FC Barcelona Discussion

[SirBalon]

"The shirt that never sleeps"

 

That's the publicity caption Barça have started off with their new kit and it's official release isn't even in Europe but in the US.  Today In New York in their official FCB Store in Manhattan NY they've launched the shirt.  Any European wanting to purchase it will have to do it on internet for the next 9 days before it's officially launched in the shops.

 

Edited June 1, 2017 by SirBalon

[Spike]

2 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

"The shirt that never sleeps"

 

That's the publicity caption Barça have started off with their new kit and it's official release isn't even in Europe but in the US.  Today In New York in their official FCB Store in Manhattan NY they've launched the shirt.  Any European wanting to purchase it will have to do it on internet for the next 9 days before it's officially launched in the shops.

 

Ugly!

[SirBalon]

The presentation of Ernesto Valverde as FC Barcelona head coach

in pictures

 

 

[Spike]

He looks like an older, less grumpy Enrique.

[SirBalon]

3 minutes ago, Spike said:

He looks like an older, less grumpy Enrique.

I would say it's impossible to be as grumpy as Luis Enrique. 

Character wise Ernesto Valverde is a very calm man that speaks clearly but never gets coaxed into controversy which is something Luis Enrique didn't want either but his way of stopping the press from looking for a sensationalist headline was to be abrupt, rude and fight with them.

[Asura]

I have a feeling this Barcelona team now could end up being like Real Madrid from 2009 which won nothing for few years. This has nothing to do with their new manager and his capabilities but its entirely down to the board. The way they are handling their academy players and how they are trying to spend money on big transfers reminds me of Perez in those times. 

[SirBalon]

24 minutes ago, Asura said:

I have a feeling this Barcelona team now could end up being like Real Madrid from 2009 which won nothing for few years. This has nothing to do with their new manager and his capabilities but its entirely down to the board. The way they are handling their academy players and how they are trying to spend money on big transfers reminds me of Perez in those times. 

In general Barcelona doesn't run like Real Madrid has done under Florentino Pérez, that first of all.

Secondly, apart from this generation of youngsters that are now being used at Real Madrid this season (many of them are actually purchases and not from their academy I might add.  This is down to Zinedine Zidane and a lot of credit has to go to him for the way in which he's done it and has overridden the president...

Now that I've spoken about Zidane. that is where I go to Barça.  At Barcelona the board has no say whatsoever on the running of the team affairs and neither which players are used from the youth teams.  That is all down to the head coach at Barça and he has total autonomy with everything in this respect.  It's also very important the relationship the first team coach has with the head coaches at the youth teams including obviously Barcelona 'B'.  There are players coming through and Barça continue to be the leading top club using own youth players.  But it is true that for the past three years or so nothing spectacular has come through and they've also wasted the ones that have like Thiago Alcántara (at Bayern now) and Sandro Ramírez (at Málaga now and about to move to a big club if rumours are to be believed)...  Although with Sandro it's unfortunately understandable with the trio that play for Barça where it's nigh on impossible to get a decent run of games to become more confident and get into the dynamics of it all.

As for whether or not Barça will go through a serious dry period like Real Madrid did back then is unknown but I'd see it as something unusual.

Edited June 1, 2017 by SirBalon

[Asura]

2 hours ago, SirBalon said:

In general Barcelona doesn't run like Real Madrid has done under Florentino Pérez, that first of all.

Secondly, apart from this generation of youngsters that are now being used at Real Madrid this season (many of them are actually purchases and not from their academy I might add.  This is down to Zinedine Zidane and a lot of credit has to go to him for the way in which he's done it and has overridden the president...

Now that I've spoken about Zidane. that is where I go to Barça.  At Barcelona the board has no say whatsoever on the running of the team affairs and neither which players are used from the youth teams.  That is all down to the head coach at Barça and he has total autonomy with everything in this respect.  It's also very important the relationship the first team coach has with the head coaches at the youth teams including obviously Barcelona 'B'.  There are players coming through and Barça continue to be the leading top club using own youth players.  But it is true that for the past three years or so nothing spectacular has come through and they've also wasted the ones that have like Thiago Alcántara (at Bayern now) and Sandro Ramírez (at Málaga now and about to move to a big club if rumours are to be believed)...  Although with Sandro it's unfortunately understandable with the trio that play for Barça where it's nigh on impossible to get a decent run of games to become more confident and get into the dynamics of it all.

As for whether or not Barça will go through a serious dry period like Real Madrid did back then is unknown but I'd see it as something unusual.

I didnt know that it was the manager rather than the board that made the mistakes of letting go some players from their academy and also Dani Alves. Well then that is probably a good news to the Barcelona fans then since they changed their manager and hopefully he doesnt do the same mistakes as the previous one.

[SirBalon]

6 hours ago, Asura said:

I didnt know that it was the manager rather than the board that made the mistakes of letting go some players from their academy and also Dani Alves. Well then that is probably a good news to the Barcelona fans then since they changed their manager and hopefully he doesnt do the same mistakes as the previous one.

Hold on a moment...  It seems I missunderstood you because I answered you in reference to promoting youth players which is what Barcelona's successful history is based on and that goes back much further than even Cruyff.  That's never been down to the board, the president or anyone other than the first team coach.

But it seems you were talking about the sale of players that should've stayed like Thiago Alcántara who was a youth product and his contract was left to run to zero.  That indeed is the board's fault, this board!  The present board Barcelona have is the most incompetent in the club's history, or at least in my living memory.  It may not be the most controversial, but it knows very little about football.  Actually I'm being harsh there...  The president and three others know little about football but whatever it is, there have been serious errors made in that sense and in the recruitment area.  The Dani Alves saga is absolutely hilarious and you can make a book in it itself.

[Asura]

2 hours ago, SirBalon said:

Hold on a moment...  It seems I missunderstood you because I answered you in reference to promoting youth players which is what Barcelona's successful history is based on and that goes back much further than even Cruyff.  That's never been down to the board, the president or anyone other than the first team coach.

But it seems you were talking about the sale of players that should've stayed like Thiago Alcántara who was a youth product and his contract was left to run to zero.  That indeed is the board's fault, this board!  The present board Barcelona have is the most incompetent in the club's history, or at least in my living memory.  It may not be the most controversial, but it knows very little about football.  Actually I'm being harsh there...  The president and three others know little about football but whatever it is, there have been serious errors made in that sense and in the recruitment area.  The Dani Alves saga is absolutely hilarious and you can make a book in it itself.

Yeah, I meant about letting some good players go from the club, both form academy and first team. Thiago, Sandro, Munir are few examples and from what I have been reading Denis could be the next one if he doesnt get enough game time. Also letting go of Alves who was very good for them and selling Pedro and trying to replace him with Alcacer, to me this has to be the worst deal by Barcelona because Pedro is a massive loss for them and with his presence the manager could have rotated MSN much better. I dont know if it was Pedro that forced the move or if it was the board itself. Atleast Munir should have been in the team and I dont get it when some people say he is not yet at Barcelona's level, how is Alcacer at Barcelona level but not Munir, probably Im missing something. I feel they basically tried to fix something thats not broken with Alcacer when they previously had Pedro for the same role and later on Munir.

I didnt see much of Sergi Samper but isnt he supposed to be Busquet's heir? I know he is on loan somwhere but when Busquets was injured in the initial part of the season there really was no cover for him, so I dont understand why dont they have an additional player for the defensive midfielder type role who can give a break to Busquets when needed? If these things continue to happen (not giving their youth a chance) we can see more and more Thiago's leaving and proving themselves somewhere else. 

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Asura said:

Thiago, Sandro, Munir are few examples and from what I have been reading Denis could be the next one if he doesnt get enough game time.

Thiago going was a fiasco and an example of how things can go wrong.  He was more than ready and is presently one of the best central midfielders on the planet.  Ask any Bayern fan what they think of him and with Bayern we're not talking about any mickey mouse football club...  He dominated Arsenal in two legs by himself.  Barça let his contract run down thinking he wouldn't leave because every La Masia player's dream is to play in the Blaugrana of Barça in the first team.  They under estimated Thiago's ambition and he was right.

Munir wasn't ready in my opinion and it has shown at Valencia.  He is very talented but there seems to be some sort of mental block with him.  But with Sandro we do have questions to ask and the fact he departed to Málaga and Barça spent a fortune on a club idol in Paco Alcácer shows how things can be done wrong.  They're both the same type of player that live off instinct in the box.  Sandro is now sort after by many of Europe's top clubs and he could've been blooded in slowly at Barcelona as he was prepared to be second string.  In fairness, Alcácer's form rose dramatically in the second half of the season and every game he played toward the end he was detrimental to positive results.  He is a class striker but has undersold himself by going to a club with three monsters up front where it's inevitable he will be a bench warmer.  That sort of job should be for youth players who are raring to go and have been brought up on the club's milk.

As for Denis Suárez...  It's difficult in midfield at Barcelona because that has been forever the motor of the team and not the front players (definitely not the defence).  He has had some marvellous performances this season and has also had some where he's been pretty silent.  Something normal for a young player and I don't think the club are contemplating making the same error with him as they did with Thiago, although both are very different.  Thiago Alcántara is a Xavi type player (almost a clone) and Denis is more in the mould of Iniesta but obviously there's only one Andrés Iniesta as he's unique.

1 hour ago, Asura said:

Also letting go of Alves who was very good for them and selling Pedro and trying to replace him with Alcacer, to me this has to be the worst deal by Barcelona because Pedro is a massive loss for them and with his presence the manager could have rotated MSN much better.

The Dani Alves saga is an interesting one...  He felt undervalued by the club and in this detail both parties are right in their interpretation of the facts.  Dani Alves went through almost three seasons of mediocrity by his extremely high standards and in the treble winning season when he was seriously being questioned by everyone, he raised his game and returned to his best form.  That was one of his best campaigns for FC Barcelona and he was a monster!  It's the reason the Barcelona faithful toward the end of the season were constantly chanting his name in every home game.  When Barça presented the treble in the victory parade at the Camp Nou Alves burst into tears at the way the fans were leaning themselves toward him with passion and where he looked to be definitely leaving, he signed a new deal and remained at the club for one more season.

But because Dani Alves knew he had been played by the club where they kept on letting his contracts run down so they had the upper hand on negotiations.  That treble winning season was a coming to terms with himself and he knew he could still give an elite form performance throughout a season and he thought he would only sign a new contract with a clause that stated "if a big club comes in for me I will be able to leave for free".  Said, thought and done...  Juve came in for him and as much as it hurt his sentiments he has for FC Barcelona which he loves.  He wanted to get the board back and he knew he would forever be a Barça legend for what he had provided over the years.  He went for free and has had an unbelievable season this year and could win another Champions League.  If I'm not wrong he is the player that won the most honours in history.  It serves the board right and he never stops digging into them everytime he does interviews or on his social media accounts.  At the same time he made a great comment on the "if Juve win the Champions League against Real he ill be offering it to the club of his life".

On the Pedro stakes...  Indeed a big error but look at the details behind it all.  The previous season Barça sold a similar player to the Premier League (Alexis to Arsenal) and the following season Pedro went to another London club, Chelsea.  Did Pedro force his way out?  I doubt it!  The fans absolutely loved him as he's a La Masia product and a great character which is why they preferred to see Alexis leave rather than Pedro the previous summer. Barcelona lost a massive outlet on moments where rotations were needed.  I remember that season where Messi, Iniesta and Busquets were all injured and during the following 6 fixtures Pedro and Neymar ruled the roost in Spain...  They were scoring 3, 4 and 5 a game.  That was missing this season.

1 hour ago, Asura said:

I didnt see much of Sergi Samper but isnt he supposed to be Busquet's heir? I know he is on loan somwhere but when Busquets was injured in the initial part of the season there really was no cover for him, so I dont understand why dont they have an additional player for the defensive midfielder type role who can give a break to Busquets when needed? If these things continue to happen (not giving their youth a chance) we can see more and more Thiago's leaving and proving themselves somewhere else. 

Sergi Samper has been at Granada this season and even though they've had a terrible year, he has been the only plus.  He has had injuries though...  But he has been a revelation and there's no way Barcelona are going to sell him.  Various Premier League clubs over the past two seasons have tried to coax him away (Arsenal being one of the main protagonists) and both Barça and the player have said no.  He's one for the future if given the chance.

[Asura]

I need atleast a day to read that and comeback (possibly) with something 

[SirBalon]

Just now, Asura said:

I need atleast a day to read that and comeback (possibly) with something 

Collect all my rantings and gibberish over time mate...  You publish it and I'll give you 10%.  Like Del Boy used to say...  "This time next year we'll be millionaires" 

[Spike]

Pedro had to leave for himself. He had won everything twice over with Barcelona and he was beyond the point of spending half of the season on the bench. Now he is a crucial Chelsea player.

[Cicero]

Yeah cheers for Pedro. Gem of a player. 

[nfb_10]

This is excellent. It's been quite some time since we had a world class midfield that was the focal point of our team. Looking forward to this hopefully coming to fruition.

[SirBalon]

18 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

I wonder if Valverde will promote Messi playing deep in the midfield? We've seen him there from time to time so it wouldn't be as crazy as it sounds (not that I think it's the right position for him).

I reckon it'll be a free role when Iniesta is rested for less difficult games (Messi wants to play every game) and that could mean he forms part of the midfield to roam where he likes and then the coach (Valverde in this case) will be able to play a lot more with the formation which is something Luis Enrique never really had the luxury of doing.  Messi practically always plays in midfield these days anyway and the "front three" term at Barça is really a bit of a myth.  Bale's mass of injuries is a major part of the reason in Real's upturn in form because he wasn't obligated to play a front three and the team was more solid, a blessing in disguise. That's one of the analysis that has been made from the Barcelona end at the end of this season in comparison.

[nfb_10]

@SirBalon As an Arsenal supporter, would you prefer Barcelona got Hector Bellerin or Semedo? 

It seems a lot of Barça fans are against Bellerin's signing

[SirBalon]

1 minute ago, Messiesta said:

@SirBalon As an Arsenal supporter, would you prefer Barcelona got Hector Bellerin or Semedo? 

It seems a lot of Barça fans are against Bellerin's signing

For me Bellerín is one of the most exciting right-backs in Europe.  But aside of my personal opinoin, he is perfect for Barça without a shadow of a doubt.  I doubt Barcelona will get him though.

As to what I want to happen...  Well I'd rather he stayed at Arsenal although I'd totally understand if he goes to Barça as anyone that doesn't has some brain cells missing especially in this case.  What I know for sure is that Barça will put a lot of pressure on the situation with even untoward methods unfortunately.

As for Semedo...  I rate him highly and he'd be a great acquisition for Barça if they can't get Bellerín.

[nfb_10]

3 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

For me Bellerín is one of the most exciting right-backs in Europe.  But aside of my personal opinoin, he is perfect for Barça without a shadow of a doubt.  I doubt Barcelona will get him though.

As to what I want to happen...  Well I'd rather he stayed at Arsenal although I'd totally understand if he goes to Barça as anyone that doesn't has some brain cells missing especially in this case.  What I know for sure is that Barça will put a lot of pressure on the situation with even untoward methods unfortunately.

As for Semedo...  I rate him highly and he'd be a great acquisition for Barça if they can't get Bellerín.

I'd love us to get Bellerin, I don't see anything wrong with him and I don't understand the negativity a lot of Barça fans view him with. I think he'll do really well at the Camp Nou, and he's my personal first choice to fill that Right Back gap.

[SirBalon]

1 minute ago, Messiesta said:

I don't understand the negativity a lot of Barça fans view him with

Are you talking about "Barça fans" on social media?

Edited June 6, 2017 by SirBalon

[nfb_10]

3 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Are you talking about "Barça fans" on social media?

 The ones from a blog called "Barça Blaugranes" 

[SirBalon]

Just now, Messiesta said:

 The ones from a blog called "Barça Blaugranes" 

Oh, ok.  I don't know that to be honest as I don't read any responses to social media apart from what the protagonists say and I don't follow any blogs.

What are their reasons?

[nfb_10]

8 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Oh, ok.  I don't know that to be honest as I don't read any responses to social media apart from what the protagonists say and I don't follow any blogs.

What are their reasons?

According to them he isn't really an upgrade on Aleix Vidal ( defensively ) and might even be a downgrade when talking about going forward in the attacking third. 

That seems to be the general consensus on him over there

[SirBalon]

2 minutes ago, Messiesta said:

According to them he isn't really an upgrade on Aleix Vidal ( defensively ) and might even be a downgrade when talking about going forward in the attacking third. 

That seems to be the general consensus on him over there

Hard to argue with that to be honest.

Let's start and leave it there with the fact Bellerín is definietly on a par if not superior going forward.  On the defensive side of things it's hard to argue although in Bellerín's favour he has the fact he's still evolving because he's much younger.  Then if we look at all the major protagonists in the full-back area around Europe we will see that defensively none are that special with Marcelo, Dani Alves or Alba being masters of the defensive art.  Clubs like Barça, Real Madrid, Juventus etc... etc... have to sacrifice a bit on that part so as to have an astute player going forward because the types of ball playing centre-backs that they tend to have usually cover for errors in that sense.

Aleix Vidal in those five games before he got injured and had won his place back, looked the business.  But do you know how much work Luis Enrique had to do with him to that that?  The guy practically didn't play for a season and a half and was at open war with the coach that forced the club to sign him.  So that plays a big part against Aleix unfortunately.  Not every coach is a Luis Enrique in the sense of being a total bastard and telling you to your face.  Ernesto Valverde certainly isn't that type of coach although he will also drop players he himself has signed like he did with Beñat at Athletic Bilbao.

Barcelona can't sign a player like Azpilicueta for example, who is extremely solid defensively because he is almost void going forward...  The only total full-back on an elite stage I know right now is at Real Madrid and that's Dani Carvajal...  He is solid defensively and a massive part of the reason as to why Real Madrid had a successful season this year.