Over the years, I've been accused by countless Soccer-Laduma readers of being a Barcelona supporter. Mostly Real Madrid fans seem to take every Barca-related article I write as an opportunity to accuse me of pro-Barca bias.
Coweditor this, coweditor that. Barcow this, Barcow that.
I'm not going to tell you which European club I support (locally, I'm a Clever Boy and whichever Cape-based team is currently flopping in the PSL), but you'll just have to trust me when I say I am not, and never have been, a Barcelona supporter.
It just so happens that for most of the time that I have been writing about European club football, Barca were undeniably the best team out there. Let's face it, under Pep Guardiola they hoovered up trophies like crumbs, and every other team was petrified to play them.
Sure, Real Madrid are always fun to watch, especially on the counter. And Manchester United's relentless attacking is often irresistible. But until Bayern Munich absolutely demolished them in the Champions League last season, Barca had played the football that left most football purists - and that's what I count myself as - in raptures.
And here's where I'm getting to my point, which is sure to put a few proud Real Madrid noses out of joint.
I can't wait to watch Barca next season!
That's not to say I want them to win, and perhaps they won't. But in Lionel Messi and Neymar, the Spanish champions now own arguably the two most exciting players on the planet. Messi is the four-time Ballon d'Or winner, whose 60 goals in all competitions last season were a disappointment- because he scored 73 the year before! And Neymar is the most hyped young talent since, well Messi, who has just confirmed his rise into the stratosphere with a virtuoso Confederations Cup for Brazil.
No matter which team you support, (and here it is ok to admit you might be a little bit scared) if the prospect of watching the two South American attacking phenomena in action together does not leave you salivating, you simply don't love diski. Just think about the individual feats of technical brilliance we are destined to see unfold every 90 minutes at the Camp Nou. The tricks, the flicks, the breakneck dribbles and the goals of every persuasion!
And so while there is another team that has my heart, and whose trials and travails I will watch on television as often as possible, you can be sure that I'll take every opportunity to watch Barcelona as well.
Because to me, football is about entertainment, and Messi and Neymar could very well be the Bad Boys of Barcelona. And what's not to love about the football equivalent of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence burning up the silver screen?
By Jared Chaitowitz
Follow Jared on Twitter: @JaredSLinter
