Newsblitz

Aug 19, 2015

Athletic, both coach and players, showed the world that Barcelona can be beaten.

There are ways of stopping Messi and also of neutralising the two-pronged 'Azulgrana' team offensive: positional and counterattack.

In a match, battle lines are drawn in the opening minutes. And Athletic did just that with their tactical approach, their occupation of spaces. No hanging back. Changes in the starting line up relative to the first leg but the focus just as clear, or even more so, than on Friday.

The back four well forward under express orders to push into the midfield despite the risks that this could pose with Messi, Luis Suárez and Pedro looming. The team within 30-35 metres, the lines drawn up close. The same design to attack and defend. An organised and compact 1-4-4-1-1.

When Barça unleashed their full force, Bóveda and Susaeta acted as full-backs and the team defence formed up into a line of six ... but they never dipped back into their own area.

A video to show those forwards who think that defending impedes attack. Linking up well, Eraso behind Aduriz, two offensive 'Rojiblancos' proved that the two concepts are not incompatible. An impressive physical and positional response. Both defended well and pressured both the two centre-backs (Piqué-Mascherano) to move the ball out, and made particular efforts to close down the natural passing lines from Busquets to Rakitic and Iniesta. They succeeded.

"Barcelona boss said he lamented his team's "misfortune"

Luis Enrique: "Sometimes it's good to lose": Luis Enrique said that a defeat like the one against Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup "isn't always a bad thing, because it makes you realize just how tough it is to win titles".

At the post-match press conference, the Barcelona boss congratulated Athletic, who in his opinion "deserved to lift" a title which they won in the first leg at San Mamés. "It's good to lose every so often, in order to remember just how tough it is to win. You have to know how to win and lose".

Despite the defeat, Luis Enrique sent out an encouraging message to the Barcelona faithful: "Playing in both Super Cups was a reward for everything we achieved last season. Our new league campaign gets underway on Sunday. It's going to be really hard to win titles, but we have to remain optimistic. We want to keep challenging and being a global role model".

When asked about the draw at the Camp Nou, the Barça boss said he lamented his team's "misfortune" in front of goal during the first half, adding that the final was over as soon as Velasco Carballo sent off Gerard Piqué for protesting an offside decision. "It was all over as soon the red card came out. It had been a great final until Gerard was sent off. We looked good for 57 minutes".

When asked if he was concerned at not having his newest recruits at his disposal due their FIFA transfer ban, Luis Enrique said he regretted not having Arda Turan or Aleix Vidal until January, but that he has a competitive squad: "The team look good to me. We're a closely-knit, competitive squad, and we'll face the new season with the outstanding players we already have".

Luis Enrique did not bite his tongue when asked about Pedro Rodríguez's situation at the club: "I can't wait for the damned transfer window to close so I know what players I have at my disposal".

Aug 18, 2015

Gerard Piqué left Barça a man down in the 56th minute following an angry confrontation with Velasco Carballo's linesman. The defender's actions, with Barcelona leading 1-0, saw his team reduced to ten men and facing an uphill struggle of biblical proportions to turn the tie around. The bad news didn't end there for Gerard Piqué, who will now miss the opening league game of the season against Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés. The one-match ban resulting from the straight red card will be carried into the new league campaign which kicks off this weekend.

Aug 16, 2015

In the city yesterday, Thulani Nkosi, 28, a security guard, was standing in the car park of Melrose Arch, a shopping centre with shops, offices, hotels, apartments and restaurants (including Tasha’s). He was surprised to learn that Pistorius would soon be out of prison: “It seems that trial was just yesterday,” he said. “The money is talking. He must stay in jail. He must pay for what he did.”

Pistorius’s release comes during “Women’s Month” in South Africa, with the issue of violence against women highlighted in civil society campaigns. While Pistorius has a devoted band of international supporters, many South Africans are anticipating the athlete’s release with dismay – and a certain measure of weariness given the intense media attention that was focussed on his trial last year.

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“Brace yourself,” said a recent tweet. “Frivolous Oscar Pistorius news coming soon.” Underlying the discomfort is a common sentiment here that Pistorius benefited from preferential treatment, thanks to his fame and family fortune.

Family and friends of both Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp have mostly declined to comment on his release. But in a letter submitted to the parole board, Ms Steenkamp’s parents said: “Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough.”

Kelly Phelps, a criminal justice lecturer at the University of Cape Town, said that Pistorius’s release to correctional supervision was in line with standard criminal justice practice. Pistorius, having spent time in prison, was “sentenced on the harsher end of the spectrum” compared to similar cases of culpable homicide, in which a person was killed out of the mistaken belief they were an intruder.

“It appears that the public discontent with his sentence is connected to the fact that many people still believe he murdered Steenkamp,” she said. “However, after engaging with the evidence presented, that was not the finding of the court.”

Supporters of Pistorius have launched an online campaign compiling motivational messages and pictures to “welcome him home and back to society”. But the 28-year-old could find himself back behind bars soon, depending on the outcome of the state’s appeal of his conviction.

It is due to be heard in November by a panel of judges at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

Prosecutors are arguing that Pistorius should have been convicted of murder, challenging last year’s ruling by Justice Thokozile Masipa as being too lenient.

If the culpable homicide conviction is overturned, Pistorius would face a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. The state has until August 28, a week after Pistorius’s release date, to file application papers outlining its appeal.