2010 Aug 10 Quick Link: Modern Lei Feng on Barcelona in Beijing
As every football fan knows, FC Barcelona were in town over the weekend to play a friendly against Beijing Guo’an at the Bird’s Nest National Stadium, to mark the second anniversary of the opening of the Beijing Olympics. Modern Lei Feng has done a short post about the match, as well as posting some snaps on Flickr.
Lei Feng reported an enjoyable if unexciting game, which saw Lionel Messi play for an entire half – a considerable improvement on his brief appearance in South Korea the week before, where the Europeans were officially criticized for their “insincere attitude.”
While the Spanish team’s appearance in China was less controversial than their sojourn in Korea, both Modern Lei Feng and this Wall Street Journal article concurred that the Bird’s Nest pitch left a lot to be desired. Lei Feng wrote:
“I know why the Bird’s Nest has to be used, but they really need to do something about the pitch there, conditions were absolutely shambolic and slowed the pace of the match as both sides were worried about injuries.”
The Wall Street Journal reported:
“The reigning Spanish-league champions were underwhelmed, to say the least, by the Bird’s Nest… By the second half, the pitch looked more like a fairway after middle school golf practice than a pitch fit for Europe’s perennial soccer powerhouse. 'I hope on our next visit, this world class stadium has a better pitch,' said Barcelona’s coach Pep Guardiola, according to Reuters. 'World class performances need world class pitches.'"
Those who care will have known the result on Sunday, but if by some chance you missed it Barcelona won 3-0.
You can check out Modern Lei Feng’s photos here.
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