Champions!

This weekend marked the end of European football for this season. These were the champions of the major leagues:





Even though there are no more club games, soccer fans have the World Cup and transfers coming up. The first major confirmed transfer is David Villa for Barcelona. The team needs a striker after Ibrahimovic's poor season at the Camp Nou. There are many rumors for Fabregas, who said he is ready to return to Barcelona. Real Madrid are likely to hire Jose Mourinho. Transfer rumors include: Carlos Tevez, David Silva, and Maicon. In England, Manchester United and Arsenal want to spend the least amount of money possible. Manchester City and Chelsea are looking to sign many players, but there are no solid rumors yet.

I will be writing about the World Cup shortly, but today Spain's manager Vicente del Bosque announced his final 23-man squad. Spain are the World Cup favorites because of Euro 2008 and the squad. Here is the final list:

Goal Keepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), José Manuel Reina (Liverpool), Víctor Valdés (Barcelona).

Defense: Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), Raúl Albiol (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Álvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Carlos Marchena (Valencia).

Midfield: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi Hernández (Barcelona), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fábregas (Arsenal), Javi Martínez (Athletic).

Strikers: Jesús Navas (Sevilla), David Silva (Valencia), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Barcelona), Pedro Rodríguez (Barcelona), Fernando Llorente (Athletic).

Saint Messi

If you pull open the drawer of any hotel table, you will find a copy of the Bible. If you open to the index, you will find many devoted saints. You will find many, but not all. The most recent saint that has been performing miracles in recent years is Lionel Andres Messi. The young Argentine superstar is out of this world, and has shown to be talented enough to make the Bible at least a page longer. All over the world, the media can't stop acclaiming the recently baptized "Saint Messi". Forget about walking on water, what Messi does with a ball makes me wonder if he is God's second son. Behind his boyish face, there is a player filled with talent that spills from his left foot. It's not only talent that has paralyzed this world, but the character makes Messi even more unique.

Messi comes from a financially challenged family in the poorest part of Rosario, Argentina. What follows it thought to only happen in movies. At the age of twelve, his entire family was taken to Barcelona, so Messi could play in one of the greatest clubs in history, F.C. Barcelona. With the smell of old food around him, Messi signed his first contract on a napkin in the club's cafeteria. The club would finance the treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. What Messi was worth back then is not even a fraction to what another team would have to pay for his services. As time passed, Messi grew. He was taller, but there is no ruler to measure his growth as a player. What followed were record breaking seasons. Youngest player to play in Spain, youngest player to score, and youngest player to make you beg for more. In the 2006-2007 season, Messi exploded as a player. At the age of twenty, he was doing what no other veteran of the sport was able to do. This was only the beginning. Each year Messi was playing better. Maradona even called him his “successor”. Experts have tried to explain Messi’s in his early years, but words fail to complete the task. Successful? Talented? Out of this world? Not even close.

A hat-trick in the Santiago Bernabeu against archrivals Real Madrid, showed that Messi was a key piece to Barcelona’s squad. After Ronaldinho left Barcelona, Messi’s modern career started. He had the honor to carry the legendary number 10 on his back. Soccer history’s legends all wore number 10; just Pele and Maradona. Messi proved during the 2008-2009 season that he could be considered one of the greatest players in history. He wrote his name in capital letters for the history books to tell. Every minute he played was a spectacular show. He slid past players with ease; he dribbled with grace, and took shots with more power than a bolt of lightning. Even though last year was the best season Barcelona has ever had, Messi has been playing even better this season. How Messi could improve as a player is a secret that keeps God thinking all night. He not only has his numbers to prove his talent, but watching Messi play is entertainment at its peak. With the World Cup coming up next month, and Messi playing like a biblical figure; Argentina can cruise to a third World Cup. And there is no doubt that Messi can give Argentina many World Cups considering his young age and talent.

Lionel Messi has been performing miracles that go beyond turning water into wine. Goal after goal; match after match; Messi has a smile on his face. He is a boy that can do the impossible with his sacred left foot. Being role model for many, Messi has never been involved in scandals of any sort. With the Argentinean media calling him “God dressed as a soccer player”, the Bible can make room for one more saint. I don’t know the criteria for a saint very well, but what more can we ask from this young all-star?

World Cup

I think that the most superb event is the FIFA World Cup. Every four years there is a World Cup. Every four years, most of the planet forgets about their lives to focus on the World Cup. The World Cup is soccer’s biggest event, which is the sport that is played the most throughout the world. It is very special because it is a tournament played by nations, not clubs. So everyone can forget their club shirt, and join every countryman around them, to support their national team. Every single match is exciting, from the start qualifiers to the last whistle in the final. Millions of people travel to the World Cup, and many more watch it from the comfort of their homes. Not only is it superb because of the sport that is played, it is also amazing because of the way it is organized. These matches are more exciting because every single match is very important, because there are very few games played. Most countries lose in the early stages, but having played at least three games against the world’s best nations is a unique experience.

Why is Barcelona not the same as last year?

Every single person that has been watching La Liga BBVA lately has been asking themselves, why is Barcelona not the same as last year? The team has the same players except for Ibrahimovic who was very successful in Italy. They have about the same number of points they had last year in this point of the tournament. They share first place with Real Madrid, but the people are not convinced, and there are many explanations for what is happening.

Barcelona won every single tournament it competed in. The team had a beautiful passing game, and everyone will agree they were the best team last year. This is one of the reasons why Barcelona can't play like last year. Every single team they play against is very well prepared and cautious. Teams that play against Barcelona prepare harder this year than they did last year. Now that they know what Barcelona does, and how they do it; other teams are able to plan well, and play better. The perfect example is this weekend's match against Almeria which ended in a 2-2 draw that cost Barcelona the top spot. Almeria played very defensive, with fast players that could counter-attack. While Barcelona had the most possession and opportunities, Almeria defended very well, and took advantage of their counter-attack opportunities. Basically, teams are more prepared and play better against Barcelona, like Atletico Madrid who beat the Blaugranas 2-1.

Apart from the other teams damaging Barcelona's game, there is a noticeable difference in the squad. The defense has been having problems with constant injuries. Dani Alves and now Abidal, have made the wings vulnerable to counter-attacks. In the midfield, Keita has been injured for a long time and Busquetes isn't the same. While Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi are still playing very well, there are two key players who made a huge difference last year; Henry and Eto'o. More than half of Barcelona's goals last year came from Henry, Eto'o, and Messi. Barcelona lost two of three. Eto was swapped for Ibrahimovic who has been having problems adjusting to the squad. Henry is aging, and his game has been dwindling. He hasn't made many appearances or goals this season. Barcelona needs to recover these players or replace them in the next transfer season. Pedro has been a strong replacement for Henry, but there will never be a player like the Frenchman.

Another reason Barcelona is not the same as last year is because Barcelona is Barcelona. I know it sounds confusing, but it's true. Because of the team's achievements, everyone is expecting great things from them. If Barcelona wins 2-0, the team played horribly. Since everyone expects that Barcelona will win each match by more than three goals, many wins aren't appreciated. The team might also seem to be playing worse because of the league table. This year they have only one point less than what they had last year. The difference is Real Madrid have been having an extraordinary season. Since Barcelona aren't dominating La Liga, people think they are playing very bad. Even though the team isn't play like last year, the team is still one of the best. They have only lost one league game in the entire season. They are in the second round of the UEFA Champion's League. The team can definitely win La Liga and Champion's League. The squad problems can easily be solved in the transfer season, with numerous rumors for Fabregas, Villa and Rooney. After what Barca did last year, how can anyone expect them to it all again the next year?