When Luis Enrique steps out onto the pitch tonight for the first leg of the Champions League Semifinal he may as well be invisible. With Pep’s return to Nou Camp, the semi-final re-match with Bayern Munich, and the players involved in the game most will not spare a thought for the Barcelona manager. Yet, amongst all who will have a hand in deciding the game, nobody has more invested in the outcome than Luis Enrique. … [Read more...]
Has Luis Enrique done enough to stay at Barcelona?
In his first year in charge of his former club, Luis Enrique has Barcelona where they expect to be: heavy favorites to advance to the Champions League semifinals, in front and in control of La Liga, and finalists in the Copa Del Rey. In levels of performance, Enrique has solidified the defense with only a scant 19 goals allowed in 32 league matches. Offensively, the team is hitting on all cylinders; Lionel Messi is back to his top form after a pedestrian (for him) year last season and the addition of Luis Suarez has been a massive help in terms of stretching opponents’ backline and creating … [Read more...]
An analysis of Barcelona’s new tactics
After another hard fought and tense El Clasico, Barcelona left the stadium with a 2-1 victory and a four point cushion atop of the league table. Barcelona has now won 19 out of their last 20 games and a team that just two months ago seemed on the edge of collapse now controls its own fate. … [Read more...]
Messi outshining CR7 as Barca surge continues
Barcelona and Lionel Messi are breaking records once again, rekindling the memories of the team that won multiple honours under Pep Guardiola. The club have won their last 11 games since defeat at Real Sociedad, equalling the run set under Guardiola in 2008/09. Manager Luis Enrique received plenty of criticism early on in the season, yet is quick to dismiss these records comparing him to Guardiola and Tito Vilanova. "I care about titles, not records," the former Barca man was quoted at the weekend. Enrique may receive his titles with the club firing in all three major competitions, and Real … [Read more...]
What Luis Enrique and President Bartomeu apparently don’t understand about Barcelona
After Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 last weekend—with their best showing of the season— Luis Enrique said, “Victories are the only thing that can calm this wave [of noise]…as soon as we make mistakes, the crisis will be back. That’s very clear. I will concentrate on what I can control.” A few days later Barcelona’s President, Bartomeu, is quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying, “There is a lot of tension around the club. I don’t like it. With this announcement that there will be an {Presidential} election hopefully we will reduce the tension.” … [Read more...]
FC Barcelona in turmoil
Any way you want to define it, Barcelona is in turmoil: Throughout this season their play has been lackluster and the team has lacked a definite identity, the transfer ban was upheld ensuring that the club cannot sign any new players till January 2016, the president had to resign due to less than professional behavior, their director of football—Zubizarreta— was fired, club legend Carlos Puyol stepped down from his administrative position, on Monday their star player skipped practice in what is being reported as a power play to force out the Luis Enrique as the coach, and if you … [Read more...]
Barcelona v Sevilla preview
Barcelona play host to Sevilla on Saturday following a league hiatus that saw ten of its regulars clad in national colours, rather than the blue and red of Barca. The Catalan club entered the international break off the back of a win, albeit over a lowly Almeria side. It was hardly a performance to instil confidence into fans and players alike. Though they began their league campaign impressively under new coach Luis Enrique, October's 3-1 defeat in El Clasico at the Bernabeu and the subsequent 1-0 home loss to Celta Vigo have led to questions being asked. … [Read more...]
Pep Guardiola and the Criticism of Luis Enrique
Panic is starting to set in around FC Barcelona. After the last two lost seasons—which were epitomized by the death of Tito Vilanova and the death of Barcelona’s trademark style—Barcelona fans were excited about the hiring of Luis Enrique. A former Barca man himself, the hope was that Enrique would be able to restore Barcelona’s style and recent success. Their faith was well placed early on as a fast start saw the club get 22 points out of 24 and earn sole possession of first place. … [Read more...]
Villareal v Barcelona preview
This Sunday sees Villareal welcome Barcelona to El Madrigal, in what is undoubtedly the game of the weekend. Despite the absence of several key men, Barca have enjoyed a straightforward start to their La Liga campaign, with a 3-0 win over Elche last week thanks to the reliable shooting boots of Lionel Messi. Villarreal, by contrast, were less convincing in their 2-0 victory over Levante. … [Read more...]
Barcelona v Elche match preview
The La Liga opening weekend is upon us and ‘los cules’ open up their season at the Camp Nou against Elche CF. A fresh face on the sidelines in Luis Enrique, he will be hoping to start off with three points and keep ground on the always tight La Liga race for the title. FC Barcelona will look to forget a trophyless season, while Elche will look to improve on last season’s finish as they just avoided relegation. … [Read more...]