Barca 3 - 0 Atletico, presswatch and other news

(I've recently taken over the Argentina World Cup Blog, so that's where all Argentina-related posts will go in the future.)

Atletico were the last team to beat Barca at Camp Nou in the league back in February of 2006. Since then, Barca have gone 30 games undefeated at home, of which 22 were victories. So you could say that this was a bit of a test.

positives

• The midfield, especially Deco, who has regained the form of his first season and is once again the complete player, and Iniesta, who has really taken to the holding midfield role with intelligence and aplomb.
• Messi's amazing run continues. It's worth pointing out that he has now scored 20 goals in his last 23 games for Barca, starting with that hat-trick against Real Madrid in March, but the biggest difference between the Messi of this season and, say, two years ago is that he can now take on the responsibility of carrying the team forward.
• Whisper it, but Ronaldinho is starting to look fitter. I don't want to tempt fate, because we've had so many false dawns before, but maybe, just maybe, he is going to be fully fit soon.
  
• Puyol looks great after his comeback from injury, and the much-anticipated partnership with Milito seemed to work like a charm.
• Oleguer has played well since Zambrotta got injured. Shocking, I know. But since we went through the double-winning season with him playing rightback in almost all the big games, you'd think more people would remember that he is a decent player - not great, certainly not as good as Zambrotta, but not that bad either.

negatives

• Glad as I am that the '3 little ones' midfield is working, we've got a problem coming up quite soon: Deco is on 4 yellows. What are we going to do when he gets suspended?
• took our foot off the pedal when 2-0 up: dangerous hint of complacency?
  

Barca now have their 6th consecutive victory and are unbeaten so far this season, which sounds pretty impressive but as Frank Rijkaard would no doubt point out it wasn't easy.

It is interesting that, as usual, he has been keen to criticise the players for their lapses in victory, this time about losing concentration in the second half. This is part of what I like about him - when we lose or draw, he doesn't get overly negative, and when we win, he never gets carried away.

Javier Aguirre was classy as always in defeat, crediting Barca while refusing to blame poor old goalkeeper Christian Abbiati for his blunder.

Lastly, this match was notable because it finished with 8 home-grown Barca players on the pitch, and that was just on our side. (Atletico's Luis Garcia being yet another Barca youth product.) Given that those 8 players were Valdes, Oleguer, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Giovani and Bojan, the cantera certainly looks to be in good health.

other news

Puyol, Messi and Ronaldinho have been named in the FIFPro World XI for the 06/07 season, which makes Barca the best represented team in the XI and tells us that these guys are very popular, if nothing else, since the vote is taken amongst their peers. I say that because neither Ronaldinho nor Puyol (much as I love him) were at their best last season, both for fitness reasons. Messi, well, I think there's little question that he is deserving.

13 players have been called away on international duty. Unlike Laporta, I will not say that player should take it easy, but here's hoping that everyone returns fit and ready to play. Here are the call-ups:

• France (Euro qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania): Thuram, Henry and Abidal
• Spain (Euro qualifier against Denmark and friendly against Finland): Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta
• Portugal (Euro qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan): Deco
• Iceland (Euro qualifiers against Latvia and Liechtenstein): Gudjohnsen (who is apparently fit again)
• Spain U21 (Euro qualifier against Poland): Bojan
• Argentina (World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Venezuela): Messi and Milito
• Brazil (World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Ecuador): Ronaldinho
• Mexico (friendlies against Nigeria and Guatemala): Giovani
  

I previously mentioned Cesc Fabregas' comments about how Henry intimidated the other players at Arsenal. (I should probably make it clear that the comments were made in a friendly spirit and that Henry himself agreed with Cesc.) It is funny how his role has changed at Barca, though, because while still playing a guardian role to the youngsters, he's no longer the one great star. This has been echoed in his latest comments, which I found interesting:

"I learn so much every day playing and training alongside people like Lionel Messl, Samuel Eto'o or Ronaldinho," he said."But Thuram is also still doing it and I use that to gain inspiration too."

He also made a good point about the work put in by the squad, which is not always recognised when people talk about stylish victories:

"It is a great team when you win. We have extraordinary players and everyone is talking about us," he continued."But even with all those great players it is not always easy."

Lastly: scoring poll, anyone? Who's going to score first, Giovani or Bojan?

Presswatch

Phil Ball on fine form about Valencia's problems and a history lesson on Levante; the ever-amusing Sid Lowe on Barca-Atletico; Tim Stannard of La Liga Loca with a great rant about the current Spanish TV dispute that is depriving audiences all over the world of some fine football; and a nice article on the FIFA website about the Messi-Aguero rivalry and friendship and their respective rises to fame and fortune.

non-Barca news

This is actually kind of Barca related - club legend Hristo Stoichkov has left second divison club Celta Vigo for 'personal reasons'. The press says he was sacked, but the club president maintains that is not the case.

The UEFA Cup draws are out. Atletico have a reasonable draw in Group B, with Panathinaikos, Lokomotiv Moscow, Copenhagen and Aberdeen. Villarreal have AEK Athens, Fiorentina, Mlada Boleslav and Elfsborg in Group C. Finally, Getafe rounds out the Spanish teams in Group G, where they will face Anderlecht, Tottenham Hotspur, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Aalborg.

the Spanish league season wrap-up: team by team (2)

Continuing with my round-up of the Spanish season, this post covers the teams who finished 5th to 9th in the table.

Villarreal

62 points; UEFA Cup

I spent the entire first half of the season becoming increasingly saddened by going-ons at Villarreal, which culminated in the departure of Juan Roman Riquelme. Happily, the parting turned out well for both parties, although both Roman and Villarreal took a while to get going in the second half of the season. Like many other clubs in La Liga, the Submarines had been hit hard by long term injuries to Nihat, Robert Pires and Gonzalo Rodriguez. The mid-season signing of Chilean wonderkid Matias Fernandez eventually began to pay off and the aftementioned injury victims began to return, which made an immediate difference. Villarreal hold the longest winning streak of this season, which just happened to be their last 8 games, started by - ironically enough - their home defeat of Barca.

So it all ended happily, for once, and it will be great to see Villarreal back in Europe next season. Unfortunately, poor Gonzalo Rodriguez has sustained the exact same injury that kept him out of most of this season yet again, which will keep him out of a great deal of the next campaign. It's a good thing they signed Roberto Ayala from Valencia on a free transfer, then, isn't it? They still have to deal with the thorny question of what to do with the returning Riquelme, since Boca can't afford to buy him and management won't have him back. Watch this space on that one.

Real Zaragoza

60 points; UEFA Cup

It's hard for me to dislike Zaragoza, since they're a bit like the Inter of Spain - Argentine central. The Argentine contingent certainly had a hand in Zaragoza's achievements this season. Captain and central defender Gabi Milito has been excellent (although he's almost certainly leaving the club during the transfer window), increasingly brilliant striker Diego Milito managed to score 23 goals, just 2 less than van Nistelrooy with a far less galactic midfield behind him.

Speaking of which, they may not be galactic, but Pablo Aimar and Andres D'Alessandro are damn fine players. Neither are what you'd call consistent, but they've both had pretty good seasons and played some fine stuff.

Then there are the other fine South American players like Diogo and Ewerthon, although the latter has been sidelined for Barca youth system product Sergio Garcia this season. Speaking of former Barca players, young Gerard Pique - from the same year as Leo Messi and Cesc Fabregas - has had a fine season too.

An UEFA Cup finish is certainly not bad at all, and I'd say they've broadly accomplished their aims for this season. There were times during the season when a Champions League place looked possible for them, but the 4 at the top were always going to be too strong to be overcome.

Atletico Madrid

60 points; entered Intertoto Cup

Oh dear. I'd rather that my comments about Atletico aren't read as bashing; the last thing I want to do is jump on the let's-make-fun-of-Atletico bandwagon. But seriously. As Ray Hudson likes to say, Atletico are a big club, with a budget to match and many long-suffering supporters. They managed to bring in a great coach in the form of the refreshingly honest Javier Aguirre and spent a lot of money assembling an impressive-looking squad. Then disaster strikes in the form of long term injuries to crucial players. That's plain old bad luck, although as I've pointed out above, quite a few Spanish clubs were similarly afflicted.

Still, they started alright, and there were moments in which they dared dream of returning to the Champions League, but in the end they were simply far too inconsistent, especially at home, where they dropped far too many points to teams like Levante and Real Sociedad. I can't imagine how frustrated the rojiblanco supporters must be - they've just been pipped to the last UEFA Cup spot by Zaragoza on head-to-head results (wait, maybe I can...). To put it into perspective, they're only 6 points off Valencia, who occupy the last Champions League place, so it's not really that bad. But that doesn't really help, does it? The Intertoto it is, then.

The good news: when not busy insulting the squad, Atletico's club president has managed to get Aguirre to sign a new deal. He's really a decent coach, so hopefully it's onwards to better things for Atletico.

Recreativo de Huelva

54 points

It may sound strange to be saying this about a team who finished up well outside the UEFA Cup place that looked so attainable to them for large stretches of the league campaign, but Recre are really the surprise package of the season. No one expected the new boys to stay up this season, especially not while playing nice football and challenging for an European place.

Shame about Europe, but it was pretty inevitable late in the season given their lack of depth compared to the teams above them with deeper pockets. The oldest club in Spain worked miracles on a shoestring budget and should be congratulated.

Getafe

52 points; UEFA Cup (Copa del Rey finalist)

Yet another remarkable season from the club that has made their name through defying the odds on a shoestring budget. (They should be the model of every promoted club going through second-season pains, like Recre above most likely will.) After a few seasons of the same, I do wonder if the club's supporters were getting sick of their tendency to fall off the European spots towards the end of the season, but this time they have done tremendously well and qualified for Europe anyway through their place in the Copa del Rey final.

Speaking of which, their campaign in that competition has been incredibly impressive, and should they win the trophy they will be very much deserving. The massive efforts to knock out Valencia and then Barca come to mind.

Much of the credit for their progress has to go to the ever-astute coach Bernard Schuster. He's done very well to put Madrid's 'third' club (speaking in budget terms only) on the map (and now into Europe ahead of Madrid's 'second' club). He says he's going to become coach of Real Madrid. Well, if so, good luck to him. He's a bit of a character, that man, in a league where thankfully most of the coaches don't bother with the verbal warfare, but it's somehow rather endearing coming from the former Barca and Real legend.

(Update: oh boy. If people assumed that Getafe president Angel Torres would be fine with the apparent tapping up of his coach by Real just because he happens to be a card-carrying Madridista, well, they assumed wrong.)

Finally, congratulations to 'keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri (Argentina's no.1) for winning the Zamora trophy (goalkeeper who conceded the least). What a great start to his career in La Liga, and I trust he will be able to play on for a few seasons yet despite his age.


Next post: the also-rans.

reflections on the 3rd week of la liga

My thoughts on some of this week's games, beginning with the customary long write-up of Barca's match.


Racing Santander vs Barcelona

Racing Santander (4-4-2): Tono - Luis Fernandez, Oriol, Pinillos, Ruben - F. Melo, Vitolo, Colsa (A. Tomas), C. Alvarez (Juanjo 56') - Munitis, Zigic (Aganzo 71')

FC Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes - Zambrotta, Márquez, Puyol (Oleguer 62'), Sylvinho - Edmilson, Xavi, Deco - Messi (Giuly 64'), Eto'o (Gudjonsen 79'), Ronaldinho.

Goals:
0-1 Eto'o (18')
0-2 Giuly (83')
0-3 Ronaldinho, pen. (92')

The Goals

The scoreline makes the game seem more of a walkover than it actually was. The other 3-0 against Osasuna - now, that was an actual walkover. Osasuna played much worse than Levski Sofia did and would have lost by a bigger margin than the Bulgarian side did if Barca hadn't laid off in the second half.

I think it's fair to say, though, that Barca never really bossed this game until what Eto'o called his 'accidental' goal. He also confessed to be uncomfortable with shots from outside the box (our midfielders are more into those), so the piledriver that was fumbled by Racing 'keeper Tono was purely speculative.

The goal did open up the game, though, and both teams had their chances, with all three Barca forwards shooting wide at least once, Ronaldinho guilty of a bad miss after Messi played him through, but the Argentine also shot over when presented with a chance on a plate by Tono.

Giuly came on for the utilitarian Messi, worked his ass off and was rewarded with a great goal of a Ronaldinho pass, breaking through what seemed like the entire Racing defence and slotting home.

The third came near the end of the game, when Gudjohnsen - who hadn't really been all that involved since coming on - went on a barnstorming run and was bought down by poor Tono inside the box. Ronaldinho made no mistake with the penalty against emergency keeper Melo, putting a sheen on the scoreline that Racing could really have done without.

Playmakers

Barca had 4 on the field at the beginning of the match, two in midfield and two up front. Xavi had his usual quietly effective passing game. He's an interesting contrast with Deco in that he doesn't tackle as much, but never wastes a ball. The accuracy of his passing is incredible, too. Deco is the more flamboyant of the two and did more of the dirty work, setting up play and taking shots on goal with seemingly endless energy. I expected Iniesta instead of him for this match, but he's so important to this team that it's going to be hard resting him.

The playmaking forwards, Messi and Ronaldinho, had games that were fairly similar to their midfield counterparts, setting up play, passing well and getting stuck in when they needed to, but for them that's not enough. Sitting deeper will never earn them accolades since they're expected to score goals.

Shooting

I rarely have cause to criticize the Barca offense, and perhaps it's odd to start now when we won 3-0. However, it has to be said that but for wastefulness in front of goal, the game would have been settled before half-time. I think every midfielder and forward missed at least a decent chance each. None of them were quite sitters, but there was definitely too much wastefulness in front of goal.

Selflessness

Samuel Eto'o has 3 assists from the last 4 matches - making him the player with the most assists as well as the top scorer of Barca. People talk about his goals, and yes, they're brilliant, but his game has developed into far more than just that.

It was noted after the game that Ronaldinho and Eto'o - both of whom have been criticized for being selfish in the past - had chances, and passed to a team mate in a better position instead of going for goal.

It was also good to see all the attacking players throw themselves into getting the ball back after they lose possession. Messi in particular has long had this habit, sometimes giving chase even into the opponent's box and demonstrating his surprising physical strength in muscling defenders off the ball. Eto'o has also improved enormously in this respect, at one point chasing an opponent and trapping him against the byline with Zambrotta until he had to kick the ball out.

Defence

After a shocker in the first league match, conceding 2 goals in fairly routine situations, the defence has been much improved in the last 3 games. Zambrotta is settling in well, his attacking runs always look threatening and he's beginning to combine with Messi in particular on the right wing. What amazes me about him is his speed at getting back into position after an attacking run and also his great technique, which was showcased in this game. In one move he held off 3 defenders near the byline, controlling the ball with a series of dummies and touches until help arrived. I think he's really going to enjoy showing a different aspect of himself than the ones most priced in Serie A, which we know he has in spades - discipline, positioning and physical condition.

Puyol and Marquez are reliable as always, somehow keeping big man Zigic quiet even though neither of them are what you'd call tall. Captain Caveman gave his typical all-action performance, and it was good to see him back in form. Rijkaard's rotation magic strikes again. Marquez was very, very impressive, particularly dealing with aerial balls. Thankfully after a forgettable game against Celta he's back to his consistent best. I was so happy when he finally got the recognition he deserved during the World Cup. Mexico's greatest player since Sanchez? I think so. It's always reassuring to have those two patrolling the back.

The same cannot be said of my feelings towards Oleguer, but he did fine coming on for Puyol, and even with him and Marquez Barca never looked uncomfortable defensively. A lot of Barca fans are very harsh on him, but he's not bad in the league.

Sylvinho gave an impressive performance offensively, combining well with Ronaldinho - but I've said that about every game he's played this season. He is in good form and looks like getting more chances this time after not featuring all that much last season. Still not sure I'd pick him if I wanted Barca's best backline defensively, but offers more than Gio currently when going forward.

I'll mention Edmilson here, since his job is mainly defensive. The majority of Barca fans think that he should be the first choice holding midfielder, and it's not hard to see why. Where Motta could perhaps use more experience, Edmilson is assured, tidy and effective. I'm not sure who's better going forward, but Edmilson is definitely better right now overall.

Above all of that, though, the defence was organised for the majority of the game - aside from the opening 10 minutes or so - which is not only great for us fans to see, but a rare occurance. I haven't seen Barca look this assured at the back for a long time, even more so when Thuram is playing, owing to what a Chinese fan called his imitation of the Great Wall.

Unity

To me, despite all the hype Barca have yet to completely hit their stride. In patches of the first half we saw the team at its best, especially around the 20 to 40 minute mark, when they managed to play one-touch passing, quick and fluid pure football, with plenty of individual flair thrown in. I believe the full expression of it will come, after the large squad have all gotten used to playing with each other in their designated roles.

The evidence that I rely on for this is the great atmosphere within the team despite the media's best attempts to stir up conflict with the non-existent "controversy" over Ronaldinho being "dropped" - he was, of course, injured - and Eto'o's tantrum. All the rested players have behaved admirably about their status, and all the new signings have indicated acceptance of the rules this Barcelona is built on, which is that you don't get to play all the games automatically and lapses of discipline are punished no matter how famous you are.

It is telling that Eto'o went straight over to Rijkaard after his goal and hugged him, and also that he went down the line touching all the benched players' hand after he was substituted. Everytime shots cut over to the Barca bench, we see players who are either intent on the match - Puyol being the most obvious example - or laughing and joking with each other (the Brazilians, mostly, and Gio).

Rijkaard

Some people say that Rijkaard doesn't need to be a great coach because he's got such a good team of players. Tell that to Real Madrid's various coachs during the last 2 years. Tell that to under-fire Inter coach Mancini. Maybe former assistant coach Ten Cate was the tactical mastermind behind so many great, game-saving substitutes - we'll see whether that's true this year after he left - but there's no doubt that Rijkaard is the one keeping a group of very talented but potentially violatile players happy and motivated. A handy talent that many would no doubt like to have - Sven, for example.

Statistics

Barcelona enjoyed 77% possession, more than double the number of shots and 90% accuracy in passing. It's that last statistic that I'm most impressed by. Barca always dominate possession and almost always take more shots. But given the double substitution made around the hour mark and Gudjohnsen coming on later on, it's good to see that the passing game is working as well as ever.

On a different note, what a card-happy referee that was. 9 bookings in a not particularly violent game is too much.

Rotation

This season has seen squad rotations of even greater scale than last season, reflecting both the upcoming nightmare schedule and the increased depth of the team. I wholeheartedly approve of Rijkaard's choices even if it means some of my favourite players getting dropped. The only way to ensure that the benched players don't feel aggrieved is to show that no one is immune to being dropped if they play badly. Almost all the big names have been rotated so far this season with the exception of Deco and Eto'o, even the previously untouchable captain Puyol.

I have a feeling that Deco will get rested soon, or at least be pulled off at around the hour mark again as he was against Osasuna. As for Eto'o, if we had a substitute who could produce results like he does, he would get more rest. As it is, Gudjohnsen hasn't quite clicked into the team yet, so he's reduced to substitute appearances at around the hour mark or after that. Eto'o took substitution very well against Santander, which is a good sign when he is actually rested.

Injuries

I hope not. Puyol was substituted because he picked up a knock, though. Eto'o was also kicked around pretty thoroughly, although he doesn't look to be injured.

Santander

They started brightly, but became aimless after the first 15 minutes and were crap for the rest of the first half. In the second half they were much improved and played a more physical, tighter marking game, especially when taking advantage of Barcelona's double substitution before they could settle. Lots of fouls, but that's what the lower ranked teams should be doing against teams like Barca and Madrid.

I will predict that they'll struggle for this season and be in relegation danger again, not only on account of not having won any matches or scored any goals so far. If the hallmark of champions is the ability to win even when you don't deserve to (see: Chelsea) then the hallmark of relegation battlers is losing points at the last gasp when they don't deserve to (see: Watford). Atletico coach Aguirre admitted after their opening home against Santander that they were extremely fortunate to win 1-0. It was a similar story with Getafe, where Santander also lost 1-0. That combined with their inability to take chances against Barca may turn out to be the story of their season.

Racism

Enough. Samuel Eto'o is a brilliant player who happens to be black. Attack him if you must, but why bring race into it? Once again, some Racing fans bring the whole league into disrepute.


Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid

El Kun

Everybody said he was great, even though most of them had not seen him play before. Of course Sergio Aguero is a great player - anyone who can carry a team in the Argentinean first division at the age of 17 is. But now Spain has seen what he can do, and they're raving about the kid who scored one and was involved in 2 other goals in the 4-1 thrashing of Athletic. The new Messi? If you mean 'amazing amounts of hype around talented Argentinean youngester', then yeah, sure. Here's hoping he can bring some consistency to Atletico.

El Nino

Atletico's victory will have raised questions about just how vital Fernando Torres is to the side, contrary to previous assumptions by some that he was the only thing holding the team up. He may find that the new Atletico under Aguirre needs him less and less. Maybe he really does need to leave his childhood team if he really wants to improve.

Athletic

What can you say? Crisis time, definitely. There were white hankys waved and calls for the resignation of the club President at the game itself. Something needs to be done or they're going to be in a relegation battle again by the end.


Sevilla vs Real Betis

Sevilla

To me, they could be title challengers if they resist the temptation to sell players like Daniel Alves to Real Madrid. Of the two fixtures they have before Barcelona, I don't expect Getafe to really test them especially playing away, but the game against Atletico next week in the Calderon should be very interesting indeed, given the thrashing they administered to Athletic Bilbao. If Atletico can beat Sevilla, then they'll look far more convincing challengers for a UEFA Cup or even Champions League spot.

Betis

That Rafael Sobis - what a good piece of business for Betis. 2 goals in the Seville derby against a very good Sevilla team isn't bad at all. Considering Joaquin's unimpressive display for Valencia and how much cash Betis got out of the transfer, maybe that wasn't such a loss either.


Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad

Capello

You can take the coach out of Italy, but you can't take...okay, that was harsh. But 4-5-1 against Sociedad? At home? Fielding his two arguably most out of form players in Guti and Raul? Not playing the improving Cassano? At least his decision to bring on Robinho for Emerson was good and helped turn the game in Madrid's favour, otherwise the boos at the beginning of the game might have turned into white hankys by the end.

Raul

Unfortunately still crap.

Beckham

I didn't think he was the player at the top of the 'should be dropped' list (see above), but apparently Capello did. Still, at least he came on and scored a goal. Reyes does look rather more lively in that midfield position, and on the evidence of that game can bend it - freekicks, that is - just as well, so maybe he should be worried.

Next week

The table-top clash of Barca and Valencia means that at least one leading team will fall off the pace by the time the dust settles. It's a great chance for Real to leap frog one or both of their big rivals if they can win their game against Betis, who aren't doing too badly themselves. They've lost two games, but considering the opponents - Valencia and Sevilla - and the close results of both games, it's actually a pretty good start for them. Atletico have a good chance to get themselves into the top 6 if they can beat leaders Sevilla, but it's a big ask for an inconsistent team. And besides, Fernando Torres will be back which means no Aguero, at least if coach Aguirre continues to put his faith in inconsistent Mista instead.

Deportivo and Zaragoza will both be looking to move up the table, Deportivo with the easier job away to Levante, and Zaragoza taking on the out-of-sorts Villarreal. It's true that Levante are higher in the standings, but to me Villarreal are more of a quality team, and if they can shake off their customary early-season slump, then they could give Zaragoza a run for their money. This season is a bit odd for me as it is now this clash instead of the Valencia derby which features the Argentinean 'golden generation' midfield pair, Pablo Aimar and Juan Roman Riquelme. It would be interesting to see which of these part-time magicians end up shining more brightly.

As for Barca, given my success predicting the starting line-up this week, I'll venture forward with who I think should start against Valencia.

(4-3-3): Valdes; Zambrotta, Puyol, Marquez, Gio; Edmilson, Deco, Xavi; Giuly, Eto'o, Ronaldinho. Substitutes would probably include Iniesta at some point for Xavi or Deco for the sake of energy conservation for Bremen and Messi for Giuly after the hour mark, since the flying Frenchman runs out of steam sometime around then.

The backline is what I feel to be our best defensive combination against a team with considerable attacking threat. Sylvinho's been playing well, but he's not as good defensively as Gio. Same with Belletti and Zambrotta. Thuram is left out because I think he'll be needed more in the Champions League match against Bremen mid-week. Edmilson should start instead of Motta because he's more defensively sound, Deco, Xavi and Giuly because they're all in good form, Giuly in particular. He can have his off patches, but this isn't one of them. Messi on the other hand hasn't really looked the force he was last season, with Rijkaard stating that he wants to bed Messi in slowly after that niggling injury so that he gets back to top form. I think that's very wise, especially since the Argentine makes such a devastating supersub.

Nightmare schedule

If Barca are to stumble, it will probably be in the next month or so, with an amazingly difficult run of fixtures. First, Valencia visit the Camp Nou next week. Then there's the mid-week game against Bremen away in the Champions League. Away to Bilbao on the 1st of October should be a breather if they continue their current poor form, but one never knows with them. After that Barca host their European Super Cup conquerors Sevilla on the 15th and will be hoping for revenge against the current in-form team of La Liga. But that's not all. Chelsea await in the Champions League on the 18th as the team goes back to Stamford Bridge, and if they survive all that, Real Madrid will surely prove a stern test in the Bernabeu on the 22nd.

Phew, I'm tired just looking at that list. And a bit worried. I wouldn't mind Rijkaard throwing the Sevilla game by playing a weaker team if we could be at full strength against Chelsea and Real, quite frankly. But I guess that also depends on whether or not Sevilla lose between now and then.