We need another Zaragoza victory. We need to watch our team play and marvel at the pretty (and I don’t just mean Piqué), instead of seething over missed chances, wasted passes, and crosses that a few someones ought to be nailed to. We need to gather our wits, regroup, set a new plan and shake off the memory of the recent unfavourable results.

And Real Mallorca are coming for a visit. Tsk, tsk…

Sorry, guys! Nothing personal...

Last season, we played four times against Mallorca. The first leg, when they visited Camp Nou in January, was favourable to us by 2-1. Then we played the Copa del Rey semi-finals against them, beating them at home 2-0, and then getting away with a 1-1 draw when we visited Mallorca (thanks to Pinto and his Magical Ponytail). The last time we met them last season, we were nursing our Triplete hangover and allowed them to get away with a pretty meaningless 2-1.

Real Mallorca have won in the Camp Nou, though, more recently in that infamous 07/08 season, when they came back from a 2-0 to get away with 2-3 and the three points, thanks to Webo and Borja Valero, both of who will be on the pitch on Saturday.

Mallorca fans have chartered six planes to travel to Barcelona on Saturday; I don’t want to be mean, but I hope they fly back in a sulk.

Real Mallorca have only played in Primera for thirteen years, and they are usually a mid-table team, sometimes plummeting to flirt with the relegation places, but this season they’ve had quite a good run of form and they are currently fifth in La Liga, just one point behind Valencia and the Champions League places. So far, they have only lost against Sevilla (which is no shame, as Real Madrid will tell you) and against Sporting (which is slightly more puzzling); they drew against Atlético de Madrid and Villarreal, and have beaten Liga-newcomers Xerez and Tenerife, and also Getafe and Valladolid.

They have a quiet, unassuming goalkeeper who just happens to be quite good (Dudu Aouate), a striker who doesn’t get any headlines, but who consistently scores goals (Webo) and a solid, hard-working team. Just the kind of set-up we’ve been stumbling against lately. They also have a patient manager who has managed to rebuild his team time and after time, after his key players have been lured away by bigger teams, and who only spent an amazing 400,000 euros on signings this summer (even less that new-boys-on-the-block Xerez; I’m not even comparing it with our own or Real Madrid’s spending, because I might cry); for more information on the admirable Gregorio Manzano, read this article and marvel. The man himself said this morning that they are “not going to go for the individual marking” and that “Barça can win without playing well” (may the Gods of Football, fickle creatures that they are, hear you, Gregorio).

Pep wants to hypnotise you into forgetting these last few days and his recent questionable decisions; or he’s become a zombie; or he’s trying to stare down the mic. It’s hard to tell with him.

So, what should we do, I hear you ask, throwing your hands up in exasperation. Well, I have just the thing. Leave Xavi on the bench. Now, don’t scream like that, I can hear you from here and you sound like little girls who are having their pigtails pulled. Listen to me: Xavi is tired; Xavi has been playing too much; Xavi is not playing at his best level and that reflects on the overall quality of the team (which doesn’t mean I blame him for anything, mind you). Without Xavi on the pitch, the team will have to reorganise themselves, get a bit more involved in the midfield, and will perhaps get out of the rut they have fallen into.

And it’s not as if we’re lacking quality in the midfield, even without Xavi. Super-Yaya has been, well, superb all season, and hat-tricking Keita is not a slouch either. Now that Thierry Henry and Bojan are both available to play on the left, Iniesta can step back and try to impersonate Xavi instead of Messi (he might need a few UV-ray seasons first, though).

I would keep Messi on the pitch, though, even after his underwhelming performances lately. His problem is not that he’s tired, and making him unhappy by benching him is not going to help with whatever is bothering him. Let him play and try his best; in the worst of cases, he’ll stun the Mallorca defenders by running into them repeatedly, and free Ibrahimovic to do his thing.

Is that Pedrito’s name you’re muttering under your breath? Yes, I know, he’s been fantastic so far this season. But I’d rather bring him in as a sub for whatever striker is achieving less during the second half; he tends to shine in those situations, and let’s not forget that he’s probably going to have to play a full match on Tuesday, on our second Copa del Rey date with Cultural Leonesa.

So, my proposed line-up is:

——————Valdés———————
–Alves—-Puyol—-Piqué—Maxwell—
——————–Toure——————-
————–Keita——-Iniesta————
—-Messi—-Ibrahimovic——Henry—

With Bojan to play for Henry if our Frenchman is still not feeling up to playing the full ninety minutes (honestly, we need to play Lil’Bo more in Liga matches), and Pedrito to come in during the second half to regale us with a goal or two, if he is feeling generous.

Like it? Think I’m insane? Is your faith on Perfect Pep wavering? Want to give up on football and take up knitting as a hobby? Unwind in the comments!

Or at least, that’s what Pep wanted to have happen tonight. It didn’t quite turn out that way. Barcelona, traveling to the frigid unknowns of Municipal Institution Football Club Rubin Kazan and their home in Kazan. It was supposed to be a day of redemption, you know, from that game. We were going to plug away and break the deadlock on the frozen pitch, and we were going to applaud Pep for getting things right this time.

But then…..

?

The look. You and me both buddy.

Little went according to plan. Of course we had all the possession, 75% worth. We had nineteen shots, however only five were on target. . .not the best representation of our talent and ability. Rubin seldom threatened, and when they did, Valdes and company were up to the test. Pep’s relative inexperience (yes, just his second year at the helm here, and third overall as a manager) showed again, not introducing a substitute until the 82nd minute, and the only substitute at that! Inspirational half-time-Pep-talk looked to be just that coming out of the gates, but alas. . .nothing concrete came to fruition.

We came out in the second half a little more composed, and relaxed. We held possession in the Rubin Kazan 18 yard box for upwards of a minute at a time. That is pretty cool to watch. We did this two or three more times in the second half. Unfortunately we passed far too often around the box than into it. I am of the philosophy though that if you’re going to set up shop in front of the opponents end and pass around, you have got to pass into the box as well. I saw way too many times tonight we would pass around endlessly then attempt a cross where there was no one in position to receive it. We failed to stretch Rubin Kazan with width and as a result Ibra would be guarded with 2 or 3 defenders at once with every ball that came his way. Also, Daniel Alves’s crosses were horrendous to the tenth degree. I know he had just come back from injury and played the full 90 (well in to him for having an irradiated body impervious to fatigue) but he was definitely out of his element.

-6.03×10^2841226192394 were how effective Alves’s crosses were today.

This cluster fuck of a match almost turned out for the worst in the last 15 minutes of the game as a clearly tired Barça began being exploited by the fresh legs of the Kazan sub, Aleksandr Bukharov, who had come on in the 63rd minute, (take some notes, Pep) which nearly cost us the match. A couple glorious opportunities left much to be desired by their finishing with the end of the match coming near.
Valdes, Alves, DJ Pique, Puyol, Abidal, the Yayaminator, “Golden Boot Winner” Keita, Xavi, Messi, Iniesta and Ibrahimovic took the pitch as our starting XI. This selection pleased me, as it meant we had the steel of midfield in Keite and the width of Iniesta. But from the beginning, things went awry. Besides the post incident in the 2nd minute of the game from Ibra, little of note in clear cut chances were made. Keita was invisible. I saw him do absolutely nothing of note, except swerve a few shots well wide. Iniesta was having a hard time of it too on the pitch, not finding a rhythm.

Xavi is tired, and it showed tonight, again. Rest him, we have quality on the bench that cannot be Xavi, but they can be good enough to get the job done. We don’t need Xavi to set the tempo in a game like we had today, when the other team was coming out only to defend. Xavi isn’t going to send one of those wonderful through balls through 8 men stacked within 8 yards of each other.

This is a team, and we should be able to function without one, two or three pieces. This is not Xavi & Company, or Messi and Friends, this is FC Barcelona and dammit, we should be able to showcase the other talent sitting there when our main men aren’t getting it done. Pep’s substitutions (or lack thereof) are worrying. His stubbornness and pride hath got the best of him, although he may preach modesty and humbleness when confronting the press. We’re missing the fire of the year past. We didn’t want it enough, plain and simple. Complacency? Still too early to tell for sure, but the thought crossed my mind today during the match. This game was reeking of 2007/08 when we had similar games just like this one, all possession no substance.

Last season, I had the feeling of something special in the air, most of us felt it, no matter what. I do not feel that this year so far. Perhaps this will change with more games, but I am not convinced of a repeat Triplete (neither are most, I’m sure).

Of course, it didn’t help that in the second half Iniesta and Messi went from team players to “backyard-pitch-let’s-dribble-the-whole-team-by-ourselves” mode. Horrific passing decisions, which they incessantly persisted in making, in between three players. Rubin Kazan players ARE NOT GHOSTS, THEY ARE NOT TRANSPARENT. This frustrated me the most of anything in the match. There was an instance around the 65th minute where Messi dribbles past a player, then there are literally three Kazan players standing in his way, side by side, and he tried to pass between all of them! This was similar of what Iniesta did on the flank. It will never work! Stop trying! Look for teammates por favor. I know you are both game changers and on your day are the best players in the world, but you are surrounded by other individuals who are equally as talented as you are. Use them, it works wonders! There is a time and place for individual brilliance, and there is time for a concentrated let’s go rape them together mentality. And the lot of you put your wrong thinking caps on today.

Pictured: Where Ibrahimovic was in the second half. Wait a minute...

I must also mention Ibrahimovic. I feel bad for the guy. Active in the first half, denied by the post oh so early, and was up to his usual trickery early on. He had a splendid first half, and the second half he vanished. Ibracadabra for all the wrong reasons. It’s not his fault, mostly. As I just mentioned, the ball hogging of certain players and lack of service in general from anyone else saw Ibra just mostly stand around and contribute little. His responsibility then comes in, he should be demanding access to the ball. If the ball doesn’t come to you, go find it.

It’s still early in the season and we have a long ways to go. Match day 10 is this weekend against Mallorca. We’re severely hampered in our options though for the next two Champions League matches. We have to go all out in both games, whereas before the season began, we saw these last two fixtures as those possibly which we could power down a little bit and rest some of our key players. 5 points from 4 games, atrocious run, and this HAS to change against Inter and Kiev. We control our own fate, and Pep will make this abundantly clear in the coming weeks. We’ll be ok. Visca Barça.

PS My MEN of the match, Alves, Puyol, Keita. All three of whom did not wear long sleeves during the match today. the Yayaminator was required to keep additional clothing on, for fear of releasing a nuclear explosion should any of his body be exposed to the elements. the Yayaminator’s body does not react well to anything other than the temperature of destruction.

You can feel the lack of satisfaction between Barcelona fans this season. It’s basically a result of high expectations. The satisfaction stocks rise and fall on weekly bases the same as the team performance varies. Every game has its own story, but still there are common denominators between all the matches Barcelona played this season, that is rooted to the team performance last season as well. This post is a preview for The Champions’ league game against Rubin Kazan. But make no mistake, it’s linked to the performance since the first Liga game and will have an impact on the fans expectations for the rest of the season. That’s why I will start with a general overview and the more I approach the end of the post the closer I will get to the mission in Kazan as we will end up with a solid base to evaluate the current situation, starting line ups and tactics. Besides, I hope it will help in setting criteria to measure performance regardless of the games results which has to do a lot with luck sometimes, and the opponent’s quality as well.

Back to the future

That was the most popular selection for last season. Messi sliding more to the center opening the flank for the Brazilian train to move forward acting as a right midfielder/wing. Iniesta, in order to avoid sandwiching Xavi between him and Messi, slips a bit to the left to link with Henry and give him the go to cut into the box and get advantage of Messi and Eto’o movement leading to destabilizing the opponent defense. All that turned to get the best out of every player and created the destruction machine we’ve witnessed and enjoyed.

Yet it was not all roses, even though the season success makes it a bit whiney to note the defects of the past. But to serve the subject, I will brief some of the last season unpleasant bugs:

1) Whenever we were desperately in need for a target man in the box, we failed to fulfill that need. Eto’o for all his goods is not the medicine. Henry is much better, but there was no possibility to play him as a striker because Eto’o can’t really operate on the left flank nor it was possible to bench the Cameroonian or substitute him when needed because there was always the risk of destabilizing him–>the dressing room–>the team performance during the season.

2) Alves and Xavi dependency was not something we suffered simply because they played almost all the games without sweating. But we always had the anxiety of the “What if” conditional nightmare.

3) Lack of rotation: At the beginning of last season while the expectations were as low as the moral after a disastrous campaign, Pep was open for adventurous attempts. He introduced the unknown Busquets, made tactical innovations and applied the great rotation policy which made all Barcelona fans confused and unable to predict who will actually play and who will be benched. He even inspired Barcelona transfers blog to start a competition between the fans to guess Pep selection, and it was too hard to be won- at the beginning. The team enjoyed a great string of victories against the strongest rivals and broke the scoring record on weekly bases boosting the expectations and the demands. That’s when Pep started to think twice before deciding a selection. He cut down the rotation mechanism and started selecting the obvious options that the majority of the fans label as being the strongest. Fatigue became the daily subject, we dropped points like a waterfall and we pushed the starters to the edge to an extend that in the match we played against Man Utd – the last match that worth to mention- we had to reengineer the selection to fit the players available. I was hoping that this game will be enough for a lesson. If Sylvinho can play against Manchester the way he performed, then he can play against at least half the liga teams. He didn’t. And we can say the same about Caceres if we take his international career in consideration. Hleb is doing well where he is now the same as he performed before he moved to Barcelona. Will that make him a key player at Barcelona? Not necessarily, but at least he could have played against Almeria. After Hammering Bayern at the Camp Nou, it wasn’t suicidal to use Keita instead of exhausted Iniesta, right? Hopefully the point is clear by now.

4) The vacuum tunnel. Each and every time we played against a team that can generate quality counter attacks we had troubles. The problem starts when Alves, Iniesta and Xavi advance to the edge of the box backing Messi, Eto’o and Henry. In return, the three defenders position themselves along the half line. That leaves a wide landscape for Yaya to patrol through. Yaya for all his goods is not a natural Defensive midfielder, but more a central midfielder who is always tempted to contribute offense wise rather than sticking to the basics and priorities of being a midfield libero in the first place then thinking of how far he can contribute in the offense operations. He positions himself closer to the top of the vacuum tunnel to support the offense rather than the middle to balance his offense contribution with his defensive coverage role. The moment we lose the ball the opponent generates counters, slide through the midfield and create threat. The quality of Yaya helped most of the time recovering the fragility of the system, more than avoiding it. Also he earns the credit of improving his discipline as he is no more dribbling through the opponents and loses the ball in dangerous positions. If you watch Yaya performance since we signed him till January 2009, you will notice a massive improvement (that’s one of the reasons I always demand patience when it come to Busquets). But still, even a supernatural defensive midfielder will not be able to close the Vacuum tunnel alone. More about that later in this extended ramble.

5) I can list more remarks like Delayed or unused substitutions for example, but I will only focus on the points I need to link to the current season, and the following game.

Are we better or worse this season?

This summer, we solved some of the defects but still struggling to overcome some other challenges.

1) We bought a player who can play in the box and on the flank as well. Henry will enjoy a great season if he remains fit. He will be seen in the box more often, and if last season he scored for fun though being there occasionally, this season he will buy an apartment right there facing the keeper. Ibra in return will be able to create more wholes in defense by stretching it to the left pulling the defenders one after another using his dribbling skills and accurate quality crosses and assists. Henry-Ibra switches will play a deciding factor this season, If it happened.

So far it didn’t click well. As a new player, Ibra needed time to understand his teammates as well as they needed time to understand him. His understanding with Messi went smoother which forced Henry to stay wide on the flank while Messi and Ibra operate in the middle. That’s not the best role for Henry. But it will only need more time and fewer injuries.

2) We also brought a player who can solve –at least partially- Alves dependency. Maxwell is a quality player and the best left-footed-cloning Alves I can think of and we can afford. In principle, Barcelona system needs an offense oriented fullback. Two offense oriented fullbacks at the same time cause a Giovani-Belletti mess. Without any offense oriented fullback we turn containable. Using Abidal and Puyol together as fullbacks has lot of advantages, but the tax is high. With Alves or Maxwell on the flank, we don’t only open the field wider, but they also create more headache for defense as they can always cut to the edge of the box and shoot. Even when they don’t do it, the opponent will be always aware that they can. When was the last time Abidal took a shooting attempt? Adding to their accurate crosses (Not lately for Alves), Maxwell and Alves are also good being involved in the playmaking and offense build up. It’s not only a matter of receiving and passing back. It’s the movement and flair, ideas and creativity. Neither Puyol nor Abidal can match the two Brazilians in that department. The playmaking chain that contains Messi-Xavi-Iniesta-Alves/Maxwell creates an automatic width behind Henry/Keita and Ibra and drives them into the box. That’s why when Alves plays, Maxwell must not. But when Alves is not selected then Maxwell is a must. Unless if the fullbacks will operate defensively and give a chance for the rest of the selection to do the offense job. To be continued…

Xavi dependency is still there as well, and we are not doing any attempt to overcome it. It’s a corner stone the opponents use to contain Barcelona, and I believe we can solve it with some bravery, creativity and patience.

3) Talking about lack of rotation moves us closer to Kazan game. Lack of rotation was the key factor for us losing the game. Barcelona plays a kind of full-court-press that demands astronomic fitness level. The quality of pressing gains us the ball closer to the opponent area and vice versa. That’s why the impact of fatigue on the performance declination raises exponentially both defense wise and offense wise. When the team mechanism decline, it allows the opponent to break through the initial pressure Barcelona players apply to gain back possession and if the opponent defender was able to play a single pass without being under any pressure then he can put his teammate in a clear position to penetrate through the vacuum tunnel without any resistance as Yaya will be a step behind when he is not fresh enough for his impossible mission to cover a China-size land. To recover, Players like Xavi, Iniesta, and Alves will need to do defensive transition more often running back all the way toward Barcelona defense territory. It happens too late most of the times as they are too tired to catch the tempo. Moreover, such kind of transitions back and forth turns to become a distractive process for the already exhausted players. The result is something like Alves gets injured while the rest are on the waiting list.

4) The Vacuum tunnel issue is a common point I mention every once and while. One solution is to ask Yaya to play more defensive than his taste. Pep already did so during the process of improving Yaya qualities as a defensive midfielder. But I believe the Yaya we have at the moment is the best Yaya we can demand. His offense qualities are too tempting to terminate just to secure defense. That’s why instead of modifying Yaya role we need to modify some of his teammate’s roles to create more efficiency and reliability for the tactical structure. To analyze this point it’s useful to analyze Rubin Kazan second goal against Barcelona. The direct responsibility was hooked around the neck of Marquez with some blames on Yaya and Bojan. But if you watch the goal again, it’s actually Abidal positioning and decision making that must be blamed in the first place if there is a single player to pick. Secondly, it’s a result of both a systematic error and a fatigue impact that’s happening quite often and leading to many identical scenarios:

Bojan playing a bad pass and Barcelona lose possession (Pause the Video at 0:03). Kazan had two players in the Vacuum area each on one side of Yaya. Abidal being in a weird position that we would forgive if he made a fast transition when we lost the ball, but instead he hesitated and prayed that Yaya get back the ball and save him from an exhausting run backward(0:003 to 0:06 Watch Abidal), something he wouldn’t have considered if he was fresh. If he would have made his run toward our backline as he should the moment we lost the ball, Kazan wouldn’t have scored. Yaya in return did a fast hopeless tackle (0:006). Those who played defensive roles in football can tell you what this tackle means. It’s the feeling that “it’s now or never!” the belief that:” I can’t get closer to the ball than this!”. And it happened in the opponent half in an unlikely successful position. And it happens where Kazan player needed to run while controlling the ball while all what Yaya needed is chasing him and then eat him alive. If Yaya was fresh he would have tracked the opponent and picked a better moment to tackle. He chose to tackle than to run. Abidal positioning and late response added to Yaya poor decision making and fatigue put the two Kazan forwards in a superior position against the two defenders we left behind. The rest was history.

Pause it at 0:06 for a moment to check the players positions then play it till 0:08 then pause again. You will notice how Kazan player was able to outrun both Yaya and specially Abidal with a diagonal move while Pique is marking the other player and Marquez creating depth and cover as he should while hoping that Abidal will track the second player. Marquez couldn’t put early pressure and expose the space behind him. He was in an impossible situation and carries a very light responsibility for the goal conceded.

Kazan game and the recipe to beat Barcelona.

How will Kazan play against Barcelona? For a Barcelona fan, this question is derived from the concerning question: “Is it possible for Kazan to beat Barcelona… Again?”

The common strategy to face Barcelona is to create a wall in front of the keeper and generate counter attacks. But even last season, I labeled this strategy as an “Avoiding loss” rather than “Seeking victory”. It will work when Barcelona players are not in their day, tired, and out of form. This Barcelona team that we have now can turn any team that park a bus into ruins in a good day. Especially after signing Ibra and after Keita finally got enough love from the Barcelona community for Pep to select him more often without the risk of loss-crises claims-Dressing room disturbance-bad cycle.

Wining against Barcelona needs a more daring approach:

1) Having the courage of playing two forwards to put pressure on Barcelona defense and defensive Midfielder (Yaya). Osasuna way.

2) Marking Xavi out of the game. (Chico way).

That may prove vital to pull Barcelona forwards a bit toward the midfield away from the offense third.

3) Generating counters through exposing the Vacuum tunnel by already planed and directed clearance from defense to midfield. And then redirecting the offense based on Barcelona selection. If the defense line consisted of Puyol-Marquez-Pique-Abidal then avoid the flanks and strike through the center or between the fullback and the Center Defender. If Alves played on the right then that’s where you need to attack. This way you will pull one of the center defenders out of position and secondly you will drag Alves back rather than making him feel secured going forward. It goes the same if Maxwell played on the other side.

Will Kazan Apply this strategy?

I mentioned after the game against Kazan that I was disappointed by their performance. They parked a bus in a very organized manner which is not a bad thing. But they showed the intention of avoiding big loss rather than trying to surprise. Ironically the surprise came without their intention. The nonsense ball clearance and unclear offense strategy was not something I predicted from the Russian champions after the good impression the Russian national team and clubs made on the European stage.

But it worked for them. So there is no wonder if they did the same again. Especially that they know Barcelona needs to win. If they can hold Barcelona for a draw in the first half, Barcelona will risk more going forward, and that’s when they can generate counters and steels the game.

If they can take the weather and field conditions to their advantage and played a bit more adventurous, they can win this game. If they parked the bus then a strike from the likes of Ibra or Keita will take advantage of the wet grass and open the game early. And then, it may become a scoring circus.

How will Barcelona beat Kazan?

Based on what I mentioned so far, we need some fixings that depend on the selection we start.

In this kind of selections I want to believe that Marquez will move forward to play as a holding midfielder covering Yaya and leaving Puyol-Pique-Abidal behind. This scenario means that Iniesta can open to the left and Henry can cut inside the box beside Ibra while Messi stretch the Kazan defense from the right. Marquez stay in the backline only if either Puyol or Abidal made a run on the flank while the respective forward (Messi/Henry) cuts inside. Abidal and Puyol must not contribute offense wise together at the same time leaving Pique and Marquez struggling with the opponents’ counters and pace. And if Kazan had a lone striker in the area without sufficient support then it’s enough to have one fullback with pique to mark him while the other fullback move forward and Marquez play a holding midfielder role. It’s more dangerous to have three defenders behind an open space guarded by a single player (Yaya) than having two defenders sandwiching a lone striker who will get no ball or service from his teammates because there are two holding midfielders closing the way.

It’s an expected selection but I am not a fan. First because none of the fullbacks is offense oriented as mentioned before, and there is no midfielder who can act on the flank decently to give the opportunity for Henry to penetrate into the box more often. The only trick is the switches we can see between Ibra and Henry with Keita assistance on the left as far as possible.

Good selection and with massive options. Ibra may move to the right while Messi cut to the center and Keita run into the box. The only problem is that having Maxwell in the selection may prevent Marquez from playing as a holding midfielder as he will stay behind to secure the defense. And If Kazan showed enough teeth then Keita will hesitate to move forward and will focus more on covering the offense rather than contributing in. We will have lot of possession this way but scoring goals will be another issue. I like the Iniesta-Ibra-Messi combination with Keita behind when we have Pique-Abidal-and Puyol in the back line. That’s when Iniesta can balance the flanks with Alves, and the defensive trio will have the pace and understanding to command the area even when one of them (pique) moves slightly forward.

My Favorite selection for this game:

 Puyol-Pique- Abidal-Maxwell-Yaya-Keita-Xavi-Henry-Ibra-Messi

a) Puyol-Pique-Abidal can secure the area infront of Valdes.
b) Maxwell can do the Alves job from the right left flank motivating Henry to penetrate into the box. We all know what happens when we get both Ibra and Henry into the box and deliver the ball to them right?
c) We will have the tactical flexibility to change gears based on Kazan form. If they showed enough potentials to label as dangerous opponents we select the third Gear with Abidal-Pique-Puyol playing as static center defenders behind Yaya who will be supported by Keita as needed. That will be more than enough to keep Xavi-Messi-Ibra-Maxwell and Henry focused on scoring a goal to hunt the game. And with Kazan showing the intentions to attack the mentioned five players will have enough quality and space to score. If Kazan were less daring offense wise by playing a lone striker then Abidal and Puyol can mark him while Pique cover behind Yaya leaving Keita for his offense role. Cross the ball from the flanks into a box where Keita, Ibra, and Henry exist and you know what will happen next.

d) Ibra can still move to the left where he has the understanding with Maxwell or to the right when Henry and Keita penetrate into the box and Messi cuts into the center getting advantage of the spaces created by his teammates positioning rotation.

e) Marking Xavi will not lead to blocking our offense flow as it will be directed more toward the flanks through Maxwell and Messi. Ibra and Henry can act as stations and outlets while Keita and Yaya support the ball flow.

The reason why I prefer this selection is its directness. If the weather was not suitable and the field was not compatible to skills and techniques, only a direct style can put you through. The likes of Henry, Keita, Ibra, and Maxwell can guide the team in that manner more than the partnership of Xavi and Iniesta, or the offense with Iniesta and Messi on the extremes.

Alves will be available for this game as well, but if he is not fully fit, then it’s better not to select him as he may not have enough immunity against injuries in such a physically demanding game.

No need to turn it to an endless thesis. So here I publish it hoping that my following comment will be congratulating the team after a needed win.

Red. An acceptable color to entice bulls with is also culturally used to celebrate own goals.

I’m sure the common understanding is that such an event is dangerous in a very unsurprising sort of way. After all, bulls have horns, bulls are big, and when they are running at you it’s not because want your autograph. And thus, you’d imagine that in its history, there have been more than its fair share of bull and non-bull related deaths.

What if you were to guess? Would it be 5? No, maybe 25? 31? Well…

According to the wonderful world of Wikipedia, there’s been a total of 15 deaths since 1910. 15. In nearly 100 years, that’s not too bad actually.

Now, I’m sure if the bulls really wanted to, they’d be capable of achieving a higher rate than that but can the same be said for their footballing counterparts, CA Osasuna?

Well, since earning promotion in 2000, Osasuna’s average league position is right about 15. You’ll have to excuse the extraordinary moment of 2005/2006 where they finished 4th, only to drop back into a more comfortable 14th the next season.

But a bit odd in some ways. The general consensus is that the Reyno de Navarra is a reasonably tough environment to play in. The fans are as anxious in the stands as they are in front of bulls and the conditions aren’t usually the greatest in terms of the pitch and in terms of being kicked in the ankle.

Yet, for all the passing notoriety – that honestly only comes up about once a year when your team has to go there and snag points – the general contribution appears to only go toward scathing escapes from relegation and mid table mediocrity.

So, theoretically, if you overcome the whole home-field advantage psyche you should be in the clear, right? Out with the three points and onto Russia, aye?

Except for one particular problem.

You see, while there’s only been 15 deaths in just about 100 years, there’s also been countless minor and perhaps not-so-minor injuries. It’s estimated that each annual Running of the Bulls accumulates 200-300 minor injuries. The kind you and i say ouch to and oogle at the tender swollen skin but don’t bugger off and die from.

What’s even worse is that when you’re stuck with a boatload of similarly half insane mates avoiding bulls in old municipal corridors… someone’s bound to trip, fall, run into, collapse onto, and whatever else have you.

So just imagine that. You’re almost at the end of the 840 meter run, your legs are burning but you’re feeling confident that you can accomplish a fantastic feat. And just then you step on your bloody shoe laces and fall. Breaking skin from the contact on the ground and walloping your knee hard enough to make you cringe your teeth.

Bulls or dogs? You decide. Either way, they don’t have to worry about tripping over shoe laces.

Well, if you’re having trouble getting your imagination to function you can just pop in the replay of the recent Osasuna vs. Barcelona match.

Thirty seconds away from a hard earned win. One broken Mexican defender and one unfortunate deflection later, 1-1. A bloody draw. The proverbial shoe lace trip just as things were looking peachy.

Yes, a more vicarious Messi, or at least a proper consequence for maiming a streaking Ibrahimovic could’ve stuffed the match well and proper but it wasn’t as if the team’s play was lacking offensive impetus – it was just a matter of when. The tension was there from the start. It was evident, as passes were drilled to teammates and there certainly weren’t any feet of cement.

Josep and his boys knew that Osasuna were going to hustle and pressure until their lungs burned and while there were certain occasions where the urgency waned, the control and dictation of pace was naturally Barcelona’s. Yet a goal still looked unlikely. Minor chances came and went, Messi’s shots were blocked, Iniesta got stuck in thoughts a few times and finding Zlatan never appeared as easy of a task as it always does when playing in the familiar Camp Nou.

Yes, the newly shaven Chygryinskiy didn’t have the most stunning of matches. You could even say that he hasn’t had the most stunning of debuts for Barcelona and no one would lash their tongue in angry disagreement but let’s be honest here, a bull has more testicles than Osasuna had serious goal-bound chances. It was nominal, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t willing to try. Oh no, Aranda and Nekoum were more than ready to connect quick passes and certainly did so on a few occasions while the ol’ rifle Pandiani seemed to be on a smoker’s break.

Regardless, a goal is a goal. Whether it was Gerard Pique slicing it in or God himself wearing a Osasuna kit whilst knocking in a goal… It was to be celebrated as their own. “It is frustrating especially as it was so late in the game, but these things can happen“, lamented Josep after the game.

Josep’s anguish as Camacho does his best bull impersonation

And that’s where it really hurts. Not the walloped knee from the shoe lace trip, nor the physical fatigue of having just sliced in an own goal at the 93rd. No, it’s a regrettable hurt, the kind that you analyze in hindsight looking for any little variable that could’ve been altered but the stinging sensation from a bruised pride and ego can’t be covered with a band-aid.

You can find solace in the fact that it was one of the 200-300 minor slip ups that happen to everyone as they run the gauntlet on any given season and so far, Barcelona has had one less slip up than the rest of the competitors.

And so begins the Tourmalet. Barcelona dispelled rumors (or catcalls) of “Crisis!” last weekend against Zaragoza with a thumping performance, as if a transcendent hand had offered a palm of fortune from the baby blue skies. That’s not to say that Barcelona were fortunate or lucky to win. They were, however, fortunate to see Zaragoza approach the game with a returning-to-la-primera naivety, leaving the game’s initiative up for grabs from the first minute onwards.

Osasuna, under José Antonio Camacho, have been resolute in their approach to defending. Few sides have come away from the Reyno de Navarra with much – only Sevilla have snagged themselves all three points – and fewer will be as highly prepared for as Barcelona, who are concerned at the growing members of The Coalition for Anxious Clubs Prepared to Defend Vigorously, if vigorously were to be redefined as ruthlessly abrasive.

I bet you’re looking forward to it now.

“GOD, NOBODY DIGS TEAM NEWS.”

You’ll dig this team news, though. Barcelona may welcome the Anaconda back into the fold as Thierry Henry returns to the squad. Joyous times, kind of, as the Frenchman was largely uninspired in his performances pre-injury. It does give Guardiola another figure in his teams – something Josep will doubtlessly revel in.

HALLELUJAH!: Bar the ever-aggrieved Gabriel Milito, Guardiola has a complete selection to choose from. It’s not often that we get to type that here, or anywhere for that matter. I’d like the readers of this blog to collectively close their eyes, breathe in with a purposefully patient manner, and knock on wood. If successful, we’ll probably produce enough of a sound-wave to re-injure somebody. So… you probably shouldn’t do it.

Juanfran said of this fixture: “Motivation is very great. For the great players they [Barcelona] have and the way they play the team are looking forward to it. We want to produce a shock, take the points and move up the table. There is that possibility, and we will fight for it… Tomorrow we have to push, work and attack down the flanks. We must look at ourselves because if we are at a good level and Barca are not happy on the pitch, we can win perfectly. This will be the key, that Barca do not feel welcome in the game.”"

XI: Valdes; Puyol, Pique, Marquez, Abidal; Iniesta, Xavi, Touré; Messi, Ibrahimovic, Pedro

Osasuna also face no injury concerns going into this fixture. God, this is uneventful enough to convince me that it will have to be a match where Barcelona conspires to throw away points.

Guardiola spoke of Camacho’s side for fcbarcelona.com: ”Pandiani is a natural goalscorer; Camuñas and Juanfran are two very good wingers in the one on one, and they’ll try to make the most of set pieces like corners and throw-ins. They are a very aggressive team in the good sense of the word, and will put us under pressure from the first minute and force us to work very hard.” Well, Camacho, it seems Guardiola knows your plan! You should change it.

XI: Ricardo; Monreal, Josetxo, Miguel Flano, Azpilicueta; Camunas, Nekounam, Punal, Juanfran; Aranda, Pandiani.

“ESSENTIALLY INSIGNIFICANT RECENT RESULTS”

OSASUNA
October 28: Xerez 1-2 Osasuna (Copa del Rey)
October 25: Racing Santander 1-1 Osasuna (LIGA BBVA)
October 18: Osasuna 3-0 Atletico Madrid (LIGA BBVA)
October 4: Getafe 2-1 Osasuna (LIGA BBVA)
September 27: Osasuna 1-0 Sporting Gijon (LIGA BBVA)

BARCELONA
October 28: Cultural Leonesa 0-2 Barcelona (Copa del Rey)
October 25: Barcelona 6-1 Real Zaragoza (LIGA BBVA)
October 20: Barcelona 1-2 Rubin Kazan (UEFA Champions League)
October 17: Valencia 0-0 Barcelona (LIGA BBVA)
October 3: Barcelona 1-0 Almeria (LIGA BBVA)

“QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS”

1. There is only eleven to choose from a Donkey Kong barrel’s worth of players. Does Guardiola continue with Keita in midfield and Iniesta in the left-forward position, or does he relegate one of the two to the bench for a breather, with Pedro “I can’t help scoring!” Rodriguez being rewarded with a league start? After all, Keita played a hefty game in midweek too…

2. Osasuna’s president, Patxi Izco, says of Barcelona: “When they are on song there is no team that can stop them. They play at an incredible pace that flummoxes their opponents because they can never get the ball.” Looking past a rare incidence of the word “flummox” being used in a football-related soundbite, will Osasuna stay wary of a gearing Barcelona and pack the trenches with defensive inclination?

3. Will Pandiani score? Or will he trip, snag his ankle and be substituted? (I should probably add a disclaimer stating that I don’t believe in wishing injury on opposition players. Only those that have previously played for Espanyol.)

Get at ‘em.

And guess what? That’s right! FC Barcelona is the club who has more players making the list. It’s almost not surprising anymore, isn’t it? Almost, I said. Though remember, Barça is also the club who has had more players picking up the award when playing for us!

Pretty, isn't it?

See the full list of nominees under the jump!

Michael Ballack (Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Diego (Brazil), Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire), Michael Essien (Ghana), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Steven Gerrard (England), Thierry Henry (France), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Kaká (Brazil), Frank Lampard (England), Luis Fabiano (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Carles Puyol (Spain), Franck Ribéry (France), Wayne Rooney (England), John Terry (England), Fernando Torres (Spain), David Villa (Spain) and Xavi (Spain).

Six men currently playing for FC Barcelona, and one Samuel Eto’o. Of course, Leo Messi is everyone’s favourite (except CRon’s, I expect), but even if he doesn’t get the award (knock on wood! Now!), having so many of our players on the list is an achievement in and of itself.

Check out also the Castrol rankings, which not only have a not-so-surprising anymore number of barcelonistas, but also has arranged them in… odd fashion (Thierry, Rafa, I love you, but… what?!).

With Real Madrid’s precedent of losing 4-0 to a Segunda B team the day before, a few of us were slightly worried we’d see a similar upset happen at the Reino de León, especially since Pep had given a day off to most of our match-changing players. But once we shook off the shivers and reminded ourselves that this is the Copa del Rey, a competition apparently designed to give the youth-team kids something to look forward to, confidence slowly returned.

It was the perfect opportunity for Pep to play with the puppies... erm, I meant, try the young players…

———————Pinto———————–
Jeffren—Márquez—Chygrynskiy—Maxwell
——————-Busquets———————
—————-Touré—-Keita——————–
———–Pedrito—Bojan—Assulin————–

Look at it. Notice something odd? Something different from my proposed line-up? Look again. Yes. You see it, don’t you?

What the Hell was Jeffren, a striker who is at his best when coming in from the left, doing playing right-back?! The only possible answer is to intone what has become my mantra since last season, “Pep moves in mysterious ways”. This strange move led to puppy-like Gai Assulin to make his official debut with the first team, and forced Busi to move into Yaya’s usual place, leaving our Tower of Strength in position to help Jeffren.

Cultural played Saizar, Cervero, Segovia, Salva, Gorka García, Yahve, Pereira, Chema Mato, Ferran, Chema and Jito, which is pretty close to what their starting eleven would have been any normal weekend.

The match started with Cultural playing well, playing strong, and having apparently taken the Alcorcón spirit well to heart. Luckily, Yaya Touré was there to get in the way of whatever white-shirted player thought he could just take the ball and run with it, and Rafa and Dima looked strangely comfortable playing side-by-side. Jeffren was trying, I’ll give him that, and running, and doing his best to impersonate Dani Alves (bitchfacing and tackling his way to a yellow), but he was woefully out of his depth and most of the danger that Cultural managed to create in the first half came from his side.

On the left, however, the Maxwell-Keita-Gai connection was working pretty well, and young Gai Assulin had a real show of class near the 12th minute, when he turned and twisted in the face of two Cultural defenders, only for his shot to go wide. In fact, I’d say he was the most active of our strikers, if not the most accurate. Bojan was trying a bit too hard to be Messi (which he isn’t) and Pedrito… well, Pedrito was there, but Jeffren and Yaya had enough problems with Chema and Jito to think about getting the ball to him.

There weren’t many shots on goal, from either side. Jito tested the magical powers of Pinto’s Braided Ponytail ™, but our second goalie answered all challenges nicely (even if he did take a few unnecessary risks from time to time), and with both Bojan and Pedrito running into the Cultural defenders all the time, Keita and Yaya both tried shots that went well wide.

But we wouldn’t be Barça if we couldn’t score even when the match isn’t all going our way! Forty minutes into the match, when Cultural seemed resigned to take the goalless draw to the half-time, and Touré and Busi had traded places for a while, Bojan took the ball into the penalty box and gave it to Pedrito before being mowed down by, I think, Segovia. Pedrito took the gift and flicked it past the goalkeeper with a deliciously cold-blooded show of finishing, and just like that, it was 0-1.

Does this look familiar? Pedrito has now scored in all five of the competitions Barça has played so far this season.

Heartened by the goal, I thought Barça would come out guns blazing to sentence the match early in the second half, but it was Cultural who cranked up the pressure. “Come on, these bastards don’t have mortgages!” was the immortal rallying shout of one of the Cultural players.

A bit concerned, or whatever passes for that emotion behind Pep’s unfathomable eyes and delicious gray suit, our manager finally did what we had been hoping he would do from the beginning, albeit in a more complicated way. Gai Assulin came out and Abidal came in. Thus, Maxwell moved to play RB, Abidal took Maxwell’s place, and Jeffren was returned to his rightful place.

And, damn it, did this work! Not ten minutes after the change, Jeffren lobbed a delicious assistance to Pedrito, who once again proved that he has very few things left to learn when it comes to finishing. 0-2 and it felt fine.

The match was broken by now. Bojan tried to pick a fight with the referee (who had been lenient all throughout the match) and Cultural made all their three changes at once, to try and get a goal in that would allow them to dream of a remontada at the Camp Nou. Pep was feeling benevolent and allowed another two youngsters to make their official debut: Jonathan Dos Santos came in for Keita, and five minutes later, Jonathan Soriano (the former Espanyol player who fought us in last season’s Copa del Rey derby) came in for Jeffren, who was suffering from his prolonged Dani Alves impersonation earlier.

Cultural still had a chance on goal, and we had more than one, but neither Jito, nor Bojan or Soriano managed to aim well, and the match ended with a comfortable 0-2 in our favour (I said it was going to end 0-3… not bad, even if I say so myself!).

“Stand back, puny mortals!” (no Cultural players were harmed during the playing of this match)

Now, for my unavoidably subjective grading!

Pinto: 8 Everything he had to do, he did it, and his braided ponytail didn’t suffer from it, though he took a couple of unnecessary risks.

Jeffren: 7,5 He is not a good right-back, but then again, there’s no reason why he should be; still, he did what he could, and later showed his best qualities when playing as a striker.

Rafa: 7 Solid and dependable, if not as fast as he used to be; the man wearing the captain’s armband last night is getting back in form.

Chygrynskiy: 6,5 Slipped up a couple of times, thankfully with no consequences, but he played well and got into the groove.

Maxwell: 7,5 Good job both as a LB and a RB; when he could play with Keita, it was a joy to see. I’d consider him for Dani’s position for as long as our other Brazilian is out.

Busquets: 6,5 Had a few of his “wobbly” moments, made a couple of unnecessary fouls, but he held his position well and helped the Yaya.

Touré: 8 Is my adoration of this man showing? Alright, so he missed a shot that should have been a goal, but he was always there to stop Cultural’s counterattacks and give Jeffren a hand.

Keita: 7,5 Not as unabashedly wonderful as he was on Sunday, but much more than good enough.

Gai Assulin: 7 Didn’t score, but it was not for lack of trying; he was active, he did everything he could to impress Pep, and I’d like to see him again.

Bojan: 5 His nerves were showing. He should be able to play this kind of matches without giving into the pressure; this said, he responded well to being kicked about and gave Pedrito the first goal.

Pedrito: 8,5 Man of the Match, if only because of the two goals; fantastic finishing and, once the right flank started working again, he had several good passes.

Abidal (for Gai, 56’): 7 Good match, even if he didn’t have much to do; he works very nicely along with Keita.

Dos Santos (for Keita, 80’): 6 He came in late and gave Cultural players more space than he should have, but he held his own well, all things considered.

Soriano (for Jeffren, 84’): 5,5 Did a bit of running around, missed a shot that he should have netted, but it was alright for his debut match.

So, we won and in a fortnight, Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa will visit the Camp Nou, with nothing to lose and a hell of a lot to win, but those two goals and our young players should be enough to let us slide further into the Copa del Rey. I’m good. Are you?

But remember, one of Lord Pep’s maxims is that you can’t trust anyone. Perfect strangers in the shape of Russian teams can come to the Camp Nou and beat us. Last year, an ickle Segunda B team knocked Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey, Iker Casillas notwithstanding, not to mention that it was an ickle Segunda B team that yesterday beat Real Madrid 4-0.

So, we’re taking this match seriously. And, to demonstrate our commitment to give a good show and make every team we face feel important, we’re only leaving home a few guys: Leo Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Gerard Piqué. I don’t know whether you’ve ever heard of any of them, but if it helps, I was told that Piqué is the guy who made a series of ads for a jeweler’s.

What do you mean we’re *not* taking this match seriously? Absences? What absences?

Yes, yes, of course it’s understandable. Messi, for a start, needs a rest after the chaos of internationals and giving his all against Rubin Kazan and Zaragoza. Ibrahimovic still has some pain in the knee that an Albanian knocked. Puyol was complaining about his ankle in the second half against Zaragoza. Piqué and Xavi have played virtually everything for both Barcelona and Spain, and need a bit of a rest. And Iniesta is picking up the pace after his injury.

What do we have instead? Well, the list of players Pep is taking reads like this: Valdés, Pinto; Benítez, Chygrynskiy, Márquez, Fontàs, Abidal, Maxwell; Touré, Jonathan dos Santos, Busquets, Gai Assulin, Keita; Pedro, Jeffren, Bojan and Jonatan Soriano. Yes, five boys from the youth team, and one of them will have to watch the match from the stands, though, since we can only enter 16 players for Copa del Rey matches.

Our main problem is the right flank. With Dani Alves experiencing a serious injury for the first time since he joined us, and Puyol having a bit of a well-deserved rest, we’ve had to reach into the spring of young players that is Barça B in search of a solution. And found that they’re also having problems covering the right flank. So we’ve dug deeper and came up with a young man called Iván Benítez (no relation to Rafa, I hope), who usually plays fullback but can adapt to fill in Dani’s big shoes. Pep’s other option, of course, is to take one of the two very talented men we have running on the opposite flank and make them change sides, but to be honest I’d rather have a young one giving his all, than Maxwell or Abidal trying to get used to the new position.

OMG! It’s Pep Guardiola. He’s talking to me. He’s touching me! He knows my name! Breathe, now, Iván, breathe...

Elsewhere, we’re flush with talent. Bojan, who was vital in getting the Copa last season, is back from injury and itching to play; Pedrito can come in anytime with his providential, oh-so-elegant goals; Jeffren got a few minutes’ play against Zaragoza in what seems a move designed to prep him for this match. Touré, Busquets and the Man of the Week, Keita, can lend some gravitas to the midfield. Rafa Marquez and Chygrynskiy can get more time on the pitch to recover their form after their respective injuries. Maxwell and Abidal both have done well and more than well playing on the left.

My predicted line-up?

————————–Pinto————————-
Benítez—Márquez—Chygrysnkiy—Maxwell
————————Touré————————–
——————Busquets—Keita———————-
—————-Jeffren—Bojan—Pedrito—————–

With Fontás to come in if Rafa or Dima get into trouble, and possibly some experimenting in the midfield, according to how willing Cultural Leonesa are to roll over and play dead (my guess? Not much). Gai Assulin or former Espanyolista Jonathan Soriano can sub in for any of the strikers.

Now, what do we know about our rivals? Preciously little, to be honest. They were delighted to be drawn against us, and promptly hiked out the price of the tickets to their seat, the Reino de León stadium, and sold them out. Their star player is Barcelona born-and-bred Jito, who is a declared fan of our local enemies, Espanyol; he’s a nice, effective striker who has scored 9 of the 9 goals the Cultural Leonesa has on their tally this season, and I bet he’d love to put one past Pinto.

I couldn’t find a bigger picture, but look at them! They’re dressed in white! Isn’t that enough for us to want to beat them?

Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa was founded in 1923, as a result of joining Gimnástica and La Victoria, two smaller teams of the city of León. In 1926, it won the fifth-tier championship, and made it into Segunda by 1927. Their biggest achievement so far has been to play a whole season (54-55) in la Liga as we know it, although they couldn’t keep up with the big boys and have dithered between the lower tiers since then.

So far, this season has been poor for them. They are sitting 17th out of the 20 teams of their group in Segunda B, with only two wins, four draws and four losses to their name; their goal average wouldn’t keep anyone awake at night. However, Josu Uribe, their manager, thinks that “victory is possible”, but also that “a draw here in León wouldn’t be a bad result”.

Pep, on the other hand, has made clear that we are taking the match seriously and that Barça “never gives away anything. Not a match, much less a competition”; he acknowledges that having a return leg makes things easier for Barcelona, but also reminds us that last season we barely got past Segunda B team Benidorm at this stage (Pep, always so optimistic!).

Me, I’m happy. Sunday’s match against Zaragoza quelled any doubts I could have harboured about the team. I’m full of confidence in the young ones, who are going to try their damnedest to impress Pep. I predict a comfortable 0-3 victory for Barça. And you?