FC Barcelona vs Numancia Preview

Usually a visit by a small club may not generate too much interest at Nou Camp. Then Numancia is no other minnow club; they are the only club to have beaten FC Barcelona this season in the league. FC Barcelona's defeat at Numancia might have been forgotten by the footballing fraternity but not by the fans. That 1-0 defeat shook us all but more importantly Guardiola; and he has been correcting that brilliantly all these times. Naturally there is cries from the fans to get the records straight but Guardiola true to his nature has under played all those silly cries. He has once again reminded everyone that Numancia would not be any push-over and he expects Barca to battle till the 90th minute to take the game. Numancia lies in the 17th position at present and that do worry me. Throughout this season we have struggled against sides which lies in the bottom of the table. Numancia's away form this season hasbeen horrifying; they have lost every game except the Espanyol visit. Numancia is expected to go with a defensive approach and would most probably feature a five man defense.

Guardiola has not yet announced the side. Valdes would return back to the goal. Marquez is injured hence Pique would partner Puyol in the centre of defense; Abidal and Alves is expected to retain their position of full backs. This could be the match where we would yet again get a glimpse of the tremendous midfield we have compared to all over Europe. I expect Iniesta and Xavi to partner Toure. Messi, Henry and Eto should form the front troika. Thsi one could be another tough match, but we can expect the team to be up for it. After a dissappointing showing in Espanyol, the team would be looking to set the records straight. I expect Fc Barcelona to win the game comfortably with a score line of 5-0.

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.

FC Barcelona vs Deportivo Pictures on 17/01/09

FC Barcelona Player Rating against Deportivo on 17/1/09

Valdes - 6 - Nothing to do throughout the match.

Alves - 9 - The best Barca player on the pitch. Totally dominated the right wing. Set up two goals and created two excellent cross which Messi headed wide. You cannot ask more from him.

Pique - 7 - Lack of action was his only problem. But cleared the line whenver called upon even it was too few.

Puyol - 8 - Another Captain's performance. Solid in the back and created the last goal with excellent vision in the box.

Abidal - 7.5 - Have completely silenced his critics with a no non-sense performance from December. A usual composed and contained performance. Send in some delightful through ball.

Xavi - 8.5 - Another great performance by the midfield general. No doubt why Ferguson is interested in him. Great vision, passing and unselfish play by xavi Hernandez.

Toure - 7.5 - Was overshadowed by his team mates but his performance was solid. he formed the rock on which Barca could builf their attack.

Keita - 8 - He looked like a total misfit as an attacking midfield in earlier matches, but not in this one. he was involved in 80% of Barca move. one thing I like about him is his eagerness to get into the box. Great performance.

Messi - 7.5 - As usual great performance. Could have elevated a bit but then when his team mates are playing like this he even can take some well deserved rest. His partnership with Alves was great but wasted two excellent cross form the latter.

Eto - 7.5 - Another solid performance. Leading the league scorers sheet at the moment.

Henry - 8 - The best of the front three. He was involved in all attack.

Substitutes:

Iniesta - 8.5 - Got only few minutes to impress. Did his job to perfection. What else you can say about a player who had a shot at goal and created two goals in allowed twenty minutes.

Man Of The Match - Dani Alves

Deportivo Demolished; FC Barcelona-5, Deportivo-0

FC Barcelona broke the record for most points by a La Liga outfit in the first half os any season by a commanding demolition of Deportivo La Coruna at the Camp Nou. With the 5-0 destruction of Deportivo Fc Barcelona has amassed 50 points by the half stage of league. Three of FC barcelona's front men all got into the score sheet with Henry and Eto scoring twice and Messi opening the scoring. It is an astonishing record with Barca winning 16 games, drawing twice and losing once to Numancia in the first match of the League. FC Barcelona against Deportivo fired at all cylinders and it's good to see the team hit their top form especially with many important Cup matches coming in future. Guardiola decided to start Iniesta from the bench in the match. Valdes was back at goal; Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal formed the defense. Keita and Toure joined Xavi in the middle. The front three was the usual Henry, Eto and Messi trio.

FC Barcelona started dominating from the word go. In the first minute Henry's shot was saved by Deportivo goal keeper Aranzubia with his legs. In the next minute Aranzubia denied Henry again by parrying away a powerful Henry shot. In the 21st minute Xavi passed the ball to Messi on the right after Deportivo player Rodriguez gifted the ball to Xavi; Messi sets on with his diagonal run and shot back at the Goal from the edge of the box; the ball beat Aranzubia and squeezed in off the far post. In the 27th minute Henry doubled Barca's lead with a great header from an excellent Alves cross. In the 34th minute Messi wasted an open chance to go three goals ahead, when he headed wide another excellent Alves cross with only the Goal Keeper to beat. In the 36th minute Abidal played Keita on with a superb long through ball, but Keita's shot was deflected for a corner. In the 41st minute Eto got into the score sheet with an easy tap in after the initial Keita header from an Alves cross was saved by Aranzubia.

Second half started with FC Barcelona shifting a couple of gear down. There was no urgency shown, but that was understandable. In the 52nd minute Messi great shot was saved by Goal Keeper; Messi skipped past two defenders after receiving the ball from Henry. In the 71st minute Guardiola brought in Iniesta for Toure. There was chanting of Iniesta's name all around the stadium before he was brought in. In the next minute after his introduction Iniesta showed why he was loved by the Camp Nou faithfuls. Iniesta's excellent side-footed volley was saved by Aranzubia from a Henry cross. In the 75th minute Alves saw his free kick dipping just high of the post. In the 77th minute Messi wastes another excellent cross from Alves with a wide header similar to the first half. In the 82nd minute Hnery made it 4-0 with an easy tap in. Iniesta great vision and pass found an excellent Xavi run on the left; Xavi unselfishly cuts the ball back to Henry to score. In the 84th minute Aranzubia was sent off for bringing down Puyol after Iniesta has played him through. The move was started by Puyol in his own half, he continued his run and was picked up by Iniesta with an excellent pass. Eto scored from the resulting penalty to go 5-0 up.

This one was another great win for Barca, probably the best after the winter break. There were some exceptional performance mostly Henry, Keita, Xavi and Messi. But one guy whose performance gave me so much joy was Iniesta. There was two reason for it - number one is that he was back to his best; he wasn't up to his best in previous matches and his coming back to form is the best thing for Barca as I believe he is the most talented and important player in the squad after Messi. Second this performance came in the midfield, that means Henry need not worry much about his position and soon Barca will have a midfield featuring Toure, Iniesta and Xavi regularly.