Caught in Possession

No creo.

Oh my! Real Madrid staged a stunning late comeback against Getafe at the Bernabeu, re-igniting Spanish journos' desperate hopes for a photo finish at the tail end of the 08/09 Liga Primera. Real trail league leaders FC Barcelona by six points with six matches to go.

But the ink splashed on Real's 3-2 win hadn't yet dried when Barca proceeded to demolish third-placed Sevilla 4-0 at the Camp Nou:



Thank you for the clip, and your name, RafaNoMeJodas. Whoever you are.

Lovers of the beautiful game are urged to spend a few extra seconds replaying and re-replaying Xavi's extravagantly skilled move around the 8:00 minute mark.

Does that look like a team looking over its collective shoulder?

* with a nod and HT to the Light of Saba...

We're back, s*ckas. !Y ahora en el twitter, tambien! In the words of The Special One, "Do it."

True story: So the other day I'm pondering the general abundance of negative vibes swirling around DC United fans, media, observers, etc. these days...and then I'm reading the venerable Gabriele Marcotti as he describes how "Europe tipped its collective hat to the Barclays Premier League" in light of the dominance of English clubs in the UEFA Champions League (3 out of 4 CL semifinalists hail from the Prem). One particular graf catches the eye:

Gianluca Vialli, the former Chelsea manager, now a pundit on Sky Italia, pointed out the differences among the English clubs. “Manchester United and Chelsea may have great financial means, but Arsenal do not, at least not relative to the competition,” he said. “So you can’t say it’s just about money. Arsenal are a well-run club who have chosen to go with youth and have been rewarded. This kind of courage, this willingness to give the kids a chance if they’re good enough, is something Italian clubs might want to consider as well. Young players bring enthusiasm and workrate.”

And then on Wednesday night I watch (along with about 787 other people, give or take) DC United's kids put FC Dallas (who have got to be The Crap Team in MLS at the moment, but nonetheless put out a relatively experiened side) to the sword. And I wondered if maybe United has done something right lately after all.

It'll take a metric ton of US Open Cup play-in game victories (and/or promising performances from youngsters therein) to erase that awful funk that's hanging over this club at the moment, however. Blckdgrd will likely require more than 'promising youngsters' to keep from choking on his own bile in the months ahead, for example.

But nueva sangre is buena sangre, right?