Copenhagen holds mighty Barca
Source: Agencies |
November 4, 2010, Thursday
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FC Copenhagen showed how organization and controlled aggression can thwart Barcelona's elegant passing game when they held the La Liga giants to a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group D on Tuesday in Denmark.
The result on a chilly night in the Danish capital meant Barca missed a chance to qualify for the last 16 and coach Pep Guardiola had some uncharacteristically sharp criticism for his Copenhagen counterpart Stale Solbakken after the game.
The pair had a spat on the touch line at the final whistle and Solbakken had to be restrained after Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets shoved him away from his coach.
Barca's prolific forward Lionel Messi had put the visitors ahead in the 31st minute at Parken Stadion, netting his fifth of the competition with a rare right-foot shot that Johan Wiland could only palm on to a post and in.
The hosts were level a minute later when Victor Valdes deflected a Jesper Gronkjaer cross into the path of Claudemir, who then volleyed into the net with the ball taking a slight deviation off defender Eric Abidal.
Barca came close to securing the win that would have sent them through when substitute Pedro hit the post with a curled effort in stoppage time.
They top the group on eight points and Copenhagen are second on seven with four of six matches played.
Bad blood had boiled up between the two sides after Barca goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto tricked Copenhagen player Cesar Santin into believing he was offside in their match in the Catalan capital last month.
The Danish champions, who lost the game 2-0, made a formal complaint to European soccer's governing body UEFA over the incident and Pinto was banned for two matches.
Coaches spar
The normally mild-mannered Guardiola took exception to comments from Solbakken suggesting Pinto's punishment was not harsh enough and the dispute spilled on to the pitch at the final whistle.
"Ask him (Solbakken) what happened, he knows how to manipulate the media very well," the Barca coach said. "I think he has behaved very badly in this situation."
Solbakken gave his version of the exchange in a news conference.
"After we had shaken hands he started to say something about UEFA and I think he meant the whistling incident," Solbakken said.
"I said that he (Pinto) should have got five games, that was just a bad Norwegian joke. Maybe he doesn't understand Norwegian humor, I'll have to take that on me."
Buoyed by its vocal fans, a motivated Copenhagen made a robust start to the game, rocking the 2009 winners back on their heels.
"It was a very hard match - they are an extremely physical side," Barca captain Carles Puyol said.
The result on a chilly night in the Danish capital meant Barca missed a chance to qualify for the last 16 and coach Pep Guardiola had some uncharacteristically sharp criticism for his Copenhagen counterpart Stale Solbakken after the game.
The pair had a spat on the touch line at the final whistle and Solbakken had to be restrained after Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets shoved him away from his coach.
Barca's prolific forward Lionel Messi had put the visitors ahead in the 31st minute at Parken Stadion, netting his fifth of the competition with a rare right-foot shot that Johan Wiland could only palm on to a post and in.
The hosts were level a minute later when Victor Valdes deflected a Jesper Gronkjaer cross into the path of Claudemir, who then volleyed into the net with the ball taking a slight deviation off defender Eric Abidal.
Barca came close to securing the win that would have sent them through when substitute Pedro hit the post with a curled effort in stoppage time.
They top the group on eight points and Copenhagen are second on seven with four of six matches played.
Bad blood had boiled up between the two sides after Barca goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto tricked Copenhagen player Cesar Santin into believing he was offside in their match in the Catalan capital last month.
The Danish champions, who lost the game 2-0, made a formal complaint to European soccer's governing body UEFA over the incident and Pinto was banned for two matches.
Coaches spar
The normally mild-mannered Guardiola took exception to comments from Solbakken suggesting Pinto's punishment was not harsh enough and the dispute spilled on to the pitch at the final whistle.
"Ask him (Solbakken) what happened, he knows how to manipulate the media very well," the Barca coach said. "I think he has behaved very badly in this situation."
Solbakken gave his version of the exchange in a news conference.
"After we had shaken hands he started to say something about UEFA and I think he meant the whistling incident," Solbakken said.
"I said that he (Pinto) should have got five games, that was just a bad Norwegian joke. Maybe he doesn't understand Norwegian humor, I'll have to take that on me."
Buoyed by its vocal fans, a motivated Copenhagen made a robust start to the game, rocking the 2009 winners back on their heels.
"It was a very hard match - they are an extremely physical side," Barca captain Carles Puyol said.
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