UEFA Forgets Rijkaard’s Barça in UEFA Legendary Moments.

UEFA is celebrating the 60th birthday of the European Cup, A.K.A Champions League, and launched a Legendary Moments video campaign that lets fans all over the world select the tournament's greatest moments. 60 moments were selected by UEFA with 9 of them involving FC Barcelona throughout its history. Yet, UEFA ignored the Barça team of Rijkaard.

UEFA chose 60 videos from the 50’s to the present, with the top five videos voted by the fans to be shown before the Champions League final in Berlin on June 5th, 2015. Barça have 9 legendary moments for fans to vote from. Sadly, there are no Barça legendary video moments from the era of Kubala, Luis Suarez and Ramallets, the era of Cruyff and surprisingly the era of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho.

The 9 Legendary Barça moments are:

• 16/04/86: ‘Pichi’ Alonso hat-trick helps Barça retrieve 3-0 semi-final first-leg deficit against Göteborg.
• 20/05/92: FC Barcelona beat Sampdoria in extra time thanks to Koeman’s fierce free-kickto win first European Cup.
• 02/11/94: Romário and Stoichkhov spearhead FC Barcelona's 'Dream Team' to emphatic group stage defeat of Manchester United.
• 06/05/09: Iniesta’s 93rd-minute effort earns FC Barcelona away-goals triumph over Chelsea and place in Rome final.
• 06/04/10: Messi scores four to take FC Barcelona into semi-finals after Arsenal briefly take 3-2 aggregate lead.
• 27/04/11: Messi scores twice – the second a virtuoso effort – at Barcelona’s great rivals in semi-final first leg.
• 28/05/11: Guardiola’s Barça team beat Manchester United at Wembley to win second European crown in three years.
• 07/02/12: Messi becomes first player to score five in a UEFA Champions League game in 7-1 defeat of Leverkusen.
• 25/11/14: Messi passes Raúl as top scorer in UEFA Champions League history with first goal of hat-trick against APOEL.

I can understand not picking a moment from Kubala and Cruyff eras since the club did not win a title at the time. Yet, Pichi Alonso’s hat trick from the 80’s Barça team made the cut. However, how can the era of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho be ignored? That team was a phenomenal team that left us with many legendary moments. 

When I look back at that era, you had some classic moments. There is the Ronaldinho game winning goal against Milan at the Camp Nou in 2004, Ronaldinho’s second goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2004, Eto’o scoring that gem when he lobbed the ball from outside the box and over the Panathinaikos keeper at the Camp Nou in 2005, Barça’s awayand home clashes against Chelsea in 2005-2006 Champions League knockout stages, and the unforgettable final in Paris in 2006 when Barça came back from a goal down to beat Arsenal 2-1 with goals coming from Eto’o and Belletti. 

UEFA got it wrong there with forgetting about the 2005-2006 team and that Final. The game is a classic that turned in Barça’s favor once the legendary goal scorer Henrik Larsson came off the bench and assisted on both goals. UEFA ignored the legendary Ronaldinho and the Barça team coached by Rijkaard and that is unfortunate.

Luis Enrique’s Flexibility Helping Barça and Himself.

It’s amazing how one’s future can change in a matter of weeks. It wasn’t that long ago when Luis Enrique was coaching for his job. Now, all is well for now at the Barça kingdom thanks to Luis Enrique being more flexible and listening to his players.

It takes two to tango and Lucho and the players are currently engaged in a wonderful tango that has seen the Blaugrana win 11 consecutive matches in all competitions. Coaching is a bit like dancing. One person leads and the other dance partner follows. However, there has to be an understanding between the one who leads and the one who follows. It cannot be a dictatorship where every command has to be obeyed and unquestioned or else a relationship will never fully blossom. The one who leads must be open to suggestions from their dance partner or else they will be dragging their feet in an ugly dance.

That ugly dance finally came to fruition on that cold night in the Anoeta when Barça lost to Real Sociedad 1-0. Messi and Neymar were rested since they arrived later from the winter break than the rest of the players because their manager gave them permission to do so. Barça were losing and both players came off the bench in the second half, but could not help guide their team to a comeback victory.

The storm that followed this loss was considered the storm of the century for Barça. Lucho’s neck was on the line as unfounded rumors that Messi was going to ask for a transfer began to grow. Fortunately, things changed for the better after that loss. Much of that has to do with Luis Enrique dropping the general act of insisting it was his way or the highway. Like what all good managers do, Luis Enrique became flexible and listened to his players. Suddenly, the new lineup every match stopped. Luis Enrique’s insistence of playing Messi in the middle of the attack, with the other two players up front coming inside to help Messi came to a halt. Messi and Neymar now play out wide with Luis Suarez, or Pedro, play in the middle. Midfielders went from covering the space left by the attacking fullbacks to actually being involved in the buildup of the attack.

It’s a good thing for both Luis Enrique and Barça that the manager dropped his “my way or the high way” act. Respect is a two way street and it seemed that Lucho thought it was a one way street and that this was about him and his way. Perhaps he thought he was inheriting a team that was in disarray and lacked discipline, like Guardiola did back in 2008, and had to be strict with them. He thought wrong since last season’s disappointment came down to poor coaching from his predecessor, a difficult emotional time for players dealing with the loss of their former manager Tito Vilanova, and in house controversies such as Sandro Rosell’s resignation, Neymar’s signing, and Messi’s tax case along with the board’s treatment of Messi with poorly made comments about a possible new contract.

Fortunately, the rumors of Luis Enrique possibly getting fired brought a change to his approach and it has been working. Suddenly, Messi is back to his dominating self and the team no longer look lost out on the pitch with 11 consecutive wins, especially three against Atlético Madrid. A perfect example of the change of atmosphere at the club was when the players asked Lucho to tell the club to cancel the friendly that was going to take place in Qatar. With the friendly taking place in Qatar, a few days before the away fixture to Athletic Club, Lucho probably thought it was poorly timed too. In the end, the friendly was canceled and Barça tasted victory on Athletic’s turf for the first time since 2010.

Of course, this does not mean the club is now perfect without any weaknesses but there is a contrast to how they were performing before and after that loss to Real Sociedad. Barça are still heavily reliant on the front three, but at least the supporting cast around them seem to have an understanding of their roles on the pitch. They appear more confident and more prepared than before. Moreover, it seems that Luis Enrique has an understanding of what his role is too. A manager is not just about winning, but also about listening to his players and finding the right solution for everybody. So far, Luis Enrique has done just that and only time will tell how far this approach will carry this team, with next week’s Champions League clash against Manchester City will be a litmus test for both manager and players.

First Year Struggles of New Barça Strikers.

Luis Suarez’s sluggish goal scoring start to his Barça career has been a bit disappointing, but at the same time, he is not the first to do so either. Compared to other new Barça goal scorers, he’s actually doing quite well.

FC Barcelona is a unique club. Unique when it comes to being coached and unique in how the team plays. That is why not every great player does well after joining the Blaugrana. We have seen the likes of Vítor Baía, Zambrotta, and Hagi arrive at Barça and then fail to impress. Goal scorers are also not exempt from this list. From Mark Hughes to Maxi Lopez, and even Ibrahimovic to some, Barça has seen its share of disappointing strikers.

In all fairness, Luis Suarez did not get to fully integrate with the team before the season started. Because of his idiotic and gross misconduct during the World Cup, Luis Suarez was banned for the early part of the season. That killed any chance of gelling with his new teammates and new team style but he has slowly improved his performances since his debut in El Clásico. Yet, some are a bit upset with his lack of goals. However, when compared to other Barça goal scorers debutants, there is no reason to be upset.

Here are the statistics of first year Barça goal scorers after their first 19 matches for the Blaugrana:

Thierry Henry: 7 goals & 8 assists.

Ibrahimovic: 12 goals & 4 assists

Pedro: 10 goals and 1 assist

David Villa: 11 goals & 5 assists

Alexis: 8 goals & 2 assists

Neymar: 6 goals & 9 assists.

As for the Uruguayan international, he has scored 6 goals and provided 11 assists in his first 19 matches. So, if one wants to compare, Suarez is basically following in the footsteps of Neymar in terms of goals scored. It’s true the other names on that list have scored more, but then again, all of them, with the exception of Henry, played during Pep’s era where the team was considered one of the best in the world.

 

Nevertheless, keep in mind that Luis Suarez’s goals and assists combined were the most when compared to those other players. He may not be scoring as much, but he has been directly involved in 17 goals in his 19 matches. That is more than those players did during their first 19 matches.

Last season, we were told to be patient with Neymar and look how good he has been this season. So let’s be patient with Luis Suarez too. After all, it could be worse; Santi Ezquerro only scored one goal after joining Barça fall of 2006-2007 season.  So let’s hold judgment till after the season has concluded.

Lay Off Luis Suarez.

Luis Suarez’s first season with FC Barcelona has not been all fireworks. Although expectations were high for Luis Suarez, his performance thus far is not as disappointing to justify the criticism he has received. In fact, you could say he is doing just as well as other Barça strikers before him have done at this stage in their first season.

Yes, the huge price tag of Luis Suarez’s transfer perhaps raised expectations of the numbers of goals “El Pistolero” would score this season for the Blaugrana. Thus far, he has only scored six goals as a Barça player. For some fans, that is a disappointing number of goals. However, let’s not be too harsh on the player. He has struggled at first but his signing was not just about goals; it was about making the team better.

First of all, Luis Suarez did not get a proper summer preseason under his belt and was not allowed to play with the first team till October. Obviously, the blame entirely lies with him for getting punished by FIFA for his stupid act and yes, he should have been in better shape while serving his FIFA ban. However, his performance for the first team after serving his ban, has been beneficial for the team.

He has scored 6 goals and provided 11 assists in his first 19 matches as a Barça player. He also added another assist yesterday in Barça’s Copa del Rey victory over Villarreal on Messi’s opening goal. Some will point out that Suarez has been a disappointment with those six goals but has he?

When you look back at other forwards who played upfront for Barça in their first season and compare their numbers to Luis Suarez’s number, you will not notice a big difference in terms of production. Courtesy of @Barca19stats, Pedro scored 10 goals and had an assist in his first 19 matches. David Villa scored 11 goals and had 5 assists. Alexis scored 8 goals and had 2 assists in his first 19 matches and Neymar scored 6 goals and had 9 assists in his first 19 matches. Heck, even Thierry Henry had 7 goals and 8 assists in his first 19 matches.

Thus far, Luis Suarez has been directly involved in 17 goals in his first 19 matches. That is more than those previously mentioned players had done in the same time span. To say he has disappointed by not scoring more goals is a bit harsh. Pedro grew up in this system and played with Xavi and Iniesta at the peak of their careers. David Villa had experience from playing with that superb midfield during their Spanish National team days. Suarez, like David Villa, had to accept from being the go to guy for goals and to be Messi’s right hand man. Furthermore, the midfield is being utilized differently under Luis Enrique along with the sad realization that Iniesta and Xavi are not as great as they were a few years ago.

Meanwhile, you could say Suarez’s numbers are similar to Neymar’s numbers. If Cruyff, and others, said to give Neymar time to adapt then surely the same should also be said for Suarez. So please, let’s lay off the guy for now. His off the ball movement along with his work rate in recovering balls have been impeccable. He, Neymar and Messi have been performing well together ever since that awful loss to Real Sociedad back in January which has resulted in Barça’s current ten match winning streak. So, let’s ease off in criticizing Suarez and appreciate what he brings to this team.

Eusebio, another disliked Barça figure gone.

FC Barcelona fired Eusebio today follow a long disappointing season. He is the second disliked figure, after Zubizarreta, to be let go by Barça and this leaves just president Bartomeu as the last disliked man standing.

After 150 matches, the era of Eusebio is over. For many Barça fans, including myself, this day could not come any sooner. With Barça B hovering over the relegation zone, his sacking was a must. After 24 matches this season, the team had just 7 victories and failed to win back to back games since their fourth match, which was a three game winning streak in September. Thus, the B team had won only 4 matches since September and now find themselves two points from the relegation zone.

Eusebio never won the fans over with his lineups, formations and tactics. For over three seasons, he got to work with a superb group of young players but never inspired them or us. One of the biggest criticism of his era was that he never truly developed players for the first the team like Pep and Luis Enrique did during their time as Barça B manager. Actually, you could make the argument that Barça B players regressed under him. Donguo has been there for a few seasons and has yet to show us any legitimate progress.

The fact that he won 74 matches out of 150 and guided the team to third place last season is irrelevant. His handling of the team is what mattered and he came up short there. The fact that he benches the likes of rising stars such as Sergi Samper and Adama is inexcusable and with the current Barça regime unpopular as they are now, it was time for Bartomeu to ax Eusebio. His replacement will be Jordi Vinyals, who helped guide Barça U-19 team to winning the UEFA Youth League last season. With elections coming up, it’s doubtful that this is a long term job for him but hopefully he can help steer the ship around, or avoid relegation at least for the next guy to take over next season.

Barça’s South American Connection Leading The Way.

 

Barça bounced back from their loss to Real Sociedad with seven consecutive wins. Luis Enrique, after some controversy, sorted out a regular starting lineup but much of the credit goes to the front three of Messi, Neymar and Suarez for this win streak.

Things got ugly after that loss to Real Sociedad. Controversy about Lucho and Messi falling out afterwards perhaps changed things for the better. We finally got a fixed starting lineup for the big games instead of the guessing game by the fans, and probably the players, of who was going to start and not. We now have Mascherano to partner Pique in the heart of the defense while Rakitic is starting these big games alongside Iniesta and Busquets. It’s not mystery who the starters up front are; Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. Barça’s South American Connection.

True, Luis Suarez has struggled to get his goals but his assists have been valuable and his understanding with Messi and Neymar has been beneficial. Messi and Neymar have been clicking as well, as evident from their work against Deportivo. Messi leads the pack and Neymar and Suarez benefit from that and he benefits from their presence too. 

Stats Messi-Neymar-Suarez when they play together (1034 minutes in 14 games): - Messi: 13 G 3 A - Neymar: 9 G 1 A - Suarez: 3 G 10 A
— adil (@Barca19stats) January 31, 2015

It’s premature to think the problems are over. Far from it! This team is still struggling offensively to gel and seems heavily reliant on the front three. The midfield still needs to be more involved and influential because if the front three ever struggle or have an off day, then we will see another Getafe type performance. In general, there is always room for improvement and that is the case for Barça. Hopefully the team can keep this winning streak up and keep improving.

Barça’s Misleading Resurrection.

After a 7 game winning streak, some were thinking Barça were back. This nice winning streak has Barça back on the right tracks but there’s still room for improvement for Luis Enrique and his players. Ignoring the need for improvement though could be costly.

Barça’s resurrection, or rejuvenation, came after their last loss away to Real Sociedad right after the winter break. The days following that loss turned into a hurricane for the Blaugrana after Messi did not show up for training and then followed Chelsea on Instagram. Amazing how social media can create a storm of controversy. Suddenly, Messi was on his way to Chelsea and Luis Enrique’s job was on the line before the current Barça president Bartomeu informed the world that early elections would take place at the end of the season.

The Copa del Rey matches against Elche and the league match against Atlético were supposed to be the “make or break” time for Luis Enrique. Well, Barça had no problem defeating Elche and were pretty impressive against Atlético, who did not resemble the Atlético of Cholo that we were used to after last season’s six encounters. Perhaps this turmoil brought the change that was needed. Since then, the trend of Luis Enrique’s different lineups ended, and we seem aware of who will start in the big games. Seven straight wins are impressive but let’s not forget that three of them were against Elche and another was against Deportivo who are fighting relegation.

The other three matches were against Atlético Madrid. Last season, Barça faced Atlético six times and could not defeat them once. Yet, Barça managed to defeat them three times in one month. The league win was impressive. The Copa victories were a different story. Atlético were a different side during those Copa matches. They defended well and Barça struggled to generate much offense. It looked like the Barça we had accustomed to watching; heavily reliant on the individual brilliance of the front three without the influence of the midfield.

In the first leg, they had only four shots on target from twelve and only one in the second half before Messi scored on the rebound after his penalty was saved. The second leg saw Barça concede very early but punish Atlético for their leaving much too space for Barça to score twice from counter attacks thanks to the great talents of Messi, Neymar and Suarez. After a wrongful penalty decision allowed Atlético to tie it up, Barça dodged a bullet when Alba handled inside the box and then raced down the pitch to set up the third and final goal of the evening.

Even though it was a memorable win, questions were left unanswered. What is the midfield’s role under Luis Enrique? On Wednesday, the team had 49% possession before the halftime whistle blew and who knows how bad it would have been in the second half if Gabi had not been sent off during halftime. Even with the extra man advantage, Barça failed to generate scoring chances in the second half.

That self-reliance on the superb front three from Luis Enrique will be either his route to success or his downfall. Messi, Neymar and Suarez have played together 1034 minutes in 14 games. Between them, they have scored 25 goals and provided14 assists. Luis Enrique seems content with Barça abandoning the Cruyff Total Football style of play and going with his own style which has worked for now.

Barça’s January started off rocky and ended in a flourish. They seemed fortunate to face an opponent three times in a short time span, Elche and Atlético, and will also face Villarreal three times since they are their Semi-Finals opponents of the Copa del Rey. It helps get you familiar with your opponent and can play to your advantage, or exploit your weaknesses as we saw last year against Atlético. Barça kick off February by hosting Villarreal at home twice in both league and cup fixtures in the next ten days before facing the likes of Athletic, Malaga and Levante before traveling to the UK to face Manchester City. We’ll know by then if this resurgence is for real or short lived but there is a need for improvement and Luis Enrique cannot rest on his laurels thinking everything is alright.

La Liga’s disciplinary committee lacks discipline.

La Liga has found itself in another ridiculous situation when it comes to players’ lack of self-control and the league’s failure to properly discipline them. If the league wants to set an example by punishing players, then they need to wake up and revamp its disciplinary committee. January saw the return of La Liga football after the winter break and we already have seen some players commit terrible acts on the pitch that are worthy of a lengthy ban. Yet, we are left wondering why that is not the case. Ronaldo was given a two match ban after getting sent off against Cordoba last week for losing his mind and kicking and punching Edimar when the score was 1-1.

Many were not surprised that he was not given a lengthy ban. La Liga has always been known to be lax when it comes to disciplining players, especially those from the big clubs. A few days ago, we saw two bizarre incidents in the Copa del Rey clash between Atlético Madrid and Barça. In the second half, Arda Turan lost his cool, after getting fouled by Dani Alves, and proceeded to pick up his boot off the ground and toss it at the linesman. If that was not bizarre enough, what happened next was even more bizarre. The referee gave Arda Turan a yellow card. Perhaps if the boot had struck the linesman, it would have warranted a red.

Don’t be surprised if Arda Turan will not be punished for this outrageous conduct since the referee report will show that the player was booked. The league’s disciplinary committee relies on the referee’s final report which in itself is a problem and not on secondary evidence. During that Cordoba Real Madrid match, Ronaldo had earlier gotten away with punching Cordoba player Jose Angel Crespo. Even though everyone else saw it, the three officials on the pitch did not and he was not punished for it. Better yet, it was not even taken into consideration when the two match ban was handed down by the disciplinary committee. Thus, if the referee did not report it, it did not happen and will not be taken into consideration.

The league’s disciplinary committee needs to adopt the Premier League’s model when it comes to punishing players for aggressive conduct. Former La Liga troublemaker, Diego Costa, was recently given a three match ban for stamping Emre Can, even though the referee did not spot it. The FA’s decision mentioned that “[t]he incident was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.” Another perfect example was when FIFA rightfully banned Luis Suarez for biting Giorgio Chiellini, even though the referee failed to spot the disgusting act, thanks to what they saw on video. If this measure is good enough for FIFA and the Premier League, then it should be good enough for La Liga to adopt. La Liga’s disciplinary committee needs to become strict if it really cares about its young viewers who are watching their games.

Ronaldo has been sent off five times during his time with Real Madrid. Out of those five, four were for aggressive conduct and he got away with just a booking when he and Godin engaged in a quick slug fest during the Spanish Super Cup. Perhaps it’s time the league cracked down on players by increasing the ban on repeat offenders to act as a deterrence or else we will continue to see players get sent off for aggressive conduct; that’s if they do get sent off like what we saw with Arda Turan. Allowing a player to get the same punishment for the same type of aggressive conduct over and over again for losing their cool does not send a proper message to the players and the fans is not acceptable.

In conclusion, La Liga’s disciplinary committee needs to get with the times and rely on video evidence. If the referee failed to punish Turan for what he did, then they need to rectify that problem themselves. Furthermore, the league’s disciplinary committee needs to punish repeat offenders in a stricter manner to deter players from losing their calm. The league needs to be conscious of its image both across the world and domestically or continue to be mocked for lacking the discipline to get things done right.