It Takes More Than A Goal

A snaphot of the game in general

According to most, this game was decided three weeks ago. Man United were imperious against Arsenal, Barcelona were impotent (and extremely fortunate) against Chelsea. I did think United with triumph, but not because of anything that happened in the semi-finals. People don't seem to understand that once United got that first, lucky goal against Arsenal the Gunners were a shambles, or "shoddy" to use Ferguson's word of the week. It may sound like I'm taking away from United's performance, and indeed I am. They haven't looked that good all year, and so the game against Arsenal must be seen as an aberration. Consider their poor record against big-four opposition - 5 points from a possible 18. People talked about Barcelona struggling against English opposition, but the reality of this season is that United have struggled against English teams too - the good ones at least.

Then there's Barcelona - flat-track bullies, big game bottlers, overrated. People were making sweeping judgments on them based on two games, one of which they could have one 2-0. Hopefully hindsight has made people realise that Chelsea were impeccable in implementing their game plan against Barcelona. That's not to excuse the Catalans, but one must appreciate the difficulty of playing against a well-drilled, hard-working outfit content to sit back and hit on the counter.

Unfortunately, much of what passed for pre-match analysis was a glance at United's semi-final, a glance at Barcelona's, and then the seemingly obvious conclusion that Man Utd would trounce them. Incidentally, I wonder what the jingoistic Sunday Supplement guest is thinking now.

To say the game hinged on the 10th minute goal would not be out of order, though of course it takes much more than a goal to completely dominate a game. We aren't to know how things would have panned out had United took the lead, nor are we to know what would have happened had Cesc Fabregas's deflected shot crept in when Arsenal were on the front foot against United three weeks ago. To speculate about such things is pointless really. The bottom line is that United only needed a goal to draw level. Someone said "the game was over" once Barcelona scored. It did look that way at times, but saying that only takes away from Barcelona's ability to make a tight game look like a walk in the park. There were still 80 minutes of football to play, but from that point on only one team really played it.

It wasn't a vintage Barcelona performance, but under the circumstances it was extremely good. The back four did look a little shaky at times, but as always the midfield duo of Xavi and Iniesta played their part in making sure United could never really get at them. It doesn't get any better in football than those two. Xavi has always been a very good player, but in the last year he has just exploded, what with Spain's triumph and a wonderful season with Barcelona. Iniesta is someone I've known since my Championship Manager days. I bought him from Barcelona as a 16/17 year old kid, and while his ratings were average he performances were brilliant. Since then I've always had a soft spot for him, and so I've almost felt like a proud father watching rise up through the ranks, and it was quite startling -- yet wholly justified -- to see him crowned last night by Wayne Rooney as the best in the world (I wonder how Ronaldo will feel about that statement by the way). Iniesta really is that good. No longer can he be dubbed underrated. He may be an anti-galactico, he may be bad for the media, he may be the whitest person in the world, but he is also one of the best players in the world. The best? Let's just say he would be a shoe-in for my World XI.

Another certainty would be Lionel Messi. The Argentine wasn't at his best, but it was he who aided Xavi and Iniesta in weaving their magic, and this was the biggest difference between the semi-final and the final. Unlike Chelsea, United couldn't handle Messi in the centre. This was a simple yet astute piece of tactical nous from Guardiola, who must have watched Liverpool beat United 4-1 with Gerrard in a similar position. Messi found space time and again, with neither Ferdinand nor the United midfield quite sure who's job it was to pick him up. It was certainly Ferdinand's job when Xavi foated that inch-perfect cross into the box, leaving Messi to score his first goal against English opposition. Ironically, he scored it with the part of his body that was adjudged to be the decisive factor for Ronaldo's superiority to Messi. Of course I'm not now saying that Messi is as good as Ronaldo in the air, but it felt sweet to see Messi answer his critics in such fashion - a stunning headed goal against English opposition to cap a fine display.

In fairness to Ronaldo, he was easily United's most threatening player. He held the ball up well, and of course his shots were always cause for concern. But as the game wore on and United became a shambles he was left without a defining role, and suffered as a result of overcrowding in Barcelona's half. Ferguson must take some of the balme for this. For starters, United's problems were in midfield. Carrick, Giggs and Anderson were unable to stamp any kind of authority on the game. You can't wave a magic wand and turn them into great players, but I think the most sensible thing to do at half time would have been to replace Giggs with Scholes. Instead, Fergie replaced Anderson with Tevez, leaving Giggs and Carrick to marshall Xavi and Iniesta. Read that sentence again and see if that's not as dreadful a decision as taking of Riquelme at 1-0 up/failing to bring an 18 year old Messi off the bench. Bringing on Berbatov only made matters worse, but in fariness to Ferguson he didn't really have a choice. All of this played into Barcelona's hands, because once they got the ball to either Iniesta or Xavi (those two again) they could do whatever they wanted with it. It's rare you see a Manchester United team go out with such a whimper, yet even with arguably four strikers on the pitch they couldn't muster up one of those onsloughts they are rightfully famous for. Ferguson addressed the symptoms -- they were losing badly and needed a goal -- but he didn't address the cause -- they just couldn't get hold of/keep the ball.

Some slight changes could have been made to help in this department (and no doubt United missed the industry of Flecther and the bite of Hargreaves), but for me the rather harsh reality is that this Manchester United midfield is just not good enough; not when it comes to this level of football. They're good enough to take three points against the bottom 10 Premier League clubs, but they have failed to convince me over the course of the season. Changes will need to be made. For me, that means Carrick out, Anderson out, Giggs retired. Any suggestions as to who they can bring in?

For Barcelona, this has been a season to savour. I have watched most of their games and so it feels like I have been a participant in this historic season. I will probably never watch as many games of football in one year for the remainder of my life, but I probably couldn't have picked a better time to peak. The question is, can they push on from here? The shocking/mouth-watering truth is that there are numerous positions where they can improve, but the undeniable truth is that in Messi, Iniesta and Xavi they have 3 of the top 5 players in world football, and as long as their alive Barcelona will be a force to be reckoned with.

Rather Pointless

The general consensus in the media is that we're in for a cracking final tomorrow night. We might well be, but honestly, I can't predict what is going to happen tomorrow, which is why I have refrained from writing about a match I simply cannot wait for. Much of my confusion rests in the fact that Barcelona's starting XI remains somewhat of a mystery. Will Henry and/or Iniesta start? Who will be the left-back? These are big questions, and Pep has been very clever in keeping his hand close to his chest. Part of the reason Chelsea did so well against Barcelona was because they knew exactly who they were facing, and could formulate a game plan in advance. Of course the Man Utd team is not easy to predict either, but I have a feeling that it will be the same line-up that defeated Arsenal at the Emirates. Assuming this, and assuming the fitness of Henry and Iniesta, here is a rundown of the players I think will be involved and some quick, rather pointless comments on their potential influence:

Barcelona

Valdes - The keeper seen as a mistake waiting to happen was flawless in the semi-finals, but even if he went 100 games without conceding a goal there would still be question marks over his ability to pluck balls out of the air...and rightly so. I can see Cristiano Ronaldo's freekicks giving him some major headaches, so Barcelona must do their best to commit fouls as far away from the penalty area as possible if they are to keep Valdes from looking quite the fool.

Puyol - Up until recently, I thought his first name was Carlos. It's actually Carles. Anyway, he's got a big heart etc etc, and he is likely to make ay least one unbelievable tackle during the game, but he is also likely to be beaten by Rooney with ease. He won't give as many fouls away as Alves, and he won't give Rooney as much space as Alves would have, but -- and maybe it's simply the long, curly hair -- I just do not trust the man.

Toure - A great defensive midfielder (though aren't they all?), and so his likely shift to the back four is a blow to Barcelona. A fine player who can do a job, but I can see him being troubled by the movement of Ronaldo, Rooney, Park et al. Barcelona's hope is that he won't have much defending to do.

Pique - Was actually quite impressed with the former United reserve against Chelsea, but I can only assume he will be more severely tested this time around (or at least tested in a way less compatible with his own attributes). Capable of producing the goods, but the occasion might just get to him what hime being young and playing against a former club and all. Also, his lack of pace could well be exposed by the directness of Ronaldo.

Sylvinho - May not start, but if he does he will simply stay back and let others roam forward. Not a bad defender, and certainly not significantly worse than Abidal, but his legs might not be up for such a high intensity match.

Busquets - Has done quite well in his first season, but his inexperience means that it is hard to know how he will cope with a game of this magnitude. Usually keeps things simple and has a good aerial presence when it comes to defending corners, but Barcelona need someone more forceful than him if they are to keep United at bay. Unfortunately that person will be their central defender, so to Busquets they must look. Hardly ideal.

Xavi - Was disappointed with him in the second leg against Chelsea. His passing was off, and so while he saw a lot of the ball he didn't really cut Chelsea open. 20 assists in La Liga suggests that he is more than capable of finding the killer pass, and so much of the burden of creativity will rest on his shoulders. He's a better player than those he will be up against, and has played at this level many times before so I fancy him to do his part for the Catalan cause. Especially if he is paired with his partner in crime...

Iniesta - A fabulous player. I predicted (amongst a host of false teaching) that Iniesta would be Barcelona's most important player against Chelsea, and the 93rd minute in the second leg proved me right. If he is fit, then Barcelona's chances of victory will be boosted significantly. He will have no trouble in being man-marked, and his ball retention will help take the pressure off of Barcelona's dodgey back four. He's also good for winning free-kicks outside the box, and perhaps even a penalty. I really hope he is fit. The final will be an inferior spectacle without him.

Messi - Has yet to score against English opposition. His big game temperment has been called into question (rather harshly if you ask me) but he has the chance to make amends for a subdued semi-final by lighting up world football on its biggest stage. Will be tightly marked no doubt, but I have a feeling that Messi will come out of the shell that he seemed to be in against Chelsea. A special talent, and to repeat Dunphy's phrase, if you don't get Messi then you don't get football.

Henry - May not be fit enough to start, but if he is then John O'Shea will find it difficult to suppress the Frenchman. However, will Henry be the difference maker? You could argue that he cost Arsenal the Champions League final in 2006, missing as he did a gilt-edged chance in the second half to make it 2-0. Will such profligacy resurface? He seems to have refound his old form, but I still have my doubts about him. That said, he was good against Chelsea, and he has (I think) a formidable history when it comes to games against United. In other words, I have no idea with regards the possible extent of Henry's influence. Next...

Eto'o - There's not much more I can say about Sammy. Against a good defence he is a liability. United have a good defence, ergo...

Manchester United

Van der Saar - Prone to silly errors once in a while, and since he hasn't committed one in a few games tonight could be the night. It's hard to know who the good goalkeepers are in world football these days, but I guess the Dutchman is somewhere close to the top, thanks in no small part to the players sitting in front of him.

O'Shea - Sir has declared that John O'Shea has earned his place at right back, and it's hard to disagree. Along with Flecther he has been United's most improved player this season, and he now has a chance to make the position his own by putting in a good shift against probably Henry, but perhaps Iniesta, or even Messi (how about it? Messi on the left wing?). He will struggle for pace against any of those three, and of all the United defenders it is O'Shea that will be singled out as the weak link in the chain. Wes Brown was in a similar position last season, and put on an incredible display alongside Rio at centre-half? Will O'Shea repeat the trick? Perhaps, but if I were a Barcelona player then I would be concentrating all of the attacks down the Manchester United right hand side. It sounds harsh given the season John O'Shea has enjoyed, but it's hard to argue with the logic.

Ferdinand - The perfect partner for the more robust Vidic. How he will fair after injury is unclear, but if fully fit he will have the necessary pace to deal with Eto'o's threat, and he will also be crucial in aiding the slower O'Shea when he is inevitably beaten by Henry/Iniesta. Ferdinand, along with Brown, was immense in last season's encounter with Barcelona, and I don't expect anything different in the final.

Vidic - The perfect partner for the more refined Ferdinand. The Serb will clear up any of the aerial "threat" that Barcelona pose, but if there is to be a way through for Barcelona I think Vidic could be the culprit. Torres made him look foolish a couple of months ago, and he appears to struggle against pacey dribblers (see Kaka in 2007, although with that said, who doesn't struggle against players of Kaka's calibre?). I'm by no means suggesting United's player of the season is a liability, but if someone like, say, Messi can upset him early on then Barcelona may find more joy down the centre than one might expect.

Evra - The more he says, the less I like him. To say he kept Messi quiet a year ago is untrue, but he is a fullback who I think is as up for the challenge as anyone else. The problem with Evra is that he tends to drift out of position easily. He did so in the opening minutes of last year's semi-final second leg, and it took a cheeky Paul Scholes 'tackle' to stop Messi from getting into the United box. I do think that Messi will only occupy him for a brief period of time before the Argentine is pushed into the centre and the ineffectual Eto'o is shoved out wide. This I think will be Barcelona's best chance of exploiting United's biggest weakness - central midfield.

Carrick - He was given a chasing by Xavi and Iniesta for England in February, and I see absolutely no reason why there won't be a repeat. Carrick has his qualities, but at this level I just don't think he's good enough. He needs the dynamism of Fletcher (there's two words I never though I'd see together - Flecther and dynamism) to make up for his languid style, and so without that I think Carrick will struggle.

Giggs - I haven't seen enough of Giggs this season to say anything meaninful about him -- although that didn't stop his fellow players from nominating him as player of the season -- but from the little I've seen I would be quite happy to see him start if I were a Barcelona fan...which I am (at least for this game). Giggs is certainly more creative than Flecther, but honestly, against Barcelona you don't need anyone creative. Their defence can be penetrated rather easily, therefore what you need is players who can win you the ball back and hoof it in the general direction of Ronaldo/Rooney. I think that Giggs might just be an unnecceassy luxury, so I would be more inclined to stick Park in the centre and Tevez out wide.

Anderson - If you remember, I said at the start of the season that I don't see what all the fuss over Anderson is about. I think he's a decent player of course, but it is fair to say that his season he has been a tad underwhelming. Still, he is the type of player required for this game - someone who can win the ball back and hoof it in Ronaldo's direction. You know what - I'm going to do one of those stupid predictions where if you get it right you proclaim yourself a genius and if you get it wrong you never mention it again. Anderson to score his first goal in a United shirt.

Park - If God does indeed love a trier, then Ji Sung Park must be his favourite person in the world. You can't fault the Korean for effort, and he has a knack for getting on the end of things to. His persistent hounding will be key to the United cause, and I wouldn't be surprised if he popped up with a goal. Don't get me wrong - I think Park is an average footballer, but he's just the kind of average footballer that more often than not repays Fergie's trust.

Rooney - I'm a fan of the one they call Roo. If Roo don't like Roo then I think Roo are Roopid. Roo will Roo the day Roo ever said anything cRool about Roo. Roo's the man. He is Roo-nited's best player in my Roo-pinion, and as I Roo-minate this final I think Roo will be king of Roo-me.

Ronaldo - I don't know how to tell you this, but I'm actually not Ronaldo's biggest fan. Still, his is a lethal threat, and against a shambolic Barca defense I would expect him to flourish. As an aside, am I right in saying he has never scored against Spanish opposition? It's been made known all about the place that Messi has yet to score against English opposition, but I have an incling that CR7 is yet to score against any Spaniards. What does that tell us? Absolutely nothing, which is why the Messi statistic is nonsense too.


So in a nutshell, I'm expecting performances from precisely none of the Barcelona defence, whereas I agree with the masses in saying that United will be quite comfortable at the back. I expect Barcelona's midfield to run rings around that of United, but I'm not confident the strikers (specifically Eto'o and Henry) will capitalise on the ample possession. United won't enjoy prolonged possession, but I can almost guarantee they will look more threatening than Barcelona. So in other words, this will be exactly like Barca against Chelsea. And yet I don't see it being that way. Why? In a word, Messi. I can only see him being much more influential in the final, and while I don't think Barcelona will win, I think his presence alone makes me slightly less confident in a United triumph. Against Arsenal I was about 95% sure United would win. Right now I'm about 65-70% confident. I don't expect a wild, open game, but I do expect a game of the highest quality. I just hope Barcelona don't crumble at the back and turn it into a joke, but perhaps that's what needs to happen if they are to push on from this year's success and really concentrate on getting things in order defensively.

The Whole Story

34 games, 29 goals. In Championship Manager this statistic would make a player "indispensable to the club". Why then does it seem that Samuel Eto'o has been on his way out of Barcelona for the past six months? Why are other strikers being linked with the club when they already have one who is on course to be this year's Pichichi winner? On the surface it seems absurd, but for me the deeper truth is rather simple: Sammy Eto'o really isn't very good.

If you're getting ready to burn me at the stake for heresy then I can understand, but bear with me here. First of all, I'm not saying this as someone who merely witnessed him play poorly against Chelsea, but saw little else of him. At a guess I would say I've seen about 30 of Eto'o 34 games, so my opinion is by no means uninformed. That's not to suggest I am right, but that I haven't come to the conclusion using a tiny sample size. Secondly, I don't deny that Eto'o has desirable qualities. Nice eyes, perfect figure - they're all there. Oh, and he's quick, he's strong, and he can hit the ball very hard which leads to some spectacular goals, like this one. And thirdly, 29 goals is 29 goals. I don't deny the value of such a statistic, but football is not baseball, and statistics do not tell the whole story.

The whole story -- in simple terms -- is something like this: Samuel Eto'o is surrounded by world-class players who create chance after chance for him. He doesn't convert most of these chances, but because he gets so many the law of averages means that he does score some of the time. 29 goals may seem like a good return, but in the context of the season it's actually quite poor. Perhaps this is churlish of me, but remember that it's not just me who has doubts about the Cameroonian. Guardiola wanted to sell him at the start of the season, and it appears that he still wants to sell him. Does he just not like the cut of Eto'o's jib? Maybe, but I think he also see in Eto'o a profligacy and brainlessness that could cost Barcelona dearly when it comes to the upper echelons of world football - the Champions League.

I said to a couple of United fans that Barcelona will either win the final despite Eto'o, or lose if because of him. Harsh hyperbole, but some solid truth is in there somewhere. People may point to Messi underperforming against Chelsea, but you could still see the danger he possesses when on the ball. Cheslea could too, which is why three players rushed to him when he got the ball in the last minute only for him to cooly lay it off to Iniesta. Eto'o was a different proposition. He wasn't tightly marked, yet he was Barcelona's least potent player. His link up play was unimaginative, his ball retention the worst of the 11 starters, and in the first leg he missed arguably Barcelona's best chance over the two legs (though admittedly he did create the chance himself). You could apply the same description to his performances in last season's semi-final, and my prediction is that I will be saying the same thing come Thursday week.

Unscripted Drama

That is why we watch football. Pure, unscripted drama. The game began a goal that made Tony Yeboah's strikes of old look like childs play, and ended with as well taken a shot as you will see under such immense pressure. In between was a fierce battle, dominated by Barcelona in terms of possession, but dominated by Chelsea in terms of clear-cut chances.

There can be no comparison between the two semi-finals. To conclude from them that Man Utd are leagues ahead of everyone is to neglect the task Man Utd faced after 10 minutes in the second leg - don't concede four goals against a dejected bunch of "babies". What's worse is that people are looking at Cristiano from that game, then looking at Messi against Chelsea and -- treating all things as being equal -- concluding that Ronaldo is the big game player, the best in the world, and so forth. Suffice to say, all things were not equal. In fact they couldn't have been anymore unequal.

To analyse yesterday's game is almost to do it an injustice, but there are a few noteworthy points to be made:

- Valdes didn't put a foot wrong over the two legs, and made some crucial saves that kept Barcelona in the tie. For that he should be applauded.

- Barcelona had a weakened team out yesterday. They were forced to play a world-class holding midfielder in central defense, and replace him with a novice. The absence of a hugely influential player (Henry) also forced their best midfielder out to a less prominent wide position, meaning Barcelona were short two of their usual three midfielders.

- For all the talk of Chelsea's aerial threat, they didn't really threaten in that department at all. Kudos to the Barcelona players for defending well against free-kicks and corners.

- Chelsea should have had one penalty, so should Barcelona (from the first leg). Just because they had four shouts for a penalty doesn't mean anything, and to use it as an excuse is a bit pathetic.

- Drogba cost Chelsea their place in the final. He missed two great chances, one in each leg, and I'm convinced that his pretending to be injured was what made Hiddink substitute him, and thus hand the initiative to the 10 men of Barcelona.

- Barcelona dominated possession even with 10 men. They probably would have done so with 9, such was Chelsea's inability to control this game in an attacking sense.

- Frank Lampard goes missing in big games.

- Chelsea defended brilliantly.

- Messi does not play the game of football for Messi's sake. In our Youtube generation it seems people are disappointed if he doesn't go by three players and slot the ball home in every game. Being tripled marked meant that all he could do was make sure he didn't lose the ball, and hope for some kind of opening. With the headless Eto'o alongside of him it was hard to put an incisive attack together, but the Argentine can claim an assist which put Barcelona through.

- As a mailbox contributor said, lets finally put the Ronaldo v Messi debate to bed. Clearly Iniesta is the best footballer in the world. Eamon Dunphy commented that this whole "best in the world " thing is a cod. He's right in a way. It seems to be a debate invented in the last few seasons, to cater for the ego of Ronaldo. When Zinidene Zidane was playing I don't remember hearing people describe games as Zidane v Pirlo or what have you. Do you ever remember a game where Zidane's reputation of "best in the world" was on the line, as if the sport we were watching was boxing? Football is a team game, and that's one of the reasons Ronaldo was good on Tuesday. He played that way. That's also one of the reasons Iniesta is so good. I couldn't have been happier to see the ghostly playmaker score such a fantastic goal, because his name deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the other great players of the modern age.

- Eto'o is a liability. I said as much before the game, and he will continue to let the side down in Rome. Quite simply, he's brainless.

There so much more to be said about that one game, and so much to anticipate with regards to the final. As usual, feel free to leave comments below.

The Non-Prediction Prediction

Before I move on to tonight's game, a word on last night. Much is being made of United's performance, but one has to take into account the effect of the two goals that should never have been. They ended the game as a contest, and left United playing a team with no belief, heart, or will to even go on. Needless to say, that is an easy team to look good against. Perhaps I'm being churlish, but surely the game must be put into context, with the context being that United were handed two goals. Don't get me wrong - they fully deserve to be in the final, but I don't think we can afford to read into this game too much.

As for tonight, well, it can't be any more disappointing than last night's effort. Given it was only interesting for 7 minutes that's not saying much, but still, I expect this one to go the distance. That said, what kind of game can we expect? Something similar to the first leg? In some ways yes, but in other ways, no, and in yet more ways I don't actually know.

One thing I can guarantee is that Barcelona will see more of the ball than Chelsea. Maybe not as much as in the Nou Camp, but not far off. They really do only know how to play one way, and that is to pass the ball ad infinitum. My query is whether Stamford Bridge will help or hinder them. It is approximately a tenth of the size of the Nou Camp, which has to make a difference one way or another. My gut feeling is that the smaller pitch will help Barcelona (and Chelsea for that matter). At the Nou Camp is is easy for Barcelona to stroke the ball around without getting near the opposition's goal. However, given a smaller pitch you simply can't help but get closer to the opposition's goal. A tighter pitch will require more accuracy, but if anyone can rise to the challenge it's this Barcelona team.

Another factor in Barcelona's favour is the win against Madrid. That game must have been playing on their minds in the first leg, and so with La Liga all but wrapped up Barcelona minds will be 100% focused on the job at hand. Confidence is huge in sport, and while Chelsea are a different animal than Madrid, Barcelona will be confident of playing the way they have done for most of the season and winning.

The deployment of Messi could also change the dynamic of this game. On Saturday he played as a deep lying centre-forward, and he was magnificent. I thought this might happen in the first leg against Chelsea (in fact I may even have written as much), and I think it should happen tonight. Eto'o needs to be kept out on the wing where he can be as irrelevant as possible, and leave Messi to run at Alex and Terry. But even if this doesn't happen, Messi can only improve from a week ago, right? In fact you could say that about a few key Barcelona players. Iniesta was good last week, but he can be better, more incisive. I don't rate Eto'o very highly, but he is still better than what he showed in the first leg.

The bottom line is that Barcelona were not at their best last week and yet they still completely dominated possession and had three great chances to score. I'm almost certain they will be better at the Bridge, which leaves me believing there will be blood goals tonight.

Unfortunately, while I can predict what Barcelona are going to do with a degree of success, I have no clue how Chelsea are going to line up. Will they play the same 11? Will Anelka start? Will they attempt to complete three passes in a row? Anything I write about Chelsea will be pure conjecture, but since they need to score at least one goal it is surely not unreasonable to suggest that they may be a bit more adventurous on their home turf, especially with Barcelona's defensive woes. I haven't seen much of Caceres, but the fact that he is roughly Barcelona's fifth choice central defender doesn't exactly inspire confidence given who is in front of him. Drogba has the ability to exploit weakness like no other striker, and so there are goals for the taking should Chelsea decide they actually want to win this game.

The smaller pitch will also help Chelsea, since they will be able to support Drogba much more quickly. I don't expect Lampard to be much more influential than he was in terms of keeping the ball, but I do expect him to get forward more and have a few speculative efforts that may or may not deflect goalwards. His freekicks and corners will also be of vital importance. Madrid scored two headed goals on Saturday, and so there is no reason why Chelsea can't do the same, provided they attack with enough impetus to actually get freekicks and corners.

This is the biggest match either of these teams have left. For Chelsea it is a chance for a second bite at the cherry. A chance to atone for that slip. For Barcelona it is the chance to keep the treble alive, and a chance to show that they can actually beat an English team or two. The pressure on both sets of players will be immense, and there can be no ignoring the effect of it. A 6-2 win at the Bernabeu indicates that Barcelona can handle it. Chelsea's recent success indicates that they can handle it. Honestly, this game is too hard to call, so I won't even try. I desperatly want Barcelona to win, but their defensive liability means they will probably have to do so the hard way. Whatever the case this will be an intriguing game, and one I can't wait to see (famous last words?).

Over-rated

I generally don't write into the F365 mailbox anymore, but with all the talk of Chelsea being the heroes of yesterday and Barcelona being "over-rated" I couldn't help myself. Plus I was bored. Here is what I wrote:

Remember that scene in 'A Time to Kill' when the defense attorney says "Now imagine she's white"? Well, now imagine that Chelsea played like Barcelona did. We wouldn't hear the end of it. It's all well and good giving out about Barcelona, but if English sides played as Barca played last night I can almost guarantee they would receive universal praise.

One more thing. To those who are calling Barcelona "over-rated". Who decides how highly to rate Barcelona? Do you? Is your opinion on a team the standard to which we must all bow? The worst thing about people calling Barcelona "over-rated" is that their opinion isn't even based on seeing things with their own eyes over a period of time and coming to their own conclusions. It's based on reading other people's opinion of a team, seeing one game, and then reacting.


My beef with the word "over-rated" is new, but I think it's valid, at least up to a point. The people I'm aiming my criticism at are those who only watch the Premier League and can't stand the thought of anything good in football being outside of it. These people read about Barcelona scoring goal after goal and sit there smugly thinking "Wait until they play a real team", i.e. an English team who play 11 defenders. Last night such an occasion took place, and Barcelona failed to score despite monopolising the ball. Of course it doesn't matter what went before the game. It doesn't even matter that Barcelona were the better team and should have won. These people see the game, judge that Barcelona didn't match up to the things previously written about them, and call them "over-rated". Instead of formulating their own opinion, they see themselves as the moderators of the opinions of others. "I'll tell you how highly you should rate a team, and if you go above that then you are wrong".

I've used the word in question in the past (quite possibly the recent past), but I'm weaning myself off of it. When it comes to football analysis -- heck, when it comes to the analysis of anything -- opinions should be formed proactively, not reactively (in the sense of reacting to other people's opinions). You watch, you take notes, you judge what is good and what is bad, and since we're unique persons, you decide what you like and don't like. To engage in this kind of analysis of last night's game leads me to only one conclusion. Barcelona weren't scintilating, but they were actually quite good. I've seen them a lot this season and I've never thought of them as unbeatable, and certain weaknesses were shown up last night, but I can't help but admire their stlye of play. Anyone who has watched Barcelona play all season wouldn't have been too upset with last night's performance, although Messi's anonymity was certainly cause for disappointment. Anyone who hasn't wacthed Barcelona this season? Well, they're probably the ones calling them "over-rated".

What did you think of Barcelona last night? You can of course disagree with me, but just not on the basis that they are an over-rated bunch of fancy dan foreigners who aren't as good as the hype they get.

Great Expectations

Clearly I thought a lot about this game before it happened, and I've thought a lot about it after. One of the questions to be asked is "What did you expect of Barcelona?" A lot of people are saying they didn't live up to the hype etc etc. Now of course I can understand an element of disappointment at the game in general, but did people honestly expect Barca to tear Chelsea a new one? I predicted 3-3, but that was based on the silly assumption that Chelsea would try and leave their own half. Had I known they would line up as they did, then I wouldn't have expected the game to be much different than it was, and the performance Barcelona delivered would have been quite satisfactory.

Playing against 11 disciplined defenders is not easy. Having nearly 70% possession is not easy. Creating chances when faced with a blanket defense is not easy. Reducing your opponents to a chance created by your own mistake and a header from a free-kick is not easy. To have such control over a game requires skill, knowledge, discipline and courage. One of the criticisms leveled at Barcelona after last night is that their passing was overelaborate or not incisive enough. To a certain extent this is true, but do you honestly expect them to hit through balls every time they play a pass? Opening a team playing like Chelsea did demands patience. You're not going to get many opportunities to slip in a cutting pass, and so job number one is to keep the ball, and sooner or later an opening will present itself. Had Barcelona taken one of the three of four openings they got then we would be hearing a different tune. Alas they didn't, but that doesn't now mean they are overrated.

Making sweeping statements about Barcelona based on last night's game is silly. Their failure to score was not because they were shown to be toothless against a mighty English defense. They had three exceptionally good chances, but didn't convert them. Yes there were disappointments. Messi was on the outskirts of the game for almost all of the second half. Actually come to think of it, that may be the only disappointment. What I expected from others was more of less delivered. Xavi dictated the midfield, Iniesta was always probing, though it never quite came off. Toure did his job wonderfully. Eto'o's finishing let him down.

Personally, I don't believe in the Holy Trinity of Messi, Henry, and Eto'o. I think the latter two aren't imaginative enough. It's not a case of 'stop Messi and you still have the other two to deal with'. It's a case of 'stop Messi and the other two become much less threatening'.

This tie is still in the balance of course. On the evidence of last night Barcelona are capable of scoring a goal at the Bridge. Messi can't possibly be any more anonymous, and Chelsea can't possibly be any more negative. The Barcelona defense will surely be more tested -- and more brittle what with last night's losses -- but this should lead to a more open game. One thing is sure however: Hiddink's comments before the game won't be worth a damn.

Barcelona/Chelsea pt 4

Here is a rundown of the players likely to be playing tonight, and the influence they may have on the game.

Valdes: He is one of those goalkeepers who is called a "good shot-stopper", which tells you all you need to know. Dodgy on crosses, untrustworthy with the ball at his feet, and undoubtedly Barcelona's weakest link. Could end up costing them a regretful away goal or two.

Alves: I like my previous description so I'm going to stick with it - a defender who enters his own half reluctantly. I honestly don't know if Alves is a good defender, but he is excellent going forward. The finest crosser of a ball I've seen since Beckham, his is a threat that is difficult to stifle. Bosingwa may stick to Messi like glue, but that will only mean more room for Alves to scythe through Chelsea territory.

Marquez: An excellent distributor of the ball and a clean tackler, but severely lacking in pace. There was a foot race between him and Toni in the last round and I swear it looked like they were both going backwards. If Drogba, or even Malouda, can get a run at him then don't be surprised to see them breeze by him as if he wasn't there.

Pique: Reminds me a bit of Senderos. That's not a good thing, especially when Drogba is around.

Abidal: If ever a defender relied on his pace alone, it's Eric Abidal. He tends to stay back much more than he used to which works in Barcelona's favour for two reasons: 1. He was never much good going forward, and 2. Barcelona need his pace at the back.

Toure: Your standard holding player really, whose height is important when it comes to defending set pieces. His role in tonight's game may be more as creator however, because when it comes to Barcelona players being singled out by Chelsea for special attention, I expect Toure to be somewhere near the bottom of the list.

Xavi: If man-marked by Essien I expect him to be peripheral for much of the game. If not, then Chelsea will not be seeing much of the ball, whereas Alves and Messi will. How well Xavi plays is generally a good indication of how well Barcelona play. I will be extremely interested to see how Chelsea handle him.

Iniesta: May well be the difference maker tonight. With all the attention focused on stopping Messi, Eto'o and Henry, I expect Iniesta to have an influential game, and he is more than capable of producing the goods. If pitted against Essien then perhaps he can be shut down, but marking Iniesta is a whole different proposition to marking Gerrard. It's about time for people to cease from labeling Iniesta "under-rated" and to start labeling him for what he is - one of the best players in the world.

Messi: His decision making still isn't perfect, but almost everything else is. A joy to watch, and will cause the slow Chelsea centre-halves a world of pain when he cuts inside.

Henry: Some people say he is back to his best. I disagree. He has lost much of his speed, which for a player like Henry is crippling. He is of course still a threat, and he works hard for the team, but I expect him to have a quiet game tonight and to be the first to make way.

Eto'o: Unreliable at this level. His finishing is too erratic, and he gives the ball away cheaply far too often. I expect him to let Barcelona down, much like he did this time last season. And also, if he was as good as he thinks he is -- and as good as most people think he is -- why would Barcelona want to sell him? Simple - there are better options out there.



Cech: A great penalty save at the weekend aside, it is no secret that Cech has not been the same man after getting kneed in the head by Hunt. He is the better of the two goalkeepers on display tonight, but that's not exactly saying much. However, I don't think Barcelona play the kind of football that will cause Cech the maximum amount of difficulty. High punts into the box is not Barcelona's style, nor are they particularly threatening from set-pieces, and so Cech may prove to be a valuable asset for Chelsea when it comes to stopping Eto'o's hit and hope piledrivers.

Ivanovic: I haven't seen much of this guy, but two goals against Liverpool from corners suggests he's a threat in that department. Of the two Chelsea full-backs he will certainly have the easier task, although Iniesta does tend to stay on that side of the pitch, meaning Anelka may be forced to do things he isn't particularly good it. Don't be surprised if much of Barca's threat comes down Chelsea's right hand side.

Alex: Good in the air, but against Barcelona that will only count at the other end of the pitch.

Terry: See above. If I were a Chelsea fan I would be worried about the lack of pace at centre-half. Eto'o may not be a lot of things, but he is definitely quick and can get in behind quite easily. Messi will drift in field more often than not, and can even be the front man for Barcelona with Eto'o shifting right. Will Terry and Alex be able to deal with such movement and pace? I have my doubts.

Bosingwa: He says marking Messi is "no problem". I beg to differ. Keeping Messi quiet won't be sufficient for beating Barcelona, but it will be necessary. Bosingwa will need all the help he can get, and then some.

Essien: Perhaps Chelsea's most important player tonight. I don't know what Hiddink is going to do with him, but it is the effectiveness of Essien that will either swing this tie in Chelsea's favour or lead to an onslought of epic proportions at the hands of the mighty Catalans.

Ballack: A big man for the big occasion in the past, this could be Ballack's swansong, or more likely, it could be the night when it all comes crashing down for him. "His legs are gone" as Dunphy would say, and against Barcelona you could do with three or four well-functioning legs, not to mention two. I expect him to give away a lot of fouls and generally look off the pace, but as with most Chelsea players he poses a considerable threat in aerial confrontations.

Lampard: I'm not his biggest fan, but Lamps has been impressive all season...except in most of the big games. A question mark still looms large over his head when it comes to imposing himself on this kind of occasion. His habbit of scoring goals may come in handy, but if Chelsea are not to be overrun in midfield for 90 minutes they need Frank to put his foot on the ball once in a while and keep possession. I'm just not sure he's up to the task on nights like this.

Anelka: I don't like Anelka. I don't think he's much good, and I wouldn't be surprised to see either him or Malouda make way for Deco/Kalou of the grounds of them being a bit rubbish during the game.

Malouda: I don't like Malouda. I don't think he's much good...etc etc.

Drogba: An absolute beast of a player. If you were to swap Drogba for Eto'o I wouldn't think twice about selling all of my possessions and staking the money on a Barcelona win. Should Chelsea see enough of the ball then Drogba could come away with a brace. The Barcelona defense will simply not be able to handle him if they are on the back foot. He is Chelsea's match winner, and if they are going to get a result tonight I have little doubt that Drogba will be at the heart of that triumph.


With all of that said, here is my prediction: 3-3. I can't see anything but goals, goals, goals, and I honestly can't wait for this game.

Barcelona/Chelsea pt 3

The Barcelona attack is generally the headline grabber, but in order to neutralize the threat from the front if will be up to Chelsea to upset the source. This will mean that two important things need to be done: Drogba is going to have to work his socks off up front, constantly applying pressure on the Barcelona centre-halfs. It is these two players who initiate almost every Barcelona attack, and so if they can be got at then the supply to the midfield and forward line will be much more volatile than it usually is. Whether or not just one striker can apply sufficient pressure on two players is debatable, but I think it's safe to say that Hiddink won't be employing two up top so it will be down to Drogba alone to settle the debate.

The other similar thing that needs to be done from a Chelsea point of view is to mark Xavi out of the game - something that has been done already this season to great effect. It is no easy task, but a player like Michael Essien could well be up for the challenge. Barcelona's m.o. is to knock it around at the back until Xavi is in position, and then feed him. To disrupt this operation is to strike at the heart of Barcelona's game. It's not a sufficient condition for beating them, but it is most certainly a necessary one. Marquez may not be a great defender, but he is an excellent distributor of the ball, both short and long. This is generally not mentioned when it comes to talking about Barcelona's defense, but given how much ball possession they enojoy it is arguable that it is more important for a Barca defender to be a good passer than a good tackler or headerer [?] of the ball. Therefore task 1: Stop Marquez (and to a lesser extent, his partner) from doing what they want with the ball. Task 2: Pratically give Xavi a piggy-back ride for 90 minutes.

There are problems implimenting this strategy of course, none more so than the presence of Iniesta on the pitch. I sincerely doubt both Lampard and Ballack's ability to shut him out. Toure and Iniesta together will be able to initiate enough attacks should Xavi be "raped" by Essien, and so there is only so much Chelsea can do with hard work. A player like Iniesta is extremely difficult to mark. He has a rather unique blend of excellent close control, dribbling technique, speed, and vision. Barcelona will depend on him a lot, and Chelsea don't seem to have a say in the matter. Can Iniesta produce on the night? His outstanding form this season suggests he can, and so it will be intriguing to watch.

Barcelona/Chelsea pt 2

The next part of my prolonged pre-match analysis can be summed up in the following well-thought-out bullet points:

- Florent Malouda is still crap

There have been vicious rumours spreading recently regarding Malouda. Some people are actually saying that he has finally gotten his act together. These people are proclaiming that at long lost we are seeing the Malouda of old, and how he is a changed man under Hiddink etc etc. What these people fail to realise is that the Malouda of old wasn't much good.

Football Focus are the masters of this kind of spur of the moment analysis. If you string two good games together then prepare for an interview where you will be asked about the "tough times", but also about the promising future which may include an England call up "provided I just keep my head down and keep doing what I'm doing". The name Darren Bent springs to mind. Harry came in, Bent got a couple of goals and was suddenly a great striker again, but before long he was back to being no better than Mrs Redknapp, which sadly is a fairer reflection of his limited abilities.

I don't envision Florent Malouda's story ending any differently. Like Bent he has never been a good player. We've seen the real Malouda in the Premier League. His latest performances are simply an abberation, so I don't expect them to last, and I certainly don't expect him to be a thorn in Barcelona's side. It's true that he may find some joy given that Alves has the unique characteristic of being a defender who enters his own half reluctantly, but of all the wingers Alves could have faced in the semi-finals surely Malouda is the most impotent.

However, the impotence of Malouda may prove to be of secondary importance to his defensive prowess. I expect Chelsea to do something of a Man Utd at the Nou Camp and sit back, basically playing with two full backs on either flank. Is Malouda disciplined enough to perform this task? Given that Theo Walcott was Arsenal's most dangerous player on Saturday it doesn't seem likely.

It may seem like I'm just saying this given the topic in question, but one of the sure ways to hurt Barcelona is to have a left winger who can run at people and who uses the ball cleverly. The threat of Ribery was negated in the first leg simply because Bayern were a shambles and could hardly touch the ball. In the second leg however he was a constant thorn in Barcelona's side. It's of course a little silly to base analysis on a meaningless game like that second leg, but I do think the possession of a decent left winger will cause Barcelona far more problems than he ordinarily should. Unfortunatley for Chelsea, Florent Malouda is not a decent winger, and so they will rely on him at their peril.

Barcelona/Chelsea pt 1

The first of a series of previews leading up to the big game in under two weeks time.

One of the big talking points after Chelsea's farcical 4-4 draw with Liverpool was an incident which transported us two weeks into the future, looking at a Chelsea side facing the most in form player in football without their regular left-back. Ashley Cole received his third [?] yellow card, and so the Blues are left with two weeks of mulling over why they sold their only legitimate cover in that position, and more pressingly, just what the heck to do now.

Messi in the Camp Nou is a frightening prospect for the best of defenders, not to mention an out-of-position Ivanovic, and yet it seems that this is the dual we will have on our hands. My question is this:

Will it actually work in Chelsea's favour to have a right-footed player playing a left back since he will be facing a left-footed player playing right wing?

I won't lie. I know little about defending so I could be way off here, but it seems to me that with Messi usually tucking in onto his preferred left foot, it could be advantage to say, Ivanovic, that Messi will also be moving into the area where he too is most comfortable. Of course said Chelsea defender is largely unproven, so even if being right-footed is an advantage he may just be too rubbish to make use of it, but still, I shall be intrigued to see how this match-up plays out.

The one thing that should not happen is that Hiddink plays Essien out there. I'm sure that's not in his thought process at all, but if for some reason it is then somebody needs to show him a tape of the fist half of last year's CL final. Other candidates for the job from hell are Carvalho (simply because he's a defender), Alex (for not disimilar reasons), Bosingwa (if he's fit) and Mancienne (but they wouldn't do that to him, would they?). As a rather lame Irish guy once said, "those aren't great options, are they?" Full-back is quite a "technical" position, if you believe the analysis of Eamonn Dunphy, and I can't think of any reason why you should. Still, he can't always be wrong, can he?

Whoever plays at left back will have one very difficult task on their hands (you heard it here first). However, whether it is an advantage or not to be a right-footed player facing a left footed player will be utterly irrelevent if that poor soul is left on his own. One against one Messi cannot be stopped. In a game of 90 minutes you are guaranteed to be chasing Messi's shadow at least once, if not several times, and when this happens goals are not far away. If the stand in left back is to do a job on Messi he will not have done it alone. Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda, and John Terry will have to swarm around the Argentine like bees around honey, and lets face it, they are going to have to give him a few kicks to the ankle for good measure too. Real Madrid spent a large portion of their pre-match prep for El Classico coming up with a schedule for whose turn it is to kick Messi. Chelsea must do likewise, or hope that Messi has an off-day.

If I know Hiddink like I think I do (I don't really know him at all, but for arguments sake lets pretend I do), he will try to make this blog post as irrelevent as possible, though I think I'm doing a pretty good job that myself. I image he will try as hard as possible to make this game not about Messi v Nominal left back. How might he achieve this? Find out in a later installment of this groundbreaking series.

The Question:

Can Bayern go through to the semi-finals of the Champions League?

In a word, yes.

There are two past results that spring to mind when accessing Munich's slim chances. The first is Depor's 4-0 triumph over Milan at the Riazor, having been 4-1 down from the first leg. Munich may not be as good as Depor were, but the Barcelona defense is certainly nowhere near as good as the Milan defense was four seasons ago. Milan were all but through, but Depor came out like a team possessed and just tore into the Italians from the first whistle. Once that first goal went in you could sense the nerves creeping into the Milan team (players like Nesta began to make silly errors) whereas Depor really believed they could achieve what many considered to be the impossible. They did, and the overwhelming favourites for the tie went crashing out.

The second result that springs to mind is closer to home to Barcelona supporters. It was the Copa Del Rey two seasons ago, Barca v Getafe. The first leg was a rout, with Barcelona scoring five, one of which was that Messi goal. The scoreline read 5-2, and Barcelona were all but through. However, the return leg did not go accoring to plan, and the Catalans ended up losing 4-0, thus unexpectedly crashing out when common sense told us all that such a result was impossible.

This is of course a different Barcelona team to the one under Rijkaard. The personnel may be similar, but the attitude and mentality is much better, therefore you would expect that there will be no surprises. However, you just never know in football. If Barcelona approach this game as if they are already through and if Bayern approach it with the feeling that they can cause an upset then there is enough precedent to lead me to believe that you really shouldn't write off the Germans. To go through would eclipse the victories of Depor and Getafe, but I have seen enough football to know that anything that is possible can happen. Probable? No, but possible nonetheless.

First task - keep Barcelona scoreless, something that hasn't happened in La Liga since the first day of the season.

That Goal

Here is a link to that recent Barcelona goal - Barca against Almeria

Most of the passes were simple, and yet no other team plays the game quite like this. Simplicity in football is indeed beautiful.

Nine Tenths of the Law

I've only seen the goal once, but Barcelona's second goal against Almeria looked pretty special. The finish was lucky, but what went before it was nothing of the sort. They had just scored their first, and soon after they must have kept the ball for about two minutes. This passage of prolonged possession ended with Dani Alves surging towards the box and flicking the ball inside to Messi. Messi then rolled the ball back to Iniesta, who delightfully tipped the ball to the onrushing Alves, and the Brazilian laid it off to Bojan, who luckily squeezed the ball into the net with the aid of a deflection. It was just one of those passages of play that make you love the game of football, and more specifically, the football that this Barcelona team exhibts more often than not. I'll try and post a youtube link when there is a fitting one available.

Ps - Iniesta is one of the top 5 players in the world. Discuss.

Keep Bleeding

About three or four weeks ago I wrote a piece detailing the chinks in Barcelona's armour and the way you can exploit them. Though they looked almost unbeatable at the time of writing, there were weaknesses waiting to make themselves known. Over the last few weeks almost all of them have surfaced, along with a few others for good measure.

The goalkeeper and defense situation is a no-brainer. When you compare them to say United's back 5, well, there is no comparison really. Barcelona defend worse than most teams in the Premier League, if not all of them. When they were dominating games in midfield this fact was hidden, but now that teams have realised what needs to be done in the middle of the park (glue someone to Xavi, and hope Iniesta is out injured), then Barcelona's defense becomes vulnerable to all kinds of threats - through balls, high balls, wide balls, big balls.

The loss of Iniesta has hurt Barcelona, but they survived without him for two months before Christmas, so something else has gone wrong. As I said, Xavi is being man marked in midfield, but he is also shattered, unable to move around with abandon.

Up front, Messi has hit an anti-purple patch, though that didn't stop him from scoring a great goal against Atletico today. He seems to be taking too much on his shoulders, perhaps because Eto'o isn't contributing much in the way of creativity. I don't think Eto'o is the cats pyjamas, and it's no surprise to me that there is talk of him leaving even though he has scored so much. I've said it before and I will say it again - goals can hide fundamental flaws (actually, I don't I've ever put it like that, but you get my point). Eto'o missed two or three extremely crucial chances against Atheltico, which ultimately cost Barcelona the game today. He doesn't so much finish as he does hit the ball as hard as he can and hope for the best. Some of these shots go in of course (quite a lot of them have this season), but like his fellow African Adebayor (and like pretty much all of his fellow Africans) he misses too many good chances simply because he doesn't have a cool head when confronted with the goal posts. These misses add up, and when it matters I firmly believe Eto'o will let you down. I've been slightly critical of Torres on this blog, but I would have the Spaniard on my team before the Cameroonian any day of the week.

Henry is an enigma to me, so I'll leave him alone.

As a squad, Barcelona are shallow. There is nobody to bring off the bench that will get you a goal and make a difference. I rate Hleb perhaps higher than I should, but he doesn't appear to have settled and lacks the confidence of Guardiola. Bojan is not the player he was built up to be, and apart from those two there are no other candidates to change things in terms of attack.

There are two things I overlooked in my previous piece which are also having a huge bearing on Barcelona's results. One, they are bloody knackered. They have been playing two games a week for much of the season, and they play a very tiresome game, built largely around hassling the opposition when they don't have the ball and giving them no time or space. This has taken its toll, and the players are clearly feeling the effects. Unfortunately it just doesn't stop from here on in. Either they get a second wind, or they end up throwing away the league and getting knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon, or someone else. Such things seemed almost impossible a month ago, but I honestly wouldn't bet against them now.

The other thing I didn't mention was the mental aspect. Barcelona have been psychologically weak for the past few seasons, and it seems as if old problems are coming back to haunt them. They look shy of confidence, and are no longer dictating games the way they were. They may just be lacking a leader on the pitch, someone to lift them up by the scruff of the neck a la Roy Keane. Guardiola was that man in the 90's, but he can only do so much from the bench.

There may yet be a rejuvination, but I honestly fear the worst for Barca. Getting through to the Copa del Rey final should be priority number one. Doing this might stop the bleeding if nothing else. However, do it not and what looked like such a glorious season for so long could continue to unravel at the seams.

They're Only Human

There have been surprisingly few articles circulating the web which detail just why Barcelona are so good this season, given that they almost have the same group of players which performed so terribly last season. At least I haven't come across many. Consistent excellence is hard to write about without sounding redundant, exaggerative, or gaining a reaction something along the lines of "Duh". Sid Lowe of Football Weekly fame wrote a good piece in December which I'd recommend, but apart from that generally all you will read about is that Barcelona were bloody good once again, hammering X [X = any team in La Liga] and basically looking unbeatable. To be honest, that's probably all anyone really needs to know when it comes to reading about Barca. To really gain an appreciation for "Pep's Dream Boys" (as they have been rather embarrassingly called) you have to see them in the flesh, or at least on an illegal stream of GolTV. If you're a fan of beautiful football -- and this blog certainly is -- then I cannot recommend the experience enough.

Now, having said all of that, I'm going to concentrate on an aspect of Barcelona which is even less publicized than the reasons for their success - their weaknesses. There is of course a good reason for this: They haven't shown many. However, there are still some to be found if you look beyond the slick interplay and devastating creativity and guile. Perhaps some of them are dormant, awaiting the arrival of a crunch game before errupting. Perhaps some of them are my own hunches with no grounding in truth. Still, even the great Achilles had a dodgy heel, whilst Superman still wretches at the sight of kryptonite. No matter how good you are, there can be cause for defeat if your opposition plays his cards right. In Barcelona's case it seems the Champions League poses the only real threat to their global domination, so where exactly can Lyon (or whoever else might end up pitted against Barca in subsequent rounds) exploit in order to gain unlikely victory?

We start in between the sticks with Victor Valdes. He's not a bad goalkeeper, but he's not exactly top tier either. Like most goalkeepers in the modern game he's a very good shot stopper, but when it comes to command of his domain he doesn't always inspire confidence. He is only just north of 6ft after all, so he's certainly not the tallest in his profession. Pump some decent corners, crosses and free-kicks into his box and you may find some joy, not only because of his deficiencies but also because...

Barcelona's team is incredibly small as a whole. People like Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta are not the most intimidating figures in an aerial battle, while even a defender like Carlos Puyol -- good as he is in the air -- will struggle against someone with height. Gerard Pique is also liable to lose more than his fair share of mid-air collisions, so there is a definite case to be made for throwing on your tallest players, lumping high balls into Barcelona's box and just going nuts.

As a defensive unit, the back four can also be a little disjointed. They play a very high line, which in Dani Alves's case lies somewhere between the oppositions box and the half way line. I've seen Barcelona look very susceptible to a simple through ball, so with an average creative talent in midfield and a striker who can make half decent runs (something along the lines of a Michael Carrick/Carlos Tevez combo) there are chances to be had. Of course you have to get the ball first which is easier said than done, but once you have it and use it economically, you may find yourself getting in on goal rather easily. Villarreal proved this true before Christmas, losing that game only because of wasteful finishing. Barcelona may find Karim Benzema or Nicholas Anelka to be not so wasteful.

In midfield Barcelona have no major weak points. Toure is reasonably good both on the ball and off it, Xavi is in the form of his life, Iniesta is beginning to prove himself one of the best players around, and Keita is finally settling down after a couple of ropey months. Along with the forward players who track back this Barca midfield doesn't give you much time on the ball. There is no escaping the fact that the Catalans win their games in the centre of the field first, and then go on to win games by scoring goals.

The only way to combat this therefore is to press them from the wings. Allow Messi and Alves to attack you and you're asking for trouble. Xavi will link up with them all day and eventually you will crack. However, put someone with good dribbling skills on the wing and you may just either force Dani Alves to defend, or find yourself with ample opportunities to swing balls into the box. This is a risky strategy of course, but by trying to contain Barcelona you are playing into their hands. They have the ability to break you down, and if you let them there is a good chance they will do it. However, attack them with pace and flair on the flanks and while you may risk conceding a few more goals, you heftily increase your chances of scoring a few.

This may not always be possible. Heroic defending coupled with clinical finishing might just be most teams' best way of winning. And of course there is no escaping the reality that every player on your team will have to run his socks off chasing the ball to have a hope of killing the giant. However, according to Paul Doyle of the Guardian Lyon have resigned to the fact that Barcelona are going to score a hat full of goals, so they are bolstering their attack in order to try and score more. Will their strategy work? It just might, but even if it doesn''t we're still in for a cracking game.

Up front is where Barcelona appear the most devastating, but as I've said I think it's midfield where they are the superior specimens and it is from there that they win their games. The statistics will tell otherwise though, with Messi, Henry and Eto'o having something like 45 league goals between them. Messi is just Messi. You simply have to put about 3 guys on him and repeatedly kick him to have any chance of taming the Argentine. However, for me, Eto'o and Henry are not as good as their stats make them out to be.

While Henry has undoubtedly improved since last season, that blistering pace of his -- you know, the thing that made him so effective -- has all but gone. He still has something to offer, but against a good defense I think he could be shown up and shut up. His goals this season have masked some poor performance, but they are still goals nonetheless. For now he looks the Thierry of old, but me and my gut instinct are not convinced.

Neither are we convinced about Samuel Eto'o. The Cameroon hitman with the genocidal look in his eyes is on course for the Pichichi, but when it matters most I think he could possibly prove to be a weak link. He missed a crucial penalty against Madrid earlier in the season, and for me he just isn't clinical enough in front of goal. He does score a lot of course, but if you look at the chances he gets he could probably score twice as much. It's a similar story to Adebayor of Arsenal last season. He got a lot of goals, but when it mattered he didn't quite deliver.

Against Man United last season it was Eto'o who cost Barca the game. Almost every chance they had fell to him, and he wasted them all. In such tight games you need a striker you can rely on, and I don't believe Eto'o to be that striker.

Barcelona have been accused of "Messi dependency", which I think is an accusation with an element of truth to it. Of course when you have a player of Messi's calibre in your squad you are always going to depend on him to some extent, but when he doesn't play it should be a cause for worry that neither Eto'o nor Henry appear capable of stepping up to the plate. In my opinion Messi isn't necessarily carrying Barcelona per se, but he is carrying his two forward partners. While the pocket-sized wizard remains fit this is not a problem, but should he be forced out through injury Barcelona could find themselves having lots of the ball but little to show for it.

So therein lie some of the weaknesses I perceive in the Barcelona team. Are they the best football team right now? Unquestionably. Are they beatable? Absolutely.

Another Year Over

Since it's that time of year, I thought I'd compile a list of some memorable football moments over the past 12 months. This is a totally subjective list, so bear that in mind before leaving angry comments about the exclusion of so-and-so. I don't doubt that I've left out some footballing nuggets, but these are what came to mind in the 10 minutes I spent thinking about the year gone by. I'll try and include relevant Youtube clips where possible, because that's the kind of guy I am. And also, the list has no order. So without further adieu...

Fabregas v Milan

It was the second leg of the first Champions League knockout round. Milan had gotten a slightly fortuitous 0-0 draw at the Emirates, where Adebayor somehow managed to miss a header roughly 7 inches from the goal line. Most people thought Arsenal had blown their chance. The old dogs of Milan were said to be too wily to let this youthful Arsenal side get the result they needed on Italian soil. Cesc Fabregas and co. proved most people very wrong.

It was a team effort of course, with even Philip Senderos playing well for a change. But it was the little Spaniard that ran the show from beginning to end. His tackling was tenacious, his workrate second to none, and everything we've come to expect from Fabregas -- his impeccable decision making, his precise passing, his ability to control the tempo of a game -- was on song. He had been quite laboured in the weeks that led up to this game, and quite laboured afterwards as well, but in these 90 minutes he was the complete midfielder, showing the once imperious Pirlo how it's now done.

Discovering Football Weekly

I can't quite remember when exactly I discovered Football Weekly, but I know it was some time in 2008, so that's good enough for it to make the list. I've championed this podcast on the blog already, but I have no problem doing so again.

To put it plainly, my football experience is not complete until I hear the opinions of "the pod" on Monday afternoon and Thursday evening. For anyone who says that football is their favourite sport, Football Weekly is practically required listening. If you haven't yet discovered the joy of it, then do so as soon as possible. There will be a new podcast up on Monday the 29th. I strongly encourage you to listen to it.

Arsenal v Liverpool

Another Arsenal related moment. This time the Gunners were faced with a tricky tie against Liverpool at Anfield (Liverpool in the Champions League and all that jazz) after coming out of the first leg at the Emirates with an unjust 1-1 draw (it should really have been 2-1, with Bendtner blocking a goal bound effort from Fabregas, and the referee denying Hleb a stone wall penalty after the Belarusian had danced his way into the box with his patented nimble footwork). Arsenal had to score at Anfield, and boy did they do just that and then some.

They completely dominated for 30 minutes, playing some of the best football of the season. The goal came from a neatly worked move, and at that point it almost looked like it was just a question of how many Arsenal would score. But then the Senderos factor kicked in. Having completley lost one of the most dangerous aerial threats of the last 10 years in the form of Sami Hyypia at a corner, Senderos then went on to give about 3 yards of space in the box to one of the most potent finishers in the Premier League, and Torres accepted the gift by guiding the ball into the top corner.

The game seemed to just drift away from Arsenal, until Theo Walcott produced a moment of unbelievable brilliance. Never did I think him capable of such things, but he proved me and a host of other people very wrong. It was just incredible to watch, and a moment worthy of winning any tie. Unfortunately for Walcott and Arsenal, it wasn't sufficient to win this tie. In keeping with their season, Arsenal managed to overshadow their attacking prowess by switching off mentality, and allowing Liverpool to go straight back up the field and win a (soft) penalty. A fourth Liverpool goal followed, and Arsenal's Champions League dream was shattered.

Still though, this was easily the game of the season for me, and one that will live long in the memory. If I did have an order to this list, this game would probably be at the top.

Terry Penalty

England's lion heart. England's war hero. Chelsea's rock, their heartbeat, their captain fantastic. John Terry has received all sorts of praise over the years, but in my opinion he has been vastly overrated. He is a good defender, but he's not even the best at his own club. That honour goes to Ricardo Carvalho, and it seems that it is the Portuguese defender's absence which is alerting people to this fact ironically enough.

Terry's missed penalty has of course nothing to do with his defensive capabilities, but you can forgive me for taking a certain amount of pleasure from seeing him completely fluff the chance to win Chelsea that much coveted Champions League trophy. Why he was the designated fifth penalty taker I do not know. The nasty part of me thinks that he just wanted the chance to be a hero, and selfishly decided to step up to the plate rather than letting someone with actual penalty taking abilities to the job. But then maybe no one else wanted the pressure, so JT took it upon himself when all else cowered at the chance.

Either way, he missed, and at that point you just knew who was going to go on and lift the trophy. The only disappointment was that had he scored the penalty, then Ronaldo would have been to blame for United's loss, and on a schadenfreude measuring device, I don't think anything could top that.

Messi v Ronaldo

When Man United and Barcelona were pitted against each other in the semi final of the Champions League, football fans' collective mouth began to water. The games themselves didn't quite work out as people thought they might. They were supposed to be end-to-end affairs, feasts of attacking football, but instead they were slightly cagey, with Barcelona having most of the ball and United defending superbly.

However, the subplot in this tie was equally intriguing. This was billed as 'Ronaldo vs Messi', the battle to see who really is the best player in the world. Of course all of this was sheer hype, and the best player in the world was never going to be decided during the course of two games. But that didn't stop people from getting worked up, with many probably seeing this as the chance for Ronaldo to show that he is the superior footballing specimen.

Well, he did nothing of the sort. If this was indeed Ronaldo vs Messi, then there was only one clear winner, and it wasn't the player who plucks his eye brows. Messi had been out for a month or so before the two games, but he was a constant thorn in United's side over both legs, producing some vintage 'Messi' moments along the way, some of which you can see here. There was a priceless piece of play in the first leg when Messi faced Ronaldo with the ball, waited for the pristinely groomed playboy to make a tackle, and just jinked by him in the blink of an eye. It served as a microcosm of the duo's battle.

The good news is that finally, after many, many months of hearing about Ronaldo's status as best in the world, people have woken up to the fact that the Camp Nou is the home of the world's best football player. The irony is that this realization was only cemented in popular belief around the time Ronaldo picked up the Ballon D'Or. That must really hurt the winker's ego..No wonder he's lashing out at everyone in sight.

Spain

It's very rare these days that the team who play the best football win a major trophy at international level. Since France's victory at Euro 2000, there hasn't really been a team worthy to be considered the best in the world/Europe. In 2002, Brazil won what was a distinctly average World Cup, 2004 saw a resolute but technically limited Greece side lift the European Cup, and the same can be said about the victorious Italian side of 2006, who were excellent in defense but quite laboured in the final third of the pitch. In each of these tournaments the quality was subpar, and only the Argentine team of '06 sticks out as being truly world class.

Euro 2008 broke the curse of dodgy international football, and it saw Spain break their long lived curse of being supreme under achievers. In truth, I think Spain have been vastly overrated in previous tournaments. Players like Etxeberria, Albelda, Baraja, Luque and Joaquin were getting games in 2004, but they were not really good enough to ever win anything. Compare them with Xavi, Iniesta, Senna, Villa and Fabregas and it is clear that the Spain team of 2008 really was a much better team than those of previous years. This was a team with genuine talent, a team that could have been justifiably branded as having under achieved by getting knocked out in the quarter finals.

However, this was to be their year, and never has a team so richly deserved to lift a trophy. They played the best football in a tournament full of good football, and I don't think there is any football fan who would begrudge them their victory. The defining moment of their tournament has to be the win over Italy in the quarter finals. This would usually have been the point for Spain to exit stage left, and having outplayed the Italian's for 120 minutes it seemed all set up for Italy to snatch victory courtesy of a penalty shootout. However, Fabregas was given the chance to exorcise a host of demons, and the former Barcelona prodigy made no mistake, cooly slotting the ball past one of the best goalkeepers ever to grace the sport.

This monumental win lifted the heavy burden off of Spanish shoulders, and they went on to dispatch Russia by playing their best football of the tournament, and ended proceedings by completely outclassing Germany in the final.

Euro 2008 was not only a victory for Spain though - it serves as a victory for football in general. The Spanish team didn't contain any immense physical specimens like Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo. This was a victory for brain over braun. A victory for intelligence over physicality. Spain showed that playing football the way it should be played, the way that makes it the beautiful game, is the best way to win things. They have set the bar when it comes to international football, and given the relative youth of the side, it could be a while before they are knocked off their perch.

Barcelona v Athletico

There is no doubt as to which is the best club team at this moment in time, despite what the Fifa Club World Cup (or whatever it is called) might tell you. Barcelona have won 13 of 16 league games, scoring 48 goals and conceding only 10. If they were in the Premier League, they'd be third, 4 points behind Liverpool and 1 behind Chelsea, with four games in hand. As it is, they are first in La Liga, a massive 10 points clear of their nearest 'rivals' - hardly surprising given that they are averaging 3 goals a game, and have just beaten four of the best teams in Spain by an aggregate score of 11-1.

I've watched a lot of their games, but the one that stands out is the tie against Athletico Madrid. While Athletico were missing a few players, what Barcelona did to them was just catastrophic. The Catalan giants were 3-0 up after seven -- yes, seven -- minutes, and 5-1 up after twenty eight. It finished 6-1 in the end, but only because Barcelona didn't want to embarrass their opponents.

At the beginning of the season when Barcelona had lost and drawn their opening two fixtures, the ever excellent Sid Lowe (who will be in the pod today on Football Weekly) said that it's only a matter of time before Barcelona start clicking and beat someone 24-0. Well, they haven't quite managed 24, but they have won 6-1 (x2), 6-0, 5-0, 4-0, 4-1, and have generally looked unplayable.

While people are saying that Barcelona pose the biggest threat to another Champions League of Anglo domination, it seems more correct to say that the English teams pose the biggest threat to Barca domination. A slightly shakey defense still leaves a large question mark looming over their Champions League-winning credentials, but if they continue on this form in the new year and get past Lyon in the last 16 of the CL, then they will be the team that nobody (not even Liverpool) wants to draw.

Abu Dhabi Group

The comical tales of Messi and Kaka going to City aside, this takeover could well be the start of something very serious in world football. While Manchester City hover in and out of the relegation zone, the events of August 31 await their fulfillment in the January transfer window, and in the summer ahead. Nobody quite knows what's going to happen. Who will move to the Eastlands? Will players such as David Villa want to go? Or will City just end up buying the Shevchenko's of this world - former great players who are looking for a hefty retirement package?

There is talk of players like Bellamy, Defoe, and Parker moving to City, but if the Abu Dhabi group and Manchester City are serious about getting into the Champions League then they must overlook such third tier players. They need to look outside the Premier League for the players that they need, starting with Diego of Werder Bremen. A striker will most definitely be sought after, but Defoe and Bellamy don't represent good options. City should be looking to play a 4-2-3-1 formation (all the cool kids are using it these days), and I don't think such a formation will suit Defoe, and if Bellamy wasn't good enough for a bad Liverpool team then he shouldn't be good enough for a side looking to eventually break into the top 4. He's a mid-table player, nothing less and nothing more.

By signing Robinho, City have set the standard pretty high. I had my doubts about him -- some of which remain -- but you can't deny that he is a first or second tier player; his wonder goal against Arsenal and his last minute strike against Blackburn prove as much. But he needs good company (no pun attended). Will the Abu Dhabi group be able purchase the required personnel? We await with baited breath.

Ireland's goal v Hull

While Robinho has been quite the success story for City this season, he has actually been eclipsed by a 22 year old Irishman in the form of Steven Ireland. The former Cobh Ramblers youngster has been nothing short of excellent so far this season, and if the award for player of the season was given out now, he might well be the favourite to pick it up.

He has had many great moments in a City shirt so far, a personal favourite of mine being his performace against Hull on Boxing Day when he scored one and assisted three, giving me 38 points in Fantasy Football since I had him as captain.

However, the moment that encapsulates his season so far is his second goal against Hull back in November. He controlled the ball outside the box, and as it landed to the ground he just guided it into the bottom corner on the half-volley. It was a Robinho-esque piece of magic, and yet it was produced by someone who can play for the Irish national team. Speaking of which, if Steven Ireland isn't in the next Irish squad then Trapattoni needs his large head examined. At the moment he's the best Irish player I've seen since Roy Keane, and if we are to acheive anything then Steven Ireland must be reinstated, no matter how many grannies he's killed off.

Kielty and Ferrer

I had the first-time experience of properly watching a La Liga match on Sky Sports last Saturday. My usual m.o. is to frantically search the vault of Sopcast or JustinTV in the hopes of finding coverage of the game where 1) the ball is visible, and 2) it doesn't cut out every 3 minutes. Given that these two things can be hard to come by for Spanish games, I'm more than willing to settle for Japanese commentary, or coverage where there are so many little information boxes on the screen that the only thing you can see is the ball. This is all part of the price you pay for being cheap, so far be it from me to complain.

Of course all of this meant that seeing a game on an actual television was such a treat for me. I didn't care that the presenter looked like the love-child of Paul Bettany and Patrick Kielty. In fact that was a plus if anything. Neither did the fact that Albert Ferrer was the one and only analyst bother me. OK it did bother me. But having only one analyst always bothers me. In fact, analysts in general bother me, but that's another issue entirely. The point is, Albert Ferrer has strange hair and therefore he can't be trusted. That is the point, isn't it?

To be honest, I didn't hear either Patrick Bettany or Albert Ferrer say much, but that may well have been for the best. What I did behold was a very good Barcelona team, and two very good goals scored by the best player in the world. His second was more and more impressive every time I saw it. A pinpoint pass from Hleb (whose passing is extremely underrated) played Messi through, he had a quick glance at where the goals were in relation to where he was, took the ball beyond the keeper, and stroked it confidently into the net from around the edge of the box without so much as peeking at the goalposts a second time. A good player may well have carried the ball too far beyond the keeper, or hit the shot into the side-netting. But Messi did it all to perfection, making it look easier than it actually was. Can he get any better than this? Does he need to?

On the general subject of FC Barcelona, I'd be utterly shocked if they don't win the league. And if any club outside of England is going to win the Champions League, it will be the Catalan giants. There is very little I'm more sure about in life than that. In compelete disarray, the came mighty close to knocking Man Utd out of the competition last season, so who knows what they will be capable of in the months to come. RTE's *cough* student of the Spanish game Eamonn Dunphy is tipping Barcelona for mounting a serious threat, though I'm sure it comes with a warning that Puyol is rubbish and that "they're hopeless at the back, Bill". Of course they are still vulnerable in defense, but it took a corker from Scholes to break them last season, and they certainly haven't gotten any worse since then. Although that said, I have serious reservations about the defensive capabilites of Dani Alves. To be honest, in all the games I've watched I haven't actually seen him defend, so it will be interesting to see him pitted against a formidable winger such as, um, Albert Reira [?]. (As a sidenote, who are the good wingers these days, or does the position even exist anymore?)

All in all, it was a Saturday night well spent, and it certainly beat causing further damage to my eyes trying to make out where the ball was, and cursing Justin (whoever he is) when those horrible words "not broadcasting" appear on the bottom of my laptop screen. And always at a crucial moment as well. You do that on purpose, don't you? Damn you Justin...and your TV.

Barca and Torres

The best central midfielder in the world today?

There is just so much to write about concerning the beautiful game this weekend that I'm not sure what to focus on - the Pro Evo 2009 demo? Arsenal dropping more points against inferior opponents? Tottenham being genuine relegation candidates? So much to choose from, so little time to write about it all.

I'll pick out the two things that struck me the most, starting with Barcelona v Athetico last night. In case you don't know, Barca won that game 6-1, going 3-0 up after 8 minutes. In a word, they were phenomenal. The quartet consisting of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Eto'o was just breathtaking at times. Each of them had moments that would adorn the most silky of games.

Xavi bringing the ball down with his foot (which was almost at head height), knocking it by a player, and then playing Henry though on goal. Iniesta cutting inside and curling a stunning shot off the post, Messi dribbling by 3 players and chipping the ball over Coupet, only to see his shot go just wide, and Eto'o chesting a ball down, dummying both the defender and goalkeeper, and slotting it home for his second of the night.

Rarely have I seen a team out-play another team like this. I mean we're talking Argentina v Serbia here. If Barca really wanted to, they could have scored 10. It was the kind of performance they threaten against most teams but never actually deliver. The kind of performance that should see them installed as favourites for La Liga (if they weren't aready), and genuine contenders for the Champions League (their defense is too abysmal to make them favourites). Their attacking options are unrivaled by any club in the world. In Xavi, they possess arguably the best central midfield player in the world today (can anyone name someone better?), in Messi and Iniesta they possess the best duo of wingers, and between Eto'o and Henry they possess enough firepower to cause most defenses problems (though I would still have a few question marks over Eto'o and his penchant for wastefulness).

Athletico were horrible, make no mistake about that. But Barcelona played some exquisite football nonetheless. It was a masterclass of footballing beauty you might say.

The other thing I want to talk about is Torres. And more specifically, me not liking him that much. I have nothing against him personally of course. I just don't see what everyone else sees in him.

I mean Benitez came out today and basically said he's the best player in the world. After 2 goals today to bring Liverpool back to 2-2 against City you might be inclined to think Rafa is on to something, but don't let those goals fool you. Torres was woeful in the first half, and not much better in the second. Can a player score 2 goals and still be bad? I think so.

I just don't get very excited when Torres plays. For me, he loses the ball too often, and there's nothing I hate more in a player than an inclination to surrender possession cheaply. You can score all the goals you want, but if you keep giving the ball away when you're not putting it in the back of the net, I won't like you very much. This is just my personal opinion. I know it's not shared by many, but I wanted to make it known.

Watching a player like Xavi, or Iniesta, or Fabregas gives me much greater pleasure than watching someone who scores goals, but doesn't do a whole lot else. Torres is a good player, no question. I just don't think he's as good as people make him out to be. From what I saw of Spain this summer, David Villa was actually the more complete striker of the two. But, you know - since Torres plays in the Premier League, he must be better. I mean, look at how much Deco has improved since he came to England [???].

Regardless of my personal feelings for Torres' game, he must be applauded for his sublime instincts inside the box, and for getting Liverpool out of jail against City today. That was a vital win - not just for the 3 points, but also as a show of character, and a warning to the other teams that they are title contenders this year. This season is shaping up to be better than last, and if Arsenal don't buck up they could find themselves out of the race by Christmas. You heard it here first.