News: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻: The 2020-2021 Season Thread

So shocked.
Has to be one of the biggest failures for a transfer in football history.

 

i'd still rate Zlatan and Coutinho as worse transfers.

 

it's close, for sure.

but while we have Dembele's miss vs Liverpool, we also have Coutinho scoring against us for Bayern in one of his few good performances since we signed him.

at least Dembele has occasionally looked like the player we hoped him to be, while Coutinho only ever looked passable when Messi was out and he could be the go-to guy.

also Dembele was one for the future when we signed him, while Coutinho was supposed to be the finished article who could hit the ground running.

 

Very true.

 

Wasn't Coutinho significantly more expensive though? At least the original transfer fee was but I am not sure what each comes out to after all the add-ons. (Surely, though Dembele wouldn't have achieved all those add-on requirements unless the bar was really low, like "plays in at least 5 games per season" )

 

Most Disappointing Signing in the Players Fault Category
For his inability to adapt.


Most Disappointing Signing in the Clubs Fault Category
For predictably not being either Iniesta or Neymar.


Most Disappointing Signing in the Fitness Category
For spending more time nursing injuries than running at defenders.

 

Zlatan was never given a chance Pep felt he couldn't play with Messi Zlatan was not a bad signing. He proved how good he was when given a chance. You can't compare the situation.

Dembele was okay but like always Barto overpaid he was still a decent player but injuries are chronic with him he needs to be let go I cannot believe they were dumb enough to try and re-sign him. Coutinho was overrated he needs to be dumped along with Pique and Busi and Greizman.

 

Zlatan simply didn't fit Barca. Barca need a striker who can move off ball a lot to link up. Zlatan didn't do that.

 

You saying that Ibra can’t link play up ?!?

That’s his whole game isn’t it ?

He had a fabulous first half of the season until injury ( I think ) ..

Doesn’t he still hold the Barca record for goals scored in the first ten or something games .

Ibra and Pep fell out over neat everything apparently

 

Both had great first periods though ..

Coutinho was carrying the team for a while when Messi was out injured.

I recall Cout scoring some absolute screamers during that spell

 

talented players who had their moments, sure.

but 'great' and 'carrying the team' is too much.

 

Well Coutinho went through a real good spell of 5 weeks or so - certainly better than anyone else and scored some screamers when Messi was out for some reason.

I’m pretty sure that Ibra still holds the Barca scoring record for the first 10 games or something..

 

It certainly isn't scoring in the CL knockout stage.

 

Ibrahimović is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time.
He is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world, having won 31 trophies in his career.
He has scored over 570 career goals, including more than 500 club goals and has scored in each of the last four decades.

 

Hands down better than any other striker in MLS.

 

See if I’d said something like that you’d all be calling me a troll or a WUM ..

 

Not sure when our preseason starts but seems like a likely conflict for PEDRI, MINGUEZA, and ERIC GARCIA all named to Spanish Olympic Team, July 21st - August 7th:

Men's Olympic soccer groups

• Group A: Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France
• Group B: New Zealand, Korea Republic, Honduras, Romania
• Group C: Egypt, Spain, Argentina, Australia
• Group D: Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia

winner of C plays 2nd place of D, and vice versa July 31st (so Spain likely plays Brazil or Germany, assuming Spain 1st or 2nd and Brazil or Germany are as well). Semifinals August 3rd then involve meeting up with the A/B group (so cannot face a team from your group till final). Final Aug 7th.

I'm guessing some other Barca players will also represent other nations, but for instance with only 16 teams participating, no Portugal is good as Trincao won't miss any preseason.

Preseason info:
Gamper likely August 8th, Juventus is a rumor.

 

what he did at his other clubs is impressive indeed. it was his time at barca that was a failure.

you're right that he looked promising at the start. his problems started when it became clear that we had a better option than him in his preferred position. unlike more intelligent players like villa, eto'o, henry, and suarez, zlatan refused to adapt because of ferraris and lambourginis or whatever. and he failed in his childish attempts to bully his coach, teammates and club into adapting to him when he should instead have worked harder to adapt to them.

because of his terrible attitude and his attempts to bully and sabotage the team, i still think he is the worst signing in barca's history.

 

As much as I'm sure Pedri would like to play for Spain in the Olympics as well, I see this as a good thing, if Barca can get him off the list. I also worry about Eric Garcia being in both squads, unlike Pedri he is well rested after not playing much for Man City; however, he is newly returned to Barca and could really use the preseason to adapt:

https://www.sport.es/en/news/barca/...t-to-take-pedri-to-the-olympic-games-11866628

However, according to SER, Barça will speak with the Spanish Federation to ask that Pedri not be involved in the tournament later this summer.

The report says Barça are worried that he will burn out at 18 after a long season with his club followed by his involvement in Euro 2020 at the moment.

Pedri had a week off back in Tenerife at the end of the season but then joined up with the Spain squad for the Euros.

If Spain reach the final -- they play Switzerland in the last eight on Friday -- they will be involved in the competition until July 11, with the Olympics starting just over a week later.

If Spain were to go far at the games, Pedri could be featuring in the final on August 7, just a week before Barça's first game of the new season.

 

Fair enough

 

for me, zlatan's promising start just adds to my disappointment. he proved that he was good enough (unlike coutinho), and healthy enough (unlike dembele) to eventually justify his record transfer fee. that makes it all the more disappointing that he blew his chance because he just couldn't see his biggest limitation: his toxic ego.

just imagine if he had been a willing team player and showed the humility and intelligence to work constructively with messi and pep to figure out how to coexist the way suarez, villa and henry did ... but no, if everything doesn't revolve around him, he throws violent tantrums and storms off like a spoiled brat, blaming everyone but himself. signed for €70mil and sold after one season for €24mil. put a brain in that body, and he could have been so much more.