March 2010 - Posts

• Cesc equaliser as Barça see two-goal lead slip

  Barça secured a positive 2-2 draw tonight in the Champions League clash with Arsenal but the result could have been so much better with the team winning by two clear goals at one stage. The Catalan's began the game at a storming pace and had several excellent chances to score but were denied by the Arsenal keeper Manuel Almuñia. Barça were playing the kind of football which saw them win the competition last season as Busquets and Xavi in particular did well in midfield, and in the second half they got the goal they deserved with Ibrahimovic finally finding the back of the net as he lofted the ball over the keeper. Ibrahimovic scored again as he broke the off-side trap and it appeared as though Barça were going to runaway with the game. That though was the turning point as Barça unfortunately took their foot off the pedal and allowed Arsenal back into the game and the Londoners were also boosted by the introduction of Theo Walcott. It was Walcott who scored with a weak shot with which Valdes should have dealt better and then there was what appeared to be the big injustice of the night when Puyol was adjudged to have committed a penalty and was then sent-off. Fabregas who turned his back on Barça to join Arsenal then rubbed salt into the wound by scoring the equaliser. The bad news for Barça for the second leg is that Pique and Puyol will both be suspended but so will Fabregas who also picked up a booking on the night. Posted Mar 31 2010, 02:04 PM by Tim with no comments

• Guardiola expects tough Arsenal clash

  Tonight Barcelona face one of the key matches of the season and Pep Guardiola is only too aware of how dangerous Arsenal can be with or without Cesc Fabregas. When the Champions League draw was made, many fans felt that Barca had been given an easy passage into the semi-final where they would face Inter Milan but you should take nothing for granted as Arsenal are a very strong side with hopes of winning the Premiership. Naturally for Barca they always want to face teams that like to pass the ball around and as the Catalan side possess arguably the best players in the world then we have to be optimistic. However this is a cup game and Barca aside from Messi are not playing at their best. The good news is that Abidal is set to be back to bolster the defence but in midfield Iniesta is injured and so it will likely be Xavi, Busquets and Keita in the midfield with the possibility of Toure also starting. Also in attack there are other question marks with Henry unlikely to start against his former club after a disappointing season and his place will probably go to Pedro. "They will play to their strengths and we will play to ours but it is true that it will be very important if we can score away from home. We will try to attack in a unit and defender each ball with a lot of commitment," said Guardiola, "We will want to have the ball and so will they so that will be an essential part of the game We are up against a side who are technically strong and pass the ball around quickly. It is a style of football which is very attractive to watch." There is still no news yet on whether Cesc will play or not against the side which raised him. "Cesc is a player with a lot of character and scores a lot of goals coming into the box but this team has shown that it can win without him. They beat Porto 5-0 without Cesc," Guardiola added. Posted Mar 31 2010, 03:46 AM by Tim with no comments

• Opponents don't try against Real Madrid says Keita

  Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita has suggested that teams that face Real Madrid do not try their best to win unlike when they are up against the Catalan side. Many Barça fans feel that Real Madrid are given preferential treatment by referees and Keita also feels that teams want them to win and beat Barça to the league. "I did not see the game between Real and Atletico because I knew Real were going to win. I don't know if Real's opponents try 100 per cent against them ," he said. "As Barça won everything last season it means that everyone wants to beat us. That is the way I see it, I am sure people in Madrid will think something different. Keita was also satisfied with the performance in the 1-0 win away at Mallorca at the weekend. "It was a tough opponent and virtually no one has won there. It is not always possible to score three or four goals and the important thing is to win the game. Next week we have the game against Arsenal and the key there is to score away, if we can do that then it will be a different kind of match at the Nou Camp. We have lost Iniesta but we will have to continue playing well without him." Posted Mar 29 2010, 10:53 AM by Tim with no comments

• Iniesta out of Arsenal game

  The hard fought victory over Mallorca on Saturday night took its toll with the news that key midfielder Andres Iniesta will miss the Champions League clash with Arsenal through injury. Mallorca have only been beaten once at home all season and so it was always going to be a difficult task to travel to the Balearic Island side and come away with the three points which were vital given how close it is at the top of the table. Although Barça were not at their best, Ibrahimovic scored his second in as many games to give Barça the win and end his own person poor run in front of goal. The bad news though was that Iniesta had to limp off with a thigh injury and tests completed on Sunday suggest that he will be out of action for up to ten days. Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic, claimed that his failure to score in recent weeks was cured by putting in plenty of effort in the training ground. "I don't read papers and during this period all I have thought about is working hard because I know that in the end that will give you everything. It was a difficult game and now the three points are very important because on top of everything else they give you more confidence," he said. Posted Mar 28 2010, 10:20 AM by Tim with no comments

• Barcelona put pressure on Real Madrid

  Barcelona returned to the top of the table if only for a question of 24 hours after they beat Osasuna and now it is the turn of Real Madrid to keep pace with them when they play Getafe tonight. Coach Pep Guardiola felt that although the performance was not outstanding, to have reached 71 points at this stage of the season is incredible. "The level of the team now is so high that if you drop only a small amount then people describe you as average when it is not the case. We beat Osasuna after playing a very good second half but it is true that in the first half we were very bad and we suffered too much due to poor tactics. I imagined a game which did not develop in any way like that and so it was me that failed," he said. "We have beaten a strong side that at home drew against us and Madrid. Camacho (the trainer) is able to generate a lot of drive in his players who close you down in attack ." Zlatan Ibrahimovic responded with a goal after a poor run of form in front of goal. His lack of confidence was very visible last weekend against Zaragoza when he had several clear cut chances to score but finished badly. In the end it was Messi, who was playing in sublime form, that won the penalty which Ibrahimovic converted to end his barren spell. Against Osasuna he was able to slot the ball home in open play before Bojan added the second. "Ibrahimovic is creating chances like he did last autumn which is the most important thing and after that the goals will come. He is a fantastic player and the fact that he has integrated into the team is what I am pleased about," added Guardiola Posted Mar 25 2010, 09:00 AM by Tim with no comments

• Cesc may struggle on his return home says Pique

  Barcelona defender Gerard Pique feels that Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas may struggle in their Champions League clash due to the media spotlight that will be on him. Fabregas was brought up in the famous Barcelona youth academy before moving to the Gunners when he was just 16 and where he has established himself as one of the top midfielders in the game. Emotions are sure to be running high though when he faces the side he abandoned. “All the attention will be on Cesc and while that will probably help us it also will be more of a problem for him. It will be an emotional game for him as he will be coming home.” said Pique, who passed through the Barça youth system with Fabregas and also remained good friends while he was at Manchester United, where he failed to make an impact. “We are very close but when we go out onto the pitch our friendship will come to an end and we will both play to win. He is an important player for them and the captain so we will have to be wary. “While there will be a lot of talk about him returning it will not be so important for me because I have already been against him at United so I know what it is like." The quarter-final match also sees Thierry Henry returning to Arsenal, having said earlier in the week it was the one draw that he did not want. However, he has struggled for form this season and is unlikely to be in the starting eleven. “He is probably the best player in the history of Arsenal so it will be a special match for him but I don’t know what he feels about it,” said Pique, who is confident of Barça’s chances against a side who play a similar style. “I like the way Arsenal play and it is better for us to face a team who look to pass the ball around but they are still a very difficult side who got to last year’s semi-finals and have chances of winning the Premiership. “They are a young team but I don’t think that makes it any easier. I think this will be a good game for the players and the fans. We got a good win in the last round against Stuttgart which has boosted our morale and when you have the best player in the world with (Leo) Messi then it makes it easier." ends Posted Mar 20 2010, 05:40 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s)

• Messi has the potential to be best ever

  Forward Leo Messi single-handedly took apart Valencia at the weekend scoring a hat-trick and keeper Victor Valdes feels the Argentine has the capability to supersede even Pele and Maradona and become the greatest footballer of all time. "So far he has taken everything in his stride and being able to win trophies at Barcelona has allowed him to further develop. His secret is that he continues to have the desire to play football and to improve. If he does not lose this then he can become the best player in the history of the game and that is saying it as if he isn't already," said Valdes of Messi who has scored Barça's last six goals in the league. "All the positive adjectives like excellent, incredible and great can be used to describe him. He is the best in the world and when he has chances to score he shows that. Recently he has played in a more central role which has given him more space and he is also able to link up better with the midfielders. "Against Valencia the defence was too far back and we had to change that at half time. After that we were better and I was also happy with my own performance and I think I'm on a good run." Posted Mar 16 2010, 11:12 AM by Tim with no comments

• Valencia game vital says Marquez

  This weekend's match against Valencia will be vital in Barcelona's hopes of retaining the league title according to defender Rafa Marquez. "We are in the final stage of the season and so all the matches are important but Valencia are a strong rival, we know them well and they have good players so it will be key game," he said Barcelona have not been at their best in recent weeks and Real Madrid have moved up above them at the top of the table on goal difference but Valencia are also going through a bad spell and followed up a defeat by Atletico Madrid with a disappointing draw against Racing Santander. There is also a possibility that David Villa will miss the game through injury. "They have a lot of quality in attack and they will be dangerous whether David Villa plays or not as there are other players there who can also cause us a lot of problems," added Marquez. Valencia defender Bruno Saltor believes that Barça's problem has been their inability to finish matches off. "They are playing at a good level and their only problem has scoring goals and in some games they have been troubled by sides that should not have been still in the contest," he said. Ibrahimovic, who has come in for a lot of criticism for his performances, will be missing from the game through suspension. Posted Mar 12 2010, 04:21 PM by Tim with 1 comment(s)

• Messi key to Barça success

  Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola knows that Messi is the key to the success of Barcelona this season especially with the disappointing performances of Henry and Ibrahimovic who was supposed to be the ideal exchange for Eto'o. Messi retains the ability to break down defences but is also a team-player who looks for other players and has brought this into his game . From midfield he is the main outlet for players like Xavi and Iniesta. They look for him ahead of the others first and foremost. Playing in the middle and out wide on the right he is an ever present in the team having played all 90 minutes of the last nine matches and has scored 19 goals already with his total last season 23. For Messi though his main battle is with fans in Argentina who still feel that he gives more for Barca than for the national team and he has scored just five goals in the last 20 games for Argentina. He has even received whistles in some recent matches and newspapers have criticised his performances. It should be noted though the big differences between Barca and the Argentine national team which does not have a settled squad and they don't provide the same service to Messi as he receives from Iniesta and Xavi. The Argentine newspaper Ole says that Maradona will come to Barcelona in the coming days to speak with Messi and try and motivate him for the World Cup Posted Mar 11 2010, 04:19 AM by Tim with 5 comment(s)

• Madrid not real leaders says Alves

  Barcelona defender Dani Alves believes that Real Madrid cannot call themselves the real leaders until after they play the Catalans at the Bernabeu in April. The importance of the el clasico appears to be growing in importance week by week as Barca have started to stutter. Real grabbed the leadership last weekend with a last minute goal against Sevilla but Barca let it slip after a below-par performance against Almeria where they could only draw. Since Christmas Barca have struggled to really hit form and this of course has been due in part to the number of injuries and suspensions they have suffered. The players have correctly said that it is impossible for them always to play well, and only a look at last season shows that there were periods when they stuggled. In fact at one point at the start of Pep Guardiola's rein there was talk of replacing him. As with last season the game at the Bernabeu will play a big part in where the title goes and it has to be seen whether Barca can produce the kind of performance they did a year ago when they produced a memorable win. "I do not consider Madrid to be the real leaders, this all depends on what happens at the Bernabeu. It would be a key win if we managed it but of course it would not be decisive either way. I don't think we should compare this season with the last one as we are doing better in some ways and worse in others. Each year is different," said Alves. "I would say Barca are still the favourites to win. The title will be decided in the last few weeks as always and Real will have to do very well if they are going to win because we will make it difficult for them. We will try and make it impossible for them to win."     Posted Mar 09 2010, 08:01 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s)