As one former Barcelona player puts it: “It is the game of the century, even if there are eight of them a year.” It is a comment not just on the excellence and the expectation that comes with Real Madrid v Barcelona but also on their eclipse of all else, on the dominance and potential dilution of a […]
Tag Archives: Messi
Latest injury a turning point moment for Messi
…”There’s fitness and conditioning, of course, but there are other things that might seem on the periphery, like sleeping in the right position, having the same pillow when you are away and training in different places. Do you really know how to clean your hands? Without leaving the bits between your fingers? If you do […]
Has Messi’s Goal-Scoring Obsession Hurt Rather Than Helped?
It was the cruelest of blows. Lionel Messi’s recent muscle injury has left Barcelona hamstrung at the worst possible time and seemingly contributed to the Catalans downfall in the Champions League semi-finals after a half-fit Leo failed to help his team in the Blaugrana’s brutal battering at Bayern Munich on Tuesday night. It looked like extremely […]
Neymar to Barca – a catastrophe in the making?
Barcelona need Messi. Boy, do they ever. Against Paris Saint-Germain, this immortal team appeared fallible. Without their god-like genius, hamstrung in more ways than one, they were second-best; ponderous, susceptible, beatable.Then he arrived, like a battle-scarred war hero, from the dugout. He played a part in the defining goal, and a far more substantial role […]
All in the mind – Is the brain the new frontier in football training?
Today’s soccer professionals have a battery of physios, fitness trainers and doctors all striving to fine-tune their players’ physique for optimum performance. But are football clubs missing a trick in overlooking dedicated training for the most important organ of all — the brain? Scientists at London’s Brunel University believe the game’s top talents, such as […]
From Paris To Barcelona – The Transfer That Sparked A Revolution
It can be all too easy to forget Ronaldinho’s role in the creation of today’s Barcelona. Shepherded swiftly towards the exit door by incoming coach Pep Guardiola in the summer of 2008, the brilliant Brazilian would play no part in a team which would go on to become the world’s finest footballing side and be […]
The tweaks that led to Barca’s comeback
A few days before Barca’s second-leg vs Milan, I posted an article going through some of the problems Barca were facing – tactically and otherwise – during a difficult run in their season. Changes were required. Spanish football expert Andy West takes a look at some of reasons Barca were able to mount their historic comeback. […]
What’s up, Barca? On recent form and the future
It all seemed to start unravelling with the showing in Milan. Sure, they had been beaten by Celtic earlier in the season but that was a game in which there were chances for Barca and they could have scored a few. That wasn’t the case against Milan, nor was it the case in the 2nd […]
Barcelona’s black night (vs Milan)
Sure, there is talk of a comeback, but the future is conditioned by the past and the past does not invite optimism in Barcelona. Jordi Roura’s words were bullish but the way that he delivered them was not. “We have total conviction that in Barcelona we’ll go through,” said Barcelona’s assistant coach. “This is a bad result […]
Outflanked – How Barca’s Pep Revolution Was Based On Width
Part of the fun of watching FC Barcelona over the last four and a half years has been watching them tinkering with the norms of football tactics and formations. For their fans, and for neutrals who simply enjoy watching individual or group displays of extreme technique applied at high speed, there has been plenty to […]
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