We’re having mixed feelings about this match. On one hand, Barca were victorious, and we’ve won the UEFA Supercup: after also securing the Spanish Supercup, this marks the best cap-off to the splendorous yesterseason, as well as a great way to kick off the coming one; and just an all-around spirit-lifter for the team and fans.
On the other hand… the players’ performance was so mediocre, we were actually bored after just the first half. And after faithfully watching our boys for ninety tedious minutes of non-playing, it stretched out to an extra half hour of overtime after that… something just had to give. Thankfully, it did, with Pedro scoring a screamer with around six minutes left on the clock, to give Barca the win; and thank the good Lord for that!
Before we continue, can we just pause a moment? There’s an issue of utmost importance to be addressed: what in the name of all that’s red and blue has Gerard Pique done to his hair? We’re horrified. Mortified. Petrified. That beautiful, beautiful hair of his – how does he have the heart to shave it off? What was he thinking? Can he actually be liking this new look of his? We don’t know how to take it; all we do know is that we won’t rest easy until he’s sporting 2-3 inches of those gorgeous locks of his again. And as long as we’re on the subject, Victor Valdes ought grow his hair back already, as well.
There, now that that’s off our chest, back to the match: for all the stats showing that Barca had about 75% possession and completed 733 passes to Shakhtar's 321, you’d think something, like oh say, a goal or two, might have come out of it. But no, all the players really did was pass around in midfield, keeping the ball, but not making much use of it. They attacked some, yes, but shooting was badly off, and the players just couldn’t seem to find a way through or around Shakhtar’s keeper and defense.
We’ve faced this team twice before, less than year ago, and we know from experience that they are extremely defensive. Barca should have been prepared for that, and Shakhtar should have been easier to handle, especially given that they no longer have Brandao, the defender that gave us the most trouble last time around. Sadly, this was not the case; Shakhtar’s defense and especially that keeper, Pyatov, who is really getting on our nerves, were as solid as ever. Facing them, our attack just fumbled.
Henry was inexcusably slow. He seems to be still shaking off the effects of summer vacation and hasn’t yet found his usual pace on the pitch; something he needs to do soon. We’ll have to wait and see.
Ibrahimovic was visibly eager to score, perhaps too much. He was acting too hastily at times, altogether not very calculated; he needs to stop feeling so pressured to score, and just go with the flow and play team football.
There was good performance from a few of the lads… Leo Messi rocking a new pair of
customized boots, as well as Bojan and Pedro when they came on were all pretty energetic on the whole, and we’re pretty pleased with them. We’re just glad that Pedro scored (props to Messi for setting the goal up so beautifully) and the thing didn’t go on to penalties – we can’t remember the last time Barca was involved in a penalty shoot-out, and we’re not to sure how we’d feel about one. After all, Leo is only allowed to take one shot.
But when all’s said and done, it was awesome seeing the boys lift yet another cup and celebrate yet another victory amidst flag-waving, champagne-spraying and a blizzard of confetti. That’s a sight we welcome under any circumstances, especially with injured lads Andres Iniesta and Rafael Marquez, who’d been watching from the stands, joining in the fun – how incredibly hot is Rafa looking? So we’ll let go of the boys’ mediocrity in this match and just enjoy the triumph, and hope things will be better next time.
Dmytro Chygrynskiy is officially of Barca! He started out by taking the physical this morning (pictures here), then stopped by the squad's training to say hello to the players, joining them in the dressing room and on the pitch. Afterwards he continued on to the club's offices with his brother and agent, Victor, to sign his contract until 2014.
