In a poll conducted by the Daily Mail, it has emerged that the majority of Barcelona fans wish for their club to sell Neymar this summer. The Brazilian reportedly has a £150 million release clause on his contract and a total of 61% of participants voted yes to getting rid of the striker at the end of the season. The survey coincides with arguably the darkest period the club has endured since manager Luis Enrique took over. After failing to defend their Champions League trophy with a quarter final defeat to Atletico Madrid last week, Barca's La Liga match-up with Deportivo La Coruna last … [Read more...]
Are FC Barcelona unstoppable this season?
FC Barcelona's 6-1 thumping of Celta Vigo over the weekend was emphatic. Ruthless and a warning to Barca's primera liga title rivals.....they're not relinquishing it soon. But the most telling was Messi and Suarez play-up from the 6-yard. We all know it was a Johan Cryuff trick pulled off in the 80's which Henry and Pires failed to execute against Manchester City for Arsenal a while back. But that's beside the point. MSN are on fire. Very confident. And that incident showed they're having fun. And being lethal while at it. It doesn't get any scarier than when you find out Messi and Suarez … [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...]
Under-fire Gareth Bale leads this week’s La Liga team of the week
El Clasico weekend is just by the corner, and league leaders Barcelona, as well as second place Real Madrid prepared for the potential decider next Sunday with good 2-0 victories. There were also wins for the likes of Champions League hopefuls Valencia – who toppled Atletico Madrid to finish the round in third – and Sevilla. Champions Atletico Madrid were disappointing though, and could only manage a point on their trip to Catalonia to play Espanyol. … [Read more...]
Messi leads our La Liga Team of the week
Champions Atletico Madrid suffered a huge setback in their quest to retain the title they won against all odds last season after a 2-0 loss away at Celta Vigo. It’s no surprise therefore that Celta’s key men headline this week’s best XI. … [Read more...]
Benzema leads our La Liga team of the week
Almeria goalkeeper Julian was huge for the relegation strugglers over the last round of games, and is the first name on the list in La liga Blog’s Team of the Round. … [Read more...]
Neymar leads this week’s La Liga team of the week
Legendary penalty stopper Diego Alves made yet again a crucial save from 12 yards out, to keep Valencia on top in the biggest game of Match Round 20. Valencia – who were leading 2-0 at some point – were at risk of being pegged-back after Sevilla got a second penalty in less than five minutes, but the Brazilian stepped-up big a second time to keep Los Che in the lead and ahead of their Andalusian rivals. Valencia went on to win 3-1 to leapfrog Sevilla on La Liga table. … [Read more...]
Messi stars in our La Liga team of the week
The 2014/2015 season finally hit the halfway mark, with Real Madrid getting the unofficial title of winter champions after they completed a hard-fought but comprehensive win away at Getafe. There were also wins for title contenders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, while European football hopefuls Valencia, Sevilla and Villareal enjoyed a great weekend too. No surprises that this round’s best XI is largely influenced by players from these clubs. … [Read more...]
Nahuel Leiva: Will the Messi Story be rewritten?
Our story begins with an exciting young Argentine talent, whisked from the footballing hotbed of Rosario to arrive in (an equally) sunny Spain, barely entered into his formative teen years. It doesn’t take too long before the young prodigy begins to showcase his considerable talent, and the interest and attention of scouts and media invariably begin to peak. … [Read more...]
Analysing Barca’s 3-2-3-2 formation
Predictably, after Barcelona’s 7-0 2013 Champions League semifinal defeat to Bayern Munich, when they were physically overpowered by a compact and organized 4-4-2 press, many of their future opponents adopted Bayern’s tactics in an attempt to nullify the attacking strengths and exploit the defensive frailties of the Catalan giants. It is then no surprise that Barcelona would transition to a back-3 to counteract the advantages their opposition obtained from mimicking the formation that dominated them. Playing a back-3 provides Barcelona an extra defender and free player to bring the ball out … [Read more...]