Source: Telegraph
Spanish press hail Barcelona win as a 'victory for football'
To say that Barcelona's dramatic injury-time win over Chelsea was well received in these parts would be a gross understatement. From nursing their cervezas increasingly forlornly through the second period, a Catalonian carnival was kick-started by Andres Iniesta's arcing late strike. [LNB]Within seconds of the final whistle, the Ramblas were transformed into a sea of blue and scarlet as the city converged on the Canaletas fountain, the traditional meeting point for Barca's die-hard supporters. [LNB] Related ArticlesChelsea v BarcelonaDrogba says sorry for outburstUefa dismisses 'conspiracy' against ChelseaGreat conspiracy theoriesReferee's verdict on ChelseaFletcher plea has 'slim' chanceTraffic ground to a halt as the peculiar Spanish penchant for celebrating in one's car was enacted; and the firecrackers were still exploding by the time Chelsea's conquistadores returned to Spanish soil at 5am on Thursday morning. [LNB]The press coverage, too, was predictably euphoric. Iniesta's image, clad all in yellow, maniacally waving his shirt above his head, adorned every front cover, while Spain's verdict was unanimous: this was a victory not just for Barcelona, but for football. [LNB]Sure, the Catalan club got lucky but from a Spanish perspective the means justified the end. [LNB]"Barcelona may have scored just once over the two legs, and in the final minute too," wrote Santí Nolla, the director of Mundo Deportivo, "but in a larger sense they were far superior to Chelsea, the candidate of pragmatism and defensive football; this was brute strength versus talent, attacking verve, the spectacular."[LNB]Rafael Ramos, the correspondent for La Vanguardia, was even more coruscating, describing Guus Hiddink's tactics as "industrial and contaminating". [LNB]But there was a measure of sympathy too. The histrionics of Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack were not mocked. On the contrary, Hiddink was described in El Mundo as entering the press room afterwards "like a gentleman, although it was not difficult to divine the anger behind his urbanity". [LNB]So now to Rome and quite a few papers picked up on the similarities with Barcelona's progress to the final in 1992, when Jose Maria Bakero headed home a last-minute free-kick to see Barca through against Kaiserslautern.[LNB]Johan Cruyff's side went on to win the European Cup that year. Only the Red Devils of Manchester United can stop this team of angels now. [LNB]
