Barça succumbed to a vastly superior Real Madrid side tonight who celebrated their 31st Liga by beating us 4-1. Barça were never in the game and are obviously already thinking about next season or their holidays. If ever there was a game that the majority didn’t seem to want to play it was this. The humiliation of having to applaud Madrid onto the pitch did not have the desired affect of a proud reaction, instead many players looked as if they just wanted the game to be over with as quickly as possible. To make things harder the referee Perez Burrull gave a number of decisions in favour of Madrid.
Right from the start it was clear that the game was not as important as most clasicos, Robben had a shot straight at Valdés and then Gudjohnsen shot wide for Barça. In the 7th minute Victor Valdés came close to getting an enormous amount of egg on his face almost losing the ball to Sneijder when he decided to dribble inside the penalty area. The lack of intensity was noticeable as the first foul of the game didn’t come until the 12th minute. A minute later Madrid went ahead after Guti exchanged passes with Sneijder and as Marquez challenged Guti the ball broke to Raul who curled one home from just outside the area. Barça appealed for a foul by Guti on Marquez but referee was having none of it.
If the first goal was questionable the second was a clear mistake by the ref. Ramos made an obvious dive when he went close to Abidal and the ref inexplicably blew for a foul. Toure could not believe the decision and got booked for protesting. From Guti’s free kick Robben was completely unmarked to head home. The first thing Pep Guardiola should do if he takes over is sort out defending at free kicks. Rijkaard then took off Gudjohnsen and sent on Giovani and for a brief spell Barça created some half chances but Casillas was not tested.
At half time Marquez was replaced by Sylvinho and Abidal switched to centre back. This coincided with Barça’s worst spell of the match where only desperate defending stopped Madrid from running riot. In the 56th minute Sylvinho made a great last ditch tackle on Marcelo who then clashed with Valdés, the goalkeeper pushed Marcelo out of his way as play continued and Marcelo reacted by lashing out at Valdés. Par for the course tonight Perez Burrull booked Valdés and let Marcelo off scot free. To make things worse for Barça Sylvinho was injured in the tackle and Edmilson came on in his place. Edmilson was only on the pitch a minute when he slipped allowing Higuain the chance to score from Diarra’s pass.
With 15 minutes to go Van Nistlerooy came on for Raul and within a minute Madrid had a penalty for hands by Puyol. The replay showed it was in self defence but Perez Burrull was determined to play his part in Madrid’s victory. Van Nistlerooy sent Valdés the wrong way to make it 4-0. Puyol was one of the few who gave everything tonight and in the last twenty minutes Leo Messi also showed some pride making some great individual runs and twice forcing Casillas into good saves. Then with three minutes remaining he sent a fine ball through to Henry who beat Casillas for a consolation goal. In injury time Xavi got a second yellow card for saying something to the ref and he will now miss Sunday’s game with Mallorca.
It is easy to say the players did not give 100%. I think it is more a case of just hating having to be there. There was pride shown, but when things go against you it is very difficult to turn things around. We probably do need another leader or two in ther squad; players with the character to respond in adverse situations. The referee obviously did not help and I have to admit if I was playing with a ref like that I would find it extremely difficult not to lose my cool. I don’t like to talk about the ref especially after a defeat but the last time I had to criticize like this was after the 1-0 victory over Getafe last season, and the ref then was the same Perez Burrull that we suffered tonight. This is not intended to take anything away from Madrid who deserved to win and at times threatened to make it a scoreline to go down in history.
With Villarreal’s victory Barça can no longer finish second, I hope this is a blessing in disguise as Barça will now have to change the plan for preseason with less travel and more preparation for the Champions League qualifier which begins on August 13. Congratulations to Villarreal who thoroughly deserve to go directly into next season’s tournament. They may surprise a few people.
Madrid: Casillas; Ramos, Pepe, Heinze, Marcelo; Gago, Diarra; Robben (Higuain m61), Guti (Robinho m71), Sneijder; Raul (Van Nistlerooy m75).
Barça: Valdés 5, Zambrotta 5.5, Marquez 4 (m45 Sylvinho, 6(Edmilson m59, 4)), Puyol 6, Abidal 5; Xavi 5, Toure 5, Gudjohnsen 5 (Giovani m23, 5.5); Messi 6, Bojan 4, Henry 4.5.
Goals: m13 Raul 1-0, m21 Robben 2-0, m62 Higuain 3-0, m76 Van Nistlerooy (pen) 4-0, m87 Henry 4-1
Yellow Cards: m20 Toure, m41 Sneijder, m49 Henry, m56 Valdés, m76 Xavi, m76 Edmilson, m83 Heinze, m91 Pepe, m92 Xavi (second=red)
45 responses so far ↓
Siim // May 7, 2008 at 23:48
Maybe it’s time to panic
bobby // May 7, 2008 at 23:56
now its time to really sell some barca players and time to change medical staff coaching staff and laprota should get out to….madrid has done the last thing we needed humiliate us by scoring 4 goals rafa,abidal,deco(not play but has been horible) henry, valdes,edmilson.sylvhino etc.. have to go we need a whole new club and we need a club that will really figth madid next season, tha can beat any club that gets on our way on CL and we need motivation we were horrible today and we cant afford to let this happen again………
barcelonista // May 7, 2008 at 23:57
you’re right. madrid were the better team showing more desire to win. but the refereeing was questionable and it’s hard to burden the players with total blame for the loss. the fact that xavi lost his cool and earned an unnecessary dismissal says quite abit.
well, changes need to be made for sure. next season please!
Nic // May 7, 2008 at 23:59
Of course changes need to be made. We knew that already, it is important not to make those decisions when you are feeling mad after a performance like today. We need to keep cool.
ae // May 8, 2008 at 0:07
After this game Barça should file for ban of Perez on all our games beacuse it is clear that he does not like us. As I can remember it, he always had a lot of mistakes when we are playing.
bobkat // May 8, 2008 at 0:08
personally, i’m glad xavi got the red. he was very calm and cool about it. he had things to say, things he needed to say as a player and as a man to the referee, and he waited until the end so that it wouldn’t hurt the team. The ref was not impartial in this contest (though i doubt it made much difference in the overall result)
ae // May 8, 2008 at 0:17
I forgot to say that our players had a lot to do with the result, it looked like they did not want to play. I have to say that even Messi did not played good, at least to me. Main and only reason is that sometimes he does not want to play defense. When he looses the ball he does not going back to help to stop or slow down counter attack.
Culé // May 8, 2008 at 0:25
A wretched result: absolutely gutted. I expected us to lose, but not that badly and soundly. Next year, we´ll be better.
Guardiola can surely do no worse in el Classico than today´s showing.
Let´s rebuild and hope for the future.
Visca el Barça!!!!!!!!!!!
Rivaldo // May 8, 2008 at 0:30
I like how the Madrid A team beat the Barca B team, please dont forget that. I will agree that madrid has shown that they have a bigger will to win than Barca all year though. But what if Madrid had all the injuries and player problems (dinho) like we did all year? And what if they were in 3 competitions until the end like us? They had only 1 object to worry about the last 4 months. I highly doubt that they would be champions. For all the “crisis” talk about Barca this year and the player problems, 2 semis and a champions league spot aint that bad. I would say Milan did alot worse and you dont see the entire world on their backs. Im even more excited about next year, b/c things will only get better for us and worse for that team in white.
Maverick977 // May 8, 2008 at 0:57
Damn..what a tragic result…..This is definitely the worst ever result I have witnessed as a Barca fan….Players and Rijkaard both are fully responsible for this…From the first 5 mins of the game, I knew we would loose it…There was no determination…no urgency…nothing…We rarely attacked….and Whenever we had the ball, we just passed around our own half…No player showed pride in playin a clasico save Messi (last 30 mins), Puyol, and Henry…Puyol showed ddetermination to win the game, and so did Messi but only in the last 3o mins of the game, and oh boy was he phenomenal…and the main reason for Messi not doing that well earlier is because of lack of service from the mids…I don’t think he even touched the ball more than twice in the first 25 mins…IF Messi doesn’t get the ball, then how the hell are we gonna win?? His 2 runs in the second half were world classs…I wish that shot had gone in…
Rijkaard, once again, screwed up the game…HOw can you start Bojan in the middle in front of Thierry Henry?? Bojan is good, but he is still a kid…He can’t play in big games yet…Had Thierry been in the middle, the game woulda been much more competitive…
Finally, congrats to Madrid…They were light years ahead of us….and with this game, I m done with La Liga…I m not watchin any more games….I’d just like to forget this woeful season….Hope we show some balls next season…..
and Thanks Rijkaard, for whatever you have done to this team…We won’t forget you, but you really need to go now….Hope you do well wherever you go…
Rafael // May 8, 2008 at 1:08
Can’t wait till the season is over. Barca just need to rebuild, not necessarily with new players or coaches (maybe) but just as a team. Not even the most invincible team in any sport can be untouchable for 3-4 years. Well maybe the Chicago Bulls in the Jordan era or the Boston Celtics in the Bird era..
The worst thing the media can do now is force blame on an individual or use a player as a scapegoat like they did Ronaldinho. Futbol is a team game, and at any stage during the season everyone was responsible for something. A good team will sort out their problems..
Again its safe to say that a team with a tough mental and physical attitude can win countless games over a team thats full of skill.
Shahenshah // May 8, 2008 at 1:35
I am not going to lie. That game was a total massacre in terms of teamwork, tactics and determination.
Madrid tightly marked Messi and Henry. Its highly unlikely that you can have someone like messi play a completely anonymous role for the first twenty minutes of the game.
As a matter of fact, Messi was out of the game till the final 10 minutes when he ran riot around the madridista defence and had two brilliant efforts on goal, one shot just missing the target and a lovely assist for Henry all in just 5 minutes. He didnt give up and played till the end of the game.
Henry’s goal was pure class and I have to give him credit for that. Clearly he was excited for scoring a goal but he realized that it would be disrespectful to the blaugrana. I in return respect him for that.
Diarra was having the game of his life. Amazing link up and involvement in the attack, amazing long ball at one point to robben, couple of shots on goal and an assist. Ridiculous. He was having the time of his life too, rubbing it all in abidal and toure’s face.
The handball call on Puyol was total bullshit. Robinho blasted the ball at his face. Clearly, in any situation like that, your reflexes would take over and cause you to react quick. Thats what Puyol did. It wasnt deliberate at all. That was an unfair stain on his performance tonight. The ref was on Madrid’s side throughout the game.
Ramos’ dive was dirty. He was not hurt at all. Infact in the middle of his dive, he just slaps abidal across the face and falls. Madrid played dirty kicking players (especially messi) and hitting everyone. Then again Barcelona retaliated the same way and its no surprise. El Clasico has seen such drama all the time. The only difference is Madrid started out with it and got two goals from it.
Having said that, I have to admit that Madrid’s attacking was phenomenal. Their build up to each attack was jaw dropping. Guti and Sneijder were controlling the attack with their one touch passes. They made barca players run circles around them.
I realized Madrid used spaces very efficiently. Usually one player makes a run, which creates space for another player to run on to and that created alot of passing opportunities for Madrid. Unlike madrid, Barcelona had mostly strikers running up at the same time which allowed the madrid defenders to follow them and thus nothing was changed. No space, no gaps because everyone is moving. Its just a theory that I observed. When only Henry ran up the field, there was a huge space created for Messi to send him through on to the goal.
PHaft // May 8, 2008 at 2:01
What a disastrous performance tonight — I think the players know that this team is as good as dead. No pride, no guts, that’s been the story for the past 2 years.
We need players with character, desire, and talent. Give us Van Der Vaart, Alves, Coloccini, Benzema, maybe even Diego a NEW GOALKEEPER WOULD ALSO BE NICE. Real Madrid seem intent on adding David Villa — they wont wait for us to get better, they are already planning the title run for next year.
No one has touched on it yet tonight, but Valdes was awful. Shaky even with the easiest balls. During Higuain’s goal, he just layed down and got out of the way. Barcelona hardly threatened Casillas net — but when they did, 3 sure chances, of course Casillas saved 2 — those would have been 3 more goals on Valdes. Please, let’s ship him out. His shakiness only spreads to the back line and then they all look shaky.
Perez Burull did not help — he was very much on Madrid’s side and did not call it down the middle. But come on guys, Madrid thoroughly kicked our ass tonight. I don’t think this is LaPorta’s fault, we have quality players. But injuries, and a lack of a killer instinct have killed this team. The killer instinct is inspired by the coach, and by players with guts. We don’t have either. Let’s welcome Guardiola, and a new Barcelona, with young, hungry players that actualy give a crap — with the backbone of Messi, Xavi, Toure, Puyol, and Iniesta.
Sometimes it take a total crap-kicking to let you wake up an smell coffee. We’ll be back, and Laporta will spend the big bucks to get us there.
PHaft // May 8, 2008 at 2:02
error: I meant “and smell the coffee”.
blaugranafan // May 8, 2008 at 2:06
So can someone tell me how the issue of referee quality is dealt with in European soccer? In the U.S. sports leagues, in those instances where instant replay does not apply, if there are atrocious calls during games, then after the match, a governing referee body will review the calls. If it’s determined that a referee’s performance was truly awful, then he will be reprimanded. Why doesn’t that kind of system exist in euro soccer? Is it overtly political?
I think this is the first time I’ve been glad that I had to work during the game, so that I couldn’t watch the match. It sounds like it was atrocious.
azulgrana // May 8, 2008 at 2:32
I think some of us are over reacting. yes we lost, but come on: 2 goals within a span of 5 mins that were both bad calls can be a back breaker. We don’t need a major clearout of 10 to 12 players.
But I do want to mention Henry’s goal. Let’s give him credit for that finish, it was classic Henry. For those that want to sell him, you guys are fools. Henry has looked lost this season, but if he gets the right service like he did for that goal, he still is a great player. He just needs to form the same understanding he did with Fabregas and Viera at Arsenal.
Lastly, in the Valencia game there was a sign saying in spanish “there is no paradise without Ronaldinho.” That is exaclty what is Barca’s problem. They need someone to be the heart and soul of the team, and if they don’t want to keep Ronnie at barca, which i still think they should…they have to find that type of player to replace him. Messi as the player he is right now can’t carry barca alone on his back, like Ronnie did.
I just want to remind you all that for cases like Ronnie, Henry, and even Deco. “Form can be transient, but quality is permanent”
jwljr42657 // May 8, 2008 at 3:57
No comments reflect a disappointment in us not winning, which is the same attitude this team played with all year, let’s play to not lose, which we all know results in us losing. This team has no heart, no soul, and most importantly NO GUTS!! Waaaa, I fell down, waaaa, I couldn’t make the most beautiful goal, waaaaa, the referee is against us. What a group of spineless babies.
I never in the 20 years I have followed Barca, have seen the team more broken, more self pitying than this team, I can’t figure out what Rijkaard did or possibly, didn’t do to this team. Every disappointing performance you would see him on the sidelines, like he was on sedatives (maybe he was) you couldn’t tell if the score was 5-0, or 0-5 when you looked at his face. The team quit on him about the 3/4 pole, and he quit on the team about the 1/2 way mark. Why is anyones guess, but I’ll just say that the barca locker room must be a very f*cked up place. Sport is full of teams that didn’t hang together, or like each other, but they put their 8th grade shit aside when they went out on the field or court. This team couldn’t wait to find an excuse for their latest sub par performance. This team was rudderless from the beginning, and Stone Man Rijkaard did nothing to stem the tide.
Next year? Well I hope La Porta (if he is still around) realizes (and he refused to see what the star in every slot practice did for RM) that paying top dollar doesn’t guarantee a player with the qualities it takes to make a TEAM.
New manager who will kick some ass, players who want to play, want to give 110%, and most of all players who will give their lives to WIN.
Mostly I take from 07-08 that this season was a giant SHAME. All that talent, all the support, WASTED!! All I can say is Barca get a pair!!
Liam // May 8, 2008 at 4:05
First of all:
Burrull did affect the match… first goal Guti fouled Marquez and the second one came from a foul that never existed…. despite this, i have to accept Madrid were better.
Secondly:
What the hell was Rijkaard thinking? seriously, Barca had 3 midfielders, Toure, Xavi and Gudjohnsen (well, supposedly he is)…. but he took him out and put Gio in…. U all say Diarra had an awesome match… well, who wouldnt when ur mifield outnumbers your opponents by 2. Having more strikers doesnt mean u score more, the ball transition sucked, they barely passed the ball on the half, passes came from defenders to forwards and how on earth is Messi, Henry or anyone going to do something if he has to run 60 yards and dribble 6 players in order to score a bloody goal?
I want this season to be over and just after it is:
Laporta quitting, he sucks, all that mixing politics with footie is pathetic not to mention he has totally forgotten that Barcelona has other sections such as Basketball, Hockey, etc… they all suck now. Ettore Messina, best basketball coach in europe wanted to come to Barca…. the board didnt pick up his calls and now he is staying at CSKA… ffs!
Players that need to go:
Marquez: since he is dating that mexican model he has been crap, all those trips to Madrid during the week affect his performance.
Zambrotta: need to say anything? i think barca got his twin brother and the real one is on vacations in Bora Bora.
Abidal: If they pay good money for him I would sell, he has been a shadow of the player he was at Lyon.
Oleguer: politics call him, he should start a party with Joan.
Thuram: Too old.
Pinto: he knows Valdes is number one and accepts it, mediocre guy.
Jorquera: same as Pinto.
Gudjohnsen: terrible choice, still dont know why they didnt get Forlan instead.
Giovani: from a “raw diamond that needs polishing” to block of coal in 1 year.
Etoo: like Abidal, if they pay enough, sell him.
Ronaldinho: never gonna be the same, at least not in Barca and paying 10 million per year for a player that parties and plays nothing…
Henry: Would change him for Drogba any day.
Players that need to come:
GK: one that actually makes Valdes feel the heat, someone with the same chances Victor has of being number 1.
CB: Now that Milito is injured, it would be great if they could sign 2, (i really hope Coloccini stays in A Coruña), rather have someone from the reserves.
FB: 3, one for the left and 2 for the right side, the one on the left wouldnt be needed if Eric stays, if he doesnt, Lahm is a good option, anyway Barca needs 2 on the right, for what ive read, Alves has a deal with cules, they just need to set the price tag with Sevilla, the other one could be someone from barca B.
MID: I would really like to have a left footed midfielder (Silva, Capel, Guardado), but if Deco stays, I dont think they need to buy anyone, Xavi, Iniesta, Toure and Deco look solid, the rest could be canteranos or some free transfer.
ST: They need a 9, someone who can actually use the head, if not, i just dont understand why Barca plays with wingers and crosses the ball every single time. Drogba would be awesome. If Etoo and Henry leave, they should bring in Villa.
Liam // May 8, 2008 at 4:09
Almost forgot, also i want:
A decent PRESEASON, NO ASIA TOURS and all that crap, screw the money, players need trainning, if not, they get injured and fall apart in 2nd halves.
Varughese // May 8, 2008 at 5:06
I thought the best player we had was Messi. When the 2nd goal came he looked like decided to take on the Madrid defense all by himself (cause others are not interested). He did some runs. Same after the 4th goal.
Joe Henry // May 8, 2008 at 5:24
Guys I like to say thank you to Sylvinho. He went out to save another goal. Also if we are to look at the future it looks like Henry and Messi are working it out. So next season should be better. Now Last night I was crazy. But its time to start cleaning up. And taking out the garbage ( Frank ). Then we can really look forward. The funny thing is if some one would have told me that we will be fighting for 3rd. Ronnie would be leaving. Winning no titles & Losing to Madrid 4-1 at the begging after all these stars came to Barca. I would have said YOUR CRAZY. Again I want Frank out as of this moment. We can’t be worse then the proformas against Madrid can we, even if don’t have a new coach. We can’t be worse than this. 3rd in the League, No CL , No Cup, No league for 2 years now. Losing with scores from Madrid. I got to hand it to him thou as it seams the only important thing to him in big games is his hair cut. It was outstanding last night you got to give him that. It will help you allot when you work in Burger King, You know with the tips and all. I won’t give Frank like any excuse sorry.
blaugranaboy // May 8, 2008 at 6:32
firstly, some of you need to get your head out your ass, this result should not be surprising at all. u should have prepared yourself for it. just cause we hit 6 last weekend against one of the crappest teams around at the moment that should not have insprired many. secondly, i remember months back everyone saying here how average madrid were and how our squad is much better, blah blah. i was telling people how that is utter crap and now many of you realize this, maybe u didnt watch madrid games before this. madrid for one has an EXCELLENT, deep squad. gago has great, ramos is the bset right back in the world, casilas one of three world class keepers, robben tore us up, they have a mean defense, and ppl bojan and giovani are clearly not ready for this level, higuian, robinho, are putting them to shame. and they play some brilliant attacking football, lots of running off the ball, energy, diagnoal runs, great passess. they beat villareal away 6-0 or 7-1, thats the team behind them and in front of us. all this match showed is how much work we need to do this offseason, they are by far a better team than us. also they have a great spirit and confidence in themselves, something we dont.
otherwise, im very tired of the frank abuse here. ficle fans, do u not remember the joy and success he brought to the team a few years ago. dont be so quick to forget that and disrespect him. he brought the best out of roni (something psg struggled to do) and the squad. he brought great unity and squad happiness. sure, many of the issues this year can be attributed to him, and he is a man and has taken responsibilty for it all. but like the sky sports commentator said, and he loves barca, players have let him down. its like the cheating girlfriend. everyone is always mad at the other guy, not the girl who is 100% to blame. no one is giving ronaldinho his stick. he abadonned the team for nonsense reasons, disrespected the club and his teammates, and he needs lots of the blame. not to mention many other players just gave up and decided to play like idiots. they make more more sick than frank every will.
tonight most besides the normal few that try were horrendous. abidal is prob the worst defender ive ever seen. but its redudant always shitting on the same player.
stop bashing the team and frank, its been done enough. u try motivating urself to play. the season has been over for ages. just let it play out and next year we can rebuild hope for the new man and the many new players that inevitably will be coming.
bobkat // May 8, 2008 at 6:44
@Joe
“He gave us two of the worst seasons. Adding last night lose. HUMILIATING us.”
are you sure that these two are the worst seasons? how long have you been following this club or do you know it’s history? i’ll give you examples of much worse seasons and you can go look them up:
2002/2003 - we finished 6th behind madrid, sociedad, super depor, celta, and valencia
2001/2002 - we finished 4th behind valencia, super depor, madrid
2000/2001 - we finished 4th behind madrid, depor, mallorca
1994/1995 - 4th behind madrid, depor, betis
1987/1988 - 6th behind madrid, sociedad, atletico madrid, bilbao, osasuna (w only scored 39 liga points this year)
1982-1983 these were the bilbao years and we came out 4th in both seasons behind madrid
there are many many many many seasons that have been worse than these last two.
It’s in fashion to hate on frank, and if you know nothing of our club, then it’s easy to jump on that wagon. The truth of the matter is that we are left much better off right now than we were when van gaal left and he’s given us 2 liga championships and a CL trophy. that CL trophy itself is worth the price of these last two seasons … we only have two european championships. Cules … get a grip, Frank will be remembered as a legend for us.
BARCA 4 LYF // May 8, 2008 at 7:36
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! MADRID U SON OF A BITCHES!VALDES WAS AWFUL WE NEED A BETTER KEEPER CECH MAYBE!!!
blaugranaboy // May 8, 2008 at 8:22
amen bobkat, nice to see people here with supporting history and knowledge. but the thing most people are really upset, well should be upset about (not no trophies) is the level of play and effort in all those seasons we did poorly it wasnt down to lack of commitment, we just had pretty average squads and had terrible uppermanagement instability, terrible presidents, and a huge amount of managers. hence the breath of fresh air with Laporta, who has been great, and anyone saying different is mad and Frank would brought 3 yrs of happiness.
Jay // May 8, 2008 at 11:14
No words. Thank God I missed this game.
Shahenshah // May 8, 2008 at 11:55
Madrid won it this season by being determined and consistent.
To say they play attacking football is true to some extent but Madrid’s style of play this season has mostly been grinding out results, looking like the more passive team out of the two but turning things around in crucial moments to clinch victory.
On some occasions the team has played attacking football with remarkable team link up and goals to show for the build up. Beating villareal twice 5-0 and 3-2. Valladolid 7-0. Valencia 5-1. Barcelona 4-1.
All these games were heavily influenced by one common thing, which in my opinion is the appearance of Guti. Guti is a heavily underrated creative midfielder with exemplary vision. He has that playmaking ability, circulating the ball around the field, threading the needle through to set up teammates. That man has massive number of assists. Hell the game against valladolid was all him. 4 assists and 2 goals. He has set up almost all of Robinho’s goals.
Thus, Madrid plays attacking football when Guti is on the field as was seen today against Barcelona. Him and Sneijder were dominating the midfield.
Joe Henry // May 8, 2008 at 12:19
Ya there where worst season’s i agree but not with this team.
Joe Henry // May 8, 2008 at 12:32
@bobkat . I’m sure your an older fan. You have been cheering for Barca from before i was born. ( A wild guess ). But Bobkat we have the best team in the world. HAD the best team ( Ronnie, Messi, Henry, Eto’o , Xavi, Gabi Milito, Bojan ( a 17 year old wonder kid ), Iniesta, Zambrotta , Puyol, Eric Abidal ) What is the player he needs to get at least ONE thing out of this season.Even our standards are going down. Now we dream of 2nd place. Yes Bobkat you know more about the club, much more. Keep in mind I start to cheer for Barca in 2002/2003 . I liked the way the played. i was 11 or something. I live a million miles away. And I do love Barca. When they did come to my Country to play ageist a local team ( I don’t want Egyptian Football ) you guys remember AL Ahly last year ( 4-0 ) I went like 10 hours really 10 hours to take a seat in the game. in the middle of Ahly Fans. So maybe I’m not as old fan as you. Maybe i haven’t made it threw a worst year than the year i started to watch Barca. But I do Love this club and I do cheer far away. Seeing players give 110% is what i want. Seeing players give 5% is something to furies and angry. It’s not that we lose it’s how we lose.
Varughese // May 8, 2008 at 12:47
Liam :
Zambrotta had an awful nigh yesterday, i agree with that. But this was the same guy who had complete control on the best player called Ronaldo.
The biggest problem is in the training, they are not putting their 100% there. I have said earlier also that the all problem for Barcelona starts when their passing goes wrong. Yesterday it again happened, we couldn’t complete passes for long time. We are giving away the ball far too easily. That’s when the team looks confused.
Hilal // May 8, 2008 at 12:55
Well said Hoe Henry, it is the way we lose that hurts more than anything! It is almost like the players do not really care and have better things to do with their time! Disgusting!
Varughese // May 8, 2008 at 13:05
Hilal:
remember I was saying this for sometime prior to our first leg match against ManU. Everyone ridiculed us. The idea of bringing in too many players also should be shunted. The problem for Rijkaard was he had too many players in that front position. Why we bought Henry, only god knows? That makes a coach’s job tough. He has to keep everyone happy. Even the great Mourinho screwed royally when Shevchenko and Ballack was bought against his wishes. I have written about this earlier http://www.allaboutfcbarcelona.com/2008/03/frank-rijkaard-rafael-benitez-of-spain.html
The need of the moment is to get a good starting eleven, then get a supporting players. You cannot go and buy everybody left, right and centre. By doing that you are forcing the coach to stick to rotation policy - the result by the time we know our best eleven, the season might be over.
Titi186 // May 8, 2008 at 14:09
Forget yesterdays game. Really. Just forget it.
The biggest problem this year for Barca is the link up play up front.
Nope, dont argue, not scoring in 5 games (untill Valancia) shows the problem for me.
Why Barca bought Henry I dont know. Yes, he hasnt performed for Barca, but why did we buy him? Surely Bojan, Messi, Eto’o and Ronnie was enough. It was just a case of trying to fix something that wasnt broke. Madrid won the title on head-2-head last year so there wasnt that much wrong.
IMO I beleive that at last Messi and Henry not combining which has been the biggest problem. Messi is a wonderful dribbler and Henry is a great shooter, but I can count the number of times on one hand they have combined. It is like saying Ronaldo and Rooney not combining it just wouldnt work. I think once Ronnie has gone and pre-season begings they will prosper together along with Eto’o as I dont beleive Barca will or need to sign a forward, and Barca will be great again.
And to those of you who think Barca need 10 new player this is not Championship Manager.
Two new full-backs, a Centre back for injured Milito and a creative midfeilder to cover Iniesta/Xavi and Barca can look forward to a glourious season.
Pay respects to Frank before he goes and Ronnie aswell as they did a lot for Barca. And most of all look forward to next season and leave your dam white hankies at home lol
Titi186
Mike M // May 8, 2008 at 17:42
@ Maverick977, you cannot just depend on 1 player to win a game…
football is a team sport, and the WHOLE team must play together, only then can a team win the game and the trophy…
Massimo Acheru // May 8, 2008 at 18:13
Once again we lost to Real Madrid, Rijkaard again with another loss. I actually put the blame on him because he did not start the proper people. I was so surprised to see Gudjohnsen at the start up. Why did he make such an early change when he knew Gudjohnsen was not fit for the match. Well again, congrats to Madrid. I also think we have to do a lot of selling and buying because there are a thousand and one players that are on the bench that we do not make use of. This time I don’t just think its because of the injury, I just think they’re not fit to play for Barcelona. I remain a fan and can never fan another club. Barca has to come back to life. I hope next season changes for good. We have to work hard because theres no more excuse.
Andrew // May 8, 2008 at 19:02
they finally announced rijkaard is leaving
Andrew // May 8, 2008 at 19:03
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/castellano/noticies/futbol/temporada07-08/05/n080508104104.html
Joe Henry // May 8, 2008 at 19:11
Thank you Andrew for such amazing news.
BARCA 4 LYF // May 8, 2008 at 19:20
In the Barcelona website in English it does not feature that story Andrew
BARCA 4 LYF // May 8, 2008 at 19:23
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=688510
BARCA 4 LYF // May 8, 2008 at 19:24
http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/noticies/destacades/n080508104104.html
BARCA 4 LYF // May 8, 2008 at 19:24
Now it does!!!
MC2 // May 8, 2008 at 19:31
What i don’t understand is why is there so much of a commotion over barca not winning anything for the second year running, i mean other top teams suffer similar crisis but the fans don’t start crying for the manger’s and the player’s heads. ManUtd are a case in point. Barca are not bigger in spain then Utd is in England(with all respect for the blaugrana), and they won nothing for four years, they rebuilt the team under the same manager and are now back to winning ways. I guess the people in charge should have supported the coach, a change in the helm won’t work wonders as far as i’m concerned.
bobkat // May 8, 2008 at 20:12
@Joe
bless you for your love and support of our beloved blaugrana!!!
All I was trying to say was that while the season was bad (undoubtedly), that Frank deserves our respect and our thanks for what he’s brought the club. Yes, it is time for him to move on, but hopefully we can feel great about the two titles and the champion’s league victory he brought to our club. I wish him all the best wherever he goes (until we meet him in the champion’s league ;-))
Liam // May 8, 2008 at 21:45
Oleguer, Thuram, Ronaldinho, Zambrotta, Gudjohnsen and Deco got 75% chances of leaving…. if u dont bring in replacements who is gonna play?
If u sell 6-10 players u have to bring in at least 5-8, so no “championship manager” stuff in here, just common sense.
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