Barcelona have slowly begun entering the catch-22 phase initiated by the golden era of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique. Basically, it goes like this: La Masia will never again produce a group of players like that one. They turned Barcelona into a global sporting institution synonymous with the quality of being elite.
“David Trezeguet is hands down the best finisher I’ve ever seen, and you know how much I love Dennis Bergkamp. That goal to win the Euros, people don’t understand how tough that was to finish.” -Thierry Henry
It’s not uncommon to come across stories of players taking a swig of beer in the supporters’ section after scoring a late goal or after a victory, but it’s extremely rare to see it casually done in the 29th minute of a Europa League playoff with the scores level at 0-0.
Perhaps Vereya defender Ivan Bandalovski needed a little hair of the dog following last night’s session or maybe it just irked him to see his favorite brew go to waste like that, but the Bulgarian used the barley pop like it was a Cool Blue Gatorade, a move usually reserved for intramural games in college.
Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande, the side that spent a fortune on Colombian striker Jackson Martinez and Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, are through to the AFC Champions League quarterfinals after defeating Japan’s Kashima Antlers on away goals.
Tuesday’s second leg round of 16 match was a decidedly Brazilian-heavy affair, with Guangzhou being managed by Luiz Felipe Scolari and featuring Paulinho, Ricardo Goulart and Alan Carvalho. Kashima featured two Brazilians of their own: Leandro and Pedro Junior.