Cristiano's Feelings Are Hurt

Wait... I can almost see my reflection in the ball. (Photo: AFP)

The most famous, rich, handsome, greatest football player ever feelings have been recently hurt by every non-Real Madrid fan in the entire world. Cristiano Ronaldo has been constantly booed and has had enough; he finally broke down [in tears]. After standing hours in front of his full-body mirror at home, he has been trying to think of the greatest excuse of why people boo him. "It can't be the way I sometimes act like a baby and throw a tantrum when Iniesta, Xavi and Messi pass in a triangle around me..no...and it can't be that I like to stand on the field with my arms on my hips when I don't get my way..." he takes his shirt off and strokes his abs for some inspiration. "Obviously people are jealous of my rock hard body. Messi is jealous of my abs, Villa is jealous of my hair, Cesc is jealous of my earnings and Di Maria is jealous of my famous-ness." Ronaldo went to bed last night in his Barcelona shirt (which he secretly owns, #1, says Victor V on the back), which he thinks makes him a better player while he sleeps. Cristiano, I think people booing you is normal. People boo you because they don't like Real Madrid. And you are their best player so you are the one primarily targeted to boo; pretty common sense...Anyway Cristiano, I don't see Messi saying things like this, even when he is booed for winning everything in the world.

Interview with a Barça Fan: @FCstartingXI

If he didn’t live thousands of miles away from Camp Nou, he would be a season ticket holder, stand outside the training ground everyday to get a glimpse of a player or two and wear his Barcelona jersey to church. Here's our first interview with one big Barcelona fan from Minnesota.

Why do you like Barcelona?

Coming from an American family with no futbol influence growing up it was easy to fall in love with Barcelona. The players play for eachother with a brotherhood that is unmatched by any other team/club I've seen. Barça's play is very fluid, very sexy, possession based, pass & move, and their tiki-taka style of play is what make them so very appealing to the eye. However, there is an underlayer to that as well that defines them more. They work extremely hard in training and also hustle to regain possession in defense. It reminds of velociraptors in a way, how they all work together in unity to hunt, and in Barça's case, retrieve the ball back into their possession.

What makes a good player besides skill?

Hard work, discipline, vision, patience, awareness, and an undeniable will to win

What formation do you favor with Cesc now on the squad?

Same as always, 4-3-3 with more of a rotation of our midfielders to keep them fresh and in fitness all year. Although I am intrigued by the Villarreal performance when they used a 3-1-3-3 attacking formation.

One word to describe Victor V: 

Irreplaceable

If you could ask Pep one question, what would it be?

What is the goal you would like to see achieved with these specific group of players?

What do you think of Villa’s hair?

He copied my hairstyle, I want royalties.

Favorite player?

David Villa is my personal favorite, Andres Iniesta is my emotional favorite, and Leo Messi is undoubtably the best.

What are you favorite teams outside of FCB?

I have none, I am singularly loyal to Barcelona.

Favorite Barcelona memory:

Although beating Madrid 5-0 at Camp Nou and winning at the Bernabeu 2-6 might rank higher for others, the way we played at Wembley in the Champions League Final and the 3-1 scoreline of complete domination against Manchester United was my moment of pure blissful happiness.

If you’re a Barca fan and want to have your interview posted, contact us at barcalista7@gmail.com :) 

Spain Previews

So far Spain have won five Euro Cup qualifiers in five matches -- they are leading Group I with 15 points and Tuesday they will play their next group stage match v Liechtenstein. Last time they met, Spain crushed them 4-0. For the tournament so far, David Villa is the top goal scorer [for Spain] with 4 goals, Llorente is next with 3 and Torres then with 2. Spain are perfect as to this point (Klass-Jan Huntelaar of Netherlands and Miroslav Klose of Germany have the most goals in tournament; 8). Before their next qualifier on Tuesday, they will be playing a friendly tomorrow v Chile. Alexis Sanchez will go from teammate to opponent as he will face some of his Barcelona buddies on the field. They will be using this match at St. Gallen as preparation for the qualifier game. 14 out of 24 players will be coming from Barcelona or Madrid but we know the Spain squad will step up above rivalries at the national level and will play well with each other like they always do. [view full squad list here]

This nice stat was also on Twitter today via @OptaJose 41 - David Villa has played for Spain in more matches than any other player under Vicentre del Bosque. Favourite.

Note: for both international matches being played there will be no Pique, Puyol, or Andoni due to injuries. To fill in Bosque called Alvaro Dominguez (A. Madrid), Botia (Sporting Gijon) and Barca B boy Montoya.

Del Bosque: "There are some new names in the list but that doesn't mean we're eliminating others like (Carlos) Marchena and (Joan) Capdevila from future squads. We're using this opportunity to bring in young players so we get to know them better. We're well covered."