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Don't blame the ref, Chelsea. Blame yourselves

May 7, 2009 11:31 AM | Posted by   John Molinaro  

One can only imagine the wild parties that must have occurred up and down La Rambla last night after FC Barcelona earned a dramatic 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Down 1-0, Barcelona nicked a goal in injury time when Andres Iniesta beat Petr Cech on a gorgeous shot from outside the box, allowing the Catalans to advance to the Champions League final in Rome later this month on the away goal rule.

On the surface, the result appeared to be cruel. But kid yourselves not, folks: justice was truly done. Football defeated anti-football, talent overcame power, attacking spirit prevailed over defensive stodginess.

Simply put, Chelsea was the better team on the night, but Barcelona was better over the two legs.

Horrible officiating

That being said, Wednesday's game was marred by one of the worst officiating performances I can ever recall. Step forward, Tom Henning Ovrebo.

To suggest Ovrebo had a bad night at the office would be an understatement, because the Norwegian let play continue after three - three! - legitimate penalty claims by Chelsea.

Dani Alves brought down Florent Malouda inside the box, Eric Abidal tugged at the shirt of Didier Drogba and Gerard Pique was guilty of a blatant handball.

(As for a fourth penalty claim in injury time, there was no way Samuel Eto'o could have moved his arm out of the way and, what's more, he had his back to the ball when Michael Ballack's volley hit him. No intent whatsoever, therefore no penalty.)

So, it would appear Chelsea lost the tie because of dubious officiating. It's a nice story, but it doesn't wash.

Chelsea sealed its own fate

Let's be perfectly clear about this: Chelsea sealed their own fate by failing to finish the Catalans off when they led 1-0. Instead of going in for the kill, the Blues stuck to their game plan of defensive containment. They could have put the contest beyond doubt had they converted any of a number of scoring chances they carved out for themselves.

It also has to be said the Blues were playing with fire after their ultra-defensive play at the Camp Nou in the first leg (a 0-0 draw) when they closed up shop and put as many players behind the ball as they could.

(Just as an aside, I find it curious that the English press heralded Chelsea's performance in Spain as heroic and brave. I have no doubt that had Juventus or Inter Milan resorted to the same tactics under similar circumstances at Stamford Bridge, the English hacks would have frothed at the mouth and trotted out the same old tired clichés of Italian football being dour and defensive).

Truth be told, I thought Chelsea played it smart in the first leg by resorting to "negative football", but all of their good work was wiped out with their cautious approach at Stamford Bridge - it's no good earning a 0-0 draw on the road if you don't open things up at home.

Unlike their English counterparts, Barcelona proved more efficient at Stamford Bridge. One shot on net, one goal. You can't blame the Catalans for making the most of their chances.

Deranged Drogba

Though they had a perfect right to feel aggrieved over the officiating, the Blues gave up the moral high ground when a deranged Drogba confronted Ovrebo after the final whistle and then turned to the SKY TV cameras and made wild accusations about Chelsea being cheated.

How wonderfully ironic that Drogba would chastise the referee - the Ivorian has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the worst diving cheats in the game and has made a lucrative living out of duping and conning referees.

What's more, Barcelona also suffered from a horrendous decision, arguably even more than Chelsea, when Ovrebo sent off Abidal for a non-existent foul on Nicolas Anelka in the 66th minute. The Chelsea forward went to ground after clipping his own heels, but Ovrebo saw things differently and pulled a red card from his pocket and gave Abidal his marching orders.

Yet, despite being unjustly forced to play with only 10 men, Barcelona called the tune for the final 25 minutes and played with attacking verve, while Chelsea sat back and didn't make use of its numerical advantage.

As for Chelsea fans bellyaching about Barcelona advancing on the away goals rule, I'm not sure what to say other than I doubt they would have raised any fuss had the Blues booked their spot in Rome by the same method.

Dearly deluded Chelsea fans - pray tell, what other objective tie-breaking method would you have UEFA use other than away goals? Maybe a flip of a coin? Or how about drawing straws?

Unfortunately, you can't decide the tie simply on merit.

The away goal rule makes perfect sense, because it encourages and rewards teams who play attacking soccer, and not those clubs, like Chelsea did in this tie, who play not to lose.

Conspiracy theory

And please spare me this nonsensical talk of a conspiracy concocted by UEFA to prevent another all-Premiership final. If UEFA was trying to avoid an all-English meeting in Rome, why would Ovrebo have sent off Abidal, thus giving Chelsea a massive advantage? And what about the legitimate penalty call that Barcelona was denied in the first leg when Jose Bosingwa brought down Thierry Henry?

No, I'm afraid talk of a conspiracy is nothing more than sour grapes, espoused by Chelsea fans who are as ludicrously misguided as those Italian supporters who cried conspiracy after being eliminated from the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.

One last thing: I do hope that last night's display has finally convinced those of you out there of Barcelona's amazing resolve and resiliency.

The knock on the Catalans is that, despite being able to play champagne football, they lack that killer instinct; that they're afraid to get down and dirty (you'll pardon the cliché, get stuck in) and that they only have one gear, and shrink in the face of adversity.

Those of us who have followed the club regularly this season know better. We've seen the Catalans come from behind, earn victory when defeat seemed imminent and grind out results with Manchester United-like proficiency.

The mark of true greatness is the ability of a team to rise to the occasion, overcome adversity, and win games in spite (not despite) of poor officiating.

In short, great teams don't find excuses, they find answers.

Chelsea didn't. Barcelona did.

And that's why the Catalans have a date with Manchester United in Rome.

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