"Mes que un club" ?...Reality is much darker....

                 "More than just a club"...as Barcelona so proudly call themselves.Not only are they considered the greatest ambassadors of the Catalonia,but also seen by many as staunch defenders of Justice and Freedom,in contrast to the "Dark Emperor"-like image of their fiercest  rivals,Real Madrid.The best football-playing team,who believes playing the game cleanly, but that has rarely been seen in last few years.
                 Okay, let me make myself clear, I have no personal hatred against Barcelona,never have I doubted their Footballing genius.I totally agree there are few players in the world who can reproduce the magic,that Xavi creates with his silky passes from mid-field, or the spectacle Lionel Messi exhibits,when at his absolute best.I think I have made my disclaimers, now let me dive straight into the controversy.

Even Victor Valdes ran down the pitch to pressurize the referee to brandish the Red card!

            
    "La Blagurana" virtually threw Real Madrid out of the Champions League on Wednesday,that too in their own backyard (Calling Santiago Bernebau a backyard, is a bit of an understatement,I agree!) .The victory must have been sweet,especially following their King's Cup defeat to the same opponents.But, the manner in which it was achieved should have left Barcelona's purists unsatisfied.Sadly, it didn't.
                   You can argue that Jose Mourinho and his Real Madrid have hardly been the torch-bearers of the Fair-game,but for a club that has long advocated for the beautiful game, this was a sheer disgrace.But then, Barcelona have almost always done that in recent past, haven't they? They are the ones who preach their "Divine" approach to Football as opposed to a pragmatic one, and yet it were them, who had to perform shambolic play-acting to get the opposition players sent off.Talking about playing the game with honesty, and yet they are team most accused of influencing the referee,first against Chelsea and now this year vs Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Jose may have been sarcastic to the ref, but he had a valid point!

                     Jose Mourinho's post-match rant may have been scathing and vented in anger, but even Barcelona couldn't deny a single-word of it.Barcelona should be ashamed of having to win this glorious title in such scandalous manner.It was the same against Chelsea in 2009,when it took them 93 minutes to get their first shot on target  (while the ref waved away 4 Stone-wall penalty appeals!). Inter Milan survived "miraculously",according to Mourinho, even after being down to 10-men for long periods at Camp Nou.It was Sergio Busquets then too, who playacted to get Thiago Motta sent off,and he exhibited his acting skills again vs Madrid too,along with Dani Alves, almost making us think that Real were almost playing brutally, out to damage their opponents.
                 I won't be popular with Barca fans for pointing this out, but Barcelona have hardly been the graceful team, they make out themselves to be. We could talk endlessly about diving by Ronaldos and Nanis, but even the "Divine" Lionel Messi hasn't always been spared from these accusations. Xavi's gentle and modest nature on the field, doesn't seem to exist outside the filed. "Justice was served", was his reaction on their victory over Madrid,as it had been when Barcelona got past Chelsea in May 2009! I'm sorry, you can be as good as anyone in the world at what you do, but nothing gives you the right to so blatantly destroy the moral virtues you have preached so long, not even having in your team, a little master called Lionel Messi!

This was the tackle, feigning injury from which, Dani Alves got Pepe sent off !

                 There's no beating the fact that Barcelona are years ahead of anyone, when they are on song. But, please spare us your tainted ethics. Many of us will not be aware of this, but Barcelona and Real Madrid run away with the biggest share of the TV Revenue, leaving other teams to pick up the peanuts, unlike in England,where even the Manchester Uniteds and Chelseas share the income equally with the entire League.Now this may be suitable to the vilified,power-hungry image of Real Madrid, but surely not for a club which claims to stand for people's rights?  I don't wish to take away their footballing genius,yes, few produce the magnificent spectacle that Barcelona are capable of.No sight can give greater pleasure to your eyes than a  delicate Xavi pass,or a masterclass through-ball from Iniesta,and the best one, Lionel Messi dribbling through the entire opposition defense, en route to a dazzling goal. But, I agree with Jose Mourinho on this account, Barcelona deserve to win this competition fairly once, just if they were willing to do so.
                   In the end, There should be no doubt in any one's mind that Barcelona are the best footballing team in the world, but it's about time they stopped lecturing us about the Footballing ethics!