SirBalon 2,692 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Leo Messi created more magic yesterday and we even had the postage stamp free-kick goal to crown it all off. But in Spain they’re talking about one particular move that may have gone unnoticed but had ex-footballers in awe at the apparent difficulty of everything surrounding the seemingly simple move. They’re calling it “breaking Sobrino’s waist” (Rubén Sobrino, Alavés player). Ex-Atlético Madrid legend Kiko Narvaéz went on about the move for full on 20 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan 18,364 Posted January 29, 2018 Author Administrator Share Posted January 29, 2018 @SirBalon thoughts on Celta Vigo vs Real Betis tonight? Got a feeling it'll be a tight game, probably end in a draw. 8th vs 13th but only 1 point between them. Mixed form for both clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon 2,692 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 30 minutes ago, Stan said: @SirBalon thoughts on Celta Vigo vs Real Betis tonight? Got a feeling it'll be a tight game, probably end in a draw. 8th vs 13th but only 1 point between them. Mixed form for both clubs. I would expect Celta to win this one although they’ve both had their ups and downs. Both also have their respective coaches that believe in the right way to play football. I love Quique Setién but these are the types of games he’s been failing in and doing brilliantly in the big ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris 2,606 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 10 hours ago, SirBalon said: Leo Messi created more magic yesterday and we even had the postage stamp free-kick goal to crown it all off. But in Spain they’re talking about one particular move that may have gone unnoticed but had ex-footballers in awe at the apparent difficulty of everything surrounding the seemingly simple move. They’re calling it “breaking Sobrino’s waist” (Rubén Sobrino, Alavés player). Ex-Atlético Madrid legend Kiko Narvaéz went on about the move for full on 20 minutes. I remember a move against Sporting Lisbon in about 2008 where he did this body feint which was unbelievable. 0:30 This was a decade ago now(and he was doing things for years before this) and he's still providing magic of this nature to this today. He isn't just notching up stats and scoring goals, he hasn't become a dull player to watch and he has continued to bring joys to the game. He will never change in this regard. On another note, Suarez just keeps scoring. That's now 8 league games in a row and he seems to always score at the important moments. Suarez back to his best is vital. He's the best number 9 in the world and when he's on song with an on song Messi, that alone is enough to win games that you may otherwise not have won. The full backs, Alba and Sergi Roberto, entering the field also made a big difference and Iniesta stepped his game up big time in the second half, especially with his involvement in the first goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan 18,364 Posted January 29, 2018 Author Administrator Share Posted January 29, 2018 5 minutes ago, The Rebel CRS said: On another note, Suarez just keeps scoring. That's now 8 league games in a row and he seems to always score at the important moments. Suarez back to his best is vital. He's the best number 9 in the world and when he's on song with an on song Messi, that alone is enough to win games that you may otherwise not have won. The full backs, Alba and Sergi Roberto, entering the field also made a big difference and Iniesta stepped his game up big time in the second half, especially with his involvement in the first goal. this was the difference for me, yesterday. Could see the team up their game when both came on, especially Alba. I know they had to chase the game but immediately they were all syncing up like they had done for majority, if not all, of the season. Alba has been superb so far. Mentioned it before in other match threads but the chemistry between Alba and Messi is great. So profitable right now. Regarding Suarez, it's incredible the difference between the start of the season and now. Like when Real Madrid beat Barca at the start of the season, some had lost faith in Barca and thought it would be a foregone conclusion for the rest of the season. When Suarez was off form, no doubt some football fans thought he was past it and that Barca should get rid. he's proving those doubters wrong right now. In some of the best form of his life I'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris 2,606 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Yeah Messi and Alba have been the 2 key men over the course of the whole season(with Suarez now back to his best recently) and it's become an incredible combination, something which Neymar and Alba never formed. With Alves no longer at the club, this change has been important to evolve as a team and the way those 2 link up is as good as we saw from Messi and Alves under Pep where they had this ridiculous understanding of each other. I actually thought Suarez had become a weak link as his start to the season was the worst I can remember ever seeing him, then suddenly he's right back to his best again. This has been important in not only maintaining an unbeaten run, but playing much better football again. Since just before the Clasico, the quality of the football has risen 10 fold. Before that, the results were always positive but the football wasn't great, it was actually some of the worst I've seen from Barcelona in a long time, it was rather dull. Since then, confidence has grown though and we are seeing a Barcelona at their brilliant best again. The pressing off the ball and also the resilience to hold off teams in tough games where the opposition have a lot more of the ball than usual has been excellent itself. Valverde deserves tons of credit as he's been the mastermind behind this change in fortunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Profesor 1,457 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 19 hours ago, Stan said: Robbed? In what way? They played well, admirably so. Not gonna take that away from them. But it's not like the Barca goals were lucky or that they shouldn't have been given? 2 bits of quality ultimately were the difference. Alaves had their chances to score more than one. That Umtiti play was a clear penalty. It´s brutal what happens to small teams in Spain when they face Barcelona and Real Madrid. I agree that Barcelona goals were a fruit of the great individual talent of their players and especially because of the said quality of opponent they were facing is that those missed calls really matter and hurt a team like Alavés, who was playing at the limit of its capabilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Profesor 1,457 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 12 hours ago, SirBalon said: I think he’s talking about the fact Suárez’ goal seems to strike Piqué’s hand on the way in and the penalty call by Umtiti is seen in some quarters as an error by the ref. The Madrid based press have been quick to pump that up because they couldn’t believe what was happening and they really want to believe in miracles while the other press does question the decisions but aren’t as adamant. It all depends (in this case) on how you see things... Yes, I was brainwashed by "El Chiringuito" and "Marca". lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan 18,364 Posted January 29, 2018 Author Administrator Share Posted January 29, 2018 5 minutes ago, Teso dos Bichos said: The refs love helping Barcelona (la liga/uefa) how they continue getting away with it amazes me. The club is full of cheating cunts, from the criminal president(ex) to the diving cheats like Suarez. Alaves should of won that game, but of course (as the above posts show) the cules are too busy praising messi. Real Madrid are angels, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris 2,606 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 5 minutes ago, Teso dos Bichos said: The refs love helping Barcelona (la liga/uefa) how they continue getting away with it amazes me. The club is full of cheating cunts, from the criminal president(ex) to the diving cheats like Suarez. Alaves should of won that game, but of course (as the above posts show) the cules are too busy praising messi. If that is true then what about the 3 goals that haven;t been given this season that have clearly been over the line? These decisions balance out. Had that goal vs Valencia stood, Barcelona would be 2 points even further ahead now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon 2,692 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 7 minutes ago, El_Loco said: Yes, I was brainwashed by "El Chiringuito" and "Marca". lol Hahahaha... I was pleasantly surprised to see AS said that Umtiti’s habdball wasn’t a penalty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon 2,692 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 1 minute ago, The Rebel CRS said: If that is true then what about the 3 goals that haven;t been given this season that have clearly been over the line? These decisions balance out. Had that goal vs Valencia stood, Barcelona would be 2 points even further ahead now. 12 off-side goals last season in La Liga for Real Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Profesor 1,457 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 1 minute ago, SirBalon said: 12 off-side goals last season in La Liga for Real To be fair Barcelona lost points against Villareal last season due to bad refereeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan 18,364 Posted January 29, 2018 Author Administrator Share Posted January 29, 2018 I like how the referees helped Barcelona when the ball was clearly over the line against Betis last season too but a goal wasn't given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero 5,265 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 2 minutes ago, Teso dos Bichos said: I wonder how the Barcelona fans, the local fans, feel about the club only having two Spaniards out of 11 starting spots! What a shame and further prove that la masia is not important anymore. They are too busy buying overpriced wannabe galacticos. They still have 6 academy products in the starting XI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Profesor 1,457 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 1 minute ago, Cicero said: They still have 6 academy products in the starting XI Also, it´s much tougher to be a Barcelona player those days than it was even 10 years ago. Guys like Oleguer, Gudjohnsen and Giuly wouldn´t make the present Barcelona team. We´re living an era of super teams, there is a lot of money involved and the stakes are much higher. In that scenario it is more difficult to promote and give playing time to youngsters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero 5,265 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 6 minutes ago, El_Loco said: Also, it´s much tougher to be a Barcelona player those days than it was even 10 years ago. Guys like Oleguer, Gudjohnsen and Giuly wouldn´t make the present Barcelona team. We´re living an era of super teams, there is a lot of money involved and the stakes are much higher. In that scenario it is more difficult to promote and give playing time to youngsters. Especially when once in a life time players in Xavi, Messi, Iniesta, Busquets, set the standard of academy products of La Masia. Going to be hard for Barca to replicate anything close to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan 18,364 Posted January 29, 2018 Author Administrator Share Posted January 29, 2018 Betis are the makers of their own downfall. Too much faffing about at the back, Iago Aspas breaks through and it's 1-0 to Celta! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris 2,606 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 20 minutes ago, Cicero said: Especially when once in a life time players in Xavi, Messi, Iniesta, Busquets, set the standard of academy products of La Masia. Going to be hard for Barca to replicate anything close to that. There could still be more done though. Paco Alcacer was bought for 35 million, when Sandro was at the club. Yes it hasn't worked for Sandro in England, but people over here haven't seen truly what Sandro is about and he would have been a quality squad member, rather than spending money on Paco. There is also Cucurella in the B team and maybe soon it would be wise to use him as part of rotation with Alba instead of Digne, as he could potentially be a future solution to the left-back issue once Alba declines/retires. Then you have Andre Gomes, who offers absolutely nothing(he passes backwards and that's it) getting minutes, when Aleña could be getting valuable minutes which would benefit him a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HK85 267 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 They are top of the table. Money well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon 2,692 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 No player is worth what’s being paid all over the place and don’t worry, it won’t stop there. Liverpool paid £75m for an average defender. Prices for players has gone mental and the players that Barcelona wanted were in contract and today that’s what they cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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