FC Barcelona Thread

What puts Messi in the real perspective is knowing he has served (by now) 29 assists this season, and he may probably be the best assister in Europe at the same time of being the best scorer.

What's the most ever assists?
 
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Made this today :)

hahah, Malkin is NHL top point man this season :)
 
All I know is I totally loved Fedorov. Probably the only NHL player I can name for a million dollars. I played NHL'94 to death (that was an awesome game) and with the Detroit Red Wings I used to demolish my opponents thanks to the russian guy. There was also some guy called Izman or something like that. A good partner.

Anyway, back on topic, I think Messi has 29 assists, actually. And could have been a lot more if people like Cesc, Pedro and Keita weren't so wasteful. This clearly points why the team didn't win any big title this season. We're depending too much on Messi to score.

The injuries have been a total blow to us. I'm pretty sure that with Villa, Pique and a fit Alexis, Iniesta and Pedro we would have clinched at least one of the titles. Not to mention Xavi who had played injured half of the season and people like Afellay and Fontas who missed practically all the season. What a pitty!

PS: Clearly we got the Arsenal curse. We need to sell someone to Wenger right now. I would offer him one of those young boys he loves so much from our youth team and make a pack discount and send the curse back to the Emirates.
 
:LOL: well jack been injured all season, sagna broke leg twice in same place same season. Robin has played 47 games 37 in league no injuries . We had 2 barça babies ship to us in summer . So we'll be back in summer hopefully 1 player lol
 
All I know is I totally loved Fedorov. Probably the only NHL player I can name for a million dollars. I played NHL'94 to death (that was an awesome game) and with the Detroit Red Wings I used to demolish my opponents thanks to the russian guy. There was also some guy called Izman or something like that. A good partner.

Anyway, back on topic, I think Messi has 29 assists, actually. And could have been a lot more if people like Cesc, Pedro and Keita weren't so wasteful. This clearly points why the team didn't win any big title this season. We're depending too much on Messi to score.

The injuries have been a total blow to us. I'm pretty sure that with Villa, Pique and a fit Alexis, Iniesta and Pedro we would have clinched at least one of the titles. Not to mention Xavi who had played injured half of the season and people like Afellay and Fontas who missed practically all the season. What a pitty!

PS: Clearly we got the Arsenal curse. We need to sell someone to Wenger right now. I would offer him one of those young boys he loves so much from our youth team and make a pack discount and send the curse back to the Emirates.

It's simple. Just get rid of Cesc ;)
 
About Cesc Alex, what do you think. Did he have a good season.
He's a player i always loved, but i'm not sure if it isn't a bit of a waste that he plays for Barcelona. I have the impression his imact hasn't been that big, of course i don't see Barcelona much and never in a stadium, always on television...that is a huge difference.

Any thoughts?
 
Cesc did an splendid opening of the season, and was scoring and assisting a lot in the first months. But that was when everybody was fit. So, in a sense, while the machine worked properly he performed brilliantly. He was even a key player in winning Madrid 1-3 at the Bernabeu.

Then, after Xmass, all changed. Players like Iniesta, Xavi and Pedro didn't play a single match together due to continuous injuries, Villa had been lost for the rest of the season and then the Abidal blow.

So, in short, we lost our complete left wing. So Iniesta had to play as a winger for the last 3 months, when clearly that's not his position and his performance dropped instantly. All this caused that the machine started to disjoint a little. Messi was the glue that kept it working until the critical matches came. And when Messi didn't score, the rest of the team fell. Due to injuries we have been playing with guys like Cuenca and Tello regularly, players that a year ago were in the 3rd Division!

I think when the team was working and we had both wings covered, he could take defenders by surprise, associate with Messi and create a lot of danger. Once this balance of the team was broken, and he found himself in the need of edging a little more his performance he gripped. Maybe due to tactical problems of the team, but also because I think he got too comfident and didn't put all senses into it.

Cesc also got injured twice (minor muscular injuries, but still...) during the last months and he didn't score any goal in 2012. And he has wasted clear chances. At Stamford Bridge he totally blew 2 clear chances due only to trying to be flashy (a one on one with Cech and a sitter on an empty net). In fact, against Chelsea the only thing that stopped us was us being so wasteful. We had 13 blatantly clear chances, and scored only 2. Chelsea had 4 and scored 3. But part of it was that our players are so used to Messi deciding things that they seem to lay back a bit. And when things didn't work, Cesc didn't man up, he just shrinked.

Against Madrid was a bit of the same. Madrid scored 2 in their first 3 shots on goal (they didn't shot more than 3 times for the first 80 minutes, mind you), but the team showed the lack of someone stepping up other than Messi. Cesc wasn't even a starter that day. And when he came in, for 30 minutes he was totally lost and out of place, giving away the ball many times.

So, for the next season I think Cesc has a challenge, which is finding his place in the team. And Tito has a challenge finding him a place in the team. It's clear he can add a lot. After all, he did for 5 months. And very brilliantly. So the technical staff should study it and try to maximize the performance of each player. One o fthe things we need to use from him is long passing and shots from distance. He did them at the start of the season but progressively stopped doing them. Maybe he was lacking confidence. But also Messi's gravity is so brutal that all players end up trying to associate with him all the time.

We need to step out a bit of this vicious circle. Try to do different things, other than the intrincate short passing. Cesc can be a great piece to accomplish this, but we need Tito to decide it.

Furthermore, I think Xavi won't play as much next year due to his chronical injuries, so Cesc could have a chance there, at his preferred position. And Iniesta won't have to play in the wing anymore if the signings we need are done. So Cesc can have an ally there.

PS: Arsenal fans, don't get mad, but what we really need is Van Persie to play on the left wing and cut inside. He could associate well with Messi and specially with Cesc. And he wouldn't be sent off when kicking the ball out of fustration at the Nou Camp then! Besides, Arsenal fans already hate us to the max, so we wouldn't be making new enemies there... Now, seriously, we need to totally rebuild our left wing.
 
Sanchez was essentially purchased for the left wing, I don't think you need anyone, you've got Villa, Affellay and even Pedro. Injuries happen.

But then again Barcelona and Real are a bit different, they tend to build dream team squads nowadays.
 
PS: Arsenal fans, don't get mad, but what we really need is Van Persie to play on the left wing and cut inside. He could associate well with Messi and specially with Cesc. And he wouldn't be sent off when kicking the ball out of fustration at the Nou Camp then! Besides, Arsenal fans already hate us to the max, so we wouldn't be making new enemies there... Now, seriously, we need to totally rebuild our left wing.

Hopefully Villa would be fully fit!!! :JAY: Your post about Barca`s season made sense ... I hope Cesc become as good as he was for The Arsenal.
 
Thanks for the long answer Alex.
I also thought that Fabregas with his long passing ability was supposed to give Barcelona different options besides the short pass play (or in combination with). One could ask if Messi isn't becoming a sort of handicap for Barcelona. Obviously the team is used to the fact that Messi is deciding match and the the other players aren't used any more to step up when things go wrong. I think Barcelona should rest Messi regularly. That would be good for both Messi himself and for his team mates...

Just before Villa's injury there was a rumour that there was a problem between Messi and Villa. If that is true, that might be a blessing in disguise. It could well be that Villa is the one player that thinks things are evolving a litle bit too much around Messi. Villa might become the alternative leader of the team who steps up in difficult moments (and i see the same role for Alexis Sanchez, but he still is relatively new).
 
Sanchez is still young and needs time to grow, remember he joined from Udinese (not really a high profile club like Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid etc) I actually thought his move to Barcelona wasn't the best for his career at the time because stepping up to the stage at 22/23 years old is a lot of pressure for a kid, however I didn't watch much Barcelona this year, so I'm curious to ask you Drekkard, how was Sanchez this season?
 
Sanchez and Cesc are brilliant signings and both did well. They had a good but not great season.

Cesc started super hot but not as good in 2nd half. Both had some injury problems too.

All in all, they're both quality players, still can get better and I think they'll both play KEY roles for Barca over the next few years. This was a good but not excellent debut season for them.
 
Maybe but it's injuries that haven't helped his cause most.

If he wasn't injured, he would've played instead of Cuenca and Tello a lot of the time and Xavi could've been a bit more rested.
 
@ Drekk: I think Van Persie is better suited to playing on the right wing and cutting inside and shooting w/ his stronger foot. That is his strength IMO. Not saying he can't play on the left. He probably can. Barca have a ton of options thought especially when you consider the fact that Sanchez and Pedro are equally good on both wings becuase of their two-footedness.
 
9NNI2-wgMH4.jpg

Made this today :)

hahah, Malkin is NHL top point man this season :)

Unfortunately for both the biggest club prize eluded them both. But they are still great players.

Malkin is indeed over the last four seasons a superior player to Ovy although he is a centre and not wing.

Both need to win the ultimate prize too. World Cup for Leo and Olympic gold for Geno.

To think Pen's fans doubted me when I said he play's well as Lemieux when he was at Magnitogorsk.

Barcelona should be shopping for defenders this summer. My choice would be Dede or Musacchio in central defence, Siqueira at left back.
 
Apparently they'll get Jordi Alba at left-back and IF that's true, that's fantastic because there's nobody that would fit them better.

@Review, I think drekkard probably meant right wing because he mentioned cut in and shoot on his left, but by mistake said 'left wing'. So you're right and I agree.
 
Sanchez is still young and needs time to grow, remember he joined from Udinese (not really a high profile club like Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid etc) I actually thought his move to Barcelona wasn't the best for his career at the time because stepping up to the stage at 22/23 years old is a lot of pressure for a kid, however I didn't watch much Barcelona this year, so I'm curious to ask you Drekkard, how was Sanchez this season?

Well, in my opinion he was very good when he played, with very few exceptions. As I said with Cesc, when the machine was greased and working, he was a great addition and offered a lot to the team.

The problem is he was too injury prone. He had at least 4 muscular injuries during the season, and it's impossible to get in the flow of the team like this. Same as Pedro and Cesc. He missed too many matches. But, unlike Cesc and Pedro, I think Alexis was much better and looked very dangerous every time he took part in the game.

That said, the other negative point is that in the important moment of the season, he was just too wasteful and a bit unfit. He missed at least 3 blatant chances against Chelsea (though everybody wasted chances there), and by blatant I mean 1vs1 against Cech. When playing for a big club in this rounds, you just cant miss. This wasted chances and the injuries will overshadow a bit his season for some.

But personally I love him. He has an incredibly high workrate and when fit, he has great intensity, which is something we need to apply good pressure up in the pitch. So attitude-wise, he's a 10 for me. He can retain the ball a lot, he can run and he can score with his head, too. He's young and can still evolve and get more important in the team, but for me right now is a starting eleven player and if fit should always play. He needs to understand a bit better Messi movements, but in all honestly as Gerd said, there's the danger of being too messi-centric, and Alexis can offer, as Villa does, those diagonal runs that can cut a deffense.

So, he's an important asset for us already.

Afellay has ruined his career by going to Barca.

Though I understand what you try to imply, how can Barça be the problem if Afellay has been 75% of his time in the club injured? In the 25% he was fit, he was having a lot of time in the first team. In fact, he was key against Madrid last year in the Champions League!

Probably he wouldn't be a starting eleven, but in seasons with more than 60 matches, he can give a lot to the team. I really hope he can stay fit for months because I like him a lot.

He adds long shooting and some things most of our player don't have.

@ Drekk: I think Van Persie is better suited to playing on the right wing and cutting inside and shooting w/ his stronger foot. That is his strength IMO. Not saying he can't play on the left. He probably can. Barca have a ton of options thought especially when you consider the fact that Sanchez and Pedro are equally good on both wings becuase of their two-footedness.

Well, that's the good thing about Van Persie. He can actually play right, left or center and offer different things to the team. The ideal position would be on the right cutting inside and associating with Messi, but he could also play on the left and associate with Iniesta and cut inside and pass, which is something we miss a lot since Villa was injured. He could also deliver fantastic crosses from the left. Not high crosses, I mean dribbling, cutting inside and doing a low cross to Messi or whoever is there.

And finally, he can play as a striker or even in Messi's position and score from long range. He's one of the best candidates I can see for our forward line. Imagine if we can recover Villa. Having Alexis, Villa, Van Persie and Messi with Pedro as a back up would be great, and we wouldn't be playing the important matches with Cuenca and Tello due to injuries... or maybe they get all injured as this season. We've got the Arsenal curse, so bringing on Van Persie would make it even better.

Ouch.
 
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All I know is I totally loved Fedorov. Probably the only NHL player I can name for a million dollars. I played NHL'94 to death (that was an awesome game) and with the Detroit Red Wings I used to demolish my opponents thanks to the russian guy. There was also some guy called Izman or something like that. A good partner.

Fedorov was good, but I love Pavel Bure, he was faster than speedy gonzalez! :APPLAUD:
 
He's defn a good candidate. Maybe Barca physio can sort out his injury problems like they did with Messi. There might be other candidates as well as Guillem Balague is saying that Barcelona are trying to sell Villa and Alves. I think Fernando Llorente would be a excellent target man for Barca if he's available.

@ Enzo: Bure was good, but he was no Fedorov.

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-Pwnyzv3k
 
Drekkard said:
Ben, I understand italian very very well (sono stato in Firenze per tre estate imparando, anche ho dimenticato tutto adesso perche non ho nessuno per parlarlo. In fatto, mi sento vecchio, perche è da 20 anni che sono stato a Firenze.... )
Pretty damn good for a 20 year gap! :WORSHIP:
that's damn good even for a 20 days gap! your italian is brilliant my friend :TU:

btw alexis, thanks to your advice (to look on youtube) i found the episode of informe robinson on bielsa u mentioned a few weeks ago!
gonna watch it tonite :))
 
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, Ben.

Yesterday they phoned me to say I had won 2 tickets in an online promotion I was participating for the Cup final this friday between Bilbao and Barça. I was jumping out of joy and quickly arranged the trip with a friend.

PS: Then they phoned me 3 hours later to say it had been a mistake and I wasn't the winner. I'm considering legal actions against them as I had bought the plane tickets already.

Mondays...:TTTH:
 
what a kick in the crotch! it's not worth a lawsuit anyway, alexis. it'd be an easy win in court, but u wouldn't see any money for about 2 years (in spain it takes about 500 days to get a sentencia condenatoria, and even then u'd also have to wait for the sentencia to become cosa juzgada). meanwhile u'd have to pay the legal costs in advance (the retainer and the costs of the legal proceeding itself)... u'd get a refund for theese expenses with the sentencia, but, again, u'd have to wait about 2 years to get that money back.
however u might phone them (or even better, send them a correo certificado), informing them that their comunication led u to buy a plane ticket and threaten them to file a lawsuit unless u'll get a refund (or a ticket to the game). they might not fall for it, but it's worth a shot. the threat of a lawsuit is often as effective as the filing of a lawsuit (and much cheaper), and they might find it more convenient to just get u another ticket to the game, rather than risking to face the costs of a legal proceeding (it's a long shot, but it might be worth a try). if u decide to go for the correo certificado, don't forget to enclose the plane ticket purchase receipt (as proof of payment and date).

as for the bielsa episode of informe robinson, it was fantastic. i particularly enjoyed the part about his childhood. some very cool stuff. :))
again, thanks for the heads up bro.
 
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Yep, watched it live. One of the best matches I've seen this season. messi is now on around 80 goals and 30 assists overall this year. We may even never see a single player do this again. And there's still people comparing him to others. This guy is amazingly good, best ever I've seen by a mile. And he is still growing.

You have to watch the highlights of this season ( both goals and assists) to understand what a god he is. Most of his goals would make the best goal of any other legend highlights. And he score plenty of them, and against packed defenses.

If you let him run, he does what he did against brazil. Amazing.

Ps: i love neymar and would be very glad to have him in my team. He dribbles a lot, he can play on the wing and cut inside, shoot, finish... And he is very young. I wonder what messi and neymar would do together!
 
You know that i really like Barcelona, but it would be obscene to have Messi-Villa-Sanchez-Iniesta-Xavi and Neymar in the same team. That is not good for football.

PS: i just hope he doesn't end up with Real Madrid.
 
Well, there are at least 3 teams that have spent more than barcelona lately and all of them are rumored to be interested in Neymar as well. I think this kid is a great player and can decide things in the future, so i really hope he ends here. I still remember when calcio teams where richer in the 80s and we couldnt sign players like Van Basten or Bergkamp because we were poorer than Milan and Inter back then.

We need a forward like neymar, we really do. Due to villa and alexis injuries we had to play a lot of matches with cuenca and tello. We may have the best midfielders of the world, but in terms of forwards we lack the depth of teams like city, madrid or chelsea.
 
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