Reporting from Camp Nou (although belatedly) 
<a href="http:\/\/view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/barcelona-captain-carles/image/9606460?term=gamper" target="_blank"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/barcelona-captain-carles/image/9606460?term=gamper" target="_blank"></a></figure></div> 
As Ronaldinho took to the field, the last player to do so for either team, 96,315 people cheered and applauded. A chant of ‘Ronny, Ronny, Ronny’ started around the stadium. People smiled as he lined up with the Barcelona team for the photo just before the Joan Gamper trophy kicked off. Before the match Ronny had bowed to every corner of the stadium and did a few tricks with the ball before rattling the crossbar with a piledriver of a shot in the final shooting practice. The day was a ‘fan day’ but it turned into Ronaldinho’s swan song, in a much publicised letter Ronaldinho paid tribute to the fans he was leaving behind one last time.
Ronaldinho had left two seasons previous, after an unsuccessful season. He moved to AC Milan and immediately professed his love for his previous club but his desire to win in Italy. In reality he was no longer needed at Barca as they got rid of Frank Rijkaard and promoted the Catalan Pep Guardiola as new manager. Guardiola was and is a legend for the club, he played 250+ games before journeying around some other European teams. He had managed Barcelona B for a year and now was ready for the main job. We all know by now what became of him, he was unbelievably successful winning the treble in his first year. A year where Barca had ‘lost’ Deco and Ronaldinho to european rivals, they won everything in sight and did so playing attractive attacking football with Leo Messi being touted as the best player in the world. Xavi and Iniesta became cruxes that the team played around and Ronaldinho was a distant flickering memory. Until that was, his return.

The match started and Ronaldinho promptly faded, he barely influenced the game. It was a sight many Barca fans were used to in his final season but even as they parted they parted on good terms, parting for them was such sweet sorrow as they remembered his unbelievable brace against the arch-enemy Madrid. Ronaldinho played the majority of the match before being summoned for a farewell substitution he applauded the stadium and left the field. Barca won the match in the end on penalties. As they lifted the friendly trophy ‘Ronny’ helped Carles Puyol, “Mr Barca”, carry it around the field. The press were deferential in their post-match comments as they said ‘Barca loves you’ to which Ronaldinho replied “&amp; I love Barca”. They talked for 5 minutes with permanent smiles on their faces, the Studio crew flew through what little touches he had in the match before cutting to another interview. This time with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had arrived last season in a flurry of Hype, the Swedish striker joining for Jose Mourinho’s Inter with the lacklustre Samuel Eto’o going the other way, with 30m+ in cash. It was an astonishing transfer and was the biggest transfer of the summer. Zlatan was never fully welcomed, some worried he wouldn’t fit into Barca’s tactics, others argued he was the final piece of the puzzle and that he would give Barca the plan B they required. Ibrahimovic had a good season for Barca in statistical terms he finished with 22 goals in 42 games a Ratio that exceeded Ronaldinho’s first year and his overall totals. However, statistics just didn’t tell the full story, it was a warm night in Barcelona as the team beseiged the 10 man Inter in search of an elusive goal that showed how all Catalans fealt about ‘Ibra’ as Barca were battering the door down and with no need to defend, Guardiola made a substitution Bojan was summoned from the bench and was to replace the swede. Pep had taken off a striker as Barca searched for a goal, surely it was madness. In reality it was a change that was made too late. Ibrahimovic was terrible, again, he never was the Plan B Barca needed and as Barca were eventually eliminated it seemed to spell the end for Ibrahimovic.
As the interview aired on Catalan TV after the game, Ibrahimovic was barracked. Are you moving to AC? When? He responded in kind, hostile and combative Ibrahimovic didn’t give any definitive answers but showed his Irritation at Guardiola, i’m paraphrasing here but it went along the lines. ‘He [pep] doesn’t speak to me, when I walk into a room he leaves,maybe he is scared of me?’. The press continued to harangue him before he left.
A few days later he would move to AC Milan on Loan, the very same club that Ronaldinho had left to two years previous. The parallels with Ronaldinho’s move are evident. Both were big ticket items, showy forwards with all the skill in the world but not the mental resilience to do it week in week out in the mould of Leo Messi or David Villa. As they have both moved on (at 28 I might add) to Milan their values had dropped and they were ushered out the door at Camp Nou, the one difference is that with ‘Ibra’ it was not with a warm goodbye. I don’t expect that should AC return in a few years with Ibrahimovic leading the line he will get the same adulation that Ronaldinho did. But why?
P.S. The veteran striker whom Ibrahimovic will take playing time from, Pippo Inzaghi, played in the Gamper trophy too. He also scored, one of the best goals I have ever seen, you probably haven’t seen it but you should. <a href="http:\/\/www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOa7sAz1R38">Watch it here.</a> From Seedorf (A legend) to Inzaghi (A legend) it was a pleasure to be there to witness it

Leaving Barcelona: A (Schizophrenic) Love Story - World Soccer Talk

Leaving Barcelona: A (Schizophrenic) Love Story

<div id="attachment_2953" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/03/Manolo-Jimenez.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>A forlorn Manolo Jiménez rues his side&apos;s inability to capture the moment against CSKA Moskva.</div>
With the advantage of the away goal, Sevilla looked in prime position to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.&nbsp; Unfortunately, Manolo Jiménez’s team played as though they were already in the next round.&nbsp; A 0-0 score line would have sent Sevilla through, and even though Diego Perotti declared that they could not be confident in their advantage or rely on the fact that they were playing at home, there was little impetus from Los Nervionenses in their attack.
CSKA Moskva also played this cat-and-mouse game, knowing that they did not need to push forward and leave themselves open to a swift counter-attack.&nbsp; When Tomáš Necid scored in the 39th minute from a seemingly harmless throw-in deep in the Sevilla half, Sevilla woke up from their slumber and immediately responded with a goal of their own two minutes later.

The CSKA defense allowed a long ball from an Andrés Palop free kick to bounce near the penalty area, and Jesús Navas capitalized on this good fortune by gathering the ball and squaring the ball to Diego Perotti, who coolly finished with aplomb from seven yards to equalize at 1-1.
Jiménez substituted Diego Capel to start the second half in favor of Frédéric Kanouté to have another out-and-out striker with Luís Fabiano, but play reverted to the opening thirty-eight minutes of the match.&nbsp; Sevilla went into hibernation again, and it cost them in the 55th minute, when Palop palmed Keisuke Honda’s free kick into his own net.&nbsp; Although Honda fiercely struck the ball, Palop got himself into perfect position to catch it or deflect it away.&nbsp; Palop rightly decided to push the ball away instead of attempting to snatch it in the air, but he somehow managed to deflect it into his own goal in one of the worst blunders in this year’s Champions League.
Galvanization did not repeat itself after Sevilla fell behind a second time, and they timidly fell out of the competition 1-2 in the match and 2-3 on aggregate.&nbsp; The ineffective performances ran rampant across the Sevilla squad.&nbsp; Renato failed to muster any extended possession in midfield, Luís Fabiano became a ghost as he could not be seen through most of the match, and Andrés Palop made the mistake that forced Sevilla to score twice without conceding in the final thirty-five minutes.
It would be easy to say that without Palop’s error, the match would have gone into extra time, but with all of these “what if” scenarios, any single event in a football match is not mutually exclusive.&nbsp; Assuming that the rest of the match would have gone as it ended up without CSKA’s second goal would be fallacious.&nbsp; CSKA had the slight upper hand throughout the match, and they were the more likely team to score anyway, whether it occurred with a goalkeeping error or by CSKA’s own brilliant play.
Sevilla deserved to be knocked out of the Champions League, and they face a fight from multiple angles to qualify for the Champions League next year.&nbsp; Deportivo La Coruña, Mallorca, and Athletic Bilbao are all within three points of Sevilla for the fourth Champions League spot, and while these teams do not possess the talent and the European experience like Sevilla, the Andalucians cannot take for granted that they will finish in the top four.&nbsp; If they finish the La Liga season in the same nonchalant fashion and attitude as they played against CSKA, the Europa League beckons.
<div id="attachment_2959" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/03/Lionel-Messi.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2959" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2959" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100318_WST_72169_Lionel-Messi.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=353" alt="" width="500" height="353"></figure></div></a>The "Best Player in the World" debate should be tabled for the time being.</div>
Someone forgot to tell Stuttgart that there was a crucial Champions League match this evening.&nbsp; As confident and daring as they were at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the first leg, Die Roten were timid and meek at the Camp Nou.&nbsp; Obviously needing at least one goal in order to have any legitimate chance of brushing the defending champions away, they only had two shots all night, and neither of those shots were on target.
The match, however, told more about Barcelona’s dominance than Stuttgart’s quiescence.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola made the bold move of leaving Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the bench in favor of Thierry Henry, a man who has only scored three goals in La Liga and has found it difficult to break into the starting eleven.&nbsp; His revealing performance in the second half against Valencia on Sunday gave Guardiola the confidence to employ him as the central striker against Stuttgart.
A thigh injury ruled Xavi Hernández out of the Stuttgart match, and with Seydou Keita not fully fit to start, Touré Yaya became the choice for Guardiola, although there was little alternative.&nbsp; Mainly used as a defensive midfielder, he patrolled the left side of midfield as though he were a tricky winger.&nbsp; Numerous counter-attacks saw him bomb down the left flank with astonishing ease, and he directly contributed to Pedro Rodríguez’s opening goal with an unselfish squared ball across the penalty area that he could have easily shot himself.&nbsp; Another player that has been stuck on the substitutes’ bench for most of the year, Guardiola shows the ability to inspire even the most disgruntled of players.
Then there is that man again.&nbsp; Without waxing poetic to the point of veneration, Lionel Messi continues to befuddle the opposition while involving his teammates in many of the attacks in which he is involved.&nbsp; Lately, due to the inconsistencies of Ibrahimovic, Pedro, and Henry, Messi had to shoulder more of the scoring load, and he looks to take a crack at goal more often than at any other time in his career.
Messi always possessed the skill and the guile to be one of the best players in the world, but in the last couple of seasons and especially in the last few months, his clinical finishing ascended to world-class level.&nbsp; When Messi scored the first goal in the 14th minute, the Stuttgart defense decided to back off him instead of closing down his space in fear that he would make one move and slice them in half.&nbsp; With this clearing, Messi popped a top left corner laser that Jens Lehmann had no chance of saving, and the rout commenced.
On Barça’s second goal, Messi played the provider, as he floated a ball over the top of the Stuttgart defense to Touré Yaya, and he squared the ball to Pedro, who delivered it into the back of the net.&nbsp; Messi would score another goal in tandem with Dani Alves later in the match, but the damage was done, and Barcelona marched on into the quarterfinals, where no one would want to draw them on Friday afternoon, when the matchups for the rest of the competition will be sorted out.
Bordeaux’s talisman Yoann Gourcuff already declared that his team would like to face anyone but Barcelona in the quarterfinals, and every other team left might have this same request.&nbsp; Now that Olympique Lyonnais eliminated Real Madrid and CSKA Moskva bounced Sevilla from the Champions League, Barcelona represents the only Spanish team remaining in the competition, and they are peaking at the right time of the season.&nbsp; They wrote this script last campaign, and they won the treble.&nbsp; Why deviate now?
<div id="attachment_2963" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/03/DSC03475.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2963" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2963" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100318_WST_72169_DSC03475.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=334" alt="" width="500" height="334"></figure></div></a>My nieces, in blue, combining to nullify the opposition attack.</div>
Apologies to those who expected the usual Monday column that recaps the latest round in La Liga.&nbsp; I did not watch a single La Liga match this past weekend because I attended my twin nieces’ soccer tournament.&nbsp; Although classified as U-9, their team played in the U-10 group, and they won the championship, proudly accepting the winners’ medals with an everlasting gleam in their wondrous eyes.
The older U-10 team that my nieces’ team faced held a 2-1 lead with seconds remaining, but a late equalizer forced extra time.&nbsp; After two scoreless periods in extra time, both of these teams would encounter the cruel ending that is penalty kicks for the first time in their lives.
My precocious nieces feel the nervousness when they perform penalties on FIFA 09, and now, they were selected to be two of the penalty takers in the shootout.&nbsp; They invoked the power of prayer as a vehicle for their jangling nerves while they watched their teammates take their penalties and awaited their own.&nbsp; They both made their penalties, but after each team took their five penalties, both teams were still tied.&nbsp; The sixth penalty proved pivotal as my nieces’ team converted their penalty and the opposition missed theirs.&nbsp; Even at such a young age, the famous Jim McKay line “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” felt appropriate because while my nieces’ team celebrated, their opposition could not hold back their tears.
The most telling difference between watching professionals in various European leagues and watching children in this U-10 tournament was the willingness of the children to adapt to their surroundings versus the paid football players.&nbsp; A torrent of rain surged through the city hosting this tournament the night before the competition started, and when my nieces’ first match kicked off at 12:30 PM the next day, they trudged through a mushy pitch that bore little grass with which to begin because the last vestiges of winter still reigned even though spring temperatures had sprung up sporadically.
Bad bounces, balls halting to a complete stop while dribbling, and frequent slips that these children endured would discourage many professionals.&nbsp; The chronic carping and lamenting of the surface would have been endless from the professionals, but the children continued to play their football as though the pitch compared to the old Wembley Stadium.
Covering professionals for a living can jade the most optimistic of journalists, but if they need a break from the constant petulance and complaining of grown men who earn millions of Euros, attend a match or competition involving young children.&nbsp; They just want to play.&nbsp; Although you get the occasional parent who goes overboard, the purity of the sport lies here in these children.

La Liga in the Champions League: Sevilla Stumbles While Barcelona Bedazzles - World Soccer Talk

La Liga in the Champions League: Sevilla Stumbles While Barcelona Bedazzles

<div id="attachment_2150" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Pep Guardiola cannot believe it either.</div>
After a workmanlike 1-0 victory against Almería and a mediocre showing in their 0-0 draw at the Mestalla against Valencia CF on Saturday, FC Barcelona looked to reverse their form in the Champions League against a supposed weaker team in FK Rubin Kazan.&nbsp; To their credit, Barça did not make any excuses about their performance against Los Che, but they did suffer from the FIFA virus because a vast majority of their players contributed to their respective countries’ national teams across the globe.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola rested Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi flew to and from South America and competed in two crucial and stressful World Cup qualifiers with Argentina, Thierry Henry picked up a thigh injury while playing for Les Bleus, and many others not mentioned here.&nbsp; Before the match, Seydou Keita spoke about their Ukrainian opponents:
“It won’t be an easy game.&nbsp; They will come to the Nou Camp to defend like all they do and we’ll have to go out strong to create chances and score.”
Rubin Kazan also entered this contest without playing at their highest standards.&nbsp; In control of the Russian Premier League through much of the season and with a seven-point lead with eight games to play, the Tatars turned their focus on the Champions League.&nbsp; Fairly inexperienced in juggling domestic and European responsibilities, the distraction of the Champions League led to a dip in form in Russia, which included a draw and two losses before a routine and pedestrian 2-1 win over hapless FC Khimki on Saturday.&nbsp; Spartak Moscow took advantage of a faltering Rubin Kazan and shaved the league deficit to a single point with five rounds remaining.&nbsp; Facing Barcelona at the Camp Nou was one of the last tasks that Rubin Kazan needed.
Rubin Kazan erased any fears of the Catalunyan atmosphere when Aleksandr Ryazantsev delivered a shock thirty-yard strike in the second minute to give the visitors the 0-1 lead.&nbsp; Immediately after a Barça attack that culminated in an unanswered penalty claim, Rafael Márquez misplayed a goal kick from Sergei Ryzhikov.&nbsp; The ball headed in the direction of Ryazantsev, who decided to take the shot first time from a country mile away.&nbsp; His searching effort became one of the goals of the Champions League season as his sweetly struck bullet pierced the top right corner of Victor Valdés’ unsuspecting goal.&nbsp; The Camp Nou faithful were flabbergasted, the Barcelona players were stunned, and most of all, Ryazantsev’s teammates were astonished by both the shot and the sudden lead.
The goal annoyed the blaugrana more than anything, and they continued their assault on the Rubin goal; however, Rubin Kazan’s organization was outstanding, and Barça could not find the breakthrough against this highly disciplined Russian side.&nbsp; When Ibrahimovic equalized early in the second half with a little spin-o-rama magic of his own, the pervasive feeling was that of inevitability.&nbsp; It was not if Barcelona would win but by how many.&nbsp; Apparently, Rubin Kazan did not get the memo, and they continued to persist with their defensive game plan.&nbsp; Rubin would only have three shots for the entire match, but each one was on target, and their third and final shot proved to be the game winner.&nbsp; After another Barcelona giveaway, Alejandro Domínguez sped down the Barça half in a blistering counter-attack.&nbsp; The timing of his through-ball to Gökdeniz Karadeniz was impeccable, and Karadeniz’s one-timer from fifteen yards flashed across the face of goal and bundled the back of the net.
Barcelona’s attempts to make the match all-square were in vain, as two of their efforts hit the frame of the goal and the others handled by Sergei Ryzhikov.&nbsp; The final statistics compare to a video game: twenty-four shots with thirteen on target, 69% of the possession, eleven corners to one, and a mind-boggling 654 passes at an 86% completion rate.&nbsp; With these numbers, Barcelona won 5-0, right?&nbsp; Not on this European night.&nbsp; The streets of Kazan will flood with joyous supporters who will cherish this night as the night when their beloved Tatars slayed the Catalunyan dragon.
The expectations for Barcelona from the media and the team itself are so astronomical that little blips on the radar become immediate crises.&nbsp; After the match, Xavi Hernández was at it again, bemoaning Rubin Kazan’s tactics and overall play to the Spanish sports daily Diario AS:
“It was a very dissatisfying match from the start, conceding a goal into the top corner from thirty yards at the very beginning.&nbsp; Then we had many chances and made it more difficult for them.&nbsp; We played well at times, we opened up the pitch and had spells.&nbsp; But it is difficult to measure a team that only defends, especially if you do not find the final pass.&nbsp; They leave with an undeserved prize.”
Sometimes, humility would be a nice change of pace.&nbsp; While Xavi gave no credit to Rubin Kazan for their gritty display on Tuesday night, plaudits will rain from many media outlets about this fairly unknown team from Russia and their desire and intensity.&nbsp; Well done Rubin and the loyal supporters who traveled many miles to the Camp Nou to witness their small slice of history.
What got lost from Xavi’s remarks is a question many will ask tonight and throughout the season.&nbsp; Did Valencia and Rubin Kazan provide blueprints to earn results against this unrelenting Barça side?&nbsp; Somewhat.&nbsp; If a less technically gifted team goes against Barcelona, follow the Rubin Kazan plan: defensive organization, midfield flooding, and opportunistic counter-attacks.&nbsp; If the team can truly compete with Barcelona’s talent, follow the Valencia plan: keep possession, shackle Dani Alves and Eric Abidal as much as possible, and force Victor Valdés into some contested crosses and shots.&nbsp; Even if all of these principles are followed, as many teams have tried, it will likely be all for naught.&nbsp; That is the beauty of this FC Barcelona outfit.&nbsp; Their single-minded nature to attack and attack and attack eventually crumbles their opposition.&nbsp; When Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari last season, one of the main reasons was that he did not have a plan B if plan A did not work.&nbsp; If Barcelona’s plan A does not work, which happens quite rarely, they execute plan A even harder.
President Joan Laporta and the Barcelona supporters need not worry at this point.&nbsp; Barcelona is on top of La Liga and their congested group in the Champions League.&nbsp; No team will sail through a season without some difficulties, and these recent struggles might be for the best because if Barcelona started to believe in their own accolades, Pep Guardiola will surely point to their performances against Almería, Valencia, and Rubin Kazan.&nbsp; Even when Barcelona was at their best, Guardiola kept them on level ground.&nbsp; The players will listen to him, and they will rise from this temporary setback.
Saques de Esquina:
– With a three-goal lead at Stuttgart, Sevilla FC resorted to time-wasting tactics that an inferior team would do if it could earn a point away from home.&nbsp; Really?&nbsp; Stuttgart did pull a goal back from Élson’s whipping free kick, but Sevilla did not need to act as though they were a Tercera División side in a Copa del Rey tie.
<div id="attachment_2166" style="width: 164px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2166" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2166" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20091021_WST_2151_Jose-Mourinho.webp&amp;width=154&amp;height=206" alt="Courtesy of halighalie" width="154" height="206"></figure></div>Courtesy of halighalie</div>
– Hoping to squeak out a last-minute victory over Dynamo Kyiv, Inter Milan manager José Mourinho sent in defender Marco Materazzi as a battering ram forward, similar to what he did at Chelsea when he would use Robert Huth in the same fashion.&nbsp; The thought of Touré Yaya or Federico Fazio acting as emergency strikers should strike fear in the hearts of defenders everywhere.
– Is Jens Lehmann always angry with someone?&nbsp; After Frédéric Kanouté legitimately fell in the penalty box due to a legal sliding challenge from a Stuttgart defender, Lehmann got in Kanouté’s face, likely accusing him of diving.&nbsp; Lehmann seems to thrive in this role, whether he alienates the opposition or his own teammates.

With Rubin Kazan's Deserved Victory, FC Barcelona Suffers a Minor Setback - World Soccer Talk

With Rubin Kazan's Deserved Victory, FC Barcelona Suffers a Minor Setback

<div id="attachment_2077" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>This is the kind of space Xavi thinks he deserves.</div>
The theory is that because of the low amount of scoring in football, using particularly protective and cynical tactics ruins the sport whose nature inhibits a high amount of goals per match.&nbsp; Football’s common nickname is “The Beautiful Game,” but from where did that phrase initially originate?&nbsp; Credit is usually given to 50’s and 60’s Brazilian star Waldyr Pereira, universally known as Didi, and those Seleção teams spoiled the world with their slick passing, their showmanship, and their creativity.&nbsp; In today’s football, FC Barcelona would be the team that most resembles this vision of Joga Bonito.&nbsp; Barcelona survived a 1-0 victory over feisty Almería on Saturday to maintain their perfect start and their position at the top of the table.&nbsp; While the game itself was not that interesting, the postscript afterward <a href="http:\/\/www.sportinglife.com/football/overseas/spain/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/09/10/04/SOCCER_Barcelona.html">brought attention to a long-standing feud between defensive tactics and football</a>.&nbsp; Xavi Hernández, the main orchestrator of the Barça attack, had some bold statements regarding Almería manager Hugo Sánchez’s strategy to stifle Barcelona’s flow:
“We will have to get used to it.&nbsp; It’s a shame that they come here to pack the defense.&nbsp; I’ve never been marked like that.&nbsp; It was madness, obsessive.&nbsp; Even when they had the ball or when I was going to take the corner they marked me.&nbsp; (Coach) Pep (Guardiola) told me to use the wings to create space so that Busi (Sergio Busquets) and (Lionel) Messi could get the upper hand in the middle.&nbsp; I practically had to leave the game.&nbsp; It was very boring for me.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who played in the Italian Serie A for the last five years, was far less incensed with Almería’s style of play:
“It’s difficult to play against five defenders.&nbsp; We didn’t play well, but we’ve won.&nbsp; This is also important.&nbsp; I’ve not scored, but I’ve made another.&nbsp; This is important.”
The tight marking of Almería was something Ibrahimovic faced in Italy weekly, so he was not as frustrated as Xavi.&nbsp; Ibrahimovic also keyed on a point that Xavi failed to address: Barcelona did not play that well.&nbsp; Xavi deflected the criticism of their play by pointing out how Almería did not let them play their football.&nbsp; Does Xavi make legitimate claims concerning the opposition?&nbsp; Last year, Almería lost both meetings to Barcelona, 5-0 at the Camp Nou and 0-2 at home.&nbsp; Almería wants to win just as much as Barcelona, and there is no doubt Hugo Sánchez remembered those matches and was wary of what Barcelona could do to his team.&nbsp; In terms of pure technical ability, there is no argument that Barcelona has the most technical ability in Europe and uses it to the fullest extent, so a team like Almería, who does not have the resources or the players like Barcelona, has to be much more pragmatic with their approach.&nbsp; Every team wants to entertain and provide a spectacle for their supporters, but results are most important, and sometimes, they have to make sacrifices in order to get the outcome they want.
Even European powers like Chelsea and Manchester United knew that trying to fight fire with fire would only lead to their demise.&nbsp; They swallowed their pride and played with nine to ten men behind the ball for the majority of the time, not worrying about the chastisement they would receive from the fans and the media.&nbsp; Manchester United pulled off a 1-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the 2008&nbsp; UEFA Champions League semifinal, and Chelsea was a couple of minutes from completing the same task as Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League semifinal before Andrés Iniesta banged home the equalizer and the 1-1 victory on away goals.
So how is defense treated in other sports?&nbsp; In baseball, while a home run fest excites many fans, a pitcher’s duel with great defensive plays is equally appreciated.&nbsp; Two of the most storied teams in American pro football history are the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who each had tenacious defenses and held their opponents to less than thirteen points per game.&nbsp; Hard tackles and tough defense are paramount in succeeding in rugby union.&nbsp; The closest sport that would identify with association football’s loathing of ultra-defensive tactics is hockey.&nbsp; The New Jersey Devils won a few Stanley Cups with their employment of the neutral zone trap, but many criticized the Devils for this scheme because it drastically reduced scoring and made their games boring in the eyes of fans.&nbsp; The NHL took action during the 2004-2005 lockout by implementing changes in the rulebook to penalize teams who employ such methods.
Unfortunately, for Xavi, unless FIFA changes its rules, Barcelona will most likely face opponents that employ Almería’s tactics to limit Barcelona’s goal-scoring machine.&nbsp; What Xavi fails to recognize is that there is more than one way to play football.&nbsp; The sexy football that Barcelona plays is an ideal that almost no teams can accomplish.&nbsp; If teams want to play like Bolton Wanderers or Stoke City and use their physicality and direct style to stymie Barcelona, then it is up to Pep Guardiola and the team to figure out how to unlock the defense.&nbsp; If clubs like Villarreal and Valencia want to compete with their passing football, it will likely be a better display for the fans, but the task is still the same: to unlock the defense.&nbsp; Barcelona has a very good chance to retain all three crowns from last year as well as adding other trophies to outdo last season’s treble-winning season.&nbsp; Worrying less about their opponents’ tactics and focusing on their own game will greatly benefit Barcelona in the long run.

Why is Defense So Reviled in Football? - World Soccer Talk

Why is Defense So Reviled in Football?

<div id="attachment_1499" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Despite scoring a multitude of important goals, Eto&apos;o is on his way out of Barcelona</div>
Everyday in High School, I would come in early to discuss football with my friend Ron. On a particularly slow day in the footballing world, Ron declared “There is no loyalty in soccer!” A statement that was quickly becoming fact rather than opinion. However, I was in an argumentative mood, and back in 2003 there was still a glimmer of hope, that for a select few in the soccer profession the word loyalty meant more than serving the highest bidder. Carlos Tevez had pledged himself to Boca Juniors, Wayne Rooney was still playing for his childhood club, Everton, and Joaquin was rejecting offers from Madrid to stay with Betis. So I decided to press the issue . “Are you serious!” I scoffed while gesturing wildly(Probably in a&nbsp;subconscious&nbsp;attempt to compensate for the fact that in reality, I completely agreed with Ron and felt ridiculous defending such an obviously absurd position) Somehow, I managed to appear the victor in our little debate, but in my head I knew who was correct.
Fast forward to today’s soccer landscape and Ron’s statement would be looked at as a truism. A given that only the most stubborn and unaware of fans would dare challenge. Despite the acceptance of such a climate on the part of most fans(myself included), owners, and players, football has somehow managed to disgust even the most cynical of fans with Barcelona’s impending transfer of Samuel Eto’o.
Eto’os departure from the Camp Nou is nauseating even when compared to the most controversial of transfers because it lacks even the most selfish of motivations. When Figo left Barcelona for Real Madrid, he did it for a bigger payday. Rooney dropped Everton for a chance to win the Champion’s and Premier League Crowns. Ronaldo came to Milan only years after playing for their fiercest rival, Internazionale, and did so only to resuscitate a dying career. However, as Barca prepare to ship Eto’o and close to 60 million Euros in exchange for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they are doing so for very little in return,&nbsp;relatively&nbsp;speaking.
In the past five years, Eto’o has scored over a hundred goals for Barcelona in La Liga. More importantly Eto’o is a big time player. In the past season he scored against four of the top five teams in La Liga, including the game winning goal against Real Madrid, Barcelona’s biggest threat to the title. Eto’o improved upon his impressive tally this season with the decisive strike in the Champion’s League Final against Manchester United, helping make Barcelona the first treble winning side in Spanish football history. In exchange for throwing Eto’o out the door, Barcelona will receive Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a talented player, but more importantly, a notorious big game choke. A prime example of Ibrahimovic’s inability to perform on the grand stage came against the very same side that Eto’o managed to score against in the final, Manchester United. He&nbsp;was blanked by Manchester United over two legs,&nbsp;a period of 180 minutes,&nbsp;in the round of 16 in the Champion’s League. He failed to even register a shot on target in those two games. In fact, Ibrahimovic managed only one goal in seven games in the Champion’s League. Those quick to defend Barcelona will certainly site Samuel’s behavioral problems, but Zlatan is not without his own (See <a href="http:\/\/www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2009/05/28/1290951/inter-striker-zlatan-ibrahimovic-stays-out-late-clubbing">here</a>).&nbsp;More troubling than the lack of motive for the transfer is&nbsp;Barcelona’s willingness to admit it. In a recent interview, Pep&nbsp;Guardiola said that Eto’os departure is the sole result of a <a href="http:\/\/barcelona.theoffside.com/team-news/pep-speaks-aka-etoo-you-gotta-go.html" target="_blank">“feeling”!</a> A player of Eto’s caliber and output can only feel disrespected by such comments.
<a href="http:\/\/barcelona.theoffside.com/team-news/pep-speaks-aka-etoo-you-gotta-go.html" target="_blank"></a> So while the whole world expresses outrage, and rightly so, over Real Madrid’s&nbsp;exuberant&nbsp;spending in times of economic crisis. Lets not forget that it is this type of mistreatment that presents the biggest blemish on the “not so” beautiful game.
<a href="http:\/\/answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1809014/">Do you feel Barcelona has mistreated Eto’o?</a>(<a href="http:\/\/answers.polldaddy.com">trends</a>)

Eto'o to Inter?!?! - World Soccer Talk

Eto'o to Inter?!?!

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If you would believe various pundits, the annoying debate that many football fans have been subject to this year and last – Ronaldo vs. Messi – will come to its conclusion in the UCL final in Rome.&nbsp; On the biggest stage in club competitions, the two most complete players in attacking football will meet head to head.
The winner will be crowned the best in the world, the loser will claim second place.&nbsp; Fans of the loser will say he was robbed, the winner’s supporters will smugly proclaim that the final underscored the gulf in quality.
To boil the final down to this issue would be a mistake, and would ignore the other much more important battles that will happen on May 27th.&nbsp; While Ronaldo and Messi are both elite, I doubt the Champions League trophy will really go to whoever plays better on that day.
First of all, neither the Argentine nor the Portuguese has an impressive record against clubs from England and Spain, respectively.&nbsp; An injured Messi was pretty much ineffective against Barcelona last season in the semis, and Ronaldo was marked out of the game by Barcelona, notably Gianluca Zambrotta, who ironically teed up Paul Scholes for the long range, tie-winning goal.
This year in the final however, I see more of a Barcelona’s attack vs United’s back four.&nbsp; Vidic and Ferdinand, as it has been repeated so often, are the best two in the game.&nbsp; Evra looks to be back on form.&nbsp; The only suspect position, and I use that term only in comparison with the other members of the back-line, is right-back for United.
This is not to take away from the offense, but the free-flowing stuff of last season has been slowed down, maybe by Berbatov’s inclusion (didn’t the United vs. Arsenal meeting last week look like the 2007-08 campaign, with Berba notably on the bench?).&nbsp; This season the defense has really outshone the offense, not just in the club but in the whole EPL, 4-0 loss to Liverpool excluded.
Barcelona’s attack is frightening, but currently weakened.&nbsp; Henry and Iniesta both are having problems with fitness, Dani Alves and Eric Abidal (unfairly) are suspended, and Rafa Marquez is out for the season.&nbsp; These weaknesses in defense force makeshift changes and weaken the midfield, already less flowing and lethal when Iniesta has to play as a forward for the injured Henry.&nbsp; If neither Iniesta nor Henry play, Pep Guardiola will have to change his “Tridente” formation for the first time this season (or else play out-of-form Bojan or Gudjohnsen), which brings me to my next point.
Everyone playing Barca since late September has known that they will run a 4-3-3 with Messi on the right, Henry on the left, and Eto’o in the middle.&nbsp; The midfield will include Xavi, Iniesta, and Keita or Yaya Toure.&nbsp; Dani Alves plays at right back (in reality reality he is an attacking midfielder), Puyol and Marquez stay in the center, unless Pique plays in which case Puyol moves out left.&nbsp; It’s a formula, and it has worked, but against master tacticians, it won’t.&nbsp; It literally came within seconds from failure against Chelsea, but a combination of slack finishing, suspect calls, and a non-existant clearance from Essien allowed Iniesta one chance that he buried in style.&nbsp; Hiddink knew how to shut down Barcelona, and my bet is that Sir Alex will too.
The Scot should be able to field a United side that can take advantage of both the weakness in attack simply by keeping the defense as he has all season, and exploit Barcelona’s defense problems.&nbsp; The right and left wings will be open all night to&nbsp; players with pace now that Alves and Abidal are gone, and judging by the Chelsea game, the midfield looks like it can be muscled out by the likes of Carrick and Anderson.&nbsp; Most importantly, if Puyol moves out left or right, the center will be horribly exposed.
Barcelona are hobbling right now, and certainly cannot field a full strength team.&nbsp; Messi on his day is the best in the world, but he cannot make up for the obvious defensive weaknesses.&nbsp; If Iniesta and Henry do return for the final however, it might not matter how weak the defense looks.&nbsp; If Barca show up to Rome limping in both the attacking and defending third though, I feel that Sir Alex’s carefully planned team will be celebrating at the end of the night.

This Year's Champions League Final Will NOT Be Ronaldo vs Messi - World Soccer Talk

This Year's Champions League Final Will NOT Be Ronaldo vs Messi

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What do Werder Bremen, Villareal, Atletico Madrid, Panathinaikos, PSV Eindhoven, Marseille, Dynamo Kyiv, Celtic and Fenerbahce have in common (hint: the answer is not “They’re all in the Champions League group stage which starts today”)? Give up?
Well, all of these clubs are in fact in the group stage of the Champions League, but the answer is that all of them have escaped the group stage at one point or another. Sporting Lisbon, however, is another story. Perennially a contender in the Portuguese top division, Sporting’s European history has been mediocre at best. Discounting its 1964 Cup Winners Cup title, Sporting has been to the Champions League four times and never had a sniff of the knockout stage. Its best showing in the old European Champions Cup was in 1982-83 when it reached the quarterfinals, losing to Real Sociedad.
This year may be different. There may be light at the end of the tunnel for the Lisbon club. Sporting begins group stage play Tuesday at Barcelona, and despite this difficult challenge out of the blocks, Sporting was given a favorable draw. FC Basel 1893 and Shakhtar Donetsk round out Group C, and one would have to figure Barca for clear sailing to the knockout round and Sporting and Shakhtar duking it out for second place.
But how about Sporting for favorites to win the group outright? How about a true underdog pulling a shocker?
All we can judge is today, but today, Sporting might be a more well-rounded deeper club, Lionel Messi not withstanding for Barcelona. Sporting has won its first two matches in the Portuguese Liga and knocked off F.C. Porto for the Portuguese SuperCup to open the season. Sporting had a fruitful offseason, signing Helder Postiga Marco Caneira, Leandro Grimi, and re-signing Fabio Rochemback. They also have had another year of maturity for standout youngsters such as goalkeeper Rui Patricio, fullback Ronny, strikers Yannick Djalo, Rodrigo Tiui.
And speaking of seasoning? Joao Moutinho and Miguel Veloso were kept from the plentiful pockets of Inter Milan and Manchester United respectively in the offseason. For the first time in a long time, Sporting has managed to keep some homegrown talent from fleeing for greener pastures–at least temporarily.
Sporting is an interesting package for Barcelona to contend with. The Catalans had a tenuous offseason to contend with as new manager Pep Guardiola settled in. Ronaldinho is gone (some may say that’s a plus), and Messi, Samuel Eto’o, Carles Puyol, Thierry Henry,&nbsp; Iniesta and Rafa Marquez remain. Yet, Barca has gotten off to a putrid start under Guardiola, losing its La Liga opener to promoted Numancia and battling Racing Santander to a 1-1 draw this weekend. Worse yet, new signee Alexander Hleb from Arsenal will miss the Sporting match with an ankle injury.
If nothing else for Sporting, this year’s draw is a lot less cluttered with billion-dollar clubs. Last year, Sporting had to contend with Roma and Manchester United, and the year before, Inter and Bayern Munich.&nbsp; In Basel, Sporting sees a familiar opponent having wiped out the Swiss club in the UEFA Cup. Shakhtar, the kings of the Ukraine, are an unfamiliar foe.
Should Sporting gain a result Tuesday and Barcelona continues to be a shaky proposition in a difficult La Liga, Sporting could be poised to surprise and win the group.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "pep guardiola" - Page 9

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Athletic Club

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Almería

With Rubin Kazan's Deserved Victory, FC Barcelona Suffers a Minor Setback

Almería

Why is Defense So Reviled in Football?

Barcelona

Eto'o to Inter?!?!

General

This Year's Champions League Final Will NOT Be Ronaldo vs Messi

Leagues: Champions League

A Sporting Chance to Win Group C