A Fantastic Thriller; Celtic-2, Barcelona-3

After a long time, indeed a very long time we got a chance to witness the awesome firepower in the Barcelona ranks. With their performance against Celtic they might have again reignited the hope of seeing the magnificent Barcelona again. One of the main reason of Barcelona's awesome display was a very much improved performance, may be his best this season by the biggest of all stars - Ronaldinho. As I described in the Zaragoza match report he looked very comfortable on the pitch. Rijkaard threw up some surprises when he put Ronaldinho in the starting eleven. Eto rightly was not rushed into competitive match and started in the bench. But biggest surprise for me was Deco's presence in the starting line up, he was erratic in the early matches and i expected him to be dropped. Rijkaard decided to place his trust on him and he did absolute justice to his manager's decision making skill. With a 3-2 win Barcelona almost have placed a foot in the next round. But complacency will be Barcelona's enemy, they just have to look back to last year Copa Del Rey tie with Getafe for evidences. But then Barcelona in this scenario has the advantage of playing the second leg at home and it will be too tough for Barcelona to concede two goals in Camp Nou without scoring at least one, then nothing can be predicted.

Barcelona started with Ronaldinho on the left, Henry donning the centre forward cap and Messi back in his Favorite right position. The midfield was made up of Yaya, Deco and Iniesta. Yaya's presence indeed calmed down the nerves of Barcelona team and he had an excellent game. Milito and Marquez formed their formidable partnership in the centre of defense with Puyol on right and Abidal on left. As expected the atmosphere at Celtic Park, Glasgow was more than electrifying. Barcelona looked very sharp from the beginning and took very little time to settle down. In the 2nd minute Ronaldinho gave long through cross to Messi, but he fails to convert. This was no spectacular moment in the match, but was enough to reassure the Barca fans that he has not lost the good touch which he displayed at Zaragoza. In the 13th minute Iniesta saw his hot saved by Celtic Goalie Artur Boruc after the defense gave the ball away. A minute later Henry was denied by the Caddis just in front of line from a corner, which Henry skillfully controlled by his chest and volleyed. In the 16th minute Celtic shocked Barcelona by scoring their first goal from their only attack till then. It all started from a poorly taken free kick by Ronaldinho which found McGeady in the far right, Puyol, was not able to stop MCGeady's run and his cross was not cleared by the defense. It eventually found McDonald and his clear cut cross in to the box was turned in to the net by a diving Vennegoor of Hesselink. If Celtic goal shocked the entire Barcelona team, then Barcelona equaliser went unnoticed for a moment. The stadium hardly started celebrating the first Celtic goal Barcelona struck back through Messi after a beautiful one two with Deco. Barcelona slowly started taking control of the game from that moment. Ronaldinho was involved in every move and has been successful in dragging defenders along with him to create spaces for others. In the 22nd minute Marquez wins a free kick in a good position outside the box, Ronaldinho's free kick was just a little high but was not bad. Barcelona was constantly raiding the Celtic defense but the final clear cut ball was not coming. In the 28th minute Deco was indeed very lucky not to pick up a yellow card, as he grabbed the ball claiming a handball. Deco could not wait too much for that yello as he managed to put his name in referee's book after two minutes when he did not back up from a free kick. In the 34th minute Puyol crosses into the box and founds Messi, who tries to volley but couldn't control. The angle was too tight. In the 36th minute Abidal muscles out Nakamura and sends a great pass towards Henry in the box, but Henry shot over the bar. Then as in the first Goal after Barcelona wasted a chance at Celtic goal, Celtic went ahead with debutant Barry Robson's header. Again the all attack started with the same man Aiden McGeady who lifted the ball into the area which was lobbed past Valdes by Robson, who came in late and avoided Milito's notice. In the 40th minute Deco and Messi tried to replicate the first goal but this time Boruc comes early and collects it. In the 43rd minute Ronaldinho finds Messi in the box, but to shoot awfully wide. In the 44th minute Robson steals ball from Abidal and passes to McGeady who shoots slightly wide after cutting inside Puyol. Barcelona went into the first half with a goal down; this was the first occasion in 2008 where they have conceded more than one goal in a match.

After the break it was a complete Barcelona show. In the 51st minute Messi shot was deflected; Iniesta volleyed wide from the resulting corner. In the 52nd minute Henry restore parity with a trademark Thierry Henry goal. Ronaldinho placed the ball in to the path of Henry who moved inside the box and curled the ball into the far right corner. What a finish!!!! Maybe this might be the start of the Henry era. In the 55th minute Puyol places a very good pass to Messi inside the Box, but Robson did well to kill the chance. In the 58th minute the fantastic three - Henry, Messi and Ronaldinho displays why they are revered such high. Messi give the ball to Ronnie from the right and cuts in, Ronaldinho gives it back with an exquisite back heel, inside the box Messi gives the ball to Henry but the defense somehow managed to cut off the final ball from Henry to Messi. In the 62nd minute Messi shoots straight at the Goal Keeper after a great run into the box. In next minute Henry misses agonizingly close after Abidal finds him in the box. In the 75th minute Xavi's wonderful free kick finds Puyol in the box but heads straight at Boruc. Then in the 78th minute Messi put Barcelona in the lead for the first time in the match when he latched on to a poor clearance from defense. The match ended with Samaras getting booked for a dive inside the penalty box.

Barcelona looked sharp and may be this is a sign for things to come. Milito was for me the best player on the pitch. Messi looked like rediscovering his touch, Henry looks dangerous when he slotted in the left and most importantly our Hero Ronaldinho is slowly coming back.

Messi First Goal 1-1

Henry Goal 2-2

Messi Second Goal 2-3

visit FutBolCuyuz for rest of Goals

A God Send Victory

I don't think there is anything which is more God send than this victory at Zaragoza. The second Barcelona Goal came through a penalty, which got even the most optimistic Barcelona supporters surprised. Barcelona entered the match after receiving the good news that Real Madrid has slipped in Betis. Earlier I have written a post Accepting The Inevitable in which i described how difficult is for Madrid to lose matches now. I was proven wrong in the second successive occasion when Madrid lost their second consecutive away match. In that post I have written that it is hard for this Barcelona team to win all the matches, I was again proved wrong by God this time. AnywayBarcelona successfully cut down the lead to five points as if now. Zaragoza may feel hard done by luck as they expected to take away atleast a point from this match, but then inability to convert for the second time from a string of chances might have proved their nemesis.

Barcelona started with Giovani, Henry and Messi upfront and Deco, Xavi and Edmilson in the middle. Rijkaard made another return to his trademark ploy of using Puyol as a Right Back. Why is he persisting with Deco is a mystery, he has been one of the worse players on the pitch eventhough he made the Henry Goal. As expected Zaragoza had the majority of oppurtunity in the early exchanges. In the 4th minute Marquez did really well to cut off a wonderful run from Brazilian Oliviera. In the next minute Diego Milito had the first shot of the game when he shot straight at Valdes.In the 6th minute Zaragoza should have gone one up, Oliviera rounded off the defense wonderfully and sends a cross from left side of box, but Sergio Garcia makes a mess of it by shooting high. Zaragoza were always successfully isolating Messi, whenever he gets the ball he is sorrounded by three defenders. This also has been the Deco's worst season in terms of Goal scoring for lat eight year, and he was giving a very well crafted display of why. In the 15th minute Puyol makes a wonderful run from the right, a run which is a trademark of Messi. He has seriously improved as a Right Back, but still send him back to where he belong Frank. As usual Deco wastes the free kick. In the 20th minute Messi failed to control a very good long pass from Abidal, has he been successful in doing so that would have been interesting. In the 24th minute Oliviera shoots just wide from the box, after he created a seemingly non existent angle. In the 26th minute Barcelona got the first shot at goal when Messi played a wonderful through ball to Giovani, which was well saved by Zaragoza Goal Keeper. In the 34th minute Sergio Garcia reacted very slowly to receive a wonderful cross from oliviera. In the next minute Henry finds the net from an exquisite Deco pass. The chest control of Henry was awesome and he never wasted a single second there. In the 39th minute Valdes does well to come sliding forward and collect a through ball to Diego Milito. In the 40th minute, deco saw his shot saved after an excellent exchange with Messi. In the next minute Marquez conceded a penalty which Diego shoots high. There was no doubt about the penalty claims.

Zaragoza came back from the break with a sense of purpose. In the 52 minute Diego denired by Valdes legs, the rebound was shot wide. That was an excellent save by Valdes. In the 53rd minute Oliviera scores from a great pass from Sergio Garcia. In the 58th minute Edmilson was taken out and Yaya was brough in. In the 60th minute Diego Milito heads a free header wide. In the 66th minute Barcelona almost conceded the second goal when Valdes failed to reach the ball from a free kick - Milito somehow scrambled the ball away. As in the earlier matches Barcelona passing has become somewhat like school children, actuall they will pass better. In the 73rd minute Xavi sets up Deco but he shoots wide, he should have atleast tested the Goalie from that angle. In the 74th minute Ronaldinho camein place of Giovanni. In the 75 th minute Sergio Garcia long range effort went high after Abidal gave away the ball, if it had gone in it would have been the Goal of the season. In the 79th minute Henry shoots high after Ronnie beautifully sets him up. But the most controversial decision came in the 81st minute when Barcelona was awarded the penalty after the referee somehow got convinced that Juanfran has handled the ball. Replays suggest a completely different thing, but the worst thing was there was no Barcelona players around him and none appealed also. In the confusion and mayhem which arose after that i don't knbow exactly how many zaragoza player got yellow card. Ronaldinho as cool as ice converts the penalty to take barcelona 2-1 up and five points near to leaders. But there was no doubt thet the penalty was very harsh, when considering that not even a single barcelona players was in any kind of position to use the ball. The last chance of match went to Ronnie when he shoots wide after an excellent pass from Puyol, Ronnie's control and technique was awesome.

For some game running, Valdes was the best player on the pitch. But for me the man of the match should be Oliviera, whenever he got the ball our defense simply trembled. Ronaldinho looked very sharp today as he was trying to setup other players rather than trying to score by himself. He should get a much better playing time against Celtic. In the end my conclusion was that was a very undeserving victory but a very important one.

Ronaldinho Penalty

Barca penalti
by mk171982

courtesy:www.futbolcuyuz.com

Rijkaard's Future and The Mourinho Option

After his failure to win a substantial trophy last season, Rijkaard is under immense pressure to avoid the same this season. His best chance lies in landing the Copa Del Rey cup. Many sections in Media and fans are asking for his removal, but does removing Rijkaard will solve Barcelona’s entire problem? Rijkaard for me have been very soft on some of the superstars in the team, but then it does not surprise you - as they have done so much for him. Or in other words, they all together have climbed many heights. A person who has been linked too much for the Barcelona job in the wake of Rijkaard leaving is - José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho. Everybody expected Mourinho to fill the job for his previous experience with Barcelona. But anyway John Laporta for the time being, rightly has put an end to all those rumours by giving the boards backing for Frank Rijkaard. But by the end of season, especially if they can't create a spectacular turn around in the League, we might hear those calls for Rijkaard's head again.

But if in any case Rijkaard leaves, Is Mourinho the man we want to see at the helm of Barcelona? I would prefer anybody except him. Firstly it is because of the fact that he is a very defensively minded coach. Will he fit into the current playing style of Barcelona? Especially when we consider the young players available in Barcelona - the likes of Messi, Iniesta, Bojan, Giovanni etc, they will never fit into his style of play where even the centre striker is expected to defend in the box. So obviously when he arrives he has to bring a group of players who fits into his style, which also automatically forces many of the above mentioned players leaving Barcelona.

Secondly, his relationship with Barcelona is not any cordial level. Barcelona players and fans I believe hate him to the core. So it will be difficult for him to work along with them, especially if he suffers some early setbacks. Barcelona players can be expected to be professional - but I don't think Messi will ever forget the way he called him names after the leg at Stamford Bridge. This wonderful persona was solely responsible for making the Barcelona- Chelsea matches in recent times so violent, in and off the pitch. He calls himself a "Special One ", but for me if there is a special one in today's coaching fraternity it is undoubtedly - Guis Hiddink, he can do wonders with whatever you give to him. If we decide to call him the "Special One" for his achievements, then the current English National Coach - Fabio Cappello is a "Very Very Very Special One".

Thirdly and most importantly, I don't think that he will fit into the Barcelona club values. F C Barcelona indeed is something "More Than A Club". The commitment for the club not only is in the soccer front but also is in the social front. The recent agreement with ACNUR and UNICEF are testimony on this front. Barcelona on all fron believes in the fact of giving respect to their opponents and competitors. I am not saying that no untoward incidents have happened which involve Barcelona players and fans, but they are so few in between. If Mourinho arrives, he will change all these. This "Special One" is indeed known more for his verbal taunts and will take out all the respect the world has for Barcelona players and the club. He has done that with Chelsea and almost made Chelsea the most hated club in the world (consider only non Chelsea fans). There may be people who argue that people are jealous of Chelsea's success, but then why people around the world are not that jealous or critical of the Barcelona (previous two seasons), Milan, Brazil teams. They all have tasted success at a rate very similar actually more than Chelsea has. Wise men says "Its difficult to be grateful in defeat rather than victory", but Mourinho can't do both. Rijkaard to a great extent has upheld his personality and the Clubs pride with the way he dealt with his opponents and has been very graceful in both victories and defeats.

Mourinho on doubt is a good tactician, but there is no guarantee that he will bring success. When ManU and Arsenal slowly started to find parity with Chelsea he had no idea to deal with it and it resulted in his exit from Stamford Bridge. Mourinho according to me, if he arrives in Barcelona will do more bad than good to the Club. The above mentioned views are my personal ones and everybody else is welcomed to either agree or disagree with these. We can have a great debate on these. But sitting at a distance of almost 6000 miles from Barcelona (in India), bombarded with all the English premier League details left and right if I am addicted to F C Barcelona - there should have been something more to the Club than its players and achievements. And I truly don't want to see F C Barcelona lose its soul and become "a typical another" club in Europe.

"Will always remain a Cule, despite of whatever happens".