A tale of cigarettes, grappa, time travel and hopefully goals

Season 8 – 2004/05

Last season’s campaigne ended with Barcelona and Dario achieving the treble, League, Domestic Cup and Champions League.  It was Dazza’s second treble in two years having achieved the same feat with Juve in his final season at the club.  With a potential “Triple Treble” on the cards it’s all to play for in 2004/05 season.

Barcelona make some squad bolstering signings, adding depth with hopefully high potential talent.  The 17 year old Zanchetta being the pick of the bunch, he is related to Paulo Maldini.

Season eight begins the same way as season seven.  A two legged Super Copa Espanola against Real Madrid.  The matches go marginally better that last year (2-3 defeat), it’s a 3-3 draw after two legs, however away goals means the trophy returns to Madrid for another season.

Nine days later and it is business as usual at the Camp Nou, Dario scores one of the five goals, picking up where he left off last season. 

The following three games are not the exciting goal fests Barca fans have come to expect, it’s two wins and a draw, two goals scored in total and only one of them by a Barcelona player, which was of course Bisonte.  It seems like the second season curse might be coming into effect, every team setting up in the ultra defensive formation, hoping for a classic Champ Man victory.

It’s Champions League Wednesday and the club little Tatanka supports visit the Nou Camp.  Inter boast a star studded line up, Dino Baggio, Thierry Henry, Claude Makelele, Lars Ricken, OG Ronaldo and Darren Purse.  Bisonte’s not phased though, bagging a brace, thanks to defensive ill discipline.

Free flowing  football has returned, Bilbao are no match for Barnes and Hubner.

The next game is a big one, away to Real Madrid, however, despite taking an early lead thanks to Chad born Musi Barnes, Barca end up losing 1-2.  The hangovers of the Bernabeu are forgotten on Wednesday as Dortmund are put to the sword.

That’s followed by another four goals against Valladolid, Bisonte is again on the score sheet.  He continues to amass cigarettes and grappa, so much so he has rented the apartment next door and converted it into a storage room.  He’s even started shipping some back to Pappa Bisonte who stayed in Italy to work on improving the national side.

Real Betis’ visit is an eventful affair.  Everything was going smoothly, 2-0 up at half time.  The second half is a different story as Betis make it 2-2 in the 73^rd minute.  Miguel Angel Angulo misses a 77^th minute penalty to make it 2-3 and his wings are well and truly clipped when Dazza pops in the winner a minute later, what a roller coaster.

Nantes are our third opponents in the Champions League group stages, they are swept aside easily, making it three in three in the Champions League.

The weekend match, away to Salamanca is another win and the first time in the last four games that Tatanka isn’t on the score sheet, despite Barca scoring three. Domi, Coly and Barnes with the goals.  Didier Domi has become on of the best defenders on the game and is the Barca captain.  His fellow French man Jean-Guy Coly has a bit of the Marcel Desailly’s about him, 20 Stamina, 20 Strength and 20 Tackling.

The mid-week match is a local derby in the Copa del Rey, unfortunately is doesn’t go to plan, a 1-2 loss.  Dario getting a hopefully vital away goal is the only consolation to a poor performance.

Barca’s first clean sheet in a while comes in the home match against Xerez.  Dazza gets another along with Christian Borowka, a German AMC and Robert Scoria a Croatian DC who is an absolute beast, like a young Igor Stimac.

After all the goals that have been flying in during the month of October, early November is dry. A 0-0 draw away to Inter, a 1-0 win against Osasuna, thanks to De La Pena and then another 0-0, at home to Espanyol in the Copa del Rey.  Espanyol “parked the bus” (not sure if that has become a phrase yet) and Barca couldn’t capitalise on Dazza’s away goal from the first leg, so they go out of the competition, and just like that the “Triple treble” is gone!  A “Triple double” (using countback) is still on though.

With the pressure of the “Triple treble” lifted and Dario’s mouth feeling parched from a lack of goals, it November-rains against Albacete in the next match.  The not so little Bisonte with the most goals he has ever scored in a game.

There are eight more goals during the final few games of November, making up for the drought at the beginning of the month.  Dortmund and Celta are comfortably beated, Dario getting another three goals.

The last game of November provides another opportunity for a trophy.  The World Club Cup final against Independiente, held in Japan.  Barca are too good for the Argentinian outfit and Tatanka requests that his bonus to be paid in Sake rather than the usual grappa.

The Sake clearly didn’t agree with Dario’s sensitive palette,  he played three of the four games in December, only missing the final Champions League group game against Nantes, as Barca had already qualified.  In this time Barca beat Real Sociedad and Nantes 3-1, lost 0-1 to Atletico and drew 1-1 with Espanyol, Dario failing to score in any of these games.

Come New Year’s day, and despite having won 12 of 16 games in the league Barca are second, five points off leaders Real Sociedad, eho have only lost one game, to Barcelona.  It looks like this year is going to be close Bernd Krauss doing a wonderful job with the Basque outfit.

After taking what Gary Neville will later call a “mini retirement” during December the Bisonte is back with a bang against Sevilla.

This victory is followed with a disappointing 0-1 loss to Real Zaragoza leaving Barca eleven points behind Real Sociedad, but having played a game less.  The deficit is reduced to eight points at the half way stage thanks to a comprehensive victory over Extremadura when Barca play their game in hand.

There are three more commanding victories in January, all 3-0 wins, Las Palmas, Racing Santander and Valencia the opponents.  Dario failing to score in all of them, in part due to brusing his shin.

January also sees Barca faced Borussia Monchengladbach in their third final of the year, the European Super Cup.  Leg one, Barca take an away goal and 1-0 lead back to the Nou Camp thanks to Figo.  Dario’s stand in (he has a brusied shin, remember) Intxaurraga Mejitas (Juan Antonio Pizzi’s regen) scores two and Muisi Barnes gets another in the second leg, that’s trophy number two of the season.  Dazza played in the first leg so he can have a medal.

After returning from injury Dazza is suspended for the next league game, a 4-1 win against Deportivo, Barnes, Figo and JG Coly with the goals.  Dazza is back from suspension for the game against Bilbao and he gets a goal in a 3-1 win.

Real Madrid follow Bilbao, Barca have struggled against them in the past season and a half so it’s a nice change when Dazza and Barnes score the goals in a comfortable win.

This is followed by another home game, against a team in the same colours as rivals Madrid.  Fortunately Valladolid are not quite as good, so Dazza and the lads register another victory.

Barca’s third game in eleven days against white and purple opposition sees them travel to Madrid for the Champions League quarter-final.  It’s back to back 2-0 wins against the Merengues thanks to goals from Coly and Hubs.  Not an unexpected victory but a pleasant surprise for it to have gone so smoothly.

There is a little blip against another Real in the next match.  Betis earn themselves a hard fought 0-1 win against Barca after a flat performance from the team.  10 days later Hubs and Figo find the net and it’s back to winning was against Salamanca.

Chad’s one an only power house Muisi Barnes fractures his ribs and is out for a month.  Dazza gifts him a bottle of grappa and a few ciggarettes to aid his recovery.  He’s not sure, but he takes them just to humour the little Bison.  Xerez are not match for Dazza and the boys even without Muisi, so much so that Dazza can miss a penalty a minute after scoring, too busy dreaming of his bonuses.

After Xerez it’s Champions League semi-final time, Barca travel to Amsterdam to face Ajax.  There doesn’t seem to be any evidence of the quarter final second leg at the Camp Nou, I guess that means it was a boring 0-0 and I forgot to capture the evidence.  Not to  worry, Dazza and the boys clearly made it through.  Despite going 0-1 down after 33 minutes it’s a comprehensive win, Goosens 88^th minute goal making it look closer than it ever was.

The winning continues, Osasuna and Albacete are dispatched by Dario and co.

Tatanka has a rare match rest, due to the fact Barca are on a Saturday, Monday, Wednesday schedule and the Wednesday game is the second leg of the Champions League final.  The second XI beat Celta 1-0 to keep the pressure on Real Sociedad in the league, thanks to Joaquin Kaiku, a regen of Caminero, I think.

The second leg against Ajax is the same score as the first, however Dario fails to get a goal.  Barca are back in the Champions League Final for the second year in a row.

Things are tight at the top and the 33^rd game of the season is against Real Sociedad.  The classic top of the table six pointer, with Sociedad five points behind in the League.  Unfortunately things don’t go Barca’s way, captain Didi Domi is sent off and Barca can’t score.  Five games left and only two points between the top two, this is going to be close.

Dazza has the bit between his teeth, the “Treble double (on countback)” is on the line. The Bisonte and the boys deliver.  Three wins in three and three goals in three for Dario.

Two games left to play, and in between them the Champions League final against Manchester United.

It’s not the best start the final three games of the season, two dropped points against Extremadura.  There was a time Bakayoko was the “Boy” in this game, however I think Dario is proving he is the “Man”.  Not enough of a man to score the winner but still.  Sociedad, win and it is neck and neck.

I’ll come back to the Champions League final, this is too tense a finish to break.  Barca are at home and Sociedad are away, a slight edge maybe, Barca only really need to match Sociedad’s result.

The results are in…

Sociedad bottled it on the last day, losing 0-1 to 18^th place Albacete.

Unfortunately, Dario couldn’t play in the Champions League final, after all his hard work scoring the goals that got the team there, he was suspended due to two yellow cards.  It didn’t stop him from doing a John Terry (has he done this yet) and going “full kit wanker” on the bench with his fags in one hand a bottle in the other.  His support spurs Muisi B on, plus Man Utd were crap with just four shots in the game and only two on target, compared to Barca’s 17 shots, eight on target.

The illusive “Triple double” is complete.

But what of the Copa del Rey I don’t hear anybody ask.  Well not wanting to be outdone by the sometimes random, Coppa Italia, it is won by second division Merida, who beat Atletico 7-1.

That’s quite a shocking result, how did it happen? Well it turns out that Atletico sold both their keepers in January, didn’t buy another one and have been playing with Grey keepers since then, amazing management.

To the final round up of the stats then.  Muisi Barnes is the fans player of the year beating Dazza and Delle P.  As seems to have become the norm, Hubs is top scorer and top assister.  Delle P, Figo and Dani have also been great.  Dazza’s favourite performer of the last two years has been Roberto Rios, who is leaving the club as his contract is expiring, he’s 33 or 34 now.  He averaged 7.62 last year and 7.44 this year and has been an absolute midfield general, respect Roberto.

Along with the team honours Dario also wins the Football writers player of the year and the Primera Division top scorer again.  Here is the spreadsheet, for completeness, it’s getting too big to do as a single screen shot now!

Join Dario for season nine, will Barca continue to be an almost unstoppable juggernaut?  Will Dario score 50+ goals in a season again? What will happen at the 2006 World Cup?