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.

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.

What Next For Barça After Transfer Ban Upheld.

Yet another appeal for Barça. Barça seems to be as busy on the pitch as they are off the pitch. Last week, FIFA rejected FC Barcelona’s transfer ban appeal regarding the transfers of youth players into La Masia. The punishment was that the team could not sign players for two transfer windows. Thus, Barça risk the chance of not signing any new players next season which makes you wonder why didn’t they plan ahead and do more this transfer window.

Last Wednesday, FIFA made the decision to maintain their original decision of banning Barça from signing new players. This stems from FIFA’s decision back in April to ban Barça, and the RFEF, after they ruled that both had “violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of non-Spanish minors with the club, as well as other relevant regulations with regard to the registration and participation of certain players in national competitions. The investigations concerned several minor players who were registered and participated in competitions with the club over various periods between 2009 and 2013.”

I won’t waste much time arguing FIFA’s position. I don’t think these kids are subjected to child slavery by being a part of La Masia. Also, it does seem silly that FIFA cares for children playing at academies but at the same time, do not seem to care for the children of those men who have died building World Cup stadiums and those children who work in awful conditions making shoes and kits that are worn by players for their football clubs and countries.

Barça dropped the ball in the way they handled this issue from the beginning till now. They probably should have hired a very good law firm to help them with the initial inquiry and followed up to see if it was adequate. Also, Barça claimed that they were expecting the appeal to be turned down. If so, then why are they putting all their eggs in one basket by relying on the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn this decision and risk being shut out from signing new players?

Court of Arbitration for Sport already heard one appeal recently when they refused to reduce Luis Suarez’s FIFA four month ban; just eliminated the ridiculous “no football activity” ban. So I don’t like Barça’s chances in getting this ban overturned; perhaps reduced to one transfer window but I don’t like Barça’s chances in getting a complete overturn. Thus, there is the risk of signing new players in the future.

Which is why I am a bit disappointed, but not surprised, at the way the club has conducted itself this transfer window. I was expecting many players to leave and so far, that has happened with Alex Song and Dani Alves the only ones that have yet to find new teams. Alex Song won’t feature in any league matches for Luis Enrique as the club tries to offload him but Dani Alves seems to be sticking around partially because of lack of interest.

Of course, the Barça board promised change and with it, came many new faces. Barça’s new additions are Marc-André ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitić, Claudio Bravo, Luis Suárez, Jérémy Mathieu, Thomas Vermaelen along with former Barça B players coming back from loan Gerard Deulofeu, Rafinha. I don’t consider players coming back from loan as new signings although the Barça board deemed them as “signings”.  Ultimately, the list of new players is a mixed bag in terms of impressing me. Only Marc-André ter Stegen and Ivan Rakitić were the ones I was hoping for.

Since he is a Barça player now, I will hope that Suárez will come through and be an important player in the attack up front with Messi and Neymar along with not losing his cool and doing something stupid. The disappointment of going from seeing the club linked with the likes of Laporte and Marquinhos and then signing Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen while being also linked to Brazilian fullback Douglas is not exactly up lifting.

If Barça do end up being hit with the transfer ban, the team will have to rely on these players to defend the club’s backline for more than one year. Pique, Bartra, Mascherano, Mathieu and Vermaelen as our centerbacks with Dani Alves, Montoya, Jordi Alba and Adriano as our fullbacks is not exactly reassuring. Then again, this is the club that thought Alex Song was going to be a good signing. The most frustrating thing about all of this is the club not signing players on sign and loan deals in case the ban is not overturned. Instead, they now have to rush to finish these sorts of deals, if they want to, with a few days left in the transfer window.

Hopefully the likes of Ié and Bagnak and others from Barça B will get to their chances to play with the first team as Munir did this past weekend. If the ban is to remain in place, then Barça will have to rely on their youth and with Luis Enrique in charge, one can hope that the former Barça B manager will rely on them a whole lot more than his predecessor, with and without the transfer ban. Barça have always relied on La Masia as the backbone of their team and now, La Masia will have to be relied on more than ever.

Ter Stegen, Welcome to the Jungle.

 Ter Stegen is Barça’s new keeper after his signing was completed last week. He comes in as the new number one keeper after both Victor Valdés and Pinto exit the club. The young German is entrusted as the new man in the box which will be no easy task. Ter Stegen is walking into a jungle where he has to combat history along with comparisons to the legend Valdés and his contemporary Courtois.

After a decade of service, Barça will no longer rely on Valdés as their goalkeeper. Ter Stegen now inherits the mantle unless his backup, whoever Barça signs, somehow beats him to the starting lineup. The same scenario happened back in 2003-2004 when Turkish keeper, Rustu, was signed by the club and ended up being the backup to Valdés. Rijkaard had more faith in Valdés and the rest is history. Now, Ter Stegen has to combat history as he tries to become a true starting keeper after Barça discarded Andoni Zubizarreta following the 1994-1995 European Cup Final. 19 other keepers have guarded Barça’s goal since then and only three had more than 100 appearances; Valdés, Hesp and Busquets.

Ter Stegen doesn’t have history on his side but it doesn’t mean that he is doomed either. He wasn’t called up by Low for the World Cup for Germany, contrary to many world cup sports books.  But he is a young talented keeper who I have high hopes for. Hopefully the club will surround him with a strong back four in front of him too and whoever is his backup will also serve as his mentor and not his competitor. However, the young man will also have to fight off comparisons to not one, but two goalkeepers.

Ter Stegen replacing a legend that is Valdés will not be an easy task. At times, the Blaugrana faithful were harsh on Valdés but he still leaves the club as the most successful, and greatest, goalkeeper in the history of the club. When one replaces a legend, he also has to be compared to him and that will be the case for the young German. Furthermore, there will be comparisons to Atlético’s keeper, Courtois, who it seems was longing to join Barça over returning to Chelsea. Many, including myself, would have preferred his signing as Valdés’s replacement. Courtois is used to playing in Spain and the late kickoff times and has proven himself in La Liga and in UEFA competitions. Obviously, if Ter Stegen sputters, then there will be talks of what if, even if it’s unfair.

Indeed, Ter Stegen walks into a new environment that is currently unstable at the top with more changes along the horizon. Hopefully he can cope with all that he is about to face and endure. It will be a test to see how the German can handle being in the jungle that is Barça and pass with flying colors.

Barça’s pursuit for the successor of Valdés.

With each passing month, it becomes more evident that the likelihood of Victor Valdes remaining with Barça becomes more bleak. It took the club a long time to settle on a true starting keeper after they discarded Zubizarreta following the 1994-1995 European Cup Final. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the club’s fortune improved when they decided on Valdés being the man in goal for the long-term. The club will now have to seek a suitable replacement for Valdés and the list of candidates is impressive but dubious.

It is ironic that the man tasked with the responsibility of finding the next Barça keeper is one of the club’s own legendary keepers, Zubizarreta. Fortunately, the search for a keeper will not be that difficult. The choices available range from old and seasoned to up and coming young talents, however, what will be difficult is making sure the right one is chosen. We went through the likes of Victor Baia, Ruud Hesp, Bonano, Enke, Rustu and even Pepe Reina, who is also a potential candidate as well, before the club settled on Valdés.

The current list of candidates consists of Borussia Monchengladbach’s youngster, Ter Stegen, Manchester United’s David De Gea, former Blaugrana keeper Pepe Reina who is currently on loan with Napoli, and Atletico Madrid’s Courtois who is on loan from Chelsea. Prying some of these keepers will be very difficult and will not be cheap.

I have a tough time believe De Gea is going to be sold by Manchester United unless he has some poor performances the rest of the season. If that is the case, why should Barça then sign him then? As for Pepe Reina, it seems that many Cules are not in favor of seeing the former keeper back with the team. Sure, he is familiar with the players because of the Spanish national team connection. However, my issue is that Barça need a younger keeper who can provide a decade of service if possible and Reina has only a few years left in him.

This basically leaves us with two choices. Ter Stegen and Courtois. Ter Stegen is a young keeper whom the club supposedly has already made an agreement to obtain his services for next season. He seems to be destined to be one of the keepers for the German World Cup roster. However, one has to wonder if he is the right choice for the club. It’s not easy being Barça’s keeper; just ask Valdés and what he had to endure over the years. Does playing for BMG prepare him for the late night kickoffs at the Camp Nou and those intense matches in Europe and against Real Madrid? Maybe the gamble in signing him would pay off but can Barça afford to chance it? He would be worth signing to be an understudy although Barça B Masip also seems suited for that role if Pinto is not brought back to be Barça’s backup keeper.

That leaves us with the ever so impressive Courtois. He was signed by Chelsea when he was a teenager and was sent on loan to Atletico Madrid. The young keeper has been sensational ever since he joined Atletico Madrid. He has helped his side add another Europa League title and played a vital part in ending their long winless streak against their derby rivals, Real Madrid. That victory came in last season’s Copa del Rey Final which was played in Real Madrid’s own turf. Courtois played phenomenally well, and had some luck to assist him too, as Atletico Madrid triumphed and added another Copa del Rey to their trophy case.

Furthermore, the young phenom has performed well in the Champions League. Courtois has also helped guide Belgium back to the World Cup for the first time since 2002. There’s no doubt that his experience at the World Cup will only make him stronger. His resume makes him the perfect candidate for Barça to sign as their long-term keeper. The only stumbling block will be his price tag. He is still is a Chelsea player and with Mourinho there, it is highly unlikely that he will sell the young Belgian keeper to the club without asking for a king’s ransom, if he decides to sell at all.

Zubizarreta has a tall order ahead of him. Replacing Valdés is not an easy task and this upcoming summer will be a difficult one for him and Rosell if he chooses to get involved. The right man has to be chosen because the club has a team built to win for now and a wrong choice will be a setback for their title ambitions. Clock is ticking and hopefully Barça makes the right choice in the end.