Month: August 2022

FC Barcelona is a mess. Fiscal shenanigans, players it can’t register, a looming FFP investigation, debt out the wazoo. But for a night, for one beautiful night, everything was gone except football and humanity, and it was amazing. Barça and Manchester City squared off in a friendly, a make-up match for the one postponed due… Continue reading ‘Mes que,’ at least for a night

Individual brilliance is a wonderful thing. Barça and the narrative around the club is that team football, intricate passing and movements that create lovely goals are the desired effect. Wins that are a consequence of individual brilliance are fine, but not ideal. Yet even those great Guardiola teams were absolutely stuffed with individual brilliance. The… Continue reading Real Sociedad 1, Barça 4, aka ‘The Fati Show’

Situation: You have a job. Your boss just bought a Ferrari, a posh new condominum and some new custom suits. He walks over to you, shooting the French cuffs on his perfectly fitted shirt, and says: “So, we’re having some difficulties. I know you’ve been overworked lately, and we need to hire someone to help… Continue reading FC Barcelona is a mess

Gulp. In thinking of a single-word depiction of feelings entering this new football season that kicks off Saturday against Rayo Vallecano, that simple word comes to mind. Apprehension, nervousness, risk and excitement exist in equal measures as Barça laces up the boots for real this time. We know about the levers, so many levers, all… Continue reading Season preview, aka ‘All the levers for all the marbles’

Barcelona is a city of high art and higher aspirations. From the Dalí’s surrealism to the curved windows of Casa Batlló, there is an adherence to transcendent artistic expression, physical beauty, and a sense of timeless grandeur while in the towering spires of La Sagrada Familia, there remains the push to become ever more, reach… Continue reading The Rebirth of Laportisme

Riqui Puig was magic. People who followed Masia talents spoke of him in the hushed tones that accompany unbelievable things. His talent was otherworldly, grace and skill on the ball, the ability to drive a team’s attack to good things. Watching him with Barça B certainly presaged a great future. They were a different team… Continue reading The cautionary tale of Riqui Puig

The new pre-season sport is speculating about the finances of FC Barcelona. There are endless arguments, pooh-poohing of other people, even those not named Winnie. Lines are drawn, battlements mounted and at the end of it all, the essential reality is that everybody is right. Why? Because nobody knows the truth. Well, except Laporta and… Continue reading Barcelona, finances and everybody’s right