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 […]
Tag Archives: Tito Vilanova
The Team to be Drawn Against – Are Barca Now the Underdogs?
Barcelona Coach Tito Vilanova (since July 2012) Winners 4 Last five years (most recent last): SF – W – SF – W – SF Astonishingly, the team everyone has feared for the last five years may be the one to be drawn against. Barcelona started with eight of the all-conquering Spanish XI against Paris Saint-Germain but still trailed […]
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 […]
Runaway Train – Unbeaten Barcelona on course to obliterate record point haul
It was an astounding achievement. Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid lost only twice in La Liga last season and claimed an unprecedented 32 victories on their way to winning the Primera Division with a historical high of 100 points. No team had ever reached three figures before in Spain’s domestic competition, but just eight months on, Barcelona seem set not only […]
Continuity amid Vilanova adversity could push Barcelona to greater heights
The coach will undergo an operation on Thursday, but the Catalans’ philosophy will remain intact thanks to a capable stand-in and a group of players familiar with pulling through Life without Tito Vilanova begins away to Valladolid in the Primera Division on Saturday, but the road to recovery starts at home for both coach and […]
El Clasico Preview
Barca and Real are in good shape going into El Clasico, says Guillem. Barcelona have come from behind four times this season and against Sevilla they came back from 2-0 down for the first time since 1999 to win 3-2 with a last-minute goal from David Villa. That is proof of their character. If anybody […]
The Messy Messi-Villa incident
Graham Hunter over at ESPN gives his views on the argument between Lionel Messi and David Villa which was captured by television crew when Barca played Granada. I think it’s fair to say that Leo Messi committed a minor error by chewing out David Villa just before halftime on Saturday as Barcelona was sweating out […]
Messi is making Fabregas a Barcelona misfit
The Spain international has struggled to find a home in the Catalans’ XI, with the influence of the Argentine and Co. leaving the former Arsenal man tactically confused. It was a transfer centred around passion rather than desire. The triumphant homecoming of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona in the summer of 2011 concluded a protracted pursuit […]
Barca – Real: thinking of each other
” Both sides were playing without their most expensive signing of the summer – Luka Modric for Real, Alex Song for Barcelona. The precise role of each player is uncertain, but both are more naturally suited to the other side – Modric is a short passer that Barca would probably buy if they didn’t already […]
Trouble at the top – La Liga
“And so, after two weeks of La Liga, we have the usual scene. Barcelona and a team from Madrid at the top, only the latter are Rayo Vallecano, the team from the ‘hood who have won their two opening games and are threatening to be this season’s Levante. Their cult-hero striker Michu is now the […]
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