How Chelsea Beat Barcelona

A goal away from losing, down to 10 men for an entire half against the best team on the planet, Chelsea found a way to win.  A few unconventional strategic decisions played a huge part in paving their way to the Final.

Everyone is a Defender

This one was pretty obvious, but everyone, including Didier Drogba, was back to defend in the final third when Barcelona had possession.  No forwards prancing around the center circle waiting for a long ball to come their way -- no.  It was all hands on deck, defending against the terrifyingly quick Barca players.  They were disciplined about their defending, and it was the key to their success.

Drogba Shuts Down Danny Alves

It wasn't too surprising to have Drogba back to defend, but what WAS surprising was that he was defending the wing.  Not the central area, but the wing.  You'd think he'd be more central so in the case of a counter-attack, he'd be in position to receive from any teammate -- but this wasn't the case.  Di Matteo had him defend the wing, specifically Danny Alves.

Now Danny Alves is good.  Really good.  He's a dangerous Brazilian wing back with a very offensive mindset, known for quality crosses as well as the ability to cut inside and shoot on goal himself.  But with Drogba on him, he was SHUT DOWN.  He crossed ZERO balls while Drogba was guarding him.  So when he did receive the ball, he would just hold on to it for a bit, and then pass it back upfield.  Drogba's height and speed rendered Alves harmless, and truly closed off that option for the Barca offense.

Rotating Defenders on Messi/Iniesta/Xavi

I've never noticed this before, but I saw that Chelsea would rotate who would defend Messi and the Barca midfielders.  It was a clever tactic as it would give defenders a chance to catch their breath after their "shift" guarding Messi was up.  And I'm sure defending Messi is a lot like work -- really really hard work.  So it was a good move to NOT assign a specific person and say, "Messi is your mark for the half, guard him like your life depended on it."  It was better to rotate the assignment and give everyone a breather.  In the end, it helped reduce the chance that someone would get beat badly by him, and keep him in front of the defense instead of behind them.

Torres Substitution a Near Tragedy

This isn't a reason why Chelsea won, it's more a call-out on how they almost LOST.  Since Torres *finally* scored in the 92nd minute, everyone's going to forget how dangerous bringing him in for Drogba truly was, but it was a terrible, terrible decision by Di Matteo.

First off, Drogba was doing a fantastic job shutting down Alves AND his hold-up play to move Chelsea up the field was superb in both legs of this clash.  So taking him OFF was dumb.

Secondly, when the most important thing you need is a good DEFENDER, you bring in a forward that defends terribly and has lost his offensive touch since coming to the club.

Immediately, Alves got his first cross of the half in, and then set up a near-game-winning-goal if he hadn't been half a yard offsides.  Torres was a much worse defender than Drogba and that was plain for all to see.

Yes, there were spots when he kept possession decently, but overall, the Torres substitution could have cost Chelsea a trip to the final.


In the end, it was a fabulously intense game to watch.  Always wondering, how could Chelsea possibly beat Barca?  When was Barca going to break through and win it?  It was a gripping, entertaining match that any soccer fan would enjoy.

Here's to a fantastic final!

Who to see at Coachella 2012 - Saturday

Ok, let's talk Saturday. We didn't get there until 4:15pm, boo. The traffic was REALLY bad close to Coachella. If you come late in the afternoon, I highly suggest taking MADISON down to Coachella. MONROE or JEFFERSON is what everyone else takes, but late in the day, you get funneled back to MADISON anyway, so take it and save some time (it's parallel to the other two, and in between).

SATURDAY

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (3:40pm) - Vocals with attitude, and guitars with meaty, catchy riffs. Very bummed I missed most of this set due to traffic, but last song was good. Only wished I saw more!

Manchester Orchestra (5:55pm) - Solid indie band. Lots of facial hair. I enjoyed their set. Check 'em out if you like indie.

Sebastian Ingrosso (7:35pm) - More electronic-ness at Sahara. I'm sure you've heard his work.

The Shins (8:10pm) - Probably my favorite show of the day. I've heard a few of their songs before but not a huge fan. I really liked their set. Poppy, indie goodness. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear a cover of Pink Floyd's "Breathe". True to form and unexpected. I liked them so much that I skipped the next two options....

Kasabian (8:35pm) - Sad I missed these guys. Parts Oasis, Stone Roses, and DJ Shadow-inspired beats, they've got a really cool, upbeat sound. I especially like the non-standard rhythms. From the songs I heard, they sing harmonies too.

Feist (8:40pm) - You know her, she did that iPod commercial "I'll do handstands for you..." Would have liked to hear her live, but was still at The Shins.

Bon Iver (9:30pm) - Very popular recently but after seeing them on Saturday Night Live, I was not intrigued. My fiancee was saying they sound like cats, cats giving last rites at a funeral. I think she's right. I'm sure they were great though, just didn't make it a priority.

Radiohead (11:05pm) - O boy, I sense controversy. I was a bit disappointed actually. I've seen Radiohead four times now, so I know what they can do, but the setlist they chose was really for the hardcore fans that have kept up with the latest albums. If you wanted to hear the hits from OK Computer, Pablo Honey, or The Bends, this was not the set from you. I think only Karma Police and Paranoid Android were from the early albums, everything else was later on. And when they were from Kid A, Amnesiac, or Hail to the Thief, a lot of them were those weird, odd, sorta downer songs which can be cool, but don't exactly make for an upbeat show.

Don't get me wrong, when they rocked out, it was f#cking awesome like only Radiohead can do. There There, Idioteque, and Everything in Its Right Place were fantastic, the drummer is still his crazy tribal self, and the band can still make all the wackiest sounds live, it's just one of those "I have hella high expectations" type of thing. Of course, their set can *totally* change for next week, but I guess just keep the expectations in check.

If you're interested, here's the setlist:

1 Bloom
2 15 Step
3 Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
4 Morning Mr. Magpie
5 Staircase
6 The Gloaming
7 Pyramid Song
8 The Daily Mail
9 Myxomatosis
10 Karma Police
11 Identikit
12 Lotus Flower
13 There There
14 Bodysnatchers
15 Idioteque
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16 Lucky
17 Reckoner
18 After The Gold Rush (Neil Young cover snippet) into Everything in Its Right Place
---
19 Give Up the Ghost
20 Paranoid Android

That sums up Saturday. Another fantastic day of music!

Who to see at Coachella 2012 - Friday

Don't know who to watch besides Radiohead, Snoop, and Dre? Read on.

Here's my review of the bands I saw this past weekend. Friday first. I'll go by chronological order as that's how you'll be deciding who to watch.

But one call out first. Take the time to LISTEN to the bands BEFORE you go. It will give each day more purpose and you won't be wandering around from stage to stage. There are tons of Coachella 2012 playlists on Spotify right now, go check them out.

FRIDAY

honeyhoney (1:20pm) - If you're there by 1pm on Friday (we weren't), worth checking out. Jazzy, twangy collaboration of guitarist and female vocalist.

Ximena Sarinana (3:50pm) - Poppy, fun, Mexican female singer. Just missed her. Could have been fun.

Neon Indian (4:25pm) - Called "blurry electronic pop." Seemed like the crowd was having fun.

Gary Clark Jr (4:30pm) - I don't think he showed! I was bummed because he's a bluesy electric guitarist. Reminded me of Jimi Hendrix's "Blues" album. I think I would have seen him over Neon Indian if he showed.

Arctic Monkeys (6:30pm) - These guys were tight. They were more punky live than I thought they were going to be. Singer's voice has a unique, sharp quality which works with the high tempo guitars and rhythm section. If you like indie punk, you got to see these guys. Really tight tempo changes in the songs I heard.

Madeon (6:35pm) - Conflict with Arctic Monkeys if you like this electronic artist. We caught the last few songs. Good stuff, high energy, definitely knows how to work that electronic-board-with-flashing-lights-mixing-thing. You never know how much these guys are actually *doing* with electronic music tracks, but I guess I just trust it's legit. If you want booty-shaking electronic in the Sahara tent, worth checking out.

Alesso (7:55pm) - Next up in Sahara tent. Very eh. I haven't been impressed by the Sahara tent in the past couple years. Very standard 4/4 beats, expected super long builds, and climactic drops, but I haven't heard one interesting new rhythm from this tent in a while. Alesso was good, but not life changing.

Mazzy Star (8:50pm) - Actually really looking forward to her. BIG disappointment. She was off key for most of the songs and just did not sound good. Thought she was all chill and dreamy given her hit "Fade Into You" but wasn't really. We left after 3-4 songs. Go see The Rapture instead.

The Rapture (8:55pm) - Solid indie band. Singer has very unique voice that cuts through the noise. Vocals get somewhat repetitive in their songs, but worth checking out their set for sure.

The Black Keys (9:45pm) - Tough tough conflict time for me. They are solid, but I passed for...

Explosions in the Sky (10:05pm) - Epic, atmospheric music. Fantastic swings from melodic, chill moments to massive build-ups to pretty nuts rock out stuff. I think it's 3 guitarists and 1 bass player and a drummer. Great stuff, *although* it seemed like there were only 2 modes for this band, quiet/chill or rockin' hard. It's almost like Nicolas Cage, he's either whispering or YELLING HIS HEAD OFF. Now, they're a better band than that, but after 20 min or so, I began to wonder what other variety there was.

M83 (10:15pm) - Tough call for me against Explosions. I just caught the last 10 minutes or so unfortunately. Ambient, electronic, slightly psychedelic pop. What's not to like? Seemed like the crowd was really enjoying it. Tough calls on Friday night.

The Black Angels (10:50pm) - SEE THEM. I had to leave after a couple of songs because my fiancee was not feeling well, but I really like these guys. Haunting, powerful, psychedelic. I got turned on to these guys by the Activision music guys as we were reviewing potential songs for a Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer (we went with Rolling Stones - go figure). Check them out!

Swedish House Mafia (11:30pm) - They're Swedish. They play house. There's a few of them. I missed them but I'm sure it was good fun. Not sure it's the most original music out there, but likely fun.

The Horrors (Midnight) - Would have definitely seen these guys if I was still around. Experimental, dreamy, a little goth. Too bad I missed them!

That sums it up for Friday. Great day of music. Any thoughts/questions?