FC Barcelona Discussion

[Hugh Jass]

Just now, Cannabis said:

One of his biggest love is triathlons so for the next few years I don't think we will see him anywhere near football as he continues to compete more and more in those. The whole reason for him leaving Barcelona is because of his fatigue as you have alluded to. He's had a rough relationship with the press and this coupled with the pressures of managing one of the biggest clubs in the world has literally burned him out. Even Pep Guardiola had to take a sabbatical in the United States after his tenure with the Blaugrana and I think Luis' break will be longer than Pep's.

My thinking is that he will simply retire from football altogether. He's managed for a few years now in both the Barcelona ''B'' set-up and the first team and I can only see him coming back in a few years to manage Sporting Gijon who is the club from his heart. That said though I'm under the impression that he is simply done with football and wants to try other things in his life, this for me feels like the ending of Enrique's era.

Cheers mate that makes sense.

Even his year at Roma in 2011-2012, with their notoriously demanding and hostile ultras constantly protesting and complaining, will have been incredibly draining. And in terms of pressure his 3 year stint leading that Barcelona B team won't have been stress-free either. It's no surprise that he would want a long break from football and focus on other things. 

As a Sporting fan (they've been my favourite Spanish team since 2008), I would love to see him coming home one day after he has re-charged their batteries. God knows that would give the club such a lift. However it's difficult to see that happening. 

 

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Cannabis said:

One of his biggest love is triathlons so for the next few years I don't think we will see him anywhere near football as he continues to compete more and more in those. The whole reason for him leaving Barcelona is because of his fatigue as you have alluded to. He's had a rough relationship with the press and this coupled with the pressures of managing one of the biggest clubs in the world has literally burned him out. Even Pep Guardiola had to take a sabbatical in the United States after his tenure with the Blaugrana and I think Luis' break will be longer than Pep's.

My thinking is that he will simply retire from football altogether. He's managed for a few years now in both the Barcelona ''B'' set-up and the first team and I can only see him coming back in a few years to manage Sporting Gijon who is the club from his heart. That said though I'm under the impression that he is simply done with football and wants to try other things in his life, this for me feels like the ending of Enrique's era.

 

1 hour ago, Hugh Jass said:

Cheers mate that makes sense.

Even his year at Roma in 2011-2012, with their notoriously demanding and hostile ultras constantly protesting and complaining, will have been incredibly draining. And in terms of pressure his 3 year stint leading that Barcelona B team won't have been stress-free either. It's no surprise that he would want a long break from football and focus on other things. 

As a Sporting fan (they've been my favourite Spanish team since 2008), I would love to see him coming home one day after he has re-charged their batteries. God knows that would give the club such a lift. However it's difficult to see that happening. 

 

Indeed...  He is in love with energy sapping sports and triathlons are his big love and competes on a world stage (or used to before he took on head coaching at the top level)...  Even on summer holidays while he's been head coach at Barcelona he's done high altitude mountain climbing in the Pyrenees, Alps and in South America.

But this particular job he's been involved in has really drained him out and it wasn't so long ago I posted two sets of pictures with how both Guardiola and Luis Enrique looked physically before they took on the Barça job and how they both looked on their final days...  The difference is striking and you can almost feel the exhaustion yourself when you take it all into account.

But both were allowed to call it a day themselves where as at another club coaches have been sacked while winning major tournaments.  It's not a mark of expectations but rather a mark of respect because the expectations at both the clubs I'm referring to are exactly the same.  Understanding you can't win them all because the competition is so extreme is the basis of being able to award the merited respect.  Few legends at Barça have been forced to depart through the back door!

As for Luis Enrique's future...  Well he hates the press so much that I'm not sure if he will ever return to football.  That's Luis Enrique's major weak point that his distrust for them leads him to go through a personal hell and you can see it in his face during every single pre or post match press conference...  He thinks before answering any type of question like he's searching to see if there's some sort of trap laid in front of him to produce a headline he never meant or believed in.

In saying this, if he were ever to contemplate coaching Sporting Gijón (his greatest football love of all), then the pressure wouldn't be anywhere as big as the one he's encountered at Barça 'B', AS Roma, Celta Vigo or FC Barcelona...  But then again, because he's so suspicious of the press even then I'd reckon he'd somehow coax himself into believing they're out to get him in some way. hahaha.

He's a tremendous character to be honest and there's a saying for his type of person in Spanish which goes; "No se casa con nadie" (He doesn't marry anyone) which in English sounds ridiculous but what it actually means is that there's no favouritism with him no matter who you are or what he actually thinks of you on the whole.  He can think you're the god of whatever you like but first and foremost you must always be giving your all in absolutely everything you do so as to earn his respect...  Even then, he ain't wishing you a good morning when you walk past him any given day.  He's a grumpy so and so because he feels that there's always work to do.  Aleix Vidal who was a 100% Luis Enrique signing found all of this out much to his detriment and when the right-back finally won Luis Enrique's trust and understood what his coach was asking of him, he unfortunately got a serious knee injury...  He's had wars with Neymar, Mascherano, Xavi, Vidal, Rakitić, Dani Alves, Piqué, Suárez and even god forbid, Lionel Messi.  In every single one of those cases Luis Enrique was right and a massive change was observed in all of those characters.

Edited May 28, 2017 by SirBalon

[Panflute]

On 5/25/2017 at 4:44 PM, Spike said:

Controversial post incoming:

Let's have a look at a hypothetical situation. Barcelona receive a record bid for Lionel Messi, a bid so high it'd be madness to turn down but also hard to accept because Messi is head and shoulders the best player in the world. All sentimentality aside, I believe it'd be beneficial for the club in the long run to accept the bid. Now, I know what I'm saying is sacrilege but hear me out. Lionel Messi is irreplaceable, that is an undisputed fact. This however, is a double-edged sword. Messi is so talented he brings Barcelona to a new level whenever he plays, but the negative is that when he is injured or suspended he does the opposite because of how irreplaceable he is! The problem with relying on such a unique piece to the puzzle, when the aforementioned piece is missing the whole puzzle falls apart. My proposal is that if in the situation Messi is sold then Barcelona would change from 'Messi and Friends' to simply 'Barcelona' again. It would create an atmosphere that would allow other players to seamlessly slot into other roles; which is currently impossible due to the uniqueness of Messi. Luis Suarez and Neymar while special players are far easier to 'replace' than Messi; nobody can fufill the duties and the role that Messi does. While Barcelona wouldn't be as fantastic as a team without Messi, they could be a more 'well rounded team' without the reliance of the mercurial magician.

Would I sell Messi if was on the board of Barcelona? No, I would not. However, there are benefits to a team that 'interchangeable' as opposed to a team with a 'marquee player'.

On this note, are there any rumours of a club being interested? Even if at one point Barcelona does want to sell him, I can't think of any clubs willing/able to shell out the no-doubt absurd transfer fee, outside of the Man City's and the Chelseas of this world.

On 5/25/2017 at 8:00 PM, SirBalon said:

Messi isn't a footballer...  He's a god!  I know that reads or sounds stupid and OTT (whatever you like), but it's a fact.  He isn't just the best footballer in the world and possibly in history.  He's an entity!  He is a creature that just keeps on "metamorphasising" into something else that's other worldly.

No footballer is a god.

[SirBalon]

37 minutes ago, Panflute said:

No footballer is a god.

As far as I'm concerned a god doesn't exist, and because of this I am able to compare an individual to any type of mythological character.  It's like saying (when he was a player) "Puyol is a dragon!!!"...  Nobody would mind because of the basis of the analogy.

It's the surrounding words on everything I said about Messi that led me to personally use the word "god".

[Spike]

5 hours ago, Panflute said:

 

No footballer is a god.

Haven't played since high school tbh, so you're right

[Stan]

Ter Stegen renews contract til 2022

 

[SirBalon]

Fantastic news for Barcelona!  Now only Iniesta remaining because his contract is up next season.

[Panflute]

They really look ecstatic don't they. 

 

[SirBalon]

2 minutes ago, Panflute said:

They really look ecstatic don't they. 

 

Obviously not...  For a club like FCB it's a disappointing season and nothing can mask that.  But a trophy is a trophy all the same.  They'll just have to search for the reasons behind it all (the reasons are plainly obvious which are that on rotation Real's "second string" were supremely more effective than Barça's) and sort it out.  That in itself isn't easy because it means departures and making as much money out of them as possible and any club interested in those players will know you want rid which gives them the upper hand on negotiations.

[Panflute]

5 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Obviously not...  For a club like FCB it's a disappointing season and nothing can mask that.  But a trophy is a trophy all the same.  They'll just have to search for the reasons behind it all (the reasons are plainly obvious which are that on rotation Real's "second string" were supremely more effective than Barça's) and sort it out.  That in itself isn't easy because it means departures and making as much money out of them as possible and any club interested in those players will know you want rid which gives them the upper hand on negotiations.

That is a potential pitfall for Barcelona as clinging on to old stars is tempting on the short term, but it can leave you with ineffective players who play based on the name on their shirt as their transfer value disappears into thin air. Then again, they didn't hold on to Ronaldinho for another 7 years back in the day, so it would seem they are aware of this.

[SirBalon]

57 minutes ago, Panflute said:

That is a potential pitfall for Barcelona as clinging on to old stars is tempting on the short term, but it can leave you with ineffective players who play based on the name on their shirt as their transfer value disappears into thin air. Then again, they didn't hold on to Ronaldinho for another 7 years back in the day, so it would seem they are aware of this.

There's really not that many players that are being held onto past their sell by date if any.  The ones that have been there for a long while are the spine of the team

• Messi (He's the best player in the world and continues to be the player that can turn even the biggest game in a second like at the Bernabéu a few weeks back)
• Iniesta (He is coming to the end of his career but still has a lot to offer and there's nobody even close to him where magic is concerned.  He accepts playing a smaller role where he is mainly picked for the big games.  You don't sell someone like him and let him retire at home)
• Busquets (The best defensive midfielder in the world who at 28 has only just arrived at his physical prime)
• Piqué (One of the best centre-backs in Europe and unique in his style of play.  Nobody would sell him and many if not all would have him)

Everyone else has changed a lot in recent times and the problem was the major recruitment made last summer of which only Umtiti has been top quality and a great investment for the future.

There is Jordi Alba who has been there a while now and on his day is fantastic. But he does have a lot of off days recently and Digne doesn't seem to have been a good enough signing to lift him into constant competitiveness.

The issue is getting the youth in there (there are a few who are ready to be blooded in NOW), because they're the catalysts (always has been that way) for the brand and everything else usually falls into place and some important signings in key areas like the centre of midfield (Verratti is the one but looks to be impossible) and the obvious which is the right-back position with Bellerín being the answer but again looking impossible.

[Spike]

Iniesta definitely needs to be in reduced capacity. Not just so the club can begin preparing for life post-Iniesta but so he doesnt burn out as quickly.

[SirBalon]

 

[SirBalon]

1 minute ago, Cannabis said:

Leo and Enrique have come full circle after that phase where the two of them wouldn't see eye to eye. It's nice to see that they are leaving on good terms as you can see they have both learned from each other in this chapter. Hopefully the same happens with Valverde!

 

There's actually a number of players at Barcelona that at the start were almost at public war with Luis Enrique.  The Asturian isn't an easy man to get a long with and as I've commented in the past, he isn't one to share niceties everyday in what Luis Enrique sees as hypocritical (agree with him or not).  The most critical moment arrived in Luis Enrique's first season as coach after they played Real Sociedad away at Anoeta.  The now ex-Barça coach rotated a number of first teamers and they lost (not unusual away to Real Sociedad for Barça historically).  There was an open war for the next few days which threw the club into turmoil and crisis...  The then Technical Director Andoni Zubizarreta (now at Olympique Marseille) was sacked, various board members resigned and the Barcelona president announced presidential elections amidst of pressure from the fans (the thing I love about fans owned clubs)...

That was the culmination point of reflection and that very same season they done the treble (the club's second).  From that moment on there was a reverential respect for Luis Enrique and an understanding of his grumpy character.

[SirBalon]

Lionel Messi launches new website

 

Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi has launched his own personal website for all those fanboys that adore the footballer (and those that are just interested in basic things to do with the player). Messi.com

The designers of the webpage (Gerard Piqué's media company) has also provided apps for the webpage in both Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms.  The webpage will provide all types of details and paraphernalia associated with Messi as well as videos and interviews first hand before they're officially released anywhere else.

 

Edited May 29, 2017 by SirBalon

[Paulinho Dybala]

On 5/25/2017 at 8:00 PM, SirBalon said:

 

Anyway...  Lionel Messi hasn't got a price!  He is the equivalent of a Leonardo Da Vinci work of art or maybe even an equivalent of the Turin Shroud to football.  Infact I don't think he's valued enough by everyone.  They'll only see this when his time is up and a hole is created in the sport.  Nothing compares!

 

I completely agree. Objectively speaking, Messi isn't just the best football player of all time, he's the single best athlete/sportsperson of all time. 

What he does......it's Art in its purest essence.

All hyperbole aside, he's the best Football Player of All Time, AT THE VERY LEAST.

Having said that, FC Barcelona has LONG existed and thrived (with varying degrees of success, obviously) way before Messi ever came on the scene. Sure, there have been a significant increase in trophies with Messi but I have no doubt that if and when Messi does retire, say, 5 years from now,  Barca will BUILD UPON his legacy and go on to achieve even greater heights of success. Success breeds success, and FC Barcelona will survive and thrive long after the "once in a lifetime entity that is Messi", (whom we are truly blessed and fortunate to bear witness to and admire) has hung up his boots and rode off into the sunset, as it were.

[SirBalon]

Iniesta: "I'll never never fight with Barça"

 

In an interview last night with Spanish radio station Onda Cero Andrés Iniesta spoke about various things from the situation regarding his contract renewal (the headline quote), how he thought the season had gone and where the errors had occurred and his future in the Spain national side.

Andrés Iniesta isn't one for ever being controversial as he's too diplomatic for that, but when you read him between the lines you do capture what he really feels deep inside.

These are the main quotes from the interview live on air last night:

On the current situation with his contract renewal.

"I've had that contract sitting on the president's table for months waiting to be signed and I've never lied to the club in the past and I haven't done it this time.  I always wait until the end of the season and that's what I asked the club let me do this time around again.  The reasons are that the older you get, the more you have to take everything into perspective and value it all for my own good and also for the club.  It's all about sensations and sentiments with decision making and this is no different.  I have to look deep within myself and see what I'm able to offer, see who the club brings in in terms of recruits and from there on we'll see.  To retire at Barça would be beautiful and that's what I've always thought I'd do.  But if I don't retire at Barcelona because I have to leave, then I won't ever play against them which means that my destination would obviously be outside Europe.  I never want to have that sentiment one must feel by playing against something that you've felt inside since you were a child...  It would be like confronting my parents although obviously in a different manner.  I never want to play against Barcelona, ever!.  If I can pick and choose the amount of games I play and injuries respect me, then I can play on for a few years yet at this level, I know myself 200%.  But obviously that's all based on luck with injuries and you never know what's around the corner in that respect.  I have to evaluate a lot of things, but I want to renew my contract with the club without a doubt and I'll never fight the club in that respect."

The summery of the season

"It's been a strange season on the personal aspect, one of impotence.  One injury was a muscular one that almost kept me out for three months and then there were two other injuries due to tackles I received.  When you play in midfield you are part of the mechanics of the side.  The further back you play the more organised you have to be which is where tactics come into the reckoning.  The further forward you venture into the pitch depending on the state of the game, the more independent you feel and where you're not a threat to what's needed on the whole team aspect.  I play in a particular position in midfield where I'm neither one thing or the other, but always subjected to the cogs of the side...  If I fail, other features fail or even more detrimental is that if I'm not on my game, the way I play through instinct, then it's better if someone else plays.  What I mean is that when I come back from an injury, it tends to take me various fixtures to feel the game again because it's not only the person that returns from injury, but also in your absence the team can change ever so slightly that only you as the footballer will feel it and then you're playing catch-up.  From that moment on you not only have to recapture your instincts, but also read what's changed because you can't expect a team to change for you as that's impossible.  Once I've achieved these things, then the whole thing slots into place.  That's the thing with injuries...  Some players come back and they're at it from the word go and others depending on many factors, take more time.  It's very sensitive to myself as the individual, the team and the coach who has to make the correct decisions for the team.  This is a collective sport and I am a part of the collective."

"On how the season has gone for the team in general, well it's frustrating because our first target is always La Liga.  It's the most satisfying thing to win as it marks a whole season and tells us all which side has been the best throughout.  The season has been very close from beginning to the end which to be honest is very strange considering how many times we failed.  The part you ask me about refereeing decisions is too controversial because how do I answer something I don't know about?  You want me to give you an answer on something I can't tell you.  Errors are made by everyone in life and referees are human beings and they're also part of the game.  The game at this level is so fast and so full of moments that errors will occur which is why the more help the referees get starting with the players respecting them and not trying to trick them and finishing with anything that technology can throw at us that will ease the pressure on them.  I don't think the referees decided the title because we dropped points against sides we normally beat and in moments where it was in our hands.  We failed in those moments and Real Madrid didn't...  A league championship is based on regularity, on consistency and our rival was more consistent than us even if only a little bit (laughs).  Whoever wins a league title, deserves it."

On the new head coach Ernesto Valverde

"Valverde's football is well known in Spain and fans in general of all teams enjoy it.  He is different to what we've had in recent years but he knows us more than well so he will be able to understand us and at the same time using that understanding, add other factors that hopefully make us more competitive.  I hope he succeeds because he's a great guy."

On the Champions League Final, Juventus v Real Madrid

"(laughs) As a Culé you know the answer.  I'm a 'Barcelonista', and as one I never want my rival to win.  I'll be with the national team when that game is on and I'll watch it with all my colleagues which should be fun."

On the World Cup in Russia and his possible retirement from the Spain national team

"I'm not 28 (laughs) and that's the reason I'm hoping we qualify for the World Cup in Russia.  I want to enjoy one more international tournament with my country as playing for your national side is the maximum a player can achieve.  Being an international means you have done everything correctly and that your country calls you.  It's an honour and it's the highest level a footballer can perform in.  It will probably be my final tournament, but that decision has to be made correctly when the moment arrives."

On Piqué (because it's a Madrid based radio station and Piqué is always on their mind) and Messi

"Gerard is the way he is.  He isn't two faced and he will tell you things as he sees them.  He is an extremely intelligent individual and that can sometimes make him say things others don't understand and at times even us, we don't understand him.  Then in the end we see what he meant and you get it.  Each person is how he is and you have to respect that because there is no malice in the things Piqué says ever.  From my personal point of view he's a great friend, a great person and someone I admire."

"Messi is just amazing, but you already know this (everyone laughs).  We are very alike personality wise because we don't shout and rage about anything and even in the dressing room we sit quietly just thinking about things.  We know each other from when we were kids because even though I'm older than him, we both lived in La Masia and you can say we practically grew up together.  On the professional level I've never seen a footballer like him...  One thing is watching him on tv, but another is observing him on the pitch.  Actually, sometimes it's more interesting observing those that are playing against him, their faces when he receives the ball, the panic, the rival's team adjustment that occurs all of a sudden.  It's these things that viewers can't perceive because you have to be on the pitch and we know and feel these things which alters how a game will normally pan out."

 

Edited May 30, 2017 by SirBalon

[God is Haaland]

Where's Lucho going, lads?

[SirBalon]

36 minutes ago, True Bender said:

Where's Lucho going, lads?

Nobody knows right now but it seems he's going to take some time off.  I'd personally be very surprised to see him back in football again, but who knows.  He may be coaching Real Madrid next season  Or Arsenal?...  Oops!  No, that one's once again out of the window after today's news. 

[nfb_10]

On 5/30/2017 at 5:13 AM, True Bender said:

Where's Lucho going, lads?

According to him, he's taking the Guardiola route and taking a rest from the game. Understandable, as he just took one of the most stressful jobs in football that makes you age 40 years in 3 

[nfb_10]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/may/30/ernesto-valverde-barcelona-nou-camp-stone-roses?CMP=share_btn_tw

When Pep Guardiola left Barcelona, he made two recommendations to be his successor. One was Tito, the other was Ernesto Valverde. Johan Cruyff also highly rated Valverde and always wanted him to one day coach Barcelona.

Edited May 31, 2017 by Messiesta

[SirBalon]

 

[SirBalon]

Iñigo Martínez, Valverde's first signing for Barça?

 

According to a local San Sebastián newspaper very associated to everything La Real, 'Noticias de Gipuzkoa' (reflected by Mundo Deportivo), the new FC Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde could be about to exercise his first request to the technical directors, Robert Fernández and Ariedo Braida.  That player is the centre-back at Real Sociedad, Iñigo Martínez.

Ernesto Valverde wants to bolster the defence first and foremost and apparently that player is Iñigo Martínez who is the object of speculation as to his future every summer but in the end has always remained at La Real.  The 26 year old has a contract with La Real until 2021 and his buy-out clause stands at €32m which is very good in today's prices (think what Liverpool want for Sakho) for a valuable centre-back like him.

Obviously this is all speculation right now and in my personal opinion the reason he's been connected with Barça is because Valverde has tried to sign him on several occasions while coach of Athletic Bilbao.  The problem is that a player moving from La Real to Athletic Club or vice-versa is a big no-no and has always been met by a brick wall.

Iñigo Martínez gusta a Valverde

 

 

Edited June 1, 2017 by SirBalon

[Spike]

Nooo, stay at Sociedad!

[Cicero]

3 at the back? Way too good to be on the bench behind Pique and Umtiti