October 2009 - Posts

• Barca look to sign new Brazil gem

  Barcelona are among a host of top European sides following the progress of 20-year-old Brazilian Sandro Guimaraes. The Internacional de Porto Alegre player is a regular in the Brazilian U-20 national side and broke into his club's first team last season where he has already made a significant impact. Currently he has a contract until 2013 but it is likely he will move to Europe in the summer. Tottenham Hotspur made an offer of 14m euros in August which was rejected for contractual reasons. Meanwhile, Barca are also interested in Racing Santander midfielder Sergio Canales. The 18-year-old made his Primera Division debut for Santander this season and is one of the big hopes of Spanish football. With his contract coming to an end this summer he is also likely to move on but Barca are likely to face tough competition from Real Madrid. Posted Oct 22 2009, 01:33 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s)

• Would Barça have won with Puyol?

  An important decision before the kick-off against Rubin Kazan was the choice of putting Gerard Pique and Rafa Marquez in the heart of the defence and leave Carles Puyol on the bench. Under Pep Guardiola, Puyol has stopped being the ever-present stalwart of the team that he has been in the past. A lot of this has been a result of the emergence of Pique who can offer the strength of Puyol coupled with the fine ball control and the ability to build play from the back. A key element to the way Guardiola perceives the game is that he looks for technical quality from all areas of the pitch and that seems to be the reason why he prefers to play Marquez ahead of Puyol - for his ability to launch attacks with his short and long range passing. The downside though was only too clear against Rubin as there is no substitute for the character and commitment of Puyol who drives the team forward relentlessly. Against the Russian's counter-attacking, his pace and battling was sorely missed Posted Oct 21 2009, 03:48 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s)

• Robinho and Toure in swap deal?

  Barcelona are keen to reinforce their attack with Manchester City forward Robinho but if they do so they may have to lose Yaya Toure who the Premiership side are keen to bring in. Toure was one of the unsung heroes of the Barca side last season and his importance should not be forgotten amid the praise given to Barca's famed attacking players. While Messi, Iniesta and Xavi et al all lit up the stadium with their skills, Toure was also very effective either in his accustomed midfield role, protecting the defence or as a centre-half which he did impressively against Chelsea and Manchester United in the Champions League. Reports also suggest that Puyol's future is still not secure. Following news that the club is stalling on offering Rafael Marquez the terms that he wants, Puyol is still yet to sign a new deal to stay at the Nou Camp. He remains a talisman for the side but it appears that the board are looking to the future and especially see Gerard Pique as the way ahead. Posted Oct 12 2009, 03:11 PM by Tim with 5 comment(s)