The big event of my trip to Barcelona: Watching FC Barcelona, arguably the best team in the world, take on Málaga. I have been a soccer fan ever since my early childhood, playing it on an almost daily basis until college. I have always been one to play more than I watch; I have been to a handful of games (USA women’s World Cup Qualifiers, various SJ Earthquakes games, one game in Verona about a month ago) and rarely watch games on television, outside of the World Cup. I have always wanted to watch more soccer — both live (especially the Seattle Sounders) and on television — but I just haven’t. No real reason, I just haven’t done it. So getting to see a game in person that featured some of the best players not only in Spain but in the world? It was definitely exciting.
A Barcelona necessity.
I’ll spare you from an inordinate amount of details, but upon entering the stadium, it was immediately clear that I had never been in a soccer venue — or really and other kind of venue — quite like Camp Nou. It was big, spacious, yet close to the field, and the atmosphere was incredible, even with Barcelona having already clinched the league title.
While waiting for the game to start, Courtney asked me which positions I played in my soccer career, so I told her. She then mentioned that she liked playing goalie because she could “sit down a lot.” Seriously, that’s what she said.
She then went into detail about the one goal that she scored in her /entire life/. She attributes her one moment of of goal-scoring greatness to the coaching of her father, Tom Arrington. Early in her career, coach (and father) Arrington told her to “always play until the whistle blows.” Sure enough, Courtney’s glory came when everybody else on the pitch stopped playing, thinking there was a foul. But Courtney knew better. She played on, stopping only when the ball was in the back of the net. She then celebrated like this and this and this.
And then she retired. Years of hard work and dedication had propelled her to the top of her sport and, moments later, she was gone. Talk about going out on top…
As for the actual game I was supposed to blog about…
Barcelona scored in the 3rd minute, an easy finish for David Villa, one of the top players in Spain — and the world. Another goal came five minutes after — this time from Cesc Fabregas, another Spanish star — before a third was scored only 16 minutes in, giving Barca a 3-0 lead before Courtney could find any reason to act bored. (I kid, she actually thoroughly enjoyed the game, which tells you how well soccer is played overseas.) After a goal from one of Spain’s favorites– Andres Iniesta — Spain’s scoring ended, though it hardly mattered as Málaga could push only one goal across in the second half and looked outmatched in every facet of the game.
In fact, after the three early goals, Barcelona looked like they preferred toying with Málaga to actually scoring, daring the visiting team to offer up some kind of challenge. That never came, so Barcelona began trying to score with style (and almost did so multiple times), because what is the point of playing if you can’t crack SportsCenter’s “Top 10 Plays.”
Barcelona makes soccer look so simple, so fun, that you start thinking you can play like them with enough practice. The way they play together should be considered a form of art. It’s fascinating to watch, and it is not hard to see why soccer, when played like that, is loved everywhere overseas. For Barcelona, their possession of the ball went like this: one touch was preferred, two touches were accepted, and three touches were used only in dire situations. Passes were crisp, accurate, and confident, with almost every one being put in the best place for the receiver to succeed.
Simply put, Málaga was overmatched, and I now see that using Barcelona in FIFA 13 should never be allowed…they have too much talent and precision. It was easily the most exciting and fun game I have ever seen in person, and I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to see it. Maybe my parents will support a trip to Brazil next summer for the World Cup…
UofW 