football test

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.

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.

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.

Finally, Barcelona fans are out of the routine of approaching a new Liga game after enjoying a win in the previous one. Supernatural powers, Madrid spells, and football will, all united together creating a mix of selective injury crisis, rarely off performance, and exceptional inspiring show from the opponent, all so the universe hail the achievement of taking three points out of the reach of the Catalan Knights.

A new week has come. Barcelona will be out seeking a comeback. As I used to do recently, I will try to extremely brief the preview as we all discussed all the game aspects from many angles throughout the week. So let’s try to make it smooth and simple, suggesting –Not predicting- the starting lineup:

I believe Alves will not start this game, no matter what. One of the reasons of his most recent injury was rushing him back to the game too early. In that case, my starting lineup goes as following:

I see the boring part of it, no youth players. Barcelona need to secure the game first, then we can do the substitutions. 

Puyol as a right fullback means more opportunities for Maxwell to go for the offense. With Maxwell stretching the field from the left and Pedro doing so from the right, Henry and Ibra can play more in the box.

Why Yaya and not Busquets? Because after his last interview where he said all the right things, it’s the right time to give Yaya the chance to do the talking on the field. The same as I demanded starting both Iniesta and Henry more often when they were not in the right form so they recover, Yaya deserves the same at the moment. Adding to the fact that Yaya can work better than Busquets covering behind Messi and Iniesta rather than contributing in the playmaking. That may prove vital with Messi being more daring to move forward than the conservative Xavi.

Messi and Iniesta can no doubt run the show in the midfield. Messi is not as good as Xavi commanding the possession game, but he can add a lethal offense edge coming from the midfield. His tendency to attack the box match Ibra habit to move to the midfield. The triangle Iniesta-Messi-Ibra can click perfectly in the center both in the midfield and in the offense.

For Ibra movement to the midfield to be more useful, Henry and Pedro roles demanding the ball in the space has to be efficient. If Henry plays in this game he will be looking for a goal. He needs it, and this game is a good chance. Pedro role on the flank will be as vital stretching the field and covering the absence of Alves in that matter, besides making his usual runs into the box, just at the right time.

If Alves will play, then the selection may change a bit:

Simply put, having both Alves and Maxwell as fullbacks dictates having two holding midfielders. Racing with all the players they will miss in this game might not be a big threat. But the team need to adapt to this tactical modification as early as this week. We may need to use it in the following game in the Champions’ league. 

I picked Henry over Pedro basically because with Maxwell on the left, it’s better to have Henry. While Pedro is already a proven goal scorer doing the well-timed runs into the box, Henry is better operating in the box in a static manner. With Ibra movement outside and Messi operating as a ten, and with Maxwell stretching the field on the left we are more in need for a second striker in the box than a flanked left forward to do what Maxwell will be doing anyway.

The game on the road was a show. We won 1-4. Messi scored twice, Ibra scored once and assisted another for Pique and the team in general was in the right mood. We miss some players for this game, so as Racing. I can go as far as saying that the loss of Munitis, Colsa and Tchite is –relatively- more damaging for Racing than the unavailable players for Barcelona. The loss of the three racing players will make them more containable. Yet they still have enough manpower to cause concerns in Canales and Xisco.

Me here hoping that we will have a chance to see some of the JDS, Thiago and the rest of the youth. The champions’ league game will be in Pep’s mind while approaching this game. I don’t expect him to rotate though. The team proved already that they perform better when they play more, as they pick the right momentum.

Hm…Let’s hope this week exceed our most optimistic expectations…

It was going to happen. Sooner or later. The hard way. The easy way. At home. On the road. It was going to happen. Think about it no more. It happened. The first loss in the season.

Winning this game would have crowned Barcelona as Liga champions. It would have been odd to happen that early. It would have been even dangerous, which is another story. 

We have to analyze the two folds of the game separately: Before Keita’s injury, and after Keita’s injury. 

Valdés;Jeffren, Puyol, Milito, Maxwell;Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Keita;Messi, Ibrahimovic e Iniesta.

Pinto, Muniesa, Bartra, Jonathan, Henry, Pedro and Bojan

Pep, decided to use Keita in the midfield rather than in defense, Picking Jeffren as a right back. Was it better to use Keita in the defense instead? That’s impossible to tell. The idea of having both Keita and Busquets in the midfield was very reasonable. In the game preview, I tried to point out the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. 

What about using Jeffren as a right back? With all respect, anyone who gives a Permanente judgment that it was a wrong decision is not reasonable. None of us actually saw the other options in action on the highest level (unless if we want to judge based on Muniesa debut last season). Again, I pointed out in the game preview that Pep will decide based on what he will see in the training sessions. There is a reason why he called three youth defenders to join the first team even though he will barely use one. It’s a clear sign that none of them is a certainty yet. After a number of training sessions, he concluded that none of them is ready, so he picked Jeffren who is more adapted to the atmosphere of first team matches. Bartra debuted in the second half, and I can predict that he impressed the Cules. But I saw clearly that he was not ready for a game like this. He lacks the calmness that Jeffren showed which was essential for the beginning of the game. Generally speaking, we can judge based on what we know, and we don’t know these players for real. They are performing perfectly at Barca athletic and all the way through the youth ranks, so did Bojan. First team debut is another story.

Keita Injury was a turning point in the game, I was curious to see Pep reaction. Keita out, Pedro in, Iniesta to the midfield, and the game keep on going.

Here it is important to quote a paragraph I wrote in: Who score goals for Barcelona?

“Picking a tactical structure for the team is a crucial stage in team building, but it’s just the beginning of an endless process of continuous improvement. To perfect a system, it’s important to have a “What if” logical circuit that ring in the coach’s mind all the time:


- What if the opponents’ defense terminated my key player threat in a game?

- What if my basic offense flow (attacking on the flank/center/counter/…) didn’t click in a game, what are the alternatives? Are the alternatives dependent on changing the players’ roles on the field or should be made by getting a bench player involved? How many subs this change requires? What if that bench player was not available?

- What if I suffered defense fragility in a game that forced my midfield back? How will that effect offense and how to deal with this challenge?

- What if player -X - got a red card?


And the “what if” loop keeps on going... Seeking perfection requires finding alternative scheme for each and every match scenario.”

Usually, the scenario of losing one of the midfielders should be well covered by the resources available on the bench. You are planning to use (Busquets and Keita) in the midfield with specific tactical instructions, if one of them picks an injury you won’t have a problem as you will have Yaya to step in. He is capable of keeping the game plan clicking as perfect as ever. But when you have all the injury/absence mess and you are using all the reliable resources you have as starters (in the defense and midfield) then you need to plan a scenario that even consider changing the tactical structure if anything urgent happens. You need to train your players on that during the pre-match training sessions so they perform the change smoothly when you give the order. When Keita got injured, I expected one of the following scenarios:

1)Substituting him for one of the youth defenders. Using three static center backs (Milito-Puyol-Bartra?) with a line of Maxwell-Busquets-Jeffren in front of them. Xavi and Iniesta as attacking midfielders behind Messi and Ibra. This way we achieve the following gaining:

       a)Having three Center backs closes the defensive area at the center. And with the youth defender playing as a third Center back with Milito and Puyol where the roles of the three players are pure defense, he will be easy to lead and control. We could have even given him the instructions to tight mark Aguero whenever he is in our defensive third. Bartra may not contain the Kun but he can complicate things for him a bit delaying his offense flow so he gets more containable.

       b)Having Maxwell and Jeffren on the same line with Busquets instead of acting as fullbacks means that they will have a line of three defenders to cover behind them, that will decrease the damage of Jeffren's lack of defensive quality for example. In the other hand this line of three will create a numerical superiority in the midfiled with Xavi and Iniesta so we dominate possession. Simao and Reyes would have faced more resistance on the flanks starting from the midfield rather than running in space into Barcelona defensive area. And Finally, Jeffren and Maxwell will be able to contribute more offense wise on the flanks (something they do better than defense). This may lead to moving the game permanently into Atletico Half.

2)Keeping the defense untouched (Maxwell-Milito-Puyol-Jeffren), but then using Xavi as a second holding midfielder beside Busquets With messi and Iniesta as attacking midfielder behind Ibra and a second striker (Henry, Pedro, Bojan based on who is more fit to play). This means switching to a 4-4-2 instead of keeping the 4-3-3 in place.

Pep instead opted to keep the same structure, moving Iniesta to the midfield and installing Pedro upfront. I am not sure how valid my assumptions are, based on the players' in Pep’s basket. But I have a strong feeling it could have worked better than what we’ve seen for the rest of the game.

Atletico knew that they need to move the game to our half at any cost. Lopez, Tiago, Assuncao, Reyes, and Simao were pushing the lines forward all the times from the center and the flanks. Aguero and Forlan played the synchronized trick where one of them pulls Puyol out of position and the other demand the ball to be played into the space behind Milito. On the flanks we were always outnumbered. The rest were predicted details…

Then the substitution of Xavi for Bojan took place. Xavi picked an injury, but regardless of that, having Messi in the playmaking role was a promising idea with the hope that he moves the ball forward more often. The question is: Why not Henry? I am aware he was far from being in the right form since the start of the season, but I can’t avoid feeling shocked that Bojan got the call instead.

I will not evaluate players as I always focus on the team as a group. For example, it’s true that Messi didn’t perform up to the standards but we already knew it will happen if he had no support from the right flank, as I mentioned in the game preview. The individuals were the victims of the match conditions, not the other way around.

I hope Pep and co reread this game from a critical perspective. We will have to live with the injuries we are suffering from for a while now. This game lessons will prove being crucial for the following games.

If there is a good time to lose, it’s now. With the rival being five points behind us, rather than being in front and opening the gap. A defeat during key players absences, away from home against a team that always create complications for Barcelona rather than a loss of a full squad a game that we shouldn’t lose. This kind of games rub you three points, but cast no doubts in the dressing room, and doesn’t harm the winning motivation a bit.

Finally, the injuries tsunami that attacked our squad. I am not going to analyze its impact on the following games, we will cross that bridge later. But I hope the technical staff reconsider the changes they made to the training sessions. Since I read on Sports about the physical training sessions we added after being knocked out of the cup, and the players are falling like leaves. Find the problem, and find it now! Before Messi or Iniesta drown in the flood.

Atletico Madrid is one of the most interesting teams in the Liga. It is the club where hope and disappointment engages to keep the passionate “Indios” swinging on the fine line of anticipations. Atletico fans have the spirit of gamblers where the temptation of betting is a mix of estimating a good return, and the “pleasure” of the brutal pain of frustration. They are even more addicted to offer none questionable support to their team, regardless of the odds for their bet to bring a satisfying return.

In Spain, there is always a clash between those who believe in the Two poles of the Liga (Real Madrid and Barcelona), neglecting the rest, and those who add more teams to the basket of big teams in Spain. Aside of Athletic Bilbao, it’s the rise and fall of Atletico Madrid that initiates such kind of debates. The same as teams like Valencia, Sevilla, and Villarreal target the third place spot as a first step to hack the two big teams’ dominance. Deportivo made an attempt once as well. But there is no doubt that Atletico Madrid is one of the few clubs in Spain that can keep being the word of mouth regardless of their league position. Even relegating to the second division failed to bury the prestigious image of the club.

They had their Jesús Gil who makes Barcelona’s Gaspart looks like a genius. Their team entered the dark tunnel permanently the moment they decided to shut down their youth academy (1992), sending Raul to Real Madrid, and building the squad based on expensive signings. Interestingly, Barcelona recovered their form and succeeded when they did exactly the opposite, giving up on Gaspart and putting more focus on the youth academy with selective signings to complete the squad.

This season, Atletico Madrid were…Atletico Madrid. Same old story, a quality squad on papers yet the underperforming spell is still there. You can barely understand how a team like Atletico struggle. It’s easy to say that they have defense problems, but I think the problem is more embedded chronically than the need of a Franco Baresi leading their backline to titles. They remind me of Inter Milan in Italy where for a long period of time they had the best squads ever season in season out but still did the impossible which was not winning a title, but losing it. They need the “it” to break through that destructive cycle of doubts. That’s when they will start the season aiming to achieve instead of being determinant not to disappoint, again. There is a big difference between the two approaches. 

But make no mistake, the game between Atletico and Barcelona is a standalone battle. It has nothing to do with the teams’ performance in the league. Atletico in this game will count first on the quality offence they have (well, we know they can’t count on a solid defense). And they will also try to get advantage of Barcelona defense problems. If they want to have a chance to win this game, they need to watch Barcelona game against Villarreal. The submarine showed the way. Atletico will not be able to contain Barcelona offense through parking the bus. But they have quality players on the flanks and two forwards with extremely dangerous work rate and aggression to disturb Barcelona buildup and possession flow. If they can force the midfield deeper toward the defense to assist moving the ball out of Barcelona defense third, and forced the forwards to move deep toward the midfield, then they can dictate the ball tempo, and control the match destiny.

Recently, I started a different style of Previews to avoid repetition. We all know Barcelona and the way they play. We can’t expect new inventions for every game. Yet, the absences of key players will no doubt make this game an interesting case study to keep an eye on and anticipate.

The selection may go one of the following ways:

1) Valdes, Maxwell, Puyol, Milito, Keita, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Ibra, Henry.

2) Valdes, youth, Puyol, Milito, Maxwell, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Messi, Ibra, Iniesta,

The first assumption counts on experience defensively, and goal scoring abilities offense wise. The positives of this assumption are:

a) Having a well tested players in defense,

b) Keeping the right flank activated offense wise. Maxwell proved against Getafe that he can cover Alves absence.

c) Having three solid players in the back (Puyol, Milito, Keita) to secure the area and move the ball forward to hand the buildup responsibilities to the midfield.

d) Busquets, Xavi, and Iniesta assisted by Messi can collaborate to increase ball possession which is a defensive need and a necessity for offense.

e) Having both Ibra and Henry will create more spaces in Atletico defense and will make the team able to match physically the Atleti defenders and beat them technically. 

The weakness of this assumption is using many players in defense out of position. Can Keita fulfill the expectations on the left back? Is Maxwell as good as he showed against Getafe on the right back or it was just one exception? What about Henry form? He adds more directness to the team when he starts which has its positive effect but at the same time it may lead to losing more balls. That’s bad. The possession on the ball is the make or breaks in this game. 

What’s good about the second assumption is:

a) Having three of the four positions in the back covered by reliable players serving their natural roles.

b) Having Busquets and Keita in the midfield will help terminating Atletico offense in the midfield before it approaches our defense third.

c) Busquets and Keita behind Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, and Ibra should guarantee the dominance in the midfield. That’s the most important factor in this game. Goals will come sooner or later.

d) Giving a youth a chance in such a big game. That’s always good news.

The weakness is obviously finding who will play in that vacant position in defense. The most important factor is not the Physical nor the technical qualities of the options available, but the mental strength of each. Atletico will no doubt try to abuse that situation trying to put early pressure on the fragile flank. How far can the selected player handle the pressure –mentally- is the question. Besides, This selection may lead Messi to operate more on the flank than cutting inside (with the absence of Alves), that’s not going to help him to put a great performance, unless if Ibra moved to channels more often so that Messi can penetrate to the box.

Will Pep select the first option or the second is yet to be seen. The results of the poll about the subject showed the uncertainty. It depends on the youth he is coaching and the feeling he gets that will lead him to make the decision, almost in the last minute.

Yet, it’s the midfield and offense form that will make the defenders life easy or complicated. If Maxwell can pull Atletico wing to serve defense rather than the other way around, if the midfield controlled possession as expected and offense finished the early chances they may get, then Atletico will enter the status of doubt. If Atletico succeeded to score an early goal, then we will have a high mountain to climb. The first fifteen minutes may prove vital.

Will it be a scoring battle game as usual? Its for Messi knights and Aguero warriors to tell.

Cesar Luis Menotti, Barca coach and former Argentine coach has said that "there have been four kings of football: Di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff and Maradona. It seemed that they would then Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Romario, Zidane ... but none of them reached same possibilities for Messi. We are in the presence of possible new king of football. " Read More Here

I thought I leave you with this dessert before the Atletico game preview I will publish tomorrow (European time).

You still can vote for the best defense line for the game tomorrow.

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There are big concerns at Real Madrid that they may lose the service of Cristiano Ronaldo by the end of this season.

Ronaldo had a secret closed meeting with Valdano to discuss the matter. Both parties avoided mentioning anything about it to anyone else. Our resources pointed out that Ronaldo informed Valdano he wants to become a priest next summer. There are rumors that Kaka was the player who made that spiritual impact on the Portuguese player. Whether Ronaldo decision will have any impact on enhancing Kaka’s contract for being the unique big name for Madrid next season is yet to be seen.

At the mean time, Ronaldo is searching for a calm apartment on the Caribbean seaside, where he can spend his life doing the two things he worships most: Praying, and diving.

The shocking move of the year, Totti will sign to Inter August 15, 2010, 10:00 AM. If Moratti took the decision to place a bid for the King of Roma, it will only need the acceptance of the player’s club to negotiate contract conditions with him. The transfers’ Guru, Luciano Moggi, will be the transfer agent who will facilitate the process when the transfer takes place.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Giovanny Espinoza, and Matt Derbyshire will not be the only big names leaving the English premier league,the best most brilliant strongest most technically gifted league in the world. There are already rumors that the likes of Mascherano, Courtney Cameron, and Rooney are planning their moves as well out of the EPL, the best most brilliant strongest most technically gifted league in the world. That will be the beginning of a massive emigration of talents that will leave a very bad impact on the best most brilliant strongest most technically gifted league in the world. It worth noting that all the mentioned players are securing their families to cross the boarders to a safe country before they actually make their move as they don’t want to leave their dear ones behind. All evidences are leading to the one man responsible of this panic evacuation.

Silva and Villa to Barcelona the moment Barcelona Sports director table a deal of 55 Million plus Marquez and Henrique/Caceres. Some youth Barcelona players will be involved as well on two seasons loan deals. The deal is expected to deliver two quality players Barcelona needs, and inject financial return to Valencia bankrupted account. The players going to the other side will provide Valencia with decent players for no cost for the following two seasons. Buying time for the bats to recover from their financial crises. Henry is also considered as tempting bait if he is willing to compromise his salary demands. All what this operation need to take place is Barcelona decision to go forward for it, and all the other parties acceptance.

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It’s always the right time to write about this topic, right? Now that Barcelona games are only available for weekends, we have lot of days to wait and lot of time to kill. Nothing is better than some transfer temptations. We will have to live with all kind of rumors till the end of the season. Being a season of elections won’t make is better, pouring oil on the fire. 

So let’s go straight to the market!

Alright, for once I doubt there will be any voices questioning Valdes as a first notch keeper. We need to buy a backup keeper. Pinto, for all his good (and bad) is aging. Barcelona Athletic keepers still untested and need at least three years to prove themselves for being reliable. The keeper we are seeking must not be a first class keeper who demands playing time, but still good enough to cover Valdes absence and with enough quality to keep Valdes alert to avoid competition threats. Claudio Bravo of Real Sociedad was mentioned for being the main target. I still think he is too good to be true. Twenty six years old Chilean international who will defend his nation in the following world cup may not find it a tempting opportunity to warm up Barcelona bench for the rest of his career. That’s ten years from now considering the Goal keepers football career. It will be an absolute craziness if it happens, in an absolutely fantastic way, for Barcelona.

On my short list –which has nothing to do with Barcelona targets- there is Daniel Fernandes for being one of the most realistic options. One older reliable –and may be cheap- option is Morgan De Sanctis who can serve for couple of years.Cédric Carrasso is a less realistic option, though not an impossible one. Federico Marchetti is an interesting option to scout, while Joe Hart is impossible to get though I want to list him here just to wonder why –OH WHY the hell!- did Manchester City loaned out such a quality talented youth and bought an aging Given?

I will make it short. I don’t want us to sign any defender this summer. I know the club is looking for a backup for Alves. But the same as I mentioned last summer, there is no better backup for Alves than Puyol. Yet, if we need more assurance, bring back Caceres, Henrique, or promote a Cantera. I am not sure who is under the scouting radars at the moment, but I will be so surprised if the targets have the quality of Caceres or Henrique. I watched them close this season, and I am more certain than before they can serve the team well.

Besides, there is a decision to be made regarding Botia who is having a very good season on loan. There is a decision to be made regarding Muniesa, Fontàs, Bartra and the rest of defenders we have at Barca Athletic who are looking forward to see the light out of the tunnel toward the first team. The decision may not be promoting them all next season, but at least sending a clear message that they are in our plans and will have a chance and space with time.

My opinion about signing Cesc Fabregas is still the same. What sounded as an odd argument once, is a belief for a decent sector of Barcelona fans now. It’s not right to pay the amount of cash needed to get Cesc back home, he found a new home for himself once, and he can find another home if he wanted. But the guy is most likely a Barcelona player next season. When he wears the Barcelona shirt, he is our kid again, and will get all the support required.

For fifty millions of cash you can buy Silva who can do everything Cesc does and more, and you will still have enough money to make an agreement with a hairdresser to take care of Iniesta’s hair for the rest of his career. It’s smarter to invest that amount of money on Silva and Iniesta's hair than on Cesc, no offense. 

But the guy is coming. If we succeeded to keep either Jonathan Dos Santos or Thiago Alcantara, fine! Hope they will still feel motivated enough to challenge for a future in the club. I think JDS will be the victim of signing Cesc as he plays almost an identical role, while Thiago has some other features that makes him a different kind of players than Cesc. 

If Yaya stayed, then that’s all the changes to expect in the midfield. We will have an impossible challenge to find playing time for everyone anyway. So we won’t add more complications. If Yaya decided to leave, we will give it a second try to get Mascherano, who is closer to Barcelona than some may think. If I am reading Pep well (who does?), it seems he wants more agility and stamina in the holding midfield department than strength. With Busquets improving on weekly bases, a pure defensive midfielder who can create an extremely different option for Pep is reasonable. When you want a more dynamic midfield you get a Busquets. When you want a more static defensive midfielder covering behind the offense troops as a vacuum cleaner you use the alternative Holding midfielder (Yaya or Mascherano). Yaya -in the right mood and form- is better than Mascherano when it come to playmaking contribution. Busquets is better than them both. As a pure defensive midfielder, Mascherano heads the list. Added to the rumor that Mascherano is yet to renew his contract with Liverpool, it means that he will be more attainable next summer than he was last summer. But that will only happen if Yaya left. Buying Cesc means no more installments in the midfield if no one left.

First of all we need to sort out what we have. At the moment, we have Messi, Ibra, and Henry added to Pedro, Jeffren and Bojan with Iniesta being used when needed. I am not sure what the future plans of Henry are, but I will welcome keeping him. There are doubts if Henry can prove being useful for the club next season, which is valid. Yet, for a player who is already in your squad, the most important question is: how to benefit from his presence the longest period possible? As a key player and for the contract conditions he has now, it is not a very profitable situation for the club (If we are only evaluating next seasons’ costs Vs benefits, which is unfair as the contract worth must be evaluated by comparing the cost vs. the players’ contribution throughout the contract duration).

If Henry wants to stay till his contract run out, then he is more than welcomed. If he wants to move somewhere else, then I hope the club will release him for free so he can negotiate with any team he wants seeking his own interest. That’s the least we can do. 

Yet, if he is willing to consider a new contract, I believe it’s for the best of the team to extend Henry contract for two additional years (Yea!!) while decreasing his annual earnings, and making it clear that he will be used more as a game changer than a key starter during his new contract duration. There is no better player Barcelona can sign as a game changer than Henry. I labeled him as the new Larsson once, and I am still hopeful that this wishful thinking will come true.

I have only two options to select from, if we decided to sign a new player: Silva, and Villa. All the other options are far behind. 

If Henry leaves, then we need to sign a new player without any question:

1) If we sign Silva, the offense line will look like this:

Silva-Ibra-Messi as starters and Pedro- Bojan -Jeffren as backups. Not a bad structure, yet there is a huge defect in it, we’ll only have one striker –Ibra- to count on as an offense reference (9), considering that Bojan is still not ready for a key role. Imagine Ibra getting injured for few games, we will definitely be in a big trouble. 

2) If we sign Villa, the offense line will look like this:

Villa-Ibra-Messi as starters and Pedro- Bojan -Jeffren as backups. That’s my favorite structure. Villa is a goal scoring forward who will be converted to a flank forward role (Henry), which will guarantee more goal scoring qualities than getting a pure wing. He is more compatable to Ibra and Messi style of play than any other option and he fits perfectly our tactical structure that is a mix of 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 diamond. Even for the youth, it’s better that the first team sign a 28 years old player than a 22 years old wing. Keeping in mind that so far we don’t really have a young striker whom we can put our bet on for the future (in the following 5 years), while on the flanks we have lot of Pedros and Jeffrens. Even Bojan is at the moment closer to a flanked forward/second striker than a nine.

If Henry stays:

It means having Pedro-Ibra-Messi as starters and Bojan-Henry-Jeffren as backups. Not a bad structure but we can improve it much more:

New signing- Ibra-Messi with Pedro-Henry-Jeffren/Bojan as back up. Meaning, we need to decide if we will keep Bojan or Jeffren. Keeping them both is so unpractical as they will eat each others’ playing time or the better will dominate the less qualified. At least a loan decision should be made in this case.

Even with Henry staying, I still favor Villa over Silva, especially if we signed Cesc. Silva is a great talent that any team would like to sign, but I can’t find anything Silva can do that Iniesta cant. Something we can’t say about Villa.

I won’t be the last time we make a virtual shopping tour, but this is how my transfers’ wish list looks so far.

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