Champions League Semi-Final - FC Barcelona-FC INternazionale Milano

Inter´s defense proves to be too strong for Barça

The FC Barcelona-FC INternazionale Milano match was one of the most hyped up matches of the year. As the semi-final, it would decide which team made it to the Champions League final in Madrid. After losing 3-1 in the first leg in Milan the pressure was on Barcelona to step up their game, and with the home team advantage their fans were sure they could do it.

There was a crowd of 91,000 at the stadium and thousands of others across the city that spent the day donning Barça colors and with posters and flags displayed in a show of support. Unfortunately, their dream of winning the Championship League for a second year in the row was dashed. Barça beat Milan 1-0, but the win was bittersweet as it left the team 1 point short of the 2-0 score needed in order to advance to the final.

Inter´s strategy was an obvious one, and a very good one. After beating Barça 3-1 in Milan they only thing they had to do was defend, and that they did. And quite spectacularly, it has to be said, given that they were 1 man short for more than an hour of the match.

Early in the match things seemed to be going well for Barça. Inter was reduced to 10 men when Thiago Motta was given a red card and expelled from the game for pushing his hand into Sergio Busquet´s face. Not only that, but Barça dominated possession throughout the match. Still, it was difficult for the team to break through the staunch defense of Inter and create opportunities. The counterattacking tactics of Inter meant that Inter often had all nine men behind the ball.

Barça worked hard to break through the defense, and finally Lionel Messi attempted to score with a curling shot in the 32nd minute. Barça fans were already out of their seats and ready to cheer when Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar made an incredibly impressive save with a one-handed dive.

In the second half Barça was again constantly in possession. Still, they didn´t manage to create any clear opportunities to score until the 82nd minute, when Xavi passed to Piqué who in turn sent the ball home for the first goal of the game with just six minutes left on the clock.

Barça pushed hard for the 2nd goal which would have sent them to the final, and fans were sure they had it when Bojan sent one into the net. But the cheers and horns of Barça fans quickly turned to boos and jeers when the goal was ruled out for a handball by Yaya Toure earlier in the play. Barça persisted, but with so little time left on the clock they were unable to create a good opportunity to score, and finally the game ended with just one goal.

Inter was, of course, euphoric about the victory. The team has not gone to a Championship League final since 1972. Upon hearing the final whistle the coach, Jose Mourinho, ran across the pitch with one arm raised to celebrate in front of the Inter fans. He later told the press that the game has been “the best loss of [his] life” and encouraged their fans back home to meet them at the airport for a welcome home party to recognize their efforts

Barça coach Pep Guardiola said in his statement to the press that the team was not looking for excuses, but that “sometimes attacking seems a lot harder than defending”. While clearly disappointed, he also noted his team had played very well, and that overall this Championship League had been a success.

FC INternazionale Milano will meet Bayern Munich at the Champions League final in Madrid on May 22. Meanwhile, Bayern will appeal against a three-match ban that was imposed on Franck Ribery and which would rule him out of the final.

Sonar 2009 – the largest music festival in Europe is about to start!

Tomorrow on the 18th of June Barcelona prepares to hold the 16th edition of one of the most important music festivals in Europe - Sonar. 80,000 people are estimated to attend Sonar 2009. The festival is split up into Sonar day and Sonar night and boasts over 300 different events and artists related to modern day electronic music.
 
Sonar Day takes place in the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB), two buildings centrally located and only a 5 minute walk from Plaça Catalunya. The nearest metro stations are Universitat and Plaça Catalunya (red line L1, green line L3) while numerous buses go to the centre of town also (numbers 7, 9, and 14).

The day festival starts at 12 noon and finishes at 22.00. In general the day gives opportunities for lesser known DJs and groups to perform to the chilled out crowd who in general relax and soak up the Mediterranean sun. This year sees DJs such as The Wizard from the USA and Outlines with live performances from Natalia Lafourcade and Goldie Locks.

Apart from the DJs and live performances there are numerous stalls where one can buy records, CDs, videos, listen to debates and conferences, watch audio/visual performances and much more. Sonar day has a nice relaxed vide where everyone from all over the world is ready to mix, mingle and have a good time.
 
This year Sonar night hosts a great number of impressive DJs. Sonar night is held at the Polígono Pedrosa L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, a big warehouse some 20 minutes from Barcelona. The organizers provide a special bus service from the Christopher Columbus statue (and square) all night. There are public buses from Barcelona which go to the Hospitalet (numbers 9, 37 and 65) and there is a Ferrocariles Catalanes station also called Europa Fira which is a 10 minute walk to the party.

The warehouse is split up into 3 areas the pub, the lab and the club. This year DJs include Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills, Carl Craig and Rob Da Bank. The Animal Collective from the USA will play their only concert in Spain on Saturday night in the Sonar club. The live acts are extremely interesting this year. Deadmaus5, Orbital and Grace Jones (singer, actress and model extremely popular in the 80´s) are the highlights. Sonarnight is dynamic, “full on”, with a serious non stop party vibe.  One can also visit ¨Mecanics¨ space created for musicians who make their own instruments.

However the novelty of Sonar 2009 is of course Sonar kids, a day completely dedicated to children which will take place on the 21st of June at the CCCB centre. Besides specific concerts entirely planned for children the festival offers lots of workshops (Dj, finger skate etc.) and shows such as the hip-hop puppets of Puppetmastaz. 
 
Sonar day starts on June the 18th and lasts 3 days and Sonar night starts on June the 19th and lasts 2 nights. There are various prices and packs which are on offer. The day price starts at 30  the night price starts at 48 euros but it is highly recommended looking at the sonar website to work out which pack suits you best.

Overall this looks set to be a very big party and Barcelona once again will be the cultural and musical centre of Europe. The city in general will be 72 hours of non stop party as every club and disco in town tries to profit from the influx of foreign party goers. So really we have one choice, to put on our dancing shoes and enjoy this great festival in one of the most exuberant cities in the world.

Barcelona Tops Manchester United 2-0 … Wins European Cup

Topping off one of the great seasons in European Football history, Barcelona yesterday 27 of May 2009 defeated defending Champion Manchester United by a 2-0 score to win the 2009 European Championship.

The game, which was played in Rome and witnessed by a huge and animated live crowd as well as a global TV audience of countless millions of people, added a perfect finishing note to a tremendous season for the club from Barcelona.

The Spanish team thoroughly outplayed the reigning champions from Manchester and went ahead to stay in the 10th minute on a goal by Samuel Eto’o.  A second goal was scored in the 70th minute on a spectacular “header” by Barcelona superstar forward Leo Messi. The goal, which was Messi’s 9th score in the Champion League and 38th goal overall, of a truly outstanding season essentially sealed Manchester’s fate and left no doubt as to the outcome of the game.

Barcelona (Barça) has been one of the great stories in European football all year long. Led by 38 year old first year head coach (and former player) Pep Guardiola, the team scored an amazing 153 goals in league and Cup play … finished in first place in the Spanish League … won the Spanish League Cup … and, of course, capped it all off with yesterday’s tremendous victory against Manchester United.

It was an important win for the city of Barcelona and its people and last night they celebrated joyfully on the main city’s  boulevard Las Ramblas. Celebrations continued well into late evening and, in fact, were still going strong in the early pre-dawn hours of the new day.

The win by Barcelona marked the third time that a Spanish football team has won the European Cup. And, based on their overall performance, the Barcelona team may be the best of the three Championship teams. They were dominant all season long.

If you’re planning to come to Barcelona this year, for business or pleasure, you may wish to include a visit to Camp Nou Stadium to watch the Barcelona Football Team compete.  As they’ve already proven, they are a terrific team.  Their stadium is one of the largest and best in all of Europe … and their play is exciting and entertaining.

If you enjoy watching top level football … make sure you include a stop at Camp Nou Stadium on your trip itinerary. It’s easily accessible from the center of Barcelona by most forms of public transportation (bus, train or taxi) … and it’s worth the visit.