Football News

Trini Pupi (Trinidad And Tobago)

Posted on 3/1/2013 at 2:49 AM 1 It turns out Messi was ill, even with the ac milan game i was telling my friends in the first 5 minutes Messi does not look like himself. I am not making excuses but what the games against Barca and Milan showed (At least to me) if messi is shut down it GREATLY cripples the team. So the whole nonesense about messi can only function because of his team mates has been rendered mute! MESSI is the spark of that team. As an argentina Fan i hope he bounces back ..correction i know he will. I think our big players are starting to show good form again hope it rolls over into 2014.

Trini Pupi (Trinidad And Tobago)

Posted on 3/1/2013 at 2:45 AM 0 Hey Kenneth i agree with what you are saying about Sabella, but Jose Mourinho should be given Credit where its due. In fact at times Argentina in recent times played like Real Madrid..we sat back and countered with our fast players. With that being said Sabella definitely saw what suprisingly others didnt see in terms of stopping Barca. Jose Tweaked the formation slightly what do i mean by this. Sabella who did brilliant in his set up at the time set out to close up shop against Barca but didn't have the offensive power and pace to effectively trouble them enough. It was more "catenaccio", it was more we have a goal lets defend for dear life. Jose did that BUT he always added the explosive element in the counter attacking with at times 5-7 players. He found a way to use Barca's amazining ability to wint the ball back against them. Now sure he got beat in his first season at Madrid but they progressed with each game. Allegri deserves some credit as well Sabella,Jose, Allegri understood this and it worked to a charm. So i am not taking anything away from any coach. I just love the tactical aspect of the game. By the way if you look Muntari's goal against ac was very similar to Milito's first goal against Barca...

elpipita (Iraq)

Posted on 2/28/2013 at 2:45 AM 0 We above all should know what a rapid change in managers can do to a team (Argentina for instance has had like 4 managers in the last 7 years) and Tito is known for being a master tactician so his presence has obviously been sorely missed. All in all it's still shaping up to be a better season for Barca than the last one with the league title already in the bag.

Kenneth (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 5:50 PM 0 @ Trini Pupi Actually if anybody remembers the best "answer" came from Sabella's Estudiantes sure they lost 2-1 but Barca was at the height of their power all of their players were younger and firing on full cylinders, Sabella brilliantly took a mediocre team (only in comparison to the Barcelona at the time) and pushed them to the brink! With Pedro scoring in the last few minutes to equalize and the unstoppable Messi scoring in extra time with his chest! People should not credit Mou i mean his first Real-Barca game they lost 5-0!

Trini Pupi (Trinidad And Tobago)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 5:27 PM 0 When Argentina were playing their best football around 2008 Brazil employed the same defend and counter tactic against us in the Copa America Final. If it were up to me i would go all "Beilsa" on Ac Milan in the second leg. lol

Trini Pupi (Trinidad And Tobago)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 5:24 PM 0 i apologize my last post was supposed to be short and turned out to be an ESSAY lol sorry guys/gals!

Trini Pupi (Trinidad And Tobago)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 5:23 PM 0 I don't think Barca fans should pull the panic button yet. All teams go through cycles. I believe with some smart adjustments the team will be fine. Many people touched in this in previous posts so i will keep it short. 1.)I honestly believe the instability in management has not helped Barca, I think Tito was handling the team well but with his unfortunate health issues and a 3rd Manager in place it shows. The whole theory that Pep just had to turn up and pick a starting line up has now been rendered mute. Barca right now looks like Barca just before Rikaard LEFT. Before pep tweeked it. 2.) I have no idea why teams took so long to figure it out. Jose gave them the answer when Inter played against them. That formation and approach where you sit back and counter worked like a charm. Chelsea tried it and it worked..not as effectively as real and inter but it worked. Its clear when teams with QUALITY sit back Barca have serious problems. As someone said when messi has to drop deep to help Xavi and Iniesta their is on one really up top anymore to finish them. Argentina suffered this problem when we tried to play the Barca way. In fact most attacting/possesion teams will always have this problem against teams like that. Unfortunately the price is teams will now return to ugly defensive football that was prominent for years..before pep came in. I think with some tactical adjustment and maybe some smart signings Barca will be fine. At least for next season. Pekerman solution to this was not just possesion but being calm when approaching defensive teams. Be very patient and eventually the gaps may open. This defensive tactic thrives when teams are desperate for goals....the offensive team runs itself into the ground and they simply counter the tired legs of the attacking team. The current coach knows he is not hte head coach and i think he is afraid to make the tactical changes necessary. But Barca are far from a spent force! By the way as an Argentina Fan seeing Di Maria put Puyol on his ass was a joy to see!

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 4:42 PM 0 Gentlemen,Gentlemen, I see there are plenty of Barcelona fans in here. They have lost a couple games in the last week or so does not mean they have to alter their entire game plan. Messi just needs the right support and problem solved. A True 9 will not work and it has shown it does not work. And Higuain is not going to move to Barcelona. He has a little more respect for his club than a certain Figo. He is beloved in Madrid and wouldn't ever make a direct switch.

Pino (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 3:11 PM 1 The reason why, its because Xavi and Iniesta need help in the park the bus tactics, and when Messi drops off and starts being the Creator, with no one in the box, who is Messi creating for.

Pino (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 3:03 PM 0 Barca needs a true 9.

sulav787 (Canada)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 2:05 PM 0 @kenneth exactly dude,,, barcelona is nothing without messi...

Kenneth (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 1:34 PM 2 It's pretty simple, Roura made the mistake of not giving Messi anybody else to play with! Against such a defensive team like Real if Messi is not in the box then nobody is! Messi needs forwards not more midfielders to sit there and touch the ball doing nothing, he needs a villa or a sanchez (with confidence) somebody to alleviate the pressure off of him and open up the game. This is why he is now playing so much better for Argentina Sabella noticed this, and with the attacking force Argentina has teams can't afford to put 2-3 players on Messi at a time because of how quick and deadly we are. As opposed to putting 4-5 players on Messi in Barca and hoping Barca will become predictable and just touch the ball until Messi can dribble through 4-6 players. People say Messi is nothing without xavi or iniesta, that is a joke in itself because at this point Barca is nothing without Messi. The next top goal scorer is Villa with 7 goals

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 1:32 PM 1 @leandro agree 100%.... Well said...

TheVickerman (India)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 1:26 PM 0 Warning: Long post That sure was a shocker for Barcelona. Completely disjointed and clueless going forward. I thought Real did a fantastic job in nullifying whatever Barca could come up with. I tend to differ when people call Real's approach yesterday as "parking the bus". It is nearly impossible to play Barca in their own terms. They are the master of ball possession and recycling it. It's imbibed in every players' DNA. Teams that tend to fight Barca for ball possession will normally find it a lost cause. Real got trashed 5-0 by Barca in 2010 in a game that Barca had about 74% ball possession (if I am not wrong, it was Mourinho's first game in charge). Fast forward to yesterday's game, and it's a 3-1 win for Real at Nou Camp. So what changed? Ball possession? Nope- that was about 75% in favour of Barca again! What Real seemed to do was :a. Close Barca down AS A TEAM. Every Barca player in possession was hardly given any time or space. b. The retained their defensive shape excellently. Barca struggled to open up the defense because of the disciplined approach of Real as a defense. Nobody got sucked into a 1-2, or an individual run. So when Barca couldn't find a way through, they invariably began making mistakes, trying to force the ball through, eventually giving it away. With the ball, Real were effective and clinical. Getting speedy players like Di maria and Ronaldo to exploit and stretch the suspect Barca defense and being clinical with it. Barca will have to find a different way to counter such a team. And I just don't understand how some folks (Eg on twitter etc) make claims that Ronaldo was better than Messi based on yesterday's game! Real was better than Barca,as a team! They just had a solid approach to the game! I am so sure that if Ronaldo was in Barca, and Messi in Madrid, the scoreline would have read exactly the same, with Messi probably bagging 2 goals!

Pino (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 11:55 AM 0 Teams now know how to play Barca (park the bus and counter attack), its all about adjustment.At least now we know our strategy against Spain, and for the Germans, we need to hold the ball and control the mid.Can wait for the new call up list to come out in March.

aka Mr. D (Peru)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 9:55 AM 0 Also, Roura is playing 2 attacking fullbacks (Alba and Alves) as opposed to Vilanova who seemed to favor Alba and Adriano earlier in the season. Adriano had a fantastic start to the season but seems to have disappeared under Roura. Additionally, Puyol plays in the big games and Mascherano in the others but I think this is a mistake. Puyol is on his last legs.

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 9:31 AM 0 If Leandro is right then much of Barca's recent struggles can be attributed to the coaching situation. Pep may end up getting the credit he deserves, rather than being described as a guy who just held the keys to the Ferrari.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 8:33 AM 1 @Tony, I also agree that Iniesta should have been in mid. While he was the only attacker really doing much.. Barca had no control, they need to go back to their classic system, with Buskets-Iniesta-Xavi as a triangle and Messi completing the Diamond. They have Tello, Villa , Pedro, Alexis, Alba, Alves to bomb down the flanks. Right now they look like a mess, no one knows their position.. they are flat upfront and there is very little running off the ball. That is why I think Alexis is good for them despite not finishing well, he brings a spark of energy and some muscle.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 8:29 AM 0 @Tony, Fabregas can do it. Slightly different player, but he is dam good when played right. You can tell by his face and reactions getting subbed, Fabregas is frustrated and lacks confidence. He is being played out of position. He is too slow to play up front for Barca. If Fabregas is given more confidence, and played deeper in Xavis position, he would be a good replacement.

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 12:54 AM 1 @leandro....Alexis is a dynamic player..much like carlito Tevez...he runs, hustles, is fast but for some reason just is out of the system that the team is playing...especially in a system like barca where it is a pass first position as a winger...but maybe he just needs more game tie to get up to speed with the other forwards..and for thiago, he is good but he is not a healthy Xavi Hernandez....Xavi is the that is 32 33 years old and as his quality goes...so will barcas results against the worlds best....whom do you think can replace xavi in the long term for Barca? Silva from Man city, ozil maybe...not that RM would sell him....any suggestions?

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 2/27/2013 at 12:48 AM 1 I called that one...Barca once again looked disconnected...Xavi the heart of the beast that we call Barca was a non-factor ...coaching mistake was having iniesta as wing upfront instead of having him team up with xavi in midfield... DiMaria was the player of the game ...! making the difference on offense and defense! was happy for Angel! its funny....Messi looked like the old Argentina messi with Barca as of late while New Argentine Messi looks like Barca Messi of old..... He wondered around with no purpose today, with no one to link play with in front of him...mou out coached Roura today

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 2/26/2013 at 11:34 PM 0 Yeah, DiMaria had an excellent game. He was tracking back all the way back as a fullback. He never stopped running and pinching balls away from Barca. If he would only be this diciplined for Argentina I would be so happy.. I think Barcas problems are beyond the current coach (although its not helping).. the core of the team is aging and not quite as sharp as it was (Puyol, Xavi, Pedro.. Villa). Messi is not doing so hot, although he is still more good than bad. The new players (Thiago, Alexis, Tello) are too green or not effective.. Even with Pep these would be issues. Barca needs to speed up their game, they are so slow in transition.. and Fabregas is partly responsible for that. Oi..

Shinobushinobu (Singapore)

Posted on 2/26/2013 at 9:44 PM 0 Totally agree with Mr. D. A move from Pep to Tito was a good decision. However, Barca couldn't foresee that Tito's health would not be so good in the middle of the season. Now they should trust Roura with La Liga, Champion and CDR. Roura failed in CDR and almost fails in Champion. When will Tito be back? And can he make a difference with only limited time of working with his team? Well, we as Argentina fans know well how a manager can cost us WC and Copa :D. However, Barca might still get La Liga since RM was so poor in the Liga.

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 2/26/2013 at 8:00 PM 0 i had to admire the way di maria left poyel on his ass today, a great move from di maria.

aka Mr. D (Peru)

Posted on 2/26/2013 at 5:32 PM 0 I don't think it's all that complicated. Barcelona is being run by last year's number 3 coach, Roura, and I think it's fair to say there won't be any head coaching gigs coming his way anytime soon.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 2/26/2013 at 5:10 PM 0 @Tony, I think people are too hard on Alexis. YES, he has been less than clinical finishing the last few games.. and no excuse for that. However, he is not a #9, he is a very dynamic player, just like Pedro, who is all over the front of attack. Alexis, especially on the last game won a million balls back for Barca, had some good crosses/passes etc. He is just not scoring, but thats not something unique to just him.. no one is scoring in that Team. As for Villa, he is not getting enough time on the pitch. The coaching management needs to do some major reshufling of their forward line, and I think spend some serious $ for a new #9, they cant rely on just aging Villa.. and all others (Pedro, Alexi, Pedro, etc) are not central attackers. They need Falcao or Aguero or similar. As for Xavi, yes, he is a beast. But Thiago is doing an ok job in his position.. not as controlled, but not bad. I think its just a chemistry thing.. Messi is off his game, also his body is changing, defenders and teams are adjusting to him.. so he is different now.. deeper. He is playing more like he does for Argentina @ Barca.. that might be a planned move on his part. This is a totally different Barca. Alves is no longer a key player, Messi is deep, Villa is out, Pedro is not used as much, etc. Even still they are top of the leauge. Give it time, it might take a season or two for them to start firing on all cylinders as before.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 2/26/2013 at 5:02 PM 0 Guys, here is what Napoli is like in front of Diego's apartment - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=549384361758470

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 2/26/2013 at 12:57 PM 1 Barcelona is out of rhythm right now...havent seen them play like this in over 5 years...! Alexis Sanchez is not on the same page as the rest of them and he hurts the team....Messi with Tello and iniesta on the wings allows Lionel a maximum of opportunities but when Sanchez and Villa are along side Messi upfront, selfishness alludes team work....also Xavi aging and not playing as much hurts barcelona and Messi as Fabergas is not of the same quality as Hernanadez....Xavi is the heart of Barca's midfield not iniesta and his health is a major issue on Barcelonas future success! As Xavi goes, Barca goes in the Champions League, Copa del rey etc...

aka Mr. D (Peru)

Posted on 2/25/2013 at 9:05 PM 1 Mundo should just have a weekly feature called "Messi Scores"

argentine (Ghana)

Posted on 2/25/2013 at 2:37 AM 0 good to see argentinians scoring.

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 2/25/2013 at 2:21 AM 0 @Abs-I don't think so Abs. I don't think Tevez is nearly as sharp as he was two years ago. Still dangerous, but not with as much pace, gets dispossessed more easily, not quite as much explosive energy. I wish it weren't true, but that's what I see. Only MHO.

Abs (United States)

Posted on 2/25/2013 at 2:08 AM 1 @ Johnny: C'mon man, Tevez is still Tevez !! - And when on earth is Licha going to take his chance at the national team !! - Messi with a new record yet again !!

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 2/25/2013 at 12:16 AM 0 A real screamer from Carlitos ! I did note that he made two horrible passes early, before the goal. So, he still can unleash some great goals, but not the player he was two years ago from an all around perspective.