perfect cross for the shortest man on the pitch, Deco, to head home from 6 yards out. Alvaro Arbeloa, making his debut at the left back slot, moved inwards to the centre far too quickly and leaving Riise exposed at the back post.

The goal came after Barcelona finally decided to step up a gear and you could see they managed to unsettle the Reds defence, marshalled by Jamie Carragher. Deco nearly added a second minutes later after he was clean through on goal. But his shot was saved by Pepe Reina.

Meanwhile, the difference between the side was fairly obvious as Liverpool struggled to keep hold of the ball and letting the Spanish side roam around freely. There was no support up front for Kuyt and Bellamy as they huffed and puffed their way through.

But how the face of the game change after a lapse of concentration on Barcelona's part allowed Liverpool back into the game with a soft goal. A quick free kick taken by Gerrard was spread out to the right to Steve Finnan. His fantastic cross was well met by Bellamy and Barcelona goalkeeper, Victor Valdes, made a mess of it. He managed to saved it but he was unaware that he carried the ball over the line.Despite pushing the ball mindlessly out of the goal, Kuyt was still there to finish it. The goal was later awarded to Bellamy.


Bellamy, silencing his critics with a cheeky goal celebration, imitating a golfer playing golf. He was previously accused to hitting team mate, John Arne Riise's leg with a golf club. This goal was the turning point of the game as Liverpool going into the half time break on a high.

Barcelona seemed shell-shocked as they conceded a very unnecessary goal at the most inappropriate time.

Liverpool came out for the second half more organised and played with more sense of purpose. They kept themselves compact and difficult to breakdown while Barcelona pushed more people forward in search of a killer goal.

But as the clock ticks away, the more comfortable Liverpool got and the home side were frustrated to no end. Their fans were eerily quiet while Frank Rijkaard signaled his intention to finish the tie off by making two tactical movement that unsettled the home side rather than adding firepower upfront.


Xavi was taken off for Giuly while Iniesta replaced the more defensive minded Motta. It was a classic show of the more the cook spoils the soup as Barca was unable to organise any sort of good attacking move that will penetrate through that thick red (or green) line.

While they went forward, their rear guard went to sleep and Liverpool pounced.

Gerrard played a brilliant ball to Kuyt, who was left unmarked by Barca captain, Puyol. His first touch let him down and Valdes was able to half clear the ball. But the rebound fell kindly to Bellamy, who putted the ball nicely in the path of Riise. The Norweigian who is famous for his left foot, stroke the ball into the top of the net with his right.

Now, both the players who have been under intense media scrutiny were the masterminds of Liverpool's success in Barcelona.

Argentinian superstar, Lionel Messi almost grabbed the equaliser after weaving through the Liverpool defence but his shot was brilliantly blocked by debutant, Alvaro Arbeloa. In the late game, they put further pressure on the Reds while goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, flapped twice during set plays and nearly cost Liverpool dear.

But the Reds held on to a famous victory in Spain as they surely feel they have ever right to believe that they have a chance to be in the draw for the last 8 or perhaps even winning the prestigious European Cup for the 6th time.

MORE AFTERTHOUGHTS WILL BE POSTED LATER. Stay tune!

Battle At The Catalunya

It's Champions League time and it'll be a clash of the titans, although Liverpool will surely go into this tie as an underdog. Don't listen to Barcelona players saying about how they're the underdogs. Because on paper, the difference is there for everyone to see.

It's the 2005 European champions taking on the champions in 2006.

Played at the intimidating Nou Camp, which could pack a total of 98,000 fans, this tie will be a fascinating one indeed. Barcelona won't forget the way Liverpool bored them to tears back in 2001 UEFA Cup when Liverpool went there and parked not only a bus, but several bull'dozers' and trucks as well.

Liverpool eventually knocked them out of the competition and surely, the Barca fans will feel this is the perfect time to avenge that heart break 6 years ago.

But now, Liverpool have undergone major changes and with Rafa's Spanish armada flying the flag high over at Merseyside. It'll present a totally different challenge to the European champions as they embarked on the journey to retain the crown, which is deemed impossible thus far.

Rafa Benitez himself plotted the downfall of Barcelona and Real Madrid 4 years ago when he took over Valencia and knocked the 2 Spanish giants off their perch and won 2 Spanish La Liga title with them. He also has a pretty good record against Barcelona while he's at the Mestalla and the one reason which will give the Liverpool fans some confidence would be the fact that Rafa knows Spanish football well and he knows Barcelona inside out.

This could present Barcelona with some problem as they haven't been at their best for quite some time. Perhaps the pressure of retaining the La Liga title and European crown are taking it's toll on Ronaldinho. & Co.

The Samuel Eto'o's public spat match with coach Frank Riijkard and Ronaldinho was well documented and one could question whether the unity in the squad is taking the heat. Liverpool got some bad press off them as well just last week, when tabloid newspaper reported incidents where the players didn't behave themselves and the headlines were splashed across the front page of the newspapers.

Off the field problem aside, it'll be an intriguing tie between two heavy weights. I foresee this game to be a very cagey one at the beginning as both teams wouldn't want to throw away the tie unnecessarily at such an early stage. Barcelona knows that they would need to get something out of this game and at the same time, stop Liverpool from scoring the all important away goal.

Drogballs' Prediction: Barcelona 1-1 Liverpool. A very tight game to call. I'll sit on the fence for this one. But I have complete faith in the team that they'll put up a decent performance and get something out of this game.

Football Dipped To New Low?

Rejoice football fans! The long awaited Champions League is finally back after the draw was been made back in December of 2006 and fans and neutrals alike were anticipating this week for quite some time.

But the return of Champions League was marred by controversies and things that should never happen in a football ground.

Of course, we're talking about the match between French side, Lille and Man Utd. A match that seemed so harmless and looked like an easy walk-over for United turns out to be an ugly one and of course, it exposes the flaws of the game and that we all still need to take a serious look at stadium security and how the authorities handle the fans.

Because what happened yesterday could've been another disaster like Hillsborough and Heysel.

It might not be serious as there were only some victims with minor injuries. But it serves us as a warning that even till this day, there are stadiums around with security problems and UEFA will have to investigate and football should not be something which take the lives of people away.

Crowd trouble once again rings the alarm bell of the football governing body as only recently, Italian football came under scrutiny for the way they handled the death of the policeman during the Catania - Palermo game.

The modern game should not be marred by this sort of things already. It's time the authorities have a good look at things and ensure the safety of the tens of thousands of fans within the stadium.

Next major talking point in the game would have to be Ryan Gigg's quickly taken free kick that resulted in a goal. Lille felt unjust and rewind to a month ago when the Thai players walked off the pitch after they felt they're treated unfairly by the referee, it was like a deja vu feeling.

When did footballers became such a bunch of unsportsmanlike 'sportsmen'?

To me, I'm never for the idea of taking free kicks quickly. They're seemed to be used only in amateur football games but the thing now is that it's the gray part of the rule book whereby it's not entirely clear whether when is taking a quick one right or wrong.

But that's beside the point now. Although we do need clarification as to when is a quick free kick allowed and how do we all know whether the referee of the game will allow, the main point will be the way the Lille players reacted after that.

Disgraceful.

But we know all humans shows emotions and it was when the emotions ran high, adrenaline pumping and knowing that your team have lost a game that they're so capable of winning. Peter Odemwingie thought he had put them ahead just before the incident but he was adjudged to have pushed Nemanja Vidic before latching on the ball with a header. It was ruled out for a foul.

Very soft if you ask me. Vidic is built like a brick sh*t-house and I don't think a little hands on his back will cause any sort of problems for him to stay on his feet.

It's disappointing to see the return of the so called 'biggest' league in the world with the most concentration of football stars marred by incidents that shouldn't even have been part of football. And to think that FIFA are looking into things like restricting players to some 'celebration styles' rather than the safety of the supporters and players behaving like kids throwing toys out of the pram, it just saddens me a little.

The Lille players should be punish heavily for their unsportsmanlike behavior while stadiums across Europe should conduct a thorough check and make sure they pass the standards set by the governing body. Or even better, review the safety standards of the stadiums.

Picture Of The Day

Riise: Now, my left leg's worth around 5million while my right is not worth a penny. Take it if you want. Meanwhile, I put up a really cheesy smile to distract those pesky photographers.

Bellamy: *evil laughter* Let me have a look.....

Dudek Speaks Out - 'We Betrayed Rafa'

Sounded apologetic, isn't it? Finally, one of the players spoke out and although I'm still not entirely convinced that this is the 100% of the story, we can be quite sure the media have blown the story out of proportion again. Surprise?

According to a report written based on Liverpool goalkeeper, Jerzy Dudek's website, they admitted that the players let Rafa down but they have seriously done nothing wrong, except for making too much noise at ungodly hour and returning back to the hotel 'few minutes late'.

READ MORE HERE

Obviously, I've mentioned that what you read on newspaper are not always 100% accurate and comparing this article to those published few days back about how Robbie Fowler and Jerzy Dudek were handcuffed after they went on a rampage after having too much of a drink, it's certainly seemed like heaven and earth.

Percentage of news over-blown: Around 120%.

Serves a warning, that not everything you read are the absolute truth. There are always people and reports out there to step on people when they're down and out and stir up unnecessary tension among people.

And you wonder why the England national team is in it's current state. It's hard to to pull in this very example as to how a team can be absolutely destroyed by tabloid newspaper. I'm not pointing the full finger at them, but you should be aware that they're part of the problem.

They'll always be the first to hype up a certain someone and when that player starts to do something they deemed not proper, they'll always be the first to cast their stone.

The tabloid culture in England is seriously harming the game in an indirect way and I think we could all see it. Major stories, blah. They're just usual marketing ploy. What's new?

Truth? Or Lies?

Prior to Liverpool's crucial Champions League visit to Barcelona's Nou Camp, news broke out that the players went wild at their training camp in Algarve, Portugal. Sounds like a movie eh?

Few days back there were reports coming in about how Dudek and Fowler got drunk and smashed 'telephone boxes and other stuff' on the streets before getting handcuffed by the police.

Then again yesterday, there was news about how Bellamy went insane and used a golf club and chased John Arne Riise and actually hit his legs!

Now we have another report saying that it's a trap to make Craig Bellamy the scapegoat of these entire saga. Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out why it's Bellamy and not the others. Simple, because of his previous record. It's always easy to point your finger at the blackest sheep and Bellamy's notorious past isn't going to help the case.

When it comes to these sort of 'reports', I'll always read it with a little cynic and filter out only certain parts of the reports and take them seriously. The rest, just take it like a pinch of salt. It's like eating meat. You always take away those bones and skins before you eat the real stuff. And those rubbish usually takes up 70% of everything.

Take a wider perspective and look this way. Why does these reports only appear when Liverpool are preparing for the most important match thus far this season. Nice timing, isn't it? And noticeably the players named where never in the good books of the newspapers, namely Bellamy and Fowler.

Reading Robbie Fowler's autobiography will help you understand a lot about these footballer's life. Although you won't believe everything they say in the book as well, but you'll get the jeez of it pretty quickly. They're always set up for the newspaper to put up new stories and stuff they did that are common among the lads but got blown out of proportion by the tabloid newspapers. Sensationalism is the word for these stories.

But then again, I'm not saying I don't entirely believe the reports. To be honest, I'm quite worried about it as well. It affects the club's reputation and hey, you're playing for Liverpool FC. Show some pride while you're at the club and behave.

And I hope Rafa will have a serious look into this matter and if anyone is to be found guilty of ruining the club's name, they should not be spared. Footballers or not, they're liable for punishments and I seriously hope this saga will end soon and will NOT affect the performance against Barcelona on Wednesday. We'll be the underdog and I have full faith we'll get something out of Nou Camp. But we need the player's to remain focus and concentrate on their task ahead.

Still, truth or not, it's up to you to decide.

Road To Wembley........NOT

"Road to Wembley", proclaimed the FA Cup organisers. They promised that the FA Cup final for 2007 will be played at the new Wembley stadium. But surprise, it will NOT be ready.

So the Road To Wembley is officially off tracked.

According to government reports, the Wembley Stadium will not be ready in time for the FA Cup final in May, despite the promise by the English FA to hold the finals at the stadium that cost 793 million GBP.

"Alternative arrangements are having to be made. The building work will be finished, but the critical issue is the safety certificates.

"The FA are going to have to announce it in the next couple of weeks. That will mean the Cup Final will be played in Cardiff again."

First and foremost, it is important to consider that this stadium had been touted to open in 2006 and at the same time last year, the FA too, said that the stadium will be ready for FA Cup 2006. Rewind it a year on and it's still the same.

You know, the FA just kind of mirror the England national team. Clueless and disorganised.

A so called 'world class' stadium that got delayed for more than a year and paying that sort of money for it. You're having a laugh. A normal stadium would cost 200 odd million GBP and how on earth did that cost skyrocket to almost 800 million GBP is beyond me. Wasteful. Now throw those money back into the youth academies and perhaps, people like Terry Venables won't have to say anything about it anymore.

Of course, it's not recommended for the stadium to be used for the FA Cup finals when you're jeopardising the lives of the people if the stadium is deemed not safe enough. Now, it seemed like the FA bigwigs really have to bury their head in the sand. Broken promises, sounds like the England team as well!

Anyway, I could never comprehend why they bother to build such a massive structure with absolutely stunning interior for a team that's so dull and colourless. Talk about irony. Wembley, the perfect example.

Latest Transfer Rumour

Amidst all the New Year celebration, I'm here to present you with the latest news. According to The Daily Mail, we're set to sign a Ukrainian international by the name of Andrei Voronin from Bayer Leverkusen.

By the looks of how the forum people from RAWK.com reacted to the news, not looking good. Might as well give up next season's Premiership now*.

*Knee jerk reaction.

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!

Well, to all you readers of The Red Cauldron, especially the Chinese, Drogballs here wishes you a fantastic new year and 'Gong Xi Fa Cai'.

The Blame Game

Ah, there we go again. Last summer when England bowed out of the World Cup with a whimper, everyone starts pointing fingers in all direction except at themselves and how bad things has degraded to this point where everyone hits the panic button when England lost to Spain in a friendly. Yes, a friendly game.

I'm never a supporter of these sort of friendlies because they're just a waste of time and it's purely for the FA to make more bucks so that they can waste it on some inept manager they're going to appoint in the future. Even while I'm typing, it's infuriating to know that Mr. Eriksson is still earning more than most of us do in a year, or years by just sipping lemonade by the beach.

What good can friendlies do to a team that only meet up once a month and in England's case, it's like some social club monthly meeting where old friends get to meet up. Then go on to put up some really abject performance and gets slated by the press and people like us once a month. It's a joke.

So, Al-Tel, Terry Venables came out and blasted the 'major' clubs for ruining England's chances and harming the team. Does that sound like anything more than an excuse to you? Well look, logic prevails and if the English talents are not good enough, then surely they're going to be behind the pack!

He picked on Arsenal for their love of Africans and European players. Just not English. And does it really takes a rocket scientist to work out why? It's simple. Would you rather pay an odd 300k for a Spanish youngster like Cesc Fabregas (Spanish) or a mind boggling 18 million for Mr. Carrick (English) at United who looked half the player Cesc is, was and will be. See the difference? For English talents, you've to pay over the odds.

As a club, millions are at stake and the manager have to make sure the players are of the highest quality and are able to put up decent performance consistently. Youth players are especially important as they're the future of the club. They're groomed and nurtured into future superstars at young age. So is there really something going amiss within the youth academy in England?

You can be sure of it when you see the likes of Sir Alex coming out to defend Arsene Wenger. He mentioned Howard Wilkinson's 10 years plan which is to succeed and bring the World Cup back to England but sadly, it looked remotely possible with this bunch. It's into the 8th year by the way.

In football, nationality should not be a concern. Although it is important to keep the core of the team close to the homeland, the teams should not stop nurturing future talents because it is not of any advantage to the nation the club belongs. We all love to see the likes of Fabregas and Ronaldo coming through although they're just passer-bys from the other side of the world. Admit it, globalisation is under way and football is in transition as well. Know no boundaries.

Looking at the Arsenal team that played Bolton on Wednesday, you've got to applaud Wenger and his doctrine of bringing up young players and brooding them into future superstars. Seeing how these bunch get bullied off the park by Bolton earlier, you've got to feel that we've finally seen another generation of Arsenal. For neutrals, it's great of course.

We know Rafa's doing that as well. He reformed the scouting network and he's bringing in quality South Americans and Spanish into the fray so that we won't have to worry about the future of Liverpool 5 to 10 years down the road because we already have a group of ready made youngsters ready to step up.

Looking at Liverpool's U18 squad makes me proud as well. They're currently on the way of defending the FA Youth Cup and they looked like a proper good team. How many of them will actually make it and don the famous red jersey, we'll not know. But I'm sure Rafa will give them a chance in the future.

Youth development is an important aspect in football but by trying to force teams to place their emphasis on a certain nation's youth for 'balance' is going to set the development back for a few years. Fat Sam ironically came out to say the youths of today are 'fat and lazy'. Well, not without prove. Just look at the recent report on how England's youth are one of the worst among the rich nations.

Youth academy's motto should always be 'foreigners or not, as long as you're good enough, you'll be welcomed'.