Thursday, September 8, 2011

Beach World cup update

Since nothing happened barca wise over the international friendly break, I'm gonna fill you all in on the Beach world cup. I'm sure most of you couldn't give less of a damn. I sure do. El Salvador has qualified for the semi freakin finals of a world competition. E.S passed the group stages after a thrashing from Portugal, a decent win against Oman, and an upset against Argentina. Today they defeated the hosts, freaking Italy. That is amazing. El Salvador is a tiny country in central America who have only qualified for the World Cup twice. This is the third qualification for the Beach World Cup. The other two trips E.S. had not won a single game. This time around they made it to the Semi's. Even if you do not care about the sport you can see that there has been progress. I plan on supporting the country of my parents in all competitions.
I can't wait to see if they can beat the Russians.

Peace!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Starting this up again.

So it's been a while since I wrote anything. Mostly because I have shit to do other than blogging. So Barcelona has made 2 transfers in and a decent amount out. Cesc FINALLY came to the Camp Nou. Arsene Wenger can finally stop holding him in a shitty trophy less team. I hate Arsenal because I'm a Stoke fan, Wenger talks a lot of crap about Stoke.
Barca also got the Chilean Alexis Sanchez. Amazing winger, plays quick plays well and give games off for Villa. Fabregas can do the same for Xavi. Both players are aging and need all the time off they can get. Fabregas slots into the Barca style incredibly well, because he is a youth academy player. Sanchez will need time to adjust but his ability and utility will be useful across the pitch. Sanchez is hungry for trophies and for goals. He is exactly the type of player we need to continue our dominance in the Champions league, La Liga, and in the Club World Cup. Cesc was always going to return eventually. I had honestly thought we did not need him since Thiago had progressed so nicely.  A midfield option and a offensive option were needed and now we have them. I used to be in the group that asked for a new defender. Now I know Pep is more of a genius than I thought.
Total Football is now a possibility. Barca has enough midfielders that can play well defensively to be able to play at the back and make important saves. It seems as though Pep has been moving towards this for a while but I had never envisioned this. A team comprised of all midfielders. Players who can hold the ball, pass it, keep it, and attack in one fluid motion.

The game against the Yellow Submarines showed all the fans the truth.
Barca has evolved it's style of play. It's gonna be a great season.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Barca1-1 Real Madrid

Well the First half of the 4  Barca Real Madrid games are over with. It took me a few days to calm down about the draw in the first game and to control my rage and sadness over our loss in the Copa Del Rey final.

First and foremost the away game in Madrid. This game had two goals and broke two "curses". First came Messi's goal, it was a penalty, in the 53rd minute. This game was 100% in Barca's favor but Madrid gave them little space to maneuver. What struck me most about this game was how similar the formation and play style was to Inter's when they beat Barcelona last year.  Basically they pulled all 10 players back to defend and then as soon as they got the ball pressed forward with all 10 players. It was end to end football and very entertaining if you don't a affiliations with either team. If you were me, you had a heart attack at least 4 separate times. Now for Ronaldo's penalty. It was not a penalty in my opinion but I am very biased. You should see it for yourself if you would like to comment on it. Either way Ronaldo scored a fine penalty, I can't take anything from the goal itself. Now There was ANOTHER possible penalty for Barcelona earlier in the match. Since it wasn't called it is unnecessary for us to argue over it. On to the next Classico

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Well I'm going to make this one very brief. Shaktar was a threat in the first 15 minutes. After that Barcelona kept them under control and played their normal control game. Messi scored the only goal in the 43rd minute. It was a low shot that the keeper could not stop. Good times for us. Shaktar did get many chances throughout the 90 minutes but Valdes kept the ball out. The Shaktar Goalkeeper also did his job and denied Affellay and Messi goals. Other than that just pure Barca Dominance. See you all at the Classico

Barcelona Champions league (1st leg)

Sorry for the late update guys. School has been in the way. Let's get this done quickly
Okay for the first leg Barcelona dominated at the Camp Nou. The first goal was made by Iniesta. He scored in the 2nd minute within the box with a quick break away. He just slid the ball underneath the keeper, it was a nice finish. Alves then scored in the 34th minute. This goal came from a mistake from the keeper. The lobbed pass was good to Alves but the Keeper should have gone forward but he didn't and he paid the heaviest price, a fantastic goal. I also enjoyed the Brazilian celebration shared by Adriano and Alves. The next goal came off a corner. Pique scored the first goal in the second half at minute 53. It was a simple pass from a corner and a kick by the defender to make it 2 in 2 matches. Shaktar came back to make it 3-1 from a freekick. Yaroslav Rakitskiy then exploded to make it to the ball and made a shot that Valdes could not stop.  Keita then made the gap wider in the 60th minute. He made his goal with a power shot in the upper left hand corner. Great finishing, great, passing and great speed. The goal that shows Barcelona's supremacy. Xavi then ended it in the 86th minute. The goal was created by Alves and finished with a light touch by Xavi.

Friday, March 25, 2011

In Defense of Bojan. AND Barca VS Getafe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmnhWa6h4lk That's for you the guy who commented and said "embed the video next time"

First and foremost the game. Pedro was still out due to injury and that allowed my favourite barca player ,Bojan, to start. Now the game went in Barca's favor for most of the match. Everyone made their runs and generally a good game for Barca. Now Dani Alves's goal was as the english would say "a cracker of a goal". It was a very powerful shot that came off of a headed clearance from a Getafe player. Alves sprinted from further up the pitch to the ball and kicked a volley that curved right (facing goal) right past the hands of the keeper. That was 1-0. Next came Bojan's goal. It was assisted by Messi and Bojan held onto the ball for a bit and shot went the defenders began to pressure him. The ball was touched by the defender but it still was a goal. After Bojan got subbed off (along with two midfielders) Getafe seemed to get their stride and began attacking. They ended up scoring to make it 2-1 with a beautiful volley.

Now for the whole "Defense of Bojan" thing. He's been getting a pretty bad rap since he hasn't scored as much or he doesnt play like messi. Now there is talk of selling him. This is B.S. Bojan played really well in my opinion. Sure it took him a good 10-15 minutes to get his stride but once he did we saw what the 20 year old can do. He doesn't attack like villa. Villa likes to move past defenders into passing lanes to get his shot whereas Bojan pushes through the defense and gives the ball handler more time to shoot, pass, dribble etc. He is in more of a support role. I think he would get better if he were loaned AND ONLY  loaned a year to a English side. He plays very well but he needs to get a little bit more physical and where better than in the Premier League. People seem to expect Bojan to blossom like Messi or Pedro but seem to forget he is 3 years younger than both of them. Give him more time to fully develop as a player. I'm sure people also noticed that after Bojan got subbed off that Getafe got more time on ball and more shots on goal. Can I say it was all becuase of Bojan not being there,yes I could. I'd be wrong though. He did have an impact that much cannot be contested. He clearly pressures well. He just needs more playing time becuase his youth shows when he clearly doesnt know what to do with the ball. Some say sell him bu if we keep selling off our young players because they aren't as good as Messi;we will lose great players. COUGH Cesc Fabregas.

Before I forget though my best regards to Abidal. Get healthy man, don't worry about playing. J' espere que tu te sens meillure. Nous pouvons jouer sans toi pour quelque mois. (yes i speak french)
Visca Barca

Monday, March 14, 2011

Barcelona Vs Sevilla

This is always one of my favorite games. Sevilla could be my second favorite spanish club. Players like Negredo, Jesus Navas, Kanoute and Renato all play here. They are all goal scorers. Barcelona also buys many players from this club. Now onto the game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Z1QymbwvQ

This game ended 1-1, A goal by Bojan (on of my favorite barca players) and a goal by Navas (a header with a really good cross by Negredo). Bojan's goal started with a wonderful cross by Iniesta (seriously it was great this isnt just bias) that went to Dani Alves who then passed accross the goal box to Bojan. Bojan then tried to kick it and did get a touch but got pushed into the goal from behind. Luckily he took the ball with him for a goal.
Sevilla really earned their goal. After Negredo fought through the right hand side of the box Navas got wide open on the left, He then saw him crossed it and Navas put it away. Abidal tried to block it but it was shot too far away from him.
Barcelona had a goal disallowed early on by messi, and three players hit the post three times. Messi hit it off a header Iniesta hit it off a long range shot, and I'll have to check the third one. I want to say it was Dani Alves but i don't want to  "guess".
All in all barca could have taken the game but they came home with a point.

And as always Visca Barca

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Barca Vs Arsenal.

Well Barcelona dominated the game from start to finish and it was GREAT. It felt good to see Arsenal get hammered after their lucky win in London. The first goal by Messi came via an assist from Iniesta. Cesc Fabregas, the arsenal captain and graduate from la Masia (Barcelona's youth academy), attempted to make a back heel passes that went to Iniesta and he passed it to Messi. Lionel then made a chip shot to put Barca ahead before half time. After half time Arsenal finally began to attack. Now it was a real game, both teams played the same style. Each tried to control the game by controlling the ball. Arsenal failed miserable after only having 26% possession the whole game. Arsenal's lone goal came from an own goal by Busquets. I understand it's difficult to play as a Centre back if you are normally a midfielder but he did pretty well except for that. With both Puyol and Pique out of the game Barcelona resorted to some younger players to plug in the holes. All in all after Xavi scored the next goal with an assist by Iniesta the game seemed done. Barca's third goal came after Pedro was brought down in the box for a penalty. Messi then scored his second goal to make it  3-1. Arsenal had no shots all game. Barca played very well today and now they advanced to the next stage of the Champions league. I'll let y'all know (im texan leave me alone) when their next fixture is set so for now
Visca barca

Sunday, March 6, 2011

i missed the valencia game cuz of this

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix
not gonna lie. this is addictingly fun. ill get the Real Zargoza game tommorrow

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Barcelona VS Valencia (pre game post)

Well, this is gonna be a good game. I can say that confidently already. Valencia has very strong forwards who will get through the defense if there is a chance. Barcelona always has a tough time against these opponents. As long as Barca can maintain a strong back and the midfielders do what they normally do, they should be able to pull ahead and win the match. I wouldn't leave myself too vulnerable in the defense to attack. This team has quality strikers. After all this is where Barca bought Villa from.
All in all should be a good match. enjoy it
Visca Barca

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Barca VS Mallorca

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL_wAVkxkuY
A Messi header. We do not see those every game but they are special when we do. Keita made a perfect pass. I think he should get more playtime because when he sees an opportunity he makes the most of it. I'm glad that barcelona can make things happen without xavi and Puyol. Villa's goal is simply a Villa goal. He took his time and set himself for the shot. If he had shot too soon he may have missed. He timed it perfectly and thats why he came away with a goal. Also, that through ball by Busquests was very nicely done and he deserves recognition for it. But the goal that takes the cake is Pedro's goal. He just slams it in just inside the box. (on the line?).It was a powerful shot that cut across the keeper into the goal. It was unexpected powerful and exciting, all that is expected for a barca striker. This player deserves more recognition, he attacks well, he passes well, he defends when he is needed, and, as seen in this game, he can net a good goal
    Now, this was a classic barca game. They attacked, controlled the ball, and when the opposition started pressing the defense held strong and they shut out the opposition. Good game all in all
and as always
Visca Barca

Friday, February 25, 2011

First post

Okay i first give you a simple overview of this blog. I simply want to follow FC Barcelona and post my views. I usually watch every Liga game, and most champions league games. The plan is for me to review the games, go over the major talking points and hopefully start  discussions on what should change in the Barcelona starting XI or what should stay the same. I will start with the next La Liga game this weekend.
Oh and as always Visca Barca