Hmmmm, i have to disagree slightly. FCB and RM are both sides of the same coin: enormous, big histories, huge support, devour the majority of the tv rights from La Liga making it evermore uncompetitive and neither are true businesses - at least if we consider the debt they carry. I came to Spain as a neutral and in fact went to the Bernabeu 2 days after my arrival in Madid for a cup match with an entirely open mind and without prejudice....now several years later, the lesser of the two evils by any measurement is FCB. RM are tedious beyond belief. This week apart, this present FCB team and squad are the best I've seen at any time and i'd like to know of what team has ever played with style in the modern era. Their squad has been in large part developed from their youth teams and surely that is the aim of all clubs? RM on the other hand dominate EVERYTHING in Spain, you'll find more coverage regarding them on the main news (i.e. equivalent of BBC1) than you'll find on e.g. Syria, Afghanistan, you name it. Their fans are wildly disloyal and expect Harlem Globetrotter levels of performance and see conspiracies everywhere when a team has the temerity to put it up to them and shock horror beat them. The atmosphere in both grounds is usually pitiful - but that's more due to their being all seating - and if anything you'll find that in the Bernabeu the fans will quite often start whistling or booing at half time if they have not scored. The common charge that RM were "Franco's XI" is not strictly true as other teams won just as much domestically - although di Stefano mysteriously went to Madrid and not Barcelona... - but it's a charge often levelled due to their main competition at the time being Athletic Bilbao and FCB - both nationalist strongholds. Anyhow, i was disappointed that FCB were knocked out by Chelsea - a club that is the anithesis of all that football should be about.... and whilst i wasn't too disappointed last night when RM got knocked out, it's impossible to say anything bad about Mou this year (poking his finger in the FCB coach apart): great powerful football and CR7 is only a whisker behind Messi. Mario Gomez will charge through Chelsea and Bayern should easily win it, plus it's in their stadium.
> To: [email protected]; [email protected] > From: [email protected] > Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:24:04 -0400 > CC: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [LU] 2-1 > > Yeah, but no Leeds supporter can support Barcelona either. Whining sods, > always getting favour from the refs and UEFA. I will never forget how somehow > they managed to get FOUR MINUTES of injury time at Elland Road in a half when > the physios hadn't come on once (not to mention getting Gordon McQueen sent > off in 1975). And I can't stand how so many folks in the news media just fawn > over them, not to mention the way people all over the world who've never been > to Spain, let alone Catalonia, declare themselves "Barcelona fans." Good > riddance. _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] PETE CASS (1962 - 2011) Rest In Peace Mate
