Copa Del Rey Champions!

oh ok, im just blabbing like an idiot then... i will go check that review then... it must be fairly new then..

Robben is too good for Madrid. If it wernt for his knee problems, i say he would be my second choice if the Ribery thing didnt pan out.

Sometimes you can see it in his face, the "Whata f* am i doing here surrounded by so much mediocrity?" the same face Ribery gets...

Jason, the CDR review is up.
I am trying to do u a favor hectorizing myself for you. But u keep on commenting here!

some Real "defender" got caught with some shady touches in the 18, Cani runs and smacks the crap out of it past a helpless Casillas

HOOOOYA!

Wishlist:

from Isaiah: Mallorca Preview
from Kxevin: CdR Review
from Villareal: A Victory or a draw
from Madrid: a loss. No not a tie. Just a loss.

From Pep:

Pinto
Caceres-Botia-VicSan-Syvinho
--------Busquets------------
----Keita----Gudjohnsen-----
Pedro-----Bojan--------Hleb-

(insert Pique, Alves or Abidal if need be, as long as Caceres and Sylvinho stay in)

We will get the point tomorrow anyway. Live the luxury of being unworried. Jason I am looking at u :D

RM will make a substitution. One of their most brilliant transfers and most talanted youth will enter now. A french Luccin looking guy ;)

Today the Premiership and Serie A have been decided, as Manchester United and Inter were crowned Champions. Lets just hope La Liga follows suit ;-)

Torres lobbed a ball long, Higuain chased it down, and one times it to a crashing RVdV

Grr. MAdrid scored, shitty defense..

Yea Villarreal scored a nice goal and was close to scoring another shortly before the half-time break.

A good sign as usual, but with Madrid you just never know until the whistle blows. 45 minutes left gentlemen!

By the way, has anyone herd of the Vidic to Barcelona rumor?

Agreed Ramzi. Just for the record, I dont want the bulldozing system and become a boring side.

Like you say, Flexibility is the key. So many successful sides are successful because of being flexible and being able to adapt to the requirements( Current Manu, Chelsea under Mourinho, AC Milan of the past and so much of the Italian natinal team). A good part of improvemtn in our team is also because of being able to adapt, especially to physical games and bad pitch conditions ( that too without compromising on the beauty )

Having said all that, Somehow the adjustment making a bulldozing striker work seems really difficult in our system. But Pep seems to think otherwise (his demand for Adebayor and Crespo)and In PEP we trust to make it work. :-)

just as i was rooting them on...

Villareal break on a counter...

Ibagaza is sprung down the left flank.
Ibagaza crosses to the Penalty spot where both Rossi and Pires are WIDE open. but rossi wasnt tall enough. Pires heads it left of Casillas into the goal.

goal! Pires header!

Lets go Villareal!

Changing the system is a big word, Sid. I think all what we need is to make some touches when needed, and out tactical structure is flexible enough to upgrade. I wrote once about it but to brief:

1) Install Keita as a third Midfielder with Xavi and Yaya when you have a "Bus problem". He has the long shots, and he can penetrate to the box to hunt the crosses and assist the lone striker.

2) Instead of having Alves opening on the right flank and Messi cuting in, switch the roles. Let Messi hug the lines pulling out the defense and stretching the field to Create more gaps in the middle to place shots. Let Alves cut in to the edge of the box and you get an additional missiles bomber.

3) If the Bus is Ultra defensive, you wouldn't need Yaya as a DM and Xavi will have it too crowded in front to make his distribution role. Switch them. Let Xavi do the ball passing (left-right-center)play making from little deep where he have more time space away from the crowds. And you will have a Yaya who is closer to the Box edge. If he penetrate he can damage with his altitude. He can shoot from distance. And his Physical strength added to his underrated techniques and passing skills make him a player who is harder to contain than Xavi who is a better maestro but just a human being.

All that make the team more efficient in long shots, crosses, and even squeezing the opponent more through dominating them physically from the very first quarter of their own field.
------------------------------------------------------

Here I get advantage of Isaiah and Kxevin generosity and Post the links for three Samples I made once.

http://s734.photobucket.com/al...

http://i734.photobucket.com/al...

http://i734.photobucket.com/al...

The key to piercing the bus is having midfielders shooting from long range. Bulldozing strikers alone would not do the job. For such a tactic to work, you would have to create an entirely different attacking system where the whole game revovles around long balls, and crosses to the box (EPL style)

I like Forlán although he sometimes reminds me of Eto with his inconsistency. The thing is he is already 29 and also quite expensive. I don't THAT much upside with him vs. Eto/Villa. Villa and Ibra are younger. I have mentioned Negredo, who I believe is a steal, before but I think RM will try ANYTHING to keep him outta our hands even if it means buying him back and rotting his career away on the bench.

Regarding box busters, here's a new one to most: Edin Dzeko, Bosinan #9 from Bundesliga leading Wolfsburg. He's around 6'4 and I have been very impressed with him the admittedly few times I have seen him play. He just turned 23 and has scored 22 goals and 8 assists in the Bundesliga this season. Worth a look although I DOUBT anything happens with him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Hope you like Bosnian hip-hop :D .

Forlan is not really a suitable replacement for Eto'o.

@Kxevin: Tevez isn't worth 20m to me. i don't rate him all that highly, particularly for our system. i think a contributor to the Guardian podcast summed him up nicely as "the rich man's Dirk Kuyt". there are certainly 4-5 players i'd rather have on our left wing and 12-13 i'd rather have in our front line.

Torres will not leave Merseyside for some time to come, at least not after this season. it's possible that if Liverpool continue to founder and remain trophyless, he could move along, but he's very dedicated to that club and absolutely essential to pretty much whatever success they have.

Adebayor i think has again shown this season that he's just not very good.

for me the only real option(s), if you want to call them that, are Villa and, slightly less likely, Ibra. Villa will almost certainly leave and is guaranteed to perform at least at Eto'o's level. he's the safe choice. Ibra wants to leave and could perform either way, but spectacularly. i could embrace either, but i just don't see any other replacements for Eto'o, who, let's be fair, is a very good player who has a strike rate in La Liga that's pretty incredible.

Re: Striker Debate ... why not Forlán, again? He's ready for a bigger team and does wonders both solo and in tandem w/ other players (like w/ Kun & Riquelme). So remind me.

urgggh let's win this week so we can start resting players for the final! man utd will probably be putting out the babies against hull next week

If ManUtd were Barca, the fans would probably have booed despite having won the title today. I hope we kick ManUtd's ass ;)

What a boring game that was.

not sure if it was mentioned here yet, but next year's home and away jerseys were leaked. looks pretty legit. i'm down with the small stripes.

http://fcbtransfers.blogspot.c...

Ok on the striker debate why is Alvaro Negredo mentioned...He can be excellent coming off the bench and he could be a next Eto in the making....Ex-real madrid reject......

Not every Toure is a Yaya.

I really want to put that chewing gum in Fergusons ass so he gets a trauma and never chews gum so disgusting again...

Exactly Ramzi. I want that first team working hard next weekend against Hull (okay maybe not that hard ) but still expending energy and risking injury. It's only three days before the CL final isn't it? As it is Ferdinand has a few problems. They aren't the same defense without him.

Rmazi: I wont disagree with you there.

And I just saw Arshavin dribble through 3 ManU defenders. Wow.

Ohh van Persie! Horrible miss. Like the commentator said, he almost had too much time.

I want Arsenal to win, the more u delay man Utd title win the better it is;)

Let's watch Arsenal get trashed for the third time this month.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
aaaahhh

@bill. If we had made an actual committment to playing Henry at striker, rather than throwing him over there from time to time, he would have many more goals than Eto'o this season. Period. The Valencia home match showed the immense potential of Henry in the center, taking feeds from our Mighty Mites.

But as Ramzi said, because Eto'o is worthless on the wing and Henry isn't, Henry goes out there. Yet he still has a rather gaudy goals total. Imagine if he were taking penalties, or had access to some of the tap-ins that Eto'o does, from being central striker?

And Ramzi's "fix it before it breaks" is a perfect analogy. Now, I'd much rather see us worrying about right and left back, and a Xavi surrogate before we start trying to "fix" striker complexitites, but I do think that we need to worry about that. Henry probably has one more year in the colors, and we should be ready, with someone already in the system.

Ibra is too expensive. Period. It will never happen. But the speculation is fun. Numbers like 30 million are being bandied about for Tevez, and I just don't think he's worth that. At 20, it's a no-brainer.

@Hector, I think that everyone is satisfied with our attacking trio, but we also recognize that it has maybe another season of max effectiveness. I'd rather call it planning ahead. :D

And as I said, if Eto'o works on his first touch in the off season he'll be a better Eto'o, but he still won't be the individual brilliance bus-breaker, which I think Guardiola wants to add to his quiver, as was thinking about with the aforementioned Adebayor, etc deals.

Of course, this off season, when Adebayor's name comes up people will go crazy again with how wasteful he is, ego, etc, etc. But that's exactly the kind of striker who wouldn't be as expensive as Ibrahimovic, and potentially just as effective in our system.

@Isaiah: shut up, I haven't been on the comp. since a long time :(
I didnt watch the match soo i still want to say
WE WIIIIIIIIIIIIINNN!!!!

Oh yeah I heard Iniesta got injured :|
Damn!

I do not think that Ibra is the kind of player who fits our game, sorry, but I am completely against getting someone like Ibra.

I have watched some Inter games, and Ibra is full of himself and much too often keeps the ball for too long. Maybe it is the kind of game Inter play but I often saw an open man and still Ibra wouldn't pass the ball.
Eto'o and every other striker in the world does the same every now and then, but with Ibra at some points it was getting ridiculous. And I just feel that Ibra is just full of himself. Maybe I watched the wrong games, but I just never liked the guy.

Arshavin also is not a striker I would want to have, he is excellent when it comes to counterattacking, knowing how to open up for the quick through-pass, because that is the team's kind of play, so he fits great there. But with Barcelona possession game, I cannot see him be able to do what he does elsewhere.

David Villa I do not think has the physical size to fit into Barcelona, as you need someone who is able to open up and keep defenders at his back when needed, he is excellent when he runs, but I often saw him have the suck when he has to play standing football. With 8 or 9 men defending, there isn't much space to run, and hence, you need to be able to control the ball while playing standing football, and Villa doesn't do that real good.

Torres I can see doing well for Barca, he has the physical ability, has an excellent first touch and a good shot. He can play on the run or with his back to the defender and I have not often see him ignoring the open man. I can see him doing well with Barca.

But still, I would not sell Eto'o and get another one, but rather get someone who is willing for at least a season to play from the bench, I can't see Barca keeping both Henry & Eto'o for longer then one more season, so either the striker position or left attacker position should be available within a year max, getting someone a bit cheaper will open up much more spaces for getting players in other position we really need improving at, as many said, with the kind of service the mid-field is giving, even Bojan could turn into a world-class striker in a year or two.

Therefore, either get someone cheap to play as back-up striker, or do not change anything up front. Instead spend some money on the back.

:D lol

It was that long?!
Alright no more "Ramzi" till..we will see about that!

“if it aint broke dont fix it” is good.
"Fix it before it breaks" is much better.

I already had my saying about eto'o, now I am more discussing the "continuous improvement" approach Vs "Just playing it safe" logic. Taking Eto'o as a case study.

Again, no one demanding Eto'o to leave. But saying its not possible to make it better (Which sounds guaranteed for me) is not realistic. Its more being over excited by the results achieved. I prefer not to wait till the team fail so I moan and demand changes. Something I was so sure it would have happened after Chelsea game. But Iniesta (unexpectedly) blasted that shot into Chelsea net and delayed the moment of truth to become undeniable.

Chelsea game is not an obsession, its a sample. And as long as we are not using the midfield properly when needed to have the big man who can run into the box supporting Eto'o in such kind of games, Eto'o defects will keep on poping up in the worst timings.

Eto'o qualities click perfectly-awesomely-greatly-(put any praise that suits u) when the team is clicking perfectly (may be its the time where with or without him we are going to win). every striker need team support (as I mentioned already), but eto'o need a very high doze of support to click, or else he flops.

Two years ago,I demanded that Barcelona Sell Deco and get a younger mid with more hunger. The "are u crazy?" respond was expected, the same as "he has been great". We kept him and waited till more damage happened then made the step.

Laporta admitted last summer that one of the main reasons for the two disastrous years was hesitation. During the two years of "liga & champions" and even that year which followed, they noticed there were things to be fixed, but hesitated to take some steps that could be risky but vital. That was wrong (as he confessed).

Any player who is not physically defected will end up doing pressure on the opponent defense (more or less than eto'o does). Was henry doing that at arsenal? Would Messi do so if he was playing with Milan? But now that they are playing for Barcelona, they are doing it as well. Eto'o do it more as a horizontal pressure on the field, Henry do it more vertically dropping back more often. Messi pressure on the defense the same was I nag on something. Rambling here and there and everywhere.

True that eto switch places with Henry and Messi, moving to the flanks. But as a lone striker most of the time Ibra used to play all over the offense area Left-center-Right, wherever he can get the ball.

In brief, my only two problems with Ibra-Eto'o switching is:
1) We can use the additional money we will pay on this process strengthening some other departments which will be more Vital to make the team more complete. And

2) Ibra Knee problems, even though its easy to check how serious it is via medicals.

Football-wise, the quality levels is too obvious for me to ignore.

-----------------------------------------------

Bill, its not that herny wasn't able to take Eto'o position. its the fact that Henry, unlike Eto'o, proved he can play in two positions, as a striker and as a supportive striker (so-called left wing). So it was normal to use him in the position where eto'o cant be effective and keep eto'o in the position where he is doing well.

I dont really think the "intangibles" goes that way, bill. Italian teams do not go all out attacking (spanish way) even when they have the ball. Added to the slow build up and defense-to-offense transition of Inter, I don't think Ibra runs in empty green heathers as mentioned.

Do I talk much? DO NOT ANSWER THAT! :D

Too bad Adriano is f' crazy... he is physically Ronaldo's clone, and had almost as much talent.

Adriano let things get in between him an soccer. and now he is back in brazil. its a pity.

I want some Arshavin next season. almost as versatile as Iniesta.

Btw, how come no one's talking about Benzema anymore? Hahaha.

Ibra is pretty much what Henry was in arsenal. I think Henry had just as much talent, trickery and finishing as Ibra, but he couldn't outperform Eto'o because of the system. Everyone said the barcelona system will make Henry a truly world class striker yet he hasn't been able to transplant Eto'o.

Ramzi, your statistics are interesting, yet they don't include the intangibles. As you stated, Inter sits back when they don't have the ball, while the opposing team moves forward. When Inter gets the ball back, it's full attack mode while the defending team is reeling back and trying to recover. The result? More open attacking with a defense that has not set,creating one on one situations with more space to make moves. This is the same reason why teams score at a higher rate against Barcelona than usual. Many teams that scored against Barcelona get less than 5 chances a game and they score 1 or 2 of those, why? Well, Granted, barcelona isn't known for their defensive prowess, but having to race back and cover a counter attack is much harder than sitting back and waiting for a team to attack. And the fact that Ibra scores more has something to do with the fact that he is the focal point of all inter attacks. If you watch the games, they all look for him. Man U sat back and waited for inter to attack, what happened? Ibra missed just as much as Eto'o.

Because of barcelona's ability to dominate possession in all their games means most teams sit back and try to weather the attacks, which means barcelona have to attack in waves. Eto'o is rarely ever the focal point in those attacks, more like one of the 5 claws that will pierce at any point.

Two things we all fail to consider: 1. When teams sat back against spain, Villa and Torres had just as much trouble as Eto'o. 2. Eto'o regularly switches positions with Henry on the left. Henry has that classy first touch, goal insticts, the world class finishing, speed and strength, has he been that much better than Eto'o while playing as the main striker? Only in that Valencia game did he excel as the striker.

I think a system that brings the ball up front right down the middle quickly is a system that Eto'o excels in, like Barcelona did in 2006, with Deco and Ronaldinho making those quick passes to Eto'o and Giuly.

Maybe he needs to go, maybe Ibra and Villa will be better, but I am hesitant to take that gamble. Lets not forget how many strikers have come through barcelona in the last 10 years with little production. Maybe bring Villa for one year, see how much better than Eto'o he is then get rid of Eto'o. That will also cover for the african nations cup. Ibra is too expensive a risk to take unless its and even swap.

i will also say: who here thinks that Eto'o wont be working on his first touch this offseason? do people think he is on the decline or has plateaued? I think we can still expect a lot from him, and i think if he has the desire, he can improve. dont get rid of him.

exactly, hector...

lets see if we beat ManU, then i will be trotting out the "if it aint broke dont fix it" argument. and even then, IF we lose to ManU, itll be more due to suspensions and injuries than Eto'os failings.

I keeed...

My man love for Carlitos is well known but Ibra would bring something to the 9 we have not seen at Barce since the days of Da Real Ronaldo and Rivaldo. Alongside Metrosexual Ronaldo, he IMO is the most physically gifted attacker in the world. Add to that the ridiculous talent and you have a monster. I do agree with Ramzi that a striker is like a Quarterback in American football, he depends in large part on others to put him in a position to succeed. That said, I have always been cautious of his ego but name a great #9 in recent times with no ego. Its the nature of the position. That said, this is like we say over here, a "paja mental". Its fun to speculate about it but it most likely wont happen which doesn't mean I won't do cartwheels if it does. Two things though:

1) Henry-Eto-Messi is well under way to being one of (if not THE) most lethal attacking trio in FOOTBALL HISTORY and yet we can't stop speculating and theorizing ways to shuffle and replace Henry and Eto. Ribery? Tevez (yes, you! Hector and Ramzi!)? Ibra? This IS a historically lethal front three and we still are not satisfied? Damn.

2) We need to match up against the bigger, more physical EPL. Skill can do it but we ALSO need size, strength, and individual brilliance up front at the 9. The fact that Guardiola tried so hard to get the likes of Adebayor and Crespo (in the winter transfer window) tells you that he is well aware of the problem. Hopefully it gets fixed this off season.

Ibra? TEVEZ! :) .

Wow....quite a debate going on here. I think though that, for Barca, the best striker would be Ibra. I am not sure he would score as many goals as Eto'o or Villa in our system, but he wouldnt need to. That is the beauty of our offence, the goals come from all our front 3. They all have phenomenal goal to game ratios, so if we replaced Eto'o with Ibra and Ibra only get 20 goals in the league, or even 15. Well we would still have Messi and Henry scoring 20-25 goals as well, at the very least. Not to mention the goals that come from all the other players. If that doesn't guarantee you the league then there is something wrong. What Ibra would bring though is something that we lack completely, something that would make "parking the bus" a lot less effective. If a team cannot park the bus effectively anymore they have to come out and play.....and we all know what happens when teams try to play us.

All that being said NO WAY he is worth Eto'o +30-40m. Not a chance in hell we should pay that. We would be much better off getting Ribery and maybe a different type of striker like Llorente. He is not a world class striker, but he would be a good option off the bench when a bus is frustrating us. He wouldnt cost too much and I think he would be willing to spend time on the bench. He is exceptionally good in the air, which means that corners, free kicks and crosses into the box make us a lot more dangerous. Right now most teams are happy to concede free kicks outside the box and corners because we dont have anybody to really capitalize on them. If we can change that then i truly believe we become unstoppable because there will be no effective way to defend against us. The bus barely works as it is, if we can add yet another dimension to our game then it is over.

I agree on that one Colins, if eto'o want to stay, then its for the best of the team is to keep him. not because he scored 104 goals. But because Instead of selling him for cheap (due to his contract condition) and put at least 35 M over his selling return to buy Ibra. Its better for the team to keep eto'o who is doing well and is perfectly adapted to the system, and spend the 35 m to improve some other departments.

And we don't take difference in opinions personally.

Ibrahimovic pretty much started in Ajax and from there went to Italy. He scored a few wonder goals for Ajax in a much better Ajax side than there is now

Has Ibrahimovic had life outside of Serie A? Because that league definitely doesn't like strikers, with its emphasis on not conceding.

It wasn't, Colin. Not in any way. Personally, as I said above, if I knew that Eto'o were willing to do some skills training in the off season, he'd be my man, all day and all night. With Henry's first touch, he'd have probably 10 more goals, certainly 4 or 5 just in the last few matches. He also needs more than a straight, hard shot.

I would argue that our system makes strikers pichichi. Villa would have been pichichi, Guiza would have been pichichi, Torres would have been pichichi, Henry would be pichichi. Between tap-ins and penalty shots, or early season piling on in those 6-0 pummellings, the numbers give a distorted view of Eto'o's goal tally this season.

And before the EFC gets riled up :D I'm not anti-Eto'o. I just want the best striker up front for us. Had he made those two passes in the Camp Nou against Chelsea, or had better control on three different occasions against Villarreal, they would still be cleaning up La Rambla, and we probably wouldn't be having this "conversation."

Villa, a less rounded striker than Ibrahimovic, and a less aggressive striker than Eto'o, would undoubtedly score more goals in all competitions that either of Ibrahimovic or Eto'o.

Would, if we could get him, Fernando Torres be the answer to all of our prayers?

The Goals scored percentages do not include assists, just goals scored.

With Eto'o, we know what we get. Pichichi, 104 goals and counting, threat in all competitions. Ibra is spectacular, but the real question is can he consistently produce? Why trade a know commodity +40 million or so? You have to be pretty sure, because the downside of losing Eto'o like production is waaaaaayyyyyy bigger than the upside of hopefully a more physical striker for CL. Especially when that striker's record in CL is, frankly, shit, for both Inter and Juve.

I don't think my post was particularly aggressive, it certainly wasn't personal or aimed at anyone. If it came off that way, know that wasn't the intent. I meant to point out some general human characteristics that influence how people view the player on their team compared to the potential of the player staring in the transfer gossip section.

Colin, actually I watch lot of Ibra. I am not in anyway arguing any of the strikers missing chances. But more the chances that's impossible for some strikers to score while the others can.

Now as a fast scan (eh...on espn.com...)

Comparing The teams offense output:

Barcelona: 103 Goals:

Eto'o 33 game, 28 goal, 4 assists (27.18% of the team goals), Messi 23 goal, Henry 19 goal.

Inter 62 goal:

Ibra: 32game, 21 goals, 7 assists(33.87% of his team goals) Balotelli 7 goals, , Stankovic 5 goals

The importance of the second and third scorer in every team can give a clear idea about the amount of scoring opportunities generated by every team, which is the mine that the striker yield from, to score. And it shows the quality of the closest players to the striker, which will have an impact on opponents' defensive challenges.

When you are the only threat in your team and you keep scoring more goals for your team from less scoring opportunities than another striker does even while having quality teammates in the offense to unstable the defense and more quality midfield to generate assists, I dont think there is more to tell.

Keeping in mind Inter typical italian style to drop back deep when they lose the ball. With all its negative impact on the strikers who have to get the ball miles away from the opponent area giving enough time for opponent defense to reposition and rearrange. At Barcelona, the striker camp near the box most of the time as we all know.

So even when everything goes against Ibra favor as a striker, he still can put the scoring record that match that's of eto'o. Not judging thru highlights, but rough numbers. Between a player who play in the meanest defensive league and a player who play in the league of the most open styles.

If you compare Eto'o scoring in the CL to the numbers of his team mates, that may give a better idea than comparing him to someone who play for another team. Because i dont think when the main striker in Barcelona score 3 goals in 8 games, it makes him better than an Inter player who scored 1 goal in 7 games. If we take in consideration that Barcelona against one team (sporting) scored probably more than inter scored all the way till they got knocked out against Man Utd.

I have absolutely no problem with having Eto'o. But again, there is a fact (for me) that I cant ignore just because eto'o is a Barcelona player: Ibra is a better and more complete striker than Eto'o.

In the Eto'o v Ibrahimovic v Villa question...here's my take:
Eto'o staying is the same scenario as last season. He is not the striker that Barca need to break down the tougher defenses in Europe. He works hard, pressurizing defenders and chasing lost causes, which is a very important trait.
Villa does everything that Eto'o does. I'm sure that some of you remember the goals that David Villa has scored against Victor Valdes by chasing down back passes.
He is the best finisher on the planet & probably the best penalty taker in the world also (he has ever only missed 1 penalty in his professional career and for the record, he scored from the rebound).
He would seamlessly fit into our system which is a bonus and he would be an instant success. Villa being our no.9 guarantees us La Liga but he may not be physical enough to unlock some doors as has been mentioned.
Ibrahimovic does not guarantee us anything. He may be a Hleb-Sized Flop.
He has the physical size and strength that we don't have, has incredible touch and can create goals out of absolutely nothing.
But will Ibrahimovic win us the league? Or maybe he will score a match winning goal in the Classico? Or maybe we will sell him to the EPL after 12 months at a massive loss after him throwing a strop after he is substituted somewhere.

i know Ramzi, i had written strikers, but then read my example, and changed the word to attackers ;-)

I think, unfortunately, is that all we have to go on is potential. When we were after the Hleb signing, we were going on talent and potential. It is impossible to know how a player is going to work in the side.

I don't think that anyone is undervaluing Eto'o or his contributions. There is an odd aggression in the defense of Eto'o that doesn't need to be there. Everyone, even me, acknowledges his amazing scoring rate. And my comments were the ones that reference how well he fits our system with his movement on and off the ball, etc.

We all get it.

But I think that what Ramzi is saying, and I agree with, is that Ibrahimovic is the kind of a striker that Barca hasn't had in a while: an individual match-changer.

He's come up dry in important CL matches because Inter plays shit tactics. Does anyone who has watched Ibrahimovic think that he would have missed that chance against Cech in the Camp Nou leg v Chelsea? Or that he wouldn't have made the pass to Henry?

I've watched a lot of Inter this season, and their service to him is terrible. And yes he needs service, just as every striker does.

Is he better than Eto'o in that nebulous but clearly identifiable sense of (nicely put, UAI) "barca-ness?" No. He can't be because he isn't that kind of a striker. Eto'o might be unique in the way that he constantly moves to create space and passing opportunities. If his shot and touch matched his movement and strength, he would have twice as many goals.

So is the answer to buy someone else, or is the answer to put Eto'o on a program of skill development? And will his ego allow such a thing?

I think of Michael Jordan who, every season, worked on something. First jump shooting, then defense, then three-point shooting then passing, acknowledging that he was already an exceptional player, but hard work is what makes someone great. Eto'o is exceptional. He isn't great, no matter what the statistics say. He could be, and if I thought that he were willing to commit to that kind of skills development, I'd be all for him. I don't think that he is, however. He doesn't strike me as that kind of dude.

But I'd love to be wrong.

Also, ALL strikers miss. It's why I have always discounted the "shots vs goals" analysis when it comes to strikers that people trot out when non-Eto'o names come up. Some take more speculative shots, others don't. Last year, Ronaldo took about a zillion shots to score 40-something goals. Did people say that he wastes chances? When people say that Adebayor wastes chances, do they watch every Arsenal match that they can?

I want the players in the colors that will ensure the best chances for us to continue hoisting silverware (and I don't mean Copa). If that's Eto'o, great. If that's Ibrahimovic, great.

I do think we have more pressing needs than striker, but make no mistake about it, we NEED a match-changing striker, one who can take a long ball, control it and be immediately dangerous. Eto'o isn't that striker. He's great for us and I love what he does, but he isn't that striker. Can he be? Depends on how much work he wants to do.

In the NFL, there's a saying that the backup quarterback is always the most popular guy in town. That's because the starter's flaws are out there for everyone to see every Sunday.

The same thing is at play with this whole "Eto'o wastes chances" argument. We watch Eto'o every week, so we see how many chances he makes and how many he doesn't. We don't watch Ibra, so we don't have the same sample size to see the missed chances. Ibra also sticks out because he scores highlight reel goals, which people have a natural tendency to extrapolate into high production. In reality, they all count as 1 on the scoreboard.

One clear sample is this: Ibra has come up dry in all the important CL matches he's played.

@Jason, I agree with you. But just its important to note that both Ribery and Kaka are not strikers. The striker is the most dependent player in football. Thats what make jis destiny more hooked to the over all offense dynamics of his team.

Felt its necessary to point that out.

There is quality in Inter, but its mostly defensive. Other than Ibra, theres not much in the form of creativity or service. Cambiasso and Muntari are very good, but they cant provide quality srvice.

Adriano quit, Quaresma got loaned out, Mancini never plays, Figo rarely plays, Stankovic helps but is not much of an Attacking mid. So while Inter do have quality, no they do not provide Ibra with much service. They are in dire need of a creative Attacking Mid.

I like Inter, but i think their dominance over Italy had alot to do with Juve going down, and an absolutely craptastic Milan.

I also believe that without good enough service, the best attackers in the world wont shine. Very few players can. Maybe Kaka two years ago, or Ribery right now, but even then, you cant ride one player's talent for a whole season, which is why Milan could win the CL, but not the scudetto. Ribery shined against us without any service at all, but its not enough, not for the CL, and not for the Bundesliga. I say we sign him ASAP.

Watching the match again on FSC, I really like the way Keita has played the past couple of matches, particularly this match. He worked hard, kept the ball moving, and made nice runs into the box. Well done.

UAI, sorry to drive u crazy :D

- If you follow the discussion from the start, you will notice there is always a condition : "If Eto'o leaves, then...". So even though Ibra is a better striker than Eto'o (in my opinion) it has never been a comparison between eto'o and Ibra. it was between ibra and other options to replace Eto'o.

- Yes actually in my humble experience, the striker is a product of the midfield industry. Now I can feel that you have a certain special case in ur mind, but in general in nowadays football where tactics developed dramatically, any striker is containable if there is no quality midfield to support him.

- About Inter squad, may be if you mentioned the names of the skillful players they have I might change my opinion. But as far as I know, Ibra does not have something like Xavi-Iniesta-Messi-Alves-and henry around him. If you dont agree on that, i am curious to know the Inter players you think can generate as many assists.

Now regarding Seria A dominance...hm...When did it started? When Juventus was in the second division, Milan had a point deduction, and Roma were almost there to hunt the title with a shallow squad. Right?

- And Regarding Vila vs Ibra. Its a matter of who is better for your team. For Valencia, I can Guarantee you that Villa is better than Ibra. For Barcelona Ibra is better with his physical dominance and altitude he install something we lack in our offense. What will Villa add to what Messi, Iniesta, Henry and co have? Techniques?

Keeping in mind the difference of leagues and the approach opponents take while playing against valencia compared to the opponent approach against Inier, linking it to the fact that I dont think Inter nowadays have the Silva-Mata-Juaquim-pablo type of players who are versatile to switch position with Villa and skillful enough to stretch the field and open spaces, my answer on ur question of "Wha..?!?!" by saying: yes.

If valencia had 50% of Inter defensive quality they will be a team to beat not only in spain but in Europe. Offensively, they have one of the best bunch of talents.

BTW KEvin, while counting goals, you want to take into account the fact that Henry doesn't take any penalties, only Messi and Eto'o do

This was in refrence to Eto'o, sorry
"In addition to his good qualities which others who have come to his defense have pointed out, he simply fits in at Barca. He has the pace and steady shot, but can also competently partake in the interplay in barca’s attack and midfield.."

What are you guys talking about , Ibrahimovic is up there, but he's not that great. The guy is CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT. Sure Eto'o is having a bad streak, but let's not be so fickle. Ibrahimovic can be great, but he won't give you more than 2-3 good performances in a row. In addition to his good qualities which others who have come to his defense have pointed out, he simply fits in at Barca. He has the pace and steady shot, but can also competently partake in the interplay in barca's attack and midfield..

What I'm saying is... there's a "barca"-ness to him that too many of us have started tot ake for granted.

But back to Ibra Ramzi... so your thesis is that no player that plays with a non-fantastic team can shine in big games because the midfield is struggling to support him. I'm sure one can produce several counter examples of that, of truly great attackers that still turned in a great performance despite some lack of good support...

But I'll address the other part of it... are you telling me Inter is a team so mediocre that Ibrahimovic is the only "shining" thing in it? Really? That's his excuse? There are two ways one can get to the conclusion that Inter is by no means a second-tier squad
A) Look at their roster, including its depth btw (seriously, you don't see quality in any of those guys?)
B) Their complete dominance of italy for the past 3 years

The other part of this that I don't get is, you've seen David Villa's performances over the past year, and Ibrahimovic, and you think David villa is the loser in that comparison? After watching all their goals, you thought David Villa was getting more service/support/assists to create his goals from Valencia, than Ibrahimovic did from Inter? Wha..?!?!

i want to know who took this picture because he/she can see the future....

http://tinyurl.com/o4kuoa

eklavya, did your feed just now catch up?

Haha.

TOURE YAYAZO GANA EL COMBATE

duh.

http://toure-yayazo.elbruto.es

Yaya apologized to the athletic fans in this video.

http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web...

WE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agree with Ramzi 1000%. Ibrahimovic is the kind of player who, when you get him the ball, can do crazy things with it. He's like Messi, but inSIDE the box.

I just don't see us paying the kind of money that it would take to get him in the colors, though.

I'm more concerned about these Krkic loan rumors that keep cropping up. I'd rather have him as part of the selection. I can't see regular playing time in a lesser side benefitting the Kid all that much. Yes, he would learn the game at an accelerated rate. But I say give him time now, in pre-season and early in the season.

But keep him at home.

Mikel, we understand the value of Eto'o. What I would like to see, however, is how many Eto'o goals could have been scored by, say, me. Tap-ins and open-netters, I mean. To be sure, many of those easy goals were created by his own effort. You have to be there to close the deal.

But to play theoreticals, would Henry have as many goals were he the main striker? Eto'o is only what, 7 goals ahead of Henry as the main target? What about Krkic?

I think it returns to Ramzi's point. A striker such as Ibrahimovic can score the goals that Eto'o can. But he can also score goals that other strikers dream of, then wake up in a giddy sweat. If we can get the kind of striker who can turn a close match with an exceptional individual play, we will be unbeatable.

http://goal.com/en/news/12/spa...

Lmao The most expensive 60 seconds on earth.

I think Bojan is as silky smooth as Pato, and the striker instincts are all there. He will be a perfect second striker given time, eventually even taking over in Henry's position. Barcelona should not let the boy go anywhere

Mikel, I agree with you about Eto'o. But I also agree that the past month or so have not been his best (yes I can agree with both!). But the most distinguishing thing about him is that he is still working hard for the team. Whenever he gets the ball in good position, his quick moves to create space are still deadly, it's just that the last kick has been lacking in accuracy, but we know he can be as accurate as anybody else. Another thing to consider, Villa and Torres play in a spanish team thats just as dominant and beautiful to watch as Barcelona, not to mention that it has the barcelona midfield, can anyone really claim those two are much better in the system than Eto'o to the point that a change has to be made?

Jnice, I don't dispute Yaya's toughness, I love it. And I'm glad he has finaly proved to Guardiola that there is no better DM than him. We could have lost this guy at the beginning of the season, which would have been terrible. I'm just hoping he doesn't turn into a character like Alves. I like the Yaya when he just plays and goes about destroying other teams with the ball.

I honestly don't think they should change much on this team for one more year. Maybe a speedy defender that can recover on counter attacks on the left. I love how well Pique has played for the team, I just think the young guns should be incorporated more and squad rotation improved. These starters played way too many games, which is fine for a season, but you can't do it every year.

I think Sam Eto'o is the most undervaluated player in the world, he is in a good age for football (28), and he knows the system and is used to the pressure of Barça. He has always had great scoring ratings. Here are some averages of Eto'o and other players that have been linked with Barca. This are domestic league matches and domestic league goals with the team indicated:

Eto'o (Barca) Matches: 141 Goals: 106 Average: 0.75 g/m
Torres (Liverpool) 55 37 0.67
Villa (Valencia) 126 84 0.66
Ibrahimovic (Inter) 154 77 0.5
Adebayor (Arsenal) 101 46 0.45
Benzema (Lyon) 104 40 0.38

i dont think 70+eto price tag for ibra is true,i think it must be something like 60-70,but anyway he is overpriced although he is the best and most complete striker in the planet,and another thing is that he is not gonna pressure the opposite defense like samuel does,and he is more like a "wait for the ball" player,and the last thing is that barca will not spend all of its money on just one player,we need some players for depth in midfield and a leftback ,etc
anyway i prefer tevez anyday,not only he is more cheaper he is pressure the defense like a mad dog(remember last year CL final)and he has a better charecter.but i must admit he has not the size,skills and maybe finishing of ibra,but we are already the best tevez addition would make us great,and by the way for targetman we can have trezeguet(not as good as RvN but good enough to do the deal alongside tevez,henry and messi)

After just about every Barca game some guys on youtube play Messi vs.... or Iniesta vs.... highlights with every single one of their touches on the ball. This was Messi's for the final http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
.

Not bad, right? My favorite part is the passing from 5:40 onwards. Look at all the beautiful triangles!!!! This is a perfect exhibition of the positioning our guys know by heart and why a cantera product has such an advantage in our system. Notice how after every pass, the other players move to form new triangles. Its absolutely beautiful. When Alves has been on, that Xavi-Messi-Alves triangle is one of the most beautiful things in the history of football.

oops, forgot to update the name :D

Alexinho, that video was AWESOME!

I love hearing all the players interview and hearing all their different accents, including the degree of their Spanish that depends on how long they've been in the country. Their accents are so revealing... And Eto'o's comments were very thoughtful, commending both teams and the Bilbao fans.

i agree with EVERYTHING Ramzi just said in the above post.

anywho. i think RVN is is the best finisher on the planet. one of my all time favorite strikers. still, i would only pick him up if he came cheap.

oh, and for you of the "I-don't-want-anything-to-do-with-RVN-or-any-other-ex-madridista-simply-because-they-used-to-play-for-madrid-regardless-of-how-good-they-are" i give you this: http://images.sportinglife.com...

like Kxev said, he went their because of the money. he was pushed out of ManU, and Madrid anted up. Or what about RVdV? he is a self professed Cule, but signed for Madrid. Why? They bid, we didn't.

Madrid have alot of quality players that i would love to steal: Casillas, S.Ramos, De la Red, Higuain. We don't have any room in the squad for the last two, though. But if Casillas or Ramos would come to Barcelona, i would personally fly to Barcelona and pack Valdes and Abidal's bags. unless either was comfortable playing back up.

That 70+Eto'o was f'n rediculous, that would make him the most expensive transfer in the history of the game. not to blashpeme, but i dont think Messi is worth that much (maybe). How the editor of that publication allowed that to make it to the news is beyond me. Well, its almost 2a.m. local time. goodnight kids.

1 down.
2 to go!

"Ibra flop in big Matches" one of the most common Cliche' I read. About him, C.Ronaldo, and I can name dozens of great players who had this saying stuck on them in the history of football. Why? Its simple:

Any Quality player who play with a team where he find lack of support from the midfield can produce quality performance in normal games because he can do everything on his own needing no help. Against quality opponents with quality defense he need support, he doesn't find it, he get isolated. Now who is again the skillful player in Inter midfield? Flanks? Second striker? I thought so.

Ibra is the most complete striker in the world of football today. Anyone else come far behind. Now the ego thing match that's of Eto'o. When you play with Inter Milan where you are the only flashy thing, ur ego shine brighter, when you play in a team like Barcelona (there is no team like Barcelona at the moment) where you find those who match ur class, you don't get ride of your ego, but u manage to cool its heat down.

Villa can add some quality finishing, but he lack other things Eto'o can offer. So all in all, not much improvement. With Villa, instead of winning 5-0 we will win 8-0. But I doubt he can change the 0-0 kind of games. He is not that exceptional to crush the bus. Something he doesn't need to worry about in Valencia.

I don't think Villa will come for cheap as many expect. we are not the only team running after him. If he costs around 40M, then its better to pay 50+ to get Ibra.

dude, we NEED to get our hands on villa,

i vote no on keirrison, we already have blooming bojan and adding keirrison would be a waste, hed never play. unless eto'o goes and we get keirrison to replace him which would be questionable

oh and henrique looks like a mighty fine defender in germany, lets hope he brings it back to us like pique did.

BOOM, I hit the jackpot. After long and hard searching on youtube, I found a video of Yaya speaking English to a reporter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

I love myself haha.

That video clip was the shit. Keita is awesome "BARCAAAAAAA!". Yeah, they asked Yaya to do "the Obama". Complete and utter sweetness.

BTW in the TV4 recap they showed that the Athletic fans both at the Mestalla and back at the San Mamés gave Xavi a standing ovation when he got subbed. They also stayed after the game was over and clapped their team off the field. Class from one of the most hardcore fan bases in the world. That said the King must have been scared shitless. Catalans and Basques playing for the King of Spain's cup. Sweet.

Jnice: The only person I'd change is Alves, as well. For the reasons you stated.

If he's hitting people, sure, but other than that he can be a bit rough and all of that stuff. No harm done and like you said, overall he's a very humble person, content with being in the background.

On the other hand, it's very embarrassing to have Alves crying on the ground and when he doesn't get the call, he stands right up as if nothing's ever happened. Busi is heading in that direction as well, but he does it much less often. Alves needs to be quarantined! Haha

What do you mean Bill? Yaya is just an intense player, but you cannot compare him to Alves. He didn't try to "slap" Robben, he just tried to grab his arm, because he tripped him and didn't allow him in the box. I think Yaya is as humble as anyone out there and he DOES go about his business in a quiet way.

But think about it, he is the DM, our "hardman". It is his job to be tough at times because that is what his position requires. You expect him to be like Xavi and not get mad at anything? I love his game, his attitude, personality, all that. There is no reason for him to change anything. I for one wouldn't want a soft Defensive mid, sorry.

No No and No! No RVN in Barcelona, 1. He plays for RM, 2. He gets injured alot, 3. He has a penchant for having a big head.

Yeah, Eto'o has the occasional bust up, but he seems to be pretty humble otherwise. RvN has a certain arrogance and bad attitude about him that will definately divide the Barcelona locker room and is the reason why he had to leave Man U. I think Ibrahimovic has the same trait. You want a striker thats confident, but never one that is arrogant a la Drogba. Fine, it works at the beginning, but sooner or later it becomes toxic and destroys that delicate thing called chemistry.

I know we love Toure over here, personally I don't think there is a better DM in the world and also believe he has the talent to be a creative midfielder if given the chance, but I am noticing a certain abrasivenes thats creeping into his game. I'm not sure I like that trait in barcelona, and I think the coach should put an end to it. On many an occasion, Ive spotted him trying to slap a player (did anyone notice his attempt to slap Robben when they collided just before Higuains goal?) not to mention his reaction to Marquez in that champions league game against Chelsea. Im not nitpicking, I see it alot and I believe it will be counterproductive in the future. One of the main reasons I like Barcelona is their humility and the quiet way they go about their business. One arrogant Alves is enough in the team.

On the issue of corners, it's amazing that no one bothers to cover the back post. Surely, sending 3 foot Xavi there is simply asking for a disaster. Abidal, Toure and Pique should be evenly distributed across the goal line with Puyol given free reign to chase after the incoming ball, and Henry + Eto'o plugging up the holes. Alves and Xavi should cover short penalties while Iniesta and Messi should cover the 18 box while being ready to sprint out on the counter if given the chance. Real Madrids 2nd goal was the goalies faul, he could have made to steps and cought that ball.

Abidal needs to go. It may not be his fault that the left wing attack is not as effective (Henry routinely ignores him there), but a few skilled attackers get past him a bit too easily. Sergio Ramos did for that first goal, Robben gave him fits, Ribery brushed past him and many more this season. He is decent, but easily broken down by a skilled player.

€70million for Ibra - we would not pay it.
€70million plus Eto'o in an absolutue joke.

€40million would be acceptable.
€40million for Fernando Torres and I'll be a happy man.

David Villa would be perfect for us in my opinion. We can't let EE buy him. He is the best finisher in the world and he has played as the sole striker for Valencia and Sporting with consistent success.

Does anyone else think that we should bid for Arshavin again this summer?
He doesn't seem like he thinks that Arsenal are matching his ambitions and he doesn't have a few seasons to wait to see what they are going to do. I wonder did he choose Arsenal because they were the only team bidding for him in the winter.

Pinto & Jorquera out - Asenjo in
Sylvinho & Milito out - Henrique & Maxwell in
Guddy & Hleb out - Arshavin & Gourcuff in
Eto'o out - Keirrison & Torres/Villa/Ibra(but not for that money)

Yeah ballbeav, Toure wanted to give a speech like Obama hahah, so he was like "My friends... today.... you win today... yeahhh!!" or something like that hahaaha.

It was like Keita was telling him to do the Obama impression haha. Quality stuff. I always knew Yaya could speak English. (Sort of)

http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web...

in this same video you can hear Toure speak in english! and it sounds like he and/or keita keep saying "obama, obama!" tell me if i am crazy....it's at teh very end of the video clip.

Keita and Yaya are great together, lol. It seemed like those two were already drunk!

Once the defense is patched up, I think Guardiola will start to put more confidence in Bojan and the other young ones like Pedro.

Hopefully Barca wins at Mallorca and the youngsters get more playing time this season against relatively weak opponents.

Considering the comments, I have one more thing to point out...

If Eto'o does leave, than let's all savor his last moments here. He has contributed much to this team.

And so that my comments about each of the players...once the review goes up...is shorter, let me say my most important comment here.

Each one of those goals was unusual for Barca, because they were all class individual goals, not class team goals. That Yaya goal was incredible. Maybe the keeper should've been better, maybe he was lucky to shoot through that defender, but he kept it so low and so close to the post from a long range. Exquisitely. The Messi goal was way harder than it looked, shooting through a forest of bodies and legs, and it was so true to what Messi's all about. We all talk about his dribbling and his ability to beat his man, but in the recent games where for the most part he hasn't been doing that, he's been finishing so clinically. The Bojan goal was the easiest as Athletic got killed defensively, but I thought he was going to miss when he didn't pass to Eto'o. Then he shot...Henry, anyone? He's going to be a great player if we keep him (and frankly, I think he'll be a flop if he goes somewhere else). And to cap it all off, a beautiful curling free kick from Xavi. Credit Dani Alves (or Guardiola) for making it look like he was going to go and fool the wall.

What is up with our performance on set plays? Does it need to work once to open the floodgates? First Puyol in Madrid, then nothing at Chelsea, but then Dani Alves against Villareal, and now this. Let's keep it up, shall we? They're going to be so important for us in the CL final if Iniesta and Henry don't make a quick-enough recovery.

http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web...

The video's funny...Keita: "BARCAAAAAA" priceless.

Kxevin - I'm scheduled to bartend the night before, so I'm not sure if I'll make it on Sunday (game's at noon, non?). I'll try my best though, it'd be cool to meet you guys. But would you forgive me if I cheered on the barralets?

i've always considered David Villa a natural replacement for Eto'o. a slight change to our system, as Kxevin rightly notes he wouldn't move around the front as much, but easily a better first touch on the ball and more likely to look for the assist. he's also proven against European (notably English) opposition, where Eto'o for all his La Liga dominance experiences quite a letdown in form. his eye for goal is no worse than Eto'o's and we're not losing much in the air, while being quite an improvement on a personal level as a player very adverse to drama.

the rumours are Ibrahimovic make my inner Football Manager practically salivate, but it would be a gamble. he could be utterly brilliant, if he puts in the effort; or he could be woeful and moody. he'd certainly boss Liga defenders like they weren't even there, but his performances in Europe....

central striker is probably the most difficult and option-heavy position for us to fill, which may not even have to get filled (though i think it probably should).

RVN will be too old and Fragile next season to play as a starter in any team playing CL. Having a player like him on your bench, or in a game where a player in the box is need will be Vital.

Last summer I was even promoting the Idea of getting a Crespo for a bench role, and even though it was an astonishing idea back then, i still believe it more realistic than it sounded.

Its as simple as that, either eto'o stay and we get an old experienced target man for a bench role (too early to count henry there, but may be one year later). LLorente is good also, but I dont think he will accept Joining Barcelona for a bench role, he has a future in front of him.

If eto'o leave then Barcelona must get a player who solve all the troubles once and for all. But its still not easy to buy a player with all qualities needed as they are rare and unavailable. Ibra and Torres are the only players who can fulfill that. Adebayor come far far far behind.