“This perfect dream”

In a former life, I was a singer. Not too bad if you’re asking and, for some time in my youth, I studied singing and with that opera. I could do a mean version of “Questa O Quella” once upon a time, but sadly no longer.

During that time, I listened to many of the great tenors and also some of the great sopranos, so it was with some sadness when Montserrat Caballe died this year. And with my upcoming visit to Barcelona on the horizon, she popped into my head and that great duet she did with Freddie Mercury. The opening line is a philosophy in itself:

“I had this perfect dream”

And for some reason I thought of something a friend of mine once said to me of handball. “Every coach has the perfect idea of the game in his head, but he’ll be lucky if he sees 40% of it on court.”

With all of that milling around in my head, Xavi Pascual came to mind. Because in my mind he tries to play the game the way it should be played, or should I say, the way I like to see it played.

Two years ago, these two teams played out one of the most thrilling semi-finals ever in Cologne and yet the Barca Lassa we see before us today bears little resemblance to that team. I’m not talking about players, although there are new faces, but the way in which they play has changed dramatically. And that’s what I love about Pascual. He’s not afraid to change, in search of that perfect style.

He may have persevered with the endless movement and carousels for another season, but realising it wasn’t the way forward he has gone for a more direct style with speed. Gone is the plodding, constant movement looking for space replaced by a warp speed Captain Kirk would be proud of.

It’s working, although I’m sure he would tell his players to be more ruthless as they have left some easy goals on the court. My goodness, this team is playing some great ball. They have defensive systems that I can’t comprehend let alone name. When I watch them, I don’t think that they have peaked too soon, but rather, injuries aside, that they will only get better.

Palmarsson looks back to his best. The twin cannons of N’Guessan and Mem are a constant threat. Viran, whom I thought was a big loss, has been replaced so well by Petrus. PdV in goal sporting those “Wizard of Oz” shoes is magical and they have in Fabregas a line player to rival Nöddesbo in his pomp. And that is not even mentioning some other newcomers or the stalwarts. All in all, Pascual has assembled a team that can launch a sustained assault on the CL.

In American football they say about Bill Belichick of the NEP that he is playing chess while the rest are playing checkers and I think the same is true of Pascual. While other teams have quit on their coaches, FCB stays with this guy. Barca this season are playing complementary handball; all phases of the game in perfect harmony or just about.

“This perfect dream”

And if New England have BB, Barcelona have BBB. They will blast you, bulldoze you or bamboozle you. It doesn’t really matter to them.

Their win last week in the cauldron of Vardar was testament to this flair and relentlessness to play the perfect game.

A word of caution before we write Vardar off for the return leg. Borozan will be key for them and they have had a good few days to study how best to take on the juggernaut.

And as Pascual knows only too well:

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic. It takes sweat, determination and hard work.