All About FC Barcelona

Has Barca's Dream Run Ended?

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:05:00 +0000

Guardiola was considered as a man who could do nothing wrong at Barca, atleast that was the case last season. He took charge of a struggling Barca side and took them to an unprecedented successful season winning six trophies, or to put it better all the trophies available.But like the saying goes - "Every Good Thing has to End", Guardiola's problems are mounting day by day at Barca. It is quite extra-ordinary to claim that Barca is in crisis just because Real Madrid managed to upstage us from the top for the time being. But those who are watching Barca day in, day out knows very clearly that they are not playing anywhere near their capacity. Johan Cryuff points this in his recent article saiying that certain players are not putting enough efforts in the side, We all know whom he is referring to.

Guardiola Definitely has to Take the Blame

Many consider Guardiola as one of the best emerging coaches of the modern time, it may not be all wrong but I don't consider him as a tactical genius. He is more or less a disciplinarian who can surely control the emotions in his team. But what troubles me most is his pre-conceived mind set-up. It looks like once you are out of Guardiola's good books, whatever you do you stays out. And this has started hurting us. The decision to swap Eto for Ibrahmovic looks like an enormous blunder. I have spoken against this deal earlier. I will only point out the reason why I thought this was inappropriate. Eto was the most prolific striker we had for sometime, technically Ibrahmovic was a far more talented replacement. But the prolem that we needed a simple Cetre Forward on top of our formation not a guy who is known for his silky moves. Barca is full of these guys. In his hesistance to throw Eto out of the team, Guardiola forgot to analyse what was best for his team. It was quite a surprise to see that he never approcached the Villa deal with such vigour.

Ibrahmovic - Eto'o swap is a thing of past and there is no way we can change that. So I know there is no point in pointing the finger on that now. But what I feel as an absolutely irresponsible behaviour from Guardiola is his hesistance to give Bojan some playing time. Bojan is our only natural replacement for Ibra and giving him more time would have seen some pressure on Ibrahmovic to improve his performance. With Guardiola not ready to try this, Ibrahmovic doesn't have to work for a place in the team. He is a sure starter if he is fit and not suspended. Earlier I have written an article about Bojan Krkic being Key for Us this season. In that article I have mentioned that once the Camp Nou faithfuls lose patience with Ibra, they will make his life a living hell. The only reason why Guardiola is repellent to the idea of replacing Ibrahmovic in matches is the fact that he has gambled a lot on him. But by doing so Guardiola is definitely putting his interest ahead of team's.

Pichichi Race is Affecting Messi

This is quite some accusation that has been levelled at Messi in recent weeks. Messi is accussed of being selfish. I firmly disagree with those views. May be Messi is trying to take more shot nowadays, but I firmly put that to a lack of confidence on our team's targetsman. Eto'o was a simple player; most of his goals were simple tap-ins (which talks a lot of his positioning and speed) and Messi definietely is missing him upfront.

Laureus Comittee Ignores FC Barcelona

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:41:00 +0000

The prestigous Laureus Awards have been announced tonight and it has been quite a surprise that FC Barcelona was overlooked for the Laureus World Team of the Year. Current Formula One Champion team Brawn GP was selected for the prestigous award ahead of Barca. As expected usain Bolt has been elected as the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. Serena Williams won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award. The Awards were announced in seven categories. The winners were:

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Usain Bolt

Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams

Laureus World Team of the Year: Brawn GP Formula One

Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year: Jenson Button

Laureus World Comeback of the Year: Kim Clijsters

Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Natalie du Toit

Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Stephanie Gilmore

It came as quite a surprise for me the decision to award Brawn GP ahead of Barca, no offences met. Brawn GP has won an unbelievable championship, especially when nobody gave them any chance in the start of the season. But that simply don't over-shadow Barca's achivement. Barca won all the possible Trophies available in a season, something quite unprecedented in the history of a game , which is considered as the "King of Game". What Brawn GP has achieved, has been repeated many times in the past, but not Barca's feat. I cannot find a single reason why we were overlooked. Maybe the strong North American presence in the 46 member jury has tilted the vote in Brawn GP's favour. The rest of the Awards went the way we expected.

Michel Platini is On Top of His Job

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:40:00 +0000

Michel Platini, the UEFA president has been making the right noises since the time he won the elections. He may not be the most approved or most revered UEFA president but at least he gives an impression of knowing what he is doing. To replace Lennart Johansson would have been tough, but there is no denial that Michel Platini has done a very decent job till now. His plans never was evenly accepted but he seems to think as a footballer while initiating new plans. Earlier I have written a post of Platini's idea to Introduce a Spending cap, I may not have been in complete favour of the idea, but Platini at least decided to address it. He has always been considered as the greatest talent produced by France, but he is also known for his straight talks. Just before the EURO 2000, Platini said the famous statement comparing Zidane and Maradona - "Zidane does some extraordinary things, it's true. But you have to put everything in context. What Zidane does with a ball, Maradona could do with an orange". I do agree with him for what he said, but that blatantly straight forward.

Michel Platini's Experiments make Champions League more Interesting

There was a huge hue and cry among football faithfuls when Platini announced to do away with seeding in Champions League qualifying stage. I have to admit that even I was not in favour of it. And my doubts were made firm when I saw Celtic was thrown out after getting paired with Arsenal. Panathinaikos was another causality. As we feared there were some really incompetent teams. Debrecen failed to register a point in their group stage but Unirea Urziceni finished third in their group ahead of Rangers. So it was kind of even, but there was no denial that all these clubs celebrated their participation in the Champions League. Their fans in particular enjoyed every minute of their participation. With these moves Platini took the Champions league towards the smaller nations in Europe. Participating in Champions league will be a huge financial boost for these clubs and should definitely help making their league more competitive.

But what made me saw happy was the decision to spread the knock-out round across a month. Here in India, the most watched football league is the English Premier League. Its the same in most of the Asian countries. Every Year we used to miss the Knock-out stage actions of teams like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The channels whether ESPN-Star or Ten Sports always preferred to show English club's matches. The only chance to catch your favorite team in action was to hope that they get drawn against an English team. But that is the last thing we want at such early stages in the League. With the entire Knock-out stage being spread out now I can watch FC Barcelona - Stuttgart match , both the legs live. Now that's a very welcoming change. This change would be a huge hit among TV Networks. They can telecast more matches live now and earn more revenues from advertisement.

There could be more reforms coming out from Platini in the future. The two most contagious could be the decision to restrict the number of teams participating in Champions league from a single nation to three from present four. Another one would be the 6+5 rule which even Sepp Blatter supports. That one rule is not going to bother Barca fans a bit, we have that covered with an exceptional academy.

Almeria vs Barca Highlights

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:32:00 +0000

Almeria vs Barca Match Report

Messi Earns Barca a Draw; Almeria - 2, Barca -2

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:27:00 +0000

Almeria vs Barca Highlights.
Barca dropped two vital points after managing only a draw from their visit to Almeria. Actually Barca can consider themselves lucky not to have lost the match after Ibrahmovic was sent off in the beginning of first half. Once again it was Lionel Messi who scored twice to equalise for Barca after conceding two extremely soft goals. Everything was going against us in the match. Real Madrid meanwhile turned around their match against Sevilla after going 2-0 down , eventually winning the encounter 3-2. That victory has taken them ahead in the table on better goal difference. Barca should have been placed first as we have better head to head record this season. But there is no denial that Real Madrid have found their grove lately and are producing some sensational performances. Guardiola who managed to get himself send off, chose Alves, Puyol, Milito and Maxwell in defense in front of Valdes. Iniesta and Xavi formed the midfield partnership with Toure. The front three had Messi, Ibra and Pedro lining up together.

Barca Went down early against run off play

Barca took control of the game early on. Guadiola adopted the same tactics which he employed against Malaga. He had Messi playing in a pocket behind Ibrahmovic and Iniesta playing in the wing. I was not in favour of this tactic as I believed any team who can put pressure on our midfield can capitalise with this tactic's weakness. Malaga wasn't ready for that but Almeria at least tried. If we try this against Stuttgart, then forget Champions Legue. Pep convinces me again that he is a no-hope tactician. The first ten minutes gave an impression that Almeria was going to have a tough night. In the 12th minute Cisma put Almeria ahead against the run of play. He beat Puyol to head home a corner. Toure was the one marking Cisma and allowed him to get off easily. All of Barca's attack was coming via Lionel Messi. Xavi and Messi forced splendid save from Almeira custodian Diego Lopez. In the 24th minute Ibrahmovic had a great chance to equalise, but he headed wide from a Iniesta cross. In the 27th minute Guardiola saw himself being send off to the stands for complaining about a possible penalty. In the 4nd minute Barca were awarded a free kick just outside the box. Messi cleverly chipped the ball over the wall and into the near corner to take the scoreline 1-1.

Barca Players fail to take control in Second Half

Barca players failed to take control of the game from the start of second half. We were made to pay for being complacent when Puyol slide directed a cross from Guilherme on the left to his own goal past a on rushing Valdes. To make matters worse Ibrahmovic managed to get himself sent off at the other end for swinging his leg on Cisma. That sent off did revitalize us a bit and we equalised in the 66th minute. Iniesta played the ball to Pedro on the left, the defender failed to clear Pedro's cross , actually he played it into the centre where Messi stabbed it home. But eventually the fact that we were a player down prevented us from winning the game. Messi had some chance to complete his hat-trick, but failed to take those. Almeria had a couple of chances also, but luckily for us failed to take any of those.

In the end of the game, we paid dearly for our complacency. The players looks far from interested in the proceedings in the pitch. Going for Ibrahmovic in the summer is still proving to be a disaster. The pace has dropped from barca's game and it is hurting us a lot. Ibrahmovic is sure to miss Valencia's visit to Camp Nou. Bojan could get a rare start and he should take it with his hands down. Pep Guardiola is showing again that he is no tactician. Stop experimenting with the formation like this. By doing so he is cutting the pace from the wings especially the right. Puyol was at fault of second goal and Toure was at fault for the first. With Real Madrid in such revived form it is time for Barca to take their destiny to their own hand.

Almeria vs Barca Preview

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:16:00 +0000

With Real Madrid only just two points behind, this season is going into quite a nail biting finish. Eventhough Real Madrid is hosting Sevilla tomorrow, their current home form will make it difficult for Sevilla to get a favourable result. Meanwhile we will be travelling to Almeria, and our last trip on road saw a miserable performance against Stuttgart. We may hope Sevilla to give us some breathing space, especially Valencia visiting Camp Nou next week. Pep Guardiola has announced a 18 man squad which will be travelling to Almeria - Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Puyol, Chygrynskiy, Márquez, Milito, Maxwell, Touré, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Jeffren, Bojan, Pedro, Messi, Henry, Ibrahimovic. Pique is suspended for this match and Keita and Abidal are out recovering from their injuries.

Xavi and Iniesta Key For Barca Midfield

Barca won against Almeria when they visited Camp Nou earlier this season. That match saw Xavi being man marked all the time. The recent interview by Almeria players reveals that they will go for the same tactic. So it become essential for Guardiola to have Iniesta partner Xavi in the midfield. The defense most probably would see Alves, Milito, Puyol and Maxwell infront of Valdes. It is to be seen how Milito and Puyol is going to perform together. I always have a feeling they don't compliment each other well (they are both of the same style). The midfield should see Toure partnering the midfield maestroes Xavi and Iniesta. Henry, Ibrahmovic and Messi should form the attacking trio. This could be a difficult challenge for Barca. But Barca has to raise their bar a few nothc from now on. I predict another 2-0 victory for Barca.

Is There Something Wrong with La Liga?

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:55:00 +0000

Barcelona FC and Real Madrid Ranked Top In Football Money League

The Football Money League ranking 2008–09 are out and at the top it is a total Spanish domination. For the record, The Deloitte Football Money League is a ranking of football clubs by income. It is produced annually by the accountancy firm Deloitte. Deloitte reports on the richest clubs are released in early February of each year, describing the season most recently finished, and thus the most recent data available often appears to be out of sync with the footballing world, or out of date. However, it remains perhaps the best way of comparatively assessing football clubs' financial strength (ok, that is from Wiki Pedia). The methods used by deloitte to draw the ranking always has been debated, for example not taking into accord the revenue generated from Player Sales or may be the debts involved with the club and so on. But overall this is the only stats which give some kind of picture about football's state of affairs. Last year according to Deloitte Football Money League Real Madrid's revenue stands at 401.4 Million Euros, whereas FC Barcelona in the same period generated a revenue of 365.9 Million Euros. Manchester United dropped down by one place to third earning a revenue of 327.0 Million Euros. Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus, Inter and Milan form thye rest of top ten in the given order. If you want to see the entire list - Deloitte Football Money League ranking 2008–09

Champions League Success Help Barca overtake Manchester United

Last season, Manchester United was ranked second and Barca was ranked third. The last time Barca ended second in the list was following their 2005-06 Champions League success. Hence the Champions League is always playing as the diffrence between these two clubs. Lack of major success has not hithered Real Madrid's ability of revenue generation in anyway. Since the inception of the ranking, Real Madrid always was ranked as the Numero Uno. Last season also they managed to increase their revenue by 35 Million Euros. Following the most successful season in Barca's history, FC Barcelona saw a rise of 57 Million Euros in revenue. The club has therefore more than doubled its total revenues in five years since it reported revenues of €169m in 2003/04. This is the
largest absolute revenue growth of any Money League club over that period. The Blaugrana’s outstanding season is furthermore reflected by a rise across all three
main revenue streams and net profits of €8.8m. The combined revenues of the top 20 clubs was over €3.9 billion in 2008/09. There are a total of seven English football clubs in the top 20, there by establishing EPL's claim as the Economic powerhouse of the game. The country wise distribution in top 20 is as follows : Spain -2, England - 7, Germany - 5, Italy - 4, France - 2.

A closer look at the ranking will give the real picture that all is not that well for La Liga. After the big two, the third Spanish club to feature in the Top - 30 is Atletico Madrid at 22nd position. The likes of Sevilla and Valencia fails to make into the top 30, eventhough they possess some of the most exciting talents. It is stunning to see Newcastle United, a team which is relegated to second division at 17th position and above all Spanish sides except Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The success of English Premier League is primarily based on the heavy investment that recently happened in the game. That model may not be the ideal one to follow as the fans of Liverpool and Manchester United suddenly started to realize. But there are certain reasons why clubs like Totenham, Manchester City, Astonvilla, Newcastle United all are ranked higher than majority of Spanish sides. It's not only the English but also most of top flight Germana, Italian and French clubs are doing better than Spanish sides interms of revenue.

A look at the Top ten will give why there has been no major changes in the participants in recent years. Most of the clubd have held their position firm, mayb going up or down by maximum of two positions, but never got out of the elite ten. The reason as put forward by Deloitte is the impact of UEFA Champions League interms of revenue for individual clubs. The top ten clubs has been assured by continuous Champions League participation and has reaped heavy benefit from their assured participation. 2009/10 is the first season of new improved three year broadcast and commercial deals which will, in total, deliver a 29% increase in distributions to participating clubs. The competition in La Liga for the thrid and fourth Champions League position is harming Spanish clubs in this sense. This season there is huge competiotion for the fourth position in EPL but we have been seeing the same in La Liga for some time. The likes of Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Villareal and Sevilla has been constantly fighting for that spot.

Another big reason always pointed out to be the major reason why there is so inequality in La Liga is the TV rights. Against the normal practice, La Liga teams negotiate their own TV deals. This has always been their major revenue stream and don't expect Real Madrid and FC Barcelona give up this. Just see Real madrid made €160.8 Million from TV rights and Barca earned €158.4 Million from TV rights. Many club Presidents has always popinted out that the practice of not collectively selling the TV rights is killing the Spanish League. This ranking does point out that these allegation could be really true. The bottom side and average side in La Liga will never make anything near their competitiors in England and Germany. This could become a major factor for La Liga in the future. To be the most successful League in the world, La Liga has to stay competitive. Maybe it could be the time for La Liga to persuade Real Madrid and FC Barcelona to come to the tables to negotiate a combined deal or maybe split a bit of their TV revenue to the bottom clubs especially the revenue generated from the matches between tehse teams. Now I know that is just mere fantasy, but this is a serious matter to act upon.

FC Barcelona Pictures against Malaga

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:05:00 +0000

FC Barcelona Pictures Collection

FC Barcelona Pictures from Malaga Match

FC Barcelona successfully saw off the challenge from a spirited Malaga side. Goals from Pedro and Messi gave FC Barcelona a deserving victory.

FC Barcelona vs Malaga Highlights

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:31:00 +0000

Hard Worked Win - FC Barcelona -2 , Malaga - 1

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:26:00 +0000

FC Barcelona needed a late goal from Lionel Messi to see off a very determined Malaga side at the Camp Nou. The scoreline could give an impression of a close encounter, but it never was. Barca was dominating all around the match and Malaga was hell bound not to concede a goal. A sensational strike from Pedro in the 68th minute broke the deadlock. But Valdo equalised in the 80th minute threatening to spoil Barca's night, but an 84th minute Lionel Messi strike gave us a very well deserving victory. Real Madrid earlier moved to the top with a 5-1 thrashing of Tenerife, that should have provided enough motivation for the players to work tirelessly to retain the top spot. Guardiola used a different formation in this match with Iniesta playing in the front left, Pedro on the right and Messi playing behind Ibrahmovic. Xavi and Busquets played in the midfield. The defense saw Alves coming back from injury, Pique and Puyol formed the central defense and Maxwell positioned himself in the left back position.

Barcelona FC dominates from the begining

Even though it was a complete domination of Barca in the first half, the first chance of the match fell to Malaga. Barca conceded a free kick on the left edge of the box but Valdes was alert to deny Duda from the free kick. Barca responded on the other end with Alves sending in a great cross to the left, but Messi could only head the ball wide. In the 14th minute Fernando gave away the ball to Messi in midfield, he ran past one Malaga marker but with Ibrahmovic free to his righ, he chose to go alone giving time and space for Wellington to block the attempt. He should have passed the ball to Ibrahmovic who was clear on goal. In the 25th minute FC Barcelona won a free kick 30 yards out. Ibrahmovic free kick went agonizingly close to the goal. In the 30th minute after a spell of possession, Messi dribbled into the box skipping past one defender but only to shoot over from a very good position. In the 37th minute Iniesta send in an interesting ball to Xavi in the box, Xavi brilliantly flicked the ball with his back to goal, but Malag goal keeper Munua was on hand to tip it over. In the 44th minute FC Barcelona had a great chance to break the deadlock. Messi sets off in another mesmerizing run, he finds Pedro on the right who squares the ball to Ibrahmovic, but the ball was out of reach for Ibra. I thought his slowness caught him there.

Barca Persistence Finally Pays Off

In the second half we saw FC Barcelona moving into their old formation - with Messi on the right and Pedro on left. Barca had their first chance of the half in the 52nd minute with Ibra's header been tipped over by Manua. In the 56th minute Iniesta tried a shot from outside the box, but it was well wide of the post. In the 60th minute Ibra's saw his looping header from a Xavi corner cleared off the line by Welington. Finally in the 68th minute Barca's persistence finally paid off with a sensational strike from Pedro. Ibra laid off the ball to Pedro who skipped in and send in a great strike into the near corner of the goal. In the 76th minute Barca almost extended the lead to 2-0 with Iniesta hitting the bar from a quick taken free kick. That miss proved costly with Valdo equalising for Malaga in the 80th minute. Valdo played a great one two with Obinna which put him ahead of defense and made no mistake with his finish. That equaliser made it feel like another of that day when the Gods conspires against you. But it was not to be the case. In the 84th minute Messi put us ahead. It was a typical Barca goal with Xavi finding Alves after a series of one touch passes, Alves squared the ball to Messi in center and he made no mistake.

With Real Madrid winning spectacularly earlier, it was necessary to have a good match. We did dominate the match with 76% of possession. Our finishing needs to improve. I was impressed by Ibrahmovic's work rate tonight. But I still believe he is tad too slow to take advantage of the quick moves. I am still trying to make sense of the formation Guardiola employed in the first half. It might have worked but it was majorly due to the fact that malaga was reluctant to get out of their half. If he is planning to use it against Stuttgart, the German efficiency would make fun of it. The good thing of this match was the return of Xavi after that poor performance against Stuttgart and Alves's return saw most of the attack happening from the right.

Why Barca Defense is struggling?

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:11:00 +0000

Now, this seems to be the question in everyones mind nowadays. FC Barcelona has been uncharacteristically sloppy in their recent games, especially their defense. A look at the stats may give a sense of re-assuring to Barca fans, but the stats not always tell the true story. In the last eight games we have conceded four goals with winning six, drawing and losing one each. Now in a normal scenario this should be considered as a very good defensive record. But a closer look shows that we have conceded four in last four games while scoring eight goals, still a very good record many would argue. But for the fellows who has been watching Barca defense's recent performance these stats are of no comfort. Against Racing our defense had a good night but the problem performance came against Atletico Madrid and Stutgart yesterday. Our defense were constantly bombarded by waves of attacks by these two teams, something which rarely happens with Barca.

Understanding FC Barcelona Defense Formation

So before we anlyse what is going wrong with the Barca defense, we have to see how our defense works. FC Barcelona's philospohy has always been to play the "Beautiful Game" the right way. Barca's playing style involves retyaining possession at all cost and playing a brand of football known as "Total Football". In this style everyone regardless of their possession contribute to the attacking style of the team. This results in our full backs constantly running forward, creating chances from both the wings. Our cetral defense pair also in comparision to other teams always try to get involved in the attack. FC Barcelona always hold a very high line of defense on the pitch and that means there is always a high chance of we getting caught on a rapid counter. This is the specific reason of which our defense is always considered as our weakness when compared to other top teams in Europe, eventhough we have some of the best defenders in the world.

Barca's Defense Starts High Up on the field

Naturally our defense starts very much ahead on the pitch. Last season our attacking pair of Messi, Henry and Eto committed more fouls than any of our defenders. The success of last season was not only attributed to the slick passing and skills but an unbelievable urge by our attacking players to regain possession whenever they lose the ball. What it essentially did was it made sure that Barca's defense never was exposed to any real pressure. The midfield and attack always shielded the defense from pressure and that helped them in contributing more to attack. If we take a close look at our performance in recent matches, we will clearly know where the problem lies.

In the Stuttgart match, Barca's defense were constantly exposed to wave after wave of attacks which left them severely exposed. But the real blame for these has to be put on our midfield and attack rather than our defense. In the Stuttgart match our midfield failed to regain possession and that constantly put pressure on our defense. The atatcking trio also failed to track back and put pressure on the opposition players. The same happened in the Atletico Madrid game also. Complacency has been creeping into Barca players lately. We always look comfortable with the ball in our hands and an inability to regain the possession quickly has been harming us in these matches.

This season we have been struggling against teams who came after us and attacked us from the start. Last season , any team which did the same was murdered. The main reason for this a reluctance by the attacking players to pressurize the opposition and regain the possession. Guardiola has been an exemptional disciplinarian and is very well equipped to deal with Barca's sudden dip in form which is a direct result of the sloppy attitude. With Real Madrid hitting some kind of form, Guardiola may not have too much time to get the train back on track. He has not been helped with the recent series of injuries. But Barca still has a squad which can cope with those. And pretty soon he will have the entire squad back. But he has to get his selection and tactics absolutely right. May be a bit of dressing down could be solution of the hour.

Barca vs Stuttgart Highlights

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:22:00 +0000

  Barca vs Stuttgart Match Report

Stuttgart vs Barca Match Pics

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:18:00 +0000

Barca Match Pics from Stuttgart Clash

Pictures from Barca's away leg of the first leg of the Round Of 16 clash against Stuttgart

Barca Escapes the Stuttgart Scare ;Stuttgart - 1, Barca - 1

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:38:00 +0000

Barca vs Stuttgart Match Highlights
Barca survived an absolute onslaught from Stuttgart and came out with an un-deserving 1-1 draw. The crucial away goal could prove to be very crucial in the second leg for Barca. Cacau put Stuttgart ahead in the first half but Ibrahmovic equalised for Barca in the early second half. Johan Cryuff has described FC Barcelona's performance in last match as their worst, he should have waited till this match. This was the worst Barca Performance for last three or four season. I cannot remember a match were we were so hopelessly over-run by the opponents. We looked like a second division team in the first half, but did well in the second half. We were up against the German efficiency which we usually associate with their national team, and failed miserably to stamp our authority. Guardiola chose Marquez and Pique to be in the defense, Puyol and Maxwell played the full back roles. The midfield was made up of Toure, Busquets and Xavi. The front line had Iniesta, Ibra and Messi.

Barca Players Competed With Each Other on being sloppy

This was the worst start to a match you could ever see. After the initial nerves, Stuttgart took full control of the match. Barca were uncharacteristically sloppy with their passing and was struggling to hold on to the ball. Stuttgart Manager had done his home-work and made sure that his midfield closed ours pretty fast. In the 13th minute Cacau had a good chance but he couldn't

control his finish. Stuttgart started to atatck Barca from both the wings, especially the left. In the 21st minute Marquez cleared a dangeroius ball into the box with a sliding leg. In the 23rd minute FC Barcelona defense somehow managed to clear the danger from a Hleb free kick. But Stuttgart was not going to be denied. The deservingly went ahead in the 25th minute. Gebhart's great cross from the right was headed past Valdes by Cacau at the far post. In the 28th minute Stuttgart had a great appeal for penalty after the ball hit Pique's hand, but the referee waived on indicating that it was unintensional. In the 31st minute Stuttgart should have gone two goals up - Cacau used his body strength to turn Marquez and from a one on one situation tried to square the ball, which was somehow cleared by Barca. That was a big let off for FC Barcelona. In the 33rd minute Valdes makes another great save denying Khedira. In the 40th minute Barca had their first shot on target. Messi sets off on a great run and sends in a low shot which was parried by Lehman on to the post. In the 41st minute Valdes pulls off another save to deny Pogrebnyak to make sure the scoreline remain the same going into the break.

Barca's Performance Improved slightly afrter the break

Everyone expected Barca to come out firing on all cylinder after the half. That was not to be the case. Their performance in the second half were better than first half, but nowhere near their usual standard. In the 52nd minute we got the equaliser we were looking for. Busquets played a cross into the box, the Stuttgart defense failed to clear, Pique did well to win the header and the

ball fell to Ibrahmovic, whose first shot was blocked by Lehman but luckily for us the rebound fell to Ibra agains and he made no mistake. We started to take control of the game after that goal, but then it lasted only for five minutes and we were back losing our midfield battle. Guardiola brought in Henry for Toure after the goal. In the 58th minute Milito replaced Marquez. In teh 67th minute Messi send in a great cross from right to Iniesta but his shot was blocked. Then in the 68th minute Barca had a definitive penalty appeal for hand ball turned down. Jens Lehman misjudged the flight of a corner and failed to hold or deflect the corner; the ball fell to Ibra whose goal bound shot was deflected wide by Molinaro elbow. That was a real case for penalty but I thought the referee was playing even after he didn't give the penalty for Stuttgart. The rest of the half ended without too much of a scare. Valdes did really well to cut off any of Stuttgart scare.

As I said this was the worst performance I have seen in last five to six years. We have played much better even two seasons ago, when we finished third in the league. It was terrible to see we losing the midfield battle so easily. From the performance point of view, it will be foolish to judge who was the worst. The easiest option would be to see who was the best Barca player on the pitch - Victor Valdes. Messi at least showed some interest. Iniesta and Xavi were sloppy throughout the match. It is better not to say anything about Toure and Busquets and their performance. At times Toure looked better than Busquets, then he will commit a no-sense mistake. In the defnse I think Puyol was the only one who can hold his head a bit high. I know many would blame Guardiola for not using Iniesta and Xavi in the midfield from the start. But in an away match in Europe, I thought it was quite sensible to have a defnsive minded midfield. But the idea to use Xavi on the left rather than his usual position on right baffled me.

Many of you may consider that we should forget this performance and move forward. But for the last some matches our passing has been sloppy atleast in away matches. Guardiola needs to qaddress it as early as possible. He should show some confidence in Henry too. Ibrahmovic had a betetr night as far as finishing is concerned, but I am still not convinced with his position in our team.

Barca vs Stuttgart Champions League First Leg Preview

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:16:00 +0000

Barca's Champions League campaign re-starts after the long vacation with a visit to Stuttgart on Tuesday. On the back of winning their group Barca will have the luxury of playing their second leg at home. Barca's recent injury worries has been a problem into the build up of this game. But it looks like Barca's injury problems are finally easing up. Xavi and Alves has been included in the team which makes the trip to Germany, despite not getting the final OK from Medical staff. The squad list is Valdés, Pinto, Puyol, Maxwell, Piqué, Milito, Txigrinski, Touré, Sergio, Xavi, Iniesta, Bartra, Jonathan, Jeffren, Messi, Bojan, Pedro, Alves, Ibrahimovic and Henry. It is highly unlikely we will see both of them starting the match. Barca should be in high spirits with a 4-0 victory against Racing Santander. It is not yet clear whether Ibrahmovic is deemed fit for the Stuttgart match after missing out last match due to a ankle injury. Meanwhile Barca's opponent Stuttgart has their own injury problems. Stuttgart Left Back, Arthur Boka will be missing FC Barcelona tie after damaging his shoulder against FC Koln.

Barca has upper hand in FC Barcelona vs Stuttgart Meeting in Past

Barca's recent visits to Germany all has been pretty good. The last visit was to face Bayern Munich which resulted in a 1-1 draw that completed a 5-1 aggregate victory at the Quarter Final stage. The last time FC Barcelona faced Stuttgart was in the group stage of 2007-08 Champions League Campaign. Barca registered comfortable Home and Away victories on that occasion. This visit will see our player Alexander Hleb who is on loan to Stuttgart plating against us after his move from Arsenal. The defense should feature once again Puyol as Right Back and Maxwell as Left Back. I expect Milito to pair up with Pique at the centre of defense. The midfield should remain the same as in the Racing match - Iniesta, Toure and Busquets. It is essential to let Iniesta play on the left side as in last match. The forward lin should have Henry retaining his position after a good showing against Racing, Messi should be the attacking option from teh right and Bojan should start as Centre Forward. Ibrahmovic may not be rushed to start this game and hence Bojan should try to produce another good performance. We may be missing some of the regulars in the team but still is expected to produce a favourable result. Anything other that a loss is a good result in the Champions League away legs, but Barca's quality should be enough to win this match. I predict a 0-2 victory for Barca.

FC Barcelona vs Racing Santanader Pics

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:07:00 +0000

FC Barcelona vs Racing Match Pictures

FC Barcelona won the match against Racing courtesy of goal from Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez and Thiago.

FC Barcelona vs Racing Santander Highlights on 20/02/10

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:45:00 +0000

Highlights from FC Barcelona's victory against Racing santander on 20/02/2010.

Barca Bounce Back In Style; FC Barcelona-4, Racing-0

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:39:00 +0000

FC Barcelona bounced back from their dissappointing defeat of last week with a spectacular 4-0 victory against Racing Santander. With this victory we have managed to extend the lead on top to five points. Real Madrid who will play Villareal at home has a chance to reduce the lead tonight. First half goals from Andres Iniesta, Henry, Marquez and a second half goal by substitute Thiago Alcantara helped Barca to a very comfortable win. FC Barcelona's performance came on the back of all recent injury troubles and this victory would have put the team in great frame of mind for the Champions League encounter against Stuttgart. As I said in the preview, this was Guardiola's 100th official match in charge of Barca and his players celebrated it in the right way. Guardiola Puyol, Pique, Marquez and Maxwell in defense infront of custodian Valdes. The midfield ghhad Toure, Busquets and Iniesta. The frontline had the regulars Messi and Henry , meanwhile Bojan got a rare start as Ibrahmovic was left out as a precaution to an ankle injury.

Barca Exerts Pressure from the begining

Barca started the game very well than Racing. In the 7th minute FC barcelona went ahead with Iniesta firing his first goal of the season. Marquez played a long ball into the box from behind the half line, Racing defender who was following Henry's run failed to clear the ball and the ball fell to Iniesta who was tracking on the left unmarked. Iniesta made no mistake in poking the ball into net past an advancing goal keeper. An early goal meant that racing was going to have a difficult night and sure they did. In the 9th minute Bojan had a great chance but fired over after Henry laid it to him. In the 11th minute Busquets laid the ball to Maxwell but his shot was tipped over by Racing Goalkeeper, Coltorti. Barca was having total control of the game and there were no moves from Racing's part for the whole time. In the 22nd minute Coltorti saved a great shot from Bojan from a Messi pass. Then in the 28th minute Busquets won a free kick just outside the box. Henry took the free kick, which was nothing spectacular by his standard; It went through the wall into the goal past an unsighted Goal Keeper.

In the 33rd minute another free kick was awarded for handball against Toni Moral five yards away from box. This time Marquez took the free kick, he curled the ball above the wall on to the right post and into goal. In the 35th minute Racing had the ball in the net but Xisco was rightly judged offside. It was aboslute foolish from Xisco part, Canales shot was going into the goal before he from an offside position decided to poke the ball in. Valdes was a very relieved man as the chance materialised after he dropped Serrano's cross. The cetre defense pair were taking un-necessary rik at this time. Pique was lucky to escape a card and Marquez was lucky to be awarded only a yellow. These two guys looks like has never learned from their recent suspensions. The half ended with Bojan hitting the sidenetting after a lovely through ball from Messi.

FC barcelona eased off a bit in second half

As expected FC Barcelona lacked intensity in the second half and it was Racing who had the better chances in the early exchanges. In the 53rd minute the ground were witness to a freakish event which earned henry a yellow car dfor doing nothing. Henry beat Oriol to a Toure ball but his shot went wide; Oriol in his frustration ran towards referee tripping over Henry's leg, then started shouting at Henry who backed off but both received yellow cards - you got to see Henry's face man. In the 61st minute Iniesta fired a shot at goal but it was easy for Coltorti to save. In the 68th minute Jeffren came in for Puyol. In the 76th minute Guardiola rightly decided to give Toure and Henry some rest and replace them with Thiago and Pedro. In the 84th minute Barca completed the score line for Fc Barcelona with Thiago scoring his first senior Barca goal. Thiago played the ball to Messi on the right in the box, Messi skipped past hi defender and played the ball to Thiago who shot went inside the goal with the help of a deflection

There were questions raised about Barca's ability to shake off the recent injury crisis, but we did manage that in grand style. FC Barcelona also showed the glimpse of talent we have in our youth systems. When the game ended we had nine FC Barcelona products on the pitch, bloody hell thyat should be a record of sort. Coming into the bigger picture, this victory put us in great form for our visit to Germany in mid-week. It was really good to see Bojan in action. he may not have done any spectacular stuff but looked solid. He will definitely improve if given more playing time. Iniesta definitely was the pick in the attack and Thiago looked so good in the midfield. Now we will be witnessing a great fight between Jonathan and Thiago trying to break into first team. I would pick one guy's performance - Henry, he looked to have started enjoying his back again.

Fun With Barca JigSaw

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:41:00 +0000

I am extremely happy to announce that I have got something for fun for Barca fans reading this blog. All About FC Barcelona in partnership with My Photo Jigsaw has prepared a set of JigSaw related to some finest moments from last Season - Barca JigSaw Puzzles. Do check out all of those and have some fun.

Make Sure that you check out the rest.

Coping with Barca's Injury Problem - FC Barcelona vs Racing Santander Preview

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:45:00 +0000

Racing Santander's visit to Camp Nou has become a test for this FC Barcelona side coping with a series of injury problem. FC Barcelona's success in 2009 was helped by the fact that none of our major players had long injury lay off. But this season tends to be different. The list of injured or just recoverd from injury is stunning. Out of FC Barcelona defenders currently Alves and Abidal are injured meanwhile Chygrynskiy has just returned from injury. In the Barca Midfield we will be missing Xavi; Toure has returned back to training. The match against Racing Santender brings some personal milestone achievement for Guardiola. This will be Guardiola's 100th official game in charge as Coach of FC Barcelona. In the 99 matches he has manage to win 70, draw 19 and had ten defeats; and don't forget the six trophies he won us. That's one hell of a resume. Barca's opponent Racing is lying in the 14th position and in usual scenario should have been an easy opponent. Earlier this season when the two teams met at El Sardinero stadium, Barca emerged comfortable victors romping home 1-4. But FC Barcelona's injury cricisi may tempt Racing to come out blazing and look for a rare win at Campo Nou.

FC Barcelona will be Looking to get back to winning ways

FC Barcelona's unbeaten run was halted last week at Vicente Calederon. That night we had problems at the defense and paid for that. Tomorrow we might have some problems in midfield with the absence of Xavi. But still I believe we can cope with this Racing side. We don't want to concede any more ground to Real Madrid, who will be hosting Villareal on Sunday. Pedro Munitis, Colsa and Tchite all are suspended for Santander for this match. Valdes should hold his position as goal keeper once again. but it does raise some question whether Pinto will get any playing time al all. Anyway he seems to be happy. The defense should see Puyol playing the Right Back role and Maxwell playing the left back. I would seriously prefer the other way. Pique should return from suspension and partner Milito at the centre of defense. The midfield is the subject of everyones interest recently. Toure's return back from injury is a good news but it would be a disaster to rush him into starting eleven. So my pick for midfield will be Jonathan Dos Santos on right, Busquets as DM and Iniesta on the left. The front line should return back to its normal form with Messi, Ibra and Henry. This match should be a good test to see how we cope with the loss of our midfield General. It should also give a look into guys who may succeed Xavi in future. I predict a tough 2-0 victory.

Ronaldinho AC Milan Version Has Started Smiling

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:21:00 +0000

Ex-Barca superstar Ronaldinho looks like to have resurrected his career at Ac Milan finally. The Ronaldinho Show that was put up against Manchester United shows that it is too early to write off Ronaldinho, the two time World Player of The Year. Ronaldinho's fall from the top was much faster than his ascent. His wayward life-style and sudden drop of passion towards football, took this Superstar in a downward spiral. After two disaster at Barca following three seasons of Ronaldinho magic, Guardiola packed him off to AC Milan. It was the right thing for Guardiola and Laporta to do. He has lost his passion for the game and that was showing heavily in Barca's game. But the question at that point was whether Milan was foolish to buy him from FC Barcelona. At 21 million Euros, Ronaldinho came much cheaper but it was not clear whether he will be able to hit back to his normal form.

Ronaldinho AC Milan 2008 was a Big Flop

Carlo Ancelotti had no idea of how to use Ronaldinho at AC Milan. He put him behind Pato along with Kaka. From that position he never had the freedom, he enjoyed at Barca at his prime. But that was not the only reason. Ronaldinho looks to have been convinced that a change of scenario (Barca to AC Milan) was enough for him to get back to his great form. So he still continued his great partying life style and his step-motherly attitude towards football. Even though he started AC Milan career well, it was not supposed to stay. He failed to get any good playing time and the fact that Kaka struggled to play along with him also made sure that Ronaldinho AC Milan soon became a surplus to requirement.

Kaka's Transfer lifts Ronaldinho's AC Milan Career

With the transfer of Kaka to Real Madrid, Ronaldinho was trusted with more responsibility. It may have worked in his favour. Or maybe the fact that his Brazilian coach, Dunga was not even ready to consider him as an option at World Cup also did work in his favour. The new AC Milan coach Leonardo used him in a formation similar to Barca's one. The freedom he was given in that formation soon saw Ronaldinho getting back to some form. His single handed destruction of Sienna was the turning point of his AC Milan career. That was Ronaldinho Magic at the best. He was subsequently subdued at the Milan derby. But whoever watched the match knows it was due to the superb defending by Inter and also the fact that Milan's midfield failed to involve him in attacks for most part. They somehow strangely preferred an attack through the right via Beckham. But Ronaldinho Magic was back at his best against Manchester United. He was constantly troubling the Manchester United defense. Rafael did well just to stay with him for most of the matches. The trademark flicks, Backheels, no-look passes were all on display. Many a times he left the entire ManU defense dead with a sublime turn or two. It was just the brilliance of Van Der Sar that prevented a AC Milan victory. He scored one and created another in a match which Milan lost.

Sadly Ronaldinho will never come back to his Barca form. He is past that and has lost a yard of pace. But his love for the game looks to have returned. The long stretching runs against defense is back, the tremendous passing skills is back on display and more over that bucket tooth smile is back. He is enjoying his game. When he plays at his best gives me more happiness than anyone in the world. AC Milan's Champions League might have been close to finish, but if there is anyone to carry them forward beyond Old Trafford - it has to be Ronaldinho. If he continue with this performance - Dunga cannot afford to overlook him anymore.

Ronaldinho Magic against Manchester United

Chygrynskiy and Yaya Toure Re-joins Full Training

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:13:00 +0000

Finally some good news for FC Barcelona fans - Barca Players Yaya Toure and Dmytro Chygrynskiy both have returned to full training with the rest of the squad. It would be music to every Barca fans ears, especially the return of Yaya Toure. On Wednesday the duo trainied in isolation, but today they joined with their team mates for warm up and drills. Now that simply means both are back almost fit. Toure most probably will start against Racing if he is declared fit. Barca were facing a shortage of fit midfielders and this is all good news for Guardiola.

Injured Barca Players Recovering Well

Meanwhile FC Barcelona Midfielder Xavi Hernandez continued his recovery working with a fitness coach away from the rest of the squad. His recovery looks on track and we can expect to see him in action in two weeks time. Dani Alves is also working with injury concerns, and also jogged with and without the ball in the company of a fitness coach. Meanwhile Jonathan Dos Santos, Marc Bartra and Thiago Alcántara continued training withe the senior squad.

Barca Worries Shift From Defense To Midfield

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:05:00 +0000

Barca Injury List Increases - Xavi, Keita and Busquets ruled out for next match

FC Barcelona's current injury crisis has shifted from the defense to Midfield. Keita has been already ruled out for three to four weeks, now it has been confirmed that FC Barcelona will be without the service of Xavi Hernandez for two weeks. Xavi has picked up a knock in the Sunday's game. Tests conducted on Monday have revealed that the player has torn semitendinosus muscle fibres in his right thigh. He will be out for about 15 days.If you can't take that, then consider this - Busquets is suspended for the Racing match. Now on Sunday we had only three regular defenders available, now it looks like we have only one midfielder available for next match. Guardiola's problem in defense is set to be solved as Pique and Marquez will be back from suspension. Dani Alves, Toure and Abidal are already out with injury.

FC Barcelona's Injury List Complicates Champions League Campaign

FC Barcelona's next match is against Racing at home and after that they will travel to Germany to face Stuttgart in Champions League. Toure is expected to return to action for the match against Stuttgart. But it is not yet sure how we will be solving the midfield puzzle in the next match. The defense most probably could be lined-up with Puyol, Pique, Milito and Maxwell. Marquez could be shifted to midfield to play the defensive midfielder role. Iniesta will be a sure pick in the Barca midfield but who will partner him is the question. Jonathan Dos Santos could be the ideal choice. I know people might complain about our lack of bench strength, but can we really plan for this many injuries?

Barca vs Atletico Madrid Highlights on 14/02/10

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:19:00 +0000

Atletico Hands Barca Their First Defeat; A.Madrid - 2, Barca - 1

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:53:00 +0000

Barca were handed their first defeat of the League this seasonat the Vicente Calederon by Atletico Madrid. Our last three visits to Vicente Calederon has ended in defeats, and this stadium is quickly becoming a nightmare for every Barca fan and player. Two early goals from Forlan and Simao were enough for Atletico Madrid eventhough Ibrahmovic pulled one back for Barca. Barca's night was made more terrible by Keita's harmstring injury. He is expected to be out of the game for four weeks. Guardiola with all his problems at defense decided to start with Jeffren at the Right Back position. Puyol, Milito and Maxwell started at their usual position. Barca midfield included Xavi, Keita and Busquets. The front three had Iniesta, Ibrahmovic and Messi.

Barca Defense Struggles from the Start

Barca started the game in the wrong fashion. Seven minutes into the game Keita pulled up with harmstring and was replaced by Pedro. That was made worse in the ninth minute when Reyes managed to get past Iniesta and Busquets, played a great ball pass Puyol to find Forlan's run; Forlan cooly finished past Valdes. It was criminal from Busquets to let Reyes skip past hi opening the defense. With a makeshift defense we needed our defensive midfielder to be strong. In the 18th minute Aguero should have made the scoreline 2-0, but he decided to square the ball to Forlan after breaking Barca's offside trap; Puyol recoverd well to cut off the ball to Forlan. But in the 22nd minute Atletico Madrid finally made it 2-0, with a great free kick by Simao from the edge of box. Ibrahmovic pulled one back for Barca in the 27th minute from a corner after Puyol flicked the ball to him.In the 33rd minute Ibra unleashed a great shot but Atletico custodian, De Gea made a great save.

FC Barcelona Showed no Intent in Second Half

Everyone was expecting Barca to fire from the start in the second half. In the 56th minute there was huge chaos in Atletico's box with some desperate defending keeping Barca boys at bay. But after that Barca looked like a unit who was not at all interested in equalising. In the 64th minute Puyol pulled out a great challenge to cut off the danger from Aguero. Messi had some hopeful runs and shot in the half, but none was good enough.

This was one of the worst performance by the FC Barcelona this season, especially the second half. Busquets proved that he has to go a long way in making good impact in tough games. Xavi had a horrible night. The defense looked fragile. The only good thing about tonight's match was Ibrahmovic ending his goal drought. But I was not too impresed by his overall performance. His lack of speed means that we were never able to catch Atletico defense on counter.Iniesta had a good night, so did Messi but with Xavi struggling they couldn't make much of an impact.