Conundrum in goal for Luis Enrique?

UEFA Champions League action is upon us again as our beloved club kicks off another campaign to win their fifth Champions League title. Luis Enrique dropped some starters for today’s encounter against APOEL FC. However, the big question on the Blaugrana faithful’s minds is who will start in goal today and whether Luis Enrique will pull a Carlos Ancelotti and have two goalkeepers start in different competitions?

When Victor Valdés announced he would be leaving the club more than a year ago, we braced ourselves for a new goalkeeper signing. After it was decided that the club would no longer need the services of veteran backup keeper Pinto, Barça B keeper Masip was promoted but the idea was the club was going to sign a new keeperMarc-André ter Stegen’s signing was one of the worst kept summer transfer secrets of the summer but we were all caught off guard when the club also signed Claudio Bravo. Suddenly we had two keepers who should be starting and a young keeper who probably would not be seeing many minutes.

Clearly, Ter Stegen was Zubizaretta’s signing, and I have no problem giving credit where it’s due since I have been giving him hell for the past three seasons, but this was a superb signing. Ter Stegen is a young up and coming talent from Germany who many believe will eventually be the starting German keeper. Besides preseason, we have not seen much of the German player because of a back injury he suffered in training from Alex Song. His injury though presented Claudio Bravo with the opportunity to shine and that he has.

Perhaps it was a good idea to sign both Ter Stegen and Bravo after Ter Stegen had to miss action because of an injury; Déjà vu to last season. Claudio Bravo has started all three league matches for Barça this season and he has kept three clean sheets. Quite a start for the Chilean international keeper, although he did not have to make a save in the two first matches against Elche and Villarreal but in the end, he was victorious against the likes of Villarreal and Athletic and that’s not too shabby. Claudio Bravo was a Luis Enrique signing, who was requested by his assistant, former Barça keeper, Juan Carlos Unzué. So suddenly we have two players who are both good enough to start in goal for this club.

Which brings us to today and the Blaugrana faithful will be wondering who will start in goal today. Ter Stegen has been declared fit to play in today’s game. Will he finally get the start and play today or will he find himself on the bench watching Claudio Bravo? Will Luis Enrique decide to use Claudio Bravo for the Spanish League and rely on Ter Stegen for European nights? Real Madrid’s manager Carlos Ancelotti did just that last season when Diego Lopez was his starting goalkeeper for the Spanish league but preferred Iker Casillas for the Champions League.

I am sure many managers would love to have this sort of problem where they too much talent to pick from. We will see what Luis Enrique has in store for tonight and perhaps the rest of the season. It is tough to please everybody so unless he plans of rotating keepers, I expect one keeper to be upset. Nevertheless, we learned last season what happens when you don’t have a suitable replacement if your starting keeper is injured. In the end, it’s good to have more than less.

Champions League: Group F preview ~ Barça’s Quest for Fifth Title Begins.

FC Barcelona kick off a new UEFA Champions League campaign which sees them facing familiar foes and a new competitor. New manager Luis Enrique will get his first ever taste in Champions League football as a manager. Will he able to duplicate the success of Guardiola in getting the Blaugrana back to the Promised Land?

FC Barcelona’s foes in this season’s Champions League group stages are Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Ajax Amsterdam, and APOEL FC. Luis Enrique will kick off his managerial debut in the Champions League with his side hosting the Cypriot side APEOL FC at the Camp Nou in Match Day 1. This is APOEL’s third appearance in the group stages with their last visit seeing the club from the small island in the Mediterranean Sea reaching all the way to the Quarter-Finals before falling to Real Madrid. Their other experience against La Liga teams in this competition came in 2009-2010 season where they were grouped with Atlético Madrid and finished fourth behind Chelsea, Porto and Atlético respectively. Current APOEL players John Arne Riise, with Liverpool, and Tiago Gomes, with Hercules CF, both tasted victories with their respective teams at the Camp Nou against FC Barcelona.  APEOL’s Urko Pardo is also a former member of La Masia and was a member of the 2004-2005 Barça B team. Meanwhile, Ivan Rakitić, with FC Schalke 04, faced APOEL in the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup first round and scored a goal against them.

FC Barcelona also renew acquaintances with Ajax Amsterdam and Paris Saint-Germain F.C this season. Despite both club’s long history in European football, last season was the first time Barça and Ajax faced one another in European competition. Both sides tasted victory on home soil with Barça enjoying a 4-0 victory at the Camp Nou while Ajax won 2-1 in Amsterdam. Both APOEL and Ajax are expected to fight each other for third and fourth place in this group. Ajax’s domestic campaign is off to a poor start while APOEL has two heavy weights to deal with which might be a tall order for the small club. Upsets however do occur so don’t write them off just yet.

PSG are considered Barça’s rivals for the top spot of the group. Barça will once again face former players, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Maxwell and Thiago Motta. Ibra and Maxwell also represented Ajax and Barça together in the past so this will be a reunion tour of some sort. This is the first time both teams meet in the group stages. Their recent encounter took place in the 2012-2013 Quarter-Finals where Barça eliminated PSG on away goals following a 3-3 aggregate result. Barça and PSG faced each other in the 1994-1995 Champions League Quarter-Finals stage where PSG upset Cruyff’s Dream Team by winning 3-2 on aggregate. Barça did however defeat PSG 1-0 a few years later in the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final. The final group match will feature Barça hosting PSG in what could be a pivotal match for qualification to the knock out stages as group winners or a lack luster affair where the top two spots have been decided and will feature role and youth players.

Luis Enrique’s last encounter as a manager in European competition came with Roma when they were upset in the 2011-2012 Europa League playoffs by Slovan Bratislava. Luis Enrique suffered criticism for his handling of that tie and he will now get a second chance to improve his record in European competition. Nevertheless, there are lingering questions for Barça for this upcoming Champions League campaign.

Will Lucho pull an Ancelotti and go with a different starting keeper for Champions League action and one for league action? Claudio Bravo has been his starter in all 3 league matches but with Ter Stegen deemed fit, will Luis Enrique give the young German keeper his first competitive debut or will the manager stick with Claudio Bravo. With Luis Suarez set to miss the first three matches of the group stage, will Lucho go with experience in Neymar and Pedro or trust his young starlets Munir and Sandro to start up front with Messi or mix it up?

Champions League never gets dull regardless of what group your club is in. Barça kick off their campaign in a group that has a bit history in terms of rivalry, influence, and underdog elements to it. Tomorrow will see Barça begin a new quest and for the Blaugrana faithful, one can hope it ends in success on June 6^th in Berlin.

Is it time to end the Diego Costa Experiment?

With only a handful of matches with the Spanish national team, is it time for Vicente Del Bosque to end the Diego Costa experiment? There clearly is a clash of styles and one has to wonder if Costa’ presence is a hindrance on the team as they plan on getting over their recent World Cup fiasco.

Diego Costa is a dangerous forward that many teams would be lucky to have. He commands the attention of opposing team defenders and is the type of player you would rather have on your team than face. In other words, you’d hate him if he was on any other team except your own. Nevertheless, it seems that Spain and Diego Costa are not hitting on all cylinders which is perhaps a sign that this experiment was not meant to be.

Diego Costa’s inclusion to the Spanish national team prior to the 2014 World Cup seemed like a masterstroke by Del Bosque. He managed to obtain the services of one of the most dangerous forwards in the game and at the time same, deprive a contender of his services. One has to wonder what might have happened if that was Diego Costa out there, and not Fred, playing for Brazil this past summer. However, one team’s loss was not another team’s gain.

Diego Costa, along with many other players representing Spain, suffered a grueling a domestic campaign that saw Atlético Madrid capture the league title and make it to the Champions League final. However, Diego Costa was forced to leave the pitch in two pivotal matches at the end of the season, very early into the game, because of injuries. It was no surprise that he was a non-factor for Spain at the World Cup afterwards. Yet, watching Costa play for Spain is like putting a square peg in a round hole.

As I indicated before, he has played a handful of matches for Spain. However, in the five matches he has played he has failed to score and quite frankly offer anything. To be fair, Diego Costa did indicate that he needs to adapt to the team’s style.  Del Bosque also indicated that the team must connect with him.  However, that train of thought is hurting Spain’s progress from their recent World Cup fiasco.

Diego Costa is a dangerous forward as evidenced by his four goals already with Chelsea in just three matches. He has shined under Diego Simeone and is likely to do well for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho. However, those two managers are known for relying on a style of football that is quite the contrast that Spain has relied on over the years. The two styles cannot mesh together and deliver a beautiful product.

Thus, it’s time for Del Bosque to admit defeat and pull the plug on this experiment.  He does not have to drop Costa off the team but perhaps he can bring him on as a plan B substitute much like he used Llorente against Portugal in World Cup 2010. Speaking of Llorente, what happened to him and why does Del Bosque not even call him anymore is another mystery in itself.  One mystery at a time, but the solution to what’s ailing Spain was shown in their victory over Macedonia.

Spain just needs to go back to basics and rely on players who can move around the pitch in a way that gets teams dizzy. False number nine or not, their style is only suited for those who can adapt to it. Diego Costa’s style is more suitable for the direct approach which clashes with this style and hence it cannot work. Even though Metallica managed to make heavy metal and symphony orchestra work, you cannot expect it to work all the time. That is why Del Bosque needs to do away with the Diego Costa experiment and stick with what made this team successful in the first without experimenting.

Luis Enrique’s First Big Test Arrives.

Well, Luis Enrique’s era as Barça manager has gotten off to a perfect start by sitting atop of the league standings. Barça are the only team to win their first two matches of the season but with the international break coming to an end, Luis Enrique will now encounter his first big test as Barça manager.

So far, things are going alright for Luis Enrique. His faith in the Barça B players and bench players has come in handy as he deals with numerous starters suffering injuries. Munir has stepped in adequately into the starting lineup and Sandro came off the bench to score the only goal in their victory over Villarreal. We will see how long he will continue to rely on these young players when the likes of Neymar and Suarez are fit for action in the near future.  The international break provided Luis Enrique with a superb opportunity for the likes of Messi, Iniesta, Pique, Ter Stegen and Vermaelen to recover from injuries or knocks by staying home and not be subjected to international duty full of additional wear and tear.

Luis Enrique will need all his players healthy due to the upcoming brutal schedule. Barça are set to play six matches in the next three weeks. This means that there will be limited rest for the players as they recuperate on a few days rest between matches. One can only hope that Luis Enrique will juggle lineups to keep everyone fresh as they embark on the 2014-2015 UEFA Champions League campaign while trying to remain league leaders.

This weekend will see the Blaugrana host Athletic on the 13^th which will be no walk in the park between two teams playing in this season’s Champions League. Following this clash of Champions League teams, Barça will kick off their Champions League campaign when they host Cyprus side APOEL on the 17^th. Barça will then switch their attention to back to back away fixtures to Levante on the 21st and then Malaga on the 24^th.  The month then concludes with the Blaugrana hosting Granada on the 27th before traveling to France to face Paris Saint-Germain on the 30^th.

As clearly shown, that’s a lot of games and traveling and not enough time for rest and recovery for the players. Luis Enrique’s first test will be how he handles this month. Will he be able to have his players perform well in both competitions and can he keep his players well rested? Will he rotate players and perhaps drop Messi from the odd game and continue to rely on Barça B players? This test will show us if Luis Enrique can handle the demands of this job and for the sake of the Blaugrana faithful, we hope he can.

International break a blessing in disguise.

Once again, the poorly timed international break is forced upon us by FIFA. Countries playing in meaningless friendlies just two weeks after the domestic leagues have started never ceases to rile up club supporters. It disrupts the rhythm of the players getting used to playing with new teammates or under a new manager, or in Barça’s case, both. It also can lead to injuries which impacts the clubs they play for. For once however, this international break came at a good time for Barça.

Usually, the international break usually means Barça see their players coming back from international duty full of extra wear and tear along with some small knocks or serious injuries. However, this time around, a few Barça players were knocked out of representing their national teams because of pre-existing injuries. Messi suffered a hamstring injury against Villarreal while Iniesta has some discomfort in his knee, Ter Stegen is recovering from a back injury, Pique isn’t 100% fit and is feeling some discomfort while Vermaelen is on his road to recovery from his thigh injury. With Barça’s next game in another week, this week off has been a blessing for them to recuperate.

Barça’s next match is at home to the ever dangerous Athletic Bilbao on September 13. For those who are hurt or recovering from small knocks, this week off is a godsend. Barça are off to a perfect start to their league campaign while their arch-rivals Real Madrid already sputtered by losing 4-2 to Real Sociedad. Barça will need their best players to beat Athletic, who are considered one of the best teams to fight for a Champions League spot after finishing 4th last season and qualifying to this year’s Champions League group stages.

With Barça set to play 6 matches in 3 weeks, this extra rest will come in handy. They face Athletic on the 13th, kick off their Champions League campaign at the Camp Nou against APOEL on the 17th, play away to Levante on the 21st and also Malaga on the 24th, host Granada on the 27th before concluding the month with a trip to France to face PSG. Not a lot of rest between games so Luis Enrique will have his work cut out for him and a well-rested and healthy squad is clearly beneficial for him. The only concern is that we hope that this break does not result in injuries to the current Barça players representing their countries. The FIFA Transfer ban is in effect so it’s either stay healthy or rely on the Barça B players for Luis Enrique. Fingers crossed we have all the players healthy for this month.