Lionel Messi Teaches Arsenal Beautiful Football Barcelona Style

Morning all, or afternoon, for my Chinese readers.

I tried to bring myself to bloglife yesterday. That is to say, I wanted to write a little piece about my Barcelona experience, but I couldn´t. The reasons are two-fold.

1. I was very sad that Nicklas Bendtner didn´t perform like Lionel did, and prove all my critics wrong.

2. I slept 35 minutes on Tuesday night after partying til 7:30 a.m. and taking my train at 9:00 a.m. back to Valencia.

It was an amazing experience. Our seats were absolutely phenomenal and I have to thank my boss 100 times over for the wonderful opportunity he gave me and my friend Colm.

The atmosphere before kick off outside the Camp Nou was electric. There was the scent of beautiful football in the air. The fans of both titantic teams set for battle were buzzing. Everyone knew that we were about to see something spectacular.

And we did.

Although, I had hoped it wasn´t just from one man. Okay, most of Barcelona´s players played out of their skins. Particularly Messi, Pedro, and Xavi. But all the headlines the following day mentioned one man, who probably deserves the title of God, Lionel Messi.

His silky smooth skills were triumphant. His blistering pace exuberant. His close control magnificent. He is the best player I´ve ever seen. Full stop.

Thierry Henry was delightful and he had gazelle-like pace that I may never see again, but he didn't have the brutish force Messi possesses despite his tiny frame, and he certainly didn't have the change of direction of the Argentine dynamo.

Enough about Barcelona's No. 10, and a short word about the city.

That was my second time there. Both times I have been treated magnificently by the Catalans, and I want to give them my support (not politically but socially). I have heard many many times that they are rude, closed, and unkind people.

I have yet to meet one who I didn't like, and if you can do your best to forgive the ignorance of a native language speaker, responding to you in a tongue that they feel more comfortable in, you will have no problem getting along with these folk. Go see the city—it's a worthwhile experience.

However, that all could have changed had Arsenal managed to hang on to Bendtner's goal, which would have been a task someone similar to the 300 Spartans actually DEFEATING the invading Persian troops.

Bendtner put us ahead on 18 minutes after Theo Walcott chickened out and squared the ball when he should have tucked it away with the panache of another Arsenal No. 14. Anyway, B52 did his best on the first effort and did well to recover first and toe poke the ball high into the Barcelona net.

I went absolutely mental. Coke everywhere. Beer everywhere. Sunflower seeds all seemed to land in the sea of curls and semi-dreadlocks that was the hair of the lady three rows in front of me.

Obviously, she turned around and waved at me with four fingers less than she should have when Barcelona scored three minutes later.

Messi drives in from the right, plays a one two with Silvestre and sticks it high into the right side of the net. Fair play Leo, you've done your bit for the night. Hopefully Barcelona will rest on this score and try and go through on away goals.

Yeah, right. Three goals later, Arsenal are demoralized and I´m ready to get fooked.

So we head back to the hostel, change whatever clothes we can, Arsenal tops are not an option they are coming with us to the night club. Colm stays til 3:30, then he makes for the exit to sit on the loo for the rest of the night. Poor guy. Should have drank more beer says me.

I stay til 7:30. Four hours in the club on my own. Just having lost 4-1. Having spent the best part of 300 euro in a night. Having just seen my team ripped apart. Having just spent the BEST PART OF 300 EURO!

Smile ear to ear. For there is hope. I reckon Arsenal with five of their six players on the pitch instead of the in the dugout might have been a different result. However, the outcome, with Messi, was pretty much inevitable.

UptheArse