Rookie manager delivers the goods to silence critics!: Jose Gonzales: Jgonzales@marca.com
There where those who said Esteban Browning did not have what it took to be successful at Barcelona, today this reporter rams those words back down the throats of those who doubted the potential of this great young manager as Browning has now delivered not only the La Liga title but also the European cup to this great club.
Lets take a look at how he done it.
Our first match sees us head back to the 18th of February when Barcelona paid a visit to the San Manes stadium in Bilbao to face Athletic Bilbao. With many expecting Barca to crush their less glamours opponents, the pressure was really on here to get a result. Luckily for Browning his side managed it……just. Xavi gave the visitors an early lead in the 18th minute as he rattled home a free kick from 20 yards out that left Inaki Lafuente in the Athletic goal with no chance. Fernando Llorente levelled things us for Athletic in the 31st minute after being set clear by a great pass from Francisco Javier Yeste, with the Barca defenders looking statuesque Llorente blasted the ball into the top right hand corner. Things looked to be heading for a stalemate until the 86th minute when Carlos Puyol launched a brilliant ball into the box, the Athletic keeper came out to meet the ball, only the ball never arrive at him, instead the ball arrived right at the feet Samuel Eto’o who simply side stepped the onrushing Lafuente and tapped the ball into the empty net.
Athletic man Fernando Llorente was voted man of the match, quite possibly by someone who had been smoking crack as it was this reporters and everyone inside the ground opinion that Ronaldinho was by far and away the best player on the match.
After Barca’s second goal went in the fans broke into a chant of “gracias por el portero del regalo” (thank you for the gift goalkeeper) for the remainder of the game.
Next up on the 21st of February Browning would lead his side north as they ventured to the French town of Lens to face Lille in the Champions League first knockout stage. With only nine minutes of the clock Barca had taken the lead as Leo Messi’s shot deflected off Debuchy fell to Samuel Eto’o who made no mistake from five yards out. Lille’s European adventure suffered another blow in the 42nd minute as Barcelona stepped up a gear and Fernando Torres broke free of the defence and hit a fierce shot low past the helpless goalkeeper.
Lille where as good as knocked out of the competition in the 61st minute as Samuel Eto’o grabbed his second goal of the game after a 40 yard pass from Xavi sent him racing clear of the last defender. Lille will be fairly disappointed with their performance, opportunities like this one won’t come around very often for the little French side and they will be gutted they didn’t make the most of it this time around.
Two goal hero Samuel Eto’o was voted man of the match.
During match…..chanting etc……….. “¡pegarte en a lo que tu bueno, dando para arriba!” (stick to what you’re good at, giving up!). A clear reference to world war two.
Three days later Browning and his young side braced themselves for the visit of their nearest rivals this season, Valencia, The match had been billed as the game of the season but in reality it turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. David Villa opened the scoring in the 27th minute after Silva had played him in behind the Barcelona defence with a great pass. Samuel Eto’o pulled the holders level in the 37th minute after some nice interplay on the edge of the 18 yard box.
That was pretty much it, both teams seemed more than happy to settle for the draw and both sets of fans seemed happy with the result.
Barcelona’s Mexican defender Rafael Marquez was voted man of the match.
Next up was Villarreal in the Copa Del Rey quarter final second leg, with Barca carrying a comfortable 3-0 lead from the first leg there really wasn’t going to be much doubt that this result. Things got off to a good start for Barca in the 8th minute when Rafael Marquez headed the ball home from a Ronaldinho corner. The advantage was doubled in the 38th minute when Leo Messi crossed in from the right hand side, Ronaldinho was there to meet the ball and sent it goal bound with a diving header. With the aggregate score sitting at 5-0 Barcelona seemed to take their foot off the pedal in the second half of the game and Villarreal took advantage of this fact as they pulled one back in the 67th minute through Nihat. Nihat was on target again in the 75th minute after he got on the end of a low cross from Cani. Barcelona managed to shore up things at the back and quietly closed the match out to set up a place in the semi final against their hated rivals Real Madrid.
Two goal Nihat was voted man of the match.
Deprotivo where the next victims at Camp Nou as they bided to halt the run of the seemingly unstoppable Barcelona. Sadly for them it just wasn’t to be as Samuel Eto’o opened the scoring in the 5th minute, the Cameroonian international was on hand again to double the advantage in the 66th minute, leaving Deportivo with little way back into the match.
Rafael Marquez was voted man of the match.
Next up it was the turn of Lille to pay a visit to Camp Nou and like so many before them; it was also their turn to suffer a defeat on this famous ground. Ronaldinho opened the scoring the 8th minute before Samuel Eto’o doubled the advantage in the 38th minute. In the second half goals from Leo Messi (56mins) and Fernando Torres (81mins) secured a comfortable win for the defending European champions.
Samba superstar Ronaldinho was voted man of the match.
Barca paid a visit to Racing on the 11th of March and little Racing gave them a hell of a fright, try as they mighty the mighty Barcelona couldn’t break through the stubborn Racing defence. Just as things looked to be heading for the dreaded 0-0 draw Leo Messi struck in the 93rd minute from 30 yards out to secure all three points for Barcelona.
Thiago Motta was voted man of the match.
It was Gimnastic who would stand in the way of three more points things looked good for the home side in the 25th minute as Ronaldinho rattled the ball home from a Xavi cross. Gimnastic had a chance to snatch a point in the 82nd minute when they were awarded a penalty but Ariza Makukula blasted the ball over the bar.
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes was voted man of the match.
It might have been the first of April but Barca shouldn’t have taken Zaragoza for fools in this La Liga clash as the unfancied Zaragoza side crushed them with three stunning goals coming from (Ewerthon pen 8mins and 77 mins) and Diego Milito 39mins. Balletti was also send off in the dying seconds of the game to further compound Barcelona’s misery.
Zaragoza’s Ewerthon was voted man of the match.
A few days later the side would face Lyon in the Uefa Champions League quarter final first leg and Camp Nou; this match would prove to be a tense affair as Barca had every reason to be wary of the French side who had disposed of Liverpool in the first knockout stage of the competition. Xavi opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after some frog clattered Samuel Eto’o inside the box. Ronaldinho gave Barca their 2nd of the night in the 62nd minute.
Lyon’s Cris was voted man of the match.
Crisis at Camp Nou? Well that’s what some where shouting after this result as Barca slumped to their second straight league defeat, this time it was at the hands of Real Betis. Rafael Sobis stunned the 68,832 ground into silence with his 17th minute strike. Many had speculated that due to how early Betis had taken the lead that this would spark Barca back into life, leaving them with plenty of time to turn the game in their favour; this never happened and Betis could have won by more than the one goal.
Juanito of Betis was voted man of the match.
With form that bad it’s not the time you want to face a tricky away game against Lyon in the 2nd leg of a Champions League quarter final, but that’s exactly what Barca had ahead of them. With their 2-0 lead from the first game many Barcelona fans felt the first goal of this tie would be critical and sadly it fell Lyon’s way coming via a Sylvain Wiltord header in the 19th minute. This set up a tense remaining 70 mins as Lyon battered away at the Barcelona goal trying to level the tie, sadly for them they got hit on the break in the dying seconds of the game as Fernando Torres broke free and hammered the ball home with the clock showing 91 minutes, to secure a place in the semi finals for his side.
Lyon’s Sebastien Squiillaci was voted man of the match.
After booking a place in the semi final of Europe’s elite competition morale must have been soaring in the Barcelona camp and not many people would have fancied Atletico’s chances as Barca paid a visit to Vincete Calderon. The visitors were stung on the half hour mark Atletico’s Galletti took the ball past Carlos Puyol and laid on a lovely ball for Sergio Aguero, Aguero then turned Giovanni Van Bronckhorst inside out before firing the ball low into the bottom right hand corner sending the home fans wild. Barcelona pulled level just after the hour mark after Andres Iniesta found the run of Guy Asulin; Asulin knocked the ball towards Fernando Torres who hammered it home from close range. Atletico regained the lead in the 75th minute after Martin Petrov floated in a corner from the right hand side, Antonio Lopez out jumped Andres Iniesta to head the ball past the helpless Victor Valdes. Three minutes later Atletico found themselves two goals clear, again the goal came from another Petrov corner, this time it was Pablo who got on the end of it, Gianluca Zambrotta got up to head clear only to send the ball flying past his own goalkeeper. The rout was confirmed in the 83rd minute when Santa Cruz got into the penalty area only to be hauled down by Carlos Puyol, the referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty kick and Peter Luccin stepped up to calmly slot the ball home.
Atletico’s Sergio Aguero was voted man of the match.
After the match the Barcelona fans that remained in the away section could he be heard chanting “estimado dios cuál en el azul era ése” (dear god what in the blue hell was that?)
If Barcelona fans thought their last result was humiliating then the next one would have left them speechless, their heroes travelled to Santiago Bernabeu to fixed bitter hated rivals Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey semi final first leg. Things started rather well for the visitors as in the 8th minute Gianluca Zambrotta picked Fernando Torres out with his pinpoint pass, Torres found himself clear of the defence and with space in the box, he fired the ball low across the body of the keeper into the net to give Barca a dream start and his 25th goal of the season. The lead was to be short lived though has Doyle got past Zambrotta and fired in an excellent shot which Victor Valdes could only parry away, Robinho was first to the rebound and left with a tap to level the scores up in the 12th minute. Robinho grabbed his second goal of the game in the 22nd minute after David Beckham whipped in a corner from the right hand side, the samba star out jumped youngster Guy Asulin and headed the ball across the goal into the bottom corner. Things went from bad to disastrous for Barca in the 24th minute as out of nothing Renato Augusto rattled the ball into the back of the net from 25 yards out to give Real a 3-1 lead. The roof well and truly caved in the 54th minute as Mancini whipped in another corner and Robinho again out jumped Asulin, this time Robinho’s header crashed back of the bar and the ball fell to Cannavaro who was left with what was perhaps the easiest goal he’ll ever score in his career. Carlos Puyol decide to be a smart ass in the 81st minute, when with frustration clearly getting the better of him he scythed down Doyle 30 yards out, up stepped David Beckham to dispatch the kick goal wards and past Victor Valdes for Real’s fifth of the evening. By some miracle in the 88th minute Guy Asulin managed to put a cross in from the left hand side, Carlos Puyol of all people was on hand to hammer the ball home from 10 yards. But this was too little too late on behalf of Barcelona who simply did not take the chances that presented their self to them, Real Madrid on the other did and this is why they ran out 5-2 winners, a very sweet victory indeed over their most hated rivals.
Brazilian Robinho was voted man of the match after his two well taken goals.
After the match the Barcelona fans chanted “los resultados tienen gusto que te conseguirán despedido” (results like that will get you sacked) at manager Esteban Browning.
An amazing 97,965 fans packed into the Camp Nou on the 22nd of April to see Barcelona take on City Rivals Espanyol, the fans would have been praying for a good result as well as a good performance with the side facing Italian giants Milan in the semi final of the Champions League in their next match. The fans didn’t have long to wait for something to cheer about as Messi centred the ball in the 1st minute for Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroonian international made no mistake from 15 yards. A minute before half time Eto’o was on target again as Kameni in the Espanyol goal could only parry a Ronaldinho effort; Eto’o was first to the rebound for an easy tap in.
The result was put beyond all doubt in the 69th minute after Xavi picked up a loose ball 25 yards out and found Fernando Torres with an inch perfect pass, Torres then rounded the keeper and casually rolled the ball into the empty net for the third.
Espanyol lost whatever will to continue they had left at this point and Barcelona just sat back and played it safe, no doubt trying to avoid unnecessary injuries for the upcoming clash against Milan.
Samuel Eto’o was voted man of the match.
After the match the home fans could be heard chanting “es siempre bueno batir esa espuma” (it’s always good to beat that scum) a sign that after their anger of the past two week they were now back on the managers side, a fickle bunch indeed are Barcelona fans.
Next for Barca was the unenviable task of visiting the San Siro and trying to take something from on form A.C Milan. Barcelona couldn’t have wished for a worse start than this, in the 4th minute Massimo Oddo threw the ball in to Gilardino who them passed the ball out of the right for Courcuff, Rafa Marquez managed to get in the way of the attempted ball but only succeeded in sending the ball back to Oddo who quickly found the run of Ricardo Oliveira and smashed a low drive past Victor Valdes. The defending champions pulled level in the 17th minute after some classic route one football, Victor Valdes launched a high ball up the park towards Fernando Torres who found himself in the clear with space to run into, after making the edge of the box he applied the most delicate of chips to knock the ball over the on rushing Dida to level the game. Torres was then on target again in the 51st minute to give his side the lead, this time it was Ronaldinho who turned provider as he fired in a cross from the left hand side, Torres rose above his marker and headed the ball home from six yards. Barcelona were reduced to ten men in the 59th minute after Gianlucca Zambrotta cut down Gilardino who was one on one with the keeper. Despite their numerical disadvantage Barca continued to create chances and in truth could have won this match by more than two goals to one, on the flip side though they will have been thankful to come away with their lead intact after playing the last half an hour of the game with only ten men.
Argentinean kid Leo Messi was voted man of the match.
During the game the visiting fans randomly broke into chants of “el rouch ama el triunfo rojo” (Rouch loves the red win).
Next up it was a trip to Valencia to face Levante in what should have been an easy match, but given their erratic league form, nothing could be certain with this mob at the moment. Levante held their own for 77 minutes of the game before Andres Iniesta skipped past the challenge of N’Diaye and fired a wonderful 20yard shot past the statuesque keeper in the Levante goal. The result was secured in the 82minute when Samuel Eto’o grabbed his 30th goal of the season after a nice ball by Iniesta sent him clear.
Andres Iniesta was voted man of the match.
The Barca fans chanted “algún más gana y es el nuestros” (a few more wins and it is ours) talking about the fans their heroes where closing in on the title once again.
On the 2nd of May Camp Nou paid host to Milan in the second leg of the Champions Leg semi final that saw Barca 2-1 up from the first leg. 97973 fans had crammed into this massive stadium on this beautiful summers evening in an attempt to roar their heroes on to glory. The fans had something to cheer about in the 24th minute when Xavi knocked the ball ahead of Samuel Eto’o, Eto’o then used his skill to beat Nesta and fire the ball high into the top right hand corner. Five minutes later Milan levelled the game on the night after Belletti attempted a suicidal pass to Carlos Puyol on the edge of his own box, Clarence Seedorf nipped in and stole the ball and one on one with the keeper he kept his cool to lift the ball over the diving Valdes. With the match still very much in the balance Barcelona looked to make a few changes at half time as they sought to secure their place in the final, Edmilson replaced suicidal pass boy Belletti and Javier Saviola replaced Fernando Torres. It was substitute Saviola who would score the decisive goal in the game as in the 65th minute Samuel Eto’o played him a lovely pass, Saviola was able to find a yard of space to get his shot off and the ball flew past the helpless Dida.
As the final whistle sounded there where seems of mass celebration around Camp Nou as fans and players alike realised the side was now only one game from defending their European crown.
Milan captain Alessandro Nesta was voted man of the match.
The Barcelona fans chanted “salir y ahogar tus Dolores” (go and drown your sorrows) and crestfallen Milan manager Paul Rouch and unconfirmed reports are that he done exactly that with a large bottle of rum.
The Sunday proceeding the victory over Milan saw the side return to league business and this team it was Real Sociedad that where visiting Camp Nou, needing only 3 victories to secure the title it was important that the players kept their feet on the ground after the Milan game, but it seemed the players where suffering from a little bit of a hangover from their European exploits. The breakthrough came for the home side in the 44th minute after Rafael Marquez dispossessed Ion Ansotegi with a slide tackle and knocked the ball to Ronaldinho who quickly turned two defenders with his skill passed the ball into the net. Sociedad pulled level in the 53rd minute after a stunning strike from Stevanovic who noticed Victor Valdes was off his line and chipped him from 30 yards out. Just when it seemed that this game was heading for a share of the points Samuel Eto’o found himself in space in the 94th minute of the game, under pressure from the defender Eto’o kept his cool to put the ball past the onrushing keeper to wrap up another 3 points for the defending champions.
Ronaldinho was voted man of the match.
After the match chants of “cuatro más puntos harán” (four more points will do) rang around the ground.
Another ninety seven thousand fans packed Camp Nou to watch Barcelona attempt to overturn a 5-2 deficit from the first leg of this Copa Del Rey semi final against Real Madrid, they came close but just not close enough. Samuel Eto’o opened the scoring in the 49th minute after Casillas parried a Torres shot leaving him with a tap in. Fernando Torres put Barca within a single goal of their aim in the 54th minute when Samuel Eto’o picked him out with a nice pass 30 yards from goal, Torres used his skill to go past three Real Madrid defenders and hammer the ball past Casillias in the Madrid goal. Madrid managed to hold on until the end of the match to book their place in the final though, much to the disappointment of the many fans who had packed the stadium out.
Fernando Torres was voted man of the match.
After the match the Barcelona fans chanted “tan cerca con todo hasta ahora” (so near yet so far).
Now with the distraction of the cup out of the way Barca where free to concentrate on the retaining their league crown, they headed to Pamplona to face Osasuna knowing a win would pretty much guarantee them the title. After 32mins though and some suicidal defending by Carlos Puyol the defending champions found themselves one down after Pierre Achille Webo latched onto Puyol’s slack pass and rattled the ball into the back of the net, much to the fury of Puyol’s team mates and manager Esteban Browning. In the 36th minute Xavi rattled a great shot at the goal from 30 yards, Ricardo managed to fist the ball away and it fell to Fernando Torres ten yards out, Torres managed to make a bit of space for himself and get his shot off beating Ricardo all ends up.
Try as they did though Barcelona or Osasuna could not find the second goal that would have given them all three points.
Hector Font of Osasuna was voted man of the match.
After the match the Barcelona fans chanted “un triunfo puedes hacerlo más” (one more you can do it!).
Remember the 20th of May!! It was the day Barcelona retained their title under the guidance of rookie manager Esteban Browning. The match itself here was a pretty unremarkable affair which saw Barca run out 2-0 winners over a lacklustre Getafe side. The goals coming from Javier Saviola in the 18th minute and Fernando Torres in the 38th minute.
Andres Iniesta was voted man of the match.
After the game the Triumphant Esteban Browning asked the fans to put their celebrations on hold until the team had returned from Athens with the European cup.
The Barca fans chanted “desea Esteban vivo” (long live Esteban) long into the night.
The biggest match of the season for Barca would not be played at Camp Nou, in fact it would not even be played in the Spain, this match would take place in Athens Greece as Barcelona faced last season’s English champions Chelsea (they had been deposed by Arsenal a week earlier) in the final of the UEFA Champions League. It was the Spanish fans who had something to cheer about first as in the 44th minute Ronaldinho sent Javier Saviola sprinting free after a great ball over the top, Saviola moved in on goal and coolly put the ball past Petr Cech to give Barca the lead going into the break. Just as it looked like Barca would retain their title with the 1-0 win Mathieu Bodmer advanced on Victor Valdes in the 94th minute and floated the ball over the top of him to draw Chelsea level with literally the last kick of the game. Extra time came and went with neither side being able to make the breakthrough and the dreaded penalty shootout was needed to determine a winner in this one.
Salomon Kalou stepped up first for Chelsea and scored.
Fernando Torres converted Barcelona’s first penalty with ease.
Ashley Cole was next up for Chelsea but he blasted his effort high over the bar.
Ronaldinho made no mistake with Barca’s 2nd penalty.
Khalid Boulahrouz kept Chelsea in it by converting their third penalty.
Samuel Eto’o kept Barca’s lead in tact by scoring his penalty.
Didier Drogba stepped up for Chelsea’s 4th penalty and missed!
Xavi found himself only need to score his penalty to retain the European cup for his side and the Spanish international made no mistake as he showed nerves of steel to blast the ball home, sparking scenes of wild celebration around the stadium.
Ironically Chelsea penalty villain Didier Drogba was voted man of the match.
With all the celebrations that had gone on after their Champions League glory it was perhaps inevitable that Barcelona players would suffer from a slight hangover in their final league game against Celta. Celta took full advantage of this fact too as they raced to a 3-0 lead within 26minutes with the goals coming from Guayre (7mins) and Nene (14 and 26mins). Barcelona fought back in the second half though and pulled level with goals from Javier Saviola (51mins), Deco (52mins) and Andres Iniesta (70mins).
Celta’s Nene was voted man of the match.
The final La Liga table looked like this:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Barcelona| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Barcelona | | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 82 | 36 | +46 | 86 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Valencia | | 38 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 59 | 23 | +36 | 84 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | R. Madrid | | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 75 | 32 | +43 | 74 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Athletic | | 38 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 65 | 41 | +24 | 65 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Villarreal | | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 60 | 57 | +3 | 61 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Espanyol | | 38 | 18 | 4 | 16 | 56 | 51 | +5 | 58 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Atlético | | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 53 | 52 | +1 | 58 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Sevilla | | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 56 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | R. Sociedad | | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 53 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Osasuna | | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 47 | 50 | -3 | 52 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Mallorca | | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 42 | 51 | -9 | 50 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Zaragoza | | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 47 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Getafe | | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 47 | 59 | -12 | 46 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Gimn*stic | | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 42 | 53 | -11 | 46 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Levante | | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 40 | 53 | -13 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Celta | | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 42 | 59 | -17 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Betis | | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 37 | 58 | -21 | 43 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Racing | | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 39 | 69 | -30 | 33 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Deportivo | | 38 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 44 | 59 | -15 | 30 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Recreativo | | 38 | 4 | 12 | 22 | 33 | 68 | -35 | 24 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
So there you have it, in his first season as manager of the mighty Barcelona Esteban Browning has delivered the Spanish Supercup, The Club World Championship, La Liga and the European cup to the fans, not a bad first season surely?
But the question on everyone’s lips is now can the boy wonder repeat this feat?
Only time will tell.
This is Jose Gonzales reporting for Marca.
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