Barcelona are a disgrace

The front of their shirt (for now) is emblazoned with the letters spelling out UNICEF. And honestly speaking, that is the last thing I like about Barca.

They are famed for playing passing football, but recently against Real Madrid, of the 600 passes 300 were sideways or backwards. They are capable of playing extravagant football, but more and more they seem to avoid it. Cruyff's Barcelona played total football, they were widely respected and seen as the best team on the planet. This Barcelona might when more trophies, but they have not one my respect with a few others too. Read here for Jon Nicholson's post on F365.

Lets start with the three reasons I dislike Barcelona.

1. They dive
Yes I know, lots of teams dive, but Barcelona are disgraceful at it. In Pedro, Sergio Biscuits and Dani Alves (Not the name I use to describe him normally) Barca have a trio that would give most Olympic diving teams a run for their money. They go down at the slightest touch and most of the time they don't even need the slightest touch. Recently watching Barca play a la liga game led to watching Alves roll over 7 times after being fpuled in a desperate attempt to get his opponent red carded. For a team who are supposed to be the greatest team on the planet, for a team who have children all over the world admiring them, Barca really are not an example for others to follow

2. They abuse referees
Someone wrote the other day that if Arsenal are going to win trophies again they will have to start abusing the referees. This will result in them being given better decisions! SERIOUSY? Well watch Barca. They abuse referees in every game and in every game get decisions going there way. I may not like Mourinho that much, but he makes great sense in saying Barca have made it to the final with a lot of help. In every close game their opposition get a ludicrous red card. Against Arsenal they strangled van Persie (see above) but nothing. Van Persie kicks a ball a mere second after the whistle and is red carded. I wouldn't be surprised if United had a man sent off on Saturday. But what really bugs me about Barca is the complete disrespect they have for the officials. If there is a foul they surround him. They send 9 players over all the time. Once again showing the world that they are just not good examples. Adebayor (Who is someone that i dislike a lot) said it best: "They are little babies"

3. The Club respects no other
In Barcelona's shameful attempt to lure Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp, Barca employed every single player to publicly say something about Fabregas. They had Laporta and co say that Arsenal are keeping Cesc as a slave. Xavi said over and over again that we were keeping Cesc against his will. If you want a player, pay for him. Barca over Arsenal less than they paid for reserve team player Mascherano. Another player that they publicly tapped up. What bugs me is that they are protected about this and not reprimanded by Fifa. They moan about Arsenal signing youth players completely legally when they have publicly tapped up Henry, Hleb, Cesc and Petit back in the day.

Don't get me wrong, when they do turn it on, it is the beautiful game and in Lionel Messi they have the best player on the planet. He alone is worth watching, but the culture of Barcelona is one that I can not support.

So come Saturday night, for the first time in a very long time, will I shout for Man United. Lets hope they do it with a ridiculous penalty and an offside goal. Alongside Vidic punching Biscuits in the face for no one to see. Well you can always wish cant you.

JABU