56 responses so far ↓

• Shahenshah // Apr 1, 2008 at 22:40

  You know what, screw man united. Let them beat roma and face us. Barcelona will prove to everyone, through thick and thin, they can put up a fight.

• ronixavi // Apr 1, 2008 at 22:54

  i’m glad we went some way toward repairing part of the damage from saturday night but as nic said the result wasn’t pretty! i’m a little unnerved by the performances of some of the so-called professionals in our team - particularly abidal and henry - and i really think we definitely need to use another formation…man who will be tough but if we show solidarity and improved confidence then we can put them to the sword - as long as we kill off the QF 2nd leg…

• barca // Apr 1, 2008 at 22:57

  I don’t seem to understand why Rijkaard seems to play Abidal game after game. I can’t remember the last time he had a good game, especially on the offensive side of the ball. All he does is disrupt the offense, and for the last few games has been somewhat poor on the defensive side of the ball as well. Sylvinho is a much better option unless the oponent has a very fast right winger.

  Although barca won tonight, the biggest problem I see is that no one wants to take on the defense. In the past Ronaldinho and more recently Messi were able to break down the defense. Right now, no one is taking players on 1 on 1 on a regular basis, so the oppenent’s defense stays in their fixed positions and it is hard to get any though balls or passes in the box.

  I hope Deco’s return to team will help especially if he rediscovers some of his form…

• Winterhunt // Apr 1, 2008 at 23:06

  Say what you will about Henry, but we don’t score today without him….. Give the guy a break……

• NateW // Apr 1, 2008 at 23:29

  Agreed it was not pretty but it was good enough.

  Henry definately does not enjoy defending as much as eto does on the other flank.

• Shahenshah // Apr 1, 2008 at 23:40

  Thats because eto’o is much sicker than Henry. In my opinion eto’o has always been underrated.

• blaugranaboy // Apr 2, 2008 at 0:07

  we won but it was not great. the biggset plus was the improvement in defense. 2nd half was seriously negative football. mourinho anyone? and i was not impressed with the time wasting tactics. once in a while is understandable, but we did it the whole second half. are we that scared to have the ball in play? toure was immense until he came off, such a shame he has that injury. u could see him limping when he came off. and im sick of this with henry. he does one thing and that excuses the rest of his terrible game. all he did was make up for his poor shoot on goal and then make an easy pass in. iniesta deserves most the credit for that goal. glad at least someone, ronixavi, can be honest about him. and adibal was also bad. he was putting in some STUPID little pulls and pushes. we were lucky he didnt give away a penalty. germans teams arent very good and it showed here today. that team lacked serious quality whatsoever. the result is good, and the next leg is easy.

  but i just finished watching the man united game quickly and wow, whoever said they arent dangerous or less dangerous than arsenal hasnt been watching any english leauge at all since december. many are comparing them with the treble team and arsenal invisibles. tonight man u simply brushed roma aside, in italy. their defense was water tight. could have been 4 easily. they raped liverpool so badly and their performance against villa was sublime going forward. man united has been one of my most hated teams during my life, especially during their post treble year. so dont think there is any favoratism, im just calling it like it is. only the fan inside me dreams of us finally rising to the occasion and playing like we can if we face them next round. the rational thinker inside me, who has watched week in week out performances of both clubs, can only worry about it.

• NateW // Apr 2, 2008 at 0:53

  Shahenshah i agree.
  his work rate also shows commitment to the team.

• Nic // Apr 2, 2008 at 1:12

  I just finished watching the Man United game and wasn’t so impressed (perhaps because some have been exaggerating how great they are). After an hour of the game Rome were pressing and the statistic of eight corners to zero came up in favour of Roma, then Rooney got United’s second through a bit of luck and game over. I reckon we can give them a game, but first, of course, we must see off Schalke at Camp Nou.

• Nic // Apr 2, 2008 at 1:14

  Oh and congratulations to Jay on a correct prediction.

• ae // Apr 2, 2008 at 1:38

  I was watching ManU and I was not impressed with their play. They were defending all the time. I only noticed a couple of times that more than three players have gone very deep into Roma’s half of the pitch. It was clear that they came for a draw and if something comes up so that they score, they won’t mind.

  But then again, our game was not good at all. If we go to the semis I think that we will have a lot of trouble with ManU. It is clear that this formation with this players does not work and ManU will know to exploit that. I have a feeling that it will be something like when we played Chelsea three years ago, we are gonna to attack and they gonna score goals. I’m hoping that I’m wrong.

• Shahenshah // Apr 2, 2008 at 2:26

  Man united came with a defensive gameplan. They tried to out-roma, roma. It was successful mostly because of Rooney being on the attack. In my opinion Rooney deserves man of the match because he was the key chess piece in the attack.

  Roma played well though. Much better than the score says so. In the first half they were brilliant. Their teamwork and passing was too beautiful to watch. They way they disected Man united’s defence I was ecstatic. What they lacked was the killer finish, which would have been fulfilled if Totti was on the field.

  Man united looked shady when it came to linking up their passes as compared to their italian counterparts. They finally took control with some nice playmaking with rooney, scholes and anderson, which ended up with park ji sung attempting a shot inside the box.

  Its funny though, man united showed a tremendously exquisite possession game for an english team and CRonaldo barely touched the ball. However when he got the ball, it was basically him dribbling by himself against the whole back four. They shut him down with every oppurtunity.

  Apart from the header CRonaldo didnt do anything in the first half of the game. Roma didnt give him any space and were on him like flies on shit. CRonaldo had absolutely no answer to three defenders completely surrounding him.

  Near the 38th minute he took control of the ball and dribbled around three defenders effectively holding on the ball. Sends it into the box and to my surprise it was Scholes who was recovering the ball. I was expecting CRonaldo seeing how he was playing the one top striker in Ferguson’s line up. I thought CRonaldo basically got tired and drifted off back into the midfield, which he did.

  Not seeing the danger man in sight, roma let their guard down and were left watching the ball. Scholes crosses the ball intended for Rooney who was very well covered. The cross looked like it was going to be a waste but out of nowhere, like a lightning bolt, Cronaldo emerged leaping into the air and heading it into the net……………..WOW, I was left speechless.

  Gotta give the man credit, speed and finishing instinct. That was a sick goal. He strikes when it matters the most.

  If barcelona faces man untied they have to watch out for Cronaldo. Mark him tightly and close him down. He is done. This man thrives on space, you take that away he is totally helpless. Persistence is key here.

  I say let them win and face Barcelona in the semi. Its time for redemption. I am not saying its going to be easy. Ferguson is a cunning fellow. No wonder he has been in charge for so long without any one yelling for replacements. Thus we have to be extremely cautious. It is still possible.

• Shahenshah // Apr 2, 2008 at 2:28

  heh my bad typo, when I say “Near the 38th minute he took control of the ball”

  I am referring to Rooney, not Cronaldo.

• e10 // Apr 2, 2008 at 3:41

  This is a good result compared to Barca’s last game.
  Like i said the boys stepped up and showed once again they are capable of winning away from home.
  Well Done BOys

• Rafael // Apr 2, 2008 at 4:13

  We can breathe a little.

  But we need to be better if we are to win against Schalke FIRST, and then worry about Man U later on. Lets no get ahead of ourselves.

• Varughese // Apr 2, 2008 at 5:03

  Compared to the earlier performance this was a consistent one.
  Schalke had enough positives from the match to be optimistic. They had beat many time Barcelona defense in the second half, especially with arial ball. As a matter of fact every arial ball into the box was a problem for our defense. Puyol never got his jump right. Their finishing deserted them. If they improve on that, they will be a handful at Camp Nou.

• layi // Apr 2, 2008 at 5:12

  manu didnt play well, thats very funny….against the same roma that beat madrid home and away, they won 2-0….in football u need everything to work for you, you even have to work hard to earn your luck…they know how to play dependin on the game….they have not been exaggerated like nic said….they know how stupid it would be to go to roma’s house and play their normal game…ferguson has more sense than that…that was a hard fought result so i give them thumbs up

  barca tried…but of recent i’ve started losing interest while watchin barca matches nowadays, not sure why…still tryin to find out

• bob // Apr 2, 2008 at 6:07

  @ blaugranaboy

  mourinho????forget about him for this season we need to focus on rkjaard work and how the team works by the way how did dos santos play

• Winterhunt // Apr 2, 2008 at 6:35

  I watched Man U too…. I also don’t think they are unbeatable…. If Messi can come back and be game fit, then the coombo of him & Bojan & Sammy will give them a something they have not seen before…. It seems that when you take the game to them and attack they are vulnerable…. I watched today, and watched the Lyon fixtures, and they are just not unbeatable…. They would be the favorites for sure but I think we can beat them…. Listen a lot of people forget that Millito was out for the Betis game, and he can be huge for us, when we have been in form then we have been every bit as good as Man U….. Also I think Yaya is something that could give them fits especially if he puts a body on Ronaldo, as I know Milito will…. Abidal’s loss of form is perplexing to me, and I really hope he can find it but if not, Sylvinho has been great, and Rafa is back so we have cover…. Also for everyone who is killing Henry, my feeling is he wil step it up against Man U…. The guy is not at full fitness, the medical staff for France just confirmed it when he couldn’t play in the England game and Domenech challenged his injured back…. You guys really do have to think back and realize that he has played out of position all year, and has not complained about it, and for a stretch carrie this team…. It is a shame Deco cannot get healthy but if her gets better and we advance to Play Man U with him and Messi, and hopefully a bit healthier Yaya…. Man U will certainly be confident, and my guess is overconfident….. We do far better in Europe tha in the Liga as teams are not as familiar with us….. I just rewatched todays game and I thought we played a strong, gritty game, and showed toughness and will… were we in form, no we weren’t, but we still won…. I feel far better today than I did over the weekend, and those who count us out and wish for us as their opponent, do so at their own peril…. If we click into form and are healthy, we are capable of beating anybody….. Today was a small step, but a positive step….. A clean sheet, a win in Germany, Bojan again just blowing my mind that he is but 17…… We can find flaws, but I think all in all it was a positive, and kudos to Frank and the boys for picking themselves up off of the canvas and weathering the storm of criticism, and getting it done…. They could easily have folded but they didn’t….. I’m proud of them and their resolve……

  Oh, and Bob, Dos Santos was pretty much a non-factor….

• Jay // Apr 2, 2008 at 6:39

  Just about good enough. Not a very impressive 2nd half. Xavi and Iniesta are playing really well. I’d say Xavi was not upto his standards before the turn of the year, but since then he’s been magnificent.

  Bojan played well. Eto’o and Henry were average. The defence was just about OK. The game is ours to take now.

  Regarding Man United, they were average. They aren’t great. Ronaldo’s brilliant header makes up for his very mediocre showing. And you can see how the guy isn’t as “perfect” as people say. Rooney had a lucky goal.

  Can definitely see Barca down United. Undoubtedly.

  @layi
  Losing interest! Dude, Barca is like a drug to us fans. Can’t live without a weekly(every 3-4 days is even better) dose. Obsession. The question of losing interest never comes up. If you are a neutral, then it’s fine. But I don’t understand how fans lose interest.

• Jay // Apr 2, 2008 at 6:44

  @blaugranaboy
  I don’t think it was negative football in the second half. I don’t think Barca ever play negative football. It was just that Schalke stepped up their game. And they were good, in fact. A host of missed chances didn’t help them.

  Leave Mourinho aside. At least till May.

• Winterhunt // Apr 2, 2008 at 7:55

  BOJAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  reminds me of a young Platini, such amazing instincts and decision making for a player of any age but for 17, it really is just crazy….. This kid is going to be the best player in the world, and I’ll tell you, he isn’t that far off right now….. Maybe Spain finally have the player that will lead them to a World Cup….. There is no player, and no amount of transfer money that I would ever consider taking for this kid….. I’m just amazed…. It’s almost spooky how he effects the whole team, the whole match….. I truly believe if he had stayed on Saturday then we wouldn’t have lost that match….. WOW!!!!!!

• blaugranaboy // Apr 2, 2008 at 9:22

  people must have misinterpreted. i never said man u put on some amazing performance vs Roma. but they won 2-0 in italy. thats very good. like layi said, ferguson didnt go there to full out attack, and they soaked up pressure and scored. plus in the 2nd half CR hit the post again. roma hardly had any clear cut chances. anyhow. anyone who thinks man united arent an extremely good team, the most on form team in europe, i really would not understand. their EPL form has been excellent in the last month. and CR is the most effective and productive player in the world. and just becuase they “rely” on him (which isnt really true) takes absolutley nothing away from them. EVERY team has a star that its semi-built around, in any sport. that argument has no basis. just because your a fan of one team or the other doesnt mean you have to be dishonset about things. you can and should be a diehard fan of barca and still be able to admire and respect and be truthful about other teams abilities and form.

  and i really do think they played negative football. they barely tried to attack, and hardly tried to take any possession of the ball. that cannot just go down to schalke being so good, becuase they really arent so good. we didnt have nearly as much possessoin 2nd half. its def the most defensive performance ive ever seen from a rijkaard team.

  anyone think giovanni is a little too arrogant for his own good? u can almost see it in him. he had such a great preseason, its shame he isnt more productive when he is on. i still wouldnt sell him though.

• blaugranaboy // Apr 2, 2008 at 9:25

  i meant they didnt put on an amazing attackign performance against roma. it was a well exectued, solid away performance against a top side.

• Justin // Apr 2, 2008 at 9:42

  Nic, I have to totally disagree with you about Barca’s performance last night.

  After scoring an early goal you would have thought that the team would have gained some confidence, yet they sat back and invited pressure. As we all know Barca cannot really defend well. Schalke would have won 4 or 5-1 but for poor finishing.

  I cant understand how you can credit Puyol and Milito. Schalke seemed to win every ball that came into the box.

  At one stage in the 2nd half Barca got a free kick in their own half. Milto quite simply hoofed it out of play. I have never seen a Barca team under Rijkaard do such a thing.

  For me that performance will not ease the fears and concerns of Cules. I’m heading over for the Getafe game this weekend and I reckon that if the performance is not a good one the white hankies could be out!

• dayib-sm // Apr 2, 2008 at 11:47

  most of the barcelona fans agreed the barcelona not played well.
  But I am differ their opinion because this game was not easy game
  so the most important was win away match and we got our dream after hard working done.

  so let’s focus next leg in camp nou.
  second leg we will hope to watch some players who we have not watched since in march such as Deco and Dinho.

  If i said some thing about man united i watched after couple of hours the time of the game and it looks not danger with us. the semifinal important players will come back the squed are Messi and Deco and Dinho.so i will hope
  our current players to remember in the 1994-5.

  I have one question why barcelona fans suppert the wining only?
  sometimes the team intering hard month for any side. at the side of injury players and at the side of wrong decision.
  let’s hope well current.

• Joe Henry // Apr 2, 2008 at 11:52

  To every one that thinks that Barca played a nice game last night. Sorry we played really bad. Watch the second half again please. The only difference from Betis’s game that Schalke was unlucky. The defense is a mess, we score as if we have no couch at all. And we almost did the same mistake in less than one week. Barca’s performance was devastating. We are not standing up from the cruises we are not moving one step. The Barca I know would have won last night 4 just to prove to the Man United/Roma who ever wins will lose against Barca. The Goal was great I must admit time after time Bojan proves himself useful and actually to me man of the match. Yet I still don’t see Barca going into the second half want to seal the night. Luck was on our side guys Schalke could have scored at least 2 goals. Schalke was so close to WINNING ( Yes not Winning not drawing because if the first goal had come in the second is right after ) that i really felt like history is to repeat itself this week again. Maybe its not Frank as a couch maybe they need to say if your not gonna play well your off the pitch, I don’t know but I want to see Barca session 2005/2006. When all I was asking my self was how much goals Barca is going to score tonight. Now we have better players, we should be unbeatable. I had a vision in my mind that this session we will win almost every game we would be the best team in the world yet we are strangling to win anything. And lets face the odds are not with us !

• Joe Henry // Apr 2, 2008 at 11:54

  By the way. Do you guys remember we use to had a fine player. You know had some skills. You know long hair. Awarded best player in the world two years in a row. You know Ronnie. WHAT THE HELL HAPPED TO HIM ! Nic do you have any news concerning Ronaldinho. Its his team to shine the way i see it

• blaugranaboy // Apr 2, 2008 at 13:16

  Im happy to see some people are watching the same game as I did. But I think you guys are getting a bit too critical now. Our first half performance wasnt not bad at all and for the most part the defense was quite solid throughtout the game, adibal looking weakest. we dealt with set pieces very nicely for the most part. schalke only looked likely to score the last 20 min and that chance that altintop chipped over VV was offside and shouldnt have even counted. but joe henry said just what i said a few weeks ago. a few season ago id sit down for a game and think “how many goals are we gonna score tonight”. in the 2nd half we didnt even try to score one. i agree, we should have gone and scored 2 or 3 and proved to ourselves and everyone else we arent going to settle for this mediocrity.

  by the way, brining back deco or dinho is not going to do a thing. especially deco, he has been poor for a long time now and on the day of el classico said hed love jose to come in. he really isnt that good anymore. xavi and iniesta both rape him up, down, and sideways. dinho i guess u never know, but when he has played its been average to bad. etoo, messi, and bojan upfront are the way to go when they all fit.

• blaugranaboy // Apr 2, 2008 at 13:21

  by the way, anyone not following the local barcelona press should know that the is under HEAVY criticism, its worst in many many years. some even think that one more bad slip up and rijkaard is gone. some think guardiola will come up and take over for the rest of the year before a permanent replacement in the summer. i dont think we will fire rijkaard mid season, laporta likes him and is going to give him till the end. it just reinforces the points many of us honest fans have been stating for months.

• blaugranaboy // Apr 2, 2008 at 13:22

  not heavy criticism for last night, just in general, especially post betis game

• Hilal // Apr 2, 2008 at 13:31

  I have to agree with Joe and Justin. Last nights result was a good result, but it was not a good performance. They had far more chances and a better team definitely would have scored at least one goal, maybe more. Again, once we scored we seemed to completely relax. From the way we started I was HOPING that we would go on to demolish Shalke and send a real message to the other teams. We could have, we should have and we have no excuse for not doing so. We did the opposite, we sat back, relaxed and showed the other teams that if they play with aggression and if they push us they can score quite easily. They should have had a penalty and there were two goals that any good striker definitely would have scored. I actually saw very little improvement from our last game, in fact if it wasnt for a bit of luck and bad refereeing then we probably would have seen a turnaround in this game as we saw against Betis.

  That being said IF we raise our game against Man utd we can beat them, but ONLY if we improve. The team that played last night will never beat man utd. I watched them last night and they did what they had to do without impressing too much. Now you could argue that we did the same thing so why am I criticizing us and not them. Well Man utd can afford to play as they did last night because they have nothing to prove, they walk through good teams on a weekly basis. We have A LOT to prove and we could have started last night, we did not. If anything we proved that we are vulnerable if teams do not let us play. Shalke, like Betis, let us play in the first half so it seemed like we played well when in fact all we did was play freely. In the second half, same as Betis, it completely changed because Shalke started pressing, they started being more aggressive and they created a lot of good chances. All chances a team like Man utd would have taken!

  I would love to see us raise our game and beat Man Utd. Nothing would make me happier, but I dont see it happening. Not this season, not under Rijkaard and not with lack of desire, fitness and will to win that we are seeing.

• Taras // Apr 2, 2008 at 14:04

  It was a dull game. Yes, we won, but I didn’t see Barca playing beautiful game.

  Ronaldo scored sick goal. I haven’t seen such strong head kick.

• Shahenshah // Apr 2, 2008 at 14:49

  Didnt see this game but the roma man united clash. Trust me, apart from the sick goal, Cronaldo was basically a non factor in the attack. Rooney was more of a threat.

  I didnt watch the barca game but from looking at the statistics I can tell that the team was satisfied with one goal. Alot of posession as always. No converting the posession into goals.

  All these english supporters think Man u will have Barcelona for breakfast but really if Barca continue attacking like mad men instead of laying back, Roma will have to chug a few bottles of pepto bismol.

• Shahenshah // Apr 2, 2008 at 14:50

  damn another typo, I mean man u not roma

• Nic // Apr 2, 2008 at 15:12

  For some of you pining for the good old days of 2005/2006 I think I should remind you that no great teams last forever and being a football fan involves taking the good with the bad. We would all like to win by three goals every week but it isn’t going to happen very often.
  I have friends who hate Barça and the reason they give is that Barça fans don’t know how to appreciate what they have. I’m afraid to say I think to a degree they are right. You have a right to criticise but I do worry that you are going to turn this blog into a whingers’ column.
  Van Gaal summed it up - Nunca positifo siempre negatifo

• Hilal // Apr 2, 2008 at 15:30

  Sorry Nic but I do not think that is fair. We are not criticizing a team that has been playing badly but getting good results. We are not criticizing a team that are working very hard but not scoring goals. We are criticizing a team that are NOT getting results, that are not playing anywhere near their potential and who do not give their all when they wear the shirt. I think you will find that ANY fan of any team would not be happy. If it was the case that we won the last 5 or 6 games but won 1-0 or did not play that well then fine, I would agree with your point. We cannot always play well and win and we cannot always dominate other teams, even if we used to. Like you said no great team lasts forever, but that does not mean that we allow the team to fall apart all together! Lasts nights’ performance should have been better only because our last 5 have been SO bad, we needed to prove something and we didn’t. I do not think saying so should be considered winging.

• Shahenshah // Apr 2, 2008 at 15:33

  yo nic

  does anyone other than puyol and valdes take leadership responsibilities on the field and yell at their teammates to get their heads in the game?

• Nic // Apr 2, 2008 at 16:08

  Hilal, with respect, I agree we are not playing great at the moment but last night we got a very good result which should at least have cheered us up a bit after the Betis disaster, and yet I come home and find I have to read through a load of comments that only look at the negative side. You say “any fan of any team” would not be happy. What with getting to the Champions League semi finals? In a previous comment you said the players completely relaxed. Who I wonder? Puyol? Toure? Eto’o? Milito? Bojan? Come on! OK we are all used to a certain Frenchman looking slack, but completely relaxed you say, just because we didn’t win by more goals. Look at the teams that have failed to win on this ground. Milan, Chelsea, Sevilla PSV, Espanyol have all failed to win here. Schalke are a decent team. As I said, you have a right to criticize and I agree that things are not great, but I get the impression that some of you will never be happy. To be fair there are some positive comments above and I need to accept there will always be fans that see things from different sides. I apologise if I sound ratty, could just be my mood today.

• BARCA 4 LYF // Apr 2, 2008 at 16:15

  Barca all the way! Bring it on man utd win Roma if you can and Barca will kick ur fukin smelly asses in da semis! MAN U CABRON SALUDA DEL CAMPEON! Once Messi and hopefully Brazilian magician R10 are back we are gonna kick some red devil ass!

• Joe Henry // Apr 2, 2008 at 16:25

  Nic, Where happy and all but this is not Barca ! As Hilal said I would be gratefully if Barca played hard and didn’t well. Then I wouldn’t be angry at all to begin with. Cause you know we gave it our best shot and we lose. For example if i would have cheered for Schalke last night ; in the end of the game i would stand up give these players a round of applause, they played really well, wasn’t afraid to face a big team like Barca & Almost scored. The truth is we need change ! I would think Henry would be fired up for the Champions League since he left Arsenal to win it. I don’t know Nic but I still have hope in this season we might win both ! But lets face it under Frank I don’t think so.

• Shahenshah // Apr 2, 2008 at 17:08

  The season is far from over and considering how many twists la liga has, its going down till the last minute.

  Barcelona have the quality and I am confident they can turn it around and score more goals. They are lacking strength in the front three, which is mostly responsible for the goals.

  All these victories in the past against Barcelona were basically give aways. The team definitely has the quality to launch a never ending onslaught of attacks. If they dont stop attacking, they will beat any team.

  Champions league there is still a chance. Man untied is strong but they are not invincible. CRonaldo was basically a non-factor in the game. If him and Rooney are kept in check. Man united have no attack. Easier said than done in Rooney’s case though. He is actually a very versatile player.

  Roma brought they a-game to man united and surely deserved to win. All they needed was a quality finish. Their passing was ten times better than man united.

  Also Nic,

  Do you know if anyone other than puyol and valdes take leadership responsibilities on the field and yell at their teammates to get their heads in the game?

• Nic // Apr 2, 2008 at 17:34

  Yo Shahenshah - Didn’t mean top ignore your question, but I’m just not really sure what you mean with “leadership qualities” and “yell”. Puyol is the captain and therefore the leader while the goalkeeper needs to shout to organise the defence. The rest of the players have different personalties and some communicate more than others, some shout more and some encourage more. You say “yell”, I’m not sure if we really want to see a team who are all yelling at each other all the time. Besides, yelling or not yelling does not mean a player gives or doesn’t give 100%. Anyway, for the majority I don’t think the problems lie so much with commitment, I think it’s more a question of confidence and unity.

• Shahenshah // Apr 2, 2008 at 17:46

  oh my bad Nic

  what I meant when I said “yell” was do people on the team shout out encouraging words to their teammates? Communication and encouragement is key to team unity.

  lol I certainly dont mean people yelling “You suck, why did we even buy you?!” or “What are you doing with your life?!”

• Hilal // Apr 2, 2008 at 17:54

  First of all Nic I would like to point out that we have not gotten through to the semis yet so your comment was a bit premature. Also I never said “fans of any other team” would not be happy getting through to the semis. I was not referring to the last nights game, or any game, I was referring to the teams general attitude on the pitch and the lack of desire shown. I am sure most fans would not be satisfied with that.

  I can see your point of view Nic, I really can. I did not say I was not happy with the result. 0-1 away from home in the CL is a good result, especially at a difficult ground like Shalke. What I am disappointed with is the lack of desire from the players to finish off the game, and not only yesterday but all season. It is not like we controlled the game from start to finish, if that was the case then I would have been satisfied. The second half was basically a repeat of the second half vs Betis minus the goals. They had ALL the chances, they had all the momentum and if they had a better striker they prob would have won. That is what worries me and it should worry all of us, especially the players who still seem to have this attitude that they can score at will, which clearly they cannot do anymore.

  I also agree that not all the players relax, the players you mentioned are almost always excellent. What i meant was our momentum as a team relaxes, we stop moving forward, we are content to play keep ball with no real purpose, we eventually lose possession and the opposing team get a break. This was repeated over and over in the second half yesterday, maybe that was Rijkaards tactic, to hold on to the 0-1, who knows. Barcelona are not a team who have a solid defense so holding onto a 1 goal lead is not a great tactic. We depend on our momentum going forward to keep the opposing team so pressed back that they can barely get a sniff of our half. If we do not have that momentum going forward then we are vulnerable. So we have to keep attacking and attacking otherwise eventually the other team will get the ball back and hit us on the break.

  Also it is unfair of you to say that some of us will ever be happy. We are not asking for 4 goals a game, at least im not, and I am not asking for constantly beautiful football. All I am asking is that all of our players give 100% for 90 mins. I have yet to see that all season, correct me if im wrong. Teams with far less quality give 150% every game and lose but at least they give it their all.

  Maybe I am being over critical, but I am so sick of seeing a team full of so much potential disappoint week after week. The game last night should have served as a warning to Man utd, maybe the next game will…..

• Nic // Apr 2, 2008 at 18:46

  Hilal - Sorry if I twisted your words. I just get frustrated because I find Barça’s fans the most critical in the world. Maybe that is a good thing that we always want the best, but it can be a bad thing when the Camp Nou crowd turn against the team. I have this great big horrible memory of when Van Gaal was hounded out; yes, things were not great then either but the criticisms were way over the top in my opinion and when Van Gaal left it was followed by the worst four years I have known as a Culé (for those who think things are as bad as they can be now, you obviously weren’t around then). I worry the same thing will happen again and that some of the better players will get fed up and leave. I know history does not necessarily repeat itself, but football is not as simple as just kicking out the coach (we probably won’t get Mourinho now, and besides, I have my doubts on whether he would be successful here). Basically I believe as fans we should back the players to the end of the season and then talk about changes. I also believe that football is there to be enjoyed through the good times as well as the bad, and I find it depressing to hear so much negativity. Who knows we may never ever be as good as we were two and a half years ago, I don’t want to be always looking back and saying: why aren’t we as good now? Getting a group of top professionals to perform at the maximum level is extremely difficult, just look at how bad Madrid were with the galacticos. Unfortunately when young men earn so much money some of them get tempted away by other things in life, they get distracted. They are also under an enormous amount of pressure, some don’t always know how to deal with the pressure in the best ways. There can also be jealousy and envy in a group, especially when some players earn more than others, it doesn’t exactly help team spirit. When on top of this the press and the fans are so critical it can help to take things to breaking point. I just try to understand that it is not so easy to perform at your best week in week out in these conditions. Yes, they should be grateful for the life they have, and yes, they earn too much for their own good. However, I don’t see we have a lot to gain by getting angry and critical with them all the time. Ultimately, I feel that any fan who is only satisfied when we are the best, will spend most of their life as a fan disappointed.

• Nic // Apr 2, 2008 at 18:51

  Shahenshah - I’d love to see the players shouting “What are you doing with your life?”
  I think unity could be better but there is communication. Eto’o talks a lot, Deco when he plays is another. But all the players talk sometimes, perhaps there could be more.

• Jay // Apr 2, 2008 at 19:02

  This is nothing compared to the Joan Gaspart era, guys. We are much better off now.

  Don’t know about anyone but such problems only help me love this team more than ever. Love keeping faith and when we are rewarded with things like the 04-06 seasons, then there is ABSOLUTELY nothing better.

  Nothing.

• Hilal // Apr 2, 2008 at 20:13

  Nic, nice post

  I can see how you might have misinterpreted my post, didnt imply that you were twisting my words. Just wanted to make sure you knew where I was coming from.

  I completely understand what you are saying, and yes we should back the players and the coach till the end of the season. If I went to a game right now I would be very vocal in my support. Sorry if I sometimes use this blog to vent my frustrations, its one of the only outlets I have to discuss the team I love so very much (thanx btw)! I personally do not think any changes should be made till the end of this season. Replacing Rijkaard now would be a huge mistake and I hope Laporta is not that stupid. I think he knows better.

  However at the end of this season, no matter what happens in the CL some serious changes need to be made. With the players we have I am sure we can get back to our best, we just need the right motivation and leadership! That is what we are lacking the most right now, somebody to really lead the team.

• Youssef Gazia // Apr 2, 2008 at 20:34

  I have a theory. If the Barca fans develop something like the ”Ultras Sud” all our problems will go away. We lack fan support the most.

  Visca Barca…

• blaugranaboy // Apr 2, 2008 at 22:20

  wow some people obviously no little about this club. barca have a very well known and supported ultra group. boixos nois! they are as serious as any ultras. not to mention we have the biggest major stadium in europe and its usually pretty full as well as being the club with the most members on earth.

  beside that, there was some nice banter here between nic and hilal. both of you make good points. i dont agree though that fans should have blind faith and ignore problems. barca backed roni all of last year and only really this year lost patience, its only human. and frankly, ignoring problems and marginalizing them is a stupid idea, only by recognizing them can you address them. and i TOTALLY disagree with the fact that we shouldnt strive to be as good as before. the fact that they showed it to us means they are capable of it. and by not doing it they are showing a lack of interest and motivation. its only natural to expect the best when you can be the best. only people and players that strive to be better than anyone else will be. that life. if u want to be a winner you have to know you are one. when united went through that bad patch, everyone was crying mercy, calling for ferguson’s head. they bounced back in flying colors, there is no reason we shouldnt be able to. and people mention that times were far worse before, and that is true. we challenged for less leagues and less CL. BUT we always played our brand of attacking, creative football. that is something that is bar nothing, the most important thing at this club. thats its signature. barca fans are critical but thats because we know this club and this team can be invisible if they really wanted to. but at the end of the day most of us just want to see some bloody guts and heart. that the lord for our local lads that are the unsung heroes of barca. i really think a major problme is a lack of fitness. these guys are no where near as fit as they should be to be at the top of their game. barca fans may be overcritical, but so are madrid fans. with milan, madrid, and liverpool, we are one of the giants of world football. i take pride in our history and i for one always expect us to be playing with 100% effort, playing our beautiful game, and challenging/winning trophys.

  i accept the peaks and valleys argument. its true. but this has been a terrible valley when i and many felt it was the start of a barca dynsaty. after our first league win our slogo was “acaba la liga, empeiza un era”. how that has not happened. thats where the sadness lies. who would have thought 2 years ago Roni would become what he has. its just madness.

• Nic // Apr 2, 2008 at 23:07

  Hey Blaugranaboy - thanks for all the comments but I think you are now misinterpreting my words. I never mentioned blind faith or ignoring problems, and I definitely never said we shouldn’t strive to be as good as before. We should always strive to be even better than before. I don’t agree we are in a terrible valley though (a bit of a trough yes). As said previously things were much worse in the Gaspart years.
  What annoys me (and I’m not aiming this at anyone) is some of what I would call blind criticism where the whole team are dismissed as useless or when people say we have no chance to win anything. In football there is always a chance even when you aren’t playing well, and surprises are one of the great things about the game. Look at Fenerbahce coming from behind to beat Chelsea tonight

• Zeshan // Apr 2, 2008 at 23:20

  what the hell is wrong with people here .. Soccer is not about beautifull play but who win ! please do i have to remind you guys what happend last year!:S?

• blaugranaboy // Apr 3, 2008 at 1:30

  hey nic thanks for the reply. im glad you know we should always strive for greatness. i did agree with u and forgot to mention that people were being overcritical of the schalke game. except that in the 2nd half the effort and drive was not acceptable, that i agree with. and in general i also agree with negativity directed towards the team. and what i meant with the huge valley was that our downfall just seems so sudden and unexpected. from what we were, then to having the god messi born, then buy henry, adibal, and milito, and we are worse!? thats where the sadness lies. it just seems illogical. also, i know there is always a chance, but barca have many many times this season given hope and then disappointed. its getting tiring having ur hopes shattered so often. id love to have the optimism of some

  and football is about beautiful play. especially at this club. we won two leagues, and the CL playing the most breathtaking football ive ever seen. the fact that is was done makes it the benchmark, and i for one will never be 100% satisfied if i never see it again. but i will be more than happy and stop complaning to see us winning, scoring regularly, and keeping some clean sheets.

  the fenerbache game i didnt find such a shock. that team loves attacking and playing in turkey is tough stuff. id love for them to knock out chelski but i dont think they will. their defense is usually very all over the place.

• layi // Apr 3, 2008 at 4:23

  nic, im not sure you read the criticisms well enough, i’ve hardly seen anybody dismissing the whole team as useless….people only insist on what they think is the source of the below-par season….now, i dont even post mine again cos i’m tired, i just read

• Oliver // Apr 3, 2008 at 11:34

  The hard facts are that Barca won and will progress. In my eyes they are warming up nicely to a strong finish. They will win the European Cup again. It’s better to slowly rise now and peak at the season’s end.

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