As a Manchester United fan, I'm obligated to hate Chelsea. But, seeing as Barcelona embarrassed United in last year's Champion's League, I could really go without seeing them with a chance at another title. So Tuesday's match between the two provided me with a bit of a conundrum. Who do I root for? Or, more importantly I guess, who do I root against?
My buddy Craig came up with a very simple philosophy and posted it on Facebook. ABB. Anyone But Barcelona. While I'll be the first one to admit that Barcelona is an amazing club, possibly the best in the world right now, I'm sick of hearing about them. Outside of the true fans they do have, the rest of their fanbase is incredibly annoying. Yes, Lionel Messi is a fantastic player. Once in a generation for sure. Anyone who follows soccer (or football if there is anyone outside of the USA reading this) already knows this, so shut up about it Barca fans. Barcelona fans has become the hipsters team, at least out here in Orange County. You can't go anywhere to watch a game they're involved in without having to deal with these idiots. During last year's Champions League finals, my friends and I went to our local English pub to watch. The place was packed, as was expected, and the crowd was pretty much split down the middle. The more annoying fans were easily the Barca fans. To be specific, the fans who had no Barcelona gear on, no jersey, hat, scarf, or anything related to the team. Yet when they won, (and Barca definitely deserved to win that game) they were the ones leading the cheers, dancing on tables, and even spraying the rest of the bar with champagne.
Now I'm all for celebrating, especially huge wins. But if you care that much, don't you think you could stand to spend a few bucks on some team related apparel? Barcelona fans, at least in this area, are what have forced me to root against them. They're arrogant, incredibly biased, and they complain more than any other group of fans I've ever met in my life. It should be noted, that I don't think much of Chelsea fans either. This is simply a case of choosing between the lesser of two evils. I can't stand Chelsea. I think Drogba is among the whiniest players in the Premier League, not to mention dirty, and I find Petr Cech to be horribly annoying. Needless to say, it was very difficult for me to not root against Chelsea, but, it had to done.
So during Tuesday's game, I've found myself rooting for Chelsea, or rather, against Barcelona. The offensive pressure Barca put on Chelsea for the first 40 minutes was incredible. After the first goal, and John Terry's subsequent, yet questionable, red card, I thought the game as over. Then, when Barca added a second, I figured there was no way Chelsea could claw their way back in. They had no true center-back and no offense to speak of. It was just a formality at that point. I almost turned the game off, but decided to at least finish the 1st half. Then Ramires gives Chelsea a huge shot of life with his beautiful chip in stoppage time near the end of the first half. In fact, because of aggregate scoring, the Ramires goal actually put Chelsea in the lead.
The second half was very much like the first. A lot of offensive pressure from Barcelona, Chelsea rarely had possession in the attacking third. The two most shocking moments were provided by Barcelona's own Chosen One, Lionel Messi. Messi found the woodwork not once, but twice. One of which came when he hit the crossbar on a penalty kick. He has been on fire this season, but for whatever reason, he didn't have that spark. In fact, this is probably the first time in a while that I've watched a match involving Barcelona where he wasn't the star. The fact that Chelsea played such disciplined defense after losing their captain was incredible. They didn't play with desperation. In fact, Drogba's foul that awarded Barcelona the penalty kick (which again, Messi inexplicably missed) was the only ugly play. Then Fernando Torres somehow became the story of the match. Nearing full time, he calmly slipped the ball into the net, and the story was written. The $50 million goal (as it will be known) propelled Chelsea, with 10 men, to victory over Barcelona. The final score of the match was 2-2, but again, the aggregate scoring was 3-2, so Chelsea moved on.
Was it easy to root for Chelsea? Absolutely not. Was it easy to root against Barcelona? It was incredibly natural. Chelsea deserved to win, plain and simple. I'm not one to put the blame on one single player, but Messi really let Barcelona down. What makes it even sweeter is that Chelsea will be without a few key players for the finals, so I don't think they'll be emerging victorious. They'll face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, both of which should be able to run through Chelsea with very little trouble.
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