Andres Iniesta vs Xavi Hernandez; The Dangerous Duo

So, the debate rages on; who is better Xavi or Iniesta. Nic from FCBNews did a poll to find the second best Barca player after Messi; not surprisingly that soon become a head-on clash between two of Barca's little midfield brains. Iniesta emerged victorious ahead of Xavi but with a narrow margin. There is no doubt that FC Barcelona has been blessed with two of the world's best midfielders in Xavi and Iniesta; no soccer fans will deny that. But picking one of them is the toughest job in hand. Xavi Hernandez is the midfield General of the side. He controls and drives the midfield and there is no doubt that he is also the captain in waiting for both club and the national side. After Guardiola took over he has improved a lot in the scoring section. He regularly finds himself in the scoresheet and no one can forget the number of assists he got. Andres Iniesta is fondly called "The Choir Boy" by media and fans. That name suggests his humble and unassuming nature. He is indeed an exception in an era where the most average of football players vie for media attention. He does his job day in, day out with not much fuss. He is an excellent dribbler and his dribbles have unsettled the best of defensive opponents. His inability to get into score sheet is always pinned against him but no one can deny the fact that many of his teammates get into scoresheet courtesy of his skills. He needs to be a bit more aggressive as I have written earlier - Time For Iniesta To Be Aggressive. He is more versatile that Xavi; actually than anyone in the side. He has played in more position that any in the history of the game and actually did very well in all those positions. Guardiola started using his front left and that has already started a debate about "Whether to Have Henry or Iniesta in the front". I will come to that in a later post.

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Valladolid - 0, Barca - 1

A late first half strike from Eto made sure that FC Barcelona gave up any momentum in the La Liga chase. FC Barcelona were made to work over time by a gritty Valladolid side and towards the second half looked in more trouble. This was no classic Barca performance but it is still a very valuable win. We always have a high chance to drop points after an international break but this time we kicked the habit. Guardiola as expected decided to omit his Latin American players - Messi and Alves from the starting line up. Henry was also given the rest. Valdes once again guarded the goal. Puyol was slotted in as the Right Back but had to play the left back role after Alves came in the second half. Marquez and Pique agains combined to form the centre of defense and Sylvinho took his loeft back position. The midfield was very defensive with Keita and Busquets playing along with Xavi. Iniesta, Eto and Pedro formed the attack line.

The game started slowly and Barca's first attack came in the 12th minute with Pedro forcing a save from Asenjo. In the 35th minute Eto took the ball to right and pulled the ball back to Xavi who shot high. Then in the 40th minute Eto put Barca ahead with a delicate chip over an advancing Asenjo's head. The move started with Eto passing the ball to Xavi and continuing with his run, Xavi then played a delightful chipped cross over defense to find Eto who chipped the ball over Asenjo's head. In the 42nd minute Iniesta produced a great dribble into the box, skipped past two defenders but his final curling shot did not had the power to beat Asenjo. Barca went to the lead with a goal lead and was hoping to dominate possession more in the second half. But Valladolid came after the break more determined and did force many silly passing mistakes from barca's midfield.

In the 50th minute Eto shot over from an Iniesta pass. But Valladolid was getting back to the match. In the 55th minute Valdes was tested for the first time. Then in the 58th minute Valdes made a decent save to deny Escudero who got past Puyol and Marquez with ease. In the 59th minute Guardiola took off Pedro and Sylvinho and brought in Messi and Alves. Puyol moved to the left. In the 67th minute Alves did well to clear danger from a dangerous cross from the left. In the 72st minute Keita heads wide from an excellent Alves cross. Then in the 75th minute Iniesta produced a great moment of magic. He grabbed the ball from a defenders leg and skips past defender to get into area but another defender stuck his foot and send the ball wide. In the 79th minute Alves looked as if he was going to send in a cross to centre instead shot staright into the goal; Asenjo did well to block but theball fell to Eto who despite reacting quickly couldn't direct it properly.

As I said earlier this victory is a very good one as we were able to shut the door firmly on Madrid. Now the entire concentration shifts to Munich clash. Bayern lost yesterday to VfL Wolfsburg by 5-1. There are many who think Iniesta should replace Henry on the left. It is a very good argument; but the truth simply is that without Iniesta our midfiedl doesn't dominate as much as we want. So for me he is more important in the midfield that up front.

Real Valladolid vs Barca Preview

After two weeks break La Liga will be back in action from tonight. FC barcelona is making the trip to Valladolid tonight to take their quest for La Liga title forward. Barca finds themselves in quite trickly situation. The south American players joined the squad late compare to the Europe based players. We have failed to win consistently this season after an international break, that puts Barca in a tricky situation. Real Madrid will be on our heels looking for any weakness. Guardiola would be hard done by the fact that he had most of his squad on international duties and he also got a crusial Champions League tie coming up. Instead of blaming FIFA for the tight schedule the big clubs in Europe should persuade UEFA to re-arrange their Champions League fixtures so that it does not fall in a week after Internationa duties. Valladolid lies ninth in the table and would be a difficult place for Barca to travel especially after an international break. They have been pretty inconsistent with their form at home. They have beaten the likes of Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Real Madrid at home; but then they have gone down to teams like Racing, Betis, Malaga etc at home. The last time FC Barcelona met them at Camp Nou, Barca scored six past them withoout any reply.

Guardiola has nnounced his travelling squad ahead of the clash. Alexanded Hleb has been left out as a precaution after he suffered a knock while on international duties. Yaya Toure and Abidal both are still out with injury. But Iniesta and Puyol has recovered from their injuries and has made it into the squad. The squad is Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Márquez, Piqué, Cáceres, Puyol, Sylvinho, Sergio Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Gudjohnsen, Henry, Eto'o, Messi, Bojan, Pedro. It is still not clear whether Guardiola will start with Messi in the starting line up. I see only a substitute role for him. Valdes has been in the media for his contract negiotiations with Barca, but he is sure to guard Barca's goal. Puyol, Pique, Marquez and Sylvinho could form the defense. Guardiola would do Alves a favour by resting him as he is back from his trip to South America. Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta would form the midfield. Henry and Eto should form the front trio along with Pedro. Again it would be better to rest Messi and bring him in the second half only if the situation demands it. Iniesta need s to have quality playing time as we cannot afford for him to be rusty in Bayern match. Xavi has been over working but I don't think we can afford to start with him on the bench. True to our form after International break we could struggle here; but as Busquets pointed out that should not be an excuse. This could be a tight game but Barca could see home due to their exceptional players.
My prediction : Vallodolid - 1, Barca - 3.