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Men Of La Mancha: Whistle Blowers
Barcelona remains five points ahead of Real Madrid after another weekend that featured far too much talk about officiating.
Feb 8, 2010 12:19:00 AM
By David Mosse
We'll never know, but it sure looked like Barcelona was headed for another comprehensive victory on Saturday against Getafe. The Blaugrana were already up a goal, thanks to a wonderful strike by Lionel Messi, and dominating the match when referee Teixeira Vitienes showed Gerard Pique a straight red card midway through the first half for a vicious foul on Rafa Lopez.
With a man advantage, Getafe did generate some nervous moments for a Barcelona back line already without Carlos Puyol and Daniel Alves -- the Brazilian having aggravated a recent calf injury during warm-ups. But the Catalan giants continued to create the better chances, and they doubled their lead in the second half when Xavi finished off a Messi-led counter-attack.
The remaining bit of drama came deep in stoppage time when Rafa Marquez received his marching orders after clattering over Kepa Blanco in the box. Roberto Soldado coolly slotted home the penalty for Getafe's first goal in four games, but Barca held on for a 2-1 victory to stay unbeaten this season.
Both red cards infuriated the Camp Nou crowd, as well as the Barcelona players, who have grown tired of hearing about the favorable treatment they receive from referees. But the Madrid media is relentless, and the big point of contention on Saturday was a play involving Eric Abidal and Pedro Rios, as the two players got tangled up in the Barcelona area and no penalty was called.
Some in the capital even felt Messi's opener should have been disallowed, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in an offsides position supposedly obstructing the view of goalkeeper Jordi Codina. And, of course, no one in Madrid missed an opportunity to point out the Argentine was lucky to be on the field after escaping a sending off last week for a tackle from behind on Sporting Gijon's Diego Castro.
The debate over refereeing has reached a fever pitch over the past couple of weeks and is threatening to detract from what should be an exciting race between the two teams. Any slightly dubious decision that goes Barcelona's way is now met with screams of Villarato, while folks in Catalonia have taken to overreacting to perfectly legit calls as a way of countering the charge.
Even the usually calm Pep Guardiola lost his cool recently when addressing the matter, but those questions are unlikely to go away any time soon, not with the quality of Spanish referees. Thankfully, Madrid's 3-0 win over Espanyol later on in the day was controversy-less, as Mauricio Pochettino's side didn't put up enough of a fight for Perez Burrull to significantly affect the outcome.
The Merengues dominated from start to finish, scoring twice in the opening half hour through Sergio Ramos and Kaka. Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to add a third late in the second half. Only a superhuman performance by goalkeeper Carlos Kameni prevented a more lopsided score line against a Madrid team that now boasts 11 straight victories at home.
With the result, Real remains five points behind Barcelona and eight points ahead of Valencia for second place. Los Che picked up a comfortable 2-0 win over Valladolid at the Mestalla, spoiling the debut on the bench for Onesimo Sanchez. David Villa scored his 15th goal of the season and is one behind Messi in the race for the Pichichi.
Sevilla suffered a surprising defeat in Zaragoza, while Mallorca took care of business at home against Villarreal, handing Juan Carlos Garrido a loss in his first game in charge. Gregorio Manzano's side has collected full points at the Ono Estadi and looks a better bet to challenge for a Champions League spot than Deportivo, which was held to a scoreless draw at Malaga.
Tilting at Windmills (Barcelona vs. Madrid Referee report card)
Plenty of time is spent discussing decisions involving the top two teams, but the most egregious error this weekend occurred in the Malaga-Deportivo match. Admittedly, referees in Spain don't have it easy with the propensity of so many players to fall to the ground, but Pablo Alvarez was sent off late in the first half after clearly being tripped in the box.
The Deportivo midfielder received his second yellow card for what Mateu Lahoz interpreted as a dive, forcing the Galician club to play far more conservatively in the second half and settle for a draw. If such a decision had gone against a Barcelona opponent, Marca's website would've probably crashed.
Don Quixote (Player of the Round) – Ever Banega, Valencia
Unai Emery came under fire for some of his team selections last weekend against Sevilla, in particular leaving Ever Banega out of the starting XI, and the Argentine proved on Saturday the criticism was fully justified. Banega was absolutely brilliant against Valladolid, guiding Los Che to a third straight home victory after Valencia dropped numerous points at the Mestalla earlier this season.
He opened the scoring with a blistering shot from the edge of the area and provided a pinpoint cross for David Villa to notch the second goal. Banega has emerged as arguably the most important player on the team this season and if Emery ever leaves him out again, he better have a very good reason. Argentina supporters can only hope Diego Maradona is watching.
The Impossible Dream (Goal of the Round) – Vicente Moreno, Xerez
The managerial switch from Jose Angel Ziganda to Nestor Gorosito is beginning to have the desired effect, as Xerez put forth another solid effort against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, very nearly snatching a first away win in one of the toughest places to play in La Liga. After falling behind early, Los Azulinos responded with an incredible strike by midfielder Vicente Moreno.
The 35-year-old connected on a volley from the edge of the area, beating goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz to even the score. Xerez actually took the lead before halftime, but Fernando Llorente rescued Athletic yet again with two goals in the second half. It was a disappointing defeat for the visitors, but Gorosito must come away feeling his team has a shot at avoiding relegation.
Sancho Panza (Unsung Hero of the Round) – Nunes, Mallorca
Villarreal very nearly became the first visiting team to earn points at the Ono Estadi this season. The Yellow Submarine created the best opportunities, but never broke through thanks in large part to the play of imposing central defender Nunes. An imposing defensive performance didn't satisfy the Mallorca captain, and he supplied the winner nine minutes from time for a 10th consecutive victory at home.
Nunes rose above the entire Villarreal back line to head home a cross by Julio Alvares, as Mallorca took advantage of Sevilla's defeat in Zaragoza to reclaim the fourth Champions League spot. The challenge for Gregorio Manzano's side is to produce the same kind of form away from home.
Rocinante (Goat of the Round) – Juan Pablo, Sporting Gijon
Sporting has been punching above its weight all season, but Manuel Preciado's side suffered a terrible defeat on Sunday, falling to Almeria despite holding a man advantage for the majority of the match. One of the biggest culprits for the 3-1 result was goalkeeper Juan Pablo, at fault on two Almeria goals, most notably the go-ahead score late in the first half.
Domingo Cisma floated a routine cross into the Sporting area from a set-piece opportunity, and Juan Pablo inexplicably allowed the ball to end up in the back of the net without any deflection. Almeria has played better since Juan Lillo took over for Hugo Sanchez, but it was still a bewildering defeat for a Sporting side determined to challenge for a Europa spot.
Miguel Cervantes (Quote of the weekend)
“It is a disgrace that we don't talk about soccer anymore, but we talk about referees, Villar and other nonsense. The propaganda from Madrid is becoming intolerable.”
– Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain blows off steam following the Getafe match.
“Men of La Mancha” appears Monday mornings on Goal.com. Also check out “Friends of Don Quixote” on Friday mornings, as David Mosse previews the action for the upcoming weekend.
For more on Spain click ahead to Goal.com's Spain homepage
With a man advantage, Getafe did generate some nervous moments for a Barcelona back line already without Carlos Puyol and Daniel Alves -- the Brazilian having aggravated a recent calf injury during warm-ups. But the Catalan giants continued to create the better chances, and they doubled their lead in the second half when Xavi finished off a Messi-led counter-attack.
The remaining bit of drama came deep in stoppage time when Rafa Marquez received his marching orders after clattering over Kepa Blanco in the box. Roberto Soldado coolly slotted home the penalty for Getafe's first goal in four games, but Barca held on for a 2-1 victory to stay unbeaten this season.
Both red cards infuriated the Camp Nou crowd, as well as the Barcelona players, who have grown tired of hearing about the favorable treatment they receive from referees. But the Madrid media is relentless, and the big point of contention on Saturday was a play involving Eric Abidal and Pedro Rios, as the two players got tangled up in the Barcelona area and no penalty was called.
Some in the capital even felt Messi's opener should have been disallowed, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in an offsides position supposedly obstructing the view of goalkeeper Jordi Codina. And, of course, no one in Madrid missed an opportunity to point out the Argentine was lucky to be on the field after escaping a sending off last week for a tackle from behind on Sporting Gijon's Diego Castro.
The debate over refereeing has reached a fever pitch over the past couple of weeks and is threatening to detract from what should be an exciting race between the two teams. Any slightly dubious decision that goes Barcelona's way is now met with screams of Villarato, while folks in Catalonia have taken to overreacting to perfectly legit calls as a way of countering the charge.
Even the usually calm Pep Guardiola lost his cool recently when addressing the matter, but those questions are unlikely to go away any time soon, not with the quality of Spanish referees. Thankfully, Madrid's 3-0 win over Espanyol later on in the day was controversy-less, as Mauricio Pochettino's side didn't put up enough of a fight for Perez Burrull to significantly affect the outcome.
The Merengues dominated from start to finish, scoring twice in the opening half hour through Sergio Ramos and Kaka. Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to add a third late in the second half. Only a superhuman performance by goalkeeper Carlos Kameni prevented a more lopsided score line against a Madrid team that now boasts 11 straight victories at home.
With the result, Real remains five points behind Barcelona and eight points ahead of Valencia for second place. Los Che picked up a comfortable 2-0 win over Valladolid at the Mestalla, spoiling the debut on the bench for Onesimo Sanchez. David Villa scored his 15th goal of the season and is one behind Messi in the race for the Pichichi.
Sevilla suffered a surprising defeat in Zaragoza, while Mallorca took care of business at home against Villarreal, handing Juan Carlos Garrido a loss in his first game in charge. Gregorio Manzano's side has collected full points at the Ono Estadi and looks a better bet to challenge for a Champions League spot than Deportivo, which was held to a scoreless draw at Malaga.
Tilting at Windmills (Barcelona vs. Madrid Referee report card)
Plenty of time is spent discussing decisions involving the top two teams, but the most egregious error this weekend occurred in the Malaga-Deportivo match. Admittedly, referees in Spain don't have it easy with the propensity of so many players to fall to the ground, but Pablo Alvarez was sent off late in the first half after clearly being tripped in the box.
The Deportivo midfielder received his second yellow card for what Mateu Lahoz interpreted as a dive, forcing the Galician club to play far more conservatively in the second half and settle for a draw. If such a decision had gone against a Barcelona opponent, Marca's website would've probably crashed.
Don Quixote (Player of the Round) – Ever Banega, Valencia
Unai Emery came under fire for some of his team selections last weekend against Sevilla, in particular leaving Ever Banega out of the starting XI, and the Argentine proved on Saturday the criticism was fully justified. Banega was absolutely brilliant against Valladolid, guiding Los Che to a third straight home victory after Valencia dropped numerous points at the Mestalla earlier this season.
He opened the scoring with a blistering shot from the edge of the area and provided a pinpoint cross for David Villa to notch the second goal. Banega has emerged as arguably the most important player on the team this season and if Emery ever leaves him out again, he better have a very good reason. Argentina supporters can only hope Diego Maradona is watching.
The Impossible Dream (Goal of the Round) – Vicente Moreno, Xerez
The managerial switch from Jose Angel Ziganda to Nestor Gorosito is beginning to have the desired effect, as Xerez put forth another solid effort against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, very nearly snatching a first away win in one of the toughest places to play in La Liga. After falling behind early, Los Azulinos responded with an incredible strike by midfielder Vicente Moreno.
The 35-year-old connected on a volley from the edge of the area, beating goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz to even the score. Xerez actually took the lead before halftime, but Fernando Llorente rescued Athletic yet again with two goals in the second half. It was a disappointing defeat for the visitors, but Gorosito must come away feeling his team has a shot at avoiding relegation.
Sancho Panza (Unsung Hero of the Round) – Nunes, Mallorca
Villarreal very nearly became the first visiting team to earn points at the Ono Estadi this season. The Yellow Submarine created the best opportunities, but never broke through thanks in large part to the play of imposing central defender Nunes. An imposing defensive performance didn't satisfy the Mallorca captain, and he supplied the winner nine minutes from time for a 10th consecutive victory at home.
Nunes rose above the entire Villarreal back line to head home a cross by Julio Alvares, as Mallorca took advantage of Sevilla's defeat in Zaragoza to reclaim the fourth Champions League spot. The challenge for Gregorio Manzano's side is to produce the same kind of form away from home.
Rocinante (Goat of the Round) – Juan Pablo, Sporting Gijon
Sporting has been punching above its weight all season, but Manuel Preciado's side suffered a terrible defeat on Sunday, falling to Almeria despite holding a man advantage for the majority of the match. One of the biggest culprits for the 3-1 result was goalkeeper Juan Pablo, at fault on two Almeria goals, most notably the go-ahead score late in the first half.
Domingo Cisma floated a routine cross into the Sporting area from a set-piece opportunity, and Juan Pablo inexplicably allowed the ball to end up in the back of the net without any deflection. Almeria has played better since Juan Lillo took over for Hugo Sanchez, but it was still a bewildering defeat for a Sporting side determined to challenge for a Europa spot.
Miguel Cervantes (Quote of the weekend)
“It is a disgrace that we don't talk about soccer anymore, but we talk about referees, Villar and other nonsense. The propaganda from Madrid is becoming intolerable.”
– Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain blows off steam following the Getafe match.
“Men of La Mancha” appears Monday mornings on Goal.com. Also check out “Friends of Don Quixote” on Friday mornings, as David Mosse previews the action for the upcoming weekend.
For more on Spain click ahead to Goal.com's Spain homepage
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