Fingernails were bitten, but the Camp Nou crowd saw their side edge another excellent performance from PSG. Barça were second best until Lionel Messi came on and despite playing at 60% or so due to an injury, the Argentine led the Catalans into the back of the net. Ryu was in Barcelona to see the mighty Zlatan go silent as Pedro stole the show.
[You can interact with Ryu on twitter @Toksuede and check his Flickr. Posted by Eric.]
The main complaint about football in major European capitals (London aside) is that the size of the city prevents any sort of the tribal passion you’ll find in the smaller communities and villages from developing. Well, tonight was different. Paris became united through Paris St. Germain’s rebellious performance against Barcelona. After the Champions League match, PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi said: “We’re happy with what we produced against the best team in the world. We showed Paris could be great.”
Ryu was in the French capital to see Thiago Silva, Zlatan, and company put in a memorable performance against Messi and his new tattoo that looks like it’s inspired by The Walking Dead. [You can interact with Ryu on twitter @Toksuede and check his Flickr. Posted by Eric.]
Okay, you’re the latest member to join Team Messi… Your face appears on the news, displayed on skyscrapers and you even get a mural painted by someone without your permission. You’re just a step away from being a meme sensation. You’ve become part of a movement, one which plays the Messi Way. So when you’re on field, how do you beat a player without the help of Xavi or Iniesta?
Stepping their game up a level with their talisman Leo Messi and his first signature adizero f50 boot, adidas have now created an innovative 3D digital video that uses your Facebook details creating a personalised experience. The music is fresh, the technology is clever, and you get a glimpse of what it’s like to be in the shoes of the boy from Rosario.
We may be in the middle of an International break but AFR Voice isn’t taking a time out. No sir. We’ve got our passports out and spend this week’s podcast picking up some serious air miles as we charge around the globe bringing you everything you need to know about the World Cup qualifiers on 5 different continents.
So as teams from around the world have pulled out of the international lay-by and got back on the road to Brazil 2014, we start off by looking at the delicately poised groups in Europe, discuss if a pre-qualifying stage for so-called International “minnows” is a good idea, and look at the possibility of Montenegro installing trap doors under the pitch against England in an act of gamesmanship.
Then it’s off around the world where the USMNT have been fighting snow, frost and Costa Rica in the Hex, Lionel Messi has been getting some extra camera time in South America, and New Zealand have qualified top of the Oceania group (but Shane Smeltz has still been left with a qualification headache).
There’s also time for a quick round-up of all of the week’s MLS action, a special look at the Australian A-League (where it really is business time), plus we discuss what it takes to get the Blackburn managerial job, and why everything on Wikipedia must be true.
Get in touch with the team to mock Paddy’s poor betting selections, suggest more leagues to cover, or anything else for that matter - tweet us on @AFRvoice, or email afrvoice@gmail.com. You can also subscribe to AFR Voice on iTunes and find us on Soundcloud. Do it.
![As close as you can get to tracking Messi
The living legend’s finally showing up for his nation, and Argentina are swiftly on their way to qualifying for the World Cup. This past weekend, Lionel Messi was in fine form as Argentina beat Venezuela 3-0. TV Publica in Argentina had a camera on Leo the whole match, and while it’s not Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, this compilation is just as mesmerizing. [Posted by Eric]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/2f8056d4b643c0640c310aa54c65563c/tumblr_mk91a74Qs61qaznnlo2_500.gif)
The living legend’s finally showing up for his nation, and Argentina are swiftly on their way to qualifying for the World Cup. This past weekend, Lionel Messi was in fine form as Argentina beat Venezuela 3-0. TV Publica in Argentina had a camera on Leo the whole match, and while it’s not Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, this compilation is just as mesmerizing. [Posted by Eric]
The stats didn’t give Barcelona much of a chance. The oddsmakers turned on them. The people criticized the club, virtually preparing for their burial. No team had managed to overturn a two-goal deficit in the Champions League without the benefit of an away goal. Barcelona had never capsized a 2-0 deficit in Europe. And Lionel Messi had never scored against an Italian club from open play. Not often do Barca, and Messi, need a game to silence critics, but if there ever was one, it happened Tuesday night.
Presumably, only Barca could’ve played so confidently with all that racket. They’re so strong-willed. They didn’t want any negative energy: come support us or go home, Gerard Pique insisted. And just when some were starting to believe they were losing their lustre — they had lost, before the second leg against AC Milan, three of five games — the Catalans put on a performance to remind the world they are still capable of greatness.
This was not just a case of Barca being Barca. Jordi Roura said so. “Beating Milan 4-0 is not normal for anyone, not even Barcelona. They are a great team and made life very difficult for us,” the club’s assistant manager told reporters. The match was much more than a blowout. It was a game of stark conclusions, one in which we saw true reflections of both clubs: that Barcelona can still play, and that Milan still have much work to do.
Spring is in the air, except in freezing cold London, so it’s an especially husky outing for the AFR Voice team as they wrap up the last two weeks in football. Amidst all the usual winter fare of Premier League and FA Cup action, the green shoots of MLS and the Champions League have sprung again, we’ve seen quite literally a new breed of pitch invader, and perhaps most importantly, you can now watch games from a pitch side jacuzzi in Zurich (and yes, you did read that last point correctly).
There’s the usual look at all things Anglophile – have Liverpool hit form at the right time? Will Chelsea and Man United be able to play their FA Cup replay before the final itself? And when Spring arrives, are Wigan the best team that the world has ever seen? We’ll also take our pick of who is going to jump off the managerial merry-go-round and straight into the Reading manager’s office, and we’ll see who’s been getting all artistic at Stoke.
Then it’s straight into all of the action from around the world. We start off in MLS where both the Western and Eastern conferences seem to be having a Canadian affair, Seattle may soon be making a significant addition to their roster, and Ryan Nelsen starts to make his mark in Toronto. Then it’s back over to Europe where Palermo put Chelsea’s managerial dismissal policy to shame, Atletico Madrid surrender their 100% home record, and Montpellier attempt to start discussions with a certain Diego about taking charge next season, so watch this space….
As always, you get in touch with the team by emailing afrvoice@gmail.com, or join in with the ‘at which point before the World Cup will Jack Wilshere get injured’ sweepstake by tweeting @AFRvoice.
Oil on canvas. 18x24.
“Sport seems to me the best expression of modernism. It is a balance between war and art, competition and beauty. Lionel Messi, as one of our greatest footballers, is also our greatest warrior and our greatest artist. Here Messi finds himself in an impressionist landscape and under the more violent sky of a war painting like Benjamin West’s ‘The Death of General Wolfe.’”
Daniel Kliger lives in New York City, where he attends Columbia University. We’re delighted to be featuring “Messi” on AFR. [Posted by Eric]
It’s been a magical weekend of FA Cup action, but now the dust has settled, Luton have finished celebrating, and Oldham’s Matt Smith has stopped shoving Martin Skrtel around the penalty area, let the latest of edition of AFR Voice take you through all the highs and lows of what was a truly rollercoaster weekend of fourth round drama.
We’ll be taking a good look at all of the weekend’s big upsets – Oldham dumping out last year’s finalists Liverpool, Brentford holding cup holders Chelsea, Leeds knocking out a much fancied Spurs side, as well as the MK Dons shoving Harry Redknapp back into the transfer window “gang war” in a bid to sign up yet more talent that may (but most probably won’t) keep QPR up.
We’ll also be saying a fond farewell to Mario Balotelli as he heads back to Milan, as well as what to do if a Premier League footballer’s car gets a puncture outside your house, and why unemployed French tutors should get on a train up to Newcastle, and pronto.
Then it’s off around Europe where Lazio are desperately trying to recruit a new ornithological mascot before the January window shuts, Cristiano Ronaldo’s hatrick still isn’t enough to upstage Messi in La Liga, and Zlatan gets a good megging in Ligue 1, before we head down to South Africa to give you an update on all of the happenings at the African Cup of Nations, including the real reason as to Cape Verde are proving to be such high fliers.
As always, you can get in touch with the team by tweeting @AFRvoice or emailing afrvoice@gmail.com. You can also subscribe to AFR Voice on iTunes and find us on Soundcloud.
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