After the tragic transfer of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, in which Fabregas allegedly cried when he said his goodbyes at Arsenal and left a Cesc-sized hole in the hearts of Gooners, Barca decide to release a really tasteful and respectful video like this:
Now, Barca’s ‘Mes que un club’ bollocks may make you sick to the pit of your stomach and you may think we are reading far too deeply into this, but everyone has to concede that product placement in what is clearly a video aimed at children is a classy turn from the Catalans. We counted Turkish Airlines, Nike, Qatar Foundation, Audi, Estrella beer and La Caixa savings bank.
In addition to this, I appreciated the way it looked as if Fabregas was escaping in a stolen passenger jet, which hinted excellently at the way we had him locked up in London Colney, as super-sleuth extraordinaire the Mayor of Catalunya revealed earlier in the Summer:
“We want him to come right away, he is experiencing a kidnapping,” Estanislau Fors i Garcia, the mayor of the Catalan town Arenys de Mar where Fábregas grew up, was quoted as saying in the Barcelona-based daily newspaper Sport.
“If the English are so honourable they should behave properly,” he added. “He [the Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger] has to stop clowning around because it’s disorienting for all of us.”
There’s a lot to say about the ‘Blaugraunes’ but libel laws mean that, simply put, we can’t. Fortunately, we can quote others. Honourary Gooner and Barca-basher Jose Mourinho doesn’t care about them, however, and said this after losing the Spanish Super Cup final:
“From the first minute of the second half there we no ball boys and no balls,” he claimed. “The way small teams timewaste when they are in difficulty.
“I’m very happy for my team after what happened in the end. What happened, happened because somebody provoked the situation – and it certainly wasn’t a player from Real Madrid.”
Mourinho labelling Barca a small town club might seem hyperbolic to you, but when you consider the majority of their players come from the Barca academy as opposed to being superstar ‘galacticos’ from across the world, he has solid evidence. In fact, with a population of 1.6 million, it’s barely a village pub team.
The following are quotes from Mourinho after his loss to Barcelona in last season’s champions league semi-final:
“I don’t know if it’s to give publicity to Unicef or their power at UEFA. I don’t know if people just like them. I don’t know and I don’t understand. Where does all this power come from? No-one else has a chance really. Why don’t they let other teams play against them? If Barcelona are honest, they know that this is happening.
After RVP was sent off in the Camp Nou, I emphathise.
“We are out,” said Mourinho. “We will go there with all the pride. Sometimes I feel disgusted living in this world and earning my living in this world.
Once again, I emphathise. Mourinho’s world is far superior to the alien wasteland the rest of humanity live in and force him to inhabit.
“We have to do it with pride. The result is practically impossible to revert. If we score in Barcelona they will kill us again. There is no chance for us. It is mission impossible. They have to reach the final and they will.”
Whatever you say about them, it is clear Barcelona are, at the moment, the best club side in the world. However, whether you admire their style of play or feel (disclaimer: this is not the opinion of clockendview) that they employ propaganda-spewing, synchronised-diving, card-brandishing, pseudo-charity-giving, false-badge-kissing, tap-upping tactics, everyone can be content that we’ll stuff them at the Emirates in the not too distant future.
No, we’re not bitter.
Submitted by clockendview – just another Arsenal blog
