New York Red Bulls at Vancouver Whitecaps, May 28th 2011

 Live Event #10

Empire Field

My second visit to Empire Field was for a beautiful Saturday afternoon match between the last place Whitecaps and the New York Red Bulls. The disappointment of the day was the absence of former Arsenal and Barcelona star Thierry Henry, who was held back with a swollen right knee. Many fans had purchased tickets solely because of Henry’s presence and even though he wouldn’t be playing, every seat was filled. Since their thrilling opening day win against Toronto FC, the Whitecaps have been incapable to add another game in the win column in league action; adding that elusive victory against the Red Bulls would be a challenge.  

The Whitecaps enjoyed an energetic start. They had a goal disallowed for offside and continued to press hard and test the Red Bulls defence. In the 24th minute midfielder Camilo won a penalty and Whitecaps star Eric Hassli put Vancouver up 1-0 from the spot. Following the goal, New York began to find their legs and came close a few times before Englishman Luke Rodgers equalized from just outside the six yard box. The goal shifted the momentum in New York’s favor and they finished the first half vigorously. The second half was equally as entertaining; there were dynamic chances at both ends but neither team could secure the winning goal. The addition of the Whitecaps to the Vancouver sports scene has been nothing but positive. The support is superb and as Grant Wahl recently documented in his article “A Pacific Passion Play” from the May 23rd issue of Sports Illustrated, there is a real passion for soccer in the Pacific Northwest. That being said, it is impossible to compare the MLS to the majority of the football being played overseas. 

New York Red Bulls at Vancouver Whitecaps

The difference between the quality of play in the MLS and in top flight European football is staggering. The most visible difference: the passing. Short passes and sustained attacks built through the heart of the midfield are noticeably absent from MLS play; the majority of the scoring chances created are from long balls sent down the wing or from set pieces. Eric Hassli, Vancouver’s designated player, is easily identifiable on the field because of his superior technical ability. His ball control far exceeds that of his teammates which makes him a valuable player. The game also lacks the general pace of the English Premier League and feels much more disjointed. It is highly unlikely that Major League Soccer will ever challenge, let alone surpass, top flight European football, but there is still room to grow. Clubs have found success in the Pacific Northwest, the rivalry between the Portland Timbers and the Seattle Sounders has the substance to establish itself as the league’s first real marquee matchup, an essential concept for an aspiring sports league. As a proud native of the proposed Republic of Cascadia (no matter where I live I will always identify myself with the Pacific Northwest), it’s wonderful to recognize the importance of the Timbers, Sounders, and Whitecaps to the success of Major League Soccer.

CA Osasuna at FC Barcelona, April 23rd 2011

Live Event #4

Camp Nou

Following over 24 hours in transit, my father and I finally arrived in Barcelona and we had just under 24 hours to recuperate in time for our first football match of our trip in Europe: Club Atlético Osasuna at Futbol Club Barcelona. The match was situated at a difficult juncture for the Catalan giants, the third in a succession of six that included a staggering four against their primary rivals Real Madrid. This would be the second time I would be privileged enough to watch the Blaugrana in person; the club generally recognized as the best team in the world. The first time was in August of 2009, a 3-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao that confirmed Barca as Supercopa de España champions. The squad has undergone minimal change since then, the core group that won the 2009 Champions League remains for the most part intact.

The unmistakable feature of Camp Nou is its sheer size. Europe's largest stadium in terms of capacity has the ability to seat nearly 100,000 spectators for a football match. Once inside the stadium, it is easy to notice the lack of high priced concession options and the absence of the entertainment options that are present in all North American stadiums in an effort to please corporate advertisers and appeal to a larger (non-sports fan) audience. It is refreshing for a sports purist like myself to attend a game where at least 90% of the attending fans' priority is actually watching the game! Shocking! In Barcelona especially, supporting Barca is not so much a choice as a civic duty, a public demonstration of strong Catalan pride. There is nothing quite like a packed stadium singing the Barca anthem in unison before and after the game.

Barca Anthem

With Barca looking ahead to their Champions League semi-final encounter with Real Madrid Pep Guardiola chose to rest many of his key players. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Lionel Messi started the match on the substitutes bench and center back duo Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique watched from the stands. Even without half of their regular starting XI Barca were no question the superior team. Twenty-three minutes in, Jeffren whipped in a terrific rolling cross that David Villa expertly slide into the bottom corner for his first goal in 11 matches. Osasuna showed some fight at times and nearly had an equalizer that Barca keeper deflected out for a corner. 20 year old Barca midfielder Thiago Alcantara received a surprise start and left a good impression. He demonstrated exceptional skill and an ability to fit into Barca's dynamic attack. The score at halftime was 1-0 for Barca. As a fan I hoped that Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta would eventually make an appearance in the game; it would have been slightly disappointing if they hadn't. Guardiola didn't wait much longer to introduce one of them, inserting Iniesta for the second half. Not too long after, Messi and Xavi appeared on the touch line for warm up to raucous applause. They both would be subbed on with 30 minutes left to go, Messi for goal scorer David Villa and Xavi for the injured center back Gabriel Milito, an alteration that forced midfielder Sergio to join fellow midfielder Javier Mascherano as Barca's two central defenders.

As soon as he entered the game Lionel Messi didn't take long to thrill the Barca faithful. With his first touch he stopped a rolling ball, flipped it over an oncoming defender and darted down the middle of the park leaving the defender in his wake. Barca continued to probe the Osasuna defence and were finally rewarded when Dani Alves sent Messi clear through on goal and the Argentine phenom finished clinically with his right foot to make the score 2-0 with 3 minutes to go. The goal was historically significant: it was Messi's 50th of the campaign - in 49 matches - and broke Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskás’s previous Spanish league best of 49 goals in one season.

Match Highlights

The Camp Nou experience is a must for any fan of the game of football. I was able to take many pictures that I will upload when I return home. Sunday night I attended a match between Barca's handball team and their German opponents THW Kiel which was unlike any sporting event I'd ever attended and Monday night we hope to attend a basketball game between crosstown rivals DKV Joventut and Regal Barcelona.