Bojan and Giovani - Firmly Striding Forward

In the begining of this season it was clear that the two wonderfully talented kids - Bojan and Giovani ,from Barcelona youth Academy will get their first taste of first team football. But a series of injuries and loss of form of the senior players have made sure that both of them remain an integral part of Barcelona team this season. In the start of season , there was too much of pressure on Rijkaard to include them in the side inorder to avoid other clubs robbing them. In contrast to some of their seniors who went in search for better shores, these two had made it clear in advance that their future lies with Barcelona. Giovnani was expected to make a sizeable number of appearances and Bojan was expected to make his debut this season. But as destined they both have made a sizeable number of appearances and also have made it into starting eleven on many number of occasion. This also has a downside with fans and media criticising them (like Giovani was criticised some game before) for the lack of impact in some games. The media and fans will do a world of good to the club if they take the time to remember that they just made their debuts this season. Messi, when he debuted some season ago was similiar to them, but ofcourse had more talent.

Of these two, Bojan Krikic looked to me more comfortable with rigour of La Liga football. This may be of the fact that he is an out and out striker, and (apart from Eto we don't have one also) he gets to play in his favourite position more often. Giovani had made much bigger impact when he was brought as a substitute but in matches where he started have to admit he was a dissappointment. Don't have to look too far the last match against Osasuna will act as a testimony for what i have written here. But I believe this may be because of the lack of centre forward in the Barcelona player setup. He is asked to do so much more than he might be capable of. Bojan already has four goals from 18 apperances which is very good as debutant, but also reiterates the fact that he is a out and out Centre Forward. Along with messi, these two will for the future of the Barcelona attack line up. But overall we can confidently say that these two kids have taken their baby strides in the big leagues of football very firmly.

Rijkaard's trouble in the match against Sevilla doesn't looks like ending - now Deco and Sylvinho has been declared unfit for the tie. The three reserve players - Espasandín , Víctor Vázquez and Víctor Sánchez have been named in the squad. Out of which Víctor Espasandín has a high chance of making his debut as he is considered as a solid Left back. As i said in my last post it maight be time for Messi to justify world's belief that he is the New Maradona. This match will depend upon him a lot. Thinking about Ronaldinho, some strange idea came to my mind - we can place him in the Midfield may be in the position Gudjonsen is playing. That will cut down the expectation on him of scoring Goals and will surely help him in assisting more. Every time I see him on pitch he looks like trying too much for scoring Goals, because of which he is not assisting his fellow players or creating chances.

Barcelona Goes To Sevilla

Now its confirmed that Barcelona will miss the service of Bojan and Zambrotta for the upcoming crunch match against Sevilla. Zambrotta will be out for a week with the injury he picked up in the match against Portugal. Bojan, who is still suffering from gastroenteritis, which has delayed his much published debut for Spain. Barcelona is unbeaten in the last eight away matches in all competition - in the league they have drawn twice and won twice. But remaining unbeaten does not solve Barcelona's problem. As everyone knows they have to pick up every available point in order to launch a final assault on the Championship. Mexican internationals Rafa Márquez and Giovani dos Santos are expected to be back in Barcelona by Friday after a friendly match against United States. Rijkaard had a depleted squad for yesterday's training because of the international duties (i will not call it a commitment) of the players. The players who trained at La Masía are Milito, Oleguer, Xavi, Valdes, Edmilson, Gudjohnsen, Iniesta, Messi and Ronaldinho.

The injury to Zambrotta would be a serious setback to Rijkaard as Oleguer will be the only person left to take up that job. Edmilson should be able to fit into the defensive midfielder job. Oleguer never had any competitive game since last October or so, should be expected to be a little rusty. Another question is that whether Sylvinho be picked ahead of Abidal. I expect so. When the last time Barcelona went to Sevilla they came up with a spirited 1-1 draw. They opted for a defensive minded approach that time, but that will not help their cause this time. That was a two legged tie and Barcelona di plan well. But anything less than a victory here now will spoil all the good work done last week when Madrid slipped. Adding up to the Barcelona's worries are the fact that Kanoute, Fabiano and Alves will be available for Saturday’s tie. These three especially will be a very big headache for any defense. Therefore Barcelona has to show their offensive strength more over here. They need to surprise them in the early encounters and need to make sure that Sevilla does not dominate game for extended time. If they get to dominate for more time they will surely crack the Barcelona defense. Barcelona still have a very dangerous side even with all the injuries. We can expect Milito and Marquez to make up the defense. The attacking lineup would be made up of Messi, Henry and Iniesta, with Gudjonsen and Xavi pairing Edmilsson in the middle. To win they have to dominate, they have to defend upfront and importantly not to give away possession cheaply. My prediction will be Barcelona winning 3-1 with Messi scoring a brace. This is the time when Messi has to move out of the shadow of his legendary colleagues.

There is a sense of resentment among Barcelona fans - that the international duties will be the one harming Barcelona's chances. I always believe that a player belong to his Country more than the Club. Barcelona has a very big squad to work with and the unavailability of some players should not harm them. If Barcelona is finding them in a very tough situation, it’s solely because of their lack of commitment, not because of any international duties.

Best 'La Liga' Blog Nomination

Its with great hapiness I am writing that this blog has been nominated for the 'Best La Liga Blog' award at SoccerLens Readers Choice Award. It also give me great pride to be placed in the league of best in the blogging world such as Fcbnews.com, Forca Barca etc. This nomination would provide me enthusiasm to continue my work with more passion. If you like this blog and think high about this Please take the time to vote for me Vote For Me. Let the best blog win.