After the game against Racing Santander, Cruyff pointed out that Barcelona performance was the worst he’d seen so far this season. I am sure he changed his mind by now. In fact, the performance against Stuttgart was the worst this Barcelona can produce, no matter how hard they try. May be, It was the worst performance a defending Champion ever produced, but definitely it was the worst performance any serious contender for winning this version produced this season, including Inter’s performance at the Camp Nou, and Man Utd first half in Milano.
If I said that the best Barcelona player on the field was a Hleb, will that be enough to explain the overall display of the defending champions?
Another 45 minutes like the first half we saw against Stuttgart, and Barcelona will be out of the competition. Knocked out. Eliminated. Defeated. Forgotten. In fact, against the likes of Man Utd, Inter, Chelsea and co, Barcelona will be dusted in the wind for performing 20 minutes matching that Stuttgart circus.
Two remarks I have to mention before getting into the point:
1) What will follow takes nothing away from Stuttgart. They played their hearts on the field and they deserved much more than what they got. Rarely a team plays against Barcelona with two forwards upfront and a Hleb. If they qualified to the following round, I will curse anyone who considers them lucky.
2) Usually, I don’t comment on referees’ performance. But I can’t avoid questioning the quality of the referees selected for the Champions league. Last week we saw carnivals. In this game, the referee was almost as irritating as Barcelona performance was for a Cule’. He was harsher on Stuttgart than Barcelona, that’s not the point. I never criticize a referee for his decisions. But he was on the way of the ball more than Yaya ever been in the first half. I thought they teach them positioning and diagonal movements when they study refereeing, obviously this guy was drawing flowers and butterflies during that lecture.
Back to the so-called Barcelona performance. The starting lineup was close. In the game preview, I considered using Milito instead of Marquez as a must. And I questioned Xavi readiness to start this game. And that’s where the whole mess started in my opinion.
First Half:
The game kicked off. We started the game playing nine men against eleven. Marquez obviously had some resacado drinks before the game. He barely did anything good in the first half and being pushed off the ball by a Hleb, is a shame for his age and world-class profile. Yaya was simply: A wandering shadow. It’s not easy to criticize such a popular figure but this performance demonstrates the reason why he lost his seat for Busquets. Pointless defensive positioning, passive contribution offense wise, lot of back-passing… His fan base will be there to cheer for him days and nights, but he needs more than that to earn back his place permanently in the selection. Those who didn’t notice how the holding midfielder role improved the second half will probably never notice it. Busquets is not a natural defensive midfielder. He is a doubted quality for a decent sector in the blaugrana’s community. So if he can still perform better than Yaya, that’s a bold indication about Toure form declination.
Having said that, it’s not that the rest were triumphed heroes to hail. Pique had a relatively good performance, but he need to anticipate better and time his positioning better so he avoid the need of Kamikaze-ic tackling. Puyol was Ok, yet-and maybe this is more a Pep remark- sometimes even while playing as a fullback, he need to act exclusively as a third Center back when the defense is in a messy cycle. No one is demanding an Alves-tic performance from his behalf game in game out. Maxwell was the player who performed his role the best in the defense department. May be, it was possible that either him or Iniesta put more pressure on the player who crossed the ball to Cacau, but I tend to say that Stuttgart goal was more an offense quality than being a defense mistake.
In the midfield, putting Yaya aside, Busquets was the most irritating player on the field. Why? He had a sinusoidal performance curve that goes like: Brilliant….Clumsy…Nice pass…DAMN YOU!!...Hell yea…DIE!...then again, Brilliant…Clumsy...
Xavi was not ready for this game. May be he was physically ok, but mentally he wasn’t in the game. He was a maestro without a stick. With that kind of defense behind him, and that kind of Busquets beside him, and that kind of offense in front, let’s just give him the benefit of doubt. He was more as an intelligent microchip with no hydraulic arms. Won’t dig any silver mine for you.
There was always the complaint that Iniesta’s problem on the flank is that instead of stretching the field he keeps moving deep to the midfield. There was always the complaint that Ibra’s problem as a forward is that instead of being loyal to the opponents’ area he keeps moving deep to the midfield as well. The two players picked this game to decide to satisfy the critics. For the first 30 minutes all what Iniesta did was opening the field on the left as a pure left wing, Ibra was pushing forward all the time as well. Good strategy, bad timing. With the kind of fragile midfield we had, that was the game for Iniesta and Ibra to contribute in the midfield more than they ever did. Our players were spread on the field like mountain peaks, with no lines of communication in-between.
Messi was not able to pull out a miracle. He lost possession often, and he tried to do the impossible. We can criticize him all day long, but no one can deny that he was the only threat on Stuttgart. Every time he touched the ball the expectations were boosted to the sky. Every time he didn’t have it, everyone was waiting the moment he gets it. No surprise, in a game where teamwork was not a trend, only the player of that level who can –barely- take the responsibility of moving the ball forward on his own and try to do everything, or at least anything.
The Second Half:
You can see it on the players’ faces and Pep’s body movement that there was a blow-dryer talk in the dressing room between the two halves. Two predictable changes, Milito substituting Marquez, and Henry taking Yaya’s place. Busquets serving as a holding midfielder, Iniesta moving to play beside Xavi and Henry moving upfront. The performance improved though didn’t reach the expectations. We were less catastrophic defensively and much better in the midfield, but the offense lacked the spark. Aside of some wrong offside calls not much to be mentioned.
Ibra’s goal will help the team at the Camp Nou. The result was good, the performance was disappointing. To win the Champions’ league again, the team need to improve. It worth noting also that this game proved again the importance of Keita in the midfield, and the vital role Alves play on the right.
I will be moving to the south today. Not sure how far I will be able to update the blog in the following few days. Everything takes time in Sweden, even if it is called fast internet connection. So the blog will not be dying. Just a short Comma. Similar to that’s of Barcelona, if you know what I mean.
My weekly column on Total Barca:
The unsung Heroes of Barcelona: Fullbacks
Barcelona’s injury woes; turning Crisis into Opportunities
Previous Articles on Football Mood:
Shopping tour, Cesc, Silva or Villa: Who will join Barcelona?
Advocatus Diaboli: Barcelona youth academy, Overrated.
Scoup Group: Our Football Mood News Agency
Barcelona 2010, Tactical Ramble.
Who score goals for Barcelona?
From Ronaldinho to Ibra, Txiki in numbers
kamikaze kontiki Said,
I don't think Yaya's defensive performance was as bad as his offensive support role. He doesn't seem to think it is part of his job profile to support the defence and midfield and act as a passing outlet, anymore. Instead he stands around waving his hands pointing out where he would like the ball-holder to pass.
I don't know if anyone else noticed this but somewhere around the 10th-12th minute in the Racing game I remember Pep getting livid and coming of his bench to shout at Yaya.
I am starting to sympathise with the idea of buying Cesc or someone else who can support the midfield. Busquets is horrible and will never be a good player in my opinion. Rather like Motta he will be given a runout for about 3 yrs and then sold. Where Motta used to keep fouling Busquets keeps getting fouled.
He doesn't lack imagination or passing ability but his basic ball control is horrible. He uses his spindly long legs to hang on to the ball when he should be controlling it better and keeping it closer to him. This is why he gets fouled so often, the opposition sees the ball so far away from his body and thinks they have a chance of stealing it only for Busquets matchstick legs to come in the way drawing the foul.
I wonder how Crosas would do as pivot.
Posted on February 24, 2010 at 7:32 PM
Waleed Said,
Barca vs Malaga
a huge amount of tactical touches!!
so ramzi you still have some unfinished homework!! you'd better finish with your move soon :)
Posted on February 28, 2010 at 11:41 AM