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Champion's League 1/4 final: Barca vs Arsenal
Posted on 3/31/10 at 12:21 am
Posted on 3/31/10 at 12:21 am
With tomorrow being such a fascinating tie, i figured it deserved a good thread and seeing how many Arsenal fans we have here I'd like to do a write up on my beloved Blaugrana. Arsenal fans feel free to add a breakdown of your team in order to make this fun. So here is the Barcelona side of things.
Tomorrow/today depending on when you read this marks the first leg of the tie that has been looked upon with great anticipation since it was drawn over a week and a half ago. We see the current Spanish and European Champions FC Barcelona take the field against the very talented but very young side of Arsenal FC. What strikes everyone about this tie is the sheer beauty that should be on display over the whole 180 minutes.
When breaking down Barcelona one is tempted to start with Lionel Messi, but I'll shake things up and start on the other side of the pitch: Victor Valdes. The Barcelona born goalkeeper has spent periods of recent years under fire for some silly decisions but he seems to have turned the corner this year and is now regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Spain; something Vicente Del Bosque (Spainish Nation team coach) has taken note of and is considering giving Valdes a place in the squad that he will bring to South Africa. Barcelona boast an impressive clean sheet record in La Liga with a gaudy 16, and with only 13 goals conceded in La Liga this term, it's no question why Valdes is held in such high esteem.
Moving further up towards the defense. With all the fuss that's paid toward Xavi and Leo Messi, it's easy to overlook just how important the defensive players are for Barcelona. Barcelona have a pair of homegrown players that anchor the central defense witht he likes of Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique. There is one player in Barca in particular who's nickname is "The Lion of Barca" and it is indeed curious as to whether the name refers to his rather shaggy mane of hair, or the fighting spirit that he has displayed in his long career; the player I'm refering to is none other than Carles Puyol. Team him up with the always impressive Gerard Pique and you have a formidble duo in the center. Of course you can't mention Barca's defense without mentioning Daniel Alves who is ever present on attack as well as defense. He perhaps has the best cross of any right back i've seen and he is considered by many to be one of the best in the world at his position. Rounding out Barca's defense is Maxwell at left back. Maxwell took over since early february for the injured Eric Abidal and has performed very well. With Eric Abidal's return to fitness this week it will be interesting to see who Guardiola puts in his starting 11.
Tomorrow/today depending on when you read this marks the first leg of the tie that has been looked upon with great anticipation since it was drawn over a week and a half ago. We see the current Spanish and European Champions FC Barcelona take the field against the very talented but very young side of Arsenal FC. What strikes everyone about this tie is the sheer beauty that should be on display over the whole 180 minutes.
When breaking down Barcelona one is tempted to start with Lionel Messi, but I'll shake things up and start on the other side of the pitch: Victor Valdes. The Barcelona born goalkeeper has spent periods of recent years under fire for some silly decisions but he seems to have turned the corner this year and is now regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Spain; something Vicente Del Bosque (Spainish Nation team coach) has taken note of and is considering giving Valdes a place in the squad that he will bring to South Africa. Barcelona boast an impressive clean sheet record in La Liga with a gaudy 16, and with only 13 goals conceded in La Liga this term, it's no question why Valdes is held in such high esteem.
Moving further up towards the defense. With all the fuss that's paid toward Xavi and Leo Messi, it's easy to overlook just how important the defensive players are for Barcelona. Barcelona have a pair of homegrown players that anchor the central defense witht he likes of Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique. There is one player in Barca in particular who's nickname is "The Lion of Barca" and it is indeed curious as to whether the name refers to his rather shaggy mane of hair, or the fighting spirit that he has displayed in his long career; the player I'm refering to is none other than Carles Puyol. Team him up with the always impressive Gerard Pique and you have a formidble duo in the center. Of course you can't mention Barca's defense without mentioning Daniel Alves who is ever present on attack as well as defense. He perhaps has the best cross of any right back i've seen and he is considered by many to be one of the best in the world at his position. Rounding out Barca's defense is Maxwell at left back. Maxwell took over since early february for the injured Eric Abidal and has performed very well. With Eric Abidal's return to fitness this week it will be interesting to see who Guardiola puts in his starting 11.
This post was edited on 3/31/10 at 12:23 am
6
Posted on 3/31/10 at 12:23 am to tigerking765
Perhaps Barcelon's most famous aspect, the aspect that makes all of their attacking prowess possible, is their extremely impressive midfield. With players like Xavi, Iniesta, Yaya Toure and Seydou Keita it is impossible to find a single fault in the blaugrana midfield. If Puyol is the Lion of Barca then perhaps Xavi is the Heartbeat of Barca. Xavi is perhaps the best distributing midfielder in the game today and was essential in Barca having won 6 trophies last year, add to the fat he was player of the tournament in Euro 2008 and you have and extremely impressive award list. He provides so much through the midfield that when he is absent Barca must change their attacking philosophy. Sadly, Andres Iniesta is ruled out of the first leg with a calf injury but his place will most likely be filled by the young upstart Sergio Busquets or Seydou Keita. A second year player from the Barca youth academy, La Masia, Sergio has rapidly risen from bench player to a regular contributor. He is very capable of playing a nice pass to the forwards and creating space from which to move. The only downside of Sergio is that he is not as defensive as Xavi and tends to give the ball away at times. Toure and Keita are absolute monsters. Toure can fill any position in the midfield, and as he showed against Chelsea and Man Utd last year, he can even fill the defensive line as well. He possesses good pace and deadly passing and is also a very good shot from outside the box. Finally Keita is Barca's leading midfield goalscorer with 6 goals and he is often an unsung hero for Barcelona. He has been instrumental in the success of Ibrahimovic with his fearless play and his ability to find the open player. He sort of personifies the box to box midfielder. If Keita plays, expect to see him flying all over the pitch.
Last but not least, Barca's front line features players who strike fear into any team, no matter what any Madridista will tell you. I don't expect Henry to start the left wing but nobody can doubt the class that Henry has. With his pace having diminished and his goalscoring basically stopped it's easy to overlook Henry, but any Barca supporter and especially any Gunner knows the damage that henry can do. I expect Henry to be subbed in with the thunderous applause of the Emerites to greet him. In the center we have the deadly Ibrahimovic. When Ibra came to Barca having cost Barca 40 mil and Samuel Eto'o, many people had a huge question mark in their heads. Those questions were quelled as Ibra started the season at a blistering pace having scored 12 goals before Christmas (including the winner against Real Madrid). Sadly for him, Ibra's form dropped after the new year as his form dipped and the goals became less numerous. He looks to have regained his form though having scored 3 goals in Barca's last 3 matches, including the only goal in Barca's 1-0 win over Mallorca. He also has had the most goals in his debut with barca than he has had with any of his previous other clubs a 18 in all competitions.
Finally a paragraph devoted soley to the greatest player in the game right now: Leo Messi. As Pep Guardiola said "We are running out of adjectives to describe Messi with" and he is right. Leo Messi is the epitome of footballing genius, not afraid to pass it into space but also not afrait to take one 1,2,3 or even 4 defenders on his trek towards the goal, he is simply unstopable. As Mallorca's coach quiped before the match against barcelona "The only way to stop Messi is with a shotgun" and indeed that seems the only way to stop the genius that is Leo Messi. Look for him to try to find space against Sol Campbell or Wlliam Gallas and pepper Almunia's goal with a wide array of shots.
I believe I've written enough for now, for those of you who read the whole thing, thanks. I look forward to watching and discussing the next 180 minutes of this tie with you.
ETA: broke it into two parts for those of you who will bitch about the length
Last but not least, Barca's front line features players who strike fear into any team, no matter what any Madridista will tell you. I don't expect Henry to start the left wing but nobody can doubt the class that Henry has. With his pace having diminished and his goalscoring basically stopped it's easy to overlook Henry, but any Barca supporter and especially any Gunner knows the damage that henry can do. I expect Henry to be subbed in with the thunderous applause of the Emerites to greet him. In the center we have the deadly Ibrahimovic. When Ibra came to Barca having cost Barca 40 mil and Samuel Eto'o, many people had a huge question mark in their heads. Those questions were quelled as Ibra started the season at a blistering pace having scored 12 goals before Christmas (including the winner against Real Madrid). Sadly for him, Ibra's form dropped after the new year as his form dipped and the goals became less numerous. He looks to have regained his form though having scored 3 goals in Barca's last 3 matches, including the only goal in Barca's 1-0 win over Mallorca. He also has had the most goals in his debut with barca than he has had with any of his previous other clubs a 18 in all competitions.
Finally a paragraph devoted soley to the greatest player in the game right now: Leo Messi. As Pep Guardiola said "We are running out of adjectives to describe Messi with" and he is right. Leo Messi is the epitome of footballing genius, not afraid to pass it into space but also not afrait to take one 1,2,3 or even 4 defenders on his trek towards the goal, he is simply unstopable. As Mallorca's coach quiped before the match against barcelona "The only way to stop Messi is with a shotgun" and indeed that seems the only way to stop the genius that is Leo Messi. Look for him to try to find space against Sol Campbell or Wlliam Gallas and pepper Almunia's goal with a wide array of shots.
I believe I've written enough for now, for those of you who read the whole thing, thanks. I look forward to watching and discussing the next 180 minutes of this tie with you.
ETA: broke it into two parts for those of you who will bitch about the length
Posted on 3/31/10 at 1:03 am to tigerking765
thenry's analysis:
Arsenal has Nicklas Bendtner. Arsenal wins.
Arsenal has Nicklas Bendtner. Arsenal wins.
Posted on 3/31/10 at 1:06 am to thenry712
What time and channel will it come on in b r area?
Posted on 3/31/10 at 1:17 am to thenry712
Meet the best player in the world.
This post was edited on 3/31/10 at 10:35 pm
Posted on 3/31/10 at 1:19 am to ezride25
quote:
Meet the best player in the world.
That isn't Rooney
Posted on 3/31/10 at 1:25 am to Vidic
Rooney 
Posted on 3/31/10 at 1:28 am to ezride25
quote:
Meet the best player in the world.
Posted on 3/31/10 at 1:31 am to RayFinkleTTU
No I said best player, not best whiner, fit pitcher, and complainer.
Posted on 3/31/10 at 1:33 am to ezride25
He is all of the above including best player
Posted on 3/31/10 at 5:25 am to RayFinkleTTU
i'll just keep it in this thread.
Geaux Inter!
Geaux Inter!
This post was edited on 3/31/10 at 10:36 pm
Posted on 3/31/10 at 6:50 am to tigerking765
Lately the Gooners have been blazing through the likes of West Ham, Burnley, Hull, Stoke, Sunderland but get crushed by the teams at the top of the table, i.e. Chelski and Man Utd...I see this pattern continuing....Barca 3-1...Henry with the hat trick against is old club
Posted on 3/31/10 at 7:01 am to Mr. Shankly
ManUre is going to be blazing out of the top 2 now that its only goalscorer is gone.
Posted on 3/31/10 at 7:11 am to Leauxgan
quote:
ManUre is going to be blazing out of the top 2 now that its only goalscorer is gone
oh no, you forget about the Bulgarian sqaud player that Fergie brought in from Spurs...they'll be fine
Posted on 3/31/10 at 7:20 am to Mr. Shankly
he's probably the only player I enjoy watching (in a non ironic way) for ManU. when he has a good game he's lethal...I mean check this shite out: LINK
Posted on 3/31/10 at 7:26 am to Leauxgan
i can't open the link at work...i'll check it out tonight.
he's been a huge disappointment for me. he scores but it's mop up/garbage goals, i.e. standing in front of goal and pokes one in. he comes off as being lazy esp when Rooney is along side him...Rooney never stops, Berv just lolly-gags around
Seems like when he was at Spurs and paired w/ Keane he was a much better player and I think that's what fooled Fergie. he's going to have to earn his $$ Saturday. at this point i'll settle for a point and move on...
he's been a huge disappointment for me. he scores but it's mop up/garbage goals, i.e. standing in front of goal and pokes one in. he comes off as being lazy esp when Rooney is along side him...Rooney never stops, Berv just lolly-gags around
Seems like when he was at Spurs and paired w/ Keane he was a much better player and I think that's what fooled Fergie. he's going to have to earn his $$ Saturday. at this point i'll settle for a point and move on...
Posted on 3/31/10 at 7:48 am to tigerking765
back to today's match... a fun article from goal.com:
The Numbers Game
Arsenal
5 – The number of assists by Andrey Arshavin in this year’s Champions League – more than by any other player in the tournament.
18 – The number of goals scored by Arsenal in the Champions League so far this season. They are the tournament’s joint top scorers
2.25 – The Gunners’ average goals per game in Europe this season. More than any other side - including Barcelona, who have notched up only a measly average of 1.5 goals per game.
67 – The number of shots on target by the Gunners. That's more than any other Champions League club; Barcelona are third with 59.
32 – The age of Thierry Henry these days. Those tired old legs aren’t quite as fast and full of energy as they once were.
226 – The number of goals Henry scored in his 369 games for the Gunners – a club record. The Frenchman may find it hard to be so ruthless against Arsenal, a club he clearly still cherishes.
49 – The minute in which Iniesta had to be substituted after picking up a hamstring strain at Real Mallorca on Saturday night. The Barcelona lynchpin has since been ruled out of the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Arsenal.
2 – The paltry number of goals Ibrahimovic has scored in the Champions League this year. Nicklas Bendtner has banged in four.
180 – The total number of minutes Chelsea kept Lionel Messi quiet during their tussle with Barcelona in last season’s tournament – so it is possible.
Barthalona
48 – The astonishing average number of minutes per game that Barcelona have possession of the ball. That’s more than any other team in the Champions League. Arsenal are next best with 35 minutes.
34 – The number of goals Messi has scored in all competitions this season, leading many to claim he is on course to be the greatest player of all time.
11 – Major club honours Messi has won since he and Fabregas were team-mates in the Barcelona youth set-up. Cesc has collected just one – Arsenal’s 2005 FA Cup winners' medal.
3 – Consecutive number of games that Ibrahimovic has scored in, including the weekend’s 1-0 victory at Real Mallorca.
80 - Per cent chance that William Gallas will not be fit for the first leg against Barcelona. The Gunners could do with his pace against the likes of Lionel Messi.
17 – Number of shots on target by Ibrahimovic – more than by any other player in this term’s Champions League.
4 – The paltry number of goals scored against Barcelona so far this season in Europe - the second best record of any club. That’s just 0.5 goals conceded per game.
2 – To 1. The odds of Barcelona regaining their European title this season.
The Numbers Game
Arsenal
5 – The number of assists by Andrey Arshavin in this year’s Champions League – more than by any other player in the tournament.
18 – The number of goals scored by Arsenal in the Champions League so far this season. They are the tournament’s joint top scorers
2.25 – The Gunners’ average goals per game in Europe this season. More than any other side - including Barcelona, who have notched up only a measly average of 1.5 goals per game.
67 – The number of shots on target by the Gunners. That's more than any other Champions League club; Barcelona are third with 59.
32 – The age of Thierry Henry these days. Those tired old legs aren’t quite as fast and full of energy as they once were.
226 – The number of goals Henry scored in his 369 games for the Gunners – a club record. The Frenchman may find it hard to be so ruthless against Arsenal, a club he clearly still cherishes.
49 – The minute in which Iniesta had to be substituted after picking up a hamstring strain at Real Mallorca on Saturday night. The Barcelona lynchpin has since been ruled out of the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Arsenal.
2 – The paltry number of goals Ibrahimovic has scored in the Champions League this year. Nicklas Bendtner has banged in four.
180 – The total number of minutes Chelsea kept Lionel Messi quiet during their tussle with Barcelona in last season’s tournament – so it is possible.
Barthalona
48 – The astonishing average number of minutes per game that Barcelona have possession of the ball. That’s more than any other team in the Champions League. Arsenal are next best with 35 minutes.
34 – The number of goals Messi has scored in all competitions this season, leading many to claim he is on course to be the greatest player of all time.
11 – Major club honours Messi has won since he and Fabregas were team-mates in the Barcelona youth set-up. Cesc has collected just one – Arsenal’s 2005 FA Cup winners' medal.
3 – Consecutive number of games that Ibrahimovic has scored in, including the weekend’s 1-0 victory at Real Mallorca.
80 - Per cent chance that William Gallas will not be fit for the first leg against Barcelona. The Gunners could do with his pace against the likes of Lionel Messi.
17 – Number of shots on target by Ibrahimovic – more than by any other player in this term’s Champions League.
4 – The paltry number of goals scored against Barcelona so far this season in Europe - the second best record of any club. That’s just 0.5 goals conceded per game.
2 – To 1. The odds of Barcelona regaining their European title this season.
Posted on 3/31/10 at 8:02 am to Leauxgan
So happy my daughter got pink eye on Champions League Wednesday... Now I get to watch Barca rip a new ahole into Arsenal.
Posted on 3/31/10 at 8:24 am to tigerking765
I am so pumped for this match. I probably can't watch it live so I may watch the replay at Finn McCool's. I am very worried about Sol matching with Messi. Messi abuses much quicker players on a weekly basis. On offense I think Arshavin will be the key. Can the tricky little Russian make some magic? I guess that is why we watch.
Posted on 3/31/10 at 8:32 am to glassman
i will also have to watch the replay.
reason barca will win: mrsmiller is cheering for the gunners
reason barca will win: mrsmiller is cheering for the gunners
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