Barca started their Pre-Season officially with a 2-0 defat at the hands of current European Champions, Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
Jul 25, 2013
Jul 24, 2013
Tata Martino lands the Barca Job - Is he the Right Man?
Gerardo "Tata" Martino has been officially appointed as Football Club Barcelona's Coach for the next two season. One have to be excused if he end up reading the first line with a familiar expression - "Tata Who?". And it's a fact! No one knew Martino before a week or so. He was virtually unknown to majority of Barca fans and almost whole of the European football fans. Can't blame the fans? You hardly track news about a guy who has never managed anywhere in Europe. Even his Spanish football experience is limited to a single season with Tenerife. In his prime as a player in Argentina, Martino could only muster up a single appearance in the National colours. Hence the virtual anonymity in Europe. Even then he was voted as the Greatest Player of the Newell's Old Boys by their fans. The legendary status is reinforced by taking the club to the top of "Torneo Final" last season. But Why did Barca go with someone who has no experience in Europe and all his success and experience has come in South America?
Jul 23, 2013
Gerardo “Tata” Martino pips Luis Enrique to become Barca Coach
OFFICIAL UPDATE : FC Barcelona has confirmed the appointment of Gerardo Martino as head coach for next two seasons.
Unconfirmed reports are emerging that Barca has finalised on Gerardo "Tata" Martino as the replacement for Tito Vilanova. The club has not openly confirmed these reports and even Martino has confirmed that the final decision is not taken. But when Mundo Deportivo, Sport and Marca all report the same thing, then there has to be a bit of truth in it and above all Graham Hunter has also confirmed the decision. Till yesterday as I wrote Luis Enrique was in prime position to take Barca's coaching job. The biggest disadvantage for Martino against Luis Enrique was the lack of European Cup Competition experience. But looks like the club management wasn't much concerned about that and the late video conference seems to have convinced about his potential. Another issue could have been the 3 million buyout clause for Luis Enrique and Rosell who has been very reluctant to spend might have decided on Martino. On a causal note, with Martino taking charge we will have "TATA replacing TITO".
Jul 22, 2013
Neymar and Messi, Who Said What?
The much anticipated arrival of Neymar to Barca has brought its share of mixed reactions from footballing greats. Here are some of those bordering on the sides of positive and negatives.
"With Neymar on board, I would have planned for the possibility of selling Messi. Some would agree with me and others would not. Neymar's arrival could cause problems. Just look at free kicks for example. Neymar is very good at taking them. And Messi has already shown he is great, too. Who's going to take them. You are talking about a team, its players, the things around it. There are too may things at stake. That's why it's so difficult to manage such a top class squad. Neymar is talented, but we will have to wait and see how he gets along with the rest of the squad. I would not have taken the risk of bringing in Neymar." - Johan Cryuff
Luis Enrique in Prime Position to become Barca First Team Coach
Former Football Club Barcelona player and B team coach Luis Enrique is widely expected to replace Tito Vilanova as first team coach. Currently the Spaniard is managing La Liga side Celta de Vigo, and has a 3 million buy-out clause. Barca management is ready to buy him from Celta and the initial report is that the Celta may not oppose such a move. There are also rumours that current assistant coach, Joan Francesc Ferrer popularly known as Rubi may be allowed to join Celta in a deal. From Barca's footballing and management perspective, Luis Enrique presents a safe choice. The Spaniard was in charge of the Barca B time which won promotion to the second division, no mean task considering the age of our squad. His later stint at Roma wasn't successful; but there is no denial that he will be very comfortable in our way of playing and also the players. Already we are hearing that Jonathan Do Santos has asked his agent to put his transfer to Real Soceidad on hold Luis Enrique was his manager at Barca B.
Jul 20, 2013
Tito Vilanova Steps Down as Barca Manager
Football Club Barcelona's president Sandro Rosell has announced that current first team coach Tito Vilanova will step down from his position immediately following a relapse of the tumor. A routine check up had revealed a relapse of his illness and for now Tito can now focus on the treatment of his illness fully. The last two years has been very difficult for him as he had to handle the first team activities while fighting a serious illness. Even though it's sad to see a manager leaving at a critical point in the transfer window; but it's essential for Tito not to be burdened with anything else.
Jul 19, 2013
Barca Tranfer News Update : PSG making a mockery of Barca's Desperation
Everyone knew that Football Club Barcelona needed defensive reinforcement this summer; it is safe to say that they were desperate for a quality center back. But it looks like Barca fans have to wait a lot more for their defensive reinforcement. Surprisingly it's Rosell's Qatari master's who is driving a knife into Barca's reinforcement dreams. For the record, Barca's three main choices for defense this summer has been Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and David Luiz. At the moment none of them are coming, those who follow my posts wouldn't be surprised as I have warned earlier that these deals are not gonna happen - FC Barcelona's Summer Transfer Targets. Our pursuit of Thiago Silva has annoyed PSG so much that they have openly stated that they will activate Lionel Messi's release clause of 250 Million Euros. Activating the release clause and signing the player are two different matter, but that statement drives the message clearly that Thiago Silva is not going anywhere.
Jul 18, 2013
3 Reasons Why Thiago Alcantara's Departure is Good For Barca
- FC Barcelona was forced to sell their promising youngster Thiago Alcantara to Bayern Munich
- The entire deal fetched Barca 25 Million Euros.
There is no denying the fact that Thiago Alcantara was the best talent to come out of La Masia in the last two seasons. The very fact that Barca management tried every trick to stop his departure was a testimony to his promising talent. He was destined to be the main stay of Barca's midfield, not anymore. Now one could blame the board, the management, the coach and the player himself for this scenario; but in the end it is very difficult to stop someone who is hell bound on leaving. That doesn't mean Andoni Zubizarreta, Barca's Football Director can absolve himself from getting a deal which promised a minimum playing time to Thiago Alcanatara. With the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song, waiting in bench it was difficult to give Thiago a guaranteed playing time. So the question of why did the management agree for such a deal becomes louder!
Jul 11, 2013
FC Barcelona Transfer News - Will Thiago Silva Come to Barca?
Hours after SPORT broke the story of Barca agreeing terms with Thiago Silva; Tonietto, Thiago Silva's agent has rubbished the news as not true. At least he said he had no idea of the same. So SPORT still can claim their story as true. Many of us are not surprised as the story as I wrote - Has Thiago Silva agreed terms with Barca?, was too good to believe. Even if it's true, there is no indication that PSG is in the market hunting for a center-back to even start the negotiation. There are also rumors emerging about Barca actively pursuing back up choices namely, David Luiz and Marquinhos. Even David Luiz transfer looks like a non-starter for the time being as the market is not giving any indication of Mourinho looking for a Center-Back. Will a change in personal in Sporting Director job at PSG change anything? Meanwhile there are enough other news to keep you happy.
Will Signing a Thiago Silva or David Luiz solve Barca's defensive issues?
There has been unanimous agreement among football pundits and fans across the World about where Barca needs reinforcements this season. After getting thrashed 7-0 by a brilliant Bayern Munich side, naturally the focus was on defense. But there was enough recognisation that even the attack needs some add-ons; and in Neymar they hope that they have the perfect weapon. But there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the area where the maximum focus needs to be placed is in defense. It is a nice thing to see Football Club Barcelona trying to iron out the issues that plagued them throughout last season. The single minded pursuit of Thiago Silva and even keeping the David Luiz option as a back up shows how important the management see the need of reinforcement. But in this huge transfer saga going on, with details changing every day; one has to ask oneself whether an aquisition of either Thiago Silva or a David Luiz really gonna solve our issues?
Jul 10, 2013
Has Thiago Silva Reached an Agreement with Barca?
Today Catalan media house, SPORT broke the story of an apparent agreement being reached between the Brazilian central defender, Thiago Silva and FC Barcelona on a move to Camp Nou. As per the story, the Brazilian has agreed for a 5 year deal with the Club and decided to take a substantial pay cut to join Barca. In my earlier post where I outlined "Why Thiago Silva won't join Barca?"; I mentioned his wages as a big obstacle. As per the SPORT story he will be placed in the same bracket as Xavi and Iniesta and will have it's pay increase based on performance bonuses. That's in real terms means a minimum pay cut of 2 - 3 Million Euros; that makes it difficult to believe this story(Have a look at Barca Pay Structure here - FC Barcelona Player Wages 2013). Also SPORT has a history of drawing up stories to sell their paper. Remember a day before Barca agreed on Villa transfer, they sold the player along with Thiago to Manchester United in exchange of Rooney.
Jul 9, 2013
Lionel Messi unfairly being Targeted in USA
- Cancellation of Los Angeles Friendly draws ire of US Media and Fans.
- Even Chicago Friendly has landed in serious controversy.
Things are not going well for Lionel Messi, at least on the Public Relation front. First it was the tax avoidance allegations, then came the cancelled friendly in Los Angeles and then came another disaster after the Chicago Friendly. To be honest Messi has nothing to do with any of this mess. The tax situation could be a bit of legal tussle; since his attorneys have stayed firm we could assume the case is strong on his side. The LA Friendly cancellation have somehow squarely landed on his head. This is happening even when there were other star players scheduled to play in that; Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Robert Lewandowski, Sergio Aguero and Boateng all were supposed play in that and all are in United States presently. But when the organisers decided to cancel the event they placed the entire blame on Lionel Messi.
For Eric Abidal, Monaco Signing is a New Start not the End of Footballing Journey
Finally yesterday, I received two great news which I have waited for since the start of Transfer Window. First was the signing of David Villa to Atletico Madrid and then it was the signing of Eric Abidal at AS Monaco. It wasn't like I didn't want them to stay at Barca; but it was better for them to go to a club where their services will be seen as adding values rather than an obligation or charity. Of the two, the Abidal signing brings in more emotions one could explain in a blog post. He has gone through a lot in the last two seasons. In his own words, it has changed the way he looked at life and what he hold as valuable in life. If we were this emotional, think about Eric Abidal. What he was going through while signing the deal was perfectly captured by Abidal's measured words - "It's very emotional, it's huge. After what I've been through, it wasn't easy to find a club with confidence in me." Hidden in those words are a serious feeling of hurt at the way may be Barca dealt with him. AS Monaco has given him a one year deal with an option to extend it further the next season; something we could have offered.
David Villa Transfer : Football Club Barca sells Striker to Dark Horse Atletico Madrid
It's kind of strange! When I wrote my last post - Fantasy David Villa, Thiago + Rooney Transfer; saying that the Villa transfer could happen in the next two weeks; not in my wildest dreams I expected it to happen quickly. Like I said it happened in stark contrast to the rumours which were out in the media. Would SPORT feel disappointed? I think so. Will they change their ways? Absolutely not, they have already started the Kun Aguero to Barca rumours. Wait for it to develop further. They have been behind this for last two season. It looks like every Summer transfer window Aguero starts his long pilgrimage to Camp Nou but in between gets lost and returns back to his old club. Hope this time he is able to find the way. May be he has been using Apple Maps so far!
Jul 8, 2013
Barca Fantasy Football Transfer Edition 1 - Thiago, Villa and Rooney in the same Ship
Like I wrote in my previous post FC Barcelona's Summer Transfer Targets, Catalan media houses has a penchant to border the realms of fantasy while transfer windows are open. Yes, boys it's gonna happen; otherwise SPORT will make it happen. First we will place 4 Million and Thiago Alcantara and David Villa in a boat and send it to Manchester, they will place Wayne Rooney in it and send the boat back. There are some small snags in the operations but those things are being fixed. Barca's valuation of Rooney looks to be at 30 Million Euros, which is pretty much the asking market value. But the problem is that Chelsea, Real Madrid, Arsenal all are interested in the striker and he won't be ready to take a pay cut to come to Barca!
Why Bojan Krkic's Ajax Move is Good News for the Player?
Bojan Krkic, once the most exciting prospect from La Masia will be spending the 2013-14 season in Ajax Amsterdam, the current Eredivisie Champions. That means he will once again feature in this season's UEFA Champions League Group stage. For the last two seasons Bojan has spent his time away from Camp Nou, in Italy. He was first loaned out to Roma in 2011-12 season and then to AC Milan in 2012-13 season. No one was surprised that both these clubs made no attempt to sign him permanently due the kind of season he had. Bojan Krkic failed to make any impact at both Roma and AC Milan. At Roma initially it looked like he would make the cut but then soon faded away especially on the enormous expectation placed by Italian fans and also their concept about the perfect striker. Everyone knows how the Italians and the Spanish hate each other's playing style and to be a Spanish style player(especially the one came from Barca's academy) in Italian league worked heavily against him in both the season. At Milan with the emergence of El Shaarawy and the signing of Balotelli meant that he was virtually out of the picture as far team selection was concerned.
Jul 5, 2013
Barca Football Club's Summer Transfer Targets - News Update
So the Transfer Market is in full swing with club's trying their best to sign their targeted players. Don't worry even our club is very much active in the scheme of things. Every two days the Catalan media houses make sure that we are linked with a new player. Can't blame them - they have too many mouths to feed - not only employers but also ardent readers who expects the club sign all the exciting players there. With the setbacks of last season and the humiliation in Europe, one thing was clear that we would be very active in the transfer market. This compounded with some changes which will happen soon like the Valdes contract ending had the football club's management looking for options early on. So let's look at the serious targets we were trying to sign and what's happening with those pursuit. Now I am not going to add every rumoured link up here, as that will make this an infinite post.
Jul 4, 2013
FC Barcelona Team Player's Salaries
For some seasons Football Club Barcelona has the highest wage bill among top clubs in Europe. If I remember correctly our entire expenditures' more than 50% goes to pay player salaries. In most cases we cannot afford to reduce wages due to the quality of sides. In some cases a new signing would require others in the side get a pay hike to keep the equation under check. This high wage bill also means that we not only have to look at the transfer amount but also the player wages when we go into transfer market. I have compiled a list of wages which our players take home currently. This may not be accurate but is a estimation from different sources reporting on the same.
3 Reasons Why Thiago Silva will Not Join Barca
Thiago Silva is the toast of Catalan press at the moment. Each and every news about Football Club Barcelona ends with a mention of the impending transfer of the Brazilian to Camp Nou. The kind of build up Thiago Silva gets is similar to the one which Cesc Fabregas got prior to his transfer. And this also have the potential to drag on for more than a season. But the worrying problem for Barca will be it drags so long that we are unable to find a replacement before the market close, something of a repeat of last season. Regardless of whether we sign him or not, our defensive issues will not get solved with this one acquisition. It's more than that and may need a different fundamental outlook in terms of tactics as I mentioned in my two previous post @ AllAboutFCBarcelona.com. So the big question is - Will he Come? The simple answer will be No. I will give you three very good reasons why we should forget about him and look for other alternatives.
Jul 3, 2013
Football Team Barcelona Had a Rather Miserable Season; Yes, that's my Official Barca 2012-13 Season Review
One League Trophy, Two Semi-Final appearances, Record equaling points tally, players topping the goal scoring and Assist chart; still I have the audacity to call the gone season a Miserable one, isn't it? If you think that I have officially lost it then wait for this - last season where we won only a Copa Del Rey tournament, I describe that as the one of the best under Guardiola - Football team Barcelona's 2011-12 Season Review. Now that's a strange definition of success, isn't it? Regardless of those stats I would still call FC Barcelona's 2012-13 Season as a failure or mildly put a below average one. I do understand that many clubs would love to be in our position. What we have achieved this season will mark as "Above Expectation" in many top clubs objectives. But we don't have to look at how others evaluate their objective, but we have to look at only our objectives and our success in achieving it.
Jul 2, 2013
Why we should not get Over-Excited about Neymar?
Now this is a dumb Question, isn't it? Why should we not get excited about Neymar. We paid more than 55 Million(if rumors are to be believed), he just mesmerized the World in the recently concluded Confederation Cup, he is toasted as the next big thing from South America. So the big question would be - Why should we not get excited. The simple answer to that would be our past history with super-stars who came to the team. Now it's not a secret that I wasn't a fan boy of this signing. I would have preferred that much money remain in our purse as I believe with his arrival the whole equations of the team could change. I am not the only one who think that way, actually one of the club legend Cryuff also view it the same way. May be he may have set some alarm bells ringing recently suggesting we should look to sell Messi since Neymar is here. Well, I bet he doesn't mean that but was just trying to emphasize his point, that's why the dramatization. But it comes from a Gentleman who understands Players ego very well, better than either Rosell or Tito Vilanova. He also know the mentality of the extra-ordinary talented ones, as he was one of them and Messi is already in his company.
Jun 29, 2013
Eric Abidal, Thanks for all the Moments, We will Definitely Miss You
The way Eric Abidal saga has ended had left a very bad taste in every Barca fan's mouth. Many expected it to be resolved favorably especially towards the player - but it wasn't to be. At this moment there are rumors about Abidal being signed by Monaco, the newest rich club in the block. The way the club handled the entire issue of his renewal literally forcing Abidal to walk out of the club, have to admit was very disgraceful. Abidal always made it clear that he wanted to continue playing even after the liver transplantation. But for some reason the club expected him to retire from active football and become a club mascot/icon. It is understandable that the club had doubts about Abidal's fitness and availability but as far as I am concerned if we had to take a risk on one player it had to be him. And those reasons are not based on any sympathy or charity but on solid footballing reasons; I will detail those later.
May 26, 2013
So Neymar is our Savior!
It's been some time since I have written something. I have been really busy relocating from one city to other for Work. I am still not yet settled here but that shouldn't stop me from writing something about an even of this magnitude. All through the seasons we had strong rumors going on of his signing. It made sense also - Rosell needs a big signing as it is an election year and the thrashing we received at the hand of Bayern Munich made it quite unavoidable. Even though there was news about Rosell having an agreement with him last summer, his signing(officially that's going to happen once the transfer window opens) was not without drama. As we went close to signing him we found that many unknown elements have a say in the transfer. Then came Real Madrid trying to torpedo the move. But finally yesterday the club announced that he will be signing a five year deal with him. Everyone is excited, am I?
May 3, 2013
Should We Look beyond Tito Vilanova?
Where do we go from here? Some may find that to be a strange question! After all despite the recent troubles we are still having a very successful season, especially with respect to many big teams. We most probably will wrap up the La Liga title in a couple of weeks and reaching the semi-final of other two competition is a very successful season for any other team. And may be for us also. But that does not kind of explain the feeling we all have right now. We have been dethroned from "Best Team in Europe" crown , but it's the matter in which it happened what worries everyone. This was not a minor blip, it was a huge embarrassment. No leading side let alone a side which will be crowned as the League leaders could digest a 7-0 scoreline against it. Such big scoreline sometimes does not say the real picture of what happened. Not in this case, some may argue the scoreline was an understatement. And it was. At no time in the two matches we looked like scoring and every time Bayern rushed forward we looked exposed. Some seriously lucky and good last minute defending kept the scoreline to as respectable as it is now. Yes, we had some serious shortcoming coming into this tie. Many of our players were injured or were carrying injury, our coach was missing in action for a majority of season due to his illness. But hiding behind these excuses does not help us getting anywhere. Regardless of our issues with injuries and fitness, we had serious issue this season, and they all came to haunt us in the end.
May 2, 2013
Humiliated and Trounced at Home - FC Barcelona - 0, Bayern Munich - 3
Bayern Munich sealed their place in the final of UEFA Champions League by beating FC Barcelona 3-0 at the Camp Nou. To be honest they had almost sealed their passage in the first half, only the confirmation was left. That was done tonight. The two legged tie ended with an aggregate score of 7-0 to Bayern Munich and that was a total humiliation. Barca fans who were dreaming of a historical come back was dealt a huge blow with the news that Messi will not start due to fitness issues. For many that virtually ended Barca's chances. We needed to score at least four goals tonight and without Messi it was never going to happen. At the end of the match the "End of an era" questions were clearly ringing in everyone's mind. Barca started with Valdes, Alves, Bartra, Pique, Adriano, Xavi, Song, Iniesta, Pedro, Cesc and Villa. One the bench we had Messi, Sanchez, Pinto, Montoya, Dos Santos, Thiago and Tello. Meanwhile Bayern started with their best available line-up, discarding the risk of some of them getting suspended. Bayern Munich started with Lahm, Boateng, Van Buyten, Alaba, Robben, Javi Martinez, Schweinsteiger, Ribery and Manduzic.
Apr 30, 2013
FC Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Preview, Eternal Hope make us Dream
“Barça!, Orgull, Barça!“, that will be the message displayed on Camp Nou Mosaic ahead of the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich. In the end it all comes to that - The Pride. The pride of representing FC Barcelona, the pride of playing in Barca way and the very pride of not giving it up till it over. As Alexander Pope said in An Essay on Man "Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never Is, but always To be blest: The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come". And it will be that Eternal Hope that keep every Barça Football Club fan Up and Kicking when this match start. Forget the 4-0 drubbing and the scoreline, this match is all about Pride. Last week at the Allianz Arena Fingers were pointed on this team, Questions were raised about our identity and Doubts were evoked about the legacy of this team. Tomorrow that has to be answered. Like majority of the fans, I don't care what will be the final outcome after tomorrow night; but I do care a lot how we play tomorrow night. Tomorrow it's all about playing the Barca way, imposing our game on opponents and reminding them clearly that we are not that spent force they are portraying us to be.
Apr 27, 2013
Barça Football Club's Title Celebration Put on Hold after Bilbao Draw - Barça - , Bilbao - 1
Barça Football Club will not be having a title celebration tonight. When the match started there was as chance - if we win and Madrid dropped points late on. But it will never be happening as we were held on to a last minute equaliser against Bilbao. Once agains it was the lack of aerial defense at the center back position which put us in this mess. Bilbao went ahead in the first half and we struggled to find any decent response till Messi came in. Once he came in we were in for a sweet victory but that was not to be. A look up at the line-up gave you the indication that Barça football club is not going to go down quietly against Bayern at Camp Nou, they were prepared to make a fuss about it. Majority of the expected starters were on the bench. The starting eleven had Valdes, Alves, Pique, Abidal, Alba, Song, Xavi, Thiago, Pedro, Cesc and Sanchez. Pinto, Bartra, Adriano, Iniesta, Messi, Villa and Tello started on the bench.
Apr 24, 2013
Humiliated in Munich , Barca - 0, Bayern Munich - 4
It was sheer humiliation, there is no other word to describe what happened at the Allianz Arena. In the end there was a sheer releief that they put only that many goal against us. Bayern with this sensational victory not only paid rest to all our Wembley hopes but may be they have clearly emerged as the Next Big Thing in Europe. May be it's the end of Barca's domination in Rurope and it's a very sad end if it is. We were over powered in every department by the German Champions. We were struggling to stay in the match and a dream of goal never came into any of our minds at anytime. With Adriano suspended for the match, Vilanova placed his faith in the youngster Bartra to be a part of the defense. Alves, Pique, Bartra and Alba formed the four man defense infornt of Valdes. The midfield in big games choses by itself and that meant it had the usual suspects - Iniesta, Busquets and Xavi. Pedro, Messi and Alexis formed the front trio. The bench had Pinto, Montoya, Abidal, Song, Thiago, Cesc and Villa . Montoya made into the line-up due to our defensive injuries, that meant we had no place for Tello. Meanwhile Bayern lined-up in a very exciting and expected form - Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Dante, Alaba, Martinez, Schweinsteiger, Muller, Robben, Ribery and Gomez.
Apr 22, 2013
Barca vs Bayern Munich Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg Preview
FC Barcelona will face Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena tomorrow night in the First Leg of the UEFA Champions League 2012-13 Semi-Final. The newly crowned Bundesliga Champions will present a huge challenge for this Barca side, especially with a number of players missing especially in defense. Inspite of all the issues with the missing defenders Barca fans were given some good news or partial. Lionel Messi has been included in the squad and has actually travelled to Munich. He is yet to receive the clearance from the medical team. Regardless of that everyone expect him to feature in the starting eleven. Barca team has already reached Munich and the squad includes Valdés, Pinto, Dani Alves, Piqué, Fàbregas, Xavi, Villa, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi, Thiago, Dos Santos, Bartra, Sergio, Pedro, Jordi Alba, Montoya, Abidal, Song, Tello, and Oier. Even though the absence of Puyol and Mascherano could be a problem for Vilanova, but the performance of Abidal on the weekend may have created some selection head-ache for him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
