Issues for Barça to address ahead of El Clásico.

Well, it’s that time again when most of the world stops to enjoy El Clásico. Barça travel to Madrid Saturday to face their arch rival Real Madrid. Barça sit atop of the standings with a four point advantage over Los Blancos. A win on Saturday would give them a beneficial seven point lead. However, this game seems to raise more concern than hope for some of the Blaugrana faithful with some issues that need to be addressed.

Luis Enrique’s era has been superb with the minor hiccup against Malaga and disappointing showing against Paris Saint-Germaine.  He heads to the Santiago Bernabéu with a four point cushion over his rival, Carlos Ancelotti. Last season, Tata Martino and the players departed the same stadium as victors following their 4-3 victory. The task at hand is for the manager and players to leave the stadium with a victory.

There’s no debating that this team is still a work in progress. The defending has been shaky at best with Pique still inconsistent, Bartra still lacking experience while Mathieu is recovering a knock. The full backs are such an important part of the offense since Lucho prefers to rely on these players than wingers but that also exposes the defense.  Who will start in the back four is everyone’s guess and unlike Tata, Lucho will not allow the media to be present for the whole training to publicize the starting lineup later on.

The other issue is what is Lucho’s Plan A? Finally, Luis Suarez will be allowed to play with the team, hence why it is a work in progress. Will we finally get to see Lucho’s Plan A come to fruition? The other concern is if Plan A is not working, what is the Plan B? The draw against Malaga showed us that Lucho’s strategy was to replace a player with another player who plays in the same role. Swapping out players is not exactly a great back up plan and his 3-4-3 Plan B against PSG did not convince many.

This is only Match Day 9 but a win goes a long way in ensuring Barça have a good grasp on the league crown with a commanding seven point lead. A loss means Barça will have Real Madrid, Atletico, Valencia and even Sevilla breathing down their necks.  Nevertheless, time has shown us to expect the unexpected when it comes to this game and I can never doubt these players in winning at the Santiago Bernabéu.  Need I remind you that ever since that embarrassing 4-1 loss in Madrid back in 2007-2008 season, Barça have only lost once in that stadium over the years with four wins and a draw in league play. Will Saturday make it a fifth for a Manita?

El Clásico: Evaluation Time for both Barça and Real Madrid.

Following just eight matches, El Clásico rears its heads for both Barça and Madrid. Both clubs have had their tests already but this is their mid-term exam. Have both teams addressed what their teams are lacking or is still there work to do? Come Saturday, we will know if there will be more questions or answers presented to the world.

This Saturday is Lucho’s mid-term exam, or evaluation, as Barça’s manager. Thus far, Barça are currently league leaders, four points ahead of Real Madrid and are in second place in their Champions League group stage. They have yet to concede a goal in league play but have conceded four in Champions League play. Lucho’s first test was during the September stretch where Barça drew with Malaga and lost to PSG. Lucho’s tactics came into question during that time where it was believed his Plan A was inadequate and his Plan B was non-existent. Merely swapping players in similar positions is not a Plan B. However, we are still unsure of his Plan A since he still has not had use of all his players. That will change this Saturday.

Contrary to the insistence of the Madrid press that Luis Suarez cannot play this Saturday, the Uruguayan international is set to make his first competitive debut for Barça in the biggest game possible. Perhaps we will see Lucho’s Plan A after all now that he has Messi, Neymar and Suarez available. I am curious to see what Lucho plans to do with “The South American Connection” on Saturday. Messi and Neymar are in fine form heading into this game so will Lucho start with Suarez and play him for 45-60 minutes or go with Pedro and then bring him on as a second half sub? My big concern is how will he react when he meets the likes of Pepe and not lose his head if confronted. I am also curious to see how Suarez’s inclusion will affect the rest of the team. Will the defense be less shaky now that he’s there and not rely too much on the fullbacks attacking? Even though Barça has yet to concede a goal in league play, they came close to on several occasions. Lucho has to wonder which of his players will center the heart of the defense along with Dani Alves and Jordi Alba. Lucho needs to figure out if Mascherano should start ahead of Busquets who has recovered from a hip injury.

Meanwhile, Madrid have had a “Más o menos“ start to the season. They did win the UEFA Super Cup but lost the Supercopa against Atlético. They also suffered a hiccup of their own when they squandered a two goal lead after allowing Real Sociedad to score four unanswered goals in a 4-2 loss. Real Madrid also didn’t do so well on their first big test when they lost to Atlético in the Santiago Bernabéu back in September. This was the third consecutive time that Ancelotti could not defeat Atlético in league play. He has yet to taste victory against Atlético or Barça in league play and one wonders what pressure he will face if he loses to Barça at home again and Los Blancos find themselves four points behind.

The other issue for Madrid is whether or not they are a better team without Alonso and Di Maria. Alonso gave them the bite they needed in the midfield while Di Maria was sensational and their workhorse down the stretch. Hands down, Di Maria was their best player towards the end of the season. Now, both are gone, along with Diego Lopez, and one has to wonder if this Madrid team has the proper team to face Barça. Are they too finesse or can they, especially Kroos, Rodriguez and Modric, defend and win the ball back without the likes of Alonso present? The fact that some consider Bale’s absence, through injury, a blessing since this means Isco can play, says something. As good as Bale is offensively, he does hurt this team defensively.

Speaking of defense, Madrid have conceded more goals, nine, than all the other top six teams in the league and have allowed far too many scoring chances than they should have. So both Barça and Madrid have their work cut out for them on the defensive side of the pitch. One wonders if this will be a box to box goal fest or will both sides be a bit conservative in their style to protect themselves?

Of course, for many, Saturday means it is Messi vs Ronaldo again. Both are gunning to be the best and to be the best, you have to win. I’ve said all that has to be said about Messi. Words cannot adequately describe what he has accomplished for Barça and Argentina. He has a shot at becoming La Liga’s all-time goal scorer and what better venue to do that then at the Santiago Bernabéu. He surpassed Di Stefano as the all-time top scorer in El Clásico in Madrid last season, so can he also surpass Zarra and become all-time scorer in league history in the same venue this Saturday?

Ronaldo is also one of the most dangerous goal scorers I have ever seen and is lethal when surrounded by the right talent. Now, ever since Ronaldo joined Real Madrid, his team has won only once on home soil in league play. Barça on the other hand have won three times at the Santiago Bernabéu during that same span. I, however think the player that Barça need to watch out for is Benzema. He has scored four goals against the Blaugrana on home soil from open play, while Ronaldo has only two goals, both from the spot. Benzema is a vital player for this team, even if he is not scoring. His presence is a cause of concern for defenders and last season, he could have scored a hat trick and more in the first half alone against Barça. Will Barça be ready to deal with him this time?

As a Barça fan, I am not sure what will happen on Saturday. I recall them losing 4-1 in this stadium the year they won the Champions League title in 2006, and they won at this stadium under Tata Martino last season. I do believe they can win at the Santiago Bernabéu. Last season, Iniesta said, “It’s hard to believe there are Barça fans who don’t believe in us. This team has won the right to the fans’ trust – sure we’ve had off days, but nobody should think Madrid are going to find us an easy prospect”. Well said Iniesta and here’s hoping that there is no off day in Madrid come Saturday.

Thank You Messi.

10 years ago today, Messi made his debut as a substitute against Espanyol. No one imagined the little teenager from Argentina would delight us for 10 years with unforgettable performances.

On October 16, 2004, Messi made his debut when he came on for Deco in the second half of the Barcelona Derby against Espanyol at the Olympic Stadium. The rest as they say is history. There is no need to repeat all his achievements, accomplishments and titles. We all know them and today, we have sensed how time has passed. These past 10 years of watching this great number 10 feels different. To some, those ten years felt like an eternity of watching a career grow and prosper or those ten years went by too quick, much like a blur in the way Messi dribbles past players.

Messi has been on an amazing run and we have been right beside him in the passenger seat watching him take charge in the driver’s seat. We have suffered the highs and lows during his ten years and that’s why perhaps we admire him because he is playing this sport from his heart and also feels our joy and pain. He plays for the club and for the fans as equally as he does for his country and one can never question that.

So as we celebrate 10 years of Messi, we, the fans, his teammates, and the club officials, can only thank him and give him the proper love and respect that he deserves. It’s the least we can do for the man who has done basically everything for this club over the years and we hope he continues to do so for many more years to come.

A Decade of Messi Brilliance.

Today marks the ten year anniversary of Lionel Messi’s debut with FC Barcelona’s first team. For us Barça fans, that decade has left us in deep awe and admiration and hopeful of what else does Messi have left in his bag of tricks. Overall, his brilliance has been a rare blessing for this club that should be treasured forever.

A decade since Messi’s debut. Where do you start? The goals, success and honors on his Wikipedia page reads like page taken from an encyclopedia. Can you imagine how that will look like when he retires? Messi is only 27 and has many years ahead of him as long as he avoids injuries, stays in shape and avoids vices; something that affected other greats such as Marco van Basten, Ronaldo and George Best. Messi has had his early problems of injuries that he has gotten over thanks to change of diet, courtesy of Pep Guardiola, and better conditioning.

Messi’s genius has been on display ever since he came on the scene on this day ten years ago. FC Barcelona’s official website has a nice page with a timeline dedicated to Messi’s greatness. He seemed to be a quick winger which reminded me of Marc Overmars but his talent was too good and it was easy for Frank Rijkaard to put him in the starting lineup ahead of Guily back early into the 2004-2005 season. He was such an unknown that trading card companies mistakenly identified him as Luis Leonardo Messi as indicated in my FC Barcelona trading cards collection.

Nevertheless, that first aha moment where you saw something special in Messi varies among fans. Some were impressed in the Gamper Trofeo match against Juventus. Others, it was the memorable hat trick against Real Madrid in that 3-3 draw at the Camp Nou or the unforgettable Copa del Rey goal against Getafe reminiscent of Maradona’s goal against England that showed that this diamond in the rough was something special.

However, for me, it was the next goal he scored following his Real Madrid hat trick. It’s hard to believe that he had only scored less than 30 goals for both club and country at the time he scored that hat trick. For me, it was his goal against Recreativo that same season that made me think this was guy was something special. Don’t get me wrong, that performance against Real Madrid was superb and the passion in that game does usually bring out the best in everybody. However, the moment that showed me of things to come was his goal against Recreativo soon afterwards.

That goal showed early glimpses of his tenacity of winning the ball off a player near the opponent’s box and the ease in how he glided past players in a way you usually see in EA FIFA games. Back then, the EA FIFA games were not that realistic so it was easy for you to have a player dribble past numerous players with ease. For me, it was life imitating Electronic Arts and oddly enough, he’s now the face of those EA FIFA games. Since then, Messi has made those types of plays seem routine and look so easy and at the same time, mind blowing all at once. The goal he scored in the old San Mames stadium that basically won Barça their last league title in 2012-2013 is a perfect example of those goals we have seen from Messi and he did it again recently against Hong Kong a few days ago.

Since that debut ten years ago, Messi has written a new chapter in both Barça and football history books. He has amazed us and the neutrals and inspired many haters; a sure sign you’ve made it. He has done everything imaginable for both club and country. Gone are the days when people would say the next Maradona and I was surprised when I read a young player, Martin Odegaard, being called the “The Next Messi”. How times have changed and need I remind you again, he is only 27. The sky’s the limits for this amazing player who has made watching him represent club or country an event in other cities and countries.

So as we celebrate his decade of brilliance, Barça fans can only hope the club does not neglect this amazing player who has changed the club’s history. They must continue to build around him and ensure the team is led by him. They must ensure they hire the right type of people to coach him and most importantly, learn from their mistake with Pep Guardiola, and support him in every way imaginable. Messi has done everything for the club for the past 10 years and the least the club can do is ensure that this magical number 10 can remain with the club for another 5-10 years.

New Euro 2016 Qualifying Rules Makes Holland’s Journey Less Panicky.

Despite Netherlands losing their opening European Championship qualifier, the journey to the 2016 tournament in France has been made easier by UEFA’s new rules.

The second Guus Hiddink era kicked off last month with disappointing back to back defeats for the Netherlands. Sure, some players were missing because of injuries and the loss to Italy was a friendly that was over after three minutes following the sending off of Martins Indi. Their subsequent defeat to the Czech Republic in their first 2016 UEFA European Championship group stage match though, was embarrassing thanks to some sloppy defending and uncharismatic football from the Oranje. However, this loss did not carry the weight that the Oranje have an uphill challenge ahead of them and that’s due in large to UEFA implementing new qualifying rules which eliminated the suspense in these qualifiers.

Of course, any loss by Holland is never acceptable, especially in qualifying group stages for the UEFA European Championship. In the past, a loss would cause some concern since the last thing any fan wants is to see their team fail to finish as group leader and automatically qualify and end up in a playoff. Well, good news Oranje fans. Those days are over. Thanks to Michel Platini and UEFA for changing the rules in ensuring that the top two teams qualify for Euro 2016 automatically along with the third place team getting a shot at a playoff spot. Sadly, a change in the rules of allowing 24 nations in Euro 2016 killed the suspense of these qualifiers.

So basically, you have a better chance at qualifying than missing out on Euro 2016. So have no fear, Holland would need to fall into a total coma to make qualifying impossible. Holland’s next two opponents are Kazakhstan and Iceland. Hiddink and his players will have a chance to redeem themselves for last month’s showing. The one benefit of this easy qualification process is that perhaps this will allow Hiddink to bleed in the younger players and give them significant playing minutes. This would ultimately shed some light on which players got what it takes to play for the national team in two years’ time in France.

As much as I feel comfortable in knowing these guys still have a shot at qualifying, even if they finish third, I’d prefer if they right the ship and finish as group leaders. The first step towards redemption starts Friday against Kazakhstan. One can only hope that the Oranje have learned from last month’s mistakes and start living up to expectations.

Time to drop Dani Alves?

Barça’s disappointing loss to PSG on Tuesday showed that Lucho still has some work to do. Perhaps one of the things he needs to do is drop Dani Alves. After wowing us his first few seasons, has the time come for Dani Alves to be dropped following some subpar seasons of late.

When FC Barcelona kicked off the new era of Pep Guardiola, one of the biggest signings back then was the Brazilian fullback, Dani Alves. He was 25 years old and fresh from some amazing performances for Sevilla in which he played a part in helping the club capture back to back UEFA Cup titles. He exploded on the scene during that magical Barça treble season as he clicked well with Messi down the right flanks. He was considered one of the best at his position in the world during his first three seasons with the club as the club rose to the top and became one of the greatest sides in football history.

Fast forward to today and Dani Alves is 31 years old and no longer the force he once was. His assists are down and he has become comedy fodder for fans when they count the number of times he whips in a cross to no one. He has become careless with the ball in the attack and has become too sloppy with the ball as evident by him after losing the ball 15 times against PSG. Unfortunately, his turnovers in the attack lead to counter attacks and his lack of hustle down the other side of the pitch leaves much to be desired. Even defensive minded Luiz Felipe Scolari dropped Dani for Maicon in the latter stages of the most recent World Cup so it’s no surprise he’s become a defensive liability.

There was talk all summer long that Luis Enrique wanted to sign Cuadrado to be a weapon on the right side. One doesn’t have to wonder why when you see performances like this from Dani Alves these past few seasons. His drop in form coincided with his marriage ending in December 2011 and he hurt his stock with his attacks on the Blaugrana faithful last season.  He still has those flashes of brilliance here and there but the days of when Dani Alves bossed the right side of the pitch are over.

This is why Luis Enrique needs to decide whether to keep going with him or go with his younger understudy, Martin Montoya. However, Montoya can’t seem to get a game, let alone find a spot on the bench under Lucho. He did perform well against Athletic in subduing Muniain but the way Athletic have been playing this season, it’s not saying much. The less said about Douglas, the better, following his average debut and his medical ailments that followed that forced him to miss his next few games. Montoya attacks well without whipping in useless crosses to no one and are a pretty good defender.

Dani Alves will go down in history as the club’s greatest right back of all time. However, Dani Alves is being remembered more for what he says off the pitch than for what he does on the pitch. So why not give Montoya a shot and not be subjected to more of Dani Alves’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde act.

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.