Barca 4-0 Racing Santander, or, Stepping Up

After a conspicuous loss that had the Madrid rags predicting Real's imminent dominance, Barca lit up the Camp Nou and put its mighty foot down.

Looking at the injury list ahead of this match, even the most experienced and skeptical viewer of La Liga might have believed, to an extent, the shouting Madridismo coming from the capitol about how Atletico has opened the almighty floodgates to allow Madrid's astronomically superior quality to shine through at last. After a soft hammering of a light defense against the other team in Madrid, the Racing match presented similarly unusual problems in the all-important Barca midfield. With Xavi out, surely Barca would be without its guiding rudder, and without Keita and Yaya, Racing would be able to run roughshod all over the sleek Camp Nou pitch, right?

Right?

Not this team. Some people will view this match, and see a world-class team against a side that had obviously given up before even entering their opponent's house--not me. I prefer to think that, with the raaaaaaare absence of Xavi Hernandez, the incessant nattering coming from Madrid, and the widespread doubts stemming from an ignominious defeat to a basket-case of an Atletico Madrid team, the boys put their heads together and said "heeelll naw."

It started with the brilliance of Pep Guardiola and his magesterial physical staff, that patched up Yaya in two steps of Messi's pace and rolled out a lineup that looked, well, full-strength: Valdes, Puyol, Marquez, Pique, Maxwell, Yaya, Busquets, Iniesta, Henry, Messi, Bojan. And I expected a start from Thiago or dos Santos.

Through the rest of the game, though, it was the individuals. They had no illusions what it would mean for Xavi to be out, and they also noticed that their big, expensive Swedish striker was out as a late-scratch. So it was a time to step up, for everyone. Marquez and Henry needed to prove that they're still world-class after a first half of a season that left people like me doubting. Maxwell needed to prove that we can survive a long absence for Abidal. Iniesta and Messi needed to prove that they are formidable even without Xavi. Bojan and Busquets needed to prove that they're worth a good-goddamn, and arguably both played out of position.

Guardiola said that the team was not at its best--I think they were inspired and energized enough to put four goals past a team that they should have beaten as badly as Atletico should have been. What's more, almost all of the players I have mentioned stepped up and proved exactly what they set out to prove, and some of them, emphatically so.

The game started out at a neck-breaking pace, as Barca invaded massive swaths of space in the midfield. Iniesta was Barca's fount of creativity, and set the tone by charging through the midfield on the ball and ripping great long passes that would be the trademark of his game. But it was really Marquez who stamped his name on the game first, however, as one of many wonderful, questioning balls over the defense found Racing's box. Two defenders had tracked Henry, and the ball bounced off one of their backs, and toward a lurking Iniesta. Iniesta pounced on the bouncing ball, jumping on it ninja-style to knock it into the goal with a deceptively-controlled piece of skill. At 1-0, Iniesta slid in front of the adoring Camp Nou crowd to celebrate his first goal since Chelsea 1-1 on that wonderful day.

Eight minutes gone, and two reputations have been cleared.

The game went on at the same pace, and Iniesta continued to dictate the order of things with a supreme performance. He did the simple passes and moves with "oomph", and spiced it up with the best long-passes and cross-fields, profound moments of dribbling and distributing skill, and several moments of midfield defense. Assisting him was Busquets, who created a new talking point for guys like me: is he a box-to-box midfielder instead of a defensive midfielder? With Yaya playing behind him, Busi became a totally different animal. His excellently-timed runs forward came precisely at the right moments for teammates to put a ball into the defense and ask questions, and came back to haunt Racing for 90 minutes. Wonderful positioning found him cutting out tons of wayward passes and touches in the midfield. His passes took on a whole new meaning, and in a few majestic moments, his play with the team took on a centrality that reminded me of where Xavi runs, what Xavi does. Frankly, it took all the dumb-looking, too-fancy moments of his play in the defensive role and threw them in a whole new light.

Indeed, moments in which Sergio Busquets was the central figure led to two fouls that became two free-kick goals. In the first, Busquets found the ball in the midfield, with a too-far-up defender right on him. He simply turned, and started to lumber toward the goal. Though he was tackled quickly, Messi was right there to sweep up and terrorize the scrambling defense. After causing some alarm, he laid it back to Iniesta, who of course caused more alarm. But he just laid it back to Yaya, who made a great little pass to none other than Busi, who ran right to the perfect place. All he does is one-touch it to Iniesta, whose touch is perfect, and he bursts through, only to lose the ball which lands...at Busi's feet. Now, Racing's defense is falling to pieces, and as Bojan takes the diagonal run inside, it's beginning to look like a brilliant Barca goal. But, it isn't to be: Busi puts a most-excellent touch past one defender, but succumbs to a foul.

But no problem. The much-maligned Thierry Henry, the one that never takes free kicks for Barca for I-don't-know-why, stepped up and side-footed it through the wall into the near-side, and Racing was finished within half-an-hour.

But still, the team carried on, to prove a point: We are the best team in the world, and certainly, Real Madrid is not. Only a few minutes later, Busi had his other moment of greatness. An awful clearance finds him in the box, with his back to goal and everyone surrounding him. He simply looks up thinking, "Where's Mr. Reliable," and pops a lofted ball to the feet of Iniesta that would be worthy of the man himself. Iniesta controls without a problem, and pops the ball up to a Racing player's hand. In a similar situation to the last set-piece, Marquez steps up and puts in an even better free-kick. 3-0, Racing is really finished, Marquez has a goal and an assist, Iniesta is part of all three goals, and Busi is central to two. Point proven, no?

The game turned into a practice session, where everyone had a chance to work on their chops. Bojan took the opportunity to express himself. Taking advantage of some defeated defenders with a number of fabulous, sprightly runs through defenses, he had an above-average game by his standards. My favorite moment was when he found a loose ball deep on the left, and, having spied Iniesta running against the sideline, attempted a cheeky flick with the outside of his right. Though it did not work, he picked it up, a la Messi, and went off to the races, with three players floundering in his wake, only to pass it to Messi to calm down play with Iniesta further up the field. He put in a few dangerous-looking crosses, as well.

But the man of the match was Iniesta, who really ruled the game and showed that he truly did not need Xavi to run the Barcelona engine. From juking every defender on the field, to finding himself always, always open, to placing dangerous balls beyond it, to drawing a foul every single time Racing had a hope of finally getting the ball off of him, Iniesta overshadowed everybody.

Even Messi had precious few opportunities to prove that he does not need Xavi (or Iniesta). Perhaps his knee really was bothering him, because there was not much to remember of his play, except for the goal he assisted. But that goal was all Thiago Alcantara's, who had come on for Yaya in the 76th minute. Within ten minutes, this young boy put himself on the scoresheet and, in the spirit of the game, proved that he will one day be a valuable part of this team. With great off-the-ball movement that he showcased often in his brief time on the field, he found the ball just outside the box, and lofted an inch-perfect pass to a running Messi. Messi does what he should always do perfectly, controlled, froze his man, cut the ball back, and gave it back to Thiago, who did well to find himself space. He controlled, hesitated, and blasted it in for a goal that made me smile for the rest of the day. It was a shame that Messi did not celebrate with a player that he may play with on a regular basis in the future, but he knew that it was not his day when it really should have been.

It should have been everyone's day against such underwhelming opposition, but it unfortunately was not, and that is exactly what Pep was talking about when he said the team was not at its best. Pique mixed good defense and passing with bad defense and passing in a very inconsistent game. Maxwell did well to show off some great footwork occasionally and defended well in general, but still looks too unaggressive, especially in the air, to show anyone why he should start ahead of Abidal. Yaya began the game playing like his immense, bear-man self, applying pressure in all the right places, displaying great passes and superb intelligence on the ball, but showed his rust as the game wore on with some uncharacteristically loose possession and passing (to his credit though, when he lost the ball, he often ran after his tackler like a bull and won it back). Speaking of rust, Henry's game was characterized by the squeaking of rusty touches, passes, and shots that tragically overbalanced the handful of brilliant, experienced moments in his game. Puyol did generally well, popping in with a number of tackles that seemingly came out of nowhere, but is clearly never going to be the attacking force we expect of a starting fullback. And Valdes, well, he had literally nothing to do--but his passes between Marquez and Pique caused not a few anxious moments that become increasingly worrying as one sees them under increasing pressure, game after game. Pedro and Jeffren also came on for Henry and Puyol, respectively, but they did little more than look young and energetic and, in Jeffren's case, like a winger rather than a fullback.

And so, Guardiola has a few of the finer points to work out with his team. But how many teams can play with only three or four players playing particularly well, still bang in four goals, and keep a clean sheet? Next is Stuttgart at their house, and we will probably play without Xavi, but the way this team is, and how Iniesta plays, I say: bring on the Champion's League, and let's get to doing the double.

Atletico 2-1 Barca, or, Inauspicious Circumstances

With two soft goals conceded, Barca loses its undefeated league season. May I be the first to propose that we retire the yellow shirts vs. Atletico? Last year's 4-3 loss in the same fixture, with the same shirts, had a very similar tenor--lots of good play, some good chances missed, nullified by some really poor play.

Perhaps the game was lost when the starting XI was announced--Valdes, Jeffren, Puyol, Milito, Maxwell, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Iniesta. I was quite excited, actually, as it was an opportunity for readers to see the testing of my Keita/Busquets double-pivot hypothesis. Alas, a very early injury to Keita put the kibosh on that, and forced Barca into a conventional and, maybe, more predictable formation. With the few early moments of pressure Busquets and Keita were putting on Atletico in tandem, the outlook was for a very interesting match discussion--but it was not to be.

Of course, that was not the crucial fact about the lineup, because the newly-signed and newly-numbered Jeffren Suarez came in at right fullback--and why? There were certainly rumors about this particular RB selection, with Jeffren's previous 45-minute outing vs. lowly Cultural Leonesa earlier in the season, but I was nonetheless baffled by this choice. After seeing a second- (third-?) division left-winger take Jeffren apart in that match-up, I thought Puyol would be the most logical choice, with either Muniesa or Fontas, both popular critically, coming in to patch things up in the middle. Even the fact that Marc Bartra was a natural RB, though I had never heard of him, made it sound like he would be a better choice. Combine this poor selection with the rather like-and-like pairing of Milito and Puyol, and we have a pretty vulnerable-looking defense. I still cannot quite figure this one out, unless I accept that Guardiola, just maybe, wanted to show off the young boy he chose to renew out of four very promising candidates in the cantera--and that, my friends, is poor management, something Pep Guardiola very seldom engages in.

A few early tackles from the young Venezuelan made for the most deceptive start to the game possible, because for the roughly an hour he spent on the pitch, Atletico tore him to shreds. Sure, there were some clearly-missed tackles, but it became clear that Atletico were allowed to simply victimize him by putting the winger and fullback, and sometimes also Forlan, to work in his area, which just made it unfair for somebody who, though aggressive, clearly has not been to a clinic on positioning. Playing from deep, he was constantly harassed on the ball, and limited to hopeful balls over the defense on offense. The game was completely bereft of overlapping runs on his side, which brought Messi much closer to the right sideline for most of the game. And what happens when Messi spends most of his time there? He turns into number-10-superhero, runs more, passes less, jukes more defenders, but ultimately loses the ball again and again. Though he was not directly responsible for any goal, Jeffren reduced the possession game significantly and put a ton of pressure on the likes of Puyol and Milito. And that is Pep Guardiola's fault.

That said, Barca really could have won this game, as a few fantastic individual displays in the first half gave me several reasons to hope. Pedro, on for Keita, looked very lively, with a barrel of confidence, growing positional discipline, pace, aggression, and some very decent crosses to boot that could have become assists. Feeding him was the best player in the world of the next three or four years, Andres Iniesta, who was simply awe-inspiring, so composed was he in everything he did. Awesome and effortless cross-field balls, especially to Pedro, his dances around defenders and through entire defenses, flawless passing, perfect timing of runs, loads of space found and created, and I-don't-know-how-many possible assists characterized an absolutely insane first-half by anyone's standards. He is clearly beginning to outshine his twin, Xavi, who came off injured (!) late in the game and played the most sub-par game in all my memory of him. What picked my head up most, however, was Ibrahimovic, who is "getting it" more and more with each game. His runs are being rewarded, he is beginning to impose his gigantic physique on defenders, his distribution is getting astronomically better, and he is finally getting the confidence to show off his consummate skill. He scored Barca's only goal, but with just slightly quicker reactions and a bit of luck, he could have had four. Last but not least, Sergio Busquets seems to also be coming into his own. Now that he is playing a simpler game with his passing and possession, he appears to have shaken off a lot of anxiety, and looks to be a much more composed and calm player, in the mold of Xabi Alonso (hopefully). His off-the-ball movement still leaves a lot to be desired--perhaps he is a bit "too" safe in his positioning as well, having learned the consequences of attempting passes and skills that are over his head--but the facts remain: he was always in the right place to tackle attackers in the middle, and his passing, though supportive and not too impressive, was 100%.

But a loss is a loss, and Barca sure deserved it. The first goal was one of the most deceptively soft goals you will ever see. Xavi makes an awful attempt at a cross-field ball--a very rare thing indeed--and Jose Antonio Reyes picks it up in his half, in the middle of the field, which is far from his preferred position to receive. But, he runs with it, right past Iniesta--who went to ground way too quickly--and right past Busquets--who simply mis-timed his tackle--before passing it through a gaping hole in the middle of the defense. Puyol makes it far too easy for Forlan to run past him, he and Milito probably could have done better to leave less space in between them, but the deed was done, and it was a fairly simple goal for a very good forward. I am not sure, even after several reviews, if Valdes got his hand to it or not, but I think it just might have been a bit save-able--still, it would be very harsh to blame him too much.

But that goal seemed to have racked his confidence significantly, because just a few minutes later, our keeper, who has done so well this season, outperforming his expectations in every single game, made an utter hash of Simao's free kick. That was a pretty simple save to make, and Valdes was in pole-position to pull it off, but at the last moment he moved out of position, only to scramble back too late and see the ball fly into the far-side--the keeper's side--of his goal.

However, Barca responded well to each of these goals. Iniesta and Pedro were the prime movers-and-shakers that nearly teed up Ibrahimovic twice between the goals conceded. Even before the goal, the team looked like scoring, as a great run and (rare) good pass from Messi, assisted by Iniesta, found Ibrahimovic, who inauspiciously fell over the ball and lost the chance. And, of course, within three minutes of going down two goals, we got one back, as a corner taken by Xavi was easily flicked on by Puyol to a completely unmarked Ibrahimovic, who sent his goal-drought back to hell with a Hammer-of-Thor strike into the roof of the net (Drogba 1-0 Arsenal, anyone?). In the end, none of it counted. Here's why:

-Poor possession. It is one thing to have a ton of possession and be unable to find the final ball or the finish, that has actually been quite common for teams like Barcelona in the past--here, Barca could create chances at will for most of the game, but did not have the overwhelming possession they are used to having. There were too many giveaways all over the field, and by the end of the game, one got the sense that Atletico had seen way, way too much of the ball. Milito was a culprit, with several long-pass attempts that, I do not think, once made it to their target. Pedro and Maxwell each had more than a few moments in which they lost the ball a bit cheaply. Messi, in doing his thang, was making a lot more poor passes than good passes, and, of course, was getting caught in possession. But mainly, it was my hero, Xavi Hernandez, Barca's engine. His off-the-ball movement in Atletico's half was definitely below his sterling standard, and with Iniesta doing that bit quite well, Xavi had very little to do with the attack, and so Iniesta was only about half as devastating as he should be. Most uncharacteristic, though, was his very poor passing, which could have been the worst on the team--very, very strange for one of the best passers in the world. His long balls and cross-field balls were all over the place. His little flicks and drags were not finding their target. He made an effective back-passer, and possessed the ball fairly well, but the few balls forward seemed ill-advised in retrospect, as that player often found himself in immediate trouble (watch again, trust me). It makes sense that he came off with an injury--a very rare injury--because by his standards, he played with one leg. Almost as if they were real twins, Xavi's ineffectiveness seemed to rub off on Iniesta, as his passing became very loose in the second half.

-Poor defense. I have harped on Jeffren enough--needless to say, he should never have been on the pitch. Puyol, though brave, can be blamed for both goals conceded, as he not only allowed Forlan to run past him for the first, but he gave away the foul that led to the second. I have cited Milito's poor passing, but most striking was a lot of seeming discomfort with a new partner on either side. Maxwell looked very adequate, but too un-aggressive at times, holding off an attacker and giving away too much space, and of course, that moment when he turned a good-looking attack into a counter-attack starting in our half, when his attempt to keep the ball in resulted in Atletico with the ball as he stood behind the play. However, the whole tracking-back scheme that makes Barca look so dominant was very inconsistent at Atletico. Perhaps Messi did not have much of a chance to track back, as the right often disintegrated fairly quickly, but the whole rest of the team (except, perhaps, for Busquets, though you could argue that he did not go forward enough to "track back") had defensive moments that were few and far-between. This only added to the discomfort of the likes of Milito. As for Valdes, well, he came down from such a height.

Because ESPN blacked out the game from about the 65th minute, I cannot say anything about Bartra, who was apparently very good, and Bojan, or the performances of all the players toward the end, so take this all with a grain of salt.

Next is Racing at home, and though we will have the suspended Pique and Marquez back, as well as one or two of the injured defenders, the injury woes--such a rare circumstance for Barcelona lately--have transmitted to the midfield. Our 90-minutes-every-single-game engine, Xavi Hernandez, will definitely miss Racing and the Champion's League first-leg vs. Stuttgart, and Keita will be out for about a month. The Racing match will certainly be a huge day for many players. Iniesta, as Xavi's heir-apparent, will be trying to prove that he can play his twin's game. As a midfield-team with a mostly-hurt midfield, our forwards will be trying to stake a claim of importance. Messi needs to prove that he's not just the superstar with all the highlights, but that he is also as important as Xavi to the team. Henry, who has not featured lately, and hopefully is not hurt (or Ronaldinho-07-08-hurt), has a chance to prove that he is still Titi Henry with a long-overdue goal or two. And for one lucky young midfielder, perhaps Thiago Alcantara or Jonathan dos Santos, this will be an opportunity to stake a claim to a contract extension and a future with FC Barcelona.

Hopefully, I will have the post up before the day of the next match. Until then...

Why Keita's Rise Could Mean Yaya's and Henry's Fall, and, The Defensive Quandary Against Atletico

Once upon a time, this man was a hot property. He made his name at Lorient at the beginning of the decade, and became one of the most-wanted players in France. He moved to Lens and became their captain, scoring 19 goals in 156 Ligue 1 appearances, wearing the #10 shirt. In 2007, Sevilla moved west to Spain and helped (along with one Dani Alves) Sevilla become a Champion's League side, forming half of the most-feared center-midfield in the land. He turned out to be one of the best players to ever come out of his home country, Mali.

Last year, he came to Barcelona as Pep Guardiola's first signing and...sat on the bench. None of us thought too much of him, as his underwhelming performances showed little in the way of anything useful. With Yaya, Xavi, and Iniesta already on the roster, he seemed to many, including myself, to be something of a mismatch. He chased after the play, made a few passes, scored an occasional goal, but looked like nothing more than a squad player.

Boy, was I wrong. This season has seen the emergence of Barcelona's #15, the Real Seydou Keita. This man may be one of the most well-rounded players on the team. He is big and physical, able to make a ton of great stops, with a great defensive awareness. At the same time, he is deceptively fast, very good at popping up at the right moments to link the midfield to the attack, can make very good supporting passes, and can crash the box, loving to score goals, whether by getting his head on the end of crosses, or by rifling shots from around the box.

Some people may be laughing about this last one, pointing to his misses against Getafe and saying it was a so-so game from him overall, but I disagree. Misses aside, with eleven men, Keita was a tremendous part of the attack. He made Xavi and Iniesta look better with run-after-supporting-run, crashed the box to give our engine-room Spaniards more room to work, all while busting his gut to track back and forth to provide defensive cover. This man was a box-to-box threat, making everyone around him look a little better. His job got even more thankless after Pique went off, even though he showed off his greatest asset until the end: his versatility. Play on the left wing? No problem. Misses or no misses, this man was brilliant.

And as the times change, some facts are growing more apparent. First, Guardiola brought this particular player into the team as his first signing to become a regular first-teamer, and an essential part of the midfield. Second, Guardiola did this to replace two players he did not sign: Thierry Henry and Toure Yaya.

This hypothesis pains me, really, because these are two of my favorite players IN THE WORLD, not only for Barcelona. Henry's were some of the first soccer highlights I ever saw, and perhaps the primary reason I follow both Barcelona and Arsenal as a fan. Though I never saw him in his prime, I fell in love with his class. Yaya, meanwhile, may be the most underrated player I know. He was so valuable to the team last year that it was flabbergasting how few times I heard his name. Even more bewildering--and somewhat hurtful--is the fact that he has so fewer appearances this season. Less surprising, but still painful, is the increasing absence of Thierry Henry from the lineup.

But facts are facts: both players are seemingly being phased out, and I believe this is all according to Pep's plans. Henry and Yaya will leave in exchange for a nice transfer fee, and primarily it will be Keita to take their place. The lineup of the near future is: Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Keita, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Iniesta.

Let's look at the individual attributes and roles in the team. Henry, after playing a pivotal role as goal-scorer, winger, and forward last season, has essentially played as a pure winger rather than any kind of a striker this season, a "defensive forward" whose value to the team is more in the tracking back than in the creating chances. Keita, sighted more and more on the left than in the middle, can do the defensive job, while occasionally coming forward to score goals. Interesting stat: last year, Henry scored 19 league goals. In his best year with Lens, Keita, as a DM, scored...you guessed it...19 league goals. But mainly, he will allow Iniesta to go forward and learn to score goals, as he (mark my word) emerges as the best midfielder in the world. Let's face it: Henry is not getting any younger, and very well may be retiring soon, given his complaints about playing in pain most games. It's sad to see, really, but it is a quite creative way to replace Monsieur Titi on Pep's part.

Yaya, meanwhile, has also played the role of versatility. Huge and intimidating without being the most physical player, Yaya has played as a center-half and defensive-midfielder in his tenure with Barcelona, but before he came, he was an attacking midfielder in France, and continues to play that role for the Ivory Coast. Being as big as he is and playing in the position he plays in, his top-class passing ability and intelligence with regards to what to do with the ball and where to be on the field is often underrated. He may be one of the calmest presences I've ever seen on the pitch. This year, however, he has also been phased out by a combination of Keita and Busquets. Pep's plan, it seems, is to replace Yaya's physicality and positioning with Keita's. The still-young Busquets, occupying Yaya's DM role, is apparently being trained by Pep to become a better passer and more intelligent playmaker. Thus, in tandem, the two could form quite a mighty double-pivot that would more-than replace Yaya, who at least I will still miss.

It seems strange to occupy two roster spots with one very good player, especially when that player's replacing two other very good players in very different positions. It sounds so crazy, it just might work. What's more, the pay-off of allowing Iniesta and Xavi to stay at the front-end of the field more often is just scary. Teams will have to roll out five defenders, or two goalkeepers, or something. Once Iniesta starts scoring goals--once IBRAHIMOVIC starts scoring goals--knowing they're safe at the back, the floodgates might never close.

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The team could use a good defensive double-pivot right now, because this week has seen more injuries than at any time, perhaps, in two years--and they're all in the defense. Alves continues to be out, but added to that list is Txigrinskiy, who is definitely out for this match but might be back for the next, and Abidal, who, out for two months, becomes a potentially very-consequential injury-blow, especially ahead of the Champion's League Round of 16. What's worse, Marquez and Pique, having been sent off against Getafe, are of course suspended, and Puyol and Iniesta are both feared to have knocks that *might* keep them out against Atletico.

This could put an end to our great defensive record, if not to our unbeaten record in La Liga. At least in terms of the next match, the Puyol and Iniesta blows could be the worst. Without our defensive captain, the defense will be counting on stellar performances from Gaby Milito--the man formerly known as "no-knees"--and a canterano. Without Iniesta, only Xavi and the maybe-good, maybe-not (at this point) Busquets will be shielding our defense from an onslaught from Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan.

So Pep is calling in the canteranos. The buzz-names are Marc Muniesa and Dalmau--I don't know his first name...that cannot be good. Muniesa is tipped as the future Puyol, though in the only appearance with the first team I can remember, he earned a red card against Osasuna (?). Admittedly, it was a good performance off-the-bench until then. Dalmau, I know nothing about, but at least he is a natural right back, so at least if he plays, he will not do so out of position. Some rumors are surrounding a second appearance for a recently-resigned and first-team-numbered Jeffren (#20) at right-fullback, but his first appearance was against Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey, and it was only 45 minutes before Guardiola admitted that he was asking for a right-raping down that side. I will be praying for Puyol to play, which he might. I don't know if I'd rather see him on the right or in the middle, but thank God he can play both.

On the bright side, Maxwell and Milito, though they still have some question marks around them, are coming off good performances. It may be a good chance to see the Keita-Busquets double pivot in action, and the future for that, to me, looks bright. If Muniesa plays, he might play well and live up to the very, very high expectations that hardcore canterano-enthusiasts have of him. And, of course, we have Xavi, Messi, and Ibrahimovic almost definitely playing. Add Henry to that mix and that's one dangerous offense. Atletico games are always one of the great match-ups in La Liga, always unpredictable, and it should be a great watch, especially since Atletico is a basket-case club at the moment. Who knows, it could be a thrashing in our favor. On the other hand, it could be a Kun Aguero hat-trick.

Barcelona 2-1 Getafe, or, Style and Discipline

How does one describe this match? I would begin by saying that it was curious. The result for this match was one of those results that does not even come close to describing the game. It was one of those rare matches in which Barca saw red, made even rarer by the fact that not one, but two Barca players saw red. The starting lineup was unusual for a few reasons, as were the tactics that, even before we went down to ten men, indicated a visible change from the usual 433 with wide wing-forwards.

But most curious is that despite all this, Barcelona absolutely dominated this game, and Getafe never even came close to taking any points. The boys lost two men by the end of the game against a team renowned for taking advantage of weakened teams, but still created the best chances and absolutely shut the door on anything Getafe developed. The second-string left fullback was playing on the right, while the captain was suspended, and a man playing only his second or third game after more than 18 months on the treatment table. They lost the stronger center-defender in the first half, and so the defensive midfielder moved into his place, while the other more defensive-minded midfielder moved....to the left wing. All this, and the players were playing into an unfamiliar system that has been evolving over the last several weeks and is now becoming more clear. And with all this unsettlement of personnel and tactical confusion, almost everybody played superbly. The game may have ended with Barca down to nine men and only one goal up, but it could have ended with a clean sheet and four or five in the back of Getafe's net.

Now, I am not a fan of selecting a "man of the match", and I do not want to set a precedent for future posts on this blog. In particular, I think it is poor to choose one man that purportedly shined head-and-shoulders above the rest and made "the" difference to describe matches such as this, when half the team could deserve such an honor. But in this case, it is clear that one man made "that" difference: Pep Guardiola.

The manager was quick to shower praise on his team after the match for playing one of the best matches he's seen him play, and they deserve every bit of it--but everything about this match takes a qualitative nosedive without the tactical brilliance of Pep, and the workman-like discipline that he instilled in his players.

Pep's domination of this game began with the lineup. A number of personnel complications confronted him in choosing this lineup. Puyol was suspended, Busquets was just recovering from a bruised kidney, and just before the match, a perhaps-less-than-fit Alves went down with what was probably an aggravation of a previous injury in the warm-up (perhaps the first mistake this wonderful physical staff has made in two years). Pep made some bold changes.

When I looked at the full lineup--Valdes, Maxwell, Pique, Milito, Abidal, Yaya, Xavi, Keita, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Iniesta--I thought I knew the rationale. Unpredictable, somewhat makeshift defense; more physical midfield. Yaya popped back into the lineup to provide stability, calm, and extra physicality, and Keita could make his usual great stops just ahead of Milito, where we might need it most. That said, one had to ask--why Milito? Why not Txigrinskiy, a tested option, instead of a man who is just back from a year-and-a-half of injury? How would Maxwell, a natural left-fullback, work out on the right? How much is Guardiola rolling the dice?

As it turned out, we needn't have worried about our "makeshift" defense, because the whole team came out and showed its class. With eleven men, the team was an unstoppable unit. Xavi and Iniesta were at their very best at the heart of the midfield, pulling strings and distributing to the open man, wherever he was on the field. Iniesta, who was especially on fire, cross-field balls were particularly superb. Whenever they needed a valve, the likes of Yaya, Keita, and Abidal were there. While Abidal and Yaya played more like "devolvers," setting up as safety outlets and forcing Getafe to come back into our half for a moment before allowing Xavi and Iniesta to run rampage once again, Keita played like a cutting knife--almost always unmarked on the left and ready to pass forward before crashing the box. For me, this was a crucial part of the possession game that Getafe did not have an answer for.

What made the team that much more unplayable was the fact that Messi was having one of his best games all year. This was patient Messi, Messi the team-player. When his man was on him, Messi would receive the ball, and pass it right back. When left with just a teensy bit more space, Messi punished Getafe. He passed more, and shot less--but all his shots could have been goals, something you can't say about his typical game of late. And what a golazo! Xavi, after having earned a corner from a rather unusual long-shot deflected wide, crosses the ball into the box and finds Yaya. I missed this guy's physical presence so, so much all January when he was in Africa. Though his header is rather wayward, he latches right back onto it, practically unchallenged, and lays it off for Messi, running along the outside the box. As if he was taking a free-kick, he whacks it with the side of his left foot, and the ball curls around three Getafe players--at least three, and not counting Barca teammates--before whizzing in at the bottom of the near-side of the goal. Class, class, class.

And Getafe never really recovered, because Barca continued to dominate. The defense, when called on, proved that the likes of Milito and Maxwell are world-class players, if there was any doubt. Maxwell played his best game in the colors, out of position, while Milito came back with a fiery vengeance. Milito's pairing with Pique was well-chosen by the manager, because the two complement one another. Pique, Marquez, and Txigrinskiy all fit the mold of the long-passing, tall, positionally-sound "rock", while Puyol and Milito are smaller (well, a little), faster, more adventurous, and both have suave, long-and-curly hair. Thus, there was a great balance to the center of the defense, and Milito made quite the leader. Maxwell played like the player I was looking forward to, watching the highlights of him at Inter and Ajax and seeing an attacking flare-player of a fullback. Though defensively he left a bit more space for wingers than I would like (then again, does Dani Alves not do that every time he comes onto the field), with the ball at his feet he could beat his man, cross the ball, pick out tight passes, and make intelligent runs. See his play of the game--Maxwell intercepts the ball somewhat centrally and, in the same motion, sprints off on a counter-attack. He gives it to Messi, who cuts further infield, and continues his run. When Messi gives it back, Maxwell stylishly back-heels the ball into space, which Messi occupies and passes the ball to Ibrahimovic. Ibra's return pass is inch-perfect inside the box--one of his only throughout the match, unfortunately, as he was rather poor for me--and Messi right-foots it to the far post, thinking he has the keeper moving to the near, but the goal is saved, I believe, with the keeper's right foot. It would've been the best goal of the year, but it was not to be. That said, unlike Dani Alves, Maxwell definitely does not track back as quickly when caught out--luckily, Messi was playing an inspired defensive game, with an enormous amount of take-backs for a forward.

So, just about everyone was playing well, but that was not why we dominated the game, and not why Pep Guardiola is man of the match. I have never, ever seen an entire team track back in defense as quickly and cohesively as Barca did in this game. It was clear when the team was playing full-strength, and became even more mightily impressive when they went a man-down. Because soon enough, the most off-key play from our most off-key players occurred. After one of the few scrambles around our box came under control, the ball came to Ibra, and he made a disastrous back-pass, back into his own box. Yaya was the nearest player, but was not quite prepared for it, and missed the ball. Eventually the shuffle centered around Pique, who through a forest of legs tried to control the ball, but in the end made about as rash a slide-tackle as you will see in La Liga, and earned himself a red. It was not a bad match from him at all, but a few poor passes--about as much as he had to do through his about 25 minutes on the field--combined with that tackle to put this individual performance into the "forgettable" bin.

Pep responded with an inspired move--he made no substitutions at all. This brings me to a subtle tactical change that Pep has instituted in recent games, and is just starting to become clear, a change that will strongly effect the future of the team's play and its personnel. Game by game, the team is seemingly moving away from the traditional 433 and toward a more-unorthodox 433 that resembles a scrambled 442. In this, the wing-forwards occupy a slightly different role. Iniesta plays deeper and more centrally, almost alongside Xavi, with Yaya slightly behind, though he still has freedom to go forward. Keita, in his stead, drifts further wide and gains a larger attacking role. It looks like our regular starting lineup, in that Xavi and Iniesta are paired in the midfield, but Keita's presence makes it ostensibly a four-man midfield that overwhelmed Getafe, as if the three-man midfield of Xavi, Iniesta, and Yaya was not overwhelming enough. Meanwhile, Messi alternates between playing close to the right wing and dropping centrally as a link between the midfield and Ibrahimovic. When reduced to ten men, Yaya took Pique's place at the back, and the team resembled a 442 (well, 441) even more--Messi stayed closer to the right, slightly advanced, and Keita became essentially a left-winger.

So how did it play out? Through the rest of the first half, Getafe stretched the field wide-left and wide-right as the boys struggled to adjust. This was effective in that Barca lost ground in the possession stats, but Getafe could not break through. Why? The five men ahead of the defenders started to play a super-human game in defense. The team never got caught on breaks, and when they did, everyone tracked back faster than Getafe could advance. Messi could be found in a full-sprint chasing down attackers, while Keita added some mighty steel, and Iniesta and Xavi did an excellent job of occupying space and blocking passes. And none of these guys are defenders--though Abidal played a rather poorer match overall than usual with some uncharacteristically loose short passes (mind you, his standard is very high, having been the best defender of the season, in my opinion), his chasing-down of attackers and last-ditch tackles were as superb as always, and Milito played a stellar match, looking like the smart and effective veteran defender he really is.

In the second half, it got so that it looked like eleven men, and the boys began to even out the possession and, really, become the more dangerous side, because of two important substitutions that could not have been better-timed. First, Busquets came on for Ibrahimovic. Now, Ibrahimovic, for me, was very poor. All I saw was poor passing, and a glorious one-on-one chance that he missed. I was very surprised, however, to hear that Guardiola called him "scandalously good", and that many other watchers thought he was excellent as well. So I watched again and I saw...a ton of poor passes and a poorly missed one-on-one chance. I paid more attention to his running, how sometimes he opened up space for the midfield, how he tracked back on defense (though not too as great effect as most of his teammates), trying to figure out other subtle intangibles of his game, but I can't bring myself to change my mind. If I had to pick the poorest player on the field, it would have to be Ibrahimovic. His departure made an enormous difference. Busquets came on and, like Maxwell, delivered one of his best performances ever. He never surrendered possession through bad passes or getting caught on the ball--as is his wont--and whenever Getafe had the ball in the midfield, he was right in front of the attacker. See the play when he squared up against Boateng. Busquets was right in his face as soon as he got the ball, turning him one way, then the other, then back around again, before forcing him to dish the ball off back to his defense--that play became a turnover, right around where Busquets made that initial pressure.

More importantly, that sub, in one stroke, fine-tuned the tactics. Keita became a solid left-winger. Xavi and Iniesta were separated, in a sense--Xavi was pushed forward, while Iniesta became the heart-of-the-team that Xavi usually plays as. And dare I say two things: first, that Xavi and Iniesta played better in the second half despite the man-disadvantage, but second, that Iniesta is starting--just starting--to overshadow his counterpart. I just thought of the cross-field balls Iniesta was always making--the kind Xavi made (was told to make?) last year. While Iniesta became a one-man show in the midfield, stylishly beating players, tricking his way around them, turning them, and dishing the ball off when he attracted them, and deservedly earning a round of applause when subbed off for Pedro as a time-waster, Xavi became a special reserve and the world's best supporting actor. He had fewer touches of the ball further forward, his touches were brilliant. The key change with Ibra off was that Messi took his place leading the line. The man was superb, and looked his best in this period.

The second change was Yaya for Marquez. Yaya, in his first game back after the African Cup of Nations, played a rather average match that showed some rust. His positional awareness and calm on and off the ball was unmatched as usual, but his execution was off at times, as he fouled one-too-many players, passed waywardly here and there, and in general wasn't quite as controlling. See the play when Iniesta passed to him in the first half, but he missed the ball, having to chase down a Getafe player before earning it back. It was a poor play to begin with, but the way he ended it--rumbling after his man and fighting him off the ball--was Yaya as I know and love him. Some good, some bad for him. Marquez, however, seems to be playing himself into quite a bit of form: he made some great stops, and a few great passes, including the pass that began the second goal. Xavi received that one in the center-circle, in a two-on-four situation. Luckily, the other one of the Barcelona "two" was one Lionel Messi. Messi received on the right and went off to the races, dragging the left-back central, while Xavi ran a cross-route with his teammate to the right. All four Getafe defenders were guilty of following Messi--knowing he would shoot, as is his reputation--but instead, Messi did the right thing and dished it to Xavi, who stayed onside and rocketed the ball into the goal.

The best chances came in the second half, and they all could have been goals had there been a better finish. In one of Ibra's best moments, he crossed the ball for what could have been a Xavi goal. Messi orchestrated two chances with fabulous runs from the right. In one, he passed it to Xavi, but I thought he passed it to Iniesta, so brilliant was Xavi's drag-back to his twin (I literally had to watch it a second time). Iniesta passed it to a sprinting Keita, who did the hard part by cutting it back, but committed perhaps the worst miss I'd ever seen, when he could have finished far-side or dished it to a sprinting Messi at point-blank range. Soon afterward, his pass entered glorious space in the box that Iniesta and Keita had a "no, you" moment about, and Keita rushed the chance for a more-forgiveable miss. Iniesta made a brilliant run from the middle of the field, dribbling past everyone, for a bad miss directly outside the box (he could have dished it to an open-and-sprinting Abidal). Getafe, meanwhile, created nothing. Why? Because all the while, Barca players were sprinting back and fighting the ball off of them. No Barca defender was left in danger, and no Getafe attacker was left unharried--such is Pep Guardiola's prowess as the best manager in the world. And when he needed to, Valdes, "the Wombat," the unsung hero that I, unfortunately, write so little about, made two or three fine saves.

Why even talk about the penalty? It was a clear penalty, for me, and a clear red card that ruined Marquez' otherwise excellent match. It skewed the face of the match. Again, this could have been a trouncing in result as well as in run-of-play. I will settle for the run-of-play trouncing, because I know that when Ibra integrates himself into the lineup better, and when the team adjusts totally to the new tactics, those chances won't be left missed.

Please let me know what you all thought of the match. I have realized, in writing, the error of my writing--I write too long. I assure you that I will work on this--I am new to blogging--but in any case I hope you all found this insightful.

The next victim is Atletico Madrid.

Hello and Welcome, or, My Mission Statement

Is this thing on?

I suppose it is, but then again it isn't an issue of whether it's on or not, but whether anyone is seeing it. You know what they say about the tree falling in the woods...But this is not a place for hopelessness or cynicism, this is a blog dedicated to the mighty FC Barcelona. My name is Alex. I am a relative newcomer to soccer, having been a close viewer for just over two years (that is, I am American). I am graduating from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor's degree in History (Political Science minor) this year, which means, of course, that I am scrambling from career counselor to career counselor considering how to get a job in the too-near future. One consultant recommended that if I would like to become a journalist (one of several options, none of which by any means are slam-dunks), then given my reputation for writing, I would "make an excellent candidate for starting a blog"--her exact words.

So here I am, no longer cluttering up other Barcelona blogs with lengthy comments, striking out on my own with a blog to point potential employers to. My aim is to create a blog that focuses on the play of the team, rather than the news and gossip that fills up the weekdays in between games. Here I will break down my view of every game, analyzing individual performances, team tactics, successes and failures, explaining why we lost and exploding when we won. And so, it is my pleasure to begin by writing about an exceptional performance from the world's greatest more-than-a-club...in the next post.

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But first, let me begin by saying how proud I am to be a fan of FC Barcelona, and how lucky I feel. When I began watching the beautiful game, I was attracted to Ronaldinho--in his final year with mes-que-un-club. That year, the then-world's best and most popular player rarely appeared, a situation that perfectly illustrated the situation. The team was knocked out of the Copa del Rey after a shock 4-0 loss to Getafe after going up three goals at home, pummeled by Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, and, after giving their best display of the year against Manchester United only to garner a 0-0 draw, gave up an early goal at Old Trafford and fizzled out of the Champion's League semi-final. Frank Rijkaard, who had given the club two great years under the majesty of players like Ronaldinho and Deco, left the team under an ignominious cloud of shame, having apparently "lost the dressing room". Suspensions, mediocre defense, injuries to star players characterized the season. The President, Joan Laporta (but you kow that), had a vote-of-no-confidence that he only marginally won. It was a bad year to begin following a team, especially when Rijkaard's replacement turned out to be an ex-player who, though loved by the club faithful, had never coached a first-team before.

I watched every game of last season--every one, every minute. After the first five or six weeks of the season, I began to feel an expectation creep into me. The pinache, the style, the sheer efficiency that the team was playing with gave me a quiet assurance: my team was destined for great things. Barca was hammering teams, scoring three, four, five, six goals per game. At the other end, they were conceding two, one, or zero goals. And in the middle, they were keeping the ball like it was a practice session. Teams couldn't score, they never had the ball...Barca did all the scoring. The ball was constantly in the opposition's box, and players were scoring for ridiculous fun. They played a complete game, the way soccer was meant to be played--and, they made me fall in love with the game as a newcomer. The way they attacked was unparalleled--easy passes, hard passes, creativity, movement, even the occasional individualism--they played profoundly. On the other end--and I came to appreciate this later on--everyone was tracking back, disciplined, taking back and keeping the ball with grit and endless energy. Week-in, week-out.

I could go on for hours, detailing games I will never forget. 2-3 Osasuna. 5-0 Deportivo. 1-6 Sporting Gijon. 1-6 Atletico Madrid. 2-6 Real Madrid. 2-2 Real Betis. 4-0 Lyon. 1-1 Chelsea. 2-0 Manchester United. I am not looking up the results...these are the ones I remember. When someone reminds me, I remember other vintage performances. Toward the end of the year, a commentator watching the game compared them to the best Brazil team from the 1970s--a team I have never seen, except in highlights. Of course, they went on to win six trophies, every competition possible, for the first time ever, by any team.

Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal, Yaya Toure, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Henry, Eto'o--that lineup will forever remain burned into my mind, as well as the rest--Pinto, Sylvinho, Marquez, Caceres, Sergio Busquets, Keita, Pedro, Bojan, Gudjohnsen, Hleb (ahem, last and least, but he was there). Perhaps the best team I will ever see, and I was blessed enough to see its journey from start to finish.

Of course, FC Barcelona, at the moment, is still the best team in the world, and I hope what I document from this point onward is not its precipitous decline (though statistically, it must be), but its plateau as the best team in the world. Mes que un club.

My first match post, on Getafe, Feb. 6, 2010, next...