Saturday, 3pm

[Barcelona]

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3168640
 
 Real Madrid vs. Barcelona is more than just a game - it's history
 
 Paul Cannon / FOX Sports World
 
 
 'Just hearing the name Real Madrid makes me want to vomit...'
 
 So said ex-Barcelona forward and full-time grump, Hristo Stoichkov. Such a comment is not just an isolated gripe by a player with a grudge. It is the nature of the relationship between Spain's two most celebrated football clubs.
 
 When Real Madrid's players walk out onto the Nou Camp's hallowed turf in front of 90,000 fans on Saturday night they will be entering the realm of history. The memories of past incidents and the ghosts of legendary players haunt this one like no other game.
 
 On one side there is royal Madrid, forever associated with the regime of Generalissimo Franco, and on the other is Futbol Club Barcelona, a symbol of Catalan autonomy.
 
 The 68 years since Franco assumed power of Spain have seen such tumultuous contests between the two teams that the tie has established itself as the classic game in Europe.
 
 Barcelona players to have graced the derby include 'Lobsterman' Pepe Samitier, the local striker who scored 326 goals in the golden age of the 1920s and was immortalized in the tangos of Carlos Gardel — Ladislao Kubala, the mythical hard-drinking Hungarian target-man of the '50s who distributed his earnings like confetti among the bars of Barcelona — and Johan Cruyff, the Dutchman who brought 'Total football' and an inferno of cigarette smoke (he smoked 40 a day) to Catalunya in the 1970s.
 
 Then came Diego Maradona, one-man cocaine industry and possibly the world's greatest ever player, for a fleeting visit in the '80s. Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov, Romario and 'Pep' Guardiola under the stewardship of Cruyff, formed the so-called 'Dream Team' of the 1990s which was involved in some memorable tussles.
 
 For the merenges of Madrid, an Argentine called Alfredo Di Stefano inspired five title triumphs in five years during the '50s and '60s and was a great scourge of Barcelona, not least because they had hoped to buy him, but were checked by some dodgy dealings. Ferenc Puskas, 'the magical Magyar' of the '60s — Emilio Butragueno, 'the vulture' who terrorised La Liga in the '80s — and Hugo Sanchez, the acrobatic Aztec of the nineties side. Each of these men strode onto this, the ultimate stage in Spanish football and secured a place in legend with their sublime, timeless skill.
 
 And from 1936 to 1975 there was of course, Franco, who in his brutal subjugation of the Catalan region and outlawing of the Catalan language, developed a deep suspicion for the Barcelona club, which was viewed as anti-Spain.
 
 Over the years of Franco's rule, FC Barcelona developed a justified paranoia that referees and league officials were against the club. Farcical decisions and exaggerated bans and fines against Barca were as common as condiments in a curry. Meanwhile Real Madrid's players unfairly had to carry the burden of being political representatives of the regime which favored it.
 
 These political and cultural differences caused mayhem at matches. During one match in 1970, Barcelona fans became so incensed by the referee's performance they threw 25,000 seats onto the field. In another game, a Fascist troop attempted to arrest the Barcelona groundsman, Angel Mur, on grounds of being a communist. And more recently there was the notorious tossing of a pig's head onto the field at the feet of Luis Figo, who had betrayed Barca to sign for Real. Figo politely declined, having already eaten his dinner.
 
 So to Saturday's game and possibly one of the most outrageous collections of talent seen on Mediterranean shores since the days of Homer. Zidane, whose attacking skills would have made FC Troy quake in their boots, Roberto Carlos, a man to make the Trojan wall part with his explosive left foot, Ronaldo racing forward at top speed into the Trojan defense, with the diminutive warrior Owen awaiting his turn, concealed in the horse. Or maybe not.
 
 Nevertheless, how Madrid had torn Albacete apart on Sunday night! Ronaldo broke forward on the Alba defense again and again like a relentless tide. Gradually Albacete eroded and Madrid hit six. Ronaldo plundered two, Raul, Zidane, Samuel and Owen, one each.
 
 Zidane pulled the strings in midfield, leaving opponents with little more to do than stamp on his shadow in frustration. In one moment the ball was played out a few yards behind him on the wing. Without slowing his pace he trailed his right foot behind and flicked the ball ahead and into obedience of his rhythm. What a player — right up there with Kubala, Di Stefano, Cruyff and Maradona.
 
 Equally worth a place among the greats is Ronaldinho. The absurdly smiley Brazilian would have had serious problems had he been faced by Kevin Dillon's character in 'Platoon.' 'What are you smiling at? Huh? Stop smiling goddamit!'
 
 Fortunately though, the good-natured South American is not an extra in a Vietnam movie. He is one of the greatest soccer players in the world, capable of a single moment of genius to rescue any game. On Sunday he almost, almost, saved a point from the wreckage of Barca's visit to Real Betis. With the score at 2-1 in favor of Betis, Ronaldinho plucked a harmless ball out of the air guided it between two defenders and performed a mesmeric series of twists and dummies before squeezing a shot just beyond the post. The score remained the same and Barca lost their first game of the season.
 
 The opposing fortunes of the two clubs in last weekend's games makes for an ever better clasico, now that only four points separates them. A Barcelona win and seven points will separate them. A Madrid victory will narrow the gap to one point.
 
 As Spain gears itself up for the game, everyone has their own opinions about the outcome. I've only got room for one here, but it's from Johan Cruyff:
 
 'If Barcelona plays as it has done against Milan and Deportivo (La Coruna), if it can impose the same fast-paced football, then Madrid will have to play it's best game of the season to come out of the Nou Camp alive.'
 
 Amazingly, as many as 15,000,000 Spaniards could lose the chance to watch the game due to a dispute between broadcasting firms FORTA and TVE. One region which will definitely get to see the game is Catalunya, whose local channel TV 3 will be showing it live.
 
 Whoever watches it will be on the edge of their seat. Football doesn't get much more glamorous, or political, than this. Enjoy.

[vansmack]

Normally, Barca, I wouldn't miss this match, but after what I saw and heard during yesterdays friendly against England was anythign but friendly.  I will not be watching Spanish football anytime soon.
 
 
 FIFA urged to clamp down on racists
 
 FIFA today came under increasing pressure to force match officials to take action when players are targeted by racist abuse following last night's shameful scenes in Madrid.
 
   <img src="http://www.soccernet.com/images/jb2/aragones_mh250.jpg" alt=" - " />
 
 Complaints about the behaviour of a section of fans towards England's black players have been submitted to football's world governing body, and the Spanish football federation can expect some punishment for the racist chanting.
 
 Sports minister Richard Caborn has written to FIFA demanding action and he also believes that match officials should to be told to abandon games where there is racist abuse.
 
 Caborn said: 'FIFA and UEFA have consider what to do about this. Perhaps the fourth official should have the power to speak to the people running the match and order them to issue a warning over the public address system.
 
 'It would in effect be a yellow card and if the abuse continues then the officials should take the players off and abandon the match.
 
 'There is a danger that if a team is losing then their fans could try to get the match called off, and that needs to be considered. But it might work if the match was then awarded to the team whose players had suffered the abuse.
 
 'It would be up to the match officials to make that judgement.'
 
 There are precedents for such action. In Holland earlier this season, referee Rene Temmink stopped the match between ADO Den Haag and PSV Eindhoven 10 minutes from time after claiming he was insulted by anti-Semitic chants aimed at him.
 
 FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said: 'It has happened in Holland in the past few weeks and it is something that is the prerogative of match officials.
 
 'Clearly if that had happened [in Madrid] then we would have abided by that.'
 
 Players' chief Gordon Taylor said the FA should have taken that action themselves.
 
 'We have to say 'enough is enough' and to set an example,' said Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association.
 
 'It's about human dignity. These were my members that were being humiliated. The message should have come down from the FA directors, to say we will take responsibility for this and take them off.
 
 'We should have set an example last night in that the game is more important than winning or losing.'
 
 Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips were both targeted by continual monkey noises every time they were in possession.
 
 Large sections of the 55,000 spectators in the Bernabeu stadium also sang 'If you're not a ******* black jump up and down' at regular intervals.
 
 Despite this behaviour, it has been largely ignored by the Spanish federation and media, who have blamed the English press for making an issue of an incident last month when Spanish coach Luis Aragones described Thierry Henry as 'a black s***' in order to provoke his clubmate Jose Reyes.
 
 The Spanish Federation's press officer Fernando Garrido said to English reporters after last night's match: 'Were there racist chants against some players? This hasn't happened in the Spanish league and Spain for many years. You should ask yourselves what you have done to contribute to all this.'
 
 That will be little defence if FIFA bring charges however as there was also virulent abuse towards black players in the England Under-21 team on Tuesday night.
 
 Aston Villa striker Carlton Cole was one of those targeted then and he said even young children were joining in with the abuse.
 
 Cole, who is on loan from Chelsea, said: 'It's unbelievable that it's still going on and even the little kids were doing it. It was going around the whole stadium.
 
 'I tried not to take it to heart and just concentrated on my game. There's not much we can do and it's up to the Spanish FA. They really have to start taking racism seriously
 
 'I don't know what's going on with Spanish football at the moment and they need to put a plug in it.
 
 'If they carry on the way they are they'll be seen as a racist nation and they surely don't want that. Football's very big over there and they don't want to be seen as racists.'

[Barcelona]

I am lost in the middle of Bolivia and have a pretty bad connection right now, so I can't write for too long. Spain (not sure about Greece, Portugal, and Ireland, so maybe tied with these countries) is the least racist country in Europe. Actually, we can start naming lots of far-right wing parties in Germany, Italy, France, Austria, England, Belgium, or even the Netherlands. However, I doubt that the few far-right parties in Spain get more than 10,000 votes. I don't follow the games of Spain, so I didn't see that game, but I think it was more of a reaction to all the paranoia of the British press with Aragones' comments regarding Henry a couple of months ago than anything else, hadn't the British press talked so much about this incident, nothing would have happened in Madrid, I believe. I am not defending the public for acting like that, I think it is terrible and something needs to be done (closing the Bernabeu stadium for national games and a huge fine for the Spanish federation so that they prevent this in the future), but stop watching Spanish soccer for this is too much, again, Spain is among the least racist countries in Europe. Also, one of Aragones' best friends is Etoo, the Barcelona player from Cameroon. The way Aragones referred to Henry was a big mistake (should he resign? I don't think so, he is not racist), but he is not racist, it is the way Spanish people talk, 2 out 3 words are insults and 95% of the time there is no bad intention. Anyway, I don't have much time. I understand and agree with people's anger over what happened in Madrid on Wednesday, but we can't extrapolate and say that Spain is a racist country. There are lots of black players in Spain and all of them are respected everywhere in Spain. Anyway, we shouldn't generalize.

[vansmack]

I agree that Aragones statement, while ill-conceived and of poor taste, was meant to motivate his player and not to degrade Thierry Henry.  But it's 2004, and comments involving race like calling someone "a black shit" are simply no longer tolerated.  He is a coach of high stature and look at the impact his comment had on his fans.  They are directly related, no matter what his intention was.
 
 But it is twice as ignorant for the Spanish football Federation to tell the English FA that it was their press coverage of the incident that caused the Spanish fans to chant racially abusive chants at an under-21 game, let alone a friendly of the national team.  
 
 Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips were both targeted by continual monkey noises every time they were in possession.
 
 Large sections of the 55,000 spectators in the Bernabeu stadium also sang 'If you're not a ******* black jump up and down' at regular intervals.
 
 Arguing that Spain isn't as racist as other countries in Europe is a deflection and not entirely on point.  This happened in Spain, in a friendly match no less, and to say that "that's the way things are in Spain," but that there were no bad intentions is just simply wrong.  It's not acceptable, no matter how you look at it, and they were preconceived, as the English press has pointed out.  That's all they pointed out over the past two months to let FIFA know that this has been the status quo in Spanish Football for years and they're no longer going to tolerate it.
 
 I would have walked off the pitch.  It was humiliating for these players and was broadcast on international television.  They did nothing to deserve that.

[Barcelona]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  I agree that Aragones statement, while ill-conceived and of poor taste, was meant to motivate his player and not to degrade Thierry Henry.  But it's 2004, and comments involving race like calling someone "a black shit" are simply no longer tolerated.  He is a coach of high stature and look at the impact his comment had on his fans.  They are directly related, no matter what his intention was.
 
 But it is twice as ignorant for the Spanish football Federation to tell the English FA that it was their press coverage of the incident that caused the Spanish fans to chant racially abusive chants at an under-21 game, let alone a friendly of the national team.  
 
 Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips were both targeted by continual monkey noises every time they were in possession.
 
 Large sections of the 55,000 spectators in the Bernabeu stadium also sang 'If you're not a ******* black jump up and down' at regular intervals.
 
 Arguing that Spain isn't as racist as other countries in Europe is a deflection and not entirely on point.  This happened in Spain, in a friendly match no less, and to say that "that's the way things are in Spain," but that there were no bad intentions is just simply wrong.  It's not acceptable, no matter how you look at it, and they were preconceived, as the English press has pointed out.  That's all they pointed out over the past two months to let FIFA know that this has been the status quo in Spanish Football for years and they're no longer going to tolerate it.
 
 I would have walked off the pitch.  It was humiliating for these players and was broadcast on international television.  They did nothing to deserve that.

I didn't see the game and had only read some headlines in the Spanish press. I just talked to some relatives in Spain and they told me that it was not just a minority in the stadium, but as you point out, large sections of the Bernabeu stadium. Apparently, it might even affect the chances of Madrid of getting the 2012 Olympic Games, I guess it was much worse than what I thought (I am in a small town by Lake Titikaka with no tv and one internet cafe). Seeing how bad it was, I guess forbidding Madrid to have games of the national team would be a fair fine, also a huge fine for the Spanish federation seems necessary. Also, for what they were telling me in Spain, Aragones, rather than apologizing, has been defending evrything he said and accusing Britain of racism, that is just bad, if the guy can¡t apologize, then maybe he should just resign.
 
 My comment "that's the way things are in Spain" was not to defend what happened in the stadium, but to explain that what Aragones said is something common in Spain (although I should add that it is not justified and that most of the insults don't have racial connotations, although there are a few ones used in Spain that still do).
 
 Anyway, in some way, I am sort of glad that people are going to look Real Madrid differently (the game was played there and most of the fans there were Real Madrid fans). As the article in my first post mentions, Real Madrid is a team that was helped by the dictatorship (and also very probably by the right wing government in the late nineties when they had the largest debt in soccer).

[Barcelona]

Vansmarck, UEFA is investigating whether Chelsea employees called Barcelona's Etoo a "monkey" after the game. Now Frisk is retiring because of death threats (this BBC article doesn't go into details, but some papers are talking about death threats received from Chelsea fans). If Etoo's thing is true, I expect you to stop watching english football as well. Unfortunately, racism is present in every single european country, so you shouldn´t stop watching spanish football for what happened with Aragones. Most people in Spain think he should get a bigger fine than what he got. Lots of people even think he should stop coaching the national team.
 
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/4342901.stm
 
 Referee Frisk is to quit football  
 
 Frisk has reportedly been subjected to personal threats
 Swedish referee Anders Frisk will retire from football with immediate effect after threats aimed at him and his family, according to reports.
 Chairman of Sweden's football referees' association, Bo Karlsson, confirmed the news to Swedish agency TT on Friday.
 
 "I won't go into details. Anders will have to talk about that. But the threats were serious," said Karlsson.
 
 The 42-year-old refereed Barcelona's controversial 2-1 first-leg Champions League win over Chelsea in February.
 
 Blues boss Jose Mourinho said his Barcelona counterpart Frank Rijkaard talked with Frisk in the referee's changing room at halftime.
 
 The London club was also unhappy when Frisk sent off striker Didier Drogba in the second half.
 
 "None of the decisions Anders made during that match were wrong," Karlsson said.
 
 Frisk was also involved in an ugly incident in September when he was struck on the head by an object thrown from the crowd at Roma's Olympic Stadium during a Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev.
 
 The Swedish referee abandoned the game, saying Roma could not guarantee the safety of the officials.
 
 Frisk had been scheduled to referee the World Cup qualifying match between Estonia and Slovakia in Tallinn on 26 March.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Barcelona:
  Vansmarck, UEFA is investigating whether Chelsea employees called Barcelona's Etoo a "monkey" after the game....If Etoo's thing is true, I expect you to stop watching english football as well.  

I'm sure there is no coincidence between this incident and Chelski being taken over by a Russain and hiring a Portuguese manager and his staff.  Mourhino and Aragone are one and the same as far as I am concerned.  
 
 The whole scuffle was started by Chelski scout Andre Villas blowing kisses at Rijkaard after the match.  No word on whether or not he was the one who is accused of the racist comment, but I guess we'll no when Barca lodge an official complaint.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Andre Villas was hold born in
 England.
 
   

Rijkaard said: "Some guy came forward and insulted our bench and I don't want to say what I think of him. I am always bitter when I lose and I am even more bitter because of all the lies they (Chelsea) told before this game."  

Nonetheless, there is a HUGE difference between one or two Chelski officials and THOUSANDS of Spanish football fans.  Their display in the friendly against England in no way compares to what the Chelski officials are accused of.  What the Dutch fans did was disgraceful as well.  At least the English press (unlike the Spanish press) has hammered Chelsea and Mourinho for their classless display against Barca and Frisk.  The FA has not come to the defense of charges UEFA has made against Mourinho - they're embarrassed by him.  And so am I.  The Spanish Association on the other hand, defended the coach and then its fans and did nothing until UEFA stepped in.
 
 The Frisk situation is a sad one.  UEFA had to see this coming.  He was quick to point out that not all of the threats came from England.  Let's see, Russain owner, an uncontrolled crime syndicate in his hometown - whom do you think Frisk is talking about?  Who do you think poses the greater threat to Frisk?  Mourinho is to blame too for not letting his hatred of Frisk go after pleading from the FA and UEFA to shut the hell up.  
 
 If it makes you feel better, I was rooting heavily for Barca against Chelski and I stopped watching Chelski premiereship games some time ago as well.  I find their brand of soccer bland and boring and Mourinho a disgrace to the game.  His ego is running wild and needs to be checked.

[ChampionshipVinyl]

England Tour America
 
 Has anyone heard anything more about this?

[Barcelona]

Vansmarck, I agree with you that you cannot compare the situation in Madrid (where some thousands used racist comments against english players and what is even worst, where the spanish federeation defended and still defends the coach) and the one in London, where only one person apparently used racist comments against Etoo. I was trying to make the point that there is racism everywhere in the world and that I am pretty positive that Barcelona and most other places in Spain are far less racist than Madrid, won't get into why I think this, it would take too long and I have to work. Anyway, this is an article on Mourinho and UEFA.
 
 http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpYnF0a2UxBF9TAzk1ODYzNTkwBHNlYwN0bQ--?slug=reu-chelsea&prov=reuters&type=lgns
 
 Furious UEFA accuses Mourinho and Chelsea
 
 By Clare Lovell
 
 LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Chelsea, their manager Jose Mourinho and two other staff, effectively accusing the English Premier League leaders of lying.
 
 In an unusually strongly-worded statement outlining its charges, European soccer's governing body said on Monday that Chelsea had made false declarations and "deliberately created a poisoned and negative ambience".
 
 Also cited in the charges, which will be dealt with by UEFA's disciplinary commission on March 31, were assistant manager Steve Clarke and club security official Les Miles.
 
 UEFA spokesman William Gaillard said Mourinho and his staff could face a fine or suspension from the game "exactly the same as a player would incur". Chelsea play Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals in April.
 
 The charges of bringing the game into disrepute follow the first leg of the Champions League knockout round in Barcelona last month when the Spanish side beat Chelsea 2-1.
 
 Chelsea had accused referee Anders Frisk and Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard of meeting in a dressing room at halftime during the Nou Camp match, suggesting an attempt was made to influence the game.
 
 Chelsea were leading 1-0 at the time and Mourinho sent his side out late for the second half.
 
 Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was sent off after a second yellow card early in the second half and the Portuguese manager refused to attend the mandatory post-match news conference.
 
 "By further disseminating these wrong and unfounded statements, Chelsea FC allowed its technical staff to deliberately create a poisoned and negative ambience amongst the teams and to put pressure on the refereeing officials."
 
 FRISK QUITS
 
 Frisk quit refereeing 10 days ago after he said he received death threats from fans. Gaillard said UEFA was not accusing Chelsea of forcing Frisk's retirement.
 
 "Our assessment is that the situation that was generated by the Barcelona incident was quite grave for the future of football," Gaillard said.
 
 He said that from where Clarke and Miles were sitting they could not have seen the door to the room where the alleged meeting between Frisk and Rijkaard took place.
 
 Mourinho had compounded the falsehood, Gaillard said, by writing in a Portuguese newspaper that he had personally also witnessed the alleged meeting.
 
 Later on Monday, Chelsea said they had received the UEFA charge and were reviewing their position before responding.
 
 Frisk's sudden retirement shocked UEFA. A war of words ensued with UEFA referees' chief Volker Roth describing Mourinho as an enemy of football and FIFA president Sepp Blatter also weighing into the debate.
 
 The outspoken Chelsea manager countered with a threat to sue Roth. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon spent most of last week trying to build bridges with UEFA.
 
 Earlier this month Mourinho was fined 5,000 pounds ($9,500) for comments he made after the League Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester United.
 
 During the final against Liverpool he was asked to leave the dugout after making provocative gestures to Liverpool fans.
 
 As Chelsea head for their first league title since 1955, Mourinho has stepped out of the limelight, avoiding pre- and post-match news conferences since the Barcelona return match which his side won won 4-2 to qualify for the quarter-finals.
 
 Kenyon's diplomatic efforts appeared to have succeeded after the Champions League draw last Friday when he had friendly meetings with UEFA officials.
 
 Chelsea sources said last week they expected nothing more serious from UEFA than a fine for failing to turn up for the Nou Camp news conference.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Barcelona:
   most other places in Spain are far less racist than Madrid,  

Can't disagree with you there.  They've turned on their own:
 
 
 FIFA Vows to End Racism at Soccer Stadiums
 
 Associated Press
 Monday, March 21, 2005; 11:56 AM
 
 ZURICH, Switzerland -- The president of soccer's governing body stressed Monday that racism must be eliminated at stadiums, his comments coming one day after Real Madrid star Ronaldo threw a water bottle at fans for insulting him and his mother.
 
 "Fighting this scourge is one of our most important tasks," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in a statement. "Whether associations, teams or players at each and every level, we all have a duty to ensure that our conduct does not lead to anybody being marginalized."
 
 Ronaldo was replaced in the 85th minute of Sunday's 1-0 home victory over Malaga in the Spanish league. He was putting on his jacket when a piece of gum was spit at him and fans yelled racist remarks.
 
 "They insulted me and my mother and I had a bad reaction," the Brazilian star said.
 
 Many Madrid fans jeered the players, upset that one of the world's most glamorous teams most likely will end the season without a trophy for the second straight year. Madrid trails Barcelona by 11 points with nine games left.
 
 There has been an upsurge in racist conduct by Spanish fans this season.
 
 Last month, a referee stopped a game between Malaga and Espanyol because fans were taunting Espanyol's Cameroon goalkeeper Carlos Kameni. Also, Spain coach Luis Aragones was fined this month for a comment about Arsenal star Thierry Henry and an outburst regarding Britain's colonial past.
 
 FIFA this month formed a group of leading players and coaches to raise the profile of its fight against racism across Europe. Blatter said racist actions are prohibited by FIFA and punishable by suspension or expulsion.
 
 "Football has to set an example for others to follow," Blatter said.
 
 
 © 2005 The Associated Press