FC Barcelona 5, Valencia 1. Messi on Fire!

Where has this FC Barcelona team been? It feels like I haven’t seen them since the FIFA Club World Cup.

Sunday was a very good day if you’re a Culé as Barcelona regained some of their old form and defeated Valencia 5 – 1. The team got off to a terrible start as Pablo Piatti scored to make it 1 – 0 for Los Che. The Barcelona defense – subject of much criticism – once again did not mark correctly and allowed Piatti to receive the cross and put it past Victor Valdes.

It felt like another “Here we go again” moment.

But after that goal, Barcelona finally woke up from their inconsistent football play and played with the ball control and swagger that we’re used to seeing.

It seems like it always starts and ends with Lionel Messi. The greatest player alive scored the equalizer in the 21^st minute as a Pedro cross landed at Messi’s feet and Messi was able to get it passed Diego Alves. Messi added his second goal just five minutes later as once again the Argentine won the battle against Alves. Messi added his third in the 75^th minute and finally added the fourth in the 84^th minute after a great pass by Sergio Busquets to Leo who chipped it over Alves. Messi has now had two great games in a row (Valencia and Bayer) and is only one away from Cristiano Ronaldo (28) for the Pichichi Award.

What a way to celebrate your 200^th game with FC Barcelona!

Messi has had an amazing week. Barcelona hope he’s only heating up.

The passing was almost back to the team’s old form. Andres Iniesta had a great game. With Xavi on the bench – nursing a foot injury, Iniesta had no problem being the midfielding general. He set up the attack and was passing by Valencia defenders. In order for Barça to move deep in the Champions League, Iniesta is going to need more games like this.

Alexis Sánchez continues to shine. He was deserved of a goal but was unable to find the back of the net. It will not show up on the stat line, but Sánchez had a grand game and he has been worth every cent Barcelona paid for him.

One thing that I think Pep Guardiola should consider for some Liga games is moving Alexis to the 9 spot and moving Messi to his old position at RW. Sánchez played the striker roll from much of last week’s UEFA Champions League match versusBayer Leverkusen and played great – scoring two goals. Messi also had a great game in Germany as he set up Sánchez’s goals and scored a goal himself.

Having Messi and Alexis switch roles will help free up Messi as he would not be as crowded as he is as a CF, thus being able to create more plays. Alexis has shown that he can play both roles. It’s clear that Sánchez and Leo are right not playing tremendous football and their on-the-pitch chemistry is at an all-season high. It may not work, but giving it a shot in Liga matches may open up Barça’s play.

Two players that played well but are still not at their full potential are Cesc Fàbregas and Pedro Rodriguez. Cesc almost had a golazo when Iniesta found him onside and Fàbregas’ chilena hit the crossbar. Cesc missed a shot horrifically in the second half as well but his passes where back to form. All he needs is to regain his chemistry with Messi and Cesc will be back to the same form he was at the beginning of the season.

Pedro is still cold as he tries to find his goal-scoring form of old. The speed is there but he is struggling getting good shots off. Personally, I think Pedro will bounce back but it will take him a while to get his form back as playing time has become limited with the rise of Isaac Cuenca and Cristian Tello.

Tello’s wide-open missed shot toward the end of the game and his hilarious Ronaldo-like scissor dribble fail in the 77^th minute showed us he still has quite a bit of growing pains to go through.

Somebody should have told Tello he is “Cristian” not “Cristiano”.

But to me, the most important thing that I saw in the game was Martin Montoya playing a full 90 minutes with the first team. As I’ve mentioned in my recent articles criticizing the team’s play, this Barcelona defense has been at times slow and unwatchable and it was great to see youth come in to the back line. Montoya did make the mistake on not marking Piatti to allow the first goal; but overall Martin had a good game. In a post match interview for BarçaTV, Martin said he was surprised to get the start as he thought Adriano would start. To his delight, he got the call as Adriano was unable to go following his injury midweek versus Bayer. Montoya said he has a bit nervous at first but then was able to settle down. He said he hopes to get more playing time in La Liga.

I hope so as well. The team needs young, fast defenders to keep up with the speedy forwards in La Liga and in Champions League play.

With Barcelona’s financial issues, buying defensive reinforcement may not be an option. Giving Montoya playing time for the rest of La Liga will vastly help his growth as a player and will help him be better prepared for his first full season with the first squad next season.

While it was a good game and it looks like Barça is back, let’s not get too carried away. There’s still a long way to go before this team is 100 percent back. Although Barcelona dominated the ball possession, this game was only one goal away from being tied for most of the game (2 – 1 for nearly 50 minutes). The team missed too many chances to put the game away. This inability to finish a team off has cost Barcelona points this Liga season and has been one of the reasons they have essentially lost La Liga. Messi finally put the game away but Leo’s brilliance won’t always be able to save the team – as we’ve seen this season.   

Barcelona obviously has the killer instinct; it’s a matter of executing the finish swiftly.

They are almost there. Great win overall. Now let’s continue with this momentum because it’ll be needed this Spring!

PS: Sign the extension, Pep. Arsenal is not going to win you titles and Inter Milan is going to be selling players this summer. Do the right thing, Pep. Thanks.

Visca el Barça!

Sursa : http://bleacherreport.com

Xavi, named best Catalan player of the year.

The Catalan Football Federation will host the first edition of the Catalan Football Gala on February 21st 

The clubs, public and jury, made up of journalists, politicians, footballers and managers, named Josep Guardiola the best Catalan manager of the year

The winners of the first edition of the Catalan Football Gala, sponsored by the Catalan Football Federation, have been named. Xavi Hernández, FC Barcelona’s midfielder, was named the best Catalan athlete of the year, while Josep Guardiola was named best Catalan manager. 

After the nominee list was published, the clubs, the public and the jury (journalists, politicians, footballers and managers) voted to determine the winners of the first Catalan Football Gala. The Award Ceremony will take place on February 21st.

The winners

In football: Xavi Hernández, best player; Marta Torrejón, best female player; Pep Guardiola, best manager; Álvaro Vázquez, most promising player and Ana Zardaín, best referee.

 In Futsal: Jordi Torras, best player; Claudia Pons, best female player; and Marc Carmona, best manager.

Sursa : http://www.fcbarcelona.com

Guardiola: “We must score, it's vital”

“We didn’t promise we’d win the Champions League in the first year, and we won’t promise to win the title now,” said Guardiola

"If we allow Bayer Leverkusen to run ... they are a lot stronger than we are"

"We must get to that level [again] and not let randomness feature in our games"

"In Pamplona, we were penalized for not adapting a quickly as possible to game conditions and game circumstances"

Returning to the Champions League after months of league and Cup commitments is never easy. In fact, since Guardiola took charge of FC Barcelona, the team has never won the away leg of the last-16 round. “It’s always been very difficult to get into this competition [after the break], and it’s always a risk to play against Germans. Against Stuttgart (1-1), two years ago, they deserved much more,” said the Barça manager during today’s press conference. For this reason, Guardiola believes that his team must score a goal in tomorrow’s match at the BayArena, saying, “it’s vital that we score.”
Better control 

Guardiola has nothing but respect for German sides. “If we allow Bayer Leverkusen to run ...  they are a lot stronger than we are. They have four or five players that are 1.90m tall and they’ve scored a lot of goals off dead balls. They can put you in a bind if you don’t control the game. It’s the biggest virtue German sides have,” said Guardiola. The manager is aware of the importance of Tuesday’s match and he believes that ball possession will be a determining factor in the outcome of the tie. If Barça dominates possession, the result, in all likelihood, will be favourable to Barça. If neither team dominates the match, the game could take a turn for the worse. 
“It’s a serious challenge to win the Champions League”

The defeat in Pamplona this weekend featured prominently in today’s press conference. With the league title further out of reach than it was before, Guardiola said it would be a mistake to demand a Champions League title from his team: “now that it appears as though the league is difficult [to win], it seems as though we are obligated to win the Champions League. As if that were easy. It’s not. The challenge is to compete and at the end of the season we’ll see where we are.

“We have to take this one step at a time, because winning the Champions League is a serious challenge. I will not promise that we’ll win it. We didn’t promise that in the first year, when we nobodies, and we won’t promise to win the title now,” said Guardiola. 
Taking “random” out of the equation 

On the game in Pamplona, Guardiola indicated that “we were penalized for not adapting as quickly as possible to game conditions and game circumstances.” However, the team played “a great second half, where we did everything and more to mount a comeback.” For the manager, “we have a problem: we’ve dominated the game for a lot of years. [In the past] the random factor didn’t figure into our play. We didn’t give it any room. We must get to that level [again] and not let randomness feature in our games. We have to control it by playing better.” Ahead of the match against Leverkusen, the manger said that this is the first chance to eliminate the random factor from Barça’s game plan.

Sursa : http://www.fcbarcelona.com

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Barcelona: How Barca Can Advance in Champions League

FC Barcelona lost to Osasuna in their latest match at a worst possible time. La Blaugrana is to face Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions Lague (UCL) on Valentines Day 2012.

The match against Osasuna was there for the taking by Barca. What happened was that Barca did not play their cards right.

What is the future for La Blaugrana in the UCL after the debacle against Osasuna? What can FC Barcelona do to advance in the UCL?

UCL Classification and Current Experience

FC Barcelona is currently in first place in the Group H UCL with 16 points. It is in first place in the UEFA Rankings for 2011-2012.

Barca is the winner of four UCL trophies, including 2010-2011 after defeating Manchester United at Wembley. La Blaugrana won in Leverkusen by 2-1 and at Camp Nou 2-0.

Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez played prominent roles in the two matches. What about Bayer Leverkusen?

Bayer Leverkusen is in 31st place in the UEFA Rankings for 2011-2012. Leverkusen may have its work cut out for them.

What Can Barca Do?

The Barca players did the right thing in accepting responsibility for their defeat to Osasuna. Barca also deserve high marks for refusing to invent excuses for their mess.

The next step is for Barca to learn from the mistakes that it made and keep going. La Blaugrana must not allow itself to concede goals and that is where Jose Manuel Pinto's goal keeping skills can be used.

The 4-3-3 formation as well as a strong defensive position will help Barca in this crucial match. The rest depends on La Blaugrana not resting on its laurels.

Sursa: http://bleacherreport.com

Osasuna vs. Barcelona: Preview, Live Stream, Start Time and More

Barcelona look to keep pace with first place Real Madrid in the La Liga table when they travel to the Estadio El Sadar this weekend to take on Osasuna.

Barca have not been beaten in 2012, but they have drawn twice thus far and cannot afford to drop many more points with Madrid in good form and seven points ahead in the table.

Osasuna was beaten 6-1 on aggregate during their round of 16 Copa del Rey fixture against Barcelona, and lost to the Catalan giants 8-0 in the league back on September 17.

Let's look at everything you need to know about this awesome Spanish football matchup.

Where: Estadio El Sadar, Pamplona, Spain

Watch: GolTV, Sky Sports HD4

When: Saturday, Feb. 11 at 20:00 p.m.

Most Important Player to Watch: Lionel Messi

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is the best football player in the world and is worth every penny of your ticket each match.

Messi is so good at making fantastic runs toward goal with his great speed and dribbling moves, and he is a nightmare to defend anywhere on the pitch.

His left foot is magical and he can strike some incredible shots with it that end up finding their way into the back of the net.

One underrated part of Messi's amazing skill set is his incredible passing ability. He scores a ton of goals, but he also excels as a brilliant playmaker.

Key Matchup: Osasuna Fullbacks vs. Barcelona Wing Players

Barcelona has several players who excel on the flans of the pitch and give the team great width on the sides of the pitch.

At forward, Pedro and Alexis Sanchez give Barcelona great speed and playmaking from the wings and are always a threat to score.

On defense, right back Dani Alves is one of the best attacking defenders in the world, and his speedy runs down the sideline cause lots of problems for defenses, especially when he's allowed to cross the ball into the penalty area.

Osasuna must defend the outside of the pitch well to have a chance to upset Barcelona this weekend.

What They're Saying

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola is quite excited his team has reached the final of the Copa del Rey, where they will face Athletic Bilbao.

He said via Soccernet:

"We are excited to be back in another cup final," Guardiola said. "It's a very prestigious competition and we are looking forward to it.

"It'll be a final between the two best Spanish cup teams in history. I think it will be a fascinating final."

Prediction: Barcelona Win 4-0

Barcelona has outscored Osasuna 14-1 this season in three matches, one in the league and two in the Copa del Rey.

The Catalan club has too much firepower for the Osasuna defense to contain, and with Barcelona sure to dominate possession, there is very little chance they are upset.

Barcelona is also motivated to keep pace with Real Madrid in the table, who hold an astounding seven-point lead at the top.

Sursa : http://bleacherreport.com