Athletic Bilbao - 2, Barca - 2

FC Barcelona looks like they will be al set to add their first silverware of this season at Camp Nou next week after securing a 2-1 away victory at Sam Mames. With two away goals and a goal lead, it looks pretty unlikely that Barca will falter in winning the title. Athletic Bilbao went ahead towards the end of the first half but second half strikes from Xavi and Pedro secured Barca a deserving victory. The best moment of the match was Xavi receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd when he was substituted. That moment should be seen as the best reward for his contribution to football, especially nationa team. Guardiola selected Valdes at the goal ahead of Pinto. Alves, Puyol, Pique and Abidal started at the defense. Xavi, Toure Keita formed the midfield trio and Bojan, Henry and Pedro formed the attacking trio.

As expected Barca started the game well in the first half. Bojan had two decent chance in the first four minutes. Alves was at his menancing best throughout the match with his trademark runs through the flanks. In the 11th minute Alves tested the goal keeper with a 30 yard screamer but the custodian managed to save the same. But Bilbao slowly settled in the game and started causing more worries to Barca. Just before the half time Toure lost the ball, the ball came to De Marcos he turned inside Pique before shooting past Valdes with the help of a big deflection to go 1-0 up. Early on the second half, Barca were struggling to settle down. But we found the equaliser in the 58th minute. Keita went forward on the left and sent in a cross to Pedro who squared the ball to Xavi inside the box, who made no mistake from 12 yards. In the 68th minute Pedro sealed the victory with a screamer from 25 yards out. This may not have been a trademark performance but still as a start this was a very efficient one.

Spanish Super Cup 1st Leg Preview

Athletic Bilbao vs Barca Preview

In contrast to the other major leagues in Europe, the Spanish Super Cup is a two legged affair. The first leg will be held tonight at San Mamés ; the second leg will held at the Camp Nou next sunday. Guardiola has announced the squad which is travelling to face Athletic Bilbao - Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Maxwell, Abidal, Puyol, Piqué, Fontàs, Muniesa, Touré, Keita, Xavi, Gudjohnsen, Busquets, Bojan, Pedro, Jeffren, Henry and Jonathan Dos Santos. Messi has been left out of squad as he is still nursing a strained left thigh. Meanwhile it is also decided that Messi will miss the League opener agains Gijon as he has been given permission to fly out to prepare for Argentina vs Brazil match. Along with Messi, Iniesta, Ibrahmovic and Marquez are also out of squad carrying different injuries. With so many huge stars missing Barca will be hoping to get a decent result which they can defend next week at home.

Guardiola will most probably chose Pinto ahead of Valdes at the goal. Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal should form the defense. Xavi, Toure and Busquets should form the midfield. Pedro, Bojan and Henry should form the attacking pair. Absence of Iniesta and Messi may not be a huge factor when playing against Bilbao; but complacency could be a big factor. Even with this somewhat weak line-up, I expect Barca to come up with a narrow victory. My prediction is a 2-0 victory away from home.

Do We Really Need Cesc Fabregas?

Ok, Arsenal fans could up in arms against me for posting this. But relax guys there is no chance of this completeing this season. But it is always good to have a debate on a subject which matters most to Catalans. Guardiola and Laporta both have made clear their hopes of signing the Catalan. Cesc Fabregas, naturally is a catalan and is a product of Barca's youth academy and therefore naturally will fit into Barca's scheme of things. But at reported asking of 45 million Euros, Barca management will stay away from him for atleast this year. Not because he lacks quality, but for that amount he will be an extra-vaganza. If FC Barcelona manages to sign Cesc back, it is not yet clear whether he will get a regular start. Many of the fans would disagree, I also agrees that he is of highest quality. Naturally if he has to start then we have to shift Iniesta to front left, competing with Henry. But is that a solution. I have earlier written a post of why the Xavi - Iniesta Duo is the best in the world - Andres Iniesta vs Xavi Hernandez; The Dangerous Duo. Now ideally we will not like to unsettle that combination. Fabregas and Xavi are similiar kind of players and moving Iniesta out of that midfield will take a lot of variety from that midfield. Just see how Spain struggled with the absence of Iniesta recently. Fabregas and Xavi relies heavily on giving those wonderful defense splitting passes but Iniesta is one of the most naturally gifted dribblers and provide the pace to the midfield and to an extend the surprise. That is why Iniesta and Xavi together is a great combination than Xavi and Fabregas. But also I believe that a Fabregas and Iniesta combination in the midfield will be as dangerous as Xavi - Iniesta duo.

Now that is what bothers me - Fabregas is the ideal replacement for Xavi. Xavi at 29 will have some more playing years left in him; Fabregas who is 22 will be an ideal choice for the future. But if we somehow sign him now I don't think we will be able to give him enough playing time that does justice to his talent. But then the real dileama is that he is the best replacement for Iniesta and Xavi available at this moment in the world. And with him available we will be able to rotate the midfield more and keep the little masters out of injury from long time. But then the real problem will be he may not get a starting place in the biggest matches, let's say a crucial El Classico encounter or a Champions League final. That is the reason why I believe we may not go for him at the quoted amount but at a lower rate around 30 million it is good to bring him back. Again there is a chance that by the time Xavi fades off we might have a suitable replacement coming from the youth setup. But for now I believe he will be best served at Arsenal but I don't see him staying there in the future.