Almeria 2-2 Barca, or, Did I say "Thrash Almeria?"

An unexpected los...er, I mean, draw...this week has brought an interesting question to the fore: Are Barca a good, verging on great, team at home, but a mediocre team away? One needs to look no further than this wonderful blog to see that while Barca are capable of turning out some stunning performances within its fortress, they struggle to produce the same quality outside in the unadoring cold of the road.

Some will say that the Camp Nou pitch is so good, that all other pitches in the world destroy Barca's flow with all the long grass and holes every other square-foot. Whatever. If you ask me, this game came down to a bit of exhaustion, a bit of jadedness, and you know what, a bit of curious coaching decisions.

I am as big a supporter of Pep Guardiola as you will find, and as recent posts will indicate, I am not at all against the direction he seems to be taking the team into, tactically and when it comes to personnel. But in this match, Barca looked on the ropes for a long, long time, looking sluggish as a team and, for the most part, individually. The team went down once, ground out a fairly lucky equalizer (not the first one lately, either), then went down again, still looking slow and relatively tame.

Note the lineup: Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Milito, Maxwell, Yaya, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, and Ibrahimovic. That is just a suspension, an injury, and an I-don't-know-what's-up-with-Henry away from last year's tour-de-force. Yet, Guardiola tried--and commendably, at first--to try his new tactics with Yaya instead of Busquets. It was not quite working.

Did it really have to take a sending-off to pull Iniesta back into the midfield and have the team play the way they knew? With Yaya, last year's rock of the midfield trio, in the squad, why play the 433-cum-424/4231 experiment that Busquets is central to? At half-time, with the grip on the game tenuous at best, could Pep have not said, "Right, decent showing of the new tactics--now let's do the Xavi-Iniesta-Yaya thing, move the damn ball around, and put Almeria in their place"?

It was not all the manager, though, who should have known better than to get sent off with his team down. It was most of last year's legends whose performances factored into the draw. No analysis of important Barca players in a game should begin with anyone else but Xavi Hernandez, who just was not the engine that the team needs him to be. He looked to be lacking barrels of mental sharpness--his passes were inconsistent, and his movement did not involve himself enough and allow him to take a hold of the game. Gone, for the most part, were the one-touch passes that kept the ball moving, as almost every one of his passes seemed to take moment after agonizing moment to consider and execute, successful or not. Did having only one midfield partner, and one that tends to stay behind the attack, give him more to think about than usual? Probably. But most of all, he played lethargically, without urgency, without the usual conviction.

His slowness set the tone for the team, as the story of the first half was possession at the back. Xavi had his good moments, everyone had their good moments--but somewhere along the line, someone scuffed off a poor pass or lost the ball cheaply somewhere in the field. Xavi's hesitancy led to hesitancy all over the field, and the ball never really got moving. Sometimes the team moved the ball quickly from right to left, from left to right; other times, they dribbled and turned, made a back-pass, or lost the ball one way or another. Defensively, the whole team did not track back as one far too often. Fingers will point to Alves for giving Puyol more work than he needed, but when that happened, and when Puyol got beaten, where were the midfielders on too many occasions? Inconsistency and slow speed of play marked a very uninspired game.

Like Xavi, almost everyone who showed last year that they could, did not. For some players, it was also partly because of tactics. Iniesta, playing as a left-forward for most of the game, looked uninspired. In that position, his currency is the ability to dribble his way out of tight situations, and in most games he produces some magic a few times against the sideline, but he could not in this game. As long as he depends on his dribbling in the final third, as long as his final balls are not-quite-there, as long as he does not score goals or even take shots most of the time, he will not be very good in that role.

Other players will not find their excuses in tactics. Between tracking back too late, too often, getting caught out of position, as well as with trademarked-loose distribution, trademarked-inaccurate crosses, and one trademarked-exaggeration on the floor, Alves showed off a lot of what we hate him for with precious little of what we love him for. Loads of involvement and flash in his game was more than counter-balanced by the wastefulness that Barca fans hate to call predictable. Perhaps he is playing his way back from injury--I hope that is the case.

Yaya was also a bit off-color. Though his passing was generally sound and his possession generally smart, last year's defensive proficiencies were as lacking as they were in the Stuttgart game. Very inconsistent was his positioning, as he was just reaching balls too late, having to make most of his tackles in the places you would not expect--anywhere but the middle of the field in front of the defense. More noticeable was his ineffectiveness in imposing himself. For such a historically intimidating player, if not technically excellent in his tackles and interceptions (though often he is this), to see him lose so many physical battles in the air was baffling. People seem to be pointing to Puyol for the 12th-minute goal concession, and with reason--but that goal began with Yaya holding onto his man, looking to be on him, but allowing him to escape and get his head to the ball. Perhaps he is shaking off some rust--I hope that is the case, if he remains with the team. I would hate to see him go.

The other concession effectively started with Yaya as well. Sure, Maxwell gave away the ball cheaply upfield, but then Almeria moved right through the middle, as Yaya ran alongside the play. Also like the opener, it ended, obviously, with Puyol at the scene of the crime with blood all over his hands, but this time, it was for real. An own goal is not something you see often from El Capitan, but it happened, and it symbolized another sluggish, inconsistent, and, well, slow performance from another of the team's staples. Did Valdes call him off? Should he have done so louder if he did? Was Puyol listening? We will never know. What we do know is that if it was not for that practically once-in-a-lifetime mistake, Barca would have scrapped out a narrow and only arguably deserved win.

Was it really any surprise that our best performers were the relative newbies, the ones that did not partake in last year's spotlight? Milito played arguably the best game in the defense, with superb reading of Almeria's passes in the final third, several well-executed tackles that came from that reading, and flashes of Beckenbaur-esque forays and passes forward. His cross-field- and long passes were not that bad, either. Busquets, when he came on for Yaya for the last 20 minutes of the game, really showed his form by playing a near perfect game off the bench, picking off loose balls, pressuring every player that came into his zone and running them straight into one of our defenders, and passing 100%, including one Xavi-esque cross-field ball.

Pedro, though playing a supporting role throughout the game, did not put one foot wrong if I remember. His passes, when they were not adequate to keep the attack moving, were excellent to put the ball in a wholly unexpected place. Especially after the team went a man down and he was allowed to play more strictly in the left-forward position, he showed flashes of playing it exactly as Henry did last season. I mentioned in the last post that one of his criticisms is his inexperience that is reflected in hesitancy in final-delivery situations on the wing. Against Almeria, when he received the ball at just the right time, he had no trouble in beating his man and racing to the touchline to put the knife in. Once, he opted to pass the ball back to Xavi, when Alves was wide-open in the middle. Another time, he delivered a dangerous one to the far-post, which came back through an Almeria header for Messi's second goal. With a bit more confidence--as if he does not have a ton already--he gets a couple of assists.

The exception to the rule, of course, was Messi, who really had an exceptional individual game. Almeria could not deal with his heroic runs, and, unlike most teams, could not deal with his foolish runs most of the time, either. They were also terrorized by tiny, chipped flicks of the ball to nearby teammates that Messi cheekily pulled off again, and again, and again. His passes were right-on, too, as he would consistently hold the ball just enough to draw two or three players, before giving to someone like Pedro, through whom he could have had one obvious assist. He looked so threatening throughout the game, and really deserved both goals of the type--cool, but just a tad lucky. If Ibrahimovic played half as well as Messi did, Barca would have put this game to bed quickly through sheer class at the front. Unfortunately, the big man kept bundling over his defender whenever the ball came near him, and finally the poor guy had enough of it and exaggerated some contact, which got Ibra sent off--and that is all I will say about him.

But, again, Barca only came near their full potential after he was sent off. It was not because Ibrahimovic was the wrench-in-the-gears--he was far from it. Puyol's own-goal whipped the team and the manager into shape, as they both realized that this could go down as an L. Guardiola, for his part, got on his iPhone and told Villanova to authorize the tactical changes that allowed the (old?) Xavi-Iniesta axis to run the midfield. The players, for their part, started to get the ball around the field faster. The defenders, who had until that point been far, far too content to imagine that the Valdes-Puyol-Milito axis was the key to dominance, moved the ball forward. Iniesta became much more assured in his passing, visibly relieved that he did not need to wow the crowd as the only way to do anything right. Xavi, with an attacking outlet, hesitated much less. Both of them, plus Pedro and, sometimes, Alves, coalesced around Messi to create three chances--three--right after the sending off. The fourth was the second equalizer.

More came, and to the last minute, I felt fairly comfortable that Barca could pull it out. Messi still produced some great things out of sheer drive, including a half-volley that gave Diego Alves his best save of the game. I did not know it, though. All the players that were only half-there prior to the sending off were still only 75-80% there afterward. Xavi continued to rack up passes like a collection of dull-knives. Iniesta was certainly more comfortable, but still was not playing like St. Andres. Alves dived in the box and freaked out when the ref didn't give him a penalty. In some ways, things got worse, as Maxwell began to get beaten like a gong toward the end, and Almeria returned the favor Messi did their goalkeeper by giving Milito his best, if subtle, moments. It was only when stoppage time began, and I saw six of our players still in our own half, that I knew that we would give up the lead to Real Madrid.

In a very real way, Barca did not want three points as much as Almeria wanted one. When Sergio Canales was subbed off during the Racing game a few weeks ago, four goals down in the Camp Nou, he sat on the bench, shook his head, and smiled. Almeria players, when the 2-2 stalemate consolidated itself, became visibly frustrated with one another when things did not work out. Sure, our boys looked upset--mildly--but not enough for a second title. On Sunday, they need to prove that they want this Liga against a much more formidable team than Almeria--Valencia.

This just-in: Hopefully, the fit-again, and fit-again-early, Seydou Keita will help us. Arriba!

Stuttgart 1-1 Barca, or, A Looong and Dirty Job Done

The Setanta Sports commentator for this match noted the curious fact that Johann Cruyff, after the Racing match, called the 4-0 win "the worst performance he'd ever seen of a Guardiola side."

Huh. I wonder what he is saying about this one.

When the results of the Round of 16 draw came out several weeks ago, I doubt that I was alone in thanking my lucky stars for the easiest possible draw, knowing with the fullest confidence that Pep and the boys would deliver up a thorough and vengeful Hlebbing of the side with that one guy who wanted out last year.

Boys and girls (and Isaiah if you're reading), we just barely escaped a right-Hlebbing of our own.

Pep went to Deutschland with a lineup geared up with our most intimidating beasts of men, plus a magically fit-again midfield maestro: Valdes, Maxwell, Pique, Marquez, Puyol, Yaya, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, and Ibrahimovic. I suppose all credit must go to the manager for recognizing the need for an abundance of experienced defensive talents in such an important away fixture (injury obligations aside), but by the same token, all fingers must point to him for preparing his men for nothing more than an awful defensive display throughout much of the game. The players have to accept some responsibility. But the pervasiveness of cheap giveaways, woeful touches, weak clearances, and overall defensive incohesiveness and evident scrambling, especially in the first half, proved to me that Pep did not instill in his troops the sense of importance of this crucial fixture that could have been won handily.

Barca started the game looking solid enough. They had most of the ball for awhile, and when Stuttgart got the ball, some very organized-looking defensive plays by the team earned the ball back. For instance, in the sixth minute, Marquez gave away the ball with a poor pass to the forward line. But immediately, Ibrahimovic and Messi put pressure on the receiver, forcing a pass to a man that was well-covered by Busquets and Puyol. Puyol makes an easy tackle, gives the ball calmly to Yaya, and off we go again. It was a brilliant collective move that stood out to me, but it was the initial poor pass from Marquez that set the tone.

Iniesta played awfully throughout the first half, passing just about every ball he received straight to a Stuttgart player. Yaya was worse, playing the most useless match I may ever see him play, with some of the loosest possession and slowest defense; whenever Iniesta gave the ball away, Stuttgart flooded right through our middle. Often, the middle was just a route from our left to our right side, where Marquez was all over the place, Messi was clearly not tracking back consistently, and Puyol was rushing around like a mad man, putting on as much pressure as he could and making last-ditch tackle after last-ditch tackle. That right side should have been our strong side on defense, but it collapsed like a Jenga tower again and again.

The goal came came from our left side, but it began on our right. It was none other than Alex Hleb that totally schooled Yaya and Puyol and delivered a pass that led to an excellent cross. A better head from the un-marked receiver would certainly have been a goal, but the contact by the un-marked receiver was poor and Busquets was aloud to clear...poorly, for a throw-in around our box. It should have been routine defense for the boys, but discipline broke down quickly when play resumed, and Stuttgart dragged the team toward the middle before switching it back out to the left, and the crosser had nothing but time and space to put in another excellent cross. Puyol did not mark Cacau closely enough after getting pulled apart moments earlier, and this time the contact was perfect. At 1-0 in 25 minutes, the score reflected what was shaping up to be real domination of the game by an opponent of the mighty FC Barcelona.

The team's most baffling period was over, but they continued to look very much un-mighty. Iniesta's passes continued in their failure to find Ibrahimovic. When Ibra did have the good graces to finally get on the ball, his poor touch gave it away just about every time. Messi had the worst of both worlds: despite having the only moments approaching highlights with a few futile runs and shots, including that stinger that so nearly trickled into the goal after sneaking past Lehmann, Messi had plenty of poor giveaways in possession and in sprayed passes to more than render his highlights forgettable. Everyone gave the ball away: go down the team-sheet, and you find three poor giveaways at the very, very least, and the result was absolutely no attack.

In the second half, certainly after a good ripping-into from Pep, Barca found their scrappy equalizer and something resembling a rhythm. The goal, appropriately enough, came froma corner, and it was all down to our tall men. Xavi's cross was kept alive by Ibrahimovic, whose height prevented a solid clearance. Iniesta finds the ball outside of the box and gives it to a more-central Marquez. Marquez did the only thing he was doing right in the entire game, and put in a good long ball over the top of the defense, the shortest of his game. Ibra kept it alive again, nodded it to Pique, who rose and knocked it back to Ibra, who smacked it...against Lehmann. Luckily, the rebound only fell to Ibra again, who did not repeat the same mistake with a simple tap-in.

And thus, Barca escaped. Afterwards, Stuttgart lost their ravenous edge, and Barca passed the game to death without looking really dangerous and only getting into it with Hleb once or twice. Part of this was due to two very wise and uncharacteristically timely substitutions from Pep: Henry on for Yaya after the goal in the 52nd, and Milito on for Marquez in the 59th.

Setanta's cameras did not capture Yaya's substitution. If they had, they would have caught a glimpse of a defeated Yaya. I have no idea what got into him. It was not just his poor passes, defense, positioning, possession--everything!--it was the situational unawareness that marked it all. For a player whose strongest and most remarkable trait, in my opinion, is his intelligene on the ball, this game was extremely shocking. His replacement changed the game, arguably more so than the goal. For the first time ever, I can say that Busquets was much, much better in that position. Defensively (but certainly not offensively), Busi was one of the strongest performers in the first half, with a ton of midfield tackles, including an athletic "tackle" of a ball passed loosely to him that he hooked straight to Messi for one of the few "chances" of the first half, and when defense became his primary responsibility, the team was far more solid. Xavi, on the whole our best player throughout the match, had all the more opportunities to orchestrate the game with most of the best passes, the calmest presence, lots more great distribution, and superb movement (I cannot believe he healed up so quickly). Most importantly, he had the opportunity to play alongside his buddy Iniesta, who looked completely relieved and incomparably better in a deeper position. The typical routine commenced, as Xavi set 'em up with great space-finding and shorter passes, and Iniesta knocked 'em down, acting as a constant valve to make perfect cross-field balls and passes into the attack. Henry saw little of the ball and what we did see from him was definitely underwhelming, but that just seems to be Titi these days: more of a presence for defenders to respect than a real threat. Without him, the Xavi-Iniesta-Busi midfield that properly controlled the game in the second half would not have been allowed to show off.

Now, Marquez came off because he was terrible. Appalling. Useless. His long passes gave Iniesta ample opportunity to give the ball away in the first half, but except for the easiest of clearances, he accomplished nothing in the heart of the defense. He was at the center of most of the defensive disorder, almost constantly out-of-position. The contrast between his youthful heir-apparent, with the excellent positioning and impenetrable presence that used to be hallmarks of the Kaiser's game, could not have been starker. Milito did not have much time to shine with the midfield under control, but if Marquez had stayed ont he field, I daresay Barca would have found themselves in a lot more trouble. Like Henry, Marquez is aplayer whose aging is difficult to watch.

And that was that: there is little else to say about the match. 1-1 was quite an honest result, as it was a tale of two halves, and after our goal, Barca considered the job done and did not really expend themselves to earn a second away goal. They should be able to take the away goal they do have back to the fortress and kill the tie properly. Remember last year's CL: in the knockout stages, Barca scored only three goals in the away fixtures (not counting the final), but ten at home. At Lyon, who we were matched up with at this stage, the result was also 1-1. In that match, Lyon drew first blood, before Henry headed in a scrappy goal from a corner. I see nothing to worry about, especially with Alves returning very soon, and Xavi shaking off the last shades of his injury. If we have to be one of those "home-sides", we will be one of those "home-sides" and take care of business.

Other short notes:
-I didn't like Busquets' timewasting at the end. Alves has all but stopped that practice, and Busi does not need to adopt it. Not a classy way to play a sub-par game at all.
-Is anyone as worried as they were two or three weeks ago when the news came out that Abidal would be out for two months? I'm not.

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.