All About FC Barcelona

Complicating The Qualification Task; Rubin-0, Barca-0

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:03:00 +0000

FC Barcelona has essentially put their Champions League qualification at risk by drawing against the Russian champions. With this draw we stand at second in standing and have a chance to end the night at third in overall standing if there is anything other than a draw in the match against Inter and Kiev. Barca now have to win their remaining two matches to go through to the next round. A failure to see off the Ukranian Champions will effectively kick us out of the competition. FC Barcelona struggled to come to terms fully with the slowness of the pitch and it didn't aid their attacking play. At Kiev the condition will be similiar to Kazan's so Guardiola needs to think up something big to get the team through. Guardiola with his stupid idea of not using his substitutions early is not aiding the team at all. Tonight Henry was introduced in the 82nd minute, too late to make any impact. Guardiola started Alves , Puyol, Pique and Abidal in the defnse. The midfield was made up of Keita, Toure and Xavi. The attacking trio were Iniesta, Ibrahmovic and Messi.

For some strange reason Iniesta and Keita swapped their positions in the middle throughout the first half. Barca started the match with serious intent. We had two corners in the first two minutes. In the 3rd minute a delightful Iniesta pass put Ibrahmovic onside but his curling shot hit the outside of the far post. In the 5th minute Keita saw his volley from well outside the box going horribly wide. Then we had a session where we had all the possesion but with no end products. The man to man marking of Rubin was excellent and the ball was slowing on the pitch too. Then in the 19th minute Xavi tried to chip above the goal keeper but went high. In the 21st minute Ibrahmovic lays off the ball to Messi after some great chest control, Messi wriggles past defenders but goal keeper was quick to come and colect the ball. In the next minute Messi and Xavi were involved in another great move but the defnse somehow clears the danger. Rubin was looking to hurt Barca on the counter, especially through the wings. In the 41st minute Valdes had to make an excellent save to deny Ryazantsev. Barca did try to improvise on the free kick at the other side but Iniesta's shot was blocked.

In the second half Iniesta went back to his position in the front left and Barca started to conjure up some attacking moves. In the 52nd minute the goal keeper fumbles a long shot from Toure but the defense were on hand to clear the danger. In the 54th minute Iniesta shot wide after shaking off some challenges in getting into the box. By the hour mark Rubin started looking deadly dangerous after the introduction of Bukharov. In the 74th minute Bukharov had a great chance but his chest control wasn't that great helping Valdes to get hold of the ball. In the 78th minute Rubin had the best chance of the night. Domigues played a beautiful dummy to let the cross from left reach Bukharov, he cut inside Puyol and breaks clean on ball; Valdes reacts immediately and blocks and the rebound was cleared by Puyol. Guardiola finally understood the idea of substitution and brought in Henry for Keita in 82nd minute. he looked dangerous in the time he was on the pitch and it only begs one question why he was not introduced earlier. In the 88th minute henry had the best chance for Barc in second half. Alves send in a great cross at the far post, the defnder fail to clear it and it reaches Henry who could not tap it in. Maybe he was blinded by the leaping defender.

This definietly is not a good result for Barca. Now this could turn out to be good only if Kiev and Inter draw at Milan. Then we will go back to top. But now the equation is pretty simple for us - win the next two matches and get in the second round. The last match against Inter looks a better proposition than the away match at Kiev at this moment. Meanwhile Guardiola's tactics of not bringing on Henry earlier is quite strange. Iniesta had a quite match and as I wrote in the preview that he needs to have a good match for us to feel comfortable. We saw Messi making some runs but was well below par tonight. Xavi and Toure were excellent eventhough they couldn't quite contribute much in attack. But now its time for us to pick up the pieces and get ready for the challenges in Liga. We had to get some good result in and have the confidence back before we make the trip to Kiev.

Must Win Match for Barca; Rubin Kazan vs Barca Preview

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Nobody would have ever imagined that Barca's travel to Russia would turn out to be this significant in terms of Barca proceeding to the group stage. A lose against Rubin tomorrow night will reduce Barca's chances of proceeding to next stage very much. A draw might not be bad, but may result in Barca seeking help from others in the group for qualification. Hence the ideal and only option left for Barca is to win this match. This is the most important match for Barca since the start of this season. After the dissappointing show against Osasuna Barca would be looking to bounce back in style. The omens are not good as the last tiome Barca drew in La Liga they followed up with a loss against Rubin. But this team last season has shown enough character to pick up from dire-strait situation and win matches. There will be no way Barca players are going to be complacent for this match. Guardiola has announced teh squad for Russia - Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Márquez, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Ibrahimovic, Messi, Bojan, Pinto, Henry, Keita, Sergio Busquets, Pedro, Maxwell, Abidal, Touré and Jeffren. Dani Alves has returned back from injury but may not start the game.

Guardiola is expected to start Valdes at the goal. Alves may only start on the bench, that means Puyol will once again done the right back role. Pique and Marquez should form the centre of defense with Abidal on the left. The midfield will surely contain Toure and Xavi with most probably Keita. That means Iniesta will start on the front left with Ibrahmovic and Messi occupying their usual position. The match most probably will be determined at the midfield. Keita and Toure has to be strong enough to win challenges and close down any spaces. But the match may depend on the form of Iniesta. He has struggled against the big organised defense at times and we will not be doing great without his performing. I dearly want Barca to win this game. But there were reports that it could be pretty cold in Kazan and clubbed with an organised defense, it could be really difficult to beat Rubin at home. So I will go for a goal-less draw.

Osasuna vs Barca Highlights on 31/10/09

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:23:00 +0000

Osasuna -1, Barca - 1

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:18:00 +0000

FC Barcelona squandered two points with a last second own goal from Pique to help Real Madrid close the gap on top to one point. In a game where the defenses held their fort, Barca went ahead with a strike from Keita in the 72nd mnute but they had to pay dearly for wasting a host of chances after the goal. The last time we drew a match in the league, we followed it with a loss against Rubin Kazan. With Rubin Kazan around the corner, I bet this was the best way to prepare for such a high profile game. It was one of the most boring game involving Barca and it wasn't any surprise that the defenses were on top for majority of the game. Guardiola again selected Puyol, Pique, Chygrynskiy and Abidal in the defense infront of Valdes. The midfield was made up of Keita, Busquets and Xavi. Messi, Ibrahmovic and Iniesta formed the attacking trio.

Barca had the first shot on target in the first minute. Messi picked up a loose ball, turned in and unleasehd a fearceful shot but straight at Goal Keeper, Ricardo. But that was a false indication of what to expect in the first half. Osasuna had the better chances in the first half forcing a save from Valdes and a desperate tackle from Puyol. In the 29th minute Ibrahmovic saw his shot hit the defender and Puyol couldn't put the rebound in. The rest of the half involved hopeful runs to the box but with no end products. In the 68th minute Ibrahmovic won the ball from Flano and set on a clear run on goal, but was hacled down to ground. Any referee in the earth would have reached out to his pocket for the red card but the Madrid based, Rubinos Perez saw nothing wrong with deleberately bringing down the player. But Barca finally broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute Mess played the ball to the left to Puyol inside the box, Puyol send in a low cross but Xavi could not quite reackh it at the near post but Keita was there at the far post ready to tap it and he very well did the same. Towards the end Ibrahmvic saw his shot palmed away by Ricardo, then Messi wasted three chances and we paid dearly with the last move of the game. Camunas turned past Marquez with ease on the right and send in a low cross which Pique tried to steer for a corner, but only managed to put into his own net.

Barca woudl have been ideally looking to build up on the recent good result. But failed miserably. Now they have to make sure they don't let history repeat itself again. Rubin kazan is a must win match for Barca and there should not be any let up. It was dissappointing not to see Henry get some playing time. Now against Rubin Kazan also he will only start from the bench. This season we have shown real sign of weakness away from home and this is something for Guardiola to concentrate upon as soon as possible.

Osasuna vs Barca Preview

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:16:00 +0000

FC Barcelona would be looking to continue their two match winning streak at Osasuna tonight. After the set-backs suffered at Valencia and against Rubin Kazan at Camp Nou, Barca looked to have got their campaign back to the right track, but still this will be a huge test. The defeat against Rubin Kazan had made the return leg on wednesday a must win affair . In view of that Guardiola would love to give rest to some of the key players. Xavi for me might see more rest after playing non-stop till last week. Henry is back in the squad after recovering from the fitness and he should see some play time. Osasuna currently lies in tenth position in the table. But that doesn't sound too much in Barca's favour as a visit to Pamplona is always regarded as one of the toughest. Barca had won 11 times in 31 visits with 10 draw and ten defeats at Pamplona. So this one is definitely a tough one. Last season we won 3-2 here with some late goals.

Guardiola has announced the squad to travel and it is - Valdés, Pinto, Puyol, Piqué, Chygrynskiy, Marquez, Abidal, Maxwell, Toure, Busquets, Xavi, Keita, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro, Bojan, Ibrahimovic, Henry, Jeffren. IOut of the regulars I only expect Xavi to be rested. Valdes would return back at goal. Puyol, Pique, Marquez and Abidal would ideally form the defense. Iniesta should take Xavi's role in a midfield which may have Busquets in place of Toure. Keita with his recent form should be awarded another start. Pedro looks like he cannot stop scoring and should see himself starting on the left along with Ibra and Messi. Barca should look to finish of the gam early as that will give room for Guardiola to rest some players. Meanwhile six Barca players have been nominated for FIFA World Player of the year. Henry, Ibrahimovic, Iniesta, Messi, Puyol and Xavi are all in the running, which most probably will be won by Lionel Messi. Samuel Eto'o who is currently playing at Inter also is featured in the list.

Buy Barcelona Jacket at SoccerPro

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:52:00 +0000

I recently got hold of Full Zip Barcelona Jacket from SoccerPro. I already have received the FC Barcelona navy Blue Jacket but this one has a better Bluagrana identity than the other one. The jacket has a bold red stripe across it's front and back midsection and two thin red stripes on the center of left sleeve. The Nike corporate logo is embroidered on the upper right of the chest. The Barcelona crest is kind of embedded on the left and looks really nice. To top it all the famous mascot is embroidered on the left sleeve. SoccerPro also have the Nike Barcelona Full Zip Jacket - Dark Obsidian and Bright Mango - a variation to the above shown jacket. But I will go with the Blue and Red Jacket as it has a more close resemblence to Barca identity. Which ever you are looking to buy you will get decent amount of discount from SoccerPro for any Soccer Apparel. The clearance sale is also on at SoccerPro and you would definitely want to check the same.

You can also find other Soccer Jackets at SoccerPro. As I have written earlier, SoccerPro was started with the vision of providing to the game a lot in return. And it is really pleasing to see they continuing the same. Last year I thought they may slow down the work they were putting into Soccer Grow. Fortunately they have started putting more effort and money into it. Recently SoccerGrow partnered with The Homeless World Cup by donating equipment such as soccer shirts, carrying bags and portable goals from their online soccer shop, SoccerPro.com. Thanks to their support the evetnt was a grand success. The Licensed Jersey store contains a host of international clubs. Barca, Real Madrid, Valencia and Atletico Madrid do feature from the La Liga. They also do have the national jerseys of almost all the team in the world. So if you are looking for a place to buy some soccer jerseys - SoccerPro surely is the best.

Keita Shines in Barca Victory; FC Barcelona-6, Zaragoza-1

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:16:00 +0000

FC Barcelona extended their lead at the top of the league to three points with a marvelous 6-1 thrashing of Zaragoza. It was quite a night with Keita scoring a hat-trick. Not many times you will see Keita outscoring the likes of Messi and Ibrahmovic. There were serious doubts about Barca's form, but the players put them into rest with a sensational display. Apart from Keita's hat-trick, Ibrahmovic scored a brace and Messi added one to complete Barca's tally. Lopez was the one who got the consolation goal for Real zaragoza. Guardiola had Puyol, Pique, Chygrynskiy and Maxwell in the defense infront of Valdes. The midfield was formed by Keita, Busquets and Xavi. Iniesta, Ibrahmovic and Messi formed the attacking trio.

Barca were looking to attack from the word go but the early attacks did not result in clear cut chances. In the 2nd minute Messi forced a save from Carrizo, the Zaragoza custodian. And it was clear from that moment that he was going to have some tough time ahead. In the 12th minute Ibrahmovic heads down the ball for Messi in the box, but Carrizo again denied him. In the 22nd minute Ibrahmovic forces a save from Carrizo after some great work. In the 25th minute Barca went deservingly ahead from a Keita header from a Messi cross. In the 29th minute Barca doubled the tally with a good free kick from Ibrahmovic. Iniesta was brought down and Irahmovic took the resulting kick. In the 33rd minute Xavi saw his free kick going agaonisingly close in scoring a goal. Anyway Barca made the tally 3-0 in the 42nd minute with Keita's second goal of the night. Ibrahmovic was the provide this time.

Barca showed no let-up in intensity after the break. That was something missing this season. Ibrahmovic made the tally 4-0 from a Keita pass after some great play by Iniesta on the left in the 56th minute. Zaragoza managed to pull one goal back in the 78th minute. Valdes saved the initial shot from Ewerthon but was unable to stop Jorge Lopez. Barca responded immediately. Messi finally got into score sheet in the 81st minute. Iniesta set in a busrting run into the centre and played the ball to Messi who made no mistake. In the 86th minute Barca completed the tally with Keita securing his first Barca Hat-trick. Keita headed home from an Iniesta corner.

This was the perfect response one can hope from the team after the recent set-backs. Every player played their part well. The special mentioning has to be Keita, Messi, ibra and Iniesta. Messi was back to his best and it is good to see Iniesta getting back to his true form.

FC Barcelona vs Zaragoza Preview

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:44:00 +0000

FC Barcelona would be looking to put behind them the recent set-backs suffered in their campaign tonight at Camp Nou. A failure to defeat Zaragoza at home will see alarm bells ringing around Barca faithfuls. With Gijon holding Real Madrid to a goal less draw last night, it is upto Barca to capitalise on Real's slip up. A victory tonight will take them four points clear of Madrid and will put enormous pressure on a side which has spent 250 million this summer. Barca players also will be looking to silense their critics with a stellar performance tonight. With Dani Alves injured it is sure that Puyol will be playing as the right back. But whether Chygrynskiy will feature after a injury-layoff is yet to be seen. Zaragoza alwas have been a tough opponent for us, but they were relegated last season. Hence they may not be the same opponents like some seasons ago.

How will Guardiola line-up the defense is to be seen. Most probably it will be aline-up f Puyol, Pique, Marquez and Abidal. The midfield should be the same as last match - Xavi, Toure and Iniesta. Pedro, Ibra and Messi should line-up as the attacking trio. It is time for us to put our faith in the team. They have met our expectation last season and they will definitely bounce back from the recent failure My prediction is a 4-0 victory for Barca.

FC Barcelona vs Rubin Kazan Highlights

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:44:00 +0000

From Bad To Worse

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:42:00 +0000

I have been on road for last two days and missed the Champions league match against Rubin Kazan. So this one resulted in the first defeat officially this season. Now if we take the last three matches into presective, there could be some alarm bells ringing. The 1-0 victory against Almeria was far from convincing, the draw at Valencia was aided by some heavy fortune and the 2-1 defeat can be attributed to lack of the same. But the cry of a crisi could be too pre-mature but everyone agrees that if we don't deal with this early this could spell trouble. In the last three matches we definitely had trouble with our finishing especially against a desperately defending side. Complacency could have been a big contributing factor but I think the bigger factor could be that we are not yet playing at the pace which we used to play last season. It is also time for us to understand and plan for ultra defensive opponents. I have earlier explained that rather than crying about these tactics we could do a world of good if we start preparing for these types of matches.

The home defeat against Rubin Kazan put Barca in a precarious position. We are now looking ata possibility of being eliminated from the group. The usual estimation was that by the completion of the match against Rubin at camp Nou we should have taken a sizeable lead in the group. Now this group resembles the real group of death. It is going to be very tough winning at Russia and Ukraine and that has become must win matches for us. The overall performance of the team agaisnt Rubin Kazan was pretty ok. The first goal was definitely a mistake from part of Valdes, If you watch the replays you can cleary see that valdes most probably had it covered but never went in full stretch to take that goal. The second goal has been a usual style goal agaisnt barca. But in between we have made enough chances but could not capitalise on it. May be the international break did effect us. Whatever be the reason it is time for our team to buckle up. On the positive note, this defeat has come very early in the seasona nd could energise Barca back to the best. No team has ever won the Champions League with out losing a single match. Now since we have lost one now we are very well on path to Bernebeu (Ending the post in a positive note).

Valencia vs Barca Match Pitcures on 17/10/09

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 08:15:00 +0000

Valencia vs Barca Match Highlights

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 08:02:00 +0000

Barca Drop Their First Points of The Season; Valencia - 0, Barca - 0

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:58:00 +0000

FC Barcelona's winning streak came to a hold at the Mestella, when they were held to a goal less draw by Valencia. Actually Barca was lucky not to have lost the match, a combination of great goal keeping by Valdes and some poor finishing by Valencia players prevented a Valencia win. Valencia were the better team in both the halfs, especially in the first half. David Villa was ruled out of the encounter and would have definitely made a difference with his finishing. For Barca Ibrahmovic and Bojan both started from the bench. Valdes kept the goal ahead of a defensive formation of Alves, Puyol, Pique and Abidal. Xavi, Keita and Toure formed the midfield. Iniesta, Pedro and Messi formed the attacking trio. The lack of a genuine centre forward means that we were going to struggle knitting up attacks. And to make matter worse we lost the midfield battle in the absence of Iniesta from the midfield. In attack Iniesta was the best Barca player in display.

FC Barcelona was lucky not to have gone behind in the 2nd minute. Valencia broke on the counter with Silva who slid the ball ahead of the defense to Pablo in; but Pablo could only shoot straight at Valdes from a one on one situation. In the 5th minute Valencia again counter with pace from a Barca corner on the other end;Pablo cuts inside to beat Iniesta and skip past Abidal and send in a cross which Mata could only send high under pressure from Puyol. The only Barca player who looked dangerous in the opening exchanges was Iniesta but he was kept on bay by some neat defending from Valencia. In the 20th minute Valdes was quick to deny Mata from a great througball from Banega. In the 32nd minute Mata wasted another chance by firing over. In the 35th minute Alves send s in a good ball to Iniesta in the box but valencia goal keeper reads the danger and comes early to cut the angle. In the next minute Alves and Iniesta combines well again but Valencia defense held their own conceding a corner. The first half ended with not much effort from Barca and the second half could only be an improvement.

Barca looked more determined in the second half. Once again Iniesta was at the centre of all good moves of Barca which unfortunately were few compared to their usual standards. In the 62nd minute Messi had the real first genuine chance for Barca but Cesar was ionce again upto it. In the 64th minute Xavi receives the ball in the right and sends in a great chip to Pedro who arrives in the middle of the box; Pedro instead of going for the shot takes a touch giving Valencia defense time to and his subsequent effort was deflected for a corner. In the 68th minute Pablo tries a long lob from Valencia half , Valdes somehow backtracks and tip the ball over. The rest of the half wend without much fanfare. In the 88th minute Cesar spills Toure shot but was able to recover it from going into the net.

This was a very much below par performance from Barca. But the fact they stayed afloat in the match gives enough comfort as we are still on top of the La Liga. Real Madrid who won earlier is one point behind us. Iniesta looked ok in attack apart from that no player were able to make their stamp. Valdes was the best Barca player followed by Puyol and Pique.

Attention Barca Fans In Sub-Continent; Argentina Finally Makes the Cut

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:29:00 +0000

Ok, first of all some glad news to Barca fans in sub-continent. TenSports is telecasting Barca TV every Tuesday at 11:30PM Indian time. Last week we had the re-telecast of FC Barcelona vs Almeria match. Let me repeat it is no live telecast, but it is good to see the matches in full in TV after two days, atleast it is better than nothing. I had so many people complaint here about the lack of quality while streaming via internet. As of now you have to still stream the matches if you want to watch it live but then it will refreshing to watch the match properly after some time. Ok, let's just look it in a positive way - It is better than nothing. Argentina finally qualified for South Africa with a 1-0 victory against Uruguay. It was no classic attacking performance, but was a very efficient one considering that Argentina needed only one point to go through. Lionel Messi once again failed to shine and he will continue to do the same until Maradona decides to use him a bit behind the forward. The lack of service to Messi upfront means he is simply wasted at his position now. But still it would be great for Messi that they have managed to qualify. Have they failed it could have affected his performance at Barca.

Meanwhile Ibrahmovic and Henry is reported to have picked up injury while doing their national duties. This injury could be a head-ache for Guardiola as Xavi is also reported to is carrying a knock. The internet is full of rumours of a possible signing of Robinho by Barca in the January tranfer window. God knows what will happen.

Robinho and Kompany for Yaya and Puyol - This has To be a Joke

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:16:00 +0000

Goal.com reported a story which featured in Daily Mirror about a possible exchange deal involving Kompany and Robinho for Yaya Toure and Puyol. This definitely has to be a joke or an imagination of some disturbed mind. Howelse you can explain the exchange of one of the best defensive midfielder and defender for two players who are struggling to find a regular place in the Manchester City side. But there could be some deal involving Yaya or Puyol in next summer. For some insane reason I have always felt that Guardiola rarely appreciate the value of Yaya Toure. Maybe he does not think him to be a good player, but for me he is the best defensive midfielder along with Essien in the business. o I won't be too much surprised to see him leave in the summer, even though I will be really shattered. He is the best assurance our attack needs in the midfield. In the case of Puyol, Barca management has given him an ultimatum to complete the contract negotiation as soon as possible. Puyol's agent alleges that Puyol is not happy with his role in the side but I don't think Barca will let him go. Especially a new president will have a tough time expaining the departure of a player who has become the symbol of Barca around the world. On top of it, Puyol is a wonderful defender. He may not be the most tecnically brilliant defender in the world, but he one of the most effective. And the spirit he brings to this side cannot be replicated by anyone else.

Robinho is a player whom barcelona were interested in. He is seen as a good cover for our attacking talent. But again I doubt heavily; he has a history of under achieving and I doubt his tenure at Barca will be any less. But there is a high chance of we going for him, especially with Assistant Coach Tito Vilanova empahsising on the possibility of a January signing. Meanwhile there are reports emerging from team doctors that Gabi Milito is closing on fitness and he is expected to join his team mates in practice within weeks.

Argentina Stays Alive with a Late Winner

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:39:00 +0000

An injury time winner by veteran Martin Palermo kept Argentina's qualification hopes well and truly alive. Argentina was cruising to a victory courtesy of a strike from Higuain but was stunned when Peru equalised in the 89th minute but was saved by a goal from Palermo deep into injury time. In a rain spoiled match Lionel Messi struggled to find his rhythm, but Maradona looked not concerned about it, standing firmly on his belief that Messi is Argentina's "Ace Of Spade". It still puzzles me why Maradona prefers Heinze in the centre defense when he have the likes of Walter Samuel and Zanetti available. But the decision to bring back Aimar proved right as he provided the assist for Higuain goal. I have earlier written about How Maradona should Line-up. In that article I have written why Angel Di Maria should be involved in the midfield and I was proven right by his performance. Argentina lies in fourt place now and a victory at Uruguay will secure their spot in South Africa. Meanwhile France thrashed Feroe Islands 5-0 and has qualified for the play=offs. Serbia has topped the group and booked their place in South Africa. In a very crucial match Sweden went down to Denmark by a solitary goal. This puts Sweden's campaign at risk as Portugal won against Hungary.

Already qualified Spain continued their good form with a 2-1 victory against Armenia. Cesc fabregas and Mata were the goal scorers for Spain. Mean while Ivory Coast secured their place with a 5-0 victory against Burkina Faso. Yaya Toure started the match and scored the third goal in the match. Ex-Barca player Eto was on target for Cameroon as they beat gabon and moved to the top of the group.

FC Barcelona Moves To Top of La Liga

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:54:00 +0000

With Sevilla beating Real Madrid, FC Barcelona has moved to the top of La Liga with a three point lead. Real Madrid side, who were without Ronaldo went down at Sevilla 2-1. Now Barca is the opnly team which has a cent percent record in this season's League campaign. A three point lead at this early stage will be significant and will help us to put more pressure on the Madrid side in the coming weeks. I had some issues with the blog and could not write about the last match. FC Barcelona surprisingly struggled to a 1-0 victory against Almeria at home. may be the word struggling is a bit of unjustice but we did struggle to find their usual rhythm. It was mainly due to the lack of footballing intent from Almeria which resulted in us having an enormous 71% possession of the game and the creative midfield of Xavi was kept constantly under mark. Chico was assigned to mark him and did that with full commitment showing no intent to touch the ball. But it is again good to see we winning not that beutifully, it shows the grit of the team and I have to appreciate Guardiola's quick thinking to have Marquez move in to Xavi's position while Xavi drag players to the side. At times in this match our finishing was left wanting. But what worries me most is the refreeing in the last two games, we definitely should have had atleast one penalty but like last match that wasn't given.

The Almeria match shows us a pattern of how smaller team might line-up against us. Don't expect them to come and attack us to catch us by surprise, they will be looking only to minimize the extent of loss. Guardiola lined-up Alves, Marquez, Puyol and Maxwell infront of Valdes. Xavi and Iniesta formed the attacking midfield alongside Busquets. Messi, Pedro and Ibrahmovic formed the attacking trio. Our first meaningful atatck came in the 9th minute when Iniest send in a great ball over the defense to Messi, Messi cut inside the defender but shot wide of the far post. Then in the 15th minute Iniesta picked the ball in midfield set on a great run, passed the ball to Messi and continued his run but Messi went for the Goal than trying a pass to Iniesta in the box. In the 16th minute Ibrahmovic did well to get around teh defender in the right side of box and pulled in a great cross to messi whose shot was deflected on to the post by goal keeper. Then in the 31st minute Pedro put Barac ahead with a great goal; Pedro received the ball in the box from Maxwell turned and send in a thunder to the far right top corner. Almeria never cared of going one goal down and continued their game plan.

In the second half Messi saw his shot at the hour mark deflect wide of the post. But earlier in the 56th minute he was the culprit for wasting a great pass from xavi. In the 77th minute Ibrahmovic was denied by the goal keeper. This may not have been a typical performance by Barca especially considering the opposition but still it is a great result considering Madrid lost at Sevilla. This gives us some manouevering space when we go against Valencia after this week's international break. More over there will be wnormous pressure for Real Madrid to negate the deficit as early as possible, after all you don't spend 250 million to trail in the second place.

FC Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev Pics

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:06:00 +0000

FC Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev Highlights

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:43:00 +0000

I am stuck with some work that I cannot afford to write the report. So enjoy the highlights till it last in youtube.

FC Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev Preview

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:46:00 +0000

FC Barcelona will be looking to register their first victory in this season's Champions League tonight when they face Dynamo Kiev at the Camp Nou. At the Guardiola described how important is this game and a failure to win will put em\normous pressure on the Barcelona side, especially we have to play at Ukraine and Russia in the onset of winter. Visiting those places at that time is not easy. Thierry Henry has been excluded from tonight's squad. He will be sidelined for six to seven days with a hamstring problem. Bojan is already out with injury and there is a small possibility that Ibrahmovic also may miss with the ankle injury. But that does not look like going to happen. One fact is for sure and that is Iniesta is going to get his first start of the season. The squad selected for this match is Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Abidal, Maxwell, Puyol, Piqué, Márquez, Touré, Xavi, Keita, Iniesta, Busquets, Messi, Pedro, Ibrahimovic, Jeffren and Gai. Barca players have to get over the bruises suffered at Malaga and play fiercfully as they can expect Kiev to follow the same strategy. But they may not be that successful if our players uses the width of Camp Nou.

As far the line-up is concerned, don't expect many changes from what I am saying here. Valdes will guard the goal infront of the familiar defensive fromation of Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal. The midfield will have Toure as the defensive midfielder and Keita and Xavi will be lining up on either side of his. Messi, Ibrahmovic and Iniesta ideally should be the attacking trio. It will be great to see how Iniesta gets back to this side. Barca has done wonderfully well in his absence but he is a special piece in the Barca Jig-Saw puzzle. Dynamo Kiev encounters has been kind of bitter-sweet for Barca. In 1997 Shevchenko inspired the Kiev side to a 4-0 thrashing of Barca at the Camp Nou and he has returned back to kiev now. He may not be a potent force now but his experience will come handy at this level. In 1993 the Cryuff's dream team won 4-1 at Camp Nou . Eventhough this side is not as good as the earlier ones, they may prove to be handful for Barca. East European teams adopt a more physical approach to game and that may trouble Barca. But at Camp Nou we expect Barca to win comfortably and I expect a 4-0 victory for Barca.

Solving the Argenitinian Qualification Puzzle

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Will Argentina qualify for 2010 world cup? This seems to be the question in everyones mind nowadays. If you have asked me this before the Argentina- Brazil match, I would have definitely said a Yes; but now even I am doubtful. Argentina has been my favourite natioonal team for years. Mr.Mardona has been the major reason for that fixation and it is sad to see Argentina struggling to qualify under him. The old saying "Good Players, don't Make Good Coaches" looks like becoming true in Maradona's case. Barcelona ace Lionel Messi has been the subject of many attacks by Argentinian fans in recent times. They can't understand how he play so great with Barcelona and looks out of sort in the Argentinian Jersey. Messi has been trying hard to defend himself and he do have a point - football is essentially a team sport. Until the team clicks he can't do anything. There are rumours that Maradona is so unhappy with him and is not in talking terms. Messi is not alone in this kind of mess. Christiano Rinaldo, his rival find himself in a much worse situation in Portugal's qualifying campaign. But then Portugal's non-qualification will not be same as Argentina's. At times I feel that it would have done them a world of good if they have gone against Brazil and Paraguay looking for a draw. But then this is Argentina and you can't even think like that.Anyways the equation is pretty simple for Albicelestes', win the next two matches and easily qualify.

Its easily said than done. Especially with a team which failed to score properly in the last two games. With this Argentinian side one thing is guaranteed, there is no shortage in atatcking talent. Messi, Aguero, Tevez etc are the best in the world and it surprises me that they are finding it difficult to score. Its the same at the back, they are finding it difficult to stop conceding defeat. But the reason why there is problem in defense is very clear. I will come to that later on. When Lionel Messi says that he alone cannot do the job, he has a valid point. Lionel Messi is no Maradona as I explained in my earlier post - Messi and Ronaldo, No Match to Maradona's Greatness. Maradona was a legend and could single handedly take his team to greatness. Messi for all his comparision with Maradona is a pale shadow of his and will require a well organised team to support him. He needs the likes of Xavi, Iniesta around him to script successes unheard of. There is no doubt that he is the most talented guy in this planet at this moment by a distance but then Maradona was the most talented guy ever to kick a football. Then obviously there arises another question - don't Messi have the likes of Tevez, Aguero, Milito, Higuain around in that team, Here is where the real problem lies for Maradona and Albicelestes. Most of their exciting playesr play at the same position. Look at Messi, Higuain, Tevez, Aguero etc they all play the centre forward role or the roaming forward role. Argentina at this moment don't have a thing in that midfield, which is really a surprise. In the past their entire game was based on some of the midfield maestros like Maradona, Riquelme, Aimar etc. Now they have no one to arganise their game in that midfield. So I came up with a line-up as given below which may work well for this Maradona's side.

As you can see it is basically a 3-5-2 formation. I have my reasons why I prefer a 3 man defense. Heinze is past his prime and he cannot form a part of the starting eleven. Then if you look at the rest of the talent in defense most of the are natural centre-backsexcept Zannetti. But zannetti recently looked so good in that defensive midfield role and along with Mascherano should be able to rest the initiative in the midfield. The two defensive midfielder strategy may look a tad defensive but then with a three man defense it would be better to have some cover. Such a defense may struggle from attack on the wings but I believe they can cope with that. The central defense will be a new partnership with Garay, Samuel and Demichelis. This is the best they have and Maradona should use that. And one more thing take that Captain's armband from Mascherano and give it to Zannetti. Mascherano never inspires the team. Ahead of the two defensive midfielders I will have the lieks of Veron and Angel Di Maria at the flanks. Veron will provide the experience and Angel should provide the speed through that flanks. At the top of that midfield I will have Messi. there are two reasons for this:

1) If some one can organise game play in this side it is Messi.
2) When he is played higher he will be more dangerous, but without a good midfield he will be left alone for majority of the times. He looks so good when the ball is at his feet and it is betetr to play him in a position where he can get hold of it on most occasion.

Maradona should stop overlooking Higuain for national duty and should have either him or Milito teaming up with Aguero. That will be the best forward combination he can have. This formation should improve their game a lot as Messi could be involved in majority of the moves. But definitely if they want to qualify the players have to play out of their skin. Otherwise the world will not be seeing the best player on planet at the world cup.

Racing Santander (1) vs Barca (4) Highlight

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:41:00 +0000

Rampant Barca at Santander; Racing - 1, Barca -4

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:38:00 +0000

FC Barcelona continued their excellent run in the league with a 4-1 demolition of Racing Santander at El Sardinero stadium. Two goals from Messi and one each from Ibrahmovic and Pique was enough to see Barca comfortably past Racing. Like the weekend it was a sensational first half display which put Barca in command. Now Barca has moved three points clear and the pressure will be surely on Madrid to respond against Villareal. Ibrahmovic scored his fourth goal in the league from that many matches. It was by far the best performance by the Swedish superstar and incidently it was also the best performance by Barca till now. Messi is keeping on improving and is surprising everyone with each match. I expected Guardiola to rest Messi for this match but that wasn't to be happened. Guardiola brought in Puyol and Abidal in the defense. Thus Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal formed the defense. The midfield was made up of Xavi, Kieta and Busquets. Messi, Ibrahmociv and Henry formed the forward line-up. Keita has been a vast improvement to the last season and now looks like an attacking option in the midfield.

FC Barcelona started to dominate from the start. In the 4th minute Henry saw his shot curl outside of the far post. Then Ibrahmovic did well to get off his marker but his shot went way wide off the post. In the 20th minute we derevingly took the lead from an Ibrahmovic free kick. Xavi played a free kick from 30 yards out to Messi on the right who sent in a inch perfect cross towards the far post; Ibrahmovic rose above Henrique, who is on loan from Barca to nod home the first goal. Ibrahmovic was unlucky not to double the lead the next minute, when his shot froma tight angle hit the post. Barca indeed doubled the lead through Messi in the 24th minute. Keita played the ball to Messi in the middle, who played an instant 1-2 with Xavi, then cut inside one defender and shot low into the far corner of the goal. Barca made the scoreline 0-3 in the 27th minute when the Racing defense failed to clear the corner; the rebound was played into the box; Ibrahmovic played a great backheel between five defenders finding an unmarked Pique who finished calmly. In the injury time of first half Messi ahd the ball in the net again but was ruled offside.

The second half started the way it was expected. The tempo was much less than in the first half. Ibrahmovic was substituted after he picked up an ankle injury in the strangest of fashion. He was replaced by Pedro in the 53rd minute. In the 55th minute Keita saw his 20 yard long shot stopped by the goal keeper. In the 63rd minute Messi struck the last nail into Racing's coffin with a sensational goal. Messi received the ball on the far right and cut inside; faked thrice to take a shot and finally struck a thunder bolt into the far left corner from the middle of the box. Simply Superb. In the 65th minute Messi was taken off and Iniesta was brought in. In the 73rd minute Oscar Serrano struck a beutiful goal for Racing, but that could act only as a consolation. Pedro had a good penalty shout towards the end but wasn't given

Eventhough it was a great display of attacking football, we suffered with occasional lapses in the defense. There were some memorable performance tobe noticed in this match. Messi was simply out of this world and he does love this stadium. One assist and two superb goals was a great result for the Argentinian superstar. Keita do deserve a mention for his exploits. He provides Guardiola with a greater flexibility in the middle but Guardiola should always remember that Iniesta is more dangerous and effective when played in the middle. We still haven't got into full groove and I can't wait to see the team perform at cent percent.

Racing Santander - Barca Preview

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:08:00 +0000

Ok, there are some serious good news - not like all the news till now was bad. But this one sounds so good - Milito is back in training. There is no date set for his return but still it is good to hear that we may be able to count on his service maybe in the latter part of the season. And that is a very good news to the build up of the Racing clash. There are reports that Pep may be tempted to rest Messi at the El Sardinero, but most probably he would only start him from the bench. Last season also Messi started on the bench here and came on to help Barca win that encounter. It is also not clear whether Iniesta will get a much awaited start; Pep seems to be in no hurry to rush "San Andres" and there is a high chance he will again see action only after the break. Pep Guardiola has announced a 19 man squad for the visit to Santander - Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Puyol, Piqué, Marquez, Chygrynskiy, Maxwell, Abidal, Busquets, Toure Yaya, Xavi, Keita, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Henry, Jeffren. Pep will be looking to rest his major players tonight because of the tight schedule ahead of them. Puyol, Abidal and Toure who were rested in the last match is definite to get their start, meanwhile Pique is destined to get a well deserved rest.

So as usual Valdes should guard the goal. Alves, Puyol, Chygrrynskiy (I am still having trouble spelling his name) and Abidal should form the defense. The midfield will have the presence of Xavi and Keita alongside Toure. The front trio may look a bit different if Pep rests Messi. My guts tells me that Messi will start from the bench and the front trio most probably will look like Henry, Ibrahmovic and Pedro. It will be interesting to watch how Ibrahmovic perform in the absence of Messi upfront. He may have to carry the attacking lead tonight. This is teh most important match till we played because of the fact that Madrid will be playing Villareal on Wednesday. A victory tonight will increase pressure on Madrid to a greater extent and we may return to the top with atleast two point lead. This is going to be a very tough match but I still go with our team winning it 3-0.

FC Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Highlights

vkr.bibin@gmail.com (Bibin) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:26:00 +0000

I am not exactly sure whether tehse videos will remain forever. Youtube may remove them soon. Till then enjoy.

First Half Highlights

Second Half HighLights