Barcelona Get Booted off Their Very High Pedestal – This Makes Me Very Happy

For several years now, I have been forced to watch Barcelona screw my beloved Arsenal over and over. Just like the cleverest of animals – the weasel – they have repeatedly encountered some kind of method to connovingly change the fortunes of North London’s most prestigious club. The list of their weasel-like ways begins at the turn of the century. 

In a swindling sign of things to come, the summer of 2000 saw Barcelona raid the Gunners for Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars – two players who were monumental to the Gunners double winning team in 97/98.

In 2003, after playing mediocre football for Arsenal, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst left for the Catalan coast and became one of the best left backs the cheating bastards have ever had.

In 2006, Barcelona beat Arsenal in the Champions League final in Paris, 2-1. Being finalists was no consolation. Like Diego Maradona once said, “Only the winners get to eat the sandwiches and drink the cokes after the game.” – at least, I think I read that he said that.  

If depriving Arsenal of European glory wasn’t enough, that summer they also bought Arsenal’s captain and modern icon, Thierry Henry.

In 2008, Barcelona yet again reached into their English pantry and yanked out a young starlet in Alexander Hleb. It helps a little that he stunk out the Nou Camp and is now back in his native Belarus, lining up for the high profile FC BATE Borisov.

In 2010, the teams met again in Europe’s most elite club competition. This time, the score wasn’t quite as close. Barcelona handily knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League in the quarters on a 6-3 aggregate.

In 2011, Barcelona yet again eliminated Arsenal, this time in the round of 16, aided by a very controversial second yellow card and resulting red to Robin Van Persie in the second leg. Many people might call it a curse. I call it cheating. There is no substance to my claims, nor is there evidence, but there is a hunch and a lot of anger.

Arguably the largest and most hurtful Catalan act of deceit came in the summer of 2011. After a long and dramatic campaign, Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal’s most prized asset and nucleus of the team at the time - was sold to his boyhood club and greeted with a hero’s welcome. A few weeks later, Cesc won his first trophy with his new club while Arsenal suffered one of their most humiliating defeats to Manchester United, falling 8-2 at Old Trafford.

Barca’s most recent ruffling of Arsene Wenger’s impeccable hair occurred in 2012 when Barcelona lured away Alex Song.

Song was pivotal in the little success Arsenal had in the previous season and his loss was met with reasonable disappointment. However, in his inaugural year for the Catalans he has played terribly and had the honor of being voted the worst signing of the year, so his departure to eastern Spain angers me less.

What makes the aforementioned list of Barca’s repeated attempts and successes at consistently pissing off every single Arsenal fan, is that Barcelona has gone on to play beautiful and pristine football, winning a shitload of trophies in the process. At one point they were even considered the best club team ever; they were untouchable; they performed to a level that was out of this world.

Last night, however, their asses were brought right back down to earth.

Bayern Munich beat Barcelona in the same manner the Catalans have been beating teams for several years now – being quicker, more tactical, more technical, smarter, and hungrier. Yet last night, it was Barcelona that was outplayed; it was Barcelona that was outworked; it was Barcelona that was embarrassed.

The Catalans still have a very strong team with a long list of very talented players. It should be noted that Messi was almost nonexistent due to his recent return from injury and that Barca enjoyed the majority of possession, however yesterday was not the first time they have shown signs of weakness this season. On several occasions, they have faltered; they haven’t shown the same resilience as seasons past; essentially, they just haven’t looked quite the same.

They’re still very good, but they’re not as good as they used to be – they’re missing something. Who knows, maybe it’s in New York with Pep. As an Arsenal supporter sick of seeing them win, I’m happy it’s gone and I hope they never find it.