should they stay or should they go?

All signs point to major changes in the Barcelona squad next season. My (massively long, as it turns out) two cents on who should be staying and who needs to be ushered out the door below.

Keep in mind, though, that I haven't taken any economic considerations (e.g. selling X will get us some cash to spend on Y) into account.

Defence

Victor Valdes - had some blunders, but overall a decent season. The problems in defence cannot be entirely attributed to him. Keep.

Albert Jorquera - unfortunate to have missed so much of the season through an ACL injury. To be honest, though, he only ever plays cup matches and has never given Valdes a run for his money. Has signed a recent extension though, so barring any surprises he'll be staying.

Jose Manuel Pinto - Haven't played too many games, but has looked decent when he has been given opportunities, and his impressive record in the Primera before he came to Barca has convinced me that he deserves a chance. But with Jorquera having signed an extension not too long ago, I'm fairly sure he will get sent back to Celta.

Gabi Milito - his ACL injury was a massive blow. Started the season brightly and quickly cemented a leadership role in the team. His form dipped towards the end of the season, but in my opinion he was a solid purchase. Keep. (Get well soon, Gabi!)

Rafael Marquez - Rafa is that endangered species, the cultured centerback who can put in the tackles and pick out a pass. When he's on, he's brilliant. But he's been injured far too much in the last two seasons, and - more importantly - his commitment to the cause has been lacking. (Staying in Madrid to party after the Clasico defeat? Last nail in the coffin.) Sell, much as it pains me, and much as we'll struggle to replace him.

Carles Puyol - Poor old Captain Caveman. As Rijkaard once said, he's often the only man shouting in the desert in this Barca side in recent years. His commitment is unquestionable, and this team cannot do without him. Keep - or there will be rioting in the streets.

Gianluca Zambrotta - has never really hit the heights that he once reached for Juventus and Italy. It's a shame, really, because he is clearly a classy defender who can also go forward intelligently. I would love for him to stay, but all signs point toward him leaving to go back to Italy.

Sylvinho - couldn't get into the team at the start of the season when Abidal was on form, but when he did play he did a decent job. A positive influence on the younger players off the pitch as well, so I'm pleased to hear that he is negotiating a contract extension.

Lilian Thuram - still undeniably classy, but his legs have clearly gone. I would like him to stay if only because of the positive influence he has within the dressing room, much like Henrik Larsson did, but it doesn't seem possible. Will most likely be allowed to walk away.

Eric Abidal - started the season so well and ended it so badly. I'm not quite sure what happened, to be honest. He's clearly a great athlete and a wonderful player when on form, but his head went walkabout during the second half of the season. Keep - let's just hope he can get himself back on track.

Oleguer Presas - has had a horrible season, much of it disrupted by various injuries. Most fans seem to be in favour of booting him out the door, but I think he's a handy guy to have around, even if he gives me hives when he plays at right-back. Remember, he played quite a lot at center-back a couple of seasons back and that worked out okay. No idea what's going to happen to him. It's not like we'd get decent money if we sold him, and I doubt he's on much in terms of wages, so we might as well keep him around. (I confess, part of me is saying this because I want to see the book group him and Guardiola would inevitably end up forming.)

Midfield

Xavi Hernandez - this season was vice-captain Xavi's tenth at Barca. He is now the player who has appeared the most times for Barca in European competition, and inching up the all-time appearances list as well, having overtaken Pep Guardiola. One more personal record - he has scored 9 goals this season, many of them crucial. Aside from that, his passing was as dependable as ever, although he did not always manage to escape the malaise when the team were slumping. Keep, of course.

Eidur Gudjohnsen - hasn't played as much as he would have liked, and when he has played his performances have been uneven. Has shown his potential as a midfielder in some games, but in others he still looks to be on a different wave length to his team mates. Surely unhappy with being on the bench so often, a good offer would probably persuade him to leave. I'll miss him, but - sell.

Andres Iniesta - one of the most underrated players in all of Europe. I said in my review of last season that he'd come of age then. Well, if last season was his coming of age, then this season has seen him add to his already extensive set of skills and step up as one of the quiet leaders of the team while others floundered. (A minor complaint, but I do wish he'd cut out the blatant diving. It's unbecoming of a player as good as he is.) He's only 24, but has already racked up an astonishing 200 appearances for the club. Keep - he's going to be a club legend.

Edmilson - Poor old Edmilson. I can clearly remember him being a decent holding midfielder who specialised in man-marking creative players out of the game, not too long ago. A series of injuries have meant that he only played a few games this season, and that when he has played he has generally been awful. That combined with a certain ill-timed outburst this season means that he is sure to be off-loaded. Sell.

Deco - ah, Deco. He has always inspired adoration and frustration from me in equal measure. Injury problems have dogged him this season, but when he has been fully fit he has generally played well, and Barca have no other players who can do what he can. But at the same time his off-field problems have been well-documented. The booking that he picked up in the game against Valencia (most likely deliberate), forcing him to miss the Clasico was probably the last nail in his coffin. I would like for him to stay, if only because I can't see how we're going to replace him, but he's clearly going to leave. It's a shame that it has to be on such a bad note, after all he's done for Barca during the good times.

Toure Yaya - a brilliant first season where he won over the fans with his tremendous power, skill, work rate, and above all his commitment to the cause. Not going anywhere unless the Powers That Be have a sudden attack of insanity.

Forward

Santiago Ezquerro - also known as '...who?' Poor Santi. His move to Barca pretty much halted his career in its tracks, although he did get some nice silverware, a decent salary and a lot of free time in return. It's probably best for all parties involved that Santi finds a club where he's not stuck behind a 17-year-old in the pecking order. Sell.

Giovani Dos Santos - a tricky one, this. He's clearly extremely talented, and capable of being a team player. On the other hand, he's a habitual diver (and terrible at it, too, which makes it even more embarrassing), can be frustratingly individualistic, and is reportedly well on the way to diva-dom even before he's gotten good enough or famous enough to earn the attitude. His flirtations with other clubs is also unbecoming for a young player, especially one who comes from the cantera. I'd like to give him another season to impress, but if he's set on the cash being offered elsewhere, then that's just too bad.

Bojan Krkic - phenomenal. Least we all forget, he's just 17 years old. Ten goals and countless fearless performances have made him an idol of the fans, and rightly so. I am wary of too much pressure being put on his shoulders too soon, though. It is entirely unreasonable to expect someone so young and inexperienced to carry the front-line, and we all need to remember that before we criticize him. The only problem I can see is that he's a bit too lightweight right now so defenders can just bully him off the ball. Hopefully there's still a growth spurt in him somewhere - the bulking up can be done easily enough. Do I even need to say it? - Keep.

Leo Messi - worryingly, another injury-ravaged season for poor Leo. He was absolutely amazing from about September to December, when he got injured. We only got to see his brilliance in patches after that. Looked increasingly depressed as the end of the season approached even as he battled on determinedly while many around him faltered or simply gave up - and who can blame him, especially since he's so close to Ronaldinho, Deco and Frank Rijkaard, all of whom are leaving? Keep - unless the board likes the idea of being chased out of the city by an angry mob.

Samuel Eto'o - yet another unfortunately injury-ravaged season for Sammy. That, added to the after-effects of the African Cup of Nations, meant that he really lost form towards the end of the season, but even so his strike rate - 16 goals in 16 league games - is pretty amazing. The way he missed the Clasico, though, really made me angry (even though he's one of my favourite players) and lowered his standing amongst the fans considerably. On the other hand, he's still only 27, and I have faith that he can recover his form. Remember, he scored 71 goals in 100 appearances with us. While his sale would raise some money, how much would it take to buy a striker who could boast the same efficiency? Keep - at least for one more season.

Thierry Henry - while Henry has gotten a lot of abuse for his perceived inadequacies this season, I have actually grown from a sort of half-mocking fondness to quite liking him. His professionalism and refusal to get involved in dressing room infighting in particular has been commendable. (Also, this is not often said, but he sure works far harder in defence than Ronaldinho did.) Sure, some of his comments have been perceived as whining, but think about it - he's new to the league, he's unexpectedly (due to the injury to Eto'o) had to play far more games than his dodgy back is supposed to be able to handle, and he's had to adapt to Barca's way of playing. 19 goals in 39 appearances isn't actually that bad a return, in the end, and he showed some signs of finally starting to adapt towards the end of the season. I think he deserves another chance.

Ronaldinho - I've changed my mind about Ronnie so many times this season. Every time I think 'that's it, that's enough' he comes back and produces something on the pitch to make me think otherwise. I'm sure a lot of Barca fans feel the same way, if the home crowd at the Camp Nou are any indication. But finally, I think that really is enough. No one can deny what he's done for the club, and no one can deny that he's still potentially one of the greatest players ever, but I think the time for an intervention at Barca has passed. If he is to rescue his career, it will have to be somewhere else. It's sad that yet another Brazilian superstar has to exit by the back door (Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo...), but I simply can't see any other way. I'll write a longer tribute to his time at the club when the transfer goes through, but it certainly feels like I've already been saying goodbye to Ronnie for months, if not years.



By the way, most of the spine of the 04-06 side are up for contract renewals next season. Just something to think about.

And it might be a good idea to upgrade Messi's contract, too. He's not going around asking for a contract that matches his present status because he is Cule through and through and because he's not a jerk, but given that his present contract was signed before he became a regular starter, it probably needs an update.

Speaking of which, the board better have a professional contract drafted and ready to be signed by Bojan as soon as he turns 18. No one is snatching him away.

Even by the most conservative estimates (and taking into account possible new promotions from the B team) we are going to need at least 6 or 7 new players. This is going to be an interesting transfer window, that's for sure.

Lyon 2 - 2 Barca ('our forward line is how old?!' edition) and Barcelona derby preview

Against Lyon, a great European side, Barca's 3-man forward line had an average age of 20. Eto'o wasn't quite fit enough yet, Henry's body had finally given out after playing continuously while not 100% fit, and Ronaldinho was on the bench. Andres Iniesta, 23; Lionel Messi, 20; and Bojan Krkic, 17, a forward line crafted in the Barca youth academies, led the line in their stead. And they did a good job, I think it's fair to say, as did the rest of the team. A line-up which consisted of 6 home-grown players managed a good away performance against an impressive Lyon side without the superstar forwards, and without Deco.

In fact, they were excellent in the first 20 minutes, playing rapid, fluid football, and while the rest of the game was not as pleasing on the eye, what made me happy was the mentality on display, a sense of aggression and team work that had been missing from some recent Barca performances. That youthful forward line combined to produce a first goal made in La Masia from a swift counter-attack which took full advantage of their skills and pace.

It's good to see that the midfield doesn't get bossed around as much when Gudjohnsen is there to help Yaya out, but I think there's still a bit of bite missing which should hopefully be remedied when Deco returns from injury.

Both Yaya and Messi are one yellow away from suspension in the Champions League, which means that they'll probably be rested for the last game against Stuttgart, for which Carles Puyol is suspended because of accumulation of yellow cards.

One of the big talking points about the game was the fact that Ronaldinho was a substitute. I've already hinted at what I think is one of the reasons - the team configuration without him allows for more aggressiveness and speed, but I also think that if Rijkaard thinks that he's not ready to play due to either mental or physical fatigue, I trust the coach's judgement.

Rijkaard and the ref

The other big talking point is Frank Rijkaard's sending off. Stefan Farina, the referee, is fast turning into Rijkaard's semi-comedic nemesis. Some of you may recall that he was the referee in the controversial 2-2 draw between Barca and Chelsea at the Camp Nou last season, where he booked a billion players and attracted Rijkaard's ire for 1) deciding on 6 minutes of stoppage time when Barca were leading 2-1, and 2) ending the match on 5 minutes of said stoppage time after Chelsea got their late equaliser. I didn't blame him for the shambles both teams made of the game at the time, but this is the second time he's lost control of the players in a physical game, tried to regain it by booking everyone in sight, and made both teams unhappy as a result.

This time, Rijkaard's ire was attracted by what he saw as Farina's failure to spot fouls on Messi. To be fair to the ref, while there were strong challenges flying in, I didn't see anything especially outrageous. Frankie was probably in the wrong this time, although the fans seem to have appreciated his show of anger on behalf of his players. This is the first time Rijkaard has been sent off since becoming Barca coach.

The players claimed that Rijkaard was only expressing their frustrations, and Xavi has claimed that the players took the words of Rijkaard (in regards to having a 'winning mentality') to heart in their approach to the game, which enabled them to play the way they did.

individual players

defence

• Valdes really should have done better on Juninho's freekick. I know that the defenders bears some responsibility for not getting to the ball, but some of the blame has to fall on Victor. Made a couple of fine saves from the good chances Lyon did get.
• Zambrotta looked a bit better, but still seemed to lack an understanding with the rest of the team, and has somehow become a defensive liability through his lapses in concentration, which is worrying. Did alright against his fellow Italian defender Grosso.
• Milito was reliable as usual, and I've really begun to appreciate his ability to hit passes out of defence. It's something I really missed while Marquez was out of form.
• Like I wrote above, Puyol is somewhat responsible for the first goal, but the rest of his performance was quite great, and as usual, he led the team by example.
• Abidal did quite well on his return to his old stomping ground, and I don't really blame him for the penalty - he was in an awkward position, there was a chance that he might commit the foul, but it was a fair chance to take.

midfield

• I'll probably end up saying this most games, but it bears repeating - Yaya Toure really is a fantastic addition to the squad. He disrupts the opposition's attempts to build play through midfield, plugs the gaps in defence and his work rate is excellent. And I haven't even mention his underrated skill on the ball - after all, he started out as a central midfielder, not a destroyer. All that and a powerful shot as well.
• Again, something else I seem to repeat every game: Andres Iniesta. Fantastic. Passing, dribbling, tackling and tracking back, Iniesta does it all, and does it well, too. Even his shooting has improved.
• Barca fans give Gudjohnsen a hard time because he's not the most technical player, and can miss some frustratingly easy chances in front of goal (e.g. that terrible miss from Messi's cross in this game), but give him credit for hard work. Without his work ethic, Barca's midfield would have been completely dominated by Lyon's, and the spirit of him and Yaya seemed to inspire the rest of the team.
• Xavi's passing was as good as ever, although it's clear that he needs either Iniesta or Deco to partner him in order to be fully effective. By the way, congratulations to him for surpassing the man he models himself on - Pep Guardiola, for those who don't know - to become 9th on Barca's all-time appearances list, with Tuesday's game being his 385th for the club.

forwards

• Is it just me or has Messi looked increasingly frustrated in the last couple of games? Don't get me wrong, he's still one of our most threatening players, and it's because the opposition devote 2 or 3 players to keep track of him that the other guys get any space to run into, but being ganged up on by so many opposition defenders all the time has to take a toll mentally. He does seem to be trying to connect with the other forwards, but an understanding takes time to form, and he's been the only constant of a forward line that has had to change all the time because of injuries and form concerns. Utterly cold-blooded penalty, as always.
  
• As Sid Lowe said in the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, Bojan is still obviously a boy, and he looks frail out there being pushed around and physically overwhelmed by big defenders. Given the boy credit for trying, though, and for still managing to make an impact on the game with his penetrating runs and two great assists.
• Ronaldinho only played 20 minutes or so and looked...alright, I suppose. It was hard to tell given the state of the game at the time. Made a couple of great passes and tried to go past people, which is what we all want to see.
  

presswatch

"Now, he should not believe everything that is said in the press because it is great when they praise you, but the day that they criticise you they will not worry about how old you are." - Samuel Eto'o on his chosen successor, one Bojan Krkic.

Too true, Sammy. This and other sensible insights from Eto'o in an interview with the official website, where he also states how pleased he is about the way the team played against Lyon.

Aren't the Catalan papers supposed to be on Barca's side? The way I see it, Marca have been friendlier and less hysterical in their reporting lately than they have.

Usually, Sport are the ones in my bad books, but I see El Mundo Deportivo has now taken up the 'heroic' task of attacking Frank Rijkaard despite all evidence to the contrary. If that game was boring then I don't know what they were watching.

And the rising tide of opinion against Messi really proves that us fans are the most fickle creatures known to man. Like Eto'o said, criticism is a ruthless and blind thing when it turns against you. Football players aren't seen as human beings once they reach a certain level of stardom.

On a more positive note, Ronaldinho has been praised for taking to being a substitute without complaint. It's nice to see some of the papers ease up on him a bit (I wish Sport would follow suit), but the very fact that him not being disgruntled is news seems strange to me - for any other player, save perhaps Eto'o and Henry, it wouldn't be, and surely it's part of the professional conduct of any player to accept the coach's decision, if not with grace, then at least quietly?

player news ahead of the Barcelona derby

Edmilson has returned to training but is some ways from being fit, not that he's likely to play for us again, and Deco and Eto'o are both on track to appear against Deportivo if all goes well. (What I really want is to see both of them fit and firing in time for El Clasico.)

Our injury problems have hit a low point: Oleguer, Sylvinho, Thuram, Henry and Giovani are also unavailable, leading to poor Frank Rijkaard resorting to two youth team players in the form of Alberto Botia and Victor Sanchez to fill up the bench. Interestingly, this means that 10 out of the list of 18 are products of the Barca academy.

On the Espanyol side, our old friend De la Pena will not be fit enough to play, but the excellent Albert Riera has been included. Young Argentine (and personal favourite of mine) Pablo Zabaleta is once again fit enough to be named in the squad.

It's not just a derby - it's a match between two of the best teams in the league, third versus fourth. May the best team win.

Visca el Barca!

Barca 3 - 0 Recreativo (return of the match report)

(graphic swiped from Sport)

Any other team might be pleased to win 3-0 (especially with most players coming off two international appearances) and gain some distance on our rivals at the top of the table, but as always, Barca are our own greatest enemy. It feels like forever since I've done one of my rambling, player-by-player match reports, so here goes.

How much can one take out of a game against a side suffering second-seasonitis, who had only 26% of the possession and no shots on goal? Well, for one, it provides a good study of the difficulties Barca have had breaking down opponents who defend in numbers both home and away, and secondly our reliance on scoring the first goal.

One caveat, though: Barca's Jekyll and Hyde syndrome means that home and away performances should probably be judged by different standards. We almost always score at home (in fact, today's game was the 50th league home game in a row that Barca have scored in), contrasted with our many difficulties in that department away, and we have a 100% home record so far this season, but haven't won away since we beat Stuttgart.

defence

Difficult to find much to say about Victor Valdes, since he didn't have a lot to do, so we'll move right on.

Puyol and Milito are a great central partnership, as everybody had hoped they would be, so it was a shame when Puyol had to come off with an injury in the second half. The latest seems to be that while - thankfully - nothing is broken, Puyol is in a lot of pain (which makes sense, as he'd never have asked to come off without a serious problem), and the doctors have yet to make a decision on whether he will travel to Lyon.

Puyol's replacement, Marquez, hasn't quite regained the impervious form of 05-06, but neither has he been as bad as he was last season. Some decent play, and he's certainly a solid enough backup.

Milito had yet another good game in the blaugrana shirt. I have to say, he did cost a fair bit, but I think the purchase has been a wise one. Good central defenders are not that easy to come by these days. Great header for the goal, which is something I've seen from him several times in the Zaragoza and Argentina shirt. Hopefully he'll bring that form to Barca, too, since we're pretty dire at scoring from corners. This is our 93rd corner of the season, and the first time it has resulted in a goal. Not good stats.


The ESPN commentator for the Barca-Rangers game bitterly criticised Abidal and claimed - laughably - that he'd been very disappointing since joining. I don't know what he's been watching, but the general consensus amongst the fans and the press has certainly been that he's been a good signing who has performed the way we would want: good play going forward, solid defending. And so it was for this game. I didn't like him losing his temper and barging into a Recre player (in response to Recre refusing to put the ball out of play after Iniesta had gone down), especially while the team were 2-0 up, though. Not a wise move - what if he got sent off?

Is it just me, or has Zambrotta looked a bit off-colour in the last couple of games? I know he's coming off an injury, but he just hasn't looked quite right this season, especially going forward, and the neat inter-play that had developed between him and Messi by the end of last season has been missing. Still more reliable than Oleguer (who came on and did a decent job), but I'm starting to worry.

midfield

Another thing I'm starting to worry about: what are we going to do when Yaya Toure, who has provided a crucial link between defence and attack for us, goes off to the African Cup of Nations? Hope that Marquez is fit and well, I suppose, since Gudjohnsen's recent stint in midfield has gone downhill after starting well.

In this game, Guddy was playing a bit further forward - in the attacking midfield role he sometimes filled for Chelsea. He worked very hard, and deserves credit for that, but all the same old problems of last season still remain, namely: his ability to take chances is not great, and he's slow on the ball.

Xavi certainly struggled to partner him effectively, especially compared to his almost telepathic understanding with the injured Deco. As Marca pointed out, our third captain may not be a flashy player, but his contributions have always been vital to our performances, mostly via his passing. Had a hand in 2 of the 3 goals.

Iniesta started the game playing on the wing, but ended it playing in his natural midfield position, so I'll put him here. He was Barca's most effective player in the first 20 minutes in which the team laboured to create chances and continued trying to speed up the play and make the breakthrough in the rest of the game. Once he went back to midfield to partner Xavi, the forwards got much better service. By the way, he really is an excellent dribbler - one of the best at Barca, and that's saying a lot.

forwards

I have a confession to make: I don't know what Premier League fans are talking about when they say that Henry is a lazy player. He's worked pretty hard in every Barca game I've seen this season (and I've seen almost every game, even the friendlies), not only in attack but tracking back, tackling and harrying. An unselfish assist for Bojan's goal, and it's good to see how pleased he was about it, too - he couldn't have looked happier if he'd scored it. Speaking of which, there were a couple of opportunities in which he could probably have taken a shot instead of passing it, and if he weren't Thierry bloody Henry I'd say he's losing his shooting confidence. Almost every single refereeing decision went against him as well, which couldn't have been very fun. Just because he's a big, tall forward (by La Liga standards) doesn't mean he was fouling every time, dammit.

Before I talk about Messi, a couple of wise words from Guillem Balague on the recent heavy criticism of him in the press:

...to have a go at Messi doesn't make sense because he has only had two bad games. Messi has had a year with hardly any rest and has been playing at a very, very high level.

Yeah, what he said. I was worried that Messi would be tired, having played the full 90 minutes in Argentina's 2 qualifiers, one of them at altitude and with Argentina down to 10 men for most of the game. He did look a bit tired at the beginning, but gradually came into it a bit more and became Barca's most threatening player, which meant that Recre devoted 2 players to marking him, with mixed success: he did create some good chances, but either the player on the receiving end wasted them (Zambrotta, Gudjohnsen, Henry), or he wasted them himself. Messi's passing continues to improve, and while one of his free kicks was rubbish, the other was quite good. (I'll be honest, whenever we get a free kick, I really start missing Ronaldinho and Deco.) The major problem now where Messi is concerned seems to be that his link-up play with Henry and Bojan isn't as good as it could be. Understandably, not much can match the interplay born of familiarity of the Ronaldinho-Eto'o-Messi front line, but there certainly could be some improvement to the current state of things.

Bojan continues to amaze. Here's a scary reminder: the kid's 17. What a cool finish, and his appearance certainly disrupted the Recre defense, with his speed on the ball if nothing else. He kind of reminds me of Messi a couple of seasons ago - a bit too individualistic, and he hasn't quite figured out when to pass and when to shoot, but that will come with experience. I'm certain he wouldn't shrink from a big occasion, either, to judge from his coolness in front of goal.

other observations

Good substitution by Rijkaard, taking off Gudjohnsen for Bojan. Not quite sure why he took Zambrotta off, but maybe we'll find that out in the next couple of days.

Because Barca played well when Ronaldino was injured near the beginning of the season, a lot of people are inclined to blame him for all Barca's problems. They do have a point, especially since Barca put in a few good performances when he was missing last season as well. However, not having Ronnie in this game didn't seem to make the team any less lethargic, although I suppose the fact that this game came straight after an international break may have had something to do with that. So, inconclusive on that front.

However, I think we've all seen what the two major injured players bring to the team by the effect their absence has had. I've said it enough times, but I don't mind repeating it: Samuel Eto'o drives the entire team forward with both his play and his mentality, and the same goes for Deco. Without both of them, we lack aggression, determination, and a bit of a cutting edge.

I see Sport are in full 'we hate everything about our team, except that one 17 year old, who should play all the time, and maybe sometimes that little Argentine we just trashed for having one bad game' mode. Great. (It's absurd to say Bojan was Barca's best player, guys, since he only played about 30 minutes, and while he had an impact, I'm not sure it was enough to override the 90 minute performances of players like Iniesta and Messi.)

Barca news ahead of the Stuttgart game and a quick update on the Phoenix

I picked a bad time to be away, didn't I? Events in the past week have been strangely reminiscent of the 04-05 season: great play, great sense of team spirit, tons of injuries. Perhaps it's a good omen, as Barca won the title that time, but I hope the squad remember that they did it by sticking together and working hard through the bad patches.

Here's an amazing statistic: it's been 10 months since we last won 4 in a row. 10 months! That goes some way to explaining why last season was a failure, doesn't it?

I liked this from the Independent:

When over 20,000 people turn up to see you sign, you want to give them what they want. Scoring three times on a ground where in the last two seasons Barça have only been able to pick up a point was a good way to start delivering.

Exactly right, and thank you, Titi. I can't help but think about what would have happened if he had signed a season earlier and been there when Eto'o got injured then, but I suppose it's just great to have him now in Sammy's absence.

Other related matters:

• Henry and Messi have really hit it off.
  
• A very happy birthday to Frank Rijkaard, who turned 45 and was able to celebrate with a victory.
• Henry did a bit of his post-match interview in Spanish, and was apparently pretty good.
• Congratulations to captain Puyol on his return. Hopefully his form will return with a bit more game time.
• Fair play to the Levante fans, who applauded Messi off the pitch. I believe they're the second (non-Barca) Spanish club to do so, after the wonderful fans of Cadiz a few seasons ago, who I still miss. (Come back to the top flight soon, guys!)

team news

Unfortunately, Gianluca Zambrotta is going to be out for a month with a torn muscle. This is a big blow given the sale of Belletti during the last transfer window. Having Oleguer and no one else in the rightback position for a month is not an ideal situation, much as I like the Catalan.

In the same vein, and arguably even more importantly, Yaya Toure is also out for a month with torn femoral biceps. Thankfully it seems that Marquez will be fit enough to take over the defensive midfield position for the next month, but Toure has really made this position his own and this is a bad time for him to get injured. On the other hand, Marquez does have cover - albeit inexperienced cover - in the shape of the uncanny Guardiola lookalike, young Marc Crosas.

Speaking of Toure, he has publicly apologized for injuring Zaragoza's Matuzalem with what was an unacceptably dangerous tackle. Having already made an apology to the player in private after the game, Toure wanted to make it clear that he had "not come to Spain to be dirty, but to play football", and I believe him. The tackle was wrong, but Toure's response has been impeccable.

Congratulations to Carles Puyol on a big occasion: the 29 year old will play his 350th game for Barca against Stuttgart.

Speaking of which, here's the squad list. It does include Ronaldinho, Marquez and Gabi Milito (who requires more tests before he'll be cleared to play), and doesn't include Yaya Toure, Gianluca Zambrotta, Samuel Eto'o, Edmilson (injured) and poor old Santi Ezquerro (rested).

Presswatch

Coverage of the weekend from Sid Lowe (general round-up and Real) and Phil Ball (on Messi, 'the best player in the world'). As always, well worth reading. And Pete Jenson from the same Independent article quoted above on Henry, Messi, and Rijkaard's birthday.

The lecturer of my media class just said: "the media is not interested in anything positive. They're only interested in confrontation and negativity." Admittedly, he was talking about politics, but it applies equally to football. Sid and Phil are consistently good because they're balanced, interesting, and at the same time not obsessed with negativity and sensationalism.

Wellington Phoenix 4 - 1 Perth Glory

Congratulations to the Phoenix on their first ever home victory, which moves them up to 4th in the table. Great stuff, especially from Brazilian midfielder Daniel. When I was in Wellington, I was impressed by all the advertising around town for the Phoenix's games and the team's visibility, compared to what the late lamented Knights had in Auckland. The fans impressed me too, making a right old racket in the Cake Tin (otherwise known as Westpac Stadium) even though they only numbered about 10000. Very good signs for the team in general.

Barca 06-07 wrap-up: player by player (1)

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.

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.

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.