Copa Del Rey Semi Final, First leg Preview

Rijkaard have excluded Ronaldinho from the crucial first leg of the Cop Del Rey Semi Final against Valencia. The decision came as a surprise especially considering the fact that Valencia will have an advantage of playing the return leg at home. Along with Ronaldinho, Rijkaard has rested Sylvinho, Gudjonsen, Giovanni and Rafael Marquez also for this match. Marquez is out with pain in his foot and others are excluded as he can have only a 16 man squad for Copa Del Rey as opposed to the 18 in the league. Deco and Henry are back in the squad. Henry should start the match on the left along with Eto and Messi. But the unluckiest one will be Iniesta who is sure to miss out of a starting role and have to wait for his opportunity on the bench. There should not be much change in the back four, but the only thing that has to be seen is where Pinto will get an opportunity under the Goal.

For Valencia, their last encounter with Barcelona was a forgettable affair. The Catalans ran riot in their defense, but this Valencia side for the first time in this season has started showing some consistency which was expected from them. Still the absence of Miguel and Marchena will be a blow to the team when considering the fact that Camp Nou is one of the most difficult place to travel. For Barcelona it’s essential to close out this leg in this match itself. The last time we traveled to face a decent opponent in the second leg; we were out of the competition. But the recent resurgence should give them enough encouragement to perform well. It’s crucial not to think of the return leg at this moment. It’s better to consider one game at a time.

Always Remember "If you chase two rabbits, both will escape."

"Concentration is the factor that causes the great discrepancy between men and the results they achieve... the difference in their power of calling together all the rays of their ability and concentrating on one point." - Orison Swett Marden

Beauty is Back; Barcelona-5, Levante-1

With a scintillating performance against Levante at Home, Barcelona's return to the beautiful football they play is complete. They looked very comfortable, and is no surprise that all this is happening because Ronaldinho is finally enjoying his football. With Getafe condemning Real Madrid to their first home defeat of this season, Barcelona finds the leaders a mere two points away. The best thing is that everything now lies in the hands of Barcelona. If they can continue their good form at worse they can decide the title race at Barnebeu. Nobody expected miracles from Levante; the entire match was watched or looked upon to decide whether the good signs shown at Celtic park were just a Mirage. But Barcelona with their performance has reignited the hopes of a wonderful treble. I know its a little premature, but then human minds can't stop dreaming isn't it?

Barcelona started the match with Henry and Deco given a break from the hectic schedule. Messi, Eto and Ronaldinho joined together to recreate the magic of the fantastic three. Iniesta and Xavi paired with Toure who for me was the best player on the pitch, he won most of the tackle and his vision for that Eto goal was simply awesome. Puyol got back his customary position with Zambrotta and Sylvinho joining him and Milito. Barcelona showed their intent pretty early and in the fourth minute there was a wonderful 1-2 between Ronnie and Messi in the box, but the final ball to Iniesta was well intercepted by defense. Then in the 12th minute an excellent cross form Ronnie finds Messi in the box, Levante Goalkeeper Kujovic makes an excellent interception to deny Eto of the final ball. Then in the 14th minute as everyone expected, Barcelona takes the lead with a Xavi Goal. Iniesta plays the ball to Eto, the defense some how manages to throw up a desperate successful tackles but the rebound fell in the path of Xavi. In the 16th minute Ronaldinho should have doubled the lead when he failed to keep his shot low. Xavi send a wonderful pass to Eto who sets up the whole chance with a beautiful decoy by Iniesta, Ronaldinho was trying to put it into the top corner. In the 27th minute Geijo cuts inside Puyol but his shot hits the inside of the post and somehow stays out. In the 32nd minute Sylvinho shoots high after a brilliant inter play between himself, Ronaldinho and Iniesta. Then in the 39th minute Eto couldn't find a decent header onto an excellent cross from Ronaldinho. Barcelona were made to pay for their lapses after Mustafa Riga coverts the penalty which was given away by Zambrotta for handling the ball in the box. Within four minutes Barcelona responds well to take back the lead through Lionel Messi. He played a beautiful 1-2 with xavi and converts from the narrowest of angles and from a non existent gap.

In the 47th minute Xavi sends in a beautiful flick spotting Eto's run but the Goal keeper responds quickly. Then in the 55th minute Eto makes the score line 3-1 with a wonderful finish after Messi set him up. In the 62nd minute Eto adds one more to his tally when Messi unselfishly placed the ball on ton Eto's path; after a delightful Toure flick above the defense which found Messi. Eto should have completed his hat trick in the 65th minute when Ronaldinho placed a terrific through pass to Eto, but his first touch was too heavy. Then in the 74th minute Messi produces terrific football to stay of the challenges of Levante players and finds Eto with a beautiful pass. But Eto hits it straight at Kujovic. By the time Ronaldinho was taken off and Bojan was brought in. In the 78th minute Bojan tries for a long range shot from outside the box, but loses his footing. In the 85th minute Levante tried to catch Barcelona back four by surprise but Valdes managed to save Riga's shot. Then in the 87th minute Eto completes his hat trick with a bizarre finish, after Bojan unselfishly gave the ball to Eto. Then in the 91st minute Bojan's puts a great pass towards Giovanni who came in for Messi, the Goal Keeper intercepts hit. By that time Referee had decided to put Levante out of their misery and blew the final whistle.

For Barcelona this was an excellent display of attacking football but the result is made sweeter by the fact that Madrid loses to Getafe. Yaya Toure's presence in the midfield is reassuring and Ronaldinho's return to form is the most promising. He may not be 100% fit but very soon we can see him in his real avatar. Messi has found his goal scoring touch and Iniesta and Xavi both are becoming more and more consistent with each match. It looks like everything is going well for Barcelona (touch wood) and nothing for Madrid. That's a strange reversal of luck.

Messi Goal see the reaction of Defender

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

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