Osasuna-Athletic, Supporters vs Hooligans

Good afternoon, dear Osasunists! Today is the D day, as it was in the II World War, and we receive one of our "neighbours", "cousins" in our home, at El Sadar; and this is one of the those moments I use the former name of Osasuna stadium. It's the sense of History, and Tradition! Athletic Club de Bilbao is the one. After last Thursday match in Manchester against the "Red Devils" of Man United, Bielsa's team is a craze all over Europe in the mass media. And there are many mistakes on the journalists' opinions as I heard on the radio yesterday night. I am the first one to congratulate the team from Bilbao, though I have my opinions about the match last Thursday. It is obvious that Athletic played brilliant at Old Trafford, but we must take in account that there are only two points between Athletic and Osasuna. And that is my point to critizise some comments on RNE station in TABLERO DEPORTIVO. As they dedicated some parts of their programme to praise the play of Athletic yesterday night. I accept those good comments when the Spanish journalists talk about a "Spanish" team against a foreigner in Europe. But when they are going to talk about a match in La Liga between two team of the region, worldwide called a derby, they must be unbias, neutral and talk about true facts. Everyone must bear in mind that Osasuna and Athletic are playing this evening in Pamplona for a European post in the Spanish League. Both teams have to follow different politics in their clubs and there have been lots of news these days about their different situation. Osasuna is not one of the most debtor teams in La Liga, but the incomes are not big enough to mantain a competitive team in Spain. Osasuna is a "selling" team. As a good player stands out in Osasuna, he is leaving the team the next season. If that player was born in Navarra, Basque Country, or was in the club since he was a child, Athletic de Bilbao is the club to contract him. The worst of all that situation for a Osasuna supporter is not the question of the loss of a good plyer for the team, but first the idea that he is going to play for a most hatred rival in La Liga, and the amount Osasuna get is very low for the economy of the club. So, my first point to differ Athletic from Osasuna is the budget. I include the incentives Athletic de Bilbao obtain from the local and regional governments, the Town Hall and the Diputacion- regional government-. Both teams are looking for more investments to build new stadiums. As Osasuna is struggling to get private investors and must move from the centre of Pamplona, the team from Bilbao is moving in three years time just 150 metres from their actual site. It is almost impossible for a modest team like Osasuna to have a fair play against such a powerful team like Athletic dde Bilbao. My second point is their poilitics, which affect poorer closer teams like Osasuna and Real Sociedad. Urrutia is, since last 7th July, the chairman in Bilbao, and his winning card was the coach, Bielsa "El loco". He is a coach of a different style from the former coach in Bilbao, Caparrós. So, many supporters in Bilbao were quite doubtful of that risky politics, but Urrutia won, and the first matches in this season weren't as good as the actual position shows. It is said that Bielsa's play is similar to Guardiola's in Barça, or viceversa as Bielsa is older and more experienced. Therefore, everything is said, and it is a brilliant play that gives importance to the football. After six months in Bilbao, Bielsa had the Bilbao supporter forgot the good moments with Caparrós and Athletic is 5th in the classification of the Spanish League, is playing the final of Copa del Rey against Barça, and last Thursday they mastered a match at the famous Old Trafford against the former best team in England, perhaps in Europe, Manchester United. On the other hand, Osasuna's coach is from Bilbao. He is not a foreigner famous coach, but Mendilibar is a hardworking coach, used to struggle in uncomfortable position in former teams, and to fight to avoid relegation or to get a team go back to First Division. Mendilibar made a mistake in his opinion about this match in the first leg of the season. He is very honest and said Osasuna should be grateful to Athletic, and those words hurt Osasunism, the club and the supporters. The good results helped him to diluate those comments and Osasuna is 7th in La liga now. Mendilibar could explain his words further. My final point is the Navarrian issue. There is a famous paper in Spain which main heading in this kind of games is the amount of Spanish players in a "Nationalist" team like Athletic de Bilbao. Thus, there will be two Navarrians in Bielsa's team, and none of them played for Osasuna ever, and one of them is the most hated for the supporters, and the goalkeeper, Iraizoz, was about to play when he wasn't well considered in Lezama. However, we musn't forget the outnumbered players formed in Osasuna who were wrongly sold to Bilbao, and the worst for a Osasuna fan, in a Figo way, those who boosted their Osasunism and they are on Bilbao bench, do you remember David Lopez? All in all, I hope the game will be for Osasuna!But overall I hope both teams give all supporters a good evening of good football! Gora Osasuna! Aupa Rojillos!

Barça-Manchester United, the dream final 2011

Two iconic teams, both full of history and tradition that gather generations, will play for club football's biggest prize tonight.

Manchester United, the champions of England, face Barcelona, the champions of Spain, at London's famous Wembley Stadium for the right to be crowned Europe's best.
Who will triumph in the UEFA Champions League final when the two titans clash in front of 86,000 avid supporters and millions more watching around the world?

Will it be United, the home of the Busby Babes, George Best and David Beckham -- or Barca, where football legends Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi are revered?


I am going to try to give you the keys on why this match is so special, with the help of a previous article from the famous independent media CNN and why so many neutrals will be tuning in to watch the outcome.

Spain's First Division and England's Premier League are regarded as the two best leagues in European football. However, only once in 55 previous finals have both countries' respective champions faced each other. That's the reason why this is the UEFA's dream final and demand for final tickets is almost unprecedented. Each club received just 25,000 tickets apiece, at prices ranging from $490 for the most expensive to $245 for the cheapest.

Manchester United and Barcelona were also the finalists on that occasion two years ago in Rome, with the Spanish side running out 2-0 winners.



UEFA spokesman Kimmo Bellmann expect viewing figures to be in excess of 300 million, which will make it the biggest final in the history of the European Champions League.
The match will be aired in 220 territories by 113 broadcasters, while there will be 180 cameras covering the action, of which 38 will be in high definition.

A report commissioned by sponsors MasterCard predicts that the winners of the final will enjoy a record economic windfall of around $180 million.
The figure is based on a combination of official prize money, an increase in squad value, enhanced media rights and greater brand equity.
Even the losers will receive in the region of $105 million for their efforts.

Manchester United versus Barcelona is the dream final as far as most football fans are concerned. The English and Spanish champions are two of the most successful teams off the pitch too. They will collectively scoop $285 million, making this the most lucrative final in European club football's history.

Forbes magazine last year listed Manchester United as the most valuable sports brand on the planet, while Barcelona claimed eighth spot in the league table.
Alongside Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United are the two biggest clubs in European soccer -- with a tradition for playing the game with style and panache.

Such is their popularity, they attract fans from all over the world, not just the Catalan region of Spain or the north-west of England.
Barcelona have more than 1,300 officially registered supporters' clubs globally, with estimates that 25% of the Spanish population follows Barca.
Meanwhile, United have long been recognized as the most supported football team in the world.

The club's official Facebook page became the fastest growing of any sports side in the world, registering almost 2.4 million followers within two months of being set up in July 2010.

It has been recently estimated United had 75 million fans worldwide, although other estimates have the figure at a mind-blowing 300 million -- largely based on huge income streams from Asia, where the club has a massive following.

United officially recognize over 200 supporters clubs in 24 countries, with huge swathes of support coming from the south of England, many miles from the club's Lancashire roots.

Not every soccer fan supports Barcelona or Manchester United, but nearly every follower will be monitoring proceedings on television, radio or the Internet.

As well as attracting worldwide support, there will be millions of fans willing either of the teams to lose -- especially in Madrid and Liverpool, where the bitter rivals of both clubs are based.

This current Barcelona side is being widely touted as the greatest to ever grace club football. Packed to the brim with players who helped Spain win the 2008 European Championship and 2010 World Cup final, they also have the best player in the world among their ranks.

Argentina forward Messi is blessed with remarkable skill, balance and control and the 23-year-old is following in the footsteps of both Dutchman Cruyff and compatriot Maradona in starring for Barca while being universally recognized as the number one player on the planet.

Add to the list the attacking talents of David Villa, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves, as well as the defensive steel of Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique -- the only player on view who has played for both teams after starting his senior career at United before returning to the Camp Nou -- then it's easy to see why the Spanish side are favored to win the match.

Under coach Pep Guardiola, already a Catalan hero for his time as player with the club, Barca have won three Spanish league titles in a row and are on the verge of a second Champions League title in that period -- a remarkable record.

United come into the game on the back of sealing a record 19th domestic league title, a significant achievement as it moved them clear of rivals Liverpool.

They boast the greatest English player of his generation, striker Wayne Rooney, and golden oldies Ryan Giggs (37) and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (40) -- the latter will be retiring at the end of the match.But perhaps United's main hope of halting Barca lies with manager Alex Ferguson, who can lay claim to being the greatest coach in soccer history.

In his 25 years in charge of the club, Ferguson has won 12 league titles and countless other domestic trophies. If he leads United to victory on Saturday, he will become the first manager to win three Champions League titles.

The original European Cup was initiated in 1955 by French newspaper L'Equipe, under the jurisdiction of UEFA.Although the eventual premise was to involve only teams who had won their domestic league titles, in the early days L'Equipe actually invited those teams it considered to have the most fan appeal to participate.

Barcelona's Spanish rivals Real Madrid dominated in its formative years, taking the trophy in the first five years, while English clubs dominated from 1976 to 1982, winning six times in a row courtesy of Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

The format remained the same until 1992, when UEFA created the Champions League, involving not only domestic champions but also teams who finished second, third and fourth in their respective leagues.

United and Barca both won the competition once under the old format (United in 1968 and Barca in 1992 -- ironically both times also at Wembley).

And, since the introduction of the Champions League, the two teams have maintained identical records, both winning the cup twice and losing in the final once.

Tonight's match will see one of the teams claim their fourth European title, overtaking the beaten finalist in the all-time winners' table.


To much national debate, Wembley Stadium, the Football Cathedral, the recognized home of soccer in England -- the country where the sport originated -- was closed in 2000, ahead of a controversial proposal to raze it to the ground before building a new arena on the same site.

The stadium's dramatic opening in 1923 set the trend for 77 years of iconic images.
That year, an estimated crowd of over 200,000 piled in to the newly-built arena to watch the FA Cup final between Bolton and West Ham, spilling onto the pitch numerous times only to be dispersed by a policeman on a white horse.

That initial "White Horse Final" proved the prelude for a lifetime of sporting and non-sporting memories that gives Wembley its legendary status.

From local hero Henry Cooper knocking down the greatest heavyweight boxer of them all (Cassius Clay in 1963 before he changed his name to Muhammad Ali) to England captain Bobby Moore wiping his muddy hands before accepting the 1966 World Cup trophy from Queen Elizabeth II, Wembley Stadium has been at the forefront of English folklore.

But perhaps the most famous date in the stadium's history fell on July 13, 1985, when 72,000 music fans attended Live Aid, a 10-hour concert to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia which featured some of the biggest names in British music history coming together on an emotional and unforgettable balmy evening.

When the new $1.3 billion Wembley Stadium finally opened its doors in 2007, following various legal disputes between its constructors and the English Football Association, seven long years had passed.Now, four years later, the famous stadium will stage its biggest match since being rebuilt.

Visca el Barça!