All About FC Barcelona

Is Guardiola That Good a Manager?

2009-07-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

This is something which has gone through my head a thousand times. Is Guardiola that good a coach as he is been featured by media? Surely a guy who has won an unprecedented treble with this FC Barcelona side has to be good, but is he a legend. For me Guardiola at this moment is more of a disciplinary genius than a tactical one. Many may disagree pointing to the was he switched Messi inside in the Champions League final. But to be honest that game was all about blunders Ferguson made than the tactics employed by Guardiola. To Guardiola's credit he managed very well with the resources at his hand. Now many may ask whether Guardiola had no part in the success of last season, surely he had - maybe the largest part. He brought something which the Barca setup was lacking for the last two seasons - discipline. In Rijkaard's last two season there were no doubts about the fact that he was never in control. Guardiola came out with an iron hand approach and did kept a complete control on the proceedings. No one was able to take their place for granted and that proved one more point thing - FC barcelona had two bad season because Barca was playing bad, not because of others playing well.

But to all his credit Guardiola is not a tactical genius. He has been out-thought by Hiddink and looked lost till that dramatic turn-out in the injury time. Actually that was one battle we had trouble dealing last season. The same was with the way we played at Atletico Madrid. His reluctance to use substitutes to change the course of match was very irritating. Many a times we saw he holding back substitutes to be used as a time wasting tactic. The prime example was the Sylvinho substitution against Chelsea, don't call it a master piece, I thought he forgot we had a substitute left. More over he looks like a guy who comes with a lot of pre-conception. His reluctance to accept that Toure was the best defensive midfielder we had was a prime example of that. The way he handled Eto saga earlier last season showed his inexperience and reluctance to accept ground reality. And it looks like he has not learn from that also. Under him and Laporta, we successfully managed to unsettle Eto again without any proper back-up assurance. Strangely now every egg lies in Eto's basket. He can decide to stay in Barca for one more season and leave for free at the end of it, if he stays we will be forced to use him as a striker this season. Guardiola and Laporta went ahead with upsetting him without really taking ground reality of signing a replacement in account. Now mostly we have to cough up a much higer value to land Ibrahmovic, that again depends on Eto agreeing to Inter's terms.

But it might be too early to judge him. He is in his second season as a coach and will probably improve with more experience. He has all the making of becoming a good disciplined coach but I doubt whether he will be able to mold himself into a tactical genius. In FC Barcelona he is the ideal man as we always play a very attacking style and we need a guy to hold the team's discipline intact. But I would love to see him using his brain a bit more in transfer market. The Hleb saga was a disaster in making from the beginning. And we still have not addressed the left side issue. If he is planning to use Iniesta upfront more, that also could backfire as that will deprive us of the service of the best attacking midfielder in the middle. Without Iniesta it is easy for teams to double mark Xavi and take him out of the equation, we had seen it many times last season. I believe this could be the make or break season for Guardiola as a coach. There was not much pressure last season but that success means there will be more and he will be scruitinized in every step he take.

Has Laporta Gone Crazy?

2009-07-18T08:27:00.001-07:00

Joan Laporta has confirmed yesterday that the club has agreed on principle with Inter about a deal which will see Zlatan Ibrahmovic moving to Barcelona for exchange of Eto and some cash. There are rumours flying in plenty for sometime and the latest rumours suggests that Barca will give 40 million plus the service of both Eto and Hleb on loan. No deal will be reached if Eto does not agree to the terms which will be put infront by Inter. Already there is rumours that Eto is asking for 10 million a year from Inter and at this moment that looks like the only hope for me preventing Barca commit this colossal mistake. Last week we saw FC Barcelona disagreeing on Valencia's asking price for Villa, which was supposed to be in 50 millions. But now it looks like we might get Ibrahmovic, a player who goes missing in big matches for a value of 80 million (40 million in cash + Eto and Hleb). The big question is - Is Ibrahmovic worth that money? Absolutely not. Ibrahmovic is one of the top quality striker around Europe and has been successful in recent past. But he has not yet performed what Eto did for Barca, scoring goal that too in plenty. Nor did he has done something Kaka or Ronaldo performed - taking their team to European Glory.

So at this moment looks like Barca is going to perform another collosal blunder in terms of monetary valuation by signing Ibrahmovic for this amount. This blunder looks much more horrifying when considering the fact that we could buy Villa by adding a 10 million more to our earlier bid. David Villa is a proven customer and is sure to succeed in FC Barcelona as he is the best to fit our style of play. Secindly he is not a striker who goes missing against big teams. Ibrahmovic sadly always have quiet game against bigger teams, last season Champions League encounter against Manchester United was a plum example. He looked like a striker who was making his debut, fully out of confidence. But again we have to ask why Laporta is going for the striker at this huge price? This one potentially has all the making of being another Hleb signing. Last season Laporta and Guardiola circled on Hleb to replace Ronaldinho. We know where that went. Now the same team is going to get rid of two players and 40 million to sign Ibrahmovic. Crazy indeed and now all the hopes lies on Eto.

Guardiola's tactic for the next season looks similiar to the one he had last season. He will try playing Henry and Ibrahmovic at centre-forward position with Iniesta moving forward on the left (that is why he is giving Hleb's service for free). That will leave the midfiled with a combination of Xavi, Toure and Keita in most matches. We saw last season what happens when Iniesta moves out of that midfield. But Guardiola looks like he will never learn.

Maxwell Presentation Pictures

2009-07-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from Maxwell Scherrer Cabelino's presentation at Mini Estadi at Barcelona on 17th July 2009.

Maxwell Becomes Barca's First Official Signing

2009-07-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

FC Barcelona's official website has reported that FC Barcelona and Inter Milan have reached the beginning of an agreement for the transfer of the Brazilian Scherrer Cabelino Maxwell Andrade “Maxwell” for a fee of 4.5 million Euros with an additional 0,5 million in variable payments. Now with that signing it is certain that we have neded our interest in Luis Fileppe of Deportivo. Deportivo was asking for too much for the left back and I have to appreciate the audacity with which our management found a replacement. Maxwell is expected to give Abidal a good fight for his position. And for all those Barca fans he has more attacking instinct than Abidal. It is not clear when we will complete the signing and how long he is staying in the club. The initail rumours says that he will be offered a contract which will keep him till 2012. With this signing we will have a capable cover for the space left by Sylvinho's absence.

Maxwell started his career with Cruzeiro. Then he joined Ajax in 2001 and stayed till his transfer to Inter in 2006. With Inter he has won three League titles and Italian Super Cup. He was also selected as the "Dutch Football of The Year" in 2004. He is good in going forward and can play in advance position. In his debut season Maxwell's superb solo goal against Parma was voted as the best Inter Goal of the season.

Valdes Extends Stay till 2014

2009-07-07T07:40:00.001-07:00

Barcelona custodian, Victor Valdes has signed a new contract whihc will see him playing for the club till 2014. The contract negotiation with Barca's No.1 goal keeper and the club has been stalled in many occasion. Victor Valdes has been looking to improve his contract taking him par with the best paid players in the club. It is not yet known what will his salary but his buy-out clause has been set to 150 million Euros. There was huge drama with Valdes contract negotiations throughout last season. Valdes was looking for a better pay from the begining but in the middle of season it was rumoured that Barca were willing to part with their custodian as Valdes held firm on his demands. But the unavailability of any of the top Goal Keepers made Barca's job a tough one and they did come to a conclusion that Valdes was the best of the rest.

Victor Valdes may not be the best goal keeper around but he is still an above average one. He may not be an Iker, Buffon or Cech but he is still the best in one on one situation. So his contract extension is a great news for Barca. He is bound to make mistakes in some high profile matches but I have mentioned early - Valdes makes more match winning saves than mistakes in a season.

Yaya Toure Renews Contracy Until 2012, Hurray!!!

2009-06-27T04:12:00.000-07:00

There were some tricky contract negotiations to be done for Barca this summer. Luckily they have concluded the most important one of all. Yaya Toure has signed a new deal which will keep him at the club till 2012. This one deal extension wwas shrudded in mystery for sometime. Especially with reports emerging about Guardiola's new found likeness for Mascherano. He was linked with a move out of the club and I have earlier written against any such move by the club - Guardiola Prefers Mascherano to Toure.The details of the new deal is not clear but he is sure to get a much better pay scale with this deal. The buyout clause has been raised from 66 million Euros to 100 million Euros. It is a great relief to fans like myself to see Toure extending the deal. He has been the most consistent performer in the last two seasons apart from Iniesta and Xavi. He compliment Barca's atatcking talent too well, you just have to watch that wonder goal against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey final for a testimony.

Meanwhile there is not much clarity about the big signings in the transfer market. But as I said in my last post, most probably Filippe will be our first official signing of this summer. Mean while there are reports that Valdes will be signing a new deal very soon.

Filipe Luis Could be Barca's First Buy this Summer!!!

2009-06-26T04:20:00.000-07:00

If all negotiations goes fine, Filipe Luis, the Brazilian left back who is currently with Deportivo could become Barca's first official signing this summer. Luis Filippe has been one of the major players in a good season for Deportivo in which they finished seventh. Sport.es has reported that the negotiations are still in advance stage. Deportivo is asking for 10 million for the left-back, who can also play in midfield. FC Barcelona currently is trying to lower the price by two million. With the departure of Sylvinho, Barca definitely needs more cover in the left-back position. The player has publicly stated his dream of playing in the Barcelona stripes, and the club also stated the same. So if everyting goes according to plan we should be able to sign him within the coming two weeks. But the biggest story right now circulating in transfer market is that - Barca has offered David Villa a four year contract. FC Barcelona also seems ti have made an offer of around 45 million for the Spanish Striker.

That big amount definitely means that Eto will be moving out to raise the money and it looks like Manchester City is well placed to grab the Cameroonian striker. Meanwhile Manchester United has also is reported to have tabled an offer of 47 million for David Villa, but the player for now has ruled out a move to England. Meanwhile with the days passing it looks like Ribery is interested more in a move to Real Madrid than Madrid. That makes it important for us to sign a guy who is good on the left side. we also would love to have an attacking midfielder as a cover to Iniesta and Xavi.

Villa Set On Barca Radar

2009-06-16T07:33:00.001-07:00

I couldn't update regularly in last couple of days. But it looks like there was not much of development about Barca in Transfer Market. But the biggest news in Transfer Market as today is a reported 50 million bid for Valencia striker Villa. Valencia is reported to be asking for more but there is a high chance of Barca beating Real madrid to his signature. If that happens we will see Eto moving to Manchester City, most probably. But there were reports from England suggesting that Ferguson might be interested in the Cameroonian striker. But I doubt the credibility of that news and expects Manchester City to sign him as they will be the only one willing to pay his demanded salary. Meanwhile Villa and Barca has kept silence on all these rumours. Villa will be the perfect person to replace Eto as he can easily fit into Barca's style of play. Meanwhile the negotiations between Valdes and FC Barcelona has broken down for the n-th time. Valdes is looking for an improved contract which will put him on par with other stars in the team. Mean while Barca is reported to be keeping their plan B open, if Valdes leaves. Pepe Reina, Asenjo all are reported to be in Barca's radar.

Meanwhile it is expected that Barca will finally present Yaya Toure with a improved contract. After being told by Benitez that Mascherano is not up for sale, Barca looks like have decided to extend the contract of the best defensive midfielder in the world. Meanwhile Barca looks like to be in prime position to land Deprtivo La Coruna's Luis Fillipe. Juventus and Atletico Madrid are also in the race but Barca definitely has the advantage.

Ibra To Barca, Eto to Inter; Deal Almost Done?

2009-06-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

If reports by El Mundo Deportivo is to be believed then the deal to swap FC Barcdelona striker with Eto with Inter striker Ibrahmovic is all done. The daily reports that Barca will offer an additional 10 million plus the service of their star centre forward for the service of the swede. Guardiola rates Ibrahmovic high and believes that he is more suited to his plans than Eto. But Ibrahmovic always was considered a big match flop, his performance with Sweden in major competition does make that belief firm. Whatever, there is no doubt about the fact that he is more talented than Samuel Eto. But is he the kind of striker who we need upfront? I am not sure, someone like Villa would have been perfect. But then Madrid is reported to have almost got hold of his signature. Zlatan Ibrahimović along with Kaka is the highest paid footballer in Europe and that could be another problem for Barca. FC Barcelona could easily match his salary but then have to raise the salaries of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta to match Ibra's. At 27 he has some playing time left and that could be good for Barca. Meanwhile El Mundo Deportivo reports that Ibra is desperate for a switch as he believes he can win the Champions League with FC Barcelona.

The early negotiation with Inter were reported to have broken down as the Inter president was first demanding the service of Eto plus 40 million. Then there were reports that he was looking for a swap between Iniesta and Ibra, but Laporta would be killed if that happens. Meanwhile Sport.es looks like have picked the star they want in Barca this season - David Silva. They have run a story describing that how he loves Barca style and the club. There is no doubt that he is the perfect signing for Barca but we have to fight heavily with Madrid for his service. Laporta in the mean time looked to have taken a dig at the high price transfer of Kaka to Madrid, he is probably right in pointing out. But I am tempted to ask this - Where is Platini? He made so much noise when Manchester City almost signed Kaka, why is he silent now?

Guardiola Prefers Mascherano to Toure

2009-06-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

It was never a secret that Guardiola preferred Busquets and Keita to Toure when he started his reign at Barca. He entered into compromise with Eto early on the season but convincingly overlooked Toure many times during the start of season. But there are some talents you can't keep on bench, and Toure proved to be one of them. He made the likes of Keita and Busquets looked amateur in the defensive midfielder role. There was a contract negotiation to happen in the end of season and every Barca fan expected to finish off woth relative ease. But now it looks like Guardiola is holding to his belief that Toure is not suitable for his team. Laporta recently hailed Valdes (a player who is already doing his contract negotiations) a great Goal Keeper and hoped that Barca can retain the service of Eto. But he very casually forgot to mention anything about the big Ivory Coast player. Guardiola is rumoured to have contacted Argentinian captain Mascherano and sees him as the ideal choice for our midfield. It doesn't come as any surprise as Guardiola always goes ahead with his stupid thinkings.

Toure has been one of the major stars of Barca's treble winning season but is one of the least paid stars. In normal circumstances Barca management would have increased his pay scale as he along with Iniesta were our two consistent players for last two season. But they are hesitating to do so this time and there could be only one reason to it - Guardiola does not see in his future plans. Mascherano on the other hand has been excellent this season. But everyone forgets the fact that he plays in a midfield with Gerrad and Alonso along with him. How he will fare in a three men attacking midfield is yet to be seen, ofcourse if he makes the switch. When Machesrano's name started getting linked with Barca, I thought Guardiola wanted him as a back up to Toure as Toure and Keita would be away for some time due to African Nations cup. But the idea of him replacing Toure baffles me. But anyway Toure has enough interest with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Italian giants in his hunt. But agains Toure's stupid decision to sign a low salary pay with a 90 million buy-out clause could do more harm to Toure than the Club.

Meanwhile Sport.es reported that Ribery is more close to signing for Barca at this moment. Sport also reports that Barca is close to finalising a deal with Luis Fillipe. Meanwhile the Galactico ero has restarted at Real Madrid with record signing of Kaka today. Next could be Ronaldo and Ribery in their sights.

Barca Threading a Dangerous Line

2009-06-07T01:58:00.001-07:00

The initial impression from the transfer market gives us an impression fo a lack of direction from FC Barcelona mangement. Eto looks like is out of Guardiola's plans and now there is rumours that Yaya Toure has rejected a improved deal. Yaya Toure has been one of our best players from the last two season, but he still earns much less than his team mates. Guardiola in the begining of season was not much fond of this great Ivorian - Is It Good-Bye Yaya, but he simply proved Guardiola wrong by being a colossal in that attacking midfielder. Guardiola constantly preferred Busquests and Keita in the defensive midfielder role in the begining but later he gave an impression of admitting the fact that Toure Yaya was leaps and bounds above the two in that position. But when you analyse this new problem with the deal and the constant linking of Mascherano to Barca, you have to admit whetehr Guardiola runs the team with some preconceived notion. Couple this with the rumours of Eto moving out of the team this season, you seriously doubt Guardiola. Guardiola seems to prefer Ibrahmovic to Eto and in most probability we will see him leave this season. I am not a big fan of Eto's behaviour but I believe he is the best center-forward which complements Barca's style of play. And unsettle him without clear back-up plans is suicidal.

Barca's initial attempt to lure Ibrahmovic looks to have back-fired. There is no clarity about Benzema. Again there is no proof that both will do well at Barca. Ibrahmovic plays in a team whose playing style is completely different from what Barca follows. In that sense Benzema could be a better choice. Same issue is there with Mascherano; I seriously don't think he can play the way Toure plays for Barca. If we are going to have both of them it could be good. But leaving Toure out for Mascherano could backfire spectacularly. Barca is still in hunt for the left-back position but again there is no clarity of whom we are targetting. Eevryone wants Lahm to be there but till now in this transfer window, we haven't hear Barca making any approach for him. Ashley Cole and Riise both have been linked, but will be very difficult to sign. Diego Forlan's signing also could be tough as Real Madrid with all their riches is supposed to be behind him. The biggest trouble could be in midfield - Silva is negotiating with Madrid and Fabregas is in everybodies radar. There is a high chance that Barca management will unsettle the likes of Eto and Toure; and maybe in the end has to still retain their service. That could potentially seed troubles in the dressing room. Guardiola's preconceptiona and Iron-hand approach are not making life easy either.

Transfer Season Opens In Style

2009-06-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Another season got over and the transfer window has been thrown open. This is the time when half-truths and total lies rule the world of football. I will try to brief all the latest transfer rumours about Barca here. But I can't guarantee anyone about the amount in truth in these rumours. If it was all true, there would have been no fun in it. The first news which has caught my attention is that Barca is keen on extending Valdes' service till 2014. Now that does not surprise anyone, does it? He had a great series of showing and was expecte dto be rewarded for that. Meanwhile sylvinho has been released by the club. He has not yet found a club to get in, but it is more or less clear that Barca is not keen on extending his contract. Today Sport.es has reported that the club has decided against loaning out Bojan next season. There were earlier reports of Bojan being loaned out for a year, so that he can get more playing time. But it seems Barca will be able to give him decent amount of playing time next season.

Samuel Eto has been linked left, right and centre with a host of clubs. Eto has re-iterated his intentions to remain in Barca. But the club looks like have decided to cash on him, if they can find a replacement. Manchester City is supposed to be ready to splash cash get him, there was another rumour suggesting a possible exchange between Ibrahmovic and Eto. Let's wait and watch what comes out of this saga. Meanwhile Real Madrid transfer saga is going in full flow. It looks like they have almost grabbed Kaka and is looking to sign Ronaldo, Ribery, Silva and Villa. Silva and Ribery has been our target and the interest shown by a host of clubs will inflate their respective prices. Another strange rumour is the possibility of John Arne Riise joining Barca. Fc Barcelona has been looking someone to strengthen the left back side. Riise's name has suddenly got into the scheme of things.

Where Should We Re-Inforce?

2009-06-02T07:43:00.001-07:00

FC Barcelona will be having a along and much tougher next season. We will be fighting for six trophies altogether as I explained in my previous post. Guardiola has already asked for a larger squad that means we will be going to the market looking to buy good re-inforcement. Guardiola has also said that he don't want injuries to hamper his team selection like the way it did in Rome. More over Gudjohnsen and Hleb will be moving out this summer and you need decent cover-up for them also. Now to make things more complicated for him, there is a bunch of youngsters who are knocking on the doors. Bojan case could be tricky but I expect him to stay as there are more matches next season for him. Then there are the likes of Pedro, Jeffren, Muniesa, Sanchez etc who all has to be given decent time with first team. Otherwise we might see many moving out in coming summers. Now this could be a real nightmare for Guardiola.But every pundit agree on one fact that FC Barceloan has to buy big this season. Injuries to some stars put us in some serious pressure recently and we don't want a repeat of the same.

When we say about a re-inforcement we most probably has to look in a position by position basis. So I will start from the back. Victor Valdes has been fighting for a contract on par with the big guns in the side for sometime. FC Barcelona recently has sounded positive in handing him a contract which is agreeable to both the parties. And his recent performance in League and Europe do merit a new contract. But FC Barcelona should definitely try to sign a better goal keeper if available like the likes of Cech, Buffon etc. If they are not available, Valdes will remain our first choice but we have to bring a decent back up for him, as a second choice. Jorquerra should be allowed to leave and should be replaced by a young goal keeper. Oier Olazabal did impress me but may need more time to be competitive in the premier league. Now comes the centre back position; if people thinks we need reinforcement there, they should be crazy. Puyol, Marquez, Milito, Caceres, Pique and most probably Henrique to choose from; I don't think we need anymore there. Next is the full-backs; we definitely need re-inforcement there. Someone like Lahm would be ideal as he can play as both full-backs and we already have Puyol who can play in both position. There are reports of Barca going for Lahm, let's hope all of these work-out.

Now we come to the engine of Barca - the midfield. We have the best trio in there with Iniesta, Xavi and Toure. the likes of Busquest and Keita can cover for them. But we saw this season what happens when we miss either of Iniesta and Xavi from the middle. So we need a real creative head as a cover for any injuries to the wonderful duo. Valencia's Silva will be the most ideal choice as he can play in the front left also. That means he will be the perfect choice for two positions. The name of Fabregas is also heard for that positionl; eventhough he would be great, he will be more costlier than Silva. Upfront also we need some re-inforcement. First we have to tie Eto to a new contract. Then we should buy a decent striker who will have no problem in starting from the bench. Someone like Martins of Newcastle could be a good choice as he is surely talented and will add a bit for threat in air also. We also need to have a cover for the aging Henry and who else sould be perfect than another French Man - Frank Ribery. The most ideal choice for that left position would be Kaka and Ribery but we will have to fight really hard with Real Madrid for one of them. Barca has never shown any intereste in Kaka, so we can discard him from the list. But there is a host of clubs which are after Ribery. So we have to wait and watch, how these story develops.

What's Next For Guardiola?

2009-06-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

It will be difficult for Guardiola to look back into history and draw his plans for the future; because he stands alone in this wonderful juncture of footballing history. No coach has achieved the coveted treble in his opening season and Guardiola understands the significance of the same more than anyone. After the match in Rome, he said "I have achieved everything and I will be leaving tomorrow". That was just meant as a joke, but it also revealed that Guardiola understand the magnitude of his achievement. Guardiola has more trophies to look forward for next season but he needs to keep himself and his players firmly rooted to ground. There is a high chance that the players could be a bit complacent on the wake of the biggest achievement in La Liga history. FC Barcelona would be competing for six trophies next season. The two super cups, the World Club Championship, the La Liga, the Copa Del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. That means that is going to be another lengthy and tougher season and any complacency from his or his players part will be scrutinised heavily by media.

Guardiola has to be the most well-equipped manager to handle complacency. He has brought in discipline and accountability to this Barca side and has never deviated from for whole of the season. The fining players for being late by a minute after the League triumph serves the best example for that. But the extend of challenge that lie ahead for him is enormous. We have a high chance of ending trophyless next season, but then again we have a chance to end next season with half a dozen trophies. The first two trophies are the Supercopa de España and the UEFA Super Cup both will be held in August. Since Barca were the winners of both La Liga and Copa Del Rey, Atletic Bilbao will be our opponent in Spanish Super Cup. FC Barcelona will be playing Shaktar Donetsk in teh UEFA Super Cup which will be held on the 28th of August at Louis 2 Stadium in Monaco. Victories in these trophies will not be highlighted by the media but failure will surely be. Then the League will start and then Champions League and Copa Del Rey.

Guardiola has rightly emphasized on the need to have a larger squad next season. We will be playing constantly next season and we should definitely have re-inforcements ready for critical position. I will highlight those in my next post. Guardiola's advantage of coaching Barca B should also come into picture as we should be able to see new talents emerge from the youth structure. Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain quest in Transfer Market would be made difficult by the presence of Real Madrid and Manchester City, both of them reportedly have a 250 million tranfer kitty available. Add the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and the newly rich Portsmouth, Barca will have some tough time ahead in the market. FC Barcelona will definitely have the advantage in signing players because of his history and recent success, but the presence of so much rival clubs will simply hike the price.

Another matter which will require immediate attaenction from Guardiola will be about negotiating the contracts about key players. The most important will be Eto, Valdes and Toure. In Eto's case both parties involved has expressed their interest in penning a long lasting deal. Valdes also for me will be given a deal which is wort his stature as his recent exploits have been good fro Barca. There is no doubt that Toure is the best defensive midfielder in the world right now and Guardiola has to be a fool to let him go. He also needs to find proper clubs for Hleb and Gudjohnsen and seriously has to come out in open with what he plans to do with Bojan. Bojan is a huge talent and he has to decide whether he will be able to give him enough playing time or has to find a club to loan him out. Tha fans and players can take some rest after a gruelling and delightful season but sadly not GUardiola.

Winning Beautifully Is not Impossible

2009-06-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

FC Barcelona's triumph in Rome did shatter some firm belief held by English media and English clubs. The biggest has to be the "English Clubs" claim to be the most potent attacking force in the world. That belief was shattered rather brilliantly by one of the most attacking team in the history of the game. FC Barcelona vs Manchester United was supposed to be a mis-match, according to some English media. They said the same last season also. FC Barcelona was having all kind of defensive worries and their attack was considered impotent to break a defense which kept clean sheets for eternity. This precise thinking for me led to Manchester United's downfall as I pointed out in my previous post Why Manchester United were Stunned by FC Barcelona in the Final?. But this victory also destroys the usual claim by English clubs, fans and media to ridicule Barca's style of playing. According to English media, FC Barcelona play a brand of football which looks good for viewing but is deemed to be incappable in winning titles. And even if they do, then could only do in a league where even the bottom placed team come out to attack the champions. But then you will be compelled to ask, how else should the beautiful game be played? I recently came adcross an article by Richard Williams of Guardian - Barcelona's triumph holds hope for Arsène Wenger's brand of football. That article precisely points out the state of English football. English Premier League is indeed the most toughest league in world right now; but I haven't heard someone calling it as the most brilliant or exciting league in the world. How can someone call this league an exciting one when Ballack who was supposed to be the most exciting Genrman midfielder plays like a defensive midfielder in Chelsea and still gets payed more than 100,000 pounds per week. My room-mate(who is a Chelsea fan) still don't understand why they extended his deal.

But if you have thought the brilliant display by Barca in Rome could make the Big four of English League to be more attacking, then you are wrong. The early indication is that pundits are calling for a Chelsea like approach against Barca as they have finally agreed that Barca are the masters in their own style of playing. They also seemed to be agreeing and appreciating the fact that they are the only team capable of playing an attacking brand of football and still winning. Only Chelsea fans and pundits seems to differ. I have agreed earlier that FC Barcelona was indeed lucky to get past Chelsea. But then to an extend you can say that Chelsea digged their own grave by the wasy they played football. Atleast after Barca were reduced to ten men they could have sealed the match, but they will hardly leave their box and in a cruel turn of fate they were eliminated by an Iniesta screamer. But I have read some Chelsea fans comments that FC Barcelona's triumph over Manchester United is equal to Chelsea winning the Champions League. I have only one answer to that - dream on. Shaktar Donetsk has beaten us at our home does that make the reigning UEFA cup winner good for the title of UEFA Champions League winner?

But in between all these triump, everyone forgot a bigger fact. A fact which became existent in England. The fact that a good youth system can bring success for the club. English clubs have long abandoned the youth academies which once made them proud. The new owners does not find any merit in investing in young talents. The Manchester side which achieved the treble prior to this Barcelona side had a bunch of recruits honned and nurtured by the club. The success of that Manchester United side has to be associated to that philosophy as it becomes difficult for rival clubs to grab these talents. Just look at the continuing Ronaldo saga. The FC Barcelona side which triumphed at Rome had six home-grown players which started the match and seven altogether who played in the match. Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Puyol, Pique and Valdes are one of the best in their respective departments at this moment. THe second line of supply is already there with Bojan, Pedro, Jeffren, Muniesa, Sanches, etc. Some may part ways but still will dream about a day of returning back. The big four in English football and Italian football would do a world of good for them and the nation by getting their focus back to Youth structure.

European Champions Arrive at Home

2009-05-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

Why Manchester United were Stunned by FC Barcelona in the Finals?

2009-05-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

This one was billed as the "Mother of All Final". It indeed had to be. The final of this year's UEFA Champions League featured The Champions of Spain and England. Manchester United were the defending Champions and having won the Premier League for the third consecutive time was the prime candidate to retain their title, at least according to English Media. FC Barcelona, even though they had the most strongest attack on the earth, the English media and pundits gave them no chance owing to their defensive fragility. To add it all their attack struggled against Chelsea and was written off as "Not Good Against English Clubs". The English media had all predicted the outcome of this final before hand and was only waiting to see how well Manchester United is going to kill Barca. But the match turned out to be the biggest surprise for the English media. To their astonishment, FC Barcelona won and to add to their injuries FC Barcelona never had to play well to win this final. They weren't anywhere near their potential, still they kept a very talented Manchester United team under check.

This match was not only a clash between two giant clubs in Europe; it was also a match between a the most successful coach in club history against a rookie coach. At the end of the match you have to admit that FC Barcelona coach Guardiola came on top. I never considered Guardiola as a tactical genius; he is more a man manger kind of coach. But he completely had Ferguson under check. Numerous Postmortem has been conducted by English media about ManU's failure, but I doubt anything has been accurate. Most of them are finding it difficult to point fingers at Ferguson, a person they have always admired. Ronaldo may have directed the blame to Ferguson with his post-match comments about tactics. But his second half performance did not merit any merit either. More over he said he wasn't sure about his future in the post-match comments; that comment was a bigger shame. He should have taken heart-broken Manchester United fans into consideration before saying something which adds to their misery.

But their is no doubt in my mind about the fact that Ferguson has to take a majority of the blame. He never gave this Barca side the respect they deserved before the match and again failed to read the game at half-time. Many people has directed the entire blame to the starting eleven he chose. But for me that's a bit strange. You ask every pundit before the match they would have wanted a similar starting eleven. So for me his starting eleven choice was more or less accurate. More over 4-3-3 formation was a better choice than the 4-4-2 formation, as Barca had two old legs as full backs. For me Ferguson and his players took all the hype created by the English media about ManU's defense and Barca's defensive worries into the head. Manchester United came out with an absolute belief that this FC Barcelona side would never be able to score against them. The reaction of Manchester United defensive players after conceding the first goal is a testimony of this. They stood their looking totally confused as this was not part of their script. To decide that this talented FC Barcelona side will never be able to score against them was for me arrogance at its best. Manchester United always had a better chance of outscoring us because of our problems with the absentees we had in defense.

But what made Manchester United's pursuit a complete lost one was the inability of Ferguson to read the game at half time. There was no doubt that Manchester United was losing the midfield battle completely. Iniesta and Xavi were drawing circles around Anderson and Carrick. What Manchester United needed was a double substitution at half time. he should have taken off Anderson for Scholes and Park for Tevez. But he did half of each - Andesron for Tevez. This meant that they will go back to 4-4-2 formation. That tactic completely changed the match in Barca's favour. In the first half Rooney regularly troubled Puyol with his pace, eventhough his crossing was appalling. The logical thing to do was to move Tevez to centre and put Ronaldo against Sylvinho on the right in a 4-3-3 formation. But instead he chose the 4-42 formation that means the full back had more time to deal with the wingers. That is illustrated by the fact that Puyol had an error free game after the half time.

By not employing Scholes early in second half, Ferguson allowed Barca's midfield to completely dominate the possession. Scholes would have tried his best to make life difficult for atleast Busquets. But that was not to be. And also I have to question his decision to have Ferdinand in starting line-up ahead of Evans. Ferdinand and Vidic looked out of sync for majority of the match. Meanwhile Guardiola produce a tactical masterstroke by moving Messi to middle ahead of the midfield. That made sure that Messi, Iniesta and Xavi linked well at will. Apart from that he never had to work his brain. Everything went perfect according to his script - an early goal, Complete domination by Barca and a timely goal to settle the match. One of the best thing about this Champions League season is that it has catapulted Iniesta to greatness. He is a very media shy person and would never appear in limelight. But his performance in last few months have made people compare him with Messi and Ronaldo. Just listen to Rooney, a man who would have only one answer to the "Best Player on The Planet" debate a few days back - Rooney said and I qoute "I think Iniesta is the best player in the world right now. They pass the ball so well. If you don't take your chances against them, they will punish you." For all ManU fans who is reading this - don't take these comments personally, just take a moment and go through it, you will agree with my views.

Fans Celebrating FC Barcelona's Champions League Triumph

2009-05-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

FC Barcelona Players Celebrate Champion League Triumph

2009-05-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

UEFA Champion League Final Match Pictures

2009-05-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

FC Barcelona Player Ratings In UEFA Champions League Final

2009-05-28T05:34:00.000-07:00

Valdes - 7.5 - When he spilled that free kick, I almost died. Thank God! Pique covered it up. Apart from that had a good night. Produced a good save to deny Ronaldo. He wasn't put under great pressure by ManU but still held his composure when called upon.

Puyol - 8 - He struggled against the pace of Rooney earlier on, but kept him under check with trademark last ditch defending. Once ManU moved into a 4-4-2 formation he simply controlled everything. He had Ronaldo in his pocket in the second half. Was very unlucky not to score a goal.

Toure - 7 - Played out of position but still held himself well. Struggled against Ronaldo's pace early on but with one goal cushion did well. Maybe he and his partner needs to thank the midfielders for that.

Pique - 7 - Was sloppy at time, still produced some crucial interventions. Struggled against Ronaldo early on.

Sylvinho - 7.5 - He was the oldest in Barca line-up, still held on admirably well against English Champions.

Xavi - 9.5 - What a game from the General. controlled everything. The cross which set up first goal was exquisite.

Busquets - 8 - Struggled early on but once Iniesta and Xavi took control played the perfect partner to them. A great performance taking into account his age and experience. Repaid the faith shown by his coach fully.

Iniesta - 10 - For me the Man Of The Mathc. He was simply amazing. No ManU Player were able to get hold of him.

Messi - 8.5 - May Not have been great throughout the match. But when he came to life, he looked as if he was from another planet. That header was awesome.

Eto - 8 - His goal was the reason why Barca was comfortable throughout the match. Great finish.

Henry - 7 - Didn't have a great match but had some chances.

Substitutes:

Keita - 7.5 - Did well with the job he was assigned to.

Pedro - N/A - Time Killing substitution.

Man Of The Match - Andres Iniesta

Salute The King Of Europe; FC Barcelona - 2, ManU - 0

2009-05-28T05:20:00.000-07:00

In a sensational display, FC Barcelona defeated defending champions Manchester United to lift this year's UEFA Champions League Trophy with goals from Eto and Messi. By doing so, FC Barcelona became the first Spanish side to achieve the historic Treble in the history. I doubt whether any Barca fan could have scripted a better game; apart from the early ten minutes, this was "The Perfect Script". This final was billed a the clash of the Titans - Lionel Messi vs Christiano Ronaldo; eventhough Messi out classed his opponent, the two little midfielders - Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez emerged victorious. All the doubts of who will next Ballon d'Or and WPOY were almost settled buut Iniesta may ask some quastions particularly if he can continue with his excellent performance in to the Confederation Cup. Prior to the game everyone who knew anything about football singled out FC Barcelona's make-shift defense as the factor which settle this match. But they held on their own but I still believe it was that make-shift defense which encouraged Manchester United to open up a bit more than they did last season. FC barcelona's performance was so dominating such that English media may not come out with a conspiracy theory, like they do after any defeat.

It was a clash between the "Best Attack" in the world agaisnt the "Best Defense". But in the end the battle in the midfield settled the game. Iniesta and Xavi rans circles around Anderson, Carrick and Giggs. They dominated the match in such a way that we hardly saw Giggs with any possession. The stats from the game were staggering - Iniesta and Xavi were the best passers for Barca whereas for ManU it was Vidic and Ferdinand. Guardiola lined up a starting eleven as expected. Valdes kept the goal. Puyol played the Right Back, Pique and Toure formed the Central Defense and Sylvinho played on the left of defense. The midfield saw Xavi and Iniesta pairing up again with Busquets. The front trio was the familiar Henry, Eto and Messi combination. My only problem withe the line up was the presence of Busquets in the midfield but he proved my doubting wrong with a very good performance. From the start of the match Messi and Eto swapped their positions. Messi lied deep in the centre forming a diamond formation with the other three midfielders.

FC Barcelona started the game very nervously. Manchester United constantly raided the Barca box in the first ten minutes. Puyol was having huge problem dealing with Rooney's pace on the right. In the 2nd minute Toure gave away free kick from 30 yards out when he blocked Anderson. Ronaldo fired the free kick with blistering force straight at Valdes, Valdes failed to hold on the ball and Pique had to quickly intervene to clear the danger from Park on Rebound. Barca defense looked very tentative and looked out of place in dealing with Ronaldo's pace. In the 9th minute had a shot which just went wide but Valdes looked to have it covered. Iniesta and Henry who came off an injury layoff weren't having a great game in the first ten minutes. Then in the 10th minute Iniesta received a pass on the half line, he got between Anderson and Carrick and wasily speeded away from them, then he sent in a great pass to Eto on the right in the box; Eto turned inside Vidic before toe-poking a shot low at the near post of Van Der Sar. Eto had been struggling for form recently but that goal settled even his nerves. FC barcelona took complete control of proceedings after that whereas Manchester United were compeletly shaken. In the 16th minute Ronaldo got better of Pique but the defender stopped his run earning a deserving yellow card and conceding a very dangerous free kick just outside the box. Giggs resultant free kick just went high over the bar. Mean while the two lilliput midfield giants of Barca were taking complete control of the game. In the 19th minute Messi had his first shot when he unfurled a great left foot strike way outside the box which went agonisingly wide. Then Ronaldo and Giggs had decent half chances which both failed to deliver. In the mean time Iniesta and Messi started to combine way up in the middle and United looked compleetly confused about the entire proceeding. In the 27th minute Iniesta turned around the midfielders and set on a great run which was ended when he was brought down just outside the box, resulting in a free kick. Xavi's free kick went just wide. Then for some time Barca reduced the tempo but acme alive when Messi came to life again towards the end of the first half. Messi tested the defense with a series of spectacular runs one of them almost troubled the defense after Van Der Sar fumbled the initial cross. Then towards the end Iniesta played a delightful chip to henry in the middle which went just high.

Sir Alex Ferguson took off Anderson in halftime and brought in Tevez. they moved to a 4-4-2 formation. Ronaldo was pitted against Puyol but Puyol kept him under check. In the second half Barca's midfield took full control of proceeding and that means Manchester United never had any serious chance. In the 49th minute Iniesta broke off him marker and fed the ball to Xavi who inturn fed Henry on the left. Henry skipped past Ferdinand but was denied by Van Der Sar. Then in the 50th minute Eto sent in a great ball into the middle which missed Messi by a whisker with only Van Der Sar in front. Then in the 52nd minute Iniesta produced another great run which was again ended just outside the box when he was brought down. xavi's resultant free kick hit the post. Manchester United were struggling to retain possession throughout the second half. Feguson brought in Scholes and Berbatov to change this. Then in the 70th minute Xavi picked up a poor clearnace from Evra and sent in an inch perfect cross over Ferdinand's head to Messi; Messi did wonderfully well with the header sending it to the far corner of goal and sealing the match completely. Immediately Guardiola took off Henry and brought in Keita. In the 72nd minute Manchester United almost scored from a rare counter attack but Valdes produced an excellent save to deny Ronaldo. From then on Barca frustrated Manchester United with their possession game. Van Der Sar produced telling save to deny both Puyol and Iniesta late in the game. In the injury time Guardiola took of Iniesta, the best player on pitch and brought in Pedro with barca fans and players already ecelebrating.

As I mentioned earlier this was the most perfect match we played this season, especially considering the players we missed in defense. Iniesta and Xavi were the best Barca players on the pitch. Guardiola should be in cloud Nine after winning all the trophies in his debut year as coach. Alex Ferguson is a master in tactics but didn't read the game at half time. He failed to realise that ManU was losing the midfield battle. He should have brought in Scholes in place of Anderson but then I don't have any complaints. I had serious doubts about Busquets but he did remarkably well once he got settled after the first goal. It was great to see the likes of Sylvinho and Gudjohnsen enjoying this victory, both of them might depart the club in summer. This month has to be the best month for any Barca fan - three trophies bloody hell!! There could be reinforcements coming in summer but for now just relish on this moment. And this clash settles who is better - Christiano Ronaldo or Messi for now.

Pictures of Barca Players Training in Rome

2009-05-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Barca's Arrival In Rome in Pics

2009-05-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Mother Of All Finals In Rome; Champions League Final Preview

2009-05-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

FC Barcelona and Manchester United would be looking to create history when they clash in the UEFA Champions League Final on May 27th in Rome. Have a look at the records and stats to the build up of this game here - FC Barcelona vs Manchester United Stats FC Barcelona fans around the world are still sweating on the fitness of their two crucial players - Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta. But it looks like they both will be fit and atleast one will feature in the starting eleven. Meanwhile Rio Ferdinand has been declared fit and most probably will start ahead of Evans in the defense. Fans around the world is expecting a open game from the build up to this match. But I still have my doubt about that. This match most probably would be a clash between the best attack in the world against the best defense in the world. As I have written in my last post - Guardiola has taken all his available squad plus Muniesa and Boatia to Rome.

There were reports of a possible teaming up of Roma Ultras and FC Barcelona Ultras, Boix Nois to face the English fans. Theres reports emerged once the semi finals were over. Let's hope no untoward incident happens in and around the final. FC Barcelona goes into this final in the back drop of two consecutive league defeats. FC Barcelona has fielded a second string side in those matches but a second string Manchester United side defeated Hull City last weak. So Manchester United enters the match in right frame of mind and FC Barcelona would be looking to avoid three consecutive defeat this season. Manchester United players have promised an open game to the build up to this final like they have done last season's semi-finals. So FC Barcelona should be ready to play a defense which will lie deep in their box and will try to hurt on the counter. Manchester United's last few games showed how good they were on counter and Barca need to be vary of this.

Guardiola will be having a tough job forming the defense. Valdes would return to guard the Goal. Early indications are that he will prefer Toure ahead of Caceres in defense. So we could see Pique and Toure forming the central defense. Puyol would ideally play the Right Back role and Sylvinho the Left-back. Guardiola is expected to prefer BUsquets ahead of Keita to play the centre defensive role. But Vusquets has shown some signs of serious nerves in recent matches and was completely invisible on the field in big matches. He will definitely have a bad time dealing with likes of Anderson and Carrick. Hence I would prefer Keita ahead of Busquets. I expect Iniesta to be fit and he and Xavi should form the attacking midfield duo. The frontline most probably will have Henry, Eto and Messi. But I am not sure whether Henry will be able to come out of injury in full form. So ideally I will start with Bojan on the left and may bring Henry late on depending on the situation. Bojan looked good in last few matches so he should start on the left. But the inclusion of Iniesta and Henry is subjected to the players getting the Coach's confidence about their fitness.

This final has already been hailed as the clash of the two best players in World Football - Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. Lionel Messi has not been in great form recently but a two week rest should have given him enough time to do well. Ronaldo meanwhile is having a great end to the season. We need Lionel Messi at his best to see past Manchester United. He needs to take the responsibilty of FC Barcelona's attack. Barca cannot afford him showing the attitude he displayed against Chelsea. He should be ready to suffer against Manchester United. The most important factor for Barca to catch ManU unaware will be Speed. Liverpool destroyed them at Old Trafford making use of that. Rio Ferdinand might be a bit rusty coming from a injury break so we should try to catch them out of position with our pace. But Guardiola also have similiar worries with his team. Especially how Iniesta and Henry will perform after the injury lay-off? The key to Barca winning the game will be retaining possession. We cannot afford to give Manchester United players space to exploit. As Rijkaard said last week, we need to keep our shape inorder to win this encounter. Henry, Xavi and Messi should be highly motivated after missing out in 2006 final. And I expect this factor to work in our favour and I expect our guys to edge out Manchester United 2-1 this final.