I've had to break this up into 3 posts since it's gotten so long. So here's my evaluations of our first team squad of 22, plus the technical staff and club management. I'll do another post looking ahead to the Barca squad of next season once all the transfer business is done.
Goalkeepers
Name: Víctor Valdés Arribas
Age: 25
Evaluation: Great season from our young 'keeper. Those of you who only saw his rather hapless performance against Liverpool at Camp Nou might be surprised, but he single-handedly kept Barca in it many times this season with spectacular reflex saves and the ability to truly dominate the penalty area. Saved a couple of penalty kicks, too. I've been the first to criticise him before when he was so error-prone as to seem like a liability to the team, but he's really done very well this season. One of Barca's best performing players in a lackluster season.
Probability of transfer: No way. Safe and secure.
Name: Albert Jorquera Fortià
Age: 28
Evaluation: With Valdes so well established, the only games Jorquera played this season were in the Copa del Rey, where I'm sorry to say he did not reassure in the same way as Valdes. Technically Jorquera is fine, but he's slower than Valdes and hardly ever leaves the penalty area. Not to blame for Barca's missteps in the Copa, but not entirely impressive either.
Probability of transfer: Low. Unless Barca sign a talented young keeper, which doesn't look very likely, Jorquera will be staying. Just extended his contract this season.
Defenders
Name: Juliano Haus Belletti
Age: 31
Evaluation: Belletti has been hampered by repeated injury layoffs this season, as well as there being 2 competitors for his rightback position. He's looked impressive going forward in the few matches he did play, and rather shaky defensively.
Probability of transfer: High. Belletti is reportedly not satisfied with the amount of playing time he had this season, and with Zambrotta establishing himself as first choice, that's only set to continue.
Name: Giovanni 'Gio' Christiaan van Bronckhorst
Age: 32
Evaluation: One of the features of Gio's years at Barca have been the consistency of his performances. We know what he can do, and that's combine well in attack with Ronaldinho, whip in a decent ball from defence and make well-timed runs forward, and what he can't, demonstrated whenever he gets caught upfield when the opposition breaks. This season has been no different.
Probability of transfer: already gone, unfortunately. I was quite surprised - if any of the leftbacks left, I'd expected it to be Sylvinho. He'll be remembered fondly for his contributions not only during the good times, but in turning the barren years into fruitful ones.
Name: Silvio 'Sylvinho' Mendes Campos Junior
Age: 33
Evaluation: One of the wise elders of the dressing room - perhaps one of the main reasons why he has been retained for another season - Sylvinho was unfortunately hampered by injury problems this season. When he did play, he displayed his usual efficiency going forward and was sometimes exposed defensively. Still quite a bit of pace running up and down the left wing despite his age, and combines well with the attacking players.
Probability of transfer: Almost none, now that Gio has left. He'll be Abidal's backup next season, and in all probability will play quite a bit if he can avoid injury.
Name: Gianluca Zambrotta
Age: 30
Evaluation: Zambrotta had a tough time adjusting to the Spanish league at first, but even then his class was apparent. In the latter half of the season his displays in attack and defence improved, and with that came the goals. Not bad at all for his debut season with the club.
Probability of transfer: none, despite several Italian clubs vocally wishing otherwise. Zambrotta is trusted by Frank Rijkaard and expected to be first choice rightback next season.
Name: Carles Puyol Saforcada (c)
Age: 29
Evaluation: If every player were like Puyol, we wouldn't have any internal problems. Simple as that. He represents what Barcelona is all about, and as Sylvinho once said, he's this squad's soul. Always a model of dedication and leadership both on and off the field, through both the good and the bad times. (Anybody remember when Barca were 'Puyol and ten other blokes' back in the pre-Rijkaard days?)
El capitan hasn't had a good season, fraught with both personal tragedy and injury problems leading to a loss of form. He had some outstanding games towards the end of the season and always looked the most composed and least error-prone player in an often shaky defence.
Probability of transfer: There was a time when the club contemplated selling Puyol because we were that broke and desperate for the funds he'd generate. As we are not in the middle of such a crisis any longer, Puyol will not be sold. He's indispensible.
Name: Rafael Márquez Álvarez
Age: 28
Evaluation: It's been a season to forget for Rafa. His defensive partnership with Puyol saw Barca to the glories of the 04-05 and 05-06 season, and he had a decent World Cup as well, but this season saw him in appalling form. Such were the levels of ineptitude he displayed at centerback, compounding the already error-prone defence that he was eventually dropped in favour of Lilian Thuram. He played some games as a holding midfielder in Barca's brief flirtation with 3-4-3 and was largely anonymous. (Thankfully, he seems to be back to his normally impeccable self now.)
Probability of transfer: minimal. There was some speculation, but Puyol's injury dashed that.
Name: Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien
Age: 35
Evaluation: The veteran Frenchman earned the respect of the fans early on in the season with his positioning sense and skill and he eventually worked his way into the starting line-up. Unfortunately, his lack of pace was brutally exposed many times, most notably in both games against Real Madrid. It's not entirely his fault, of course, given the lack of cover most of the time, and his footballing intelligence was still much appreciated. Hits a good ball out of defence.
Probability of transfer: minimal. Thuram looks after himself, but at the age of 35 it's difficult to see him moving on at this point. Will most probably play out his two year deal with Barca.
Name: Oleguer Presas Renom
Age: 27
Evaluation: I get nervous everytime Oleguer plays a game at rightback. He's a decent centerback in a 4 man backline, especially when partnering Puyol, but his lack of pace and attacking threat going forward are brutally exposed on the wing. To be fair, he had quite a few decent games when playing rightback this season - it was when he was playing as a part of a 3 man backline that he looked most shaky. The most notable of these performances came against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, where he was sent off before halftime.
The strange thing about Oleguer is that I remember people talking about him as a fairly good centerback and decent rightback just a few seasons ago. Perhaps he's just not had a good season. The other possibility, which a lot of Barca fans subscribe to, is that he's simply not very good. I would suggest that's a bit uncharitable.
Probability of transfer: none. He's the most likely backup to Zambrotta, especially since Belletti is leaving. Also, Oleguer loves Barca and wouldn't want to leave unless he was absolutely not getting a look-in.
Next up, midfielders.
Showing posts with label sylvinho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sylvinho. Show all posts
Friday, July 06, 2007
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
If it ain't broke...my take on Barca's transfer needs
There will always be transfer speculation surrounding a club such as Barcelona, and even more so now, with so many players out injured. This is my opinion on the team's short term and long term needs and how they may best be fulfilled.
short term
Most obviously, with the current injury list, we seem to need some striking cover. Reportedly the club are considering their options on this front. As the technical staff have pointed out, however, signing a player in January would leave the unlikely result of the squad being far too overloaded with strikers once the injured players return to fitness. So that leaves out the likes of Albert Luque, especially since he wants more playing time. As much as I love the idea of having another Catalan player in the squad, it doesn't seem practical. We already have a winger who doesn't get nearly enough playing time in Santi Ezquerro.
Moving on, I have to say, regardless of the credibility of the reports, I'm attracted by the idea of getting Henrik Larsson back on loan for 3 months. It appeals to the sentiments of Barca fans who love him, and works in a practical sense because he knows the club and the system. Besides, the Swedish season has just finished, and doesn't start back up in another 4 months. That said, as his current club have said, while a loan deal would appeal to them financially, at the age of 35 Larsson could probably use a long break between seasons, instead of spending it playing, especially since he essentially hasn't stopped playing since the beginning of the 05-06 season, going straight from Barca to the World Cup, and then from that straight back into club football in Sweden. In the end, though, much of it will depend on what Henke thinks about it. I wouldn't be surprised if he refused, even if the club decides to ask. After all, he'd left in the perfect way. No need to risk changing that.
Whatever happens, I hope the club proceed with caution, since our last couple of emergency signings in January haven't exactly worked out. While I'll always be grateful to Maxi Lopez for that Chelsea game, and Albertini for answering our distress call at no great gain to himself, their impact hasn't been that great. In our last majorly injury-ridden season, it was actually the players we already had who really dug deep and pulled through together. Maybe there's a lesson in there.
long term
I'm a firm believer in evolution rather than revolution when it comes to improving the squad. As far as I can see, there are two positions that might prove problematic in the next couple of seasons - left-back, holding midfield and the right wing.
Left-back first. This is an obvious one, given that both our left-backs are over 30 and have their share of critics. Sylvinho is a wonderful wing-back, but has his defensive problems and I don't know how many more years his legs can take of running up and down the left flank all game. Gio is better balanced, but still easily exposed by fast, nimble wingers, and at 31 the second oldest member of the squad. Again, the physical demands placed upon the full-backs in the 4-3-3 system could take its toll.
I'd prefer the coach promoting a young left-back from the youth system to gain some experience with the senior players with a view to taking over, if a suitable candidate exists. If not, it would be nice if we could sign someone young. The current technical staff seem to prefer players who are already used to a European league, especially those from the 'smaller' leagues like Holland, Portugal and France, which seems like a good approach to take. In any case, there's no hurry, so any decision should be taken with caution, which means hopefully no splashing out of large amounts of cash on a 'star' player (by which I am indeed alluding to the Abidal rumours).
Moving on to holding midfield. Barca have had problems in this position for years. Our holding midfielders - Edmilson, Gerard and Motta - seem to be desperately unlucky with injuries. We spent most of 04-05 with all 3 unavailable. Motta missed at least half of 05-06 with various niggling injuries, when not in danger of getting sent off. Edmilson has been somewhat lacking in form this season when not injured. Motta has had one good game. With 2 players covering one position, you don't except to have to draft in less defensive midfielders (Xavi, Iniesta) or a center-back (Marquez) to fill the position effectively.
Furthermore, Edmilson isn't getting any younger at 30. He's been plagued by injury for the last couple of seasons, an alarming trend that doesn't look like going away. Motta, 23, is one of the youngest players in the squad, so he has a lot of room to grow. It's interesting to note that he's been in the first team on and off from 2002, and yet he's still got the same problems with clumsy tackling and more importantly his unstable temperament. I think a lot of this is due to the many lengthy injury lay-offs that have stunted his development as a player - he's never played more than 20 games in a single season. 2005 was almost a complete write-off. Rijkaard really likes Motta because he thinks the Brazilian is a player in his own image, and I sure hope that is the case. When he has a good game, one can see what Rijkaard means. He's better going forward than Edmilson, holds possession well and takes a great freekick too. And of course even a team like Barca need a physical player.
Having said all that, even if Motta does develop into a player who can do the job, I think there's a case for reinforcements in this position. Not necessarily by buying from other clubs, since it's not quite an urgent problem. As always, my preference is for a youth team player to get a chance to come up and establish himself. If that's not possible, then perhaps signing a young player used to European football who won't cost insane amounts of money. Sadly, that last bit rules out players such as Argentinean Javier Mascherano, languishing at West Ham. Someone like, say, fellow Argentinean Lucas Biglia, now of Anderlecht - just as an example - would fit the description. He's just as good as the far more lauded Fernando Gago - who is now seemingly headed to Real Madrid - and would come far cheaper.
Lastly, there's the right wing. I know this sounds a little crazy, given that Barca have Leo Messi in that position, but given how injury-prone he's proven to be, and the fact that Ludovic Giuly, while excellent, is not getting any younger, we should be looking at future prospects - leisurely browsing, really, given the lack of urgency, but still browsing. Giuly is 30 right now, and given both the demands of the position and his physical condition can hardly play 75 minutes without running out of gas. He's still working his ass off and putting in vital performances for now, but what about 2 or 3 years down the line?
Encouragingly, there are quite a few impressive youngsters coming through from the youth teams who can play in the forward positions. 2005 U17 World Cup Silver Ball winner Giovani Dos Santos looks like a good prospect, if only Barca can hold on to him. Unfortunately one of the methods Barca are employing to ensure that Dos Santos doesn't leave involves not pushing to get him Spanish nationality, as an EU passport would make it much easier for other clubs to snatch him. I say unfortunately because this lack of an EU passport works both ways - he can't play for the first team, at least not this season, even if one of the non-EU slots on the team is freed up by his Mexican compatriot Marquez finally getting Spanish citizenship. Even so, this position looks alright for the future, unless - going by track record - Arsenal suddenly take an interest.
In conclusion, I don't think big spending is the answer to any problems the team may have right now. Barca already did that 2 season ago, when we bought in 7 players in the transfer window and made the current squad what it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. At least not yet.
short term
Most obviously, with the current injury list, we seem to need some striking cover. Reportedly the club are considering their options on this front. As the technical staff have pointed out, however, signing a player in January would leave the unlikely result of the squad being far too overloaded with strikers once the injured players return to fitness. So that leaves out the likes of Albert Luque, especially since he wants more playing time. As much as I love the idea of having another Catalan player in the squad, it doesn't seem practical. We already have a winger who doesn't get nearly enough playing time in Santi Ezquerro.
Moving on, I have to say, regardless of the credibility of the reports, I'm attracted by the idea of getting Henrik Larsson back on loan for 3 months. It appeals to the sentiments of Barca fans who love him, and works in a practical sense because he knows the club and the system. Besides, the Swedish season has just finished, and doesn't start back up in another 4 months. That said, as his current club have said, while a loan deal would appeal to them financially, at the age of 35 Larsson could probably use a long break between seasons, instead of spending it playing, especially since he essentially hasn't stopped playing since the beginning of the 05-06 season, going straight from Barca to the World Cup, and then from that straight back into club football in Sweden. In the end, though, much of it will depend on what Henke thinks about it. I wouldn't be surprised if he refused, even if the club decides to ask. After all, he'd left in the perfect way. No need to risk changing that.
Whatever happens, I hope the club proceed with caution, since our last couple of emergency signings in January haven't exactly worked out. While I'll always be grateful to Maxi Lopez for that Chelsea game, and Albertini for answering our distress call at no great gain to himself, their impact hasn't been that great. In our last majorly injury-ridden season, it was actually the players we already had who really dug deep and pulled through together. Maybe there's a lesson in there.
long term
I'm a firm believer in evolution rather than revolution when it comes to improving the squad. As far as I can see, there are two positions that might prove problematic in the next couple of seasons - left-back, holding midfield and the right wing.
Left-back first. This is an obvious one, given that both our left-backs are over 30 and have their share of critics. Sylvinho is a wonderful wing-back, but has his defensive problems and I don't know how many more years his legs can take of running up and down the left flank all game. Gio is better balanced, but still easily exposed by fast, nimble wingers, and at 31 the second oldest member of the squad. Again, the physical demands placed upon the full-backs in the 4-3-3 system could take its toll.
I'd prefer the coach promoting a young left-back from the youth system to gain some experience with the senior players with a view to taking over, if a suitable candidate exists. If not, it would be nice if we could sign someone young. The current technical staff seem to prefer players who are already used to a European league, especially those from the 'smaller' leagues like Holland, Portugal and France, which seems like a good approach to take. In any case, there's no hurry, so any decision should be taken with caution, which means hopefully no splashing out of large amounts of cash on a 'star' player (by which I am indeed alluding to the Abidal rumours).
Moving on to holding midfield. Barca have had problems in this position for years. Our holding midfielders - Edmilson, Gerard and Motta - seem to be desperately unlucky with injuries. We spent most of 04-05 with all 3 unavailable. Motta missed at least half of 05-06 with various niggling injuries, when not in danger of getting sent off. Edmilson has been somewhat lacking in form this season when not injured. Motta has had one good game. With 2 players covering one position, you don't except to have to draft in less defensive midfielders (Xavi, Iniesta) or a center-back (Marquez) to fill the position effectively.
Furthermore, Edmilson isn't getting any younger at 30. He's been plagued by injury for the last couple of seasons, an alarming trend that doesn't look like going away. Motta, 23, is one of the youngest players in the squad, so he has a lot of room to grow. It's interesting to note that he's been in the first team on and off from 2002, and yet he's still got the same problems with clumsy tackling and more importantly his unstable temperament. I think a lot of this is due to the many lengthy injury lay-offs that have stunted his development as a player - he's never played more than 20 games in a single season. 2005 was almost a complete write-off. Rijkaard really likes Motta because he thinks the Brazilian is a player in his own image, and I sure hope that is the case. When he has a good game, one can see what Rijkaard means. He's better going forward than Edmilson, holds possession well and takes a great freekick too. And of course even a team like Barca need a physical player.
Having said all that, even if Motta does develop into a player who can do the job, I think there's a case for reinforcements in this position. Not necessarily by buying from other clubs, since it's not quite an urgent problem. As always, my preference is for a youth team player to get a chance to come up and establish himself. If that's not possible, then perhaps signing a young player used to European football who won't cost insane amounts of money. Sadly, that last bit rules out players such as Argentinean Javier Mascherano, languishing at West Ham. Someone like, say, fellow Argentinean Lucas Biglia, now of Anderlecht - just as an example - would fit the description. He's just as good as the far more lauded Fernando Gago - who is now seemingly headed to Real Madrid - and would come far cheaper.
Lastly, there's the right wing. I know this sounds a little crazy, given that Barca have Leo Messi in that position, but given how injury-prone he's proven to be, and the fact that Ludovic Giuly, while excellent, is not getting any younger, we should be looking at future prospects - leisurely browsing, really, given the lack of urgency, but still browsing. Giuly is 30 right now, and given both the demands of the position and his physical condition can hardly play 75 minutes without running out of gas. He's still working his ass off and putting in vital performances for now, but what about 2 or 3 years down the line?
Encouragingly, there are quite a few impressive youngsters coming through from the youth teams who can play in the forward positions. 2005 U17 World Cup Silver Ball winner Giovani Dos Santos looks like a good prospect, if only Barca can hold on to him. Unfortunately one of the methods Barca are employing to ensure that Dos Santos doesn't leave involves not pushing to get him Spanish nationality, as an EU passport would make it much easier for other clubs to snatch him. I say unfortunately because this lack of an EU passport works both ways - he can't play for the first team, at least not this season, even if one of the non-EU slots on the team is freed up by his Mexican compatriot Marquez finally getting Spanish citizenship. Even so, this position looks alright for the future, unless - going by track record - Arsenal suddenly take an interest.
In conclusion, I don't think big spending is the answer to any problems the team may have right now. Barca already did that 2 season ago, when we bought in 7 players in the transfer window and made the current squad what it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. At least not yet.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Quick comments on Barca v Recre
That was 2 days ago, you say? Through an unfortunate set of circumstances I only saw the match today, so a late report as well as some comments about the Chelsea game to come.
The match
Match reports I'd read prior to seeing the game made it sound like a very difficult win indeed, but in my opinion we played quite well in the second half. Not so much for the first 20 minutes or so, but neither were we disastrously bad.
As for the penalty call, there are two things that need clarifying. One, Gudjohnsen's shirt was pulled in the penalty area. Sometimes that's given, sometimes not. But the action was there. Two, Guddy decided in his infinite wisdom to dive after the shirt-pull. There's no question about that. The shirt-pulling may have been a factor in him going down, but it was a very small one. If there was any force, he still exaggerated contact. A lot. So that's enough of that, Guddy. We've already got one former Mourinho apprentice as our resident Chief Diver (Deco for the uninitiated), it would suck to have another.
The other two goals were great, though. What are the chances of Ronaldinho scoring a header? What are the chances of Xavi scoring 2 in official games so far this season? (His first was in the return leg of the Spanish Super Cup vs Espanyol.)
The defence
Great work over all. They started out shaky, but quickly improved. Valdes was immense. Great opening save, and even some good tackling (!) outside the box. The full-backs were brilliant. Belletti and Sylvinho got an assist each, and both were richly deserved. Sylvinho still has trouble defensively, but his attacking work is as great as ever. Belletti had a good game both going forward and defending. Well done.
Marquez was great. Seemingly everywhere the team needed him, insane precision with his long-range passing, and many crucial clearances. His free-kicks are as good as ever. I'd like to see him take the long range ones on a regular basis from now. Not all the time, but at least give him some chances. Wonderful game by him. Puyol was just as good. After a bit of bother with injuries, he seems to be getting back to his best. The spirit he showed out there was as great as ever. You know what Barca need? A team of Puyols. If everyone worked like him, we'd beat anybody.
The midfield
Much improved over the somewhat chaotic performance in Madrid. Defensively, there was a lot more pressing of the opposition and tracking back, which is always good to see. Deco still isn't back to his best, but he's looking better. Before this he was getting worse with every game, which was very alarming for those of us who love the little schemer despite his antics. Good work in defense, and not too bad going forward either.
Xavi had a brilliant game, also a nice contrast to his somewhat indifferent form as of late. He pulled the strings in midfield and provided a string of great passes forward. Edmilson also followed the theme of improvement, with more intelligent efforts this time around, especially where positioning is concerned. Shielded the back four well, and also contributed going forward.
Iniesta made his customary substitute appearance and was brilliant. As soon as he came on, Barca's game sped up. At that point he was one of the few guys willing to have a run at and try to beat opposing players. Great work tracking back, too.
The forwards
With everyone else improving, this is the one area that we're still having problems that don't look like resolving themselves yet. Let's start with the good...and go on from there.
Giuly looks like he's hitting a spot of form again. The wonderful but inconsistent Frenchman has had some good games this season (Racing, Levski) and some indifferent ones (Celta, Real). In this game he was very good indeed, and probably the most threatening forward for most of the game, always looking to beat his marker, put dangerous balls into the box and help out the team. Long may it continue.
Ronaldinho still looks a bit lacking in fitness. He's running again, which is good, and increasingly tried to beat his marker as the match went on, which is also good, but he didn't having that much success with it. Scoring from open play will have helped his confidence. By the way he played after scoring, it really gave him a boost. He was much more active, even in defense. His set pieces are also looking much better. Baby steps, Ronnie.
Gudjohnsen worked hard. There's no doubting that. His willingness to work for the team does him great credit. Being compared incessantly with Eto'o is not easy, but that's the position he's in, and he still doesn't look quite integrated into the system - or able to finish enough chances. However, he did exchange positions with Ronnie a bit in this game, so maybe they're getting used to each other.
(I'm hoping for him to score against Chelsea so damn much. If only to get back at Mourinho, who seems to have the personal loyalty of...well, something unpleasant. Nice work throwing poor Guddy to the wolves just to perpetuate his line about diving.
By the way, I don't have anything against Chelsea. Their players are great. I saw Ricardo Carvolho speaking on Champions League Weekly and he was very nice about the whole Barca thing. Lampard is pretty sensible too. Drogba, Joe Cole and Robben are very talented. Boulahrouz is a wonderful defender. I'm just not fond of Mourinho.)
Saviola came on and looked useful, as ever, if in need of more playing time to click better with the rest of the team. He did some good work going forward and tracked back eagerly. Also good for winning free-kicks, I notice. Defenders love having a go at him.
Poor Ezquerro made his first appearance in La Liga this season to play out time. He did look fit and eager, which is nice, and it's good to know that we have him as an option. What a guy, though - he never complains about being on the bench all the time. Although, if you're benched for 85% of a season and end up winning the League and CL double at the end of it, I guess that's not so bad.
Recreativo
They looked good. Well-organised, but they didn't come to Camp Nou to park the bus, which is refreshing. I think they'll definitely stay up if they can keep this form going. A mid-table finish looks very possible.
the Chelsea game
I'm unspeakably nervous. My only consolations are 1) our great home record and 2) majority of the team getting some kind of form back. But from the first game it was clear just how tough and well-organised this Chelsea side is, and how hard they are to break down. And they have the winning mentality that makes a team difficult to beat, the kind that Barca usually wear on their sleeves.
Sylvinho, Oleguer, and Ezquerro are the ones left out of the squad, along with the injured Eto'o (insert wailing sound here). That means Rijkaard probably won't get the full-backs to fly forward at every opportunity (since Sylvinho is the more attacking left full-back), which is a shame, because I think with the way Chelsea are playing this season, their lack of width means attacking down the wings would work.
For that reason, I kind of hope Belletti plays, even though we all know what happened last time Belletti faced Chelsea (conceding 3 goals in 20 minutes, anyone?) A Barca fan remarked that his game against Recreativo was better than anything Zambrotta has produced so far for us, and as much as I love Zambro, I have to agree. Belletti has improved a lot.
Anyway, Messi will start, and I'll be hoping for the same kind of display as the one he gave at Stamford Bridge last season, and against Real Madrid (both this year and last). If Ronnie doesn't fire on all cylinders, then we really need Messi to have a big game. It's a lot to ask of a 19 year old, but as he has shown before, he has got what it takes.
In midfield, I'm hoping Rijkaard will have learned from the last game and actually use some physical defensive midfielders this time round. At least one of Edmilson, Motta or even Marquez will need to play in the holding role to counter the physical Chelsea midfield. Maybe even two - playing both Edmilson and Motta worked last season.
Lastly, let's hope for a better game than the last one. Don't get me wrong, Drogba's goal was great, but the rest of it wasn't champagne fare. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want Barca to win above all else.
So allow me a moment of complete partisanship: Visca el Barca!
The match
Match reports I'd read prior to seeing the game made it sound like a very difficult win indeed, but in my opinion we played quite well in the second half. Not so much for the first 20 minutes or so, but neither were we disastrously bad.
As for the penalty call, there are two things that need clarifying. One, Gudjohnsen's shirt was pulled in the penalty area. Sometimes that's given, sometimes not. But the action was there. Two, Guddy decided in his infinite wisdom to dive after the shirt-pull. There's no question about that. The shirt-pulling may have been a factor in him going down, but it was a very small one. If there was any force, he still exaggerated contact. A lot. So that's enough of that, Guddy. We've already got one former Mourinho apprentice as our resident Chief Diver (Deco for the uninitiated), it would suck to have another.
The other two goals were great, though. What are the chances of Ronaldinho scoring a header? What are the chances of Xavi scoring 2 in official games so far this season? (His first was in the return leg of the Spanish Super Cup vs Espanyol.)
The defence
Great work over all. They started out shaky, but quickly improved. Valdes was immense. Great opening save, and even some good tackling (!) outside the box. The full-backs were brilliant. Belletti and Sylvinho got an assist each, and both were richly deserved. Sylvinho still has trouble defensively, but his attacking work is as great as ever. Belletti had a good game both going forward and defending. Well done.
Marquez was great. Seemingly everywhere the team needed him, insane precision with his long-range passing, and many crucial clearances. His free-kicks are as good as ever. I'd like to see him take the long range ones on a regular basis from now. Not all the time, but at least give him some chances. Wonderful game by him. Puyol was just as good. After a bit of bother with injuries, he seems to be getting back to his best. The spirit he showed out there was as great as ever. You know what Barca need? A team of Puyols. If everyone worked like him, we'd beat anybody.
The midfield
Much improved over the somewhat chaotic performance in Madrid. Defensively, there was a lot more pressing of the opposition and tracking back, which is always good to see. Deco still isn't back to his best, but he's looking better. Before this he was getting worse with every game, which was very alarming for those of us who love the little schemer despite his antics. Good work in defense, and not too bad going forward either.
Xavi had a brilliant game, also a nice contrast to his somewhat indifferent form as of late. He pulled the strings in midfield and provided a string of great passes forward. Edmilson also followed the theme of improvement, with more intelligent efforts this time around, especially where positioning is concerned. Shielded the back four well, and also contributed going forward.
Iniesta made his customary substitute appearance and was brilliant. As soon as he came on, Barca's game sped up. At that point he was one of the few guys willing to have a run at and try to beat opposing players. Great work tracking back, too.
The forwards
With everyone else improving, this is the one area that we're still having problems that don't look like resolving themselves yet. Let's start with the good...and go on from there.
Giuly looks like he's hitting a spot of form again. The wonderful but inconsistent Frenchman has had some good games this season (Racing, Levski) and some indifferent ones (Celta, Real). In this game he was very good indeed, and probably the most threatening forward for most of the game, always looking to beat his marker, put dangerous balls into the box and help out the team. Long may it continue.
Ronaldinho still looks a bit lacking in fitness. He's running again, which is good, and increasingly tried to beat his marker as the match went on, which is also good, but he didn't having that much success with it. Scoring from open play will have helped his confidence. By the way he played after scoring, it really gave him a boost. He was much more active, even in defense. His set pieces are also looking much better. Baby steps, Ronnie.
Gudjohnsen worked hard. There's no doubting that. His willingness to work for the team does him great credit. Being compared incessantly with Eto'o is not easy, but that's the position he's in, and he still doesn't look quite integrated into the system - or able to finish enough chances. However, he did exchange positions with Ronnie a bit in this game, so maybe they're getting used to each other.
(I'm hoping for him to score against Chelsea so damn much. If only to get back at Mourinho, who seems to have the personal loyalty of...well, something unpleasant. Nice work throwing poor Guddy to the wolves just to perpetuate his line about diving.
By the way, I don't have anything against Chelsea. Their players are great. I saw Ricardo Carvolho speaking on Champions League Weekly and he was very nice about the whole Barca thing. Lampard is pretty sensible too. Drogba, Joe Cole and Robben are very talented. Boulahrouz is a wonderful defender. I'm just not fond of Mourinho.)
Saviola came on and looked useful, as ever, if in need of more playing time to click better with the rest of the team. He did some good work going forward and tracked back eagerly. Also good for winning free-kicks, I notice. Defenders love having a go at him.
Poor Ezquerro made his first appearance in La Liga this season to play out time. He did look fit and eager, which is nice, and it's good to know that we have him as an option. What a guy, though - he never complains about being on the bench all the time. Although, if you're benched for 85% of a season and end up winning the League and CL double at the end of it, I guess that's not so bad.
Recreativo
They looked good. Well-organised, but they didn't come to Camp Nou to park the bus, which is refreshing. I think they'll definitely stay up if they can keep this form going. A mid-table finish looks very possible.
the Chelsea game
I'm unspeakably nervous. My only consolations are 1) our great home record and 2) majority of the team getting some kind of form back. But from the first game it was clear just how tough and well-organised this Chelsea side is, and how hard they are to break down. And they have the winning mentality that makes a team difficult to beat, the kind that Barca usually wear on their sleeves.
Sylvinho, Oleguer, and Ezquerro are the ones left out of the squad, along with the injured Eto'o (insert wailing sound here). That means Rijkaard probably won't get the full-backs to fly forward at every opportunity (since Sylvinho is the more attacking left full-back), which is a shame, because I think with the way Chelsea are playing this season, their lack of width means attacking down the wings would work.
For that reason, I kind of hope Belletti plays, even though we all know what happened last time Belletti faced Chelsea (conceding 3 goals in 20 minutes, anyone?) A Barca fan remarked that his game against Recreativo was better than anything Zambrotta has produced so far for us, and as much as I love Zambro, I have to agree. Belletti has improved a lot.
Anyway, Messi will start, and I'll be hoping for the same kind of display as the one he gave at Stamford Bridge last season, and against Real Madrid (both this year and last). If Ronnie doesn't fire on all cylinders, then we really need Messi to have a big game. It's a lot to ask of a 19 year old, but as he has shown before, he has got what it takes.
In midfield, I'm hoping Rijkaard will have learned from the last game and actually use some physical defensive midfielders this time round. At least one of Edmilson, Motta or even Marquez will need to play in the holding role to counter the physical Chelsea midfield. Maybe even two - playing both Edmilson and Motta worked last season.
Lastly, let's hope for a better game than the last one. Don't get me wrong, Drogba's goal was great, but the rest of it wasn't champagne fare. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want Barca to win above all else.
So allow me a moment of complete partisanship: Visca el Barca!
Saturday, October 07, 2006
picking over the wreck that was Bremen-Barca
I know this is incredibly late, but I only got to see the match yesterday. It is an interesting time for Barca, which is why I bothered with the long analysis at all, given that the match is now more than a week old.
Without futher ado:
1-0 Puyol o.g. (56')
1-1 Messi (89')
The Match
Barca were disastrous for the first 15 minutes. Just incredibly poor, no coherence, inability to string two passes together, Motta, Iniesta and Giuly invisible against Bremen's physical approach.
Both Ronaldinho and Deco said after the match that Barca's troubles stemmed from lacking a man in midfield, and I think that's evident from the match itself. As Ronaldinho dropped back into a midfield position the team improved greatly, got lots more possession and started getting shots on goal. Before that we were just getting out-hustled and out-manned in the middle of the park, which is just not something that happens to Barcelona. That said, Motta, Iniesta and Giuly were still not getting involved enough. I expect that kind of thing out of Giuly because he just has a game like that once in a while, but not people like Iniesta and Motta who have aspirations of becoming starters ahead of very good players in Edmilson and Xavi. To be fair, Iniesta improved as the game went on, but that's not going to change his supersub status. Motta is a whole other kettle of fish I will discuss later.
Nice to see the edge come into Barca's game after the own goal, although I wish it could have been there from the very beginning. After that it became more of an even game, with Barca picking up greater steam after each of the substitutions. Messi immediately made the right wing threatening again and in fact lifted the whole offence to a better level. Zambrotta's entrance meant that Barca's ability to recover lost possession got much better immediately, which was invaluable leading up to the goal. In the end, Deco and Messi combined to rescue a point for Barcelona with a typically Barca move.
I disagree strongly with those who say that Barca were outclassed all over the park. If they were, why was Bremen's only goal scored by Puyol? Hunt had a great game in every other aspect, but his finishing was pretty bad. So many chances wasted with speculative efforts from range. Klose on the other hand couldn't be blamed for not scoring since he wasn't even fully fit and was a bit unlucky as well. I agree that Barca's midfield were beaten by Bremen's, and all credit to them, especially Frings and Diego, but the two teams were in no way a class apart from each other. That said, Barca will need to get into form quickly if they even want to get out of the group.
Barca
Forwards
I'm going to miss Eto'o a lot, no matter how well his replacements do. Did you see that run he made on about the 22nd minute mark? Intercepted the ball from a Bremen corner, ran the whole length of the pitch lightning quick and was only stopped by Frings' interception just outside the box. This is why I love him as a player. The forward line as a whole were ineffective before the double substitution, but Eto'o worked as hard as ever before he had to go off. Get well soon, Sammy.
Gudjohnsen looked a little shaky, but comparisons with Eto'o are never flattering and he did the best he could, making some good passes and holding off defenders well. His ability to penetrate a good defence by himself is something I'm not yet convinced by, but we'll see.
Ronaldinho was ordinary. I think that's the best way to describe his performance. He improved after Messi and Gudjohnsen came on, but if Sylvinho wasn't the nice guy we all know he is, he could have smacked Ronnie for wasting the nth great pass/cross from him. I won't slam him, because he always starts slowly and maybe things will improve soon, but it is worrying.
Like I mentioned above, Giuly had one of those games. Undoubtedly a great player, he's nevertheless prone to unstable form - one moment he's scoring the goal that sends Barca to the Champions League final, the next he's unable to get a touch of the ball all game. Not his fault, especially against such a big, physical team, and not exactly worrying given how good his replacement is.
Stand up Leo Messi, or as some Barca fans cheekily call him, the 'Messi-ah'. Visitors to this blog will have seen my rambling rebukes of what some in the media have called his loss of form. Like Rijkaard said, though, one flat match does not a loss of form make. Cutting through all the arguments about his deficiencies in front of goal, his age and physical strength, I believe that what counts is the fact that Messi always delivers when Barca needs him to. Case in point: scoring the vital game-tying goal.
Midfielders
I thought Deco was the best of the midfielders, which - it has to be said - is not a great achievement in this match. He did the best he could while being constantly harried by 3, 4 Bremen players and coped better than Iniesta with the physical aspects of the game. Tracked back to help defend well, as always, and was rewarded for his labours by making the Barca goal with a great pass. For those who wonder why Deco is never rotated (including yours truly), I guess we have the answer. Truly a born winner, and Barca are lucky to have him.
If my assessment of Iniesta above in the match report sounded harsh, rest assured he's actually one of my favourite Barca players. Great runs through the middle of the pitch, good passing vision, spirited hard work and a nice shooting touch combines to make him a potentially fearsome player. He is, however, young and still growing. The defensive aspect of his game needs work, since the great effort he puts in doesn't always pay off. He also needs lessons from Deco on how to cope with being kicked around - not by diving, god forbid; that's the one thing I dislike about Deco, and hopefully he won't pass it on to the young guys. Right now Iniesta does great work regularly as an impact sub, but I do have to question Rijkaard's decision to start him against a team like Bremen. Maybe Xavi was tired out from the difficult game against Valencia or nursing a knock. Otherwise I can't see his reasoning.
On to the complicated problem of Thiago Motta. For those of you who don't frequent Barca fan forums, Motta is a regular hate-figure for Barca supporters along with Oleguer, who I'll discuss below. I'm usually reluctant to join in with what I see as unfair blame being heaped on the poor guy, but in this case...well. He's actually not a bad passer of the ball, but defensively rather worrying. In that aspect I would rate him ahead of Iniesta and Xavi but still not good enough for a defensive midfielder. It is said that Rijkaard rates Motta because he sees the young Brazilian as a player in his own image, but I really don't see it - yet. He is far from effective as a midfield destroyer in current form. I'm not saying he doesn't put in the effort. The problem is that his tackling is often so untidy and badly timed that it leads to either comedy defending or him being booked. That said, I'd like to see a midfield of Deco-Motta-Edmilson against Chelsea again, if possible, since to me Motta does provide a combination of defensive muscle and forward movement that meshes well with Deco and Edmilson's game against a side like Chelsea.
Defenders
Sylvinho played a blinder offensively, I thought, and the lack of product was more due to the forwards (particularly Ronaldinho) not being able to do anything with his wonderful crosses and throughballs than anything else. He faded towards the end of the game and the decision to bring on Zambrotta was the correct one, but that doesn't affect the overall strength of his performance. Not too many problems in defence, which was a pleasant surprise.
As for the great Lilian Thuram - what can I say? Yet another commanding performance from the ageless Frenchman. Let almost nothing past him, great tackling and marking, domination in the air - the best of the Barca defenders, to me, even with the errors he did make. I've just been amazed by his defensive style. He's played 3 games for Barca this season and you can count the number of times he's been called for a foul on the fingers of one hand. Motta should take lessons in how to time your tackles from this guy. Definitely the new Larsson, since he also began with lowered expectations from the fans because of his age and has gone on to win their affection with his attitude and general excellence.
Poor Puyol. The great folks at a pretty move call him the Armoured Saint, which I love because it's a great reflection of just how committed, genuine and hardworking he is, and how much the fans adore him for it. He looked so crushed with the own goal. As much as Bremen deserved a goal, Puyol certainly didn't deserve that. What a comedown after scoring his first goal in European competition against Levski Sofia. Other than that, he was fairly solid in central defence. Late on a couple of Bremen moves, but made up for it by working his ass off, as usual. No Barca supporter would have blamed him even if his own goal had cost the team all the points, which to me says it all, really.
I don't like to criticize Oleguer because he gets so much stick from the fans as it is, but if you look at Bremen's attacks, the most threatening ones came through the right, and he failed to close that wing down. That said, he grew into the game as it went on and made some great interceptions in the last 10 minutes or so. My guess is that having not played a full game since the beginning of the season, he needed sometime to get back to match sharpness, and throwing him in at the deep end wasn't a good way to do that. To me, he's a center-back, not a right-back. Barca have 2 actual right-backs in Belletti and Zambrotta, and while Belletti is defensively questionable that shouldn't mean poor Oleguer gets to play out of position and get blamed for everything that goes wrong.
Lastly, pride of place goes to Valdes, who did very well coping with being put under constant pressure, especially in the first half, a position he's not exactly used to. Some great saves, and generally an assured performance. I remember watching El Clasico from November of last year and swearing at the TV as he flapped at Madrid's ineffective crosses and mishit shots. Thankfully, he's improved since then. Perhaps Valdes should be given the benefit of the doubt now, especially after doing so well in the Champions League final.
Rijkaard
I do not understand why this man is constantly belittled by the fans. I do not understand why even now some fans want him replaced with a 'big name'. Maybe he doesn't shout enough? To me, Barca's recent successes could not have come without him. He's admirably forthright, level-headed and very, very good at man-management. Sure, some of his starting choices might seem a little inexplicable, even to a fan of the man like me, but his substitutions are usually pretty much spot-on. Those who were bitching about the starting line-up after the game might want to recall that the team had just played a gruelling match against Valencia a couple of days ago in which half the team got the stuffing kicked out of them. Hence the rotations. Anyway, enough of that, another rant for another day.
Team
Not impressive, frankly. I know that Barca's style can be hampered by teams who snap at their heels all over the pitch, but that should not be an excuse for a team with title aspirations. Almost every team will try to stop Barca playing their game that way, and we should be dealing with that. That said, it is a good sign that the team is able to continue playing in the same style even when a goal down and come back strongly. Everyone is working hard and doing their best. Considering that it took Barca until mid-October of last year to really start playing well, I'm not panicking just yet.
However, the loss of Eto'o is massive. My initial reaction was one of complete despair. I felt like we could kiss all the titles goodbye. But if the team can click with either one of his replacements - both quality players in their own right - then all hope is not lost. Let's just see what happens over the next month.
Bremen
Klose is a great forward who I quite like, but there's just one thing I can't stand about him. It's the way he always looks like he's going to injure the goalkeeper crashing into him going up for 50/50 balls in the box. Remember that knee in the ribs of Argentinean goalkeeper Abbondanzieri which meant he had to go off with an injury in the World Cup quarterfinals? I do, because I'm convinced that started the chain of events which led to Argentina losing the game. My heart stopped everytime him and Valdes crashed into each other. Thank God nothing bad happened. Anyhow, that's enough bias from me.
That Naldo, though, what a great defender. So fast and good with his positioning as well - I haven't see a defender keep up with Eto'o so well for a while, and he completely shut Ronaldinho down when the Brazilian went up against him.
Frings and Diego both had great games, and I've already talked about Hunt. Borowski was less involved, but the point about Bremen's performance isn't who did what - they performed well as a team. Everything clicked together, everyone gave their all. If they can continue playing like this, they'll trouble Chelsea when they come to visit, which makes it even more important for Barca to win their other games against Levski and Bremen and try for a result against Chelsea.
A note about commentary
The ESPN commentators were better than some of the guys they had for the World Cup, but God - did a player have to kill someone to get booked in the eyes of these guys? Or do they just watch a lot of Premiership games? I mean, yes, the ref did stop play a bit too much, but those Bremen midfielders play rough, and guys like Motta aren't exactly gentle defenders either.
Also, I get so fed up with commentators who keep saying that Barca need to basically abandon their style of play because otherwise they're never going to score. There was a hilarious moment in the ESPN broadcast of the Champions League final of last season when one of the commentators was busy insisting that Barca needed to stop playing their passing game and try hoofing long balls into the box to break Arsenal down when Eto'o completed a lightning fast passing move by scoring the levelling goal. At the beginning of the Premiership season I felt bad for Arsenal for precisely this reason - everyone was saying the same thing about them, except they did actually have a scoring problem. For both teams, though, that style is part of their identity. To insist that a team like Barca need to use long-ball tactics to score goals is to miss the point.
Finally, great stadium atmosphere at Bremen, I have to say. Now if only we can pack the Camp Nou and give the German team a similar reception when they visit. Actually, before that, we have to 'welcome' Chelsea, but I'm sure that won't be a problem for the faithful at all. Reproduce the atmosphere of last season's semi-final home leg against AC Milan and Camp Nou will really live up to its reputation.
Up next, my take on round 5 of La Liga.
Without futher ado:
Werder Bremen (4-1-3-2): Wiese; Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Schulz; Baumann; Frings, Borowski, Diego; Hunt (Owomoyela 91'), Klose
FC Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdés; Oleguer, Thuram, Puyol, Sylvinho (Zambrotta 82') ; Motta, Iniesta, Deco; Giuly (Messi 65'), Eto'o (Gudjohnson 65'), Ronaldinho
Goals:1-0 Puyol o.g. (56')
1-1 Messi (89')
The Match
Barca were disastrous for the first 15 minutes. Just incredibly poor, no coherence, inability to string two passes together, Motta, Iniesta and Giuly invisible against Bremen's physical approach.
Both Ronaldinho and Deco said after the match that Barca's troubles stemmed from lacking a man in midfield, and I think that's evident from the match itself. As Ronaldinho dropped back into a midfield position the team improved greatly, got lots more possession and started getting shots on goal. Before that we were just getting out-hustled and out-manned in the middle of the park, which is just not something that happens to Barcelona. That said, Motta, Iniesta and Giuly were still not getting involved enough. I expect that kind of thing out of Giuly because he just has a game like that once in a while, but not people like Iniesta and Motta who have aspirations of becoming starters ahead of very good players in Edmilson and Xavi. To be fair, Iniesta improved as the game went on, but that's not going to change his supersub status. Motta is a whole other kettle of fish I will discuss later.
Nice to see the edge come into Barca's game after the own goal, although I wish it could have been there from the very beginning. After that it became more of an even game, with Barca picking up greater steam after each of the substitutions. Messi immediately made the right wing threatening again and in fact lifted the whole offence to a better level. Zambrotta's entrance meant that Barca's ability to recover lost possession got much better immediately, which was invaluable leading up to the goal. In the end, Deco and Messi combined to rescue a point for Barcelona with a typically Barca move.
I disagree strongly with those who say that Barca were outclassed all over the park. If they were, why was Bremen's only goal scored by Puyol? Hunt had a great game in every other aspect, but his finishing was pretty bad. So many chances wasted with speculative efforts from range. Klose on the other hand couldn't be blamed for not scoring since he wasn't even fully fit and was a bit unlucky as well. I agree that Barca's midfield were beaten by Bremen's, and all credit to them, especially Frings and Diego, but the two teams were in no way a class apart from each other. That said, Barca will need to get into form quickly if they even want to get out of the group.
Barca
Forwards
I'm going to miss Eto'o a lot, no matter how well his replacements do. Did you see that run he made on about the 22nd minute mark? Intercepted the ball from a Bremen corner, ran the whole length of the pitch lightning quick and was only stopped by Frings' interception just outside the box. This is why I love him as a player. The forward line as a whole were ineffective before the double substitution, but Eto'o worked as hard as ever before he had to go off. Get well soon, Sammy.
Gudjohnsen looked a little shaky, but comparisons with Eto'o are never flattering and he did the best he could, making some good passes and holding off defenders well. His ability to penetrate a good defence by himself is something I'm not yet convinced by, but we'll see.
Ronaldinho was ordinary. I think that's the best way to describe his performance. He improved after Messi and Gudjohnsen came on, but if Sylvinho wasn't the nice guy we all know he is, he could have smacked Ronnie for wasting the nth great pass/cross from him. I won't slam him, because he always starts slowly and maybe things will improve soon, but it is worrying.
Like I mentioned above, Giuly had one of those games. Undoubtedly a great player, he's nevertheless prone to unstable form - one moment he's scoring the goal that sends Barca to the Champions League final, the next he's unable to get a touch of the ball all game. Not his fault, especially against such a big, physical team, and not exactly worrying given how good his replacement is.
Stand up Leo Messi, or as some Barca fans cheekily call him, the 'Messi-ah'. Visitors to this blog will have seen my rambling rebukes of what some in the media have called his loss of form. Like Rijkaard said, though, one flat match does not a loss of form make. Cutting through all the arguments about his deficiencies in front of goal, his age and physical strength, I believe that what counts is the fact that Messi always delivers when Barca needs him to. Case in point: scoring the vital game-tying goal.
Midfielders
I thought Deco was the best of the midfielders, which - it has to be said - is not a great achievement in this match. He did the best he could while being constantly harried by 3, 4 Bremen players and coped better than Iniesta with the physical aspects of the game. Tracked back to help defend well, as always, and was rewarded for his labours by making the Barca goal with a great pass. For those who wonder why Deco is never rotated (including yours truly), I guess we have the answer. Truly a born winner, and Barca are lucky to have him.
If my assessment of Iniesta above in the match report sounded harsh, rest assured he's actually one of my favourite Barca players. Great runs through the middle of the pitch, good passing vision, spirited hard work and a nice shooting touch combines to make him a potentially fearsome player. He is, however, young and still growing. The defensive aspect of his game needs work, since the great effort he puts in doesn't always pay off. He also needs lessons from Deco on how to cope with being kicked around - not by diving, god forbid; that's the one thing I dislike about Deco, and hopefully he won't pass it on to the young guys. Right now Iniesta does great work regularly as an impact sub, but I do have to question Rijkaard's decision to start him against a team like Bremen. Maybe Xavi was tired out from the difficult game against Valencia or nursing a knock. Otherwise I can't see his reasoning.
On to the complicated problem of Thiago Motta. For those of you who don't frequent Barca fan forums, Motta is a regular hate-figure for Barca supporters along with Oleguer, who I'll discuss below. I'm usually reluctant to join in with what I see as unfair blame being heaped on the poor guy, but in this case...well. He's actually not a bad passer of the ball, but defensively rather worrying. In that aspect I would rate him ahead of Iniesta and Xavi but still not good enough for a defensive midfielder. It is said that Rijkaard rates Motta because he sees the young Brazilian as a player in his own image, but I really don't see it - yet. He is far from effective as a midfield destroyer in current form. I'm not saying he doesn't put in the effort. The problem is that his tackling is often so untidy and badly timed that it leads to either comedy defending or him being booked. That said, I'd like to see a midfield of Deco-Motta-Edmilson against Chelsea again, if possible, since to me Motta does provide a combination of defensive muscle and forward movement that meshes well with Deco and Edmilson's game against a side like Chelsea.
Defenders
Sylvinho played a blinder offensively, I thought, and the lack of product was more due to the forwards (particularly Ronaldinho) not being able to do anything with his wonderful crosses and throughballs than anything else. He faded towards the end of the game and the decision to bring on Zambrotta was the correct one, but that doesn't affect the overall strength of his performance. Not too many problems in defence, which was a pleasant surprise.
As for the great Lilian Thuram - what can I say? Yet another commanding performance from the ageless Frenchman. Let almost nothing past him, great tackling and marking, domination in the air - the best of the Barca defenders, to me, even with the errors he did make. I've just been amazed by his defensive style. He's played 3 games for Barca this season and you can count the number of times he's been called for a foul on the fingers of one hand. Motta should take lessons in how to time your tackles from this guy. Definitely the new Larsson, since he also began with lowered expectations from the fans because of his age and has gone on to win their affection with his attitude and general excellence.
Poor Puyol. The great folks at a pretty move call him the Armoured Saint, which I love because it's a great reflection of just how committed, genuine and hardworking he is, and how much the fans adore him for it. He looked so crushed with the own goal. As much as Bremen deserved a goal, Puyol certainly didn't deserve that. What a comedown after scoring his first goal in European competition against Levski Sofia. Other than that, he was fairly solid in central defence. Late on a couple of Bremen moves, but made up for it by working his ass off, as usual. No Barca supporter would have blamed him even if his own goal had cost the team all the points, which to me says it all, really.
I don't like to criticize Oleguer because he gets so much stick from the fans as it is, but if you look at Bremen's attacks, the most threatening ones came through the right, and he failed to close that wing down. That said, he grew into the game as it went on and made some great interceptions in the last 10 minutes or so. My guess is that having not played a full game since the beginning of the season, he needed sometime to get back to match sharpness, and throwing him in at the deep end wasn't a good way to do that. To me, he's a center-back, not a right-back. Barca have 2 actual right-backs in Belletti and Zambrotta, and while Belletti is defensively questionable that shouldn't mean poor Oleguer gets to play out of position and get blamed for everything that goes wrong.
Lastly, pride of place goes to Valdes, who did very well coping with being put under constant pressure, especially in the first half, a position he's not exactly used to. Some great saves, and generally an assured performance. I remember watching El Clasico from November of last year and swearing at the TV as he flapped at Madrid's ineffective crosses and mishit shots. Thankfully, he's improved since then. Perhaps Valdes should be given the benefit of the doubt now, especially after doing so well in the Champions League final.
Rijkaard
I do not understand why this man is constantly belittled by the fans. I do not understand why even now some fans want him replaced with a 'big name'. Maybe he doesn't shout enough? To me, Barca's recent successes could not have come without him. He's admirably forthright, level-headed and very, very good at man-management. Sure, some of his starting choices might seem a little inexplicable, even to a fan of the man like me, but his substitutions are usually pretty much spot-on. Those who were bitching about the starting line-up after the game might want to recall that the team had just played a gruelling match against Valencia a couple of days ago in which half the team got the stuffing kicked out of them. Hence the rotations. Anyway, enough of that, another rant for another day.
Team
Not impressive, frankly. I know that Barca's style can be hampered by teams who snap at their heels all over the pitch, but that should not be an excuse for a team with title aspirations. Almost every team will try to stop Barca playing their game that way, and we should be dealing with that. That said, it is a good sign that the team is able to continue playing in the same style even when a goal down and come back strongly. Everyone is working hard and doing their best. Considering that it took Barca until mid-October of last year to really start playing well, I'm not panicking just yet.
However, the loss of Eto'o is massive. My initial reaction was one of complete despair. I felt like we could kiss all the titles goodbye. But if the team can click with either one of his replacements - both quality players in their own right - then all hope is not lost. Let's just see what happens over the next month.
Bremen
Klose is a great forward who I quite like, but there's just one thing I can't stand about him. It's the way he always looks like he's going to injure the goalkeeper crashing into him going up for 50/50 balls in the box. Remember that knee in the ribs of Argentinean goalkeeper Abbondanzieri which meant he had to go off with an injury in the World Cup quarterfinals? I do, because I'm convinced that started the chain of events which led to Argentina losing the game. My heart stopped everytime him and Valdes crashed into each other. Thank God nothing bad happened. Anyhow, that's enough bias from me.
That Naldo, though, what a great defender. So fast and good with his positioning as well - I haven't see a defender keep up with Eto'o so well for a while, and he completely shut Ronaldinho down when the Brazilian went up against him.
Frings and Diego both had great games, and I've already talked about Hunt. Borowski was less involved, but the point about Bremen's performance isn't who did what - they performed well as a team. Everything clicked together, everyone gave their all. If they can continue playing like this, they'll trouble Chelsea when they come to visit, which makes it even more important for Barca to win their other games against Levski and Bremen and try for a result against Chelsea.
A note about commentary
The ESPN commentators were better than some of the guys they had for the World Cup, but God - did a player have to kill someone to get booked in the eyes of these guys? Or do they just watch a lot of Premiership games? I mean, yes, the ref did stop play a bit too much, but those Bremen midfielders play rough, and guys like Motta aren't exactly gentle defenders either.
Also, I get so fed up with commentators who keep saying that Barca need to basically abandon their style of play because otherwise they're never going to score. There was a hilarious moment in the ESPN broadcast of the Champions League final of last season when one of the commentators was busy insisting that Barca needed to stop playing their passing game and try hoofing long balls into the box to break Arsenal down when Eto'o completed a lightning fast passing move by scoring the levelling goal. At the beginning of the Premiership season I felt bad for Arsenal for precisely this reason - everyone was saying the same thing about them, except they did actually have a scoring problem. For both teams, though, that style is part of their identity. To insist that a team like Barca need to use long-ball tactics to score goals is to miss the point.
Finally, great stadium atmosphere at Bremen, I have to say. Now if only we can pack the Camp Nou and give the German team a similar reception when they visit. Actually, before that, we have to 'welcome' Chelsea, but I'm sure that won't be a problem for the faithful at all. Reproduce the atmosphere of last season's semi-final home leg against AC Milan and Camp Nou will really live up to its reputation.
Up next, my take on round 5 of La Liga.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Musings on the second round la liga games
Atletico Madrid 0-1 Valencia
...what did I say about Fernando Torres in my last post? Add to the against column 'not very good as a captain', since captains are supposed to stop their players from starting stupid arguments with the referee instead of indulging in the stupidity he should be keeping others from.
Now that I've said that, though, he's probably going to score a hat-trick when Spain play Argentina in October.
In current form he's certainly a better central striker than Raul, but I'm not convinced he's worth pushing David Villa out to the wings for - especially after Villa scored what turned out to be the winning goal for Valencia.
Sergio Aguero made his competitive debut at home and looked good, prompting more media pressure on the Atletico coach to play him instead of Mista with Torres. He had a couple of good efforts cleared off the line by fellow Argentinean, the generally scary and very impressive Roberto Ayala, one of my favourite defenders.
Objectively it's probably a good idea to ease Aguero into La Liga with the substitute appearances he's been making instead of throwing him in at the deep end, given the past history of other Argentinean stars not settling down in Spain in their first season. That said, though, given Torres' suspension for the next game, maybe we will finally see Aguero play the full 90. He needs to be playing regularly if he wants to make the next Argentinean NT, at least according to Basile's loud disclaimer that he would not be picking players based on reputation.
There has been speculation that the remark was aimed towards the well-known youngsters - like Tevez, for example, or more pointedly the insanely popular Messi. Which brings me onto the next match.
Barcelona 3-0 Osasuna
I was very, very relieved that Barca won this match and won it comfortably. Getting the three points in the last round was not enough to silence the circling vultures otherwise known as the sporting press, but this will surely help. Poor Osasuna though, what a rough start to the season after losing their very impressive coach (who guided them to a fourth place finish last season) to the aftementioned Atletico. First being dumped out of the Champions League by Hamburg, then losing their first two matches.
This was an important win for Barca, especially with the first Champions League game in the undisputed group of death coming up. The team played well in the first half, but eased off in the second - fair enough, given that they were up by 3 goals and Osasuna only had 2 or 3 good chances for the whole match.
For Barca, scoring the first break-through goal seems to be the vital thing. After that things become much easier, since the other team have to come out looking for an equaliser instead of just parking the bus. Before that first goal comes it can be very frustrating not being able to penetrate despite having overwhelming amounts of possession. Case in point is the same fixture last season, where Barca couldn't score until the second half and eventually came away 3-0 winners, the first goal freeing them up to play their usual game. Fortunately, then, the opening goal for Barca came after just 90 seconds this time.
Eto'o had a great match, scoring two lovely goals and setting up the third for Messi. I love watching him - he's obviously a bit barking mad, but what a player. Blazingly fast, lethal in front of goal, and industrious too - even if his attempts at defending aren't the most impressive, at least he tries hard. Ronaldinho turned in a workman like performance with the occasional flourish, as did Messi, Deco and Xavi.
Further special mention must be made of the Argentinean wonderkid, though. The Chinese commentator on CCTV5 had barely finished doubting his touch in front of goal when he scored what one site described as a 'cheeky' goal by drilling the ball precisely between the legs of the 'keeper. Frequently dogged by doubts from the chattering classes ever since his debut for Barca, first on whether he was too young to be a starter, too physically weak, too inexperienced for the big stage, and lately, after all that has been dispelled, about his shooting ability. Admittedly 6 goals in La Liga last season isn't very impressive, but factoring in the minutes he actually got to play in between being injured and being disqualified it's not all that bad. Before his long injury lay-off against Chelsea he had even been on a bit of a scoring streak, with 5 goals in 4 games. Still, his finishing was pretty suspect, netting difficult chances but blowing some easy ones.
Messi is 2 for 2 so far this season, above and beyond any expectations I had. Barca doesn't rely on him to supply goals, especially when Eto'o is around, but it would be very good for the team if he could start scoring not only pretty goals but mundane ones as well.
Moving on, the defence deserves some scrutiny for this match. Puyol was rested for the first time in forever, which would have been a momentous decision by Rijkaard, since we lost the last 5 games we played without him. I say would have been, because it actually was made a lot easier by the presence of venerable French defender Lilian Thuram. Puyol had given his all - as usual - in Spain's match against Northern Ireland, picked up a few knocks and was exhausted. He had also played somewhat poorly if reports are to be believed.
Confession time: I really like Thuram, for his wire-frame-glasses-wearing, eloquent, conscientious persona as much as for his excellence on the field. He played the full 90 minutes alongside French-speaking Rafa Marquez in central midfield against Osasuna and gave a wonderful performance, repelling pretty much everything thrown at him and even throwing in a couple of flair moves. Case in point: a well-timed, clean tackle to rob Raul Garcia on the edge of the box, and then a backheel clearance. You'd never believe he's 34 years old.
Zambrotta, the younger and more recently world-cup-winning of the former Juventus pair, also played well, occasionally chipping in to the attack. Of the two, he's more liable to give away freekicks, sometimes needlessly. Poor guy needs to adapt to the Spanish definition of what a foul is after giving away the freekick that led to the equalizing goal in the last game against Celta. Works brilliantly with Thuram, though, as you'd expect. Barca fans are eagerly awaiting the formation of an attacking partnership with Messi down the right, and the early signs look good, even if they don't even speak the same language yet.
Marquez had his usual solid game, working well with Thuram (helpful that they have a common language, at least) and contributing dangerous passes into the midfield and the attack. Sylvinho was very impressive offensively with great runs down the left and defensively unperturbed by poor Soldado, Osasuna's lone striker up front. I don't know how Rijkaard is going to rotate him with Gio in this form. Valdes...was Valdes. Good reflex saves, but never feels quite assured when there are crosses to be dealt with and inconsistent with his distribution.
It's all systems go, looks like, for the Champions League game versus Levski Sofia.
Other results that caught my interest
Getafe won again against Racing Santander (1-0) - Bernard Schuster is a true miracle worker. Tiny budget, players picked from the second division? No problem. Signing hard-to-spell Argentinean NT goalkeeper 'Pato' Abbondanzieri (I just had to go and look it up) was a great move. Contrary to reputation, he's actually very, very good. Adept with crosses, excellent distributor, calm under pressure and has an incredible record with penalty shootouts - not that Getafe are going to need that last much.
Real Madrid thrashed newly promoted Levante (1-4), who were fresh from a beating by Sevilla in the last round. Ruud van Nistelrooy had a hat-trick, despite missing a penalty. A good day for Real after the bore-draw that was their last round match with Villarreal.
Speaking of which, the Yellow Submarines somehow contrived to lose to Recreativo (0-1). They really need to pick themselves up soon if they want to go back to Europe next year, because the competition looks pretty fierce.
Sevilla, one of the competition, won again (1-3) against Real Sociedad. They're really looking good after thrashing off-colour Barca 3-0 in the European Super Cup and winning their first two games comfortably. And all that after losing 3-0 in pre-season to Manchester United, which...I won't comment on.
Zaragoza won 3-0 against Espanyol, in a game which contained nearly as many Argentineans as an Internationale or Villarreal training session. Zaragoza won despite having defender Ponzio sent off fairly early on. Pablo Aimar scored the opener, and their other big signing Andres D'Alessandro also played well. Their second was scored by striker Diego Milito. Espanyol's best chance in the second half - in which they too had a man sent off - came from Pablo Zabaleta, one of my favourite young players. I mention the above names because they're all Argentinean.
...what did I say about Fernando Torres in my last post? Add to the against column 'not very good as a captain', since captains are supposed to stop their players from starting stupid arguments with the referee instead of indulging in the stupidity he should be keeping others from.
Now that I've said that, though, he's probably going to score a hat-trick when Spain play Argentina in October.
In current form he's certainly a better central striker than Raul, but I'm not convinced he's worth pushing David Villa out to the wings for - especially after Villa scored what turned out to be the winning goal for Valencia.
Sergio Aguero made his competitive debut at home and looked good, prompting more media pressure on the Atletico coach to play him instead of Mista with Torres. He had a couple of good efforts cleared off the line by fellow Argentinean, the generally scary and very impressive Roberto Ayala, one of my favourite defenders.
Objectively it's probably a good idea to ease Aguero into La Liga with the substitute appearances he's been making instead of throwing him in at the deep end, given the past history of other Argentinean stars not settling down in Spain in their first season. That said, though, given Torres' suspension for the next game, maybe we will finally see Aguero play the full 90. He needs to be playing regularly if he wants to make the next Argentinean NT, at least according to Basile's loud disclaimer that he would not be picking players based on reputation.
There has been speculation that the remark was aimed towards the well-known youngsters - like Tevez, for example, or more pointedly the insanely popular Messi. Which brings me onto the next match.
Barcelona 3-0 Osasuna
I was very, very relieved that Barca won this match and won it comfortably. Getting the three points in the last round was not enough to silence the circling vultures otherwise known as the sporting press, but this will surely help. Poor Osasuna though, what a rough start to the season after losing their very impressive coach (who guided them to a fourth place finish last season) to the aftementioned Atletico. First being dumped out of the Champions League by Hamburg, then losing their first two matches.
This was an important win for Barca, especially with the first Champions League game in the undisputed group of death coming up. The team played well in the first half, but eased off in the second - fair enough, given that they were up by 3 goals and Osasuna only had 2 or 3 good chances for the whole match.
For Barca, scoring the first break-through goal seems to be the vital thing. After that things become much easier, since the other team have to come out looking for an equaliser instead of just parking the bus. Before that first goal comes it can be very frustrating not being able to penetrate despite having overwhelming amounts of possession. Case in point is the same fixture last season, where Barca couldn't score until the second half and eventually came away 3-0 winners, the first goal freeing them up to play their usual game. Fortunately, then, the opening goal for Barca came after just 90 seconds this time.
Eto'o had a great match, scoring two lovely goals and setting up the third for Messi. I love watching him - he's obviously a bit barking mad, but what a player. Blazingly fast, lethal in front of goal, and industrious too - even if his attempts at defending aren't the most impressive, at least he tries hard. Ronaldinho turned in a workman like performance with the occasional flourish, as did Messi, Deco and Xavi.
Further special mention must be made of the Argentinean wonderkid, though. The Chinese commentator on CCTV5 had barely finished doubting his touch in front of goal when he scored what one site described as a 'cheeky' goal by drilling the ball precisely between the legs of the 'keeper. Frequently dogged by doubts from the chattering classes ever since his debut for Barca, first on whether he was too young to be a starter, too physically weak, too inexperienced for the big stage, and lately, after all that has been dispelled, about his shooting ability. Admittedly 6 goals in La Liga last season isn't very impressive, but factoring in the minutes he actually got to play in between being injured and being disqualified it's not all that bad. Before his long injury lay-off against Chelsea he had even been on a bit of a scoring streak, with 5 goals in 4 games. Still, his finishing was pretty suspect, netting difficult chances but blowing some easy ones.
Messi is 2 for 2 so far this season, above and beyond any expectations I had. Barca doesn't rely on him to supply goals, especially when Eto'o is around, but it would be very good for the team if he could start scoring not only pretty goals but mundane ones as well.
Moving on, the defence deserves some scrutiny for this match. Puyol was rested for the first time in forever, which would have been a momentous decision by Rijkaard, since we lost the last 5 games we played without him. I say would have been, because it actually was made a lot easier by the presence of venerable French defender Lilian Thuram. Puyol had given his all - as usual - in Spain's match against Northern Ireland, picked up a few knocks and was exhausted. He had also played somewhat poorly if reports are to be believed.
Confession time: I really like Thuram, for his wire-frame-glasses-wearing, eloquent, conscientious persona as much as for his excellence on the field. He played the full 90 minutes alongside French-speaking Rafa Marquez in central midfield against Osasuna and gave a wonderful performance, repelling pretty much everything thrown at him and even throwing in a couple of flair moves. Case in point: a well-timed, clean tackle to rob Raul Garcia on the edge of the box, and then a backheel clearance. You'd never believe he's 34 years old.
Zambrotta, the younger and more recently world-cup-winning of the former Juventus pair, also played well, occasionally chipping in to the attack. Of the two, he's more liable to give away freekicks, sometimes needlessly. Poor guy needs to adapt to the Spanish definition of what a foul is after giving away the freekick that led to the equalizing goal in the last game against Celta. Works brilliantly with Thuram, though, as you'd expect. Barca fans are eagerly awaiting the formation of an attacking partnership with Messi down the right, and the early signs look good, even if they don't even speak the same language yet.
Marquez had his usual solid game, working well with Thuram (helpful that they have a common language, at least) and contributing dangerous passes into the midfield and the attack. Sylvinho was very impressive offensively with great runs down the left and defensively unperturbed by poor Soldado, Osasuna's lone striker up front. I don't know how Rijkaard is going to rotate him with Gio in this form. Valdes...was Valdes. Good reflex saves, but never feels quite assured when there are crosses to be dealt with and inconsistent with his distribution.
It's all systems go, looks like, for the Champions League game versus Levski Sofia.
Other results that caught my interest
Getafe won again against Racing Santander (1-0) - Bernard Schuster is a true miracle worker. Tiny budget, players picked from the second division? No problem. Signing hard-to-spell Argentinean NT goalkeeper 'Pato' Abbondanzieri (I just had to go and look it up) was a great move. Contrary to reputation, he's actually very, very good. Adept with crosses, excellent distributor, calm under pressure and has an incredible record with penalty shootouts - not that Getafe are going to need that last much.
Real Madrid thrashed newly promoted Levante (1-4), who were fresh from a beating by Sevilla in the last round. Ruud van Nistelrooy had a hat-trick, despite missing a penalty. A good day for Real after the bore-draw that was their last round match with Villarreal.
Speaking of which, the Yellow Submarines somehow contrived to lose to Recreativo (0-1). They really need to pick themselves up soon if they want to go back to Europe next year, because the competition looks pretty fierce.
Sevilla, one of the competition, won again (1-3) against Real Sociedad. They're really looking good after thrashing off-colour Barca 3-0 in the European Super Cup and winning their first two games comfortably. And all that after losing 3-0 in pre-season to Manchester United, which...I won't comment on.
Zaragoza won 3-0 against Espanyol, in a game which contained nearly as many Argentineans as an Internationale or Villarreal training session. Zaragoza won despite having defender Ponzio sent off fairly early on. Pablo Aimar scored the opener, and their other big signing Andres D'Alessandro also played well. Their second was scored by striker Diego Milito. Espanyol's best chance in the second half - in which they too had a man sent off - came from Pablo Zabaleta, one of my favourite young players. I mention the above names because they're all Argentinean.
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