A Boring Copa Del Rey Draw; Espanyol-0, Barca-0

Once again FC Barcelona struggled at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic. FC Barcelona were held for a goal less draw by Espanyol in the first leg of Copa Del Rey Quarter Final. Guardiola earlier have suggested that he would field the best available side but he dissappointed so does the team. Guardiola brought in nine changes to the team which started last week against Deportivo. As expected Pinto took charge of the Goal. Puyol replaced Alves as right back, Caceres and Marquez held the cenral defense and Sylvinho replaced Abidal as Left Back. Guardiola opted for a defensive minded midfield with Gudjonsen, Keita and Busquets partnering in the middle. Hleb, Bojan and Iniesta formed the front trio. In my opinion Guardiola made the big mistake of not slotting Iniesta in the middle. With the absence of Xavi, placing Iniesta in the front effectively cut off any service from the middle to the front.

Espanyol inspired their new coach Mauricio Pochettino and the home fans did have the better of the first half. Actually FC Barcelona effectively had no attack against Espanyol in the first half. On the contrary Pinto was called in more than one occasion to avert the danger. Andres Iniesta was the only player who had a goal on target when he shot staright at Kameni. BUt the best chance of the first half fell to Luis Garcia but Pinto did get enough touch on the ball to take it wide off the goal. The second half also saw the game being played in the same tempo. FC Barcelona looked a bit more settled in defense and that resulted in Pinto not getting troubled much. The addition of Xavi and Messi towards the end also did nothing interms of the match. FC Barcelona was giving away possession too cheaply throughout the match.

A draw away from home is a good result. But now this result makes the return leg somewhat like a real knock-out match. Espanyol only needs a goal scoring draw to proceed to the next stage. Now Guardiola has to field his best side in the second leg. Bojan tried too hard to impress but was effectively shut down by the defense. Iniesta was not getting any service and should have switched his position with Gudjohnsen. Hleb was too wasteful and it is sad to see these guys not trying their best to compete for the position in starting eleven. Then it is difficult for the team to gel together when there are changes in whole position. That is the only reason why I feel Gudjohnsen and Hleb struggle when they are slotted in team like yesterdays' and seem to do well when slotten in the regular line-up.

Espanyol vs Barca, Copa Del Rey QF 1st Leg Preview

FC Barcelona would be hoping to produce another sensational performance against Espanyol tonight at the Olympic Stadium on Montjuic. FC Barcelona's last visit to Espanyol resulted in a very controversial win for Barca - A Messy Win. That was the night when the infamous Boix Nois once again came into the fore front. The group has yet again has announced that they will get into the stadium. Espanyol authorities need to take more tough measures to make sure that no unwanted incidents take place. Espanyol is in dire straits as far as league is considered. They have sacked their coach Mane after Sunday's 4-0 defeat at the hands of Malaga. Mauricio Pochettino has been named the new coach. That woories me, as always with the arrival of a new coach there will be new belief among the players and that could lead to an excellent display. BUt still it will be too much for Espanyol to overcome this rampant FC Barcelona side. Eventhough we struggled against Espanyol last time; this FC Barcelona side has improved in leaps and bounds after that visit. Raul Tamudo, a terror for Barca will not be available for Espanyol in tonight's match due to injury.

All is not supposed to be well at Barca. Eto and Guardiola reportedly had a verbal confrontation during training. MundoDeportivo reports that Guardiola was not too happy with Eto's efforts on the training ground and asked Eto to hit the showers early; Eto didn't take that lightly and entered into an argument with his boss. It is not clear whether the two has made up since, but one thing is clear that Guardiola would not allow any of his players to be complacent and that is so good. Guardiola has not yet announced his squad, but he has indicated that he would be unleashing a very strong side. Pinto would be at the Goal in place of Valdes. Sylvinho, Puyol, Marquez and Alves would be forming the defense. Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets would be expected to form the midfield. But their may be a chance of Xavi being rested and then Keita would take his place. Hleb, Bojan and Messi is expected to form the front trio. There are reports suggesting that Pochettino would be using a 4-3-3 style, this could be dangerous for Espanyol as FC Barcelona players would have so much space to work with. I predict a Barca victory with a scoreline of 2-5.

For Some, Money is not All

Today there are reports emerging about Manchester City calling off the Kaka Transfer deal. Had this deal gone through it would have put all other record transfer deal to shame. But I am not writing about this deal; niether I am interested in any of them. Usually I don't write anything apart from news related to FC Barcelona, but thsi time I am yet again tempted to. While surfing net I came across the news of Luka Podolski's expected transfer to FC Koln(Cologne) in the summer. Many may call this transfer as a suicidal move interms of Podolski's career is concerned. He along with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philip Lahm are the most talented youngsters in German National Football. Hence it is more of a surprise that he decided to go back to FC Koln from a bigger club like Bayern Munich. Money may not be the only thing he may be missing at Cologne but also a chance to play European football. For once a footballer has chosen to follow his heart rather than his brain.

Luka Podolski made his Budesliga with FC Koln in 2003-04 season. But FC Koln was relegated to second division. Eventhough Podolski's talent was noticed, he decided to stay with FC Koln and got them promoted in the 2004-05 season. With a magnificient performance of scoring 24 goals he took his club back to the top-tier. Podolski remained an integral part of German national side all through this. But when FC Koln was relegated again Lukas Podolski moved to Bayern Munich for a sum of 10 million Euros. It is now reported that he is making a move back to FC Koln for the same amount. Critics may argue that Podolski never got a regular team place in Bayern Munich and anyway was looking to move to another club. But Bayern and Podolski should be appreciated to see the passion in the move rather than the economic viability. Bayern could have sold him to any of the top clubs in Europe. But still it is commendable from Bayern's part to have allowed the player to follow his heart. One thing is for sure, the people of Cologne loves their Prince like hell. Podolski inspired Bayern to a 3-0 victory at FC Koln; the Cologne fans cheered Podolski's goal against their team (may be the first time in history) to the complete astonishment of Cologne players and Bayern coach.