Defensive worries for Barca

Barcelona kept the five-point advantage over Los Merengues with the hard-fought win over Getafe but the Catalans now face a very difficult task at Vicente Calderon, where they have lost last two games, especially since the injury problems are mounting. One could be fooled to think that this team don’t need defenders with such strong midfield and attack but things are not what they seem and Pep Guardiola faces a major selection headache.

Dani Alves and Yaya Toure will miss next two weeks of action after picking up injuries in the Getafe game, while Eric Abidal tore his muscle in the training session and he is ruled out for two months. With Gerard Pique and Rafa Marquez suspended for the Atletico clash having been sent off against Getafe, Pep Guardiola is praying for Carles Puyol to recover in time for the weekend’s game in order to create a defensive partnership with Gaby Milito. With Dmytro Chygrynskiy also out of action, Maxwell is the only other fit senior defender, which means the boss will have to pull something out of a hat in order to put together a decent back four against Atletico.

This is already looking like a key game of the season for Barcelona as everyone expects them to slip at Vicente Calderon after the numerous injuries to their defenders and should that happen, Real would close the gap to two or three points. If Barcelona win, they will show everyone the team do not depend on one or two players and that is definitely the biggest quality of this side. Atletico Madrid are not the sort of opponent that should make the champions worry regardless of the Forlan-Aguero partnership, since Los Colchoneros cannot make anything happen if they don’t win the midfield battle, which looks like an impossible task.

On the other hand, Atletico’s defence is non-existent this season, as witnessed by their record of 34 conceded goals in 21 league games and you can imagine what Messi, Ibrahimovic and Iniesta will do to them. When you look at the game from this perspective, it looks as though the Catalans won’t have big problems in this match regardless of all the absentees. Considering the way Barca have been playing lately and the five-point cushion at the top, I really don’t see how Real would be able to close the gap in the remained of the season and with Betfair paying 1.39 on Barcelona to win the Primera, this looks like the right time to take the betting odds before they drop even further.

Dani Alves - simply the best

One of the best midfielders in football today, Xavi Hernandez recently said that Dani Alves was priceless for Barcelona but that has become evident as soon as the Brazilian joined the Camp Nou outfit from Seville. He has been an integral part of the team that won the historic treble and is currently recognized as one of the best right-backs in world football. He is the very best if you ask me.

Dani Alves made a name for himself at Sevilla, where he enjoyed six fruitful years having won two UEFA Cups and Copa del Rey with the club. Despite playing in defence he was almost every season the team leader in assists due to his marauding forward runs that often ended with perfect crosses for his teammates. The Brazilian also scored 16 goals during his time at Sevilla and it was his attacking qualities that attracted the host of big European clubs. The Andalucian side rejected several offers from Chelsea before receiving an offer too good to refuse from the Catalan giants and it was at the start of last season that Alves made a switch to Barcelona, leaving Sevilla in tears.

It is probably no wonder that his arrival coincided with Barcelona’s most successful season in club’s history and Alves was definitely one of the key players despite playing his first season for one of the biggest clubs in the world. He offered the team a much needed width and additional creativity from defence, while he continued to feed the forwards with the best crosses you will ever see. Alves is a real menace for the opposing defenders and his eye for the right pass is something you would never expect to see from a full-back, never mind that he is Brazilian.

His nationality is probably the reason why he has played just 32 games for the national team but this is definitely a player who is good enough to command a starting place in any team in the world, regardless of the fact that he has a strong competition for the starting berth in Brazil national team. Maicon is a very good player but there is no way he is better than Alves and I just hope Carlos Dunga will realize that before the World Cup in South Africa starts or he will do one man a lot of harm.

You don’t need a lot of time to realize what a marvelous player Dani Alves is but I know I will always remember his eye-catching assist to Leo Messi in the last El Classico that was sadly not turned into a goal by the Argentine, who was probably surprised himself just how that ball reached him in the first place. This player is a big asset for Barcelona and we can all just hope he stays at Camp Nou for as along as possible.

The sweet revenge

Everybody at Barcelona were down after Sevilla denied them the chance to defend the Copa del Rey title but even though some pundits tried to make it look as the start of the end for the Catalans, it was nothing more than just one bad day for Pep Guardiola’s side. The Camp Nou outfit were close to overturning a one-goal deficit from the first leg but they still got eliminated on away goals rule, which was something Sevilla was soon going to pay for.

The destiny wanted the teams to meet just three days later in Primera, when Barca more than got revenge for the Copa del Rey defeat, having hammered Sevilla 4:0, although the winning margin could have been even greater. The match showed just how serious this team are and I just pity the ones who thought this was the end of Barcelona as we know it.

Something that people outside the Barca faithful cannot seem to comprehend is that this team have got plenty of more to offer. Pep Guardiola has not only built an excellent team but he also created a style of play, albeit on the base of his predecessors, that does not depend on individual players and there is not much more you can ask from a coach.

Regardless of the Copa del Rey exit, this is already looking like another successful season for the Catalans. The five-point advantage over Real Madrid proves Los Merengues are still not ready to fight for the Primera title, regardless of how much money they spend. I don’t see too many sports betting experts being prepared to back a team other than Barcelona for the Champions League title this term, thus the fans have absolutely no reason to worry as long as Guardiola agrees to contract extension at the end of the season.

I believe that it is crucial to keep Pep at the club for as long as possible since it’s been a while since we last had such a dedicated coach and on top of everything, a true servant of the club. He’s created a great link between the first team and the youth sides, and no wonder that a couple of players are promoted to the first team set-up every season. I do have some complaints regarding his work and they mostly concern young Bojan, who is not getting the playing time he deserves.

I really don’t know why he is still a fringe player after making a big progress during his first two seasons in the team, while I have already written an article on Yaya Toure, so you know how I feel about his situation. I cannot help but feel that these two players would make this Barcelona side even stronger.

The reasons behind Barca’s success

For a team to win six trophies in a single season is a remarkable success in football today since it takes a lot of hard work and consistency to win even one major title, let alone six. A lot of time will pass until a team can repeat what Barcelona have just done with Pep Guardiola and his players until then carrying the title of the greatest team that ever played. Reasons for this success are numerous and they span from club’s impressive youth academy, across amazing players to Josep Guardiola who made all this possible.

Even the birds know Barcelona were the team that played the best football last season and that they thoroughly deserve all the honours, and they owe it all to club’s strategy. The Camp Nou outfit puts a big emphasis on their youth academy that produces a lot of quality players for the first team set-up and it is a real triumph of football to see a team where key positions are occupied by home grown players win all major trophies in a single season. It is no wonder that Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets are such a great players when we know they have come through the ranks of famous La Macia youth academy. Even Leo Messi can be regarded as home grown player since he arrived at Barca when he was just 13.

It is not only football skills that players learn at La Macia but they are also taught how to cope with the pressures of modern football and how to become good persons above all. You will never hear a Barca player complaining for being benched or criticizing his coach or a teammate and that is what makes this team so special. Another big quality is the fact that even when Guardiola is missing key players like Iniesta or Messi, the results don’t suffer since their replacements know exactly how this team work and what is wanted from them. Barca have their own style of play and every player that steps into the starting line-up is asked to adapt to it rather than vice versa.

For all those reasons Barcelona are one of the most supported teams in the world and they manage to stay at the top despite not investing large sums of money for buying new players like, say, Real Madrid. The Catalans only buy players when they don’t have a home grown player in that position capable of doing the job, which is really rare. Every single season we see very talented youngsters coming through the ranks and making the step to first team football without any problems, which gives the team a big advantage over their rivals. For all these reasons, Barca are the big club, if not the biggest in the world, and I can only see them going from strength to strength.

Is it possible Yaya Toure is a fringe player at Barca?

Josep Guardiola was the man behind Barcelona’s success last season and he’s done so many good things since being appointed the head coach of the Catalans but I will never forgive him the mistreating of one Yaya Toure, who was made a mere fringe player at Camp Nou. The Ivorian must have done something to make Guardiola mad since I can see no other reason why one of the best (if not the best) holding midfielders in the world would have so little playing time this season, but whatever he has done is not worth the treatment he is receiving.

Since being promoted from the famous youth academy in Abijan, Yaya Toure had the perfect road to glory. He slowly made progress and developed his skills in Beveren, Metalurg Donetsk, Olympiakos and Monaco before making a dream transfer to Barcelona. It is at Camp Nou that Yaya Toure showed the footballing world what those close to him already knew and blossomed into a world-class player.

Despite not being an automatic first choice in Guardiola’s side at the start of last season, his impressive footballing qualities quickly shown and earned him a starting berth. Toure bossed the midfield in every single game last term and was one of the most important players in the race for the historic treble, and at the same time fulfilled one of the biggest Barcelona goals.

His versatility helped Barcelona (Barcelona news) in the decisive matches last season since he played as a centre-back even in the Champions League final against United, in which he made Ronaldo look like a pub player for big part of the game.

However, due to an unknown reason he has fallen out with Josep Guardiola this term and the boss no longer treats him as a first team regular. This doesn’t have a big effect on the results since Barcelona have big strength in depth but is certainly making life difficult for both Toure and his teammates.

The friendly giant, as Toure often strikes the people who engage in conversation with him, is now one of the most sought-after footballers in the world, with the biggest European clubs constantly on alert to latest developments from Camp Nou. Arsene Wenger is a big fan of the player and he would love to have him in the squad, although Manchester City also emerged as favourites to sign him, provided he becomes available, mostly due to his close relationship with brother Kolo. Yaya has already stated he would love to play alongside his brother Kolo and this is something Mark Hughes can take advantage of and sign one hell of player. I just hope his situation will be resolved as quickly as possible since the world football is missing a lot with Yaya Toure sitting on the bench, even at Barcelona.