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It was another mid-week night where my carnal pleasures of the footballing kind were being satiated, although it was a not a joyride by any means. FC Barcelona hosted the new kids on the block, PSG and quite a lot of pundits, including me, assumed that the former would run away with the tie with tremendous ease considering that they were carrying with them the luxury of 2 away goals from the first leg. In fact, even the think-tank at FCB were mulling of sidelining the irreplaceable genius in Messi for the reverse leg. Such was the confidence of fans, analysts and the FCB training staff, especially after Barcelona’s epic comeback against Milan last month. However, any sensible aficionado of the sport would know that upsets and miracles have become misnomers as they transpire once too often in this pre-eminent competition. Just on the eve of this tie, we all witnessed a nerve-wracking encounter between Malaga and Borussia Dortmund, which had more twists and turns than a mountain railroad. Bottom-line is that, once we enter this business end of the competition, all teams will have to remember that smugness and overconfidence will take them far, all the way to their graveyards.
When Messi was substituted in the game against PSG, I, just like most avid followers of this great man, started tracking his recuperation and was elated to see him in the squad on the day of the match. Though I was supremely confident that FCB would pip their rivals to the post, there was always more than a shred of doubt in my mind about the scoreline and the fashion in which Barcelona would qualify for the next round. In the game against Mallorca during the weekend, the Catalans simply overpowered their opponents and with a first ever hat-trick from Cesc and a brace from the struggling Alexis, things were looking quite rosy for the club and I even believed that Messi would not be missed after all.
It was match-day and though I was disheartened at the sight of Messi sitting in the dugout, I still was uber-excited, ready to witness a galaxy of starts and footballing talent perform at the pinnacle of their powers. The game began in the most expected fashion, with Barcelona possessing and passing the ball with delightful ease, with even some early chances being squandered. PSG, unlike Milan, showed a lot of courage and counter-attacked with pace and purpose. Often, people get quite critical about Valdes and his gaffes, but the savior for Barcelona in the first half was undoubtedly the one wearing the gloves and guarding the goal post. The first half ended goalless, but PSG looked more convincing while FCB evidently missed their talisman on the pitch. It was almost as if that the Blaugrana had forgotten how to create those passes and plays that oozed poetic pulchritude. Messi was subject to some emotional stress as he could barely withhold his desire to come on to the pitch. Analysts and commentators started questioning the strengths and powers of this much vaunted footballing unit in the absence of Leo Messi.
Inevitable as it seemed, PSG opened their account with a delightful play between Pastore and Zlatan, and the Argentine finally raced past two defenders to slot the goal home. It barely took Tito a few seconds before he signaled Messi to get ready for an all- important substitution. The 96000 people in the Camp Nou began cheering as La Pulga warmed up on the sidelines. All of a sudden, the fear of elimination was overcome by this dose of belief and hope, and the decibel levels witnessed an enhancement. The school-boyish display of Fabregas was already forgotten by the crowd once he was replaced by the little genius. A few bursts of pace, a nutmeg, and he was off to a bright start already, and even the impossible started to look achievable. One could even see how the whole quality of passing and movement got uplifted, and in the 70th minute, Messi beat two defenders and made a deft pass with the outside of the left foot to Villa. The whole genius of the man became communicable like one ball-borne disease and Villa and Pedro combined to complete a stunning goal. Up until this moment, I could not even recollect a decent shot on goal, but it all changed with the introduction of the revered genius.
The moment the final whistle blew, arm-chair analysts started berating this great club and brought them down to earth with their caustic choice of words. Though I admit that Barcelona’s performance was quite pedestrian without Messi, I have always maintained that FCB pretty much plays this way, and in fact, one can even draw a resounding similarity between their style of play and that of the Spanish national team. Let us not take away any credit from the most successful footballing nation yet, but if one pays heed to the scorelines of all of Spain’s victories in Euro 2008, FIFA WC 2010 and Euro 2012, one can observe that barring a few victories against Russia in 2008 and Ireland in 2012, Spain has never beaten their opponents by huge margins. One victory that completely took me by surprise was the 4-0 hammering of Italy in Euro 2012 finals. La Roja won the Euro 2008 by defeating Germany 1-0. In the 2010 WC, they lost to Switzerland, but after that debacle, all their wins were by 1 goal margins. They defeated Portugal 1-0 in the 2nd round, then went on to beat Paraguay 1-0 to set up a semifinal clash with Germany. This round saw them defeating the Germans 1-0 again and they finally lifted the cup by beating Holland 1-0. This team has always believed more in possession and passing and they have enough patience and persistence to win matches, even if it be by just a solitary goal.
The Barcelona side is practically the same as Spain. The midfield and front-line of Barca is the same as Spain, but with the extra firepower of Leo Messi. This is precisely why Barcelona score tons of goals and win matches by ridiculous margins like 5-0, thanks to Leo whose goal tallies have beeen steadily rising from 34 to 47 to 53 to 73, over the last few years. Another noteworthy difference is that Barcelona fails to keep clean sheets like Spain, and this is because they lack the support of Casillas, Ramos, Alonso and Arbeloa. I guess what I am trying to drive at is that this Barcelona team is strong and a well-oiled machine just like Spain. They are going to dominate football for years to come, but when one man is taken off the pitch, they do look like lesser mortals. The most amazing aspect of Leo’s influence on the game today is simply beyond goals and assists. He possesses a soothing effect on his team-mates and a seething influence on his rivals, and even greats like Iniesta and Xavi, in spite of all their god-given talent, become bigger believers in magic and triumph when Leo is around.
Have you ever picked up a bicycle and struggled to drive it at the first instance? Every child growing up would have had the father push us from behind as we fall and get up continually, until one day when we start riding that machine like omnipotent gods. We always had it in us, but what made us believe that we could balance this bicycle was the trust that our fathers were holding on to the backseat, preventing us from ever falling. Little did we know that he had already taken his hand away from the bike. Leo Messi has the same indelible effect on this Barcelona team – invisible hands pushing the bicycle!
