March 2010 - Posts

• Will Barça win the Champions League again this year?

  With the season moving into its crucial stage with less than two months to go before the major titles will be decided, the question for Barça fans is whether the team has the same ruthless qualities to beat all before them that they had last season. Barça are neck and neck with Real Madrid at the top of the table but while they are in a similar situation to last season, when the crucial match was the visit to the Bernabeu to more or less decide the title, this year there is no point denying it that they are stuttering more than firing on all cylinders. Messi apart the team seem to be struggling to find their form. Defensively they have had injury problems which has unsettled the team while in midfield, key players are not delivering. Iniesta has been very quiet while Toure Yaya is clearly unsettled and not happy about his situation at the club. The most worrying area though is in attack where Ibrahimovic has been unable to adapt well to the Barça movement in attack, which rely on quick movement and pace. He looks out of place and it was almost embarassing to see him given the ball by Messi after the Argentine was felled for a penalty. Apart from Ibrahimovic, Henry already looks like he has one foot out of the club with his next destination expected to be the MLS in the United States. The main positive note is Messi who is in amazing form at the moment and appears to be capable of beating teams on his own. He is back to the form he showed a couple of years ago when he ran from the half'-way line to score against Getafe. Also, as Guardiola said, the team may have dropped its level but it is by no means a crisis and they have the players and the quality to win titles especially as there is no rival who appears beyond Barça. If you look at Madrid they have constantly failed this season in the big matches and then in the Champions League the biggest threat appears to be Manchester United but Barça showed how they can beat them playing their passing football last season. Arsenal should not be underestimated as they have a lot of talent and have a good chance of winning the Premiership but there is no doubt if Barça play anywhere near their potential they can out play them. The draw is good news for Messi as well as he in particular plays better against footballing sides rather than the more physical teams. Inter Milan would be the likely semi-final opponents and they are a solid side, who won't be easy opposition but they lack truly world class midfielders. The main danger is Samuel Eto'o, who is in a good run of form right now, and perhaps Barça will be regretting selling him especially having exchanged him for the disappointing Ibrahimovic. Posted Mar 26 2010, 07:07 AM by Tim with 15 comment(s)

• Is Barça playing at the same level as last season?

  There has been plenty of talk in recent weeks about Barça's form in recent weeks and the question has been asked about who is not pulling their weight in the team. Even one of the club icons Johan Cruyff says that there are players that are not playing at the necessary level and the club certainly has struggled in certain matches like last weekend against Almeria but is this any worse than last season? It is easy to look back to last year with rose tinted glasses but the reality was that at times the team was not at its best. Obviously they won every competition available but to win any cup competition you need a certain amount of luck and it all came together last season. It doesn't matter how brilliant you are you always need that stroke of fortune such as the ball falling to Iniesta in injury time at Stamford Bridge in last season's Champions League semi-final. It should not be forgotten that when Barça produced that famous victory at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid last season the title race was very tight, it wasn't as though Barça were running away with the championship and it is the same now. Is there any truth though that some players are under-performing. It's true that there have been a lot of injuries and suspensions recently but also players like Yaya Toure and Carlos Puyol aren't playing at their best. The debate about Ibrahimovic is interesting. I would say that he has never perfectly fitted into the Barça system of quick passing and attacking at pace. He is a technically strong player, strong and good in the air but that is not the Barça style. Often he slows down the attack and now too often the midfield plays the ball long looking to use his height which also hasn't been that effective. It is wrong to blame Ibrahimovic though but it is true that Eto'o was a player who fitted more into the Barça system with his pace and ability to combine with Messi, Iniesta et al.           Posted Mar 09 2010, 04:03 PM by Tim with 3 comment(s)