Sporting may not stay up, but we still have a positive record at home against “mighty FC Barcelona” (16 wins, 11 draws, 11 losses)

However, after 10 years of boring second division I for one will not let some bad results spoil the fun this year.

Nice work, Nolan. Told you all that Guardiola reads this blog.

Speaking of, thanks for the compliments, Colin. Isaiah set a standard that I think we all strive to live up to. We all have the same love, even if we disagree on what kinds of baubles our lover needs.

If Iniesta keeps this up, we are going to be unplayable on the front line. Who do you double? Messi? Nope. Xavi? Nope. Iniesta? Nope. Then Henry and/or Eto’o kill you. I do like this trend.

Isaiah gets props for SPF 45. He and Xavi can’t co-exist as mids because both want to dither with the ball too much. Make them attackers and it’s very different. I’m not a big fan of Iniesta in the midfield, but am coming to luuuuv him on the wing.

I agree with BA on the goal. That was one moment in which Alves wasn’t funky.

And to think, we do this again on Wednesday against a Betis side who still haven’t scored in the Liga this season. A couple early goals should do the trick.

Iniesta is becoming an even more effective offensive weapon than Messi. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the defenders in La Liga start realizing that. It’s good to see that everyone at this website is showing him the respect he deserves.

In the Pique vs. Marquez debate – one element that should be noted is that Marquez is far more talented at organizing midfield play. I wouldn’t argue that he’s better defensively, but quality attacks are started from the back, and Marquez’s vision and passing are far superior to Pique’s. Oh, and (being a big fan of the Mexico NS) I simply like Rafa more.

Nice recap, Kev. Certainly rings true to the highlights. All the trash talk about the Xavi-Iniesta curse
over last few years may be true…when they’re both midfeilders…but they’re like freakin’ ice-picks in this formation.
SPF45 is certainly a funny moniker…but if Andres makes this kind of play “long lasting” we may have to borrow Javier Polo’s nickname: INIESTINHO!
(Personally, I like to think of him as Eddie Munster on roller skates.) Maybe we have our left wing after all. Can’t wait to face some big boys.

BA and Kevin are right on about needing pace in the backline, I remember that being a theme on the blog last spring. Probably by mid-season, Pique will be preferred to Marquez. He’s way further ahead of where I thought he’d be, really no sign of the rough edges you’d expect from a twenty-one year old. Guardiola is working him in slowly, though, and he’s right. He can’t place the full work load on Pique yet, there’s just a ton of football to play.

That’s why I’m with BA on the midfield, more Yaya to let Keita get forward and mask when Marquez is needed. Caceras as a defensive mid could add some pace too. As the season unfolds, the depth brought in this summer looks like a real asset.

Our youth system is continuing to work it’s magic.
Busquets, while he is not a starter for me, has certainly proved his abilities. Maybe offloading Marc Crosas wasn’t that big a gamble? Sergio will definitely have a place in the squad for a few years to come.
Add to that the ball skills of Thiago Alcantara and the wing play of Gai Assulin the future looks bright as ever.

i still say either Puyol or Marquez has to sit. we need Pique’s height and pace (Caceres is relatively quick as well) too much. but with as much as we’re planning on pushing our wing backs up to involve themselves in the attack we have to have center backs capable of chasing people down the counter through the middle. Puyol is losing his pace seemingly by the week, and Rafa never was fast. so we need to give that position a good hard look.

Colin,

Spain doesn’t play like we do. different styles of play necessitate different players in different roles. i love Puyol and his command of the pitch is exemplary. i’d consider keeping him on the pitch even if he were in a wheelchair just for his ability to marshal the team, but his (and Rafa’s) lack of speed and as a result often… inaccurate tackling ARE glaring weaknesses in our back line that teams have already exploited and will continue to exploit.