Barça’s First Test Is Underway.

 

FC Barcelona were back in action following the long FIFA break. Fortunately, there was one minor injury to Raphinha to worry about. Now, Barça has its first test of the season is underway as they dealt with an away victory to Galatasaray and a home victory against Real Betis. Next up, Paris Saint Germaine and Real Madrid.

Barça picked up right where they left off before the international break. They remain perfect and now face two major tests against Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. While many see these matches as the ultimate measure of just how good this Barça side really is, the reality is that the timing could hardly be worse. With two huge games coming so soon after the FIFA break, the only difficult challenge at this inconvenient moment is El Clasico.

The main focus should be the league crow. A victory over Real Madrid would give Barça a nine-point gap ahead of their archrivals. It is true that league titles are not won in October, but they can be lost that early. Establishing a big lead in the league standings would allow them to rotate for the Champions League in the second half of the season to keep the players fresh.

It is unfortunate that the game against PSG had to be right before El Clasico, but the Champions League is a long journey which does not deserve its attention at the moment. A victory against Real Madrid would establish a new record for most wins, ten, to start a season. More importantly, a win would also deliver a psychological blow to their rivals and cause them more turmoil.

With the recent injuries to Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde, it would be vital not to lose more players to injury before El Clasico. I doubt Hansi Flick would rest so many starters against the European champions, PSG, but it is possible that their paths would cross again in the spring. It would be unfortunate for the Blaugrana to lose more players because of this clash before meeting Madrid.

Furthermore, Flick will have to find a way to rest Lamine Yamal. As much as the young star is important to the team’s success, Flick will have to find a way to rest him a few games to avoid losing him to an injury. Pedri and Gavi are perfect examples of players who paid the price from playing too much. Barça suffered last season when Lamine Yamal had to sit on the sidelines in the final weeks of the season because of an injury to his hamstring. Let’s hope Flick and Lamine Yamal have learned from that setback and think long-term instead of short term.

Barça’s Perfect Start.

 

FC Barcelona kicked off the 2026-2027 season in spectacular fashion. Undefeated after four league matches and currently alone atop of the league standings. They also ended the transfer window with more new signings and haven’t suffered any injuries as they prepare for the Champions League.

FC Barcelona are enjoying a perfect start to the season. They have been great up front and have cut down on conceding goals. After four league matches, the Blaugrana have scored 17 goals and conceded only twice. They are averaging just over four goals a match and have scored five in three of their first four matches. Fans have to be pleased with those types of performances.

Furthermore, there seems to be no World Cup hangover for the players. Newly appointed captain, Raphinha, looks superb after having his World Cup cut short due to injury. Raphinha is the top goal scorer with six goals while Lamine Yamal and Fermín Lopez both have scored four. Cubarsi is continuing his fine World Cup form and Joan Garcia leads the race for the Zamora trophy. New signings Anthony Gordon and Rodri seem to be settling in quite well with this team. It’s refreshing to finally see such good depth on this team.

Speaking of new signings, the Blaugrana managed to sign Gabriel Jesus and Dominik Livaković to complete their busy summer of signings. Sure, Julian Alvarez not joining this team is a bit disappointing but there is enough fire power at the moment. The most important thing is that the club was able to register all these players comfortably, unlike prior seasons.

Barça also discovered their Champions League opponents for the league phase. The Champions League quest kicks off this Wednesday and the Blaugrana will be facing Feyenoord Rotterdam, Galatasaray, Paris Saint-Germain, Aston Villa, Sabah FK, Manchester City, Sporting and Como. Facing the defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will be a good litmus test of how good this Barça team truly is. There will be homecoming for former Barça players who are now club managers with Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord) and Cesc (Como).

Here’s hoping the team continues to play great and everyone stays fit. It will be a long season and hopefully Hansi Flick will rotate his players to keep them all healthy and happy with their minutes. The quest for the 30^th league title and 6^th Champions League title should be an interesting one.

Barça’s Three Tenors Need to Revitalize their Mojo.

FC Barcelona dropped points for the first time since February. With PSG next, Barça’s Three Tenors need to get their mojo back.

For just the third time in 2015, FC Barcelona dropped points after this weekend’s Saturday 2-2 draw to Sevilla. This is a streak a majority of teams in the world would love to enjoy. However, this is La Liga where any lost points when both Barça and Madrid are chasing the title are never forgotten. Barça can calm some fears if they get past these next hurdle of matches with great results. However, in order for that to happen, Barça’s Three Tenors needs to get clicking again.

When Barça were running rampant after that Sociedad loss, most of the credit was aimed at Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. MSN seemed like an unstoppable force. Then, their progress stalled. Neymar went nearly two months without scoring a league goal. Suarez has done well scoring but seems to be misfiring as of late as evidenced against tough teams Celta Vigo and Sevilla. True, he did score the game winner against Real Madrid but he squandered chances to add to his tally in that game. The fact he has not given an assist in over a month is another concern. Messi will always be amazing but the fact he has playing with an injured foot has to be of some concern with the team heading down the final stretch.

Barça kick off a sequence of four tough matches this week. First up is Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday followed by Valencia at home on Saturday. Barça then host Paris Saint-Germain again on Tuesday before facing Espanyol in the Barcelona derby the following weekend. If Barça gets out of that unscathed, then the sky’s the limit. However, Barça needs to snap out of their recent funk and hope that the Three Tenors get their mojo back.

Barça Must Remain Focused.

Back from the international break, Barça must remain focused as they enter the final and most difficult part of the season.

Yesterday’s 1-0 victory against Celta Vigo showed that Barça cannot ill afford a lapse in concentration against any opponent. Barça face a tricky month where they are playing a match twice a week. They will have to be focused for both the Spanish league crown and the UEFA Champions League.

The powers that be have our beloved Blaugrana playing the likes of Sevilla, PSG and Valencia in consecutive order this month. PSG will be missing some starters for the first leg and hopefully Barça do not take them lightly. The memories of Barça getting beaten by a Milan side missing a few of their starters in the 1994 Champions League Final still lingers.

What is certain is that Barça can somewhat calm their nerves, if Barça manage to obtain a victory in Paris by a big margin. This crazy month will be key in how Barça will finish the season. There are only 9 matches left and I have always been a firm believer that the season always comes down to the final five matches. They cannot win any titles this month but they can lose one or both of them this month.

Barça control their destiny and hopefully players like Neymar, and Dani Alves find their mojo and we see the dangerous Barça team we saw after the Real Sociedad loss. We cannot keep relying on Messi on bailing this team out every month, especially with his current foot injury. The final months of the season are upon us and we need every player to stay focused on and off the pitch.

Barça Treble Talk Is Premature.

Things are still going well for Barça. They qualified for the Copa del Rey Final, are in the driver’s seat in their Champions League tie against Manchester City, and currently are league leaders. However, all this talk about another Barça treble is premature at this moment.

Barça’s disappointing loss to Malaga has become nothing but a distant memory. Barça seemed to struggle with taking advantage of opportunities to breathe down Real Madrid’s necks. Now, they are the ones breathing the fresh air atop of the league summit after finally capturing it. The mood is better at the Camp Nou regarding the manager and players; but not the club administration though. They qualified for their 37th Copa del Rey final where they will face Athletic Club at a yet to be determined venue and enjoy a 2-1 aggregate lead against Manchester City in the first leg of the knock out stage of their UEFA Champions League tie.

However, let’s not get too carried away with any treble talk. In a quest of such magnitude, one must remain humble and focus on only the next match at hand. Pep brought that one game at a time approach and Luis Enrique repeated it today ahead of tomorrow’s second leg match against Manchester City. When asked about this weekend’s El Clásico match, the manager replied, “There is only one game for us and that’s the one tomorrow. Nothing else matters to me right now”.

Up only 2-1, the tie against Manchester City is far from over. It is true that Barça enjoy the upper hand knowing that Manchester City enter the match knowing they need to score two goals at the Camp Nou. However, crazier things have happened to Barça at the Camp Nou. Barça’s “Dream Team” were knocked out of the second round of the qualifying stage for the 92-93 Champions League by CSKA Moskva with a second leg 2-3 loss at the Camp Nou after a 1-1 away draw in Russia. At one point, Barça were leading 2-0 before the Russian side scored three unanswered goals to eliminate the Blaugrana from Europe.

Barça’s match against Manchester City cannot be taken for granted. Barça still has the tendency to give up goals and with the absence of Busquets, one wonders how the midfield will look like in his absence. Even if Barça advance, the teams awaiting them in the Quarter-Finals will not be pushovers. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Porto and PSG will be waiting for them along with possible teams such as Dortmund or Juventus, Monaco, and Atlético. The path to the Champions League final will not be an easy path, that’s for sure.

Even this weekend’s Clásico cannot be considered that decisive. When Barça won the treble back in 2008-2009, El Clásico took place in the final month of the season, not in March. After this weekend’s clash, there will be an additional 10 league matches to be played. That’s 30 possible points. A win this weekend will give them a four point cushion with another 30 points to be contested by both sides. Clearly, having a small lead is a great boost for morale but a lot can happen over 10 matches too.

I have always been a firm believer that the league is decided in the final five league matches. So any talk of Barça winning or going for the treble by fans is very premature. The media will start talking about it because it’s their job to do so. Some were talking about Real Madrid winning all six titles this season and look how quickly that discussion ended. Only one club from Spain has ever won the treble so it’s no easy task at all. Therefore, let’s wait till May before we can utter the word “treble.” Until then, the Blaugrana faithful need to just take it one match at a time.

Lucho’s First Test for Barca Reveals More Questions.

September has bid us farewell and October is now upon us. Nevertheless, this new month begins with more questions than answers being provided by FC Barcelona and their manager Luis Enrique. These past few weeks were the manager’s first big test and although he passed his first big test, he still has much work to do.

Back in September, I discussed Luis Enrique’s first big test of the season that awaited him that month. I asked if he would 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? The answers were a mixed bag of yes and no. Overall, this test, which culminated in the PSG loss, was to show us if Luis Enrique can handle the demands of this job. Unfortunately, we are left with more questions than answers after this first test.

The first issue Luis Enrique has to address is his goal keeping situation. Claudio Bravo has performed well in the league without conceding a single goal. I expected Bravo to start yesterday seeing as you should always go with the player who is in hot form. Marc-André ter Stegen has only featured once this season, and that was in the first Champions League match against APOEL two weeks ago.  I had some concern that perhaps he would be a bit rusty for PSG and I would have opted for Claudio Bravo instead. Unfortunately, ter Stegen did not perform well, and neither did those in front of him, and now Luis Enrique has to decide what to do about that position. Should he rotate both more often so both feature at least once a week or just go with Claudio Bravo as his number one and let ter Stegen be the backup and feature in Copa del Rey? Obviously this does not leave third choice Masip with not many minutes at all but Lucho needs to make sure all his keepers are not rusty and in form.

The second issue is the back four. Lucho wants his fullbacks to attack and be part of the offensive juggernaut of this team. Sadly, it’s not working that well. Dani Alves and Jordi Alba both lost the ball a combined 23 times against PSG, with the Brazilian guilty of losing it 15 times. To see Dani Alves still start is alarming seeing his work rate has dropped defensively and he still resorts to countless crosses which result in more turnovers than scoring chances. I have been a big proponent of letting Montoya start where he defends well and will not turn the ball over when he attacks. New signing Douglas had an average debut against Malaga followed by a case of the fever and a bruised foot that saw him miss some action. I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays as often as Dmytro Chygrynskiy did. Meanwhile, Adriano is a decent backup who has come up clutch at times but he is not good enough to replace Alba.

Furthermore, I thought this was the season we would see Mascherano play in the midfield but here we are, yet again, watching him playing center back and although he has great last ditch efforts, he was beaten by David Luiz on the first goal during a set piece. His partner, Mathieu had a subpar performance and has been shaky of late. One wonders why Pique is not starting more often and what does Bartra need to do to get more minutes? Moreover, Vermaelen is now deemed fit so how is Lucho going to handle the center of the defense. Lucho has his work cut out for him in how to keep these guys organized and focused. The clean sheet run in the league is impressive but not whole heartedly convincing. In other words, those clean sheets have been rather fortunate and not the work of a team that is shutting down teams with authority.

The midfield also poses some issues. Lucho wasted Rakitic on the flanks against PSG and didn’t play him in the middle of the pitch where he strives. Iniesta seems to be off to a slow start with some flashes of genius here and there. Busquets is paying the price with some sloppy play because of this new style mixed in with some Xavi-esque moments when it comes to superb passes. Speaking of Xavi, we have not seen enough of him and perhaps we should adjust the lineup to have him feature in a 4 man midfield, or as some would like, with Busquets and Mascherano instead. I never rated Sergi Roberto and if Rafinha is 100% fit, then he should be featuring more than Sergi Roberto.

Up front, Messi is back to his old self again and I am enjoying him pressure high and cause some turn overs after watching a more subdued version of him last season. The problem is that Messi still has to carry everyone on his back and none of the guys up front are doing that for him. Neymar is thriving because of Messi but he is not doing enough for Messi’s sake. Pedro, Munir and Sandro all have gotten to play and all have shown that this is Luis Suarez’s job to lose when he returns later this month.  The problem is the inconsistent ineffective play by the fullbacks in the attack, which probably explains why Lucho wanted to sign Cuadrado this summer, and there is no guarantee that Luis Suarez’s inclusion will solve these problems. These players cannot rely on Messi to bail them out and hopefully Suarez’s inclusion will do that and not become another player reliant on Messi.

The loss to PSG does not mean the sky is falling; Far from it. I expect this team to challenge for both the league title and the Copa del Rey. Champions League football is another story altogether. Lucho got outcoached in this loss and the team’s performance this past month showed that there is an issue of a lack of structure and organization by the players on the pitch. Furthermore, Lucho’s usual tactics leave much to desire when his plan B is to replace one player with another without changing positions or tactics. Perhaps it is a sign of things to come when he did throw us a surprise after he took off Dani Alves and put on Sandro with Mascherano attacking as a full back. That though didn’t seem like a well calculated plan but more of a gamble. This team went through two seasons of poor coaching on the pitch and can ill afford a third straight season of such.  Real Madrid can solve whatever issues they have by buying in the winter; Barça does not have that luxury. These issues have to be resolved by the manager and the players.

An additional element of concern for Lucho will be how he handles players returning from international duty. He was fortunate that many of his big stars missed out on September international duty. I can’t see Messi missing out on playing for Argentina in early October and mid-November; circle your calendars for November 18 when Argentina and Portugal face one another at Old Trafford. Will he be fortunate to have a well-rested squad for those two months like he did for September?

I will end this on a positive note. September was a harsh month that saw the team play 6 matches in 3 weeks with a combined result of four wins, a draw and a loss. That is still a great result and the team is still are league leaders. Also, October with only consist of three league matches, with El Clásico being one of them, and one Champions League match against Ajax Amsterdam at the Camp Nou.  I don’t consider Copa Catalunya Final as a serious fixture and let’s see if it even takes place. Hopefully Lucho and the team will get their act together this month because there is still much to do.

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.