The Fans Football Blog3

Venue: Estadio San Mames, Bilbao


The beaten cup finalists come up against the team that won it all last year in the traditional curtain raiser of the Spanish football season. These two teams know each other well, having played each other in the Copa del Rey final last season. But since then, Barcelona has undergone some major surgery.

There is no real form guide to go on since pre-season friendlies are not exactly the most reliable performance gauge. However we can expect a hot atmosphere at San Mames where the passionate fans will try to cheer Athletic on past a walking wounded Barcelona squad that look short of a few key players.

PRE SEASON

Athletic Bilbao have had a pretty ordinary pre season, winning 2 games, drawing 1 and losing 3. They have already played 2 competitive games in the Europa League third qualifying round, enduring an embarrassing 1-0 loss at home to Swiss side Young Boys. They won the away leg by 2 goals to 1 to sneak into the next round on away goals, but scraping past Swiss opposition in the Europa League isn’t exactly the most convincing way to warm up for your league season. Bilbao also suffered losses to Benfica, with Barcelona old boy Saviola grabbing a brace, and Sporting CP of Portugal. Make no mistake though, they will be up for the Super Cup against Barca as they will want to avenge the 4-1 thrashing in the Copa del Rey final.

Barcelona, meanwhile, has had a pretty disjointed pre-season. First the Samuel Etoo-Zlatan Ibrahimovic saga meant that Barcelona were without a first choice centre forward for the first week of pre-season training. That added to injuries to Ibrahimovic Iniesta Marquez Messi and Henry have meant that Barcelona have been unable to train with their entire first team for the entire pre-season.

Despite this, the youngsters have filled in admirably. Players such as Fontas, Muniesa, Jonathan Dos Santos, Montoya, Ruben Rochina, Rueda and Gai Assulin have shown that the future of FC Barcelona is bright. The actual results were 3 wins and 2 draws. Still the lack of training time together for the first team must be a concern for the coach Pep Guardiola who would no doubt have wanted Ibrahimovic to have as much time as possible getting accustomed to playing with Messi Henry Iniesta and Xavi.

The KEY MEN

Llorente vs Bojan

Fernando Llorente first shot to prominence in the 2005 season with a hat-trick in a Copa del Rey game. He followed this up with 5 goals at the FIFA World Youth Championships in 2005 to finish as 2nd top scorer behind a young Argentinean prodigy by the name of Lionel Messi. Perhaps testaments to his quality are some of the other players that played in that tournament.

Players such as Ustari, Messi, Gago, Aguero, Garay, Zabaleta, Renan, (Barcelona left back target)Filipe Luis, David Edgar, Falcao, Freddy Guarin, Christian Zapata, Marcell Jansen, Andreas Ottl, Ryan Babel, Ibrahim Afellay, Hedwiges Maduro, John Obi Mikel, Raul Albiol, Cesc Fabregas, David Silva, Philippe Senderos and Freddy Adu were all present at that tournament and have gone on to play for some of the biggest clubs in the world at the highest level.

Llorente has steadily improved since and has become a regular starter in the past 2 seasons netting 11 and 13 league goals in the past 2 seasons. He also had 4 goals in Bilbao's Copa del Rey win last season including 1 goal in each leg of the semi final against Sevilla. He finished last season as Athletic's overall top scorer and was rumoured to be a target for FC Barcelona in the offseason. One thing is for certain if Athletic are to have any chance at winning the Super cup, Fernando Llorente is going to need to be at his best.

With Barcelona facing a mini front line crisis with Messi, Ibrahimovic and Henry all possibly missing the first leg of the Supercup, the responsibility of goal-scoring falls on the shoulders of Barcelona's golden boy Bojan. Bojan has been highly touted to break into the team over the past few years, but this season is the one for him to start delivering the goods on a regular basis. Critics have said that Bojan will never make it because he is too small and point to Bojan's drop in league goals from 10 in 2007/2008 to 2 in 2008/2009 as proof of his over-rated status.

A look at the raw facts shows that while Bojan did not do as well in the league, he performed better in the Cup competitions. In the Champions Leauge he scored 3 goals in 9 appearances in 2008/2009 as opposed to 1 goal in 9 appearences in 2007/2008. The Copa del Rey though is where Bojan really shone last season. He scored 5 goals in 8 games last season as opposed to 0 goals in 2 games the season before. Bojan showed his skill was indeed unquestionable, when he came in for the final of the Copa del Rey to replace the injured Henry, and netted the 3rd goal in Barcelona's 4-1 rout.

Overall, Bojan scored 11 goals in 18 starts and 24 subsitute appearances in 2007/2008 and 10 goals in 17 starts and 23 substitute appearances in 2008/2009. Now that he is the main replacement for Henry Ibra and Messi, Bojan needs to step up his game, and what better time to start than the 2009 Super cup? All Barca fans will be hoping that he carries his form of 3 goals in 5 pre-season games into the game on Sunday.

FORMATIONS AND TACTICS

Athletic favoured a 4-4-2 system last season but at times switched to a 4-2-3-1 to add an extra man in the midfield. Against Young Boys in the first leg Athletic fielded a 5 man midfield but in the 2nd leg they went for 2 strikers up front as they needed to win. Against Barcelona in the league last season, Athletic fielded a 4-4-2 lineup and I suspect that they will go for the win on their home ground where Barcelona have traditionally struggled to get results. With so many injuries the Barcelona first team basically picks itself with Valdes Pique Puyol Dani Alves Xavi Yaya and Bojan almost 100% sure to start.

PREDICTED LINEUPS:

Athletic 4-4-2 : Iraizoz, Iraola, Ocio, Amorebieta, Castilla, Orbaiz, Martinez, Yeste, Susaeta, Torquero, Llorente

Barcelona 4-3-3 : Valdes, Alves, Marquez, Pique, Abidal, Xavi, Yaya, Keita, Pedro, Bojan, Jeffren

HEAD TO HEAD

Athletic's only win against Barcelona at the San Mames in the past 5 years came in 2006 after Barcelona had already clinched the league title and had just won the Champions League against Arsenal. Barcelona, meanwhile, has scored more than 1 goal on just 1 occasion in their last 5 visits to Bilbao.

2004-05 : Athletic 1 - 1 Barcelona
May 06 : Athletic 3 - 1 Barcelona
Sep 06 : Athletic 1 - 3 Barcelona
Jan 08 : Athletic 1 - 1 Barcelona
Oct 08 : Athletic 0 - 1 Barcelona

CONCLUSION

A tough away game for Barca who are missing several key players. Bilbao will be encouraged by this despite their poor pre-season form but they will know that this Barcelona team can hold their own even when they are made up mostly of reserves in attack. With Barcelona knowing that they have the safety of returning to the Camp Nou for the 2nd leg and Ibrahimovic, Messi, Marquez, Henry and Iniesta all possibly returning we can expect them to try to hold Athletic and finish them off in the 2nd leg.

Prediction: Athletic 1 – 1 Barcelona


barca4life

A New Global Rivalry?

As the start of the La Liga approaches like a hurtling freight train the undoubted highlight of the season will be the showdown between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF. Barcelona, coming off a season where all before them were swept aside, and the rest of Europe watched in horror during the off season as of Florentino Perez assembled the “Galacticos 2.0”, of which the star acquisition was Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi are considered by most worldwide to be the two best players on the planet right now. Skill, Flair and the ability to leave fans wanting more both Ronaldo versus Messi is undoubtedly the battle of our generation. Tennis has Federer versus Nadal, the NBA has Lebron versus Kobe and Boxing had Ali versus Frazier.

Football’s greatest rivalry has always been Pele versus Maradona, but the two great players sadly were from different eras. By the time Maradona made his debut for Argentina in 1977, Pele had hung up his boots for Brazil some 6 years earlier in 1971. Pele never left Brazil during his prime playing most of his career with his beloved Santos before finishing out his years as a footballer in the United States. Maradona mean while played in Argentina, Italy and Spain winning titles with Barcelona, Napoli and his beloved Boca Juniors.

Now for the first time for a long time there is a feeling that we could be seeing two of the greatest players of this generation, if not perhaps of all time, going head to head in the same league leading their teams in the kind of rivalry that has never been seen before in international football.

It is amazing how two players that are so similar are also so different. A quick description to exemplify my point, a right-sided attacking midfielder, blessed with mesmerizing footwork, blistering pace, a quick mind and an eye for goal. He is hailed as the best player of this generation and without a doubt a proven winner having won League and Champions League titles. He has won 3 league titles and 1 major domestic cup competition and has scored in 1 Champions League final that his team has won, while finishing Runner-up in his Confederation’s Football Championship. This player has many years left in his career and has yet to hit his peak years.

Anybody reading that last paragraph could easily assume I was describing either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi and they would be right. The similarities end above though as the two players could not be more different. Messi versus Ronaldo is the story of the proud Galactico versus the humble, almost unwilling, superstar. The story of the tall bronzed muscular man versus the short pale guy who needed growth hormone just to be average height. The story of the man who is linked with many different models and superstars every day versus the man who is set to marry a girl he has known since childhood. It is the story of the man who has played for 3 different clubs before his 25th birthday versus the man who has stated he wants to spend his career with only 1 club.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro came into this world on the 5th of February 1985 to Portuguese parents in Madeira Portugal. From an early age his talent was recognized and after playing at youth level with Andorinha and CD Nacional, he got his break with Sporting CP of Portugal who signed him at age of 12. Things seemed to be going well for Ronaldo until at age 15 he was diagnosed with a racing heart that could have ended his football career. He had surgery with a laser to rectify the problem and then proceeded to blow through the Sporting CP youth system.

He became the first player to player for Sporting’s U-16, U-17, U-18, B-team and first team all in one season and was reportedly monitored by Liverpool and Arsenal who saw his undeniable talent. Ronaldo’s big break though came when his Sporting CP met Manchester United in a 2003 pre-season friendly. So impressed were the Manchester United players that they encouraged Ferguson to sign the young prodigy.


A Young Cristiano Ronaldo at Sporting CP

Ronaldo moved to England soon after and he helped Manchester United to the FA Cup in his first year scoring a goal in the final. The feeling at that time was that while he undoubtedly had talent he was a bit of a show pony and did one too many stepovers. Still Ronaldo continued to flourish in the Manchester United system and his reputation continued to grow. At euro 2004 held in Ronaldo’s native Portugal he helped his team to reach the final scoring against Holland in the semi final.

The feeling going into the final was that Portugal who had home advantage and having knocked out Spain, the Netherlands and England on penalties, with Ronaldo scoring in the shootout, (it would not be the last time Ronaldo and England would clash) would have too much for the Greeks. Portugal had Ronaldo as well as former world player of the year Luis Figo, Deco and Rui Costa in their ranks but the Greek team had beaten Portugal in the tournament’s opening game and repeated the feat in the final starting the suspicion that “Ronaldo doesn’t show up in the big games”.


Ronaldo: Sublime Skill or Show pony?

Still Ronaldo continued to grow and enjoy success with Manchester United picking up individual awards for his play and picking up the League cup in 2006. However a talk of Ronaldo being a “teacher’s pet” began to spread and more ugly side began to surface. In May of 2006 sports site Setanta reported that Ronaldo and team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy had an altercation of Ronaldo’s reluctance to pass the ball during which van Nistelrooy reportedly told Ronaldo “Go cry to your daddy” referring to Carlos Queiroz and not Ronaldo’s biological father who had died earlier that season. Van Nisterooy was promptly sent packing from Old Trafford. What came next though would forever change the way Cristiano Ronaldo was viewed in the football world and perhaps the course of the winger’s destiny.

The 2006 world cup was a defining moment for Ronaldo, some people are born to play the role of the hero and others are born to play the role of the villain. I wonder sometimes how different things might have been had Ronaldo not winked at the Portuguese bench. Would he have been vilified by the British press, would he have been targeted for a hate campaign? Would he have been as motivated to prove his critics wrong?

The defining moment came when Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney appeared to step on Portugal’s Ricardo Carvalho. What happened next is up for debate. The English press claimed that Ronaldo had aggressively complained to the referee which influenced the match official to send off Rooney. To make matters worse Ronaldo was caught winking at the Portuguese bench after the red card had been issued and the British press had found a new hate-figure.


Did Ronaldo get Rooney sent off?

Portugal went on to place 4th in the World Cup but the damage had been done. Ronaldo was booed during Portugal’s semi-final with France and English fans launched a negative e-mail campaign to prevent Ronaldo from being named Best Young Player at the tournament. FIFA in the end named Lukas Podolski as the Best Young Player citing Ronaldo’s behaviour as part of the reason he did not win.

Ronaldo seeing what had happened to David Beckham after the 2002 World Cup began to worry about having to return to England. Rumours linking him with a move to Spain with Real Madrid began to surface. Ferguson convinced him to stay however and Ronaldo began to fulfil the potential that had seen Manchester United snap him up in 2003. During the 2006-2007 season he played at a very high level leading to claims that he was the best player in the world.

He led Manchester United to the BPL title and to a Champions League semi-final clash with Kaka and AC Milan which was highly touted as the clash of the two best players in the world. However Kaka came out the clear winner scoring 3 goals over the 2 legs outshining Ronaldo who despite netting 1 goal it continued to be painted as does not show up on the big occasions. Rumours linking him with an 80 million euro move to Real Madrid began to surface again however Ronaldo signed a new contract with Manchester United worth a reported 120000 pounds a week.

Despite Ronaldo playing very well and at a high level doubts over his ability to perform against the biggest opposition lingered. Since he had been in England he had just scored 2 goals in 24 clashes with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Ronaldo would however answer his critics in devastating fashion the following season.

The 2007-2008 season did not start that well for Ronaldo, he received a red card and a 3 match ban for head butting Portsmouth player Richard Hughes. He claimed that he had learnt a great deal and he would not be provoked in the future. Determined to prove he was indeed the best in the world Ronaldo led Manchester United to a famous double of league and Champions league scoring an amazing 42 goals in all competitions. He scored in the league against Liverpool and Arsenal and against Chelsea in the Champions League final.


Ronaldo's 42 goals during the 2007-2008 Season

Still questions remained about Ronaldo’s ability to hold his nerve at the very biggest moments as he missed a penalty in the first leg of the Champions league semi final against Barcelona and also missed a penalty in the penalty shootout in the Final of the Champions League. The end of the season was overshadowed however by rumours that Ronaldo would again be moving to Real Madrid. Talk of Ronaldo “dreaming” of a move to Real Madrid continued to circulate and was the focus of reporters at Portuguese camp at Euro 2008.

The Ronaldo to Real Madrid fever hit fever pitch after Euro 2008 when Ronaldo reportedly said he would accept a deal with Real Madrid if they offered him a sum that was reported earlier in the year. Manchester United reported Real Madrid to FIFA for improper conduct but FIFA declined to take action. The dye was cast though as it was clear that Ronaldo wanted a move to Real Madrid. He started the 2008-2009 season by recovering from an injury to his ankle that required surgery and despite returning to Manchester United seemed to lack the same will he had displayed the season before.

Despite this he seemed to put Manchester United on his back in the Champions League and carry them to the final. His amazing performance against Inter Milan in Italy was only spoilt by the fact that he did not score. He quickly rectified that in the second leg and followed that up with and amazing winner against Porto in the Quarter finals. Another thunderbolt in the semi final against Arsenal and Ronaldo had dragged Manchester United into the final. He looked lively in the final but once again the allegation could be made that when the very biggest moments arrive Cristiano Ronaldo goes missing.


Ronaldo's screamers against Porto and Arsenal

Signs of cracks in the relationship between Ronaldo and Manchester United began to appear during the 2008-2009 though as Ronaldo very publicly pouted after being substituted during a league game and also reacted angrily on the pitch to Sir Alex who had criticized him. Despite this he continued to play well for Manchester United and continued to score crucial goals for them.

Despite losing in the Champions League final Ronaldo led Manchester United to a third successive EPL title and another League Cup title where he made amends for missing a penalty in the Champions League final shootout, by scoring in the penalty shootout to claim the League Cup. At the end of it all Real Madrid got their man for 80 million pounds despite Sir Alex Ferguson saying earlier in the season that he would “not sell a virus to that mob”. He was seen celebrating his move to Real Madrid by partying with Paris Hilton.
























Ronaldo and Paris Hilton celebrate his move to Real Madrid

If Ronaldo’s story is controversial then Messi’s is the exact opposite. Lionel Andres Messi was born on the 24th of June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. Messi started to play football at the age of 5 for a local club called Grandoli that his father used to coach. Messi’s talent was obvious and at age 8 he was snapped up by Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys who are based in Rosario. Things seemed to be going smoothly for Messi until at age 11 he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.

Messi’s club did not have the money to pay for his treatment and although River Plate was interested they too could not provide the cash to treat an 11 year who could turn out to be a bust in the end. In stepped Carles Rexach and FC Barcelona who decided to pay the medical bills after seeing Messi play during a trial at the club. Messi continued through the youth teams of Barcelona at one time playing on the same youth team as Cesc Fabregas.


Leo Messi early years in Barcelona

He progressed well and finally made his La Liga debut against Espanol on October 16th 2004 at age 17 becoming the third youngest player to ever play for the Blaugrana and the youngest to ever play in La Liga (a record that was eventually broken by Bojan Krkic). Messi scored his first goal in La Liga against Albacete in the process becoming a youngest Barcelona player to score in La Liga (another record that was eventually broken by Bojan ironically from a Messi assist). Messi would go on to play 7 games that season helping Barcelona to earn their first League title since 1999.

On to the FIFA World Youth Championship where Messi would begin to show some of the killer instinct that would make him one of the best players in the world today. The Argentina team of 2005 contained many names that would go on to be stars on the world stage. Oscar Ustari, Pablo Zabaleta, Fernando Gago, Ezequiel Garay and Sergio Aguero all took part in that competition and would go on to play at some of the biggest teams in some of the biggest leagues in the world.

The tournament did not start well for Argentina who left Messi on the bench for the first 45 mins of their first game with the USA and ended up losing by a single goal. Quickly rectifying his error for the next game against Egypt, the coach put Messi into his starting line-up and the man from Rosario did not disappoint netting the first goal in a 2-0 win for the Argentines. Messi once again started for Argentina’s third group game against Germany and Argentina once again triumphed by a 1-0 score line.

Now a fixture in the starting line-up, Messi would start his reputation of turning up in the biggest of games. In the Round of 16 against Colombia, Argentina was trailing after 52 mins. Up stepped Messi to equalize in just 6 mins later and Argentina would go on to win the game by 2 goals to 1. In the quarter finals the Argentines would meet a Spanish team including Cesc Fabregas Fernando Llorente David Silva and Raul Albiol. Once again Messi would score and Argentina would top the Spanish by 3 goals to 1. In the semi finals Argentina met arch rivals Brazil and Messi once again showed his class by giving his team an early lead as the Argentines continued their relentless march to the final. They would dismiss the Brazilians 2-1 in the end setting up a final match with Nigeria.
























Messi Collects the Golden Boot at the FIFA U-20 World Cup

In the final Messi would score 2 goals including the winner against in the 75th min meaning he had scored in every round of the knockout stages claiming the golden ball and golden boot thus proving that he shows up in the biggest of games. FIFA’s official website would go on to describe Messi in the following way:


“After losing out to the USA in their first match, Argentina never looked back as they laid claim to a fifth title at the fifteenth instalment of the FIFA World Youth Championship. Pre-tournament sensation Lionel Messi could only look on hopefully from the bench while his mates struggled against the Americans in their opener. But after coming on at the half, he made an immediate impact and never spent another minute off the pitch. The 18-year-old Barcelona prodigy proceeded to light up the Lowlands to become - for one summer at least - the toast of Planet Football.

Bagging both penalties in the final against Nigeria and top scorer and top player honours, the baby-faced Messi earned comparisons to none other than Diego Armando Maradona. His rip-roaring form in Holland was arguably the most individually influential since 'Dieguito' left fans gasping for air at Japan 1979. And as the team only won two of their seven matches by more than a one-goal margin, they needed every inch of their young talisman's inspiration.”


A new star had been born and he would go on to explode onto the stage the following season. Realizing the talent that they had on their hands Barcelona quickly renewed Messi’s contract for the second time in three months as they upgraded his status to first team status at the beginning of the 2006 season and extended his contract till 2014. The 2005-2006 season would be Messi’s coming out party to the world. He finally got his Spanish citizenship and began playing more regularly for the first team. He would go on to help FC Barcelona claim their 2nd league title in as many years and their first European Cup since 1992.

The real defining moment of the 2005-2006 season would however come against Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho’s team at that time was dominating the BPL with one of the best defences that had been seen for some time. Messi systematically dismantled the Chelsea defence making them look silly and so tormenting left-back Asier Del Horno (who was a new big money signing at the club) that he caused del Horno to make a rash challenge and be sent off.


Did Messi Dive or was he Taken out by Del Horno?

Mourinho would go on to accuse Messi of diving to which Messi responded that he had the stud marks in his leg to prove that he was not acting. Messi would pick up a season ending injury in the second leg and would miss the Champions League final starting accusations that he could not stay fit for a full season.

Messi went to the World Cup with Argentina in 2006 but was not a regular starter. He still however become the youngest ever player to represent Argentina in a World Cup and also become the 6th youngest ever player to ever score in a World Cup. He was left on the bench for the entire of Argentina’s quarter final against Germany as the Albicelestes went out on penalties. The coach Jose Pekerman would resign immediately following the defeat.


Messi makes himself into a Barca legend with a hat-trick against Real Madrid

If the 2005-2006 season was Messi’s first warning shot, the 2006-2007 season was the beginning of the fulfilment of his promise. Sadly once again Messi suffered an injury that ruled him out for 3 months of the season. However on his return he would once again write his name in history rescuing FC Barcelona in the Superclasico by scoring a hat-trick including the equaliser in the dying minutes of the game to prevent a loss to the old enemy Real Madrid. He would then go on to recreate Maradona’s goal against England in the 1986 world cup against Getafe in the Copa Del Rey. It was not all positive though as Messi mirrored Maradona’s other goal against England from the 1986 World Cup scoring a goal with his hand against Espanol during a crucial La Liga game towards the end of the season.


Messi imitates Maradona

Messi, reputation enhanced by the previous season, then went to the Copa America in the summer of 2007 playing in a tournament during the off season for the third straight season. He was brilliant throughout the tournament creating goals for team-mates throughout the tournament and scoring in the quarter final against Peru and a magnificent chip in the semi-final against Mexico. Argentina would be soundly beaten by Brazil in the final but Messi had done well to get his team there.


Messi lights up the Copa America

Back with FC Barcelona for the 2007-2008 the plaudits continued to roll in for Messi with a poll conducted by Madrid’s based Marca finding that 77% of respondents thought that Messi was the best player in the world, a view that was supported by Franz Beckenbauer and Francesco Totti. Sadly Messi would injure himself again this time ruling him out for 4 months of the season further adding ammunition to those that said he was injury prone and could not play a full season without getting a major injury.

Messi would return in time for the Champion’s League semi-final with Manchester United and a showdown between the world’s two best players at the time. Manchester United would advance but it was clear the Messi had outperformed Cristiano Ronaldo over the two legs despite Messi having just returned recently from the 4 month layoff due to the injury that he had suffered. Still Ronaldo’s team advanced to the final and Ronaldo went on to claim all of the plaudits for the 2007-2008 season. Despite Ronaldo winning the Champions League and the BPL and Messi winning nothing for 2007-2008, a majority of voters on FIFA’s website had actually voted for Messi to claim the World Player of the year.

Messi would once again go to a summer tournament for the 4th consecutive year after begging FC Barcelona to go to the Olympics despite fears that his lack of pre-season preparation was the reason for his frequent injuries. Despite the controversy Messi went on to lead an Argentina team containing players such as Riquelme, Lavezzi, Gago, Mascherano, Ageuro and Garay to their very first Gold Medal in the Olympics defeating a Brazilian team that contained Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato, Diego, Lucas, Hernanes, Anderson, Thiago Silva and Marcelo in the process. He would set up the lone goal in the final for team-mate Angel Di Maria in the final once again proving that he shows in the biggest of games.

On to the 2008-2009 season and Messi would run riot appearing to be aiming to match Ronaldo’s 42 goals the previous season. He would finish the season with 38 in all competitions once again proving his penchant for showing up in the biggest of games scoring 3 goals in the 2 Clasicos his 6th goal in 4 games against Real Madrid. He would also go on to score the crucial go-ahead goal in the Copa Del Rey final that FC Barcelona would claim by a 4-1 margin against Athletic Bilbao. Going into the Champions league final and showdown against Ronaldo for the title of the best player in the world the critics began to knock Messi.


Messi's Best Season

He does not score against the English was the cry. Messi had indeed not scored in 10 previous games versus the English but had made his name against Chelsea so many years before, a fact that seemed lost in the hype. He does not score headers either they all said. Ronaldo’s prowess in the air is what sets him apart from Messi. Onto the Champions League final and Messi once again proved his penchant for performing on the very biggest of occasions rising as some said like Michael Jordan and seeming to hang in the air as he tilted his body to plant a header past the stranded Manchester United goalkeeper. Messi had answered his critics with one fell swoop while Ronaldo looked frustrated for most of the night.

Unlike Ronaldo Messi has stated on several occasions that he wants to spend his career with FC Barcelona and never wants to leave the club making him even more popular (if that was possible) with the Cules. Messi also unlike Ronaldo is not linked with many different models and it has been stated that he will marry Antonella Roccuzzo who he has known since childhood.





















Messi and his girlfriend Antonella

So as we conclude the look at Messi versus Ronaldo we can see from the list of competitions that they have won that both players are amazing players:

Messi is a born winner; he has won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Holland 2005, the Olympic games of 2008, 2 Champions League titles, 3 La Liga titles, 1 Copa del Rey and 2 Spanish Super Cups. He has been 2nd and 3rd in the Ballon d’Or voting for 2008 and 2007 respectively and looks set to climb one better this year. He has also come 2nd for 2007 and 2008 in the FIFA World Player of the Year and also looks set to claim the title for the first time this season.

Ronaldo’s resume is just as impressive, 1 Champions league title and 1 runner up medal in Europe’s biggest competition to go along with 3 Barclay’s Premier League winner’s medals, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cups, 1 Community Shield (the equivalent of the Spanish Super Cup) and the FIFA World Club Cup. Ronaldo did the double of claiming the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year for 2008 after finishing 2nd and 3rd in the two competitions respectively in the 2007 voting.

Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff has declared Ronaldo is better than Dennis Law and George Best who were two Manchester United legends, while Maradona has publicly declared Messi his heir and that the current Argentina team is Messi and 10 others. Perhaps the best person to compare the two would be somebody that has played on the same team with both players; Gerard Pique had this to say on the matter.

When asked “You have played with Cristiano Ronaldo and with Messi. Who's the best?” Pique replied “They're completely different. Cristiano uses a lot of step-overs and tricks to dribble a player while Messi gets passed three opponents with three touches. Leo is a lot more decisive and when he doesn't give that much show as Cristiano, that's just because he doesn't need it.”

My personal take on the matter is that some people are born to be the hero and some are born to play the villain. Messi has gotten standing ovations for Argentina playing against the Brazil national team in Brazil and for FC Barcelona playing against Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina. Ronaldo on the other hand was booed with every touch while playing in a friendly for Portugal against the Brazil national team in Brazil. He has also been booed by opposing fans at times during his Manchester United career and again while playing his first ever game for Real Madrid in their pre-season friendly against Shamrock Rovers. He has stated publicly that being booed doesn’t bother him and drives him to perform better.

In closing football fans are about to be treated to a clash of two of the best players in the world. My advice to everybody is to sit back relax and enjoy the rivalry of possibly the two best players of our time going head to head in La Liga against the same teams to determine who will be remembered as the greatest player of this era. Ronaldo has blistering pace, heading, free-kicks, long range shots, step-overs and tricks. Messi has uncanny ball control, deadly finishing, and the ability to ghost around defenders despite them knowing what he is about to do. We are about to witness greatness. Sit back relax and enjoy


Messi vs Ronaldo = Victory for fans


by barca4life

Venue : Camp Nou, Barcelona





This week kamikaze kontiki could not do the preview again so I will once again be filling in for him. Barcelona's last home game of the league season comes off today and what a season it has been. This article is a preview article but since most of the focus is towards the Champion's League final on Wednesday with several players already rested last week, I think it appropriate to take a small look back at what has been accomplished in the league this season before we look at the game.

What a Difference One year makes

It seems somewhat like a dream to be honest, it's hard to believe the position that Barcelona were in last year at this point. By this stage of the league last year Real Madrid had already been crowned La Liga Champions, Barcelona had just endured the humiliation of the pasillo and followed that up with an abysmal display being bent over by Madrid for a 4-1 demolition.

There was talk of the Barca dressing room being split into factions with a Ronaldinho faction, an Etoo faction and a Spanish faction. There was talk of black sheep in the Barcelona dressing room and accusations of heavy partying and faking of injuries. Sid Low a, Barcelona leaning, columnist for the Guardian of London described it in the following way in his post match article saying

"After giving Real a guard of honour, Barça followed up with a display so complete in its patheticness, so utterly gutless, that it summed up their season."

as well as

"It was Real Madrid versus Barcelona, the clásico, but it was all about the pasillo - the guard of honour that beaten Barcelona had to hand the newly-crowned champions. As the chant runs, it was time for "¡Barça, cabrón!" to "¡Saluda al campeón!"; for Barça, you bastards, to salute the champions."

and finally

"Worse still, it was a performance so complete in its patheticness, so utterly gutless, that it summed up Barça's season, "the final brick in our wailing wall" as El Mundo Deportivo put it, "the final stab in the supporters' back", according to a mourning Sport, whose front cover this morning is completely black and reads: "Tragic End: You have dishonoured the Barcelona shirt". "

Just a few short months on coach Frank Rijkaard removed and local club legend Josep Guardiola (up to that time manager of the B team for 1 season) installed. What a master-stroke that proved to be. Guardiola promised in a news conference to “to try to seduce my players because I believe in the power of the word,”. “They’ll have to learn that they’re not worth much alone, that talent and inspiration can only become great when they are at the service of the team.”.

In that vein Ronaldinho, Deco, Edmilson, Zambrotta, Thuram, Dos Santos, Ezquerro and Oleguer were sent on their way and Keita, Pique, Dani Alves, Hleb and Caceres were brought in.

Few could have predicted the turnaround that was about to occur. In their first pre-season friendly Barcelona demolished Scottish team Hibernian in a display that had Barcelona fans suddenly feeling surprisingly optimistic. Barcelona went on to demolish all opposition on their pre-season tours of Scotland, Italy and the United States scoring 25 goals in 5 games. Suddenly the fans were starting to become optimistic again even though the wins were against smaller opposition teams.

But one of the most telling games of the season would come up next and it would show the fight that Pep had instilled in this team. The Joan Gamper trophy is the traditional curtain raiser to the season that usually takes place between Barcelona and another "big team". Boca Juniors came to open the season and after a cagey game Boca took the lead in the 72nd minute. The good start to the season seemed to be slipping as memories of the previous season came back.


-Joan Gamper Trophy-

Desperately needing a goal just to equalize Barca kept pushing forward until in the 92nd minute (sound familiar?) up stepped Captain Carles Puyol planted a corner into the top corner of Boca's net to send the Barca fans into celebrations. The joy was not over yet as in the 95th minute Etoo nodded in a cross to send the Barca fans into raptures and give Barcelona the unlikeliest of victories. The team had shown its steely resolve which would be shown again to devastating effect on a cold London night later in the season.

Still, the season did not start in the most convincing of fashions. Barcelona hammered Wisla Krakow 4-0 in their first Champion's League qualifier, but when Guardiola decided to rest players for the return leg in Poland the weakened Barca team lost 1-0. That loss seemed to throw off the Barcelona team and they opened the season with a 1-0 away loss to Numancia and followed that up with a 1-1 draw at home to Racing Santander.

Suddenly the panic button had been hit, as Barcelona with 1 point from a possible 6 and no wins in the 3 games having scored just 1 goal in the process seemed to be haunted by the ghosts of the previous season. But as so often this season Pep and his boys got the result they needed when the pressure was at its greatest. Barcelona beat Sporting Lisbon of Portugal in their next Champion's League game and followed that up with a 6-1 humiliation of Sporting Gijon in front of Gijon's home fans.

The team was well and truly off and running and they never looked back. A small blip in January aside, the team has played fantasy football for most of the season scoring goals for fun and running opponents off the pitch. What a difference a year can really make.

Barca Play for the record books

Barcelona have nothing to play for again this season in the league except perhaps the record of the most goals in a season which stands at 107 set by Real Madrid in the 1989/1990 season (38 games). Barca currently have 104 so 4 goals in the next two games would make them the highest scorers in a single season ever in the history of La Liga. Another record that the team could still break is the most wins ever in a season which stands at 28 set in a 38 game season by Real Madrid in the 1987/1988 season.

The Blaugrana currently have 27 wins so victory in their next two could see them win the most games ever in a single season of La Liga. The final record that they can extend is the most points ever for a 38 game season with 3 points awarded for a victory. Real Madrid got to 92 points in the 1996/1997 season but they did it in a 42 game season. With two more wins Barca could tie the most points ever amassed in La Liga despite playing a full 4 matches fewer than that Real Madrid team.

Osasuna Play to survive

While Barcelona attempt to erase all records set in the modern era, Osasuna are desperately battling relegation and are currently in 17th place on 37 points tied on points with 18th placed Sporting Gijon and just 2 points clear of 19th placed Numancia. With Osasuna being just 1 point behind 16th placed Getafe and 3 points behind 15th placed Real Betis they are in the fight of their lives to stay up as any of the bottom 6 teams could go down.

Form

Barcelona have stumbled over the La Liga finish line not winning in their last two and just winning once in their last 4 games. They have not needed to win however and the last loss was played after the title had been decided already and players had been rested for the Champion's League Final

Last 5 La Liga games

Barcelona 4 - 0 Sevilla
Valencia 2 - 2 Barcelona
Real Madrid 2 - 6 Barcelona
Barcelona 3 - 3 Villareal
Mallorca 2 - 1 Barcelona

Osasuna meanwhile have not won in their last 6 La Liga games and are in abysmal form. Things get no easier for them as they have Barcelona at away next and Real Madrid at home for the final league game of the season. Their one consolation is that Barcelona will rest players for the Champion's League final and Real Madrid have nothing to play for but pride on the last day of the season. It will be a difficult task but their players will know it could have been worse if Real Madrid and Barcelona were still battling for the La Liga crown

Last 5 La Liga games

Osasuna 2 - 3 Malaga
Valladolid 0 - 0 Osasuna
Osasuna 1 - 2 Recreativo Huelva
Getafe 3 - 0 Osasuna
Osasuna 0 - 0 Sevilla

Tactics and Lineups

I wont attempt to predict either of these as this is not an ordinary game. It has already been reported that Valdes wont play in La Liga again this season and Messi has said he will be resting before the final. Etoo while chasing the Pichichi (named after famous Athletic Bilbao player Rafael Moreno "Pichichi", not pikachu the pokemon) should get some time off even if he does start the game in an attempt to regain his best form.

We should see some who have played less such as Bojan, Caceres, Hleb Sylvinho and Gudjohnsen get some more minutes in before the Champions's League final. We could see some more of youngsters Jeffren Oier and Xavi Torres who trained with the first team Friday. Also training with the first Friday team were Abraham, Botia, Gai Assulin and Marc Muniesa. Muniesa who was recently profiled on this blog as one of fast the rising stars of the Barcelona youth academy was mentioned by coach Pep Guardiola Friday.

Guardiola said

"Despite the fact that I know most of these players from last season, it is god to give them the step up to see how they cope at first team level against first division teams. Just look at what happened wit Sergi Busquets. Marc Muniesa? He is a young player who everyone speaks very highly of. He is a left-sided central defender that has come back from a serious injury and done well and is someone we have to nurture."

The Barcelona website has hinted that Muniesa could be set for a debut and you can see what Marc Muniesa looks like below


-Marc Muniesa-

You can also check out more of Barcelona's young stars that could be making the jump to the first team in the coming years here : Barcelona's Spanish U-17 Stars.

Conclusion

Barcelona are set to have their Camp Nou party with reports that "Musicians will perform before kickoff, and Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and captain Carles Puyol are scheduled to express their thanks to supporters by addressing the crowd after the game. The team will then make a lap of honour accompanied by a firework display, with fans giving Barcelona an enthusiastic send-off for the final in Rome." Osasuna still have something to play for but the Barcelona players that do play will be anxious to prove to Guardiola that they are in form in the event that substitutes are needed in the Champion's League final. Overall a celebration of a fantastic league season even though Guardiola has stated that the team will play to win you get the feel that this game will be more about avoiding injuries than crushing Osasuna.

Prediction Barcelona 3 Osasuna 2


barca4life

In the past 3 years the Spanish National under-17 team have won the UEFA Under-17 European Championship on two occasions. Those teams contained several players that are from the Barcelona youth setup. We will profile a few of these players in this article.

2007
The 2007 event saw the Spanish National team emerge with the title beating their English counterparts in the final. Barcelona prodigy Bojan Krkic got the only goal of the game in that final. The team contained several Barcelona youth team products including Bojan, Iago Falque, Fran Merida and Cristian Valle.

Bojan Krkic
Bojan was no stranger to the competition had taken part in the 2006 event as a 15 year old where he emerged as joint top scorer of the tournament with 5 goals including a hat-trick off the bench against hosts Luxembourg in a 7-1 demolition. He once again came off the bench in the third place game to great effect scoring against the Germans. The game went to penalties and Bojan proved his nerves of steel scoring what turned out to be the winning penalty in the penalty shootout that finished 3-2 in Spain's favour. German wunderkid Toni Kroos had the chance to extend the penalty shootout but missed the final penalty for the Germans.


- Bojan goal -

Having taken his team to 3rd place as a 15 year old the previous year Bojan returned the following year. He opened up his account in the final group stage scoring the lone goal in Spain's 1-0 win over Switzerland. As with great players however he saved his best for the big occasion. In the semi-final against a Belgian team that contained reported Barcelona target wunderkid Eden Hazard, Spain found themselves down to 10 men after key player Pichu was sent off. Things seemed to be going from bad to worst as Spain then conceded an own goal and looked to be going out of the competition.

But cometh the hour cometh the man as Bojan smacked home the equalizer for Spain with just 8 minutes left. The game stayed that way after extra time and went to penalties where Bojan converted his penalty as Spain advanced to the final 7-6 on penalties.On to the final where once again Bojan proved why he is one of the "Europe's brightest prospects" according to the UEFA website for the tournament. The report on the UEFA website describes Bojan's winner in the following way

"England nonetheless survived the first period and after the interval the breeze was behind them. However, eight minutes in, the man who scored twice against them in a 3-2 win for Spain in October, Bojan, did it again. Steele could only parry a Merida effort and Bojan was there to shoot in with aplomb past two despairing defenders to the delight of the sizable Spanish support."

The headlines stolen then "Bojan strike gives Spain title" and "Bojan strikes for Spanish success" adorn UEFA's official website as the Barcelona starlet wrote his name into the history of the European under-17 championships.


- Bojan winner vs England -


Iago Falque
Iago can possibly be considered as another one in a long list of talent from the Barcelona youth academy that got away. A left-sided winger with great promise Iago was once considered a player that could eventually play for the Barcelona first team. After doing well at youth level for Barcelona's Juvenil A team and helping Bojan to guide Spain's U-17 team to the 2007 European Crown with 2 goals, Iago was tipped to be promoted to Barcelona Atletic.

However new manager Luis Enrique had different ideas refusing to promote Iago and after strong interest from Manchester United, Ajax and Juventus he decided he wanted to leave. Realizing that they could lose another young Spanish talent for nothing, Barcelona made a desperate attempt to get Iago to stay by reportedly offering to promote the youngster after all. The player however had made up his mind and eventually Barcelona cancelled his contract so the youngster could leave for Juventus at the start of this season.

He would go on to say in a later interview that

"Luis Enrique told me from the start that he had a lot of people for my position. Later he said that he counted on me, but by that time I didn't want to continue anymore. I was already talking with other clubs and my mind had left the club."

He has played for Juventus B this season and is yet to make his Serie A debut.

- see a video of Iago below -



Francisco Merida
What is it about players whose names begin with Fran sneaking out of Barcelona. Merida joined Barcelona at age 8 and was touted as a future star. However as with another famous Fran, Francesc Fabregas, Barcelona would lose their man to the so called great developer of talent Arsene Wenger. The trouble all started when Merida who had signed a precontract agreement with Barca at age 14, stating that he would sign professional terms with Barcelona two years later, disappeared for several months.

Reports are that his agent Joseba Diaz hid Merida away and then snuck him to England without telling Barcelona anything (a similar situation was reported to have occurred with Manchester United's da Silva twins Rafael and Fabio who claimed recently that an Arsenal agent had asked them to leave for Arsenal without letting their club know but they refused and ended up joining Manchester United Instead).


- Merida -

Apparently Merida's parents had become uneasy with all of the young players joining Barcelona and decided that their son would have a better chance elsewhere. AC Milan, Real Madrid and Arsenal were all interested with Arsenal being his final destination. He was given Fabregas' old room according to reports.

Furious at having lost another central midfielder prodigy for nothing Barcelona sued Merida and won 3.2 million euro in compensation, a cost which Arsenal covered despite claiming no wrong-doing in the incident. Merida nevertheless helped Spain to the U-17 title in 2007 and has gone on to represent Spain at u-19 and u-21 level. He spent last season on loan with Real Sociedad and has made his league debut for Arsenal this season.


Cristian Valle
Valle did not make the cut for the Spanish squad for the final round of the 2007 European U-17 championships, but he did play a part in the earlier rounds playing against Switzerland, Poland and Sweden in the "Elite round" (the stage before the final group stage) of the European Championship. A left side defender by trade, Valle made the jump from Barca's Juvenil B squad to Barca's Juvenil A team this year and was part of the team that recently won the league and followed that up with Champions Cup. A possible player for the future if Valle can continue to improve, the left-back position has been a concern of late for Barca and in Valle they could find a replacement right under their noses

- See a video of Cristian Valle -



2008
The 2008 tournament proved to be more of the same for Spain as they claimed their 2nd straight European crown and once again Barcelona players had a key role to play. Players from Barcelona once again had a key role with Thiago Alcantara was the star this time scoring one goal in the final and setting another up, ending second joint top scorer in the competition. The Barcelona players that were selected this time were Martin Montoya, Oriol Romeu, Thiago Alcantara, Rueben Rochina, Alex Sanchez Benitez, Carles Planas and Adria Carmona.

Thiago Alcantara
Thiago Alcantara has been touted as a future Barcelona first team player for about 3 years now. Those who have seen him play have very high regard for the midfielder. Son of former Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho (1994 world cup) born in Italy and groomed early on by Flamengo, Thiago joined Barcelona at the tender age of 13 and has since been touted as a future star.

His talent was easily recognisable and his father recently told Setanta that Chelsea offered him a move when he was 16 but he turned them down because he was happy with Barcelona. (He also mentioned his younger brother Rafa who is being followed by several teams as well but who also wants to stay)

He proved his class in the 2008 tournament against France in the group stage twice drawing Spain level in a 3-3 draw, with two free kicks. He then went on to convert a penalty in the final against the French once again in a 4-0 demolition. In the UEFA match report they describe his contribution to the final in the following way

"Keko was the inspiration behind the victory, producing a display which eclipsed even that of last year's final winner Bojan Krkić. He turned in Thiago's pass just after the half-hour and his ball set up Sergi early in the second period for Spain's second.

Thiago had outshone Keko prior to this final and got in on the act with a lovely shimmy, though Manu was denied by a tackle from fellow substitute Willy Boly, making his finals debut. Fauré was then adjudged to have tripped Sielva as he surged into the area and Thiago put away the first non shoot-out penalty of the finals."

Thiago one of the stars of the tournament has continued to work and he was recently rewarded with his first cap for the Blaugrana in the game against Mallorca and also has moved up to train with the Spain U-19 squad. Definitely a bright future ahead, Thiago is one to watch for in the near future.

- See a video of Thiago here -



Martin Montoya
Martin Montoya is another youngster that played a crucial role in Spain's Championship playing all of Spain's Final group stage games along with their semi-final and final clashes. A right back by trade Montoya's talent was recognized by the Barcelona coaching staff who called him up to the Barcelona B team pre-season friendly with Swansea. He started the season with Barca Juvenil A, but was called up to Barca Atletic for the game against Osasuna B earlier this season at the tender age of 17 after an injury to first choice Corcoles.

He was recently selected in the shortlist of right-backs for the Futbol Draft awards, the most prestigious Spanish awards for youth players between the ages of 16 and 21. He was also called up to the Spanish u-18 team for the clashes with the French u-18 team on May 19 and 21 along with other Barcelona players Thiago, Ruben Rochina, Alex Sanchez Benitez, Marc Bartra Aregall and former Barcelona youth player Daniel Pacheco who now plays for Liverpool. He has trained with the first team during an international match break along with other youth players such as Gai Assulin, Jonathan dos Santos (brother of Gio) and Polaco.

Carles Planas
Another promising left back to come out of the Barcelona youth setup is Carles Planas. Carles as he is known started the first game of the under-17 championships at left back and was subsequently dropped from the team for the next two games. A resilient player however he found his way back into the team in the semi-finals and finals and helped Spain to their second title in as many years. He has also been nominated for the Futbol Draft awards in the left-back category and although starting this year as captain of the Barcelona Juvenil B team.

His performances led him to play with the Juvenil A team and he even featured in the Juvenil A teams Champions cup final victory over Celta Vigo. Capping off a brilliant rise in 1 season he received a call to Luis Enrique's Barcelona B team earlier this season and filled in admirably in a 0-0 draw. He has also been capped for Spain at the under-19 level and having turned 18 this March and is definitely one to watch for the future.

- See a video of Martin Montoya and Carles Planas here -



Rueben Rochina
Rueben had a good under-17 tournament starting the semi final and coming on as a substitute in the final. His finest moment came on the group stage where he rescued Spain who were trailing the Republic of Ireland by 1 goal to nil. Coming off of the bench Rochina netted a double as Spain came back to win 3-1. The official UEFA website described his goals as follows

"Ireland were playing for pride and took an early lead through Conor Hourihane. But Rubén, filling the No9 shirt worn last year by FC Barcelona colleague Bojan Krkić, turned the game with two superb strikes and provided Keko with the clincher which ensured Spain finished above France on goal difference and set up a Tuesday semi-final with the Netherlands.

In the end seven minutes was all Rubén needed to open his tournament account, Keko jinking in the area and passing for the striker to beat Hanley with a left-footed shot.

Hanley stopped another Rubén effort but his second goal soon followed, a low-curling free-kick from the edge of the area worthy of any level of football. Ireland refused to be beaten and Hourihane smashed a drive on to the underside of the crossbar. The ball also fell nicely to substitute Robert Brady who shot over, but Spain had the last word, Rubén returning the favour for the first goal by setting up Keko to produce a neat finish, ensuring Spain avoid facing hosts Turkey in the last four."


- Rochina -

This display by the player who has been described as a "true killer in the box" came as no surprise to the Barca staff. Rueben came to Barcelona via Valencia in 2004. He was promoted through the ranks to the Juvenil B team last season where he scored 15 goals before December earning a promotion to Juvenil A. Rueben a left footer stands at 182 cm giving him an ability to win arial challenges, which is always a good thing for a centre forward. He has been called to the Barcelona Atletic team more than once this season and showed his worth scoring a double against Swansea in the pre-season friendly along with 2 league goals. He has been nominated for the Futbol Draft awards in the Centre Forward position along with Bojan.


Alejandro Sanchez Benitez
Alejandro Sanchez Benitez or Alex had a good tournament keeping 2 clean sheets in 4 games including a clean sheet in the final. Despite conceding 3 goals to the French in the opening round Alex bounced back to shut them out in the final. Currently with Barca's Juvenil B team Alex at age 18 has a bright future ahead of him and has been called up to the Spanish national u-18 squad to face the French in two friendly games in May.

Adria Carmona
Carmona played all of Spain's U-17 games and had a good tournament. A left winger Carmona has played for Barcelona Juvenil A this season and has drawn interest from Tottenham Hotspur along with other top clubs such as Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter and Juventus. He recently scored in the Juvenil A teams Champions Cup final victory and at just 17 he is definitely one to watch for the future.

























- Adria Carmona -


Oriol Romeu
Oriol Romeu is a defensive midfielder who has also been scouted by Europe's elite like Adria Carmona. He plays for the Juvenil A team but he has been called up by Barcelona Atletic already this season. He started the European under-17 semi final against Holland as well as Spain's first two games but did not play in the final and was not on the bench. Romeu also received a call up to Luis Enrique's Barcelona Atletic team this season filling in as a defender in a 0-0 draw with Denia and also against Santa Eulalia in a 1-0 win which showed his versatility. At age 17 Oriol is a player to watch in the coming years.


2009
After two years of brilliance Spain crashed out of the final group stage of this year's European Championships. They did not score a goal but on the other hand they conceded no goals either. Perhaps a look at the makeup of the team gives some idea as to why this happened. In previous years the teams were rich with attacking talent from the Barcelona youth academy. On this occasion however the 4 Barcelona players that were selected were all defenders, a coincidence then that no goals were conceded? Maybe. The Barca boys who did a great job in the defence were Marc Muniesa, Sergi Gomez, Adria Blanchart, Albert Dalmau.

Marc Muniesa
So impressive was Muniesa that UEFA named him one of the Ten Future stars from the 2009 U17 finals saying on the official UEFA webpage

"Much was made of the fact that defending champions Spain, despite the best efforts of midfielder Koke and striker Borja, did not score a goal during the tournament, but they did not concede a one either and that has a lot to do with the performances of centre-back Muniesa. The FC Barcelona youth team member - who already competes with players two years older than him - does not just resemble Carles Puyol in looks, displaying a calm presence in the heart of the defence. Left-footed and strong in the air, Spain coach Ginés Meléndez made a point of highlighting his contribution after he returned from a ten month injury lay-off."


- Muniesa -

Muniesa had long been tipped as rising star and Sport profiled him as one to watch from the time he was 15 and Chelsea reportedly being ready to make an approach for him. He has however stayed with Barcelona and progressed through the ranks to the Juvenil A team where he played this year. Muniesa was also nominated for the Futbol Draft awards for the centre back position and is highly rated by all who see him. Possibly a second coming of Carles Puyol, he even looks a little like Barca's "Captain Fantastic". HOT HOT HOT prospect. Remember the name folks this one looks like he could be the genuine article.

- See another video of Muniesa here -



The Others
Of the other three defenders from the Spanish National u-17 team Dalmau and Gomez started all of the final round games while Blanchart stayed on the bench for all 3 games in the final group stage. These three young players all play for the Juvenil B team and Dalmau who is a right back has been nominated for the Futbol Draft awards in that position. Blanchart is a central defender that joined Barcelona from Espanol and is highly rated by the staff with Francisco Javier Garcia Pimienta telling Sport that Blanchart "is a very difficult central defender to overcome, who is very good in the air..."

Sergi Gomez Sola is also a central defender for the Juvenil B team. He scored the winner against the United States u-17 team in a warm-up for the European Championships. In the dying minutes of the warm-up game played in Madrid on the 18th of February 2009, Sergi scored the winner with a shot through a crowd of players after a goal-mouth scramble from a corner.

See pictures of Sergi Gomez, Blanchart and Dalmau:






























- Sergi Gomez -

























- Adria Blanchart (right) with coach Garcia Pimienta (centre) and Ivan Balliu (left) -


























- Albert Dalmau (#2 bottom right) -




barca4life

Venue : Camp Nou, Barcelona


Before I begin the preview, let me say a few words to Rafouka who had some harsh criticism for my last preview. Rafouka, do you see these previews that I do? I do not get paid to do them. Do you see the videos that I tirelessly supply? I do not get paid to do that either. Do you see the hours I spend as a moderator in the Barca Chat? I do not get paid to do that. Do you see the articles that Ramzi writes? He does not get paid to do them. You see all of the stories that Pep finds and puts on this blog? He does not get paid to do this. And there are many others who give of their time freely such as Kamikaze Kontiki, hamad ali and barca al to name a few.

We all do this because of our love for Barca and for the people that come onto this blog. We all have lives outside of this blog and we could all spend our time doing other things besides writing articles/previews or finding stories and videos or doing translations for this blog. I have never claimed to be a "genuis" (sic) as you stated and the day somebody comes along that thinks they can do a better job than myself I will happily step aside and allow them to give the people who read this blog a better insight into Barcelona's upcoming matches.

Do you think it is easy for me to spend hours of my time going through past games to look for trends, goals scored, goals conceded, formations used, history and quotations from players about the game? Do you think that after the deflating 0-0 draw with Chelsea I felt happy or enthusiastic to have to write another preview in 2 days time? I'm all for critiquing of my previews and suggestions of how to improve things on this blog, but you Sir had nothing constructive to say. You slam my previews because I do not predict a Barcelona win every game and imply that I am somehow not as good a fan because of this. I may be a Barcelona fan Sir, but I am not delusional, Barcelona are going to lose and draw some games every season, no team has ever played a season in the modern era and gone unbeaten in all of the competitions and quite frankly I feel secure in saying no team ever will.

Finally I saw you mentioned tactics, let me explain something to you, we can only look at certain trends here and attempt to extrapolate from them. When we talk about Iniesta being a key player on the left flank in a certain game, we are only attempting to give the fans an idea of what could happen. Nobody here has an inside link to the Camp Nou or Pep Guardiola, we can only give our opinion of what could happen. Let me just close off this statement by saying that the day that my previews do not find favour with the fans, I will happily walk away from it with no hesitation.

On to the preview then, after a week of utter ecstasy for the Blaugrana and their fans, the team nears the end of this difficult stretch of games that is the make or break portion of its season. With the win over Madrid and the scoring draw at Stamford Bridge, Barca have taken two giant steps towards turning this season from a record breaking season into a legendary season that will be spoken about 100 years from now by the Blaugrana fans at that time. Barcelona could even clinch the league season on Sunday against Villareal provided Real Madrid drop points on Saturday. Even a Madrid draw and a Barcelona win would hand the Cules the title as Barcelona would be 9 points clear with 3 remaining games. This would mean that Real Madrid could only tie Barcelona on points and since La Liga is decided on a head to head basis if teams end up tied on points and Barcelona beat Real Madrid home and away this season for an aggregate of 8-2, the La liga title would be clinched by the Blaugrana.

Previous Game

Barcelona went into Madrid and thrashed the Merengues 6-2 in what was one of the biggest losses in the Clasico and the most goals conceded by either team in a Clasico. The performance by Barcelona was a joy to behold and was almost the perfect game from the Blaugrana. A concern for Guardiola would have to be the ease with which Barcelona conceded goals from free headers which has seemed to plague the Blaugrana the entire season.

Villareal meanwhile warmed up for their trip to the Nou Camp by slumping to a disappointing 2-0 home loss to Sevilla. Sevilla had been in awful form losing their last 4 games to Getafe, Valencia, Barcelona and Real Madrid and one would really have expected Villareal to make that 5 straight losses for Sevilla.

Current Form

Villareal had a bad month of April, winning 2 out of 7 games in all competitions and going out of the Champions League to Arsenal in the process. That bad form seemed to have continued into the month of May with Villareal opening the month with the aforementioned loss to Sevilla. In this run Villareal have scored 5 goals while shipping an alarming 13 goals. They have had their injury worries this season with Captain Marcos Senna injuring himself after Santi Carzola was ruled out of the rest of the season earlier that month.

Barcelona meanwhile have been rolling along continuing there relentless march towards the title having last lost a game on the 1st of March against Atletico Madrid. In that time they have advanced to the Champions League Final, the Copa del Rey final and taken themselves to within touching distance of the La Liga title. In the process they have won 10 games and drawn 5, scoring a remarkable 38 goals and conceding 9. This fantastic run has not come without their price however Rafa Marquez having been ruled out for the rest of the season and Thierry Henry is going to miss the Copa del Rey final and could very well miss the Champions League final as well.

Player Profiles
Bojan vs Rossi

In this matchup we could see two future global superstars of football. Bojan the Golden Boy of Barcelona and Spain comes up against Giuseppe Rossi the future of the Italian National team. Krkic, born in Catalonia to Spanish and Serbian parents, shot to prominence as a youngster when he scored 899 goals in 7 years in the Barcelona youth system. A call up to the Spanish u-17 national team quickly followed and Bojan proved his class leading Spain to the U-17 European crown (scoring the winner against England in the final) and also to 2nd place in the FIFA U-17 World Championship (where he finished as top scorer for Spain and joint 3rd top scorer for the tournament, he also copped the Bronze ball for the 3rd best player in the tournament).

A promotion to the Barca first team followed last year (becoming the youngest ever barca player to play in a champions league game as well as being the youngest ever Barcelona player to score in La Liga along with being the 2nd youngest player to ever score in the champions league and the first person born in the 1990's to play in the Champions League) and he proved he was not out of his depth scoring 10 league goals last year. Chances have been more limited for the wunderkid this year but he has still managed 9 goals in all competitions just 2 less than his total for last year.

With Thierry Henry out for some weeks still and the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday, Guardiola may turn to his young prodigy as he attempts to keep the squad fresh during this difficult run of games. Pep already turned to Bojan this season for the Almeria game and the youngster did not fail to deliver netting both goals on that occasion in a 2-0 win.

If Bojan is an example of how young players can be developed in the area where they are from Rossi is the antithesis. Born in the United States of America to Italian immigrants, Rossi moved to Italy when he was offered a spot at the youth team of Parma in the year 2000. He stayed there for 4 years until Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United came calling at which point he moved to England to join, the Manchester United Youth team. Rossi proceeded to score at a prolific rate for Manchester United's youth and reserve teams, but found first team opportunities limited.

He managed to score his first goal for Manchester United's senior team in 2005, but spent part of 2006 on loan at Newcastle United before moving back to Italy to Parma for a season loan in 2007 where he scored 9 goals in 19 games. Fed up with waiting for opportunities at Old Trafford, Rossi then moved to Spain for Villareal where he has scored 23 league goals in 54 games. He was so highly respected by Ferguson that Manchester United insisted that a buy-back clause be inserted into the deal with Villareal before he left. Scoring at a rate of a goal every two games in the last 3 years Rossi has already played in the 3 top leagues in Europe at the tender age of 22. He went to the Olympics at the start of this season and gave his best scoring 4 goals in 4 games which was enough to take Italy to the quarterfinals but no further. Villareal's top scorer this season with 15 goals in all competitions, Rossi will undoubtedly have to play some role if the "yellow submarine" are to get anything at the Camp Nou.

TACTICS AND FORMATION

Villareal have favoured a 4-4-2 lineup this season, however they may consider playing an extra man in the midfield as they did in the first meeting between these two teams at El Madrigal. The fear of being demolished like Real Madrid (6-2), Sevilla (4-0) and Valencia (4-0) earlier this season means that Villareal will look to attempt to close down the free flowing play of Barca and stifle the creativity of the Blaugrana's midfield.

Barcelona on the other hand with one eye on the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday may consider resting a few players. We could see some of the players that have played less, such as Caceres, Bojan, Hleb and Gudjohnsen get some minutes in to improve their match fitness and confidence before the Copa del Rey.

Predicted Lineups

Barcelona : Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Caceres, Abidal, Xavi, Gudjohnsen, Keita, Bojan, Etoo, Messi

Villareal : Diego Lopez, Angel, Godin, Gonzalo, Capdevila, Cani, Mati Fernandez, Eguren, Ibagaza, Nihat, Rossi

RECENT MATCHUPS IN CAMP NOU

04/05 Barcelona 3 - 3 Villareal
05/06 Barcelona 1 - 0 Villareal
06/07 Barcelona 4 - 0 Villareal
07/08 Barcelona 1 - 0 Villareal (Copa del Rey Quarter final 2nd leg)
07/08 Barcelona 1 - 2 Villareal

Villareal have won only once in their last 5 visits to the Camp Nou losing 3 and drawing 1. The one draw came after Barcelona had already claimed the league title and had nothing to really play for. In this Run Villareal have scored 5 goals (albeit in only 2 games) and conceded 10.

Conclusion: It does not look good for Villareal. Barca will clinch the league title with a on Sunday and the party will well and truly be on in the Camp Nou. Villareal have an average away record in La Liga winning 5 of their 17 away games so for drawing 7 and losing the other 5. They have scored 22 goals away from home but conceded 24. They have conceded an alarming 17 goals in the first 30 mins out games out of a total of 37 goals. This does not bode well for them as Barcelona have scored an amazing 27 goals between mins 16 and 30 (the most of any time portion of games for the season) of games this season out of their total 100 and 36 goals in the first 30 mins. Villareal have also conceded 10 goals in mins 76 to 90 where as Barca have scored 22 in that time period. Overall just too much firepower for poor Villareal who will attempt to play spoiler and stop the part in Barcelona for 1 more week.

Prediction : Barcelona 4 Villarreal 0

Happy times against Villarreal



Note : Special thanks to M10 for the vid.

Venue : Stamford Bridge, London



The unstoppable force comes up against the immovable object in what promises to be an interesting (if not goal-filled) game. The only team to prevent Barcelona from scoring a goal at the Camp Nou this season comes up against a Barcelona team that has scored 146 goals in all competitions this season.

A great deal has been said in the week since Barcelona and Chelsea got together in the Camp Nou, with accusations and counter accusations flying both ways. Talk of only one team playing football and the other falling over at the slightest of bumps have added to the spice of this contest that has always provencontroversial if not always breathtaking. All the talking will cease Wednesday when these two teams get together once more to decide who will book theirticket to Rome.

THE LAST GAME

Attacking Chelsea
Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink said before the first leg clash in an interview with soccernet that "We expect a very attacking Barcelona and Chelsea has the character not to sit back, it is impossible in this team even if I say to the team "hey guys let's sit back and defend" it is impossible because there is this desire in the team to play football as well."

The stats however told a very different story. Barcelona dominated with 18 shots to Chelsea's 3, 10 corners to Chelsea's 2, and 65% of the possession according to UEFA's official website. Chelsea meanwhile led the Blaugrana comfortably in one category Fouls committed in which the led 20 to 7. The fact that both teams ended up with 2 yellow cards apiece speaks volumes about the standard of refereeing.

Media Controversy
After Chelsea's display at the Camp Nou the firestorm kicked off immediately with Pep Guardiola saying "It's never easy to play well when the opponent isn't trying to push forward and play football." while Xavi launched a scathing attack "In England they talk about fair play so much. It's a shame that they don't put that into practice out on the pitch." and "There was no fair play from Chelsea at all. We played football; they did not play anything at all. The [Michael] Ballack challenge was a blatant red card but the referee did nothing. We had them holed-up in their own penalty area for the whole game.".

Chelsea meanwhile were ecstatic with the result Captain John Terry declaring his pride in the result saying "We held our nerve and it was important we did that. The work the midfield did tonight was incredible." while Petr Cech hailed the Chelsea performance saying "This team have a lot of courage and a lot of blood, mentally it was great performance." and "The result is a compliment to the team, achieved in a very difficult circumstances."

Still incensed by Chelsea's tactics Iniesta launched another attack on the Blues "We tried to play our football. All the while, we tried to attack and score a goal, but when the team in front of you do not want to play football, it becomes complicated", which forced Blues boss Guus Hiddink to reply "There were some collisions, but from either side. It's a man's game. They were controlling and dominating the game and I'd have liked to have had some more initiatives, but they controlled it."

Meanwhile German International Michael Ballack (who was lucky not to be sent off in the first leg) stirred the pot saying "The referee did a great job. This is football and the Barcelona players should know this. Maybe they expected us to roll over for them and because we didn’t, they don’t think it’s fair" and "In fact, it was a game where it was not necessary to talk about the referees at all. But this is how players react when they do not obtain the result they want". Meanwhile Frank Lampard declared his delight for the result saying "It was a magnificent result and a terrific performance".

TACTICS AND FORMATION
The Key Players
Pique vs Ivanovic
Messi vs Malouda

Gerard Pique has had a breakout season with Barcelona, after starting just 5 EPL games and 3 Champions League games for Manchester United last term and playing a grand total of 12 games, Pique has finally started to fulfil the promise that prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to take him to England as a youngster. He has started 23 La Liga games, 10 Champions League games, 4 Copa games and also made his debut for Spain.

Though he started a little slowly, which resulted in goal.com giving him a C in Barcelona Transfer Report Card in March, he has picked his game up in the past few weeks with good performances against Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid springing to mind. He has looked calm and assured at the back and provides some much needed aerial presence in the Barcelona backline and also in attack. He only has 3 goals this year but his presence at set pieces gives opponents one more thing to worry about. With Puyol, Marquez and Milito all out for the 2nd leg of the Chelsea clash Barcelona will look to the "one that got away and then returned" to provide some much needed defensive stability at Stamford Bridge.

Like Pique, Branislav Ivanovic has had a breakout season of his own. Signed for 9.7 million pounds by Chelsea last season (the largest sum ever paid to a Russian club) Ivanovic was not seen again for the entire of the 2007/2008 season. He finally made his Chelsea debut in the Carling cup this year and followed that with a League debut the following month. Still he was not really a regular until Guus Hiddink took over.

Hiddink knowing Ivanovic from his time in Russian football started Ivanovic versus Liverpool in the Champions league and the rest is history. Two headed goals at Anfield and Ivanovic had become an instant Stamford Bridge favourite. He has started regularly since then and done well for the Blues. Tall, strong and good in the air, Ivanovic is exactly the kind of player that has the attributes to trouble Barcelona from set-pieces. With Ricardo Carvalho out, look for Ivanovic to fill in well for the Portuguese man and the Blaugrana will have to keep a close eye on him to ensure he does not destroy their Champions League dreams.

Leo Messi has been scoring goals seemingly at will this season, but people who do not watch Spanish football still question his claim to the title of the best player in the world. The same people that were screaming from the rooftops "42 goals" at any dispute to Cristiano Ronaldo's position of the world's best player last year have failed to notice Messi is already on 36 goals for this season. I even read a few comments and articles saying that Messi disappears in the big games.

Totally ignoring his 6 goals against Real Madrid in 4 Clasicos, they point to the fact that he has not scored against English opposition in 9 games as proof that Messi does not turn up for the big games. Messi has the chance to answer his critics once and for all in this second leg, with Henry still nursing as knee injury from the Clasico mauling and Etoo having scored just 1 goal in his last 7, Barcelona need the little man with the big reputation to step up and deliver a match-winning performance. He has been in good form recently netting 6 goals in the last 7 games he has played and the Blaugrana need La Pulga to continue his good form if they are advance to Rome in London.

Like Ivanovic another player enjoying a revival after the arrival of Hiddink is Florent Malouda. One of the hottest prospects in Europe after the 2006 World Cup, Malouda got his big money move to Chelsea in 2007. He did not live up to expectations last season though and there have been rumours of him leaving for Juventus. Enter Hiddink however and Malouda began to show some of the form that indeed made him one of the most coveted left wingers in Europe.

2 assists against Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League Quarter-final and a goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup Semi-final marked Malouda's resurgence. Malouda will need to try to exploit the space left by Dani Alves, looking to get forward to support Messi, as well as getting back to help out Ashley Cole with the immense task of keeping Leo Messi quiet for the second game in a row.

TACTICS

Chelsea are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Having failed to score at the Camp Nou the Blues now need at least 1 goal to advance to the semi-finals without going to the lottery of kicks from the penalty mark. Chelsea needed to put all 11 men behind the ball in the Camp Nou just to prevent Barcelona from scoring and after looking at the massacre in the Bernabeu they certainly will be tempted to hang back at Stamford Bridge and play a similar to the first leg. The only problem with playing for a 0-0 draw is that Chelsea have an abysmal record in penalty shootouts as shown below. After last year's nightmare, you have to figure that John Terry would rather go out in regulation time than face the possibility of missing the crucial kick again.

Chelsea's Penalty Woes : Chelsea's Penalty Shootouts in the past 3 years

Carling Cup 4th Round 2008/09
Chelsea 1 - 1 Burnley (Chelsea lost 5-4 on penalties)

UEFA Champions League Final 2007/08
Chelsea 1 - 1 Manchester United (Chelsea lost 6-5 on penalties)

FA Community Shield 2007/08
Chelsea 1 - 1 Manchester United (Chelsea lost 3-0 on penalties)

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2006/07
Liverpool 1 - 1 (Agg) Chelsea (Chelsea lost 4-1 on penalties)

Carling Cup 3rd Round 2005/06
Chelsea 1 - 1 Charlton (Chelsea lost 5-4 on penalties)


So what do Chelsea do? Do they go forward and risk being ripped apart by a hungry Barcelona strike force or do they hang back and wait for the dreaded penalty shootout. My guess is that Chelsea will go for a mixture of the two. When Guus Hiddink first took over, there were a couple of games in which his team scored early and then went into their defensive shell holding on for the 1-0 win. This would be the perfect scenario for the Blues. It would allow them to attack early and then go back to their Camp Nou tactics confident in their mind, rightly or wrongly, that Barcelona would not be able to break through. Look for the Blues to come out firing on all cylinders looking for the early goal which would allow them to play the game the way they want.

Barcelona have some worries of their own. With Puyol, Marquez and Milito all ruled out of this game through injury or suspension, Barca have only Pique and Caceres as natural centre-backs. Caceres has not settled as well as Barcelona would have hoped for when he was signed, but he has improved since his first few appearances. He is a physical defender that could be just what Barcelona require to tame Drogba and Anelka, or he could be the mistake prone mess that we saw earlier this season.

The other logical choice would be to move Eric Abidal from left-back to centre back and put Sylvinho out on the left flank. The two concerns for Barca would be Abidal ability match up against a power-forward like Drogba and Sylvinho's ability to cover what could be a rampaging Bosingwa down the Barca left side. Sylvinho is not the same player he once was and his ability to keep up with a younger quicker Bosingwa is very much in question.

A third option to Barcelona's centre back problem would be to move Yaya Toure into the Barca defence with Pique and start Busquets or Keita in the centre of midfield. Personally I think this would be a bad idea as Barcelona need Yaya in the middle of the park to control Essien Lampard and Ballack. Take Yaya out of the midfield and we could see Chelsea's physically bigger players begin to boss around Xavi and Iniesta which would be very bad for Barcelona. The final option is Victor Sanchez, the Barca B utility player has been included in the final squad but I cant really see him playing in this game. He is just a back-up in case there are any injuries to the other two central defenders.

Another problem Barcelona face is the possibility of Henry not being fit to start the game. Henry was instrumental in Barcelona's win over Real Madrid at the weekend rolling back the years with a marvellous performance and his loss could be a big blow for Barcelona. Iniesta has done a good job filling in for Henry on that left flank this season and would no doubt be the first choice to go to the left wing position if Henry cannot play. This would mean however that Keita would most likely be required to slot into the midfield in Iniesta's place which would limit the creativity of Barcelona. In the end Pep Guardiola said it before the Real Madrid game, Barcelona will play in the same manner they have all season. No parking the bus here, expect Barcelona to keep hold the ball and look to attack Chelsea at every opportunity possible.

Predicted lineups

Chelsea : Cech, Bosingwa, Terry, Ivanovic, A. Cole, Essien, Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka

Barcelona : Valdes, Dani Alves, Pique, Abidal, Sylvinho, Xavi, Toure, Iniesta, Messi, Etoo, Henry

PAPER TALK

As usual there has been a lot of banter between these two teams before the 2nd leg of this game. Henry kicked off the talk right after the Real Madrid clash saying "We will go to Chelsea looking for the win like we did here – It is the only way we know how". Drogba meanwhile sounded his confidence in his team saying "I think, in the last few months, we've shown that we can score goals and, okay, they have Messi, Henry, Eto'o, and Andres Iniesta who can also score. But we've got more players able to score. Our midfielders, our defenders can also score. We can score from every position in our side. We know that.We know that, tomorrow, we have to score goals to win the tie."

Drogba also fired a shot at Barca after their last game saying "Everyone enjoyed the game in Camp Nou last week. They complained, sure. But their complaints are coming from frustration because they didn't score." Messi then fired a warning shot for Chelsea saying "We will play in the same way against Chelsea as we did against Real and, playing like that, we will have many chances. If we do things as we did on Saturday then we will score and go through." Ballack meanwhile added his two cents "So we have to take things as they come, whatever they do. They might have to put Eric Abidal in the middle. But even if they had Rafael Marquez or Carles Puyol, Didi(Didier Drogba) is strong enough to challenge them."

Iniesta then continued to preach the Barca motto saying "We will be thinking, 'Attack, attack, attack'. That is the Barcelona way" while Pique urged Barca to focus on the Chelsea clash and forget the amazing win in Madrid saying "the win against Madrid is history. We’ll remember it even better if we also get to Rome. Right now, let’s talk about the Champions League please!"

Finally the coaches expressed their views with Hiddink saying "You have to play very intelligently against the top team in Europe now as the slightest error will be punished," "On the other hand, you must not play without any emotion. If you do, it might put the brakes on your own performance. If you can combine both, you have a very good game."

Guardiola meanwhile gave his take on how the Blaugrana could reach the final saying "we must reproduce the concentration we showed on Saturday, that’s the first step to ensure we make the final. It’s no good us trying to take them on head on, they are physically stronger and bigger than us. We have to know how to read the game and play to win: attack, keep possession, go for goal – that’s how we will reach Rome"


Last 5 games

Arsenal 1 - 2 Chelsea
Chelsea 0 - 0 Everton
West Ham 0 - 1 Chelsea
Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea
Chelsea 3 - 1 Fulham

Getafe 0 - 1 Barcelona
Barcelona 4 - 0 Sevilla
Valencia 2 - 2 Barcelona
Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea
Real Madrid 2 - 6 Barcelona

Conclusion: Chelsea have conceded just 2 goals in their last 5 games, they have tightened up their defence significantly since the 4-4 draw with Liverpool. Tightening their defence though has seemed to come at the price of scoring goals as they have just scored 6 goals in their last 5 games. Barcelona have been scoring well netting 13 goals in their last 5 while conceding 4, however they have now not scored against English opposition in their last 3 games, a worrying statistic for all Barcelona fans. Add that to the fact that Chelsea have not lost at home in the Champions league in 17 games, a stretch that runs back to the 2006/2007 season, and an English team has not lost to a non-English team in the knockout stages of the Champions league since AC Milan defeated Manchester United in the 2006/2007 season. A glimmer of hope for the Blaugrana is that they were the last team to defeat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League. In the end I fear this may be one "Bridge" too far for Barca.

Prediction : Chelsea 2 Barcelona 1


barca4life