Source: Daily_Mail
Bleating Barcelona: Wounded Catalans can't stop whingeing
John Terry left the Nou Camp claiming he had just been involved inthe perfect defensive performance, yet the football world turned against Chelsea and their negative tactics yesterday.
Barcelona's players and manager, along with their former coach Johan Cruyff, were queuing up to criticise Guus Hiddink for showing so littleambition, suffocating Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry during a one-sided Champions League semi-final, first leg.
We'll go on the attack against Barca at the Bridge, insists Chelsea ace EssienClose to perfection! Terry hails Chelsea heroes after blocking out BarcaChelsea's Malouda warns ref: Don't put up with Barca's play-acting at BridgeRevenge at Stamford Bridge is high on the agenda for Barcelona's aggrieved players, insulted by the way Chelsea's interim coach set his team out to swarm all over the man in possession of the ball and stop Barca scoring at the Nou Camp for the first time in a year.
They believed they were bullied out of the game, continually kicked up in the air by Michael Ballack, the clumsy challenges of that liability John Mikel Obi or barged off the ball by the imposing physical presence of Didier Drogba. 'We are a clean team, as clear as water,' claimed Barca coach Pep Guardiola during a long, rambling interview yesterday, airing his grievance when his time would have been better spent solving next week's tactical riddle.
Xavi and Andres Iniesta, the two central midfielders who skim the ball across the surface at the Nou Camp at bewildering speed, were left frustrated, surprised that a team of Chelsea's quality were capable of using a smothering strategy.
Enlarge 'In England, they talk about fair play so much, but it's a shame they don't put that talk into practice when their teams get on the pitch,' said a shaken Xavi.
'There was no fair play from Chelsea at all. We played football, they did not play anything at all. Ballack's challenge in the second half was a red card.
I was screaming at the referee (Wolfgang Stark) to send him off, but he did nothing. 'We had them holed up in their penalty area. They did not create a single chance.'
That is not strictly true, as 92,000 Catalonians will even admit that they feared the worst when Drogba raced through after Rafael Marquez's back-pass pulled up short. Beyond that, Xavi was right, with Barcelona involved in a classic game of attack versus defence, dominating possession with nearly 71 per cent of the ball and marking their territory with their trademark passes across the pitch.
'We know referees allow more in European competition than they do in the Spanish league, but there is a difference between that and simply letting teams do whatever they wanted to do, which is exactly what happened,' added Iniesta.
'Chelsea were given the freedom to make all the challenges they wanted. When I was brought down by Ballack I was in on goal and yet the referee let him off a second yellow card. Chelsea were organised, but they did not come out and they made no attempt to play.'
The Spanish press were damning in their verdict, too, with the Barcelona newspaper E l 9 declaring: El mur de la vergonya- The Wall of Shame.
Nevertheless, despite Chelsea's reluctance to attack, it was a thoroughly professional job, the finest defensive performance since Manchester United drew 0-0 with Barcelona in last season's Champions League semi-final.
Cruyff, who led Barcelona to the European Cup in 1992, claimed Chelsea destroyed the game, using delaying tactics to upset the rhythm of one of the most aesthetically pleasing teams in Europe.
'I have to confess I thought that after the first 20 minutes Chelsea would look to do something on the counter-attack, or at least want to play some football, but I was wrong. 'They just continued with the idea of trying to upset Barcelona by interrupting their flow by fouling and time-wasting.
'All the refereeing was against Barcelona. It was against the spectacle and it penalised the team who were trying to play football.'
But, crucially, Chelsea trust Hiddink, placing their faith in the Dutch coach as he attempts to outwit Guardiola over two legs, defending in Spain and then plotting their path to next month's final in Rome when they return to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
'It was almost the perfect defensive performance to keep them out,' said Terry. 'It was as good a performance as I have been involved in. We did not get the goal, but as a performance collectively the team put in a shift and it was definitely up there with the best of them.
'I did not expect them to come at us and get in our faces as much as they did. They didn't let us play the ball around at the back or have any time in midfield, so credit to them because they stopped us playing. Nine times out of 10 we played the long ball, but we didn't get frustrated. If anything, they were getting more frustrated.'
That resentment will roll over into Wednesday's second leg, but this time the recriminations will go on a lot longer for the losers.
