21 de marzo de 2012

Prometheus



Ridley Scott vuelve al terror extraterrestre.

16 de marzo de 2012

Manchester United crashed out of the Europa League

Manchester United crashed out of the Europa League in devastating fashion as they were outclassed by Athletic in their last-16 tie in Bilbao.

Iker Muniain hit the post before Fernando Llorente scored a fantastic volley from Fernando Amorebieta's raking diagonal pass.

Ryan Giggs then headed wide but Oscar de Marcos put further daylight between the sides when he crashed in.

Wayne Rooney scored from 25 yards late on but it was merely a consolation.

It was a fine strike from the United forward to score his 28th goal of the season, but it was only a footnote as a young Athletic team once again posed all sorts of questions for their opponents.

Just as in the Old Trafford game a week ago Marcelo Bielsa's side pressed all over the pitch and attacked en masse, and in the end Sir Alex Ferguson's team could not stem the flow.

That it came from a side seventh in La Liga, 33 points behind leaders Real Madrid, perhaps added weight to the argument surrounding the strength of the Premier League challenge in Europe this season.

And only the most churlish of observers would begrudge the Basque team a place in the next round as United ended a disappointing European campaign which failed on two fronts, following their Champions League exit.

With a five-man midfield closing the many gaps that appeared in the first leg, last season's Champions League finalists had a more solid base from which to attack.

But after Ashley Young, operating on the left, had a close-range shot blocked by the Athletic defence, the hosts began to tease openings from their left flank.

Muniain struck a post on 14 minutes when he was cleverly found by Llorente's lay-off and De Marcos should have buried the follow up, but skied over from eight yards out.

Llorente then dismissed any worries about that faux pas when he peeled away from Rio Ferdinand and volleyed in Amorebieta's long diagonal pass.

It was a glorious strike as the 50-yard assist came over his shoulder, and it was only a shame the striker had to be replaced because of injury before the break.

The goal clicked United into a higher gear but some robust Athletic defending limited them to a close-range Giggs header which was deflected over.

As much as Premier League leaders United wanted to make an impression as the game progressed, they were not allowed to.

The pressing, link-up play and tempo that the hosts produced did not give Ferguson's team any chance of feeding an isolated Rooney up front.

Indeed, Athletic's status in the game was highlighted when right-back Andoni Iraola danced round Ferdinand and Jonny Evans but shot inches wide.

But the skipper played a part in the second goal when he crossed from the right, and once the ball dropped to De Marcos he smashed past David de Gea.

Markel Susaeta and substitute Gaizka Toquero could have added to the total before Rooney gave United something to cheer as he curled in.

United will now return home to maintain their Premier League challenge, but there is no doubt they received a footballing lesson that will be hard to forget.

Artículo original

Hace exactamente un año...

Hace exactamente un año a estas horas, estaba hablando con dos tías del Athletic y del Osasuna, yo estaba tumbado, desnudo, suena a peli porno, no? en realidad estaba en una camilla, una era enfermera y la otra anestesista, me metió un pinchazo y me desperté unas 9 horas más tarde en la UVI. No ví el tunel, ni mi vida pasó en fotogramas, pero me dí cuenta de que no somos indestructibles y que una pelotita de 2,5 cm de diámetro te puede vencer. Desde entonces intento no preocuparme con txorradas y disfrutar de las pequeñas cosas que nos van pasando, y justo un año después me toca disfrutar de nuestro Athletic, de este baño al ManU y de este juego espectacular. Besarkada bat eta Aupa Athletic.

15 de marzo de 2012

Bomba atómica en San Mamés!!!


Esta noche va a estallar la bomba atómica en la Catedral, Aupa Athletic!!!! bye-bye ManU!!!

9 de marzo de 2012

Publicado en las noticias de Yahoo UK, hoy:


The greatest club in the world?



It would take the hardest of hearts not to find Athletic Bilbao's extraordinary win over Manchester United just a little bit inspiring.

Not because of Schadenfreude (though that is a perfectly acceptable form of joy) but because Athletic are a truly remarkable club - a dying breed somehow thriving in the modern world.

As everyone knows, Athletic only use players from the Basque Country, which - to put it mildly - puts them at something of a competitive disadvantage.

As well as being the go-to-reference point for areas of rainforest that are cut down, Wales offers a handy (if simplistic) comparison to the Basque Country.

They are very similar to Wales in size (20,000km2), population (3,000,000) and culture (Early Doors has a Basque friend called R(h)odri).

And yet despite this self-imposed restriction, Athletic have never been relegated from the Spanish top flight, won eight Liga titles and 23 Copa del Reys (should that be Copas del Rey? Maybe. Who cares?).

Granted, the idea of fielding local players was nothing out of the ordinary in the days when Celtic's team of Glaswegians could win the European Cup - but nowadays?

Where most top clubs have a global scouting network - Athletic restrict themselves to 0.04 per cent of the world's population.

Obligatory caveat: Athletic have been accused of a) Compromising their rules to allow non-Basques schooled in the area, and b) Using strong-arm tactics to prise players from other Basque clubs.

To which ED says; a) It's their rule, they can bend it if they want, and b) Their talent pool is small enough, of course they're going to go aggressively after players.

What's more, they have Real Sociedad and Osasuna nearby also promoting local players, while the best Basque players (Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta, neither from Athletic) leave the region.

It's like Swansea having to field an all-Welsh team, only they can't have Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey or Craig Bellamy, while Cardiff are attempting something similar down the road. And never getting relegated.

Given these restrictions, it is incredible that they are fifth in La Liga, and capable of playing so thrillingly at Old Trafford.

Take the fantastic Fernando Llorente, who is expected to leave the club this summer (probably for Real Madrid).

What does the shortlist of possible replacements look like? Well, short.

In fact, the only half-decent Basque striker not already on the books is Aritz Aduriz, a 31-year-old former Athletic man currently at Valencia. That's the best-case scenario.

The homegrown policy has never applied to managers - the club's early years featured several English gaffers including the gloriously-named Billy Barnes, Henry John Bagge and, er, Howard Kendall.

The current coach is Marcelo Bielsa, whose innovative tactics have made him something of a bloggers' darling.

But it wasn't just the nerds swooning as his side tore thrillingly into United last night.

At 1-1 away to Manchester United, some would park the bus and take their chances at home.

Not Bielsa. Maybe he had seen umpteen sides get men behind the ball at Old Trafford and come unstuck. Or maybe he just smelt blood and decided to go for it.

Whatever, Athletic's second-half display must rank among the most fearlessly ambitious away performances the stadium has ever seen.

A shell-shocked United slumped to a defeat that would have been far worse if not for some brilliant David De Gea saves and a silly late penalty conceded by Oscar de Marcos.

United once boasted a 40-year unbeaten home record in Europe, but they have won just one out of five home matches this season against teams not given a prayer when they arrived at the Theatre of Dreams.

When City and United dropped into the Europa League, the unspoken assumption was that only the draw could prevent them meeting in the final.

Between them, they have now lost three games out of six, and there is a real chance no English side will reach the last eight of any European competition.

It should obviously come as no surprise that there are more than two-dozen useful football teams out there, but the scale of United's struggles is nonetheless surprising.

Those Thursday nights on Channel Five are compelling viewing - even if not for the reason we anticipated.


Link al artículo original aquí.


8 de marzo de 2012

Aupa Athletic!!! Beti Zurekin!!!


Gaur Old Trafford mitikoan ametsarekin jarraitzeko aukera berri bat, 4 ordu falta dira eta urduri baino urduriago.

AUPA ATHLETIC!!! Beti zurekin!!!

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