Soccer/Football, The Beautiful Game

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

Neymar has just joined Barca on a 5 year deal. I've a horrible feeling that Barca have made a mistake. Not a fan of Neymar at all.

yay..that a done deal then ?..breaking news..neymar has a lot of individual skill why don't you like him..he could be amazing,

he is 21 and needs to play in a top league..neymar/messi is a one to watch.

 

[EnriqueIG8]

Most beautiful game on earth (together with tennis).

My two favourite teams both snatched wins this weekend, so for me it's all good. My post analysis of the Barça game will follow.

 

[britbox]

Who are your teams?

 

[EnriqueIG8]

Check out my signature and you'll find them.

I have a lot of "favourite" teams, but I'm a Blaugrana (Barça) and Ajacied (Ajax) in my heart.


Who are the teams you love, and the rest of your favourites?

 

[EnriqueIG8]

I've watched the entire match and here's my 2 cents;

Two critical points (even though it was against Levante, and they were really bad);
1) The pression game style is back. It was beautiful to see how the offense came back to help the midfield/defense at times and vice versa. Swapping positions with success again.
2) There's depth in the playingstyle again and you could see that in ball possession Barça tried to find the (in)direct way to the opponents goal. Especially Cesc Fàbregas is highly effective when this gamestyle is executed and I thought he was one of the best on the pitch today.


Alexís suprised me a lot too today. About 9 of the 10 attempts were succesfull from him today. To me he was the best player on Barça's side today together with Pique, Messi and Cesc. He didn't hold back, I think it has to do a lot with the confidence he's slowly getting back. He also played a pretty good pre-season. Tata gives him the confidence and has said it openly last week in a press conference. Pique was finally defending like a boss today, I know it was Levante but this is the kind of level I expect from him.

Of course people are going to say Messi is the absolute superstar and yes, he scored 2 goals again today but for me Cesc deserves the title Man of the Match. He was superb today, impeccable clean passing and great vision. Seems like he finally is getting back to his Arsenal level of play. Please put him in a controlling position and still give him the room to let him do his thing. There was a lot of critic on Cesc and Alexis last year but so far (pre season) they have been really good.

Iniesta and Neymar weren't anything special today, but then again I thought that they didn't go full out because Barça was already leading 6-0 at half time. Honourable mention to Dani Alves as well, who wears 22 this season as a dedication to Abi. Visca el Barça!

For the people who missed the game, I've uploaded the goals on my youtube channel (sorry for the Dutch commentary). Enjoy.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8SbFsI27nU[/video]

 

[britbox]

Check out my signature and you'll find them.

I have a lot of "favourite" teams, but I'm a Blaugrana (Barça) and Ajacied (Ajax) in my heart.


Who are the teams you love, and the rest of your favourites?

Liverpool. Also follow to a lesser extent Blackpool and Cardiff City.

In Scotland, follow Rangers. In Europe, Sporting ... and in South America, Flamengo.

 

[britbox]

I've watched the entire match and here's my 2 cents;

Two critical points (even though it was against Levante, and they were really bad);
1) The pression game style is back. It was beautiful to see how the offense came back to help the midfield/defense at times and vice versa. Swapping positions with success again.
2) There's depth in the playingstyle again and you could see that in ball possession Barça tried to find the (in)direct way to the opponents goal. Especially Cesc Fàbregas is highly effective when this gamestyle is executed and I thought he was one of the best on the pitch today.


Alexís suprised me a lot too today. About 9 of the 10 attempts were succesfull from him today. To me he was the best player on Barça's side today together with Pique, Messi and Cesc. He didn't hold back, I think it has to do a lot with the confidence he's slowly getting back. He also played a pretty good pre-season. Tata gives him the confidence and has said it openly last week in a press conference. Pique was finally defending like a boss today, I know it was Levante but this is the kind of level I expect from him.

Of course people are going to say Messi is the absolute superstar and yes, he scored 2 goals again today but for me Cesc deserves the title Man of the Match. He was superb today, impeccable clean passing and great vision. Seems like he finally is getting back to his Arsenal level of play. Please put him in a controlling position and still give him the room to let him do his thing. There was a lot of critic on Cesc and Alexis last year but so far (pre season) they have been really good.

Iniesta and Neymar weren't anything special today, but then again I thought that they didn't go full out because Barça was already leading 6-0 at half time. Honourable mention to Dani Alves as well, who wears 22 this season as a dedication to Abi. Visca el Barça!

For the people who missed the game, I've uploaded the goals on my youtube channel (sorry for the Dutch commentary). Enjoy.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8SbFsI27nU[/video]

The Barca team is insane. Sheer quality throughout.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Barca still need a world class central defender though. Puyol is past his prime, injury prone, and just lacks the legs. Pique has been in dreadful form for about 18 months now. Thiago Silva would have been an amazing signing but unfortunately, they couldn't pull it off.

Barca are always going to look amazing at the Camp Nou against a team like Levante since they can pretty much do whatever they want with the ball. The problem they've been encountering in the past two years is when they run against opposition who press hard for the ball, can physically outmuscle them, and close the box correctly (Barca became way too predictable in their insistence on through balls through the middle).

What they were lacking is the movement of a striker (yes, Messi occupying that role means he can score a gazillion goal per season, but it also means Barca are losing an extra dimension... one that used to be provided by the movement of Samuel Eto'o, and later, David Villa in his first year with the club). What they were also missing is their full backs making attacking runs behind the defense (like Alves used to do), as well as the midfield making runs towards the box (Fabregas really does this very well, but he had a hit-and-miss season in 2013).

The encouraging thing against Levante is that Alves was being a factor again, and Fabregas was sensational (the first goal highlights what I meant about him making off-the-ball runs into the box). It's a very promising start, and Neymar will surely add another menacing dimension if he adapts well, but I'll wait to see how they do against the teams that play the "anti-Barca" style of Football, and do it well. Admittedly, they aren't many.

 

[EnriqueIG8]

Check out my signature and you'll find them.

I have a lot of "favourite" teams, but I'm a Blaugrana (Barça) and Ajacied (Ajax) in my heart.


Who are the teams you love, and the rest of your favourites?

Liverpool. Also follow to a lesser extent Blackpool and Cardiff City.

In Scotland, follow Rangers. In Europe, Sporting ... and in South America, Flamengo.

How about your Aussie favourite team?
You guys still hold that record of 31-0, biggest win ever in an official match.

My other favourites (per country/region)

- Arsenal (England)
- Bayern Münich (Germany)
- Paris Saint Germain (France) Since Rai, Leonardo and Djorkaeff played. Not a fan since the wealth has taken over
- Internazionale (Italy) Since the time of R9, Recoba and Bergomi. Not a fan since Mancini/Mourinho era
- FC Porto (Portugal)
- Valencia CF (Spain) My second team after Barça. Had a great squad with Baraja, Mendieta etc.
- Flamengo / River Plate (South America)


And these are the teams I do not like, or want them to lose;

- Real Madrid and Chelsea.

 

[ClayDeath]

http://blog.foxsoccer.com/post/59121351457/real-madrid-sets-the-stage-for-an-unveiling-literally

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Well, the leagues have started all over Europe and I am a happy guy... Also happy Drogba and Sneider started amazing for my team, Galatasaray.
I am keeping an eye always on Barca of course...sort of like a second favorite now. I will give Neymar a couple of weeks to find his place in the team but I am thinking he will be a special player foir Barca . I watched Arsenal beat Fenerbahce (enemies) 3-0 at the qualies for Champions League and it made my week.

 

[sid]

Every thing stops tonight even tennis,Man/u v Chelsea.
come on Chelsea get em stuffed.

 

[sid]

Check out my signature and you'll find them.

I have a lot of "favourite" teams, but I'm a Blaugrana (Barça) and Ajacied (Ajax) in my heart.


Who are the teams you love, and the rest of your favourites?

Liverpool. Also follow to a lesser extent Blackpool and Cardiff City.

In Scotland, follow Rangers. In Europe, Sporting ... and in South America, Flamengo.

How about your Aussie favourite team?
You guys still hold that record of 31-0, biggest win ever in an official match.

My other favourites (per country/region)

- Arsenal (England)
- Bayern Münich (Germany)
- Paris Saint Germain (France) Since Rai, Leonardo and Djorkaeff played. Not a fan since the wealth has taken over
- Internazionale (Italy) Since the time of R9, Recoba and Bergomi. Not a fan since Mancini/Mourinho era
- FC Porto (Portugal)
- Valencia CF (Spain) My second team after Barça. Had a great squad with Baraja, Mendieta etc.
- Flamengo / River Plate (South America)


And these are the teams I do not like, or want them to lose;

- Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Boo:nono

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

Every thing stops tonight even tennis,Man/u v Chelsea.
come on Chelsea get em stuffed.

it was a tedious match..i stopped watching at half time..i was worried it was too early in the season to be exciting and it was..

cagey football and both teams nowhere near their top level yet..rooney had a good half (half I watched)..its as if he was trying to impress the team he was playing against to come in and buy him from his £200'000+ a week nightmare. :idea:

 

[sid]

Every thing stops tonight even tennis,Man/u v Chelsea.
come on Chelsea get em stuffed.

it was a tedious match..i stopped watching at half time..i was worried it was too early in the season to be exciting and it was..

cagey football and both teams nowhere near their top level yet..rooney had a good half (half I watched)..its as if he was trying to impress the team he was playing against to come in and buy him from his £200'000+ a week nightmare. :idea:

Rooney had a good half,i'm one of those who don't want him @ Chelsea.The funny thing was,both sets of fans were cheering him.Rooney to much a hot head from my liking,he get's to many red cards,that can cost your team.When Rooney knuckels down & just plays football he's a great player.It's was a cagey football match,neither team wanted to lose.Jose Mourinho looks like adding 2 or 3 more players to Chelsea.One i'm sure about,Chelsea will get better with Jose.

 

[britbox]

You think Chelsea will get Rooney?

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

^^looks like rooney isn't moving..:huh: unless its more smoke n mirrors..which it probably is.

mr planet of the apes bale is defo moving..finally..almost..definitely..this time..yesithinksoireallyreallydo.

 

[sid]

You think Chelsea will get Rooney?

Hi britbox,no i think this move is dead in the water now.Rooney a great player,you never know if he set's up a goal or get's a red card.

 

[sid]

You think Chelsea will get Rooney?

Btw, it looks like Chelsea will be getting Samuel Eto'o instead,that's the talk atm Britbox.

 

[sid]

Hi Enrique,Barca & Chelsea have had some amazing matches in the past with Jose Mourinho @ the helm.Would this be why your not keen on Chelsea?I think Barca is a wonderfull team to watch.I wonder if we will meet in the C/L this year,this could be written in the stars.