Trouble in Paradise: Barca…

Barca seem to have lost their form totally… the game v Schalke was pathetic, they looked like a team without any ideas … would be very surprised if Barca would win their semi

Posted from  Netherlands

btw; think not all spanish fans suck but esp. the Barca fans behave like they are in a theatre…just sitting and expecting to be entertained
what the spanish need to adress also is the blatent racism of a part of its ‘fans’, only Spain and Eastern Europe are left with this problem and it needs to be adressed

Posted from  Netherlands

@goose: what do you mean by blatent racism? Jan: this is exactly i would like to happen:-)

actually barca has some defending problems - it’s horrible. later i’ll try to give a short analysis. i’m agree: it was awful what they did against giovanni. he’s a talented guy and only 18. but frankie did a mistake too: giovanni should have replaced henry (the worst barca player of the night) and not bojan krkic the man of the match. i think we shouldn’t have bought henry last summer - he hasn’t prooved anything yet in catalunya. he’s not a left winger and he plays in this position. we have a better striker: samuel eto’o,so henry cannot play in his prefered position. i mean he almost always seems useless. but the main problem is the defence. catastrophic. anyway i hope they will beat these bastards from manchester.

Posted from  Hungary

Jan - that would be a great scenario

ferenc - goose is right, there’s a lot of racism in some of the Spanish fans - racist chanting, posters, etc. Besides Spain and Eastern Europe there is still a racism problem in Italy too.

Yup… and in Greece.

Why doesn’t Barca just admit that they sign players to sell shirts? Then maybe the fans would relax and enjoy the match while wearing their celebrity kits.

Posted from  United States

@Matt; dont think thats true… and if Barca were all about the money they wouldnt have made a FREE shirt-sponsor deal with Unicef i reckon…think that thats only the case with a player like Beckham

Looks like Mn.U. will win the EPL….looks like Arsenal are left behind with no trophies (again)

@ferenc; i was at a spanish game (Atletico Madrid) once and the racism was terrible …. im not one to cry about those kind of things cause i always believe that for most opf the fans its just a way to get players all wind up but in Spain the whole crowd were boing etc., women and children too!!
btw dont think Braca has this problem .. i actually never hear the Barca crowd at all!! hahaha

Posted from  Netherlands

Speaking of Spain, did anyone see Sneijder’s goal on the weekend? One of the best examples of power and finesse I’ve seen in awhile…

The goal is likely to win Real the title this year.

Posted from  Republic Of Korea

My tongue was in my cheek, goose. Sorry if I ruffled feathers, but did the Henry buy make sense in the first place?

Posted from  United States

Yes, it did.

First; he was counted as one of the best players in the world and is known for good attitude. Second: when Eto’o was injured big parts of 06/07, Barcelona really really lacked a quality sub. Third: Barca knew Eto’o would go off to African Cup of Nations this year and figured that another striker would be useful.

@Matt; interesting question.. i heard Cruijff talk about Henry a few days ago, he said that Henry needs space to run into and that he is a totally different striker than Eto ‘o who can do his thing in a small area…Cruijff said that either Barca change their way of play or they better sell Henry

im not an expert on Barca and at first it seemed a dream transfer to me but after what Cruijff said im not so sure anymore… btw; i heard Henry talk about his lack of form and how that was connected with private maters (divorce i think it was)

always amazing how quick players can loose all their confidance

btw; it takes stronger words to ruffle my feathers Matt… ask simon (Lerkot) hahaha

Posted from  Netherlands

@goose: actually you’re right about racism. eto’o was several times booed by different crowds and once he even wanted to quit the game but finally frankie convinced him to stay.

Posted from  Hungary

Bruce!
yes it is. without Sneijder, Madrid could be an average team, no chance to win a match while one man down.
his direct pass to Raul is also excellent.

Posted from  Australia

That was a great goal by Sneijder! Glad to see him coming back into form. Robben did pretty good too. Almost created a great goal at the end but Drenthe somehow missed (and hurt himself in the process).

Correct. Drenthe has an ankle injury if I’m right.

Posted from  Australia

How to get filthy rich, lesson #1:

Let a Spanish side contract you for three years.
Make a mess of the season by sliding from position 3 to relegation zone.
Win only 4 matches out of 21.
And collect a 3 mio euros “fukc off” fee.

Your lecturer for the night: Ronald Koeman.

Unbelievable…

Posted from  Australia

Yes’ looks like Robben injured Drenthe…. i havent seen a Madrid game in ages…hows Robben doing?? is he in better form than the last few months?? is he good enough for the EC??

I hate Koeman and i really hope the news is correct…. he should have stayed with his team in Eindhoven but no…he had to get the money….wrong choice Ronald!! hahaha…. hope thats the last thing we see of him!!!

Posted from  Netherlands

Robben getting better than last months, goose.
almost back to his old form. But will hardly beat Babels’ physical and defensive play for the left winger spot.

Posted from  Australia

Are you serious sphinx?? I’d take Robben over Babel any day. Babel is bigger and more physical, but I don’t know about his defensive play.. haven’t seen it too much. Plus, Robben knows how to pass the ball and cross it.. in general, do things that are useful for the team…

Posted from  Canada

The problem with Babel is that he is not very consistent with his performances but he’s a very good talent. In my opinion neither Robben nor Babel know how to defend but they’re both great players that should focus only in attacking, they are fast and with a great techinque. I’d play Robben and use Babel as a super sub.

I have to agree with you to rate Robben higher than Babel in general terms, Caleb. And of course both didn’t play defensively that much. But Liverpool’s system allows Babel more involved defensively and in that sense his physics offer an advantage over Robben.
I do not want much non-defensive players in Orange. In case of Ruud and Robben or Ruud and Babel, I’ll prefer to the second.

Posted from  Australia

I’d forbid Robben to even think about defense :-). Ruud does a fair share of positional defensive work. If Robben will play, the other chaps will need to do some more. Sneijder is a hard worker. Vaart in itself is too.

A player like Bouma is capable of working for two.

But still, balance is key and with Ruud, Robben, Robin, Rafael and Wesley (let’s not even mention Seedorf or Afellay) it’s tough to find that balance.

Posted from  Australia

Babel (or ‘ Shaft’ as he is known in my house) is an ok player but im not at all convinced…sure hes strong, pretty quick but i just dont really believe in the guy….i have seen him play like he just woke up, ive seen him play for Oranje so bad that he almost made me cry

Babel isnt a real winger and he isnt a real striker….. Babel should stay home or go to the big communist party in Beeing together with Foppe & friends

Posted from  Netherlands

I once had so much hope on Robben as a winger after Overmars retired. But he disappointed me during World Cup 2006. He is no doubt an excellent dribbler, but he never really provides the number of crosses Overmars can in the games. He either holds the ball too long or go for goals himself, and that’s still the case now at Real Madrid. He does send some really deadly cross out sometimes, but he lacks the quantity totally in my point of view. Van Nistelrooy and Huntelaar could’ve scored much more goals if there are more crossing from the flanks. For the right side, I really like Kuyt’s crosses out of the other candidates. He had a lot assists during the qualifying games of WC 2006. A pity that Van Basten lost trust in him lately.

As for Babel, really hoping that he can keep on having more and more first team actions and further develop himself.

Posted from  Canada