FC Barcelona Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Glico Man

dfx- wrote: »

Does this mean Barcelona can 'claim' him as part of the winning team if Spain win on Sunday?:pac:

Well the international transfer window opens on July 1st so......

Davaeo09

So how are people feeling about our squad now then? Villa coming back, Alba, the likes of Affelay,Thiago and Sanchez can only improve. Centre back being the only place where we are any way stretched for cover now I'm relatively happy.

Pique hasn't looked great for Spain the last game game or two. I am hoping he can put in a solid performance on Sunday because for me he looks a shadow of himself beside an excellent Ramos (sickening to say that:rolleyes:)

I know Del Bosque hasn't exactly got it wrong yet, but I'd to see Torres and Pedro in Negredo ad Silva's place in the starting line up against Italy. Negredo was a mere bystander against Portugal. I feel Torres can actually provide a bigger threat against a solid Italy back line. He can drop deeper to receive the ball allowing Pedro/Iniesta more space between/behind defenders. Either way it should be a cracking game and I feel the final could not be more between two better teams. Both sides play great attacking football and Pirlo/Xavi are both legends in their own right.

Might go pop a few quid on Iniesta to score :pac:

dfx-

I would say I think Pique hasn't been as dozy as he had been for Barcelona last season. Smashing clearances off the bar, completely missing his clearance (at Villarreal), that sort of thing.

Davaeo09

dfx- wrote: »

I would say I think Pique hasn't been as dozy as he had been for Barcelona last season. Smashing clearances off the bar, completely missing his clearance (at Villarreal), that sort of thing.

Still a far cry from his brilliant best though!
Before this season I rated him as 1 of if not the best CB's on the planet, on current form I can think of at least 3 that are better than him, Ramos as I mentioned before being one of them which doesn't sit right with me

CongoPowers

Haha, I’m claiming Jordi Alba, but I think we’re in the wrong until he actually signs.

I don’t think Piqué has had a bad tournament but agree that he’s not yet at his best. Himself and Ramos have proven to be a pretty good partnership, in fairness. They compliment each other so far as Piqué needing a dominant CB beside him while Ramos usually suffers with a fellow potential headcase in Pepe as a partner at Madrid. Del Bosque should really use Iraola at RB after the Euros, back four would be very strong then.

If Spain lined up tomorrow with:

Casillas
Arbeloa Piqué Ramos Alba
Busquets Alonso
Xavi
Pedro Torres Iniesta

I’d be fairly confident they would beat Italy. But hearing del Bosque go on about how great Pedro is as an impact sub, I’m guessing he won’t start, and that we may just see the same eleven that started in the group game.

This is a nice video the club posted yesterday of Jordi Alba’s time at La Masia.

And another short video of Joan Román.

As for our squad next season, if we do end up signing a decent CB, no one can complain. There wouldn’t be a better squad in the world, including Real Madrid's.

G.K.

Am I making things up or is Pinto leaving? If so would Oier step up or a new guy come in?

Junior D

Jesus he looks tiny compared to some of the other guys around the last minute of the video.
From the video as well I'm guessing he used to play as a striker?

Junior D

Jesus he looks tiny compared to some of the other guys around the last minute of the video.
From the video as well I'm guessing he used to play as a striker?

CongoPowers

Pinto renewed for another year back in January so he will be there next season.

I'm really not sure who will replace him when he goes, though. Oier isn't particularly popular with the fans and I know Barça were looking at a replacement in Esteban Andrada, a young Argentinian, for a while, but that deal fell through. There are a few younger goalkeepers the club have high hopes for, but as for the near future it's anyone's guess.

Yeah, Jordi Alba's size became an issue when he reached what we would call u-15 because other players had grown more and whatever, which lead to him eventually being let go. Strangely enough, he was used as a playmaker a lot during his time at La Masia, then as a winger. Funny how players develop.

dagdha

Iniesta was immense tonight and Busquets had an excellent game and a very good tournament over all. Albas goal was brilliant, can we claim him yet :pac:
If he can keep up that form for Barca next season it will be unbelievable, Alves bombing down the right and Alba down the left. Barca were really missing that threat from the left last season so hopefully Alba can provide it plus with a fully fit Villa ahead of him

CongoPowers

I'm sure everyone's feeling pretty good about the Jordi Alba signing now

Also, just thinking, look at Busi's career so far:

2009 – Champions League
2010 – World Cup
2011 – Champions League
2012 – European Championships


Sixteen titles in total, I think.

Boss.

MD1990

Barca were smart to wrap up the 14 Million signing of Alba a few days ago
he probably worth 20-25 Million after his Euro performances

MD1990

Barca were smart to wrap up the 14 Million signing of Alba a few days ago
he probably worth 20-25 Million after his Euro performances

dagdha

CongoPowers wrote: »

I'm sure everyone's feeling pretty good about the Jordi Alba signing now

Also, just thinking, look at Busi's career so far:

2009 – Champions League
2010 – World Cup
2011 – Champions League
2012 – European Championships


Sixteen titles in total, I think.

Boss.

He gets alot of slack especially from people on here but he does a brilliant job for Barca and Spain and I don't think he put a foot wrong during the competition.

I like Piques stats aswell, exactly the same as Busquets plus he's banging Shakira :pac:

CongoPowers

dagdha wrote: »

He gets alot of slack especially from people on here but he does a brilliant job for Barca and Spain and I don't think he put a foot wrong during the competition.

I like Piques stats aswell, exactly the same as Busquets plus he's banging Shakira :pac:

He's criminally underrated by a lot of people. I've been saying on here that this past season, he's been the best/most consistent midfielder in the league. I guess some people let his antics cloud their opinion of him, others just don't watch him regularly. Such an intelligent footballer, though.

CongoPowers

Jordi Alba's goodbye press conference with Valencia;

Apparently he was nearly in tears at some point not shown in the video.

With regards to Barça, he was saying he can't believe his luck, being a European champion and now coming home.That he's looking forward to starting. Called Iniesta a phenomenal player that makes everything easy, puts the ball exactly where you want it etc. Thanked Xavi for the assist in the final and said that his dad "knew" he would score before the game.

Spain's u-19's are playing Greece on Eurosport at the moment. Deulofeu and Grimaldo (youngest player at the tournament) are playing. They're winning 2-0.

gimmick

I met Javier Mascherano in Miami on Friday

CongoPowers

No way! Did you actually speak to him? If you did, what was he like?

See it's mentioned in the tournament's thread, but Spain ended up winning 2-1. Grimaldo was great, Deulofeu faded after a good first half.

I don't know if I'd count the Supercopa, but HeilRJ02 (good channel) posted a video of Xavi's assists in finals after his two on Sunday. Forgot to post before.

Assisted in both EC and CL finals he played in. Legend.

gimmick

I think he was put out to be recognised. He was with his wife and kids in the elevator with me. I just shook his hand and mumbled some gibberish. He gave me a sympathetic smile and that was it.

Turtwig

CongoPowers wrote: »

No way! Did you actually speak to him? If you did, what was he like?

See it's mentioned in the tournament's thread, but Spain ended up winning 2-1. Grimaldo was great, Deulofeu faded after a good first half.

I don't know if I'd count the Supercopa, but HeilRJ02 (good channel) posted a video of Xavi's assists in finals after his two on Sunday. Forgot to post before.

Assisted in both EC and CL finals he played in. Legend.

<yt>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEmO9ujKLr8&list=UU-1PzASEV3lZLEJD6EIci9A&index=1&feature=plcp<yt>

Xavi is amazing. Truly amazing I remember one of the commentaries mentioning how his passes seemed as if he had measured out the angles in advance with a protractor. I've said it before and I'll say it again when Xavi's not on form the whole rhythm of a team (Barca and Spain) seems to suffer. When he's on form the team plays with a beautiful level of fluidity.

G.K.

Jernal wrote: »

Xavi is amazing. Truly amazing I remember one of the commentaries mentioning how his passes seemed as if he had measured out the angles in advance with a protractor. I've said it before and I'll say it again when Xavi's not on form the whole rhythm of a team (Barca and Spain) seems to suffer. When he's on form the team plays with a beautiful level of fluidity.

This tournament suggests that imo. Xavi never really hit top gear till the final, where he was excellent.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Xavi is the fulcrum of Barca and Spain, it was painfully obvious this past season. A lot of people don't appreciate this because he rarely actually joins in with the attack. When he finally does retire it will become a lot more obvious, Thiago, Fabs and Iniesta are more than capable replacements, but can they do his job? Nay chance. Best midfielder I have ever seen, better than Zidane, Pirlo and Scholes.

CongoPowers

gimmick wrote: »

I think he was put out to be recognised. He was with his wife and kids in the elevator with me. I just shook his hand and mumbled some gibberish. He gave me a sympathetic smile and that was it.

Haha, good man, I might have bottled it.

It's actually hard to know what to say. Even a handshake on its own is a safe bet, though.

Agree with the three of you about Xavi, I'd encourage anyone to go and see him play live if you haven't before. It's hard to imagine how Barça will react to eventually losing him, maybe the team would have a slightly more direct approach like in '06. But more than likely, the club would like Cesc or (less likely) Thiago to adapt to a similar role. People have high hopes for Samper coming through with similar qualities, but that's years down the line.

I was watching that 'remuntada' video about Iniesta last night. If anyone hasn't seen it or the actual documentary before, you seriously should watch when you get a chance. I can never be too critical of Iniesta after watching it. His story in 2010 is amazing, how he made what he did of the tough times he had. An absolute hero.

Jordi's presentation tomorrow, finally.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

That was a great video, definitely worth a watch.

CongoPowers

Spain's u-19s have just drawn 3-3 with Portugal. Silly points to give away. Created a lot of chances, but defended pretty terribly.

Deulofeu played for just over an hour and did very well, got a great assist for Jesé's hattrick goal.

Grimaldo had a good game before giving a penalty away in the last minute. Cruel.

Agostinho Cà was good for Portugal, would be a nice addition to the B team.

Our pre-season plans for this summer look better than last year anyway.

G.K.

I can't wait for Deulofeu to be ready to play in the first team full time. Looks fantastic any time I've seen any of him.

CongoPowers

Same here, very talented player. There have been games for the B team where he has looked far too good for the opposition, but he hasn't yet done it consistently. He just needs to mature, really. His decision making is the biggest area in which he needs to improve, but again, that just comes with experience.

I'd love to see himself and Dongou play together a fair bit next season.

dagdha

It's been announced on the official site that Keita will be leaving the club this summer. It's rumoured that he will sign for a club in China.
He has been a great player and never seemed to kick up a fuss even though he did'nt get that much game time. He was very dependable and every team needs a player or two like him in it, he's been a great servant and I would'nt begrudge him for wanting to leave to get more playing time.

kryogen

Big loss, opens up opportunities for Thiago though I guess

miralize

Sad to see Keita go. He may not have been a big name like Xavi or Iniesta, or had the impact of them, but his ability to see the game out from off the bench and calming things down, along with popping up with some goals along the way was really important.

Barcelona have to buy a CB now I think. Mascherano can fill in the midfield backup position left by Keita, and that in turns leaves room for a backup/first team CB (puyol phased out this season perhaps?). Not to mention the uncertainty surrounding Abidal.

Are we solidly linked with anyone in defence? Javi Martinez & Thiago Silva were the names thrown around last month, but has there been any developments in that area?

I wish Keita the best, but at least this gives us more room to bleed some of the young midfielders in.

Also.. Alba! He had a phenomenal Euro 2012, can't wait to see him play for us!