FC Barcelona Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Cesc won't go to Real. It's always been quite clear that when he moves on he will go to Barca. Besides being a Catalan, Pep guardiola is his boyhood idol. Also i couldn't see Arsenal selling to Real unless it was an astronomical sum. He will most likely be allowed go to Barca in a few years when Wenger finishes his contract and Barca actually need him.

eZe^ wrote: »

A sh*t Barcelona played an amazing Man United team last year in the semi's. They were beaten by 1-0 goal, over 180 minutes, and it was a wonder strike. To write off Barcelona's chances this year in the CL is laughable, considering how close United and Barca were last year. In comparison Barca are 100 times better than last year, and United are far from being as potent as they were last year.

Literally?:eek:

As it seems like we are picking up a bit more momentum after a bad few weeks, I really think a few things need to be addressed;

First lets get the bad stuff out of the way...
Barca recently have been conceding wayyyy too many silly goals, goals that weren't even coming close to being created in the first half of the season. I don't know why this is, Toure/ Busquets are still beasts in midfield, with Busquets playing much better now than back then imo (when ironically he was getting all the plaudits). Without Abidal, we have been playing Alves and Sylvinho as our FB's, that's is far too attacking really, we need to play a more defensive LB imo. I think our backline should tonight be;

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Alves

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Marquez

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Pique

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Cacares----

I know Cacares has failed to impress so far, but he is more defensively competent, so he may add a bit of oomph to the defense. He is also young, and needs to be given time to develop, he has played excellently for Uraguay, there is no reason to give up on him after only about 15 appearances.


Now for the drooling praises of a biased fan....
The reintroduction of Iniesta has been excellent on the team imo. He really has EVERYTHING a midfielder needs to be world class, the only thing missing from his arsenal is goals, but if he adds that to his game anytime soon, he'll be a future Ballon D'or candidate. His passing is fantastic, maybe not as accurate at long ranges than Xavi, but his short-mid range through balls are as good as anybody on the planet atm. Also, his dribbling is second only to Messi in our team, people really need to take notice of how good his runs are.

Henry's goal scoring form has been the difference in a number of games recently, and his stats so far have been excellent. 20 goals and 7 assists in 33 appearances, better stats than the current world player of the year this season . Not bad for a past it 31 year old I guess. And considering he stated he wants to retire here, he'll be an excellent back up winger for when we get Ribery next year. Hahahaha.

Finally, I think Lionel Messi is actually unbelievable. Watching him against Lyon just reiterates how good he is in so many positions. He was everywhere at times, playing as an incisive winger, picking the ball up in midfield and distributing beautifully, scoring an absolutely breathtaking Maradonaesque goal and creating many chances with his excellent passing.

He really has it all, and I can see how Rijkaard was saying he may turn into a proper midfielder ala Kaka/ Gerrard one day, he has the pace, the passing ability, the dangerous runs, the finishing. I love Messi more now than I ever did Ronaldinho. 29 goals and 13 assists in 37 games, thats a direct contribution to 42 goals this season, and I can see him making at least another 10-15... It's a pity that his performances this season aren't being as hyped as Ronaldo's last season (he's been better imo), basically only because he doesn't play in the EPL. It's a shame.