When Cristian Tello broke into the Barcelona first team during the 2011/12 season it looked like the man who was part of Spain’s under-21 squad that won the 2013 European Championships would carry the Blaugrana forward line for the next decade. Everything certainly started well after scoring a brace in the 9-0 hammering of CE L'Hospitalet in the Copa Del Rey and then later scoring in his first league start against Real Sociedad in early February 2012. This begs the question, why (with so much positivity surrounding the Spaniard's early career) are we not raving about Tello’s achievements … [Read more...]
Barcelona Messiless yet Merciless Against Levante
It was five and easy for Barcelona, as they crushed Levante 5-1 to move into the Copa Del Rey semi-finals 9-2 on aggregate. The match was as good as over after their 4-1 victory in Valencia last week. Certainly, that was the way the Catalan fans felt. The stadium was barely a quarter full to watch what amounted to little more than a practise match. Tata Martino rested key players like Lionel Messi but it made little difference as Levante were put to the sword yet again. Surprisingly, it was the away side that took the lead. Vyntra headed the goal on 9 minutes, although it had a suspicion of … [Read more...]
Levante 1-4 Barcelona
Cristian Tello grabbed a hat-trick as Barcelona romped to a 4-1 away victory over Levante in last night's Copa Del Rey quarter final first leg. Arsenal target Tello may have persuaded Arsene Wenger to prise open his purse strings as he put on a fine display, ably assisted by Lionel Messi. It sounds strange to say after a team mate scores three, but the mercurial Mess was my man of the match. He tore the home side apart at every opportunity and laid on all three goals for Tello. It was Levante who took the lead. Nabir El Zhar scored after 31 minutes to have Levante fans dreaming of victory. … [Read more...]
5 players who could make the World Cup squad
Vicente del Bosque has a tough task in selecting 23 men out of around 50 world class players, choosing a squad based on form, potential, cohesion and experience so that Spain can retain their FIFA World Cup crown. An unsuccessful Confederations Cup campaign has seen change flourish in the Spanish camp with various newbies coming into the squad, but can any of these outside contenders realistically make VDB's final 23? … [Read more...]
La Liga Youngsters – My Starting Eleven
La Liga - many of you watch it, many of you don't. But whether you like the football in Spain's top division or not, the players that make their money in Spain are incredible to watch. What impresses me more is the rate at which La Liga is churning out brilliant youngsters. The academies of these clubs and the various 'B' teams in lower leagues really seem to be helping the youngsters along the line. Even taking in loanees, they help advance them incredibly. … [Read more...]
My Spanish 2012 Olympics Squad
Tickets may not have completely sold out for the Olympic Football event, but once the hype gears into full throttle then you can be sure to see queues from as far away as Cristiano Ronaldo believes he can score from. Accumulating players from 4 countries is no easy feat and a draft of nearly 200 players have been murmured so it's unsurprising for us Brits to be perplexed as to what will materialise come August without a known squad as yet. Spain don't have to deal with that dilemma, and with their Under 21 squad winning the European Championships last year, the country … [Read more...]