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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/04/17 in all areas

  1. 1 point
  2. Why start with Andre Gomes in midfield, Mathieu in central defence and Mascherano at right back? Masch should have played as a centre back with Sergi Roberto at right back. Raktic, who has rediscovered his best form lately, should be starting and the only change I can understand is Iniesta as there is a big game against Juventus midweek and he can only play so many minutes per week now. But even then, I think he can play a lot more than the minutes he's getting lately and him starting doesn't necessarily mean he has to play the full 90. Gomes and Mathieu are terrible and the team lose more than win when those 2 start. I don't understand Enrique's rotation policy at all and it gets worse. He's pretty much thrown the league away whenever he's had chance to capitalise this season.
    1 point
  3. Florentino Pérez indeed always finds a way! It's why he continues to have a slight majority of support amongst the Real Madrid 'socios'. André Gomes... Yesterday has to have been his worst performance for Barcelona and that takes some doing. He was a total ghost in the game and it was like playing with 10 men most of the time. He had two interventions of note, one was a magnificent pass from Messi in the first half for André to score and for some reason André Gomes let it run too far past his body which gave time for the defender to rectify his initial mistake and clear easily. The other intervention was a cross toward the end of the first half. Apart from that he was missing in action the whole game until he was substituted. The truth is that hardly none of the players played well yesterday and it was a very physical game. I don't know if the players had Juventus on their mind or not but that was a poor performance. Neymar who has been the best player for months overall made countless mistakes by cutting in when he should've hugged the line or staying close to the line when he should've looked inside. Messi came deeper and deeper into midfield but that was actually due to the fact Barça were being dominated in midfield where key moments were in question because Barcelona had all the possession of the ball (Málaga let them have it) without being penetrative with it. Luis Enrique has rotated too much this season and what that achieves is that the players don't get to associate properly and don't bed into accomplishing form. Iniesta is the best example of this and even though Iniesta has to be given rest more than ever these days, Luis Enrique has taken that too far because in midfield and especially the way Iniesta plays the game, he needs to play more. It's coming toward the end of the campaign and Iniesta should be playing all of them now, or at least most of them from the start. But Luis Enrique is so scared of losing him due to an injury that he has him wrapped in cotton wool practically all of the time. Rafinha out for the season now (he's had various injuries this year) hasn't helped matters either because he does fit into the system and is the perfect player to rotate with. He has hurt Luis Enrique's rotation capabilities in terms of effective quality when applied. Arda Turan's constant calf strains have also been a nightmare for the coach because he started the season so well and looked to have regained the form he was signed for at Atlético Madrid. So there are reasons for the thinness of the options because even though there are multiple players to choose from, the real quality has worn thin. What I don't understand at all is the rotation of Ivan Rakitić... The Croatian would've put that André Gomes chance from a Messi pass away with his eyes closed. That's one of his main fortes. Not only is he one of the best second line attack minded midfielders in Europe, but he is also more than just competent in the destruction of the rival's game. In other words, a must in any top midfield anywhere in the world. Obviously it was away to Málaga and Luis Enrique decided once again to rest the all terrain midfielder due to how much the player wastes himself physically in games. The thing is that Rakitić isn't Andrés Iniesta's age and he can take it twice a week! It was the biggest error yesterday because he should've been playing instead of André Gomes. If André Gomes ends up leaving Barça in the end, he won't be able to ever say that he wasn't given a chance. Luis Enrique has definitely given him that. He has played as many minutes as any midfielder this season. He's had the coach's faith and confidence which is paramount for a player to eventually show form. But that hasn't ever looked like arriving. Infact I'd say André Gomes' problems started when he was dropped from the Portugal side that won the European Championship in France last summer. That was his downfall and no longer has that form and game he had at Valencia been seen again. He needs to go to a club where he will be the protagonist once again and not just another player. Only then do I see him returning to what he was which was one of my favourite players anywhere at one point and the reason I was so happy when Barcelona signed him.
    1 point
  4. La Liga title race is over. Congratulations to Real Madrid. They were much more consistent throughout the season. Always found a way to get it done. If Enrique and Unzue are smart, they'll focus on the Champions League. Can't have Real Madrid winning the European Double. Here's a stat: Barca has dropped points in 14 of the 15 games that Andre Gomes has started. Says it all really.That means that he's almost singlehandedly denying Barca what could have been a treble winning season. He's the worst signing in recent memory. He needs to go pronto.
    1 point
  5. Messi receives the now iconic "Comeback" photograph The photograph of Lionel Messi celebrating the consummation of the now historical comeback Barça managed against Paris Saint-Germain at the Camp Nou. The photograph that features the Camp Nou in a panoramic view with journalists and fans getting involved in the mass hysteria has now become so iconic that's it's made newspapers, journals and magazines all over the planet. It's a legendary photo for a legendary moment that has a legendary footballer as the centre piece. Messi received the photograph from the author and professional Mexican photographer Santiago Garcés at the Camp Nou. The photographer says that what he most likes to capture in sporting events is the power and expression of the individual. That the photograph can tell you in its own visual words what the sentiments were at that given moment. Without doubt this is a wonderful picture that will live forever like so many others in the past.
    1 point
  6. Verratti or Coutinho? Speculating on possible future signings for any club is a part of football nowadays, as much as talking about tactics, team selections or results. Nowadays in a pub you can listen to friends commenting on who they would love or who they think they'll end up getting.... Even speculating on who may be leaving. It's no secret Barça want to boost the midfield next summer and add a central midfielder that is versatile. There are many, but the names that have been consistently on the media's mouth where Barcelona is concerned for over two years are Marco Verratti and Philippe Coutinho... Both are very different but both add tremendous values to any midfield. Both players have personal friends within the Barça camp with Liverpool's Coutinho having a close relationship with compatriot Neymar and obviously Luis Suárez from his time at Liverpool. Paris Saint-Germain's Verratti is a close friend of Andrés Iniesta, Puyol and Xavi (the two latter no longer at the club). Infact it is Xavi who has constantly validated Verratti's possible qualities for Barça vocally on many an occasion and it's also known that both Demetrio Albertini and Andrea Pirlo have said many times in the Italian press that Verratti at Barça would be great not only for the player but also for Italian football itself. So who will it be?... One or the other, maybe even both or it could even be that none of the two. I can't choose because both add tremendous qualities to the midfield but both are very different. El Barça quiere un crack para la media: Verratti o Coutinho Verratti, la debilidad de Xavi Coutinho, el amigo y fan de Neymar
    1 point
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