Celta v Barça [R]

Just finished watching the game on Telemundo.

Barca lost 1-0

Could have been 2-0 but Valdes blocked a penalty.

Saviola had a really good chance at goal. He chipped the ball over the 'keeper right in front of the goal, but Juanfran headed it out of danger.

 

Celta 1-0 Barca. Final Score
Playing the worst game since the "dark age", Celta took advantage and played the game of their lives. Ronaldinho was almost nonexistent, so was Saviola, Xavi, Iniesta, etc...Davids had another excellent game, was all over the pitch. Valdes saved a penalty. Saviola had an injury time goal saved miraculously from the line in the dying seconds. Other than that, it was a really bad performance, and an amazing show of heart from Celta. Good news though is that Los Putos Blancos lost 3-2 at home to Mallorca. Objective: Take Second place from Madrid. Next season will be ours.

 

All we need is 2nd for the guaranteed Champions League spot. Then we can rebuild a squad to win the title. Madrid is reeling, they have to either scrap it all or get a new manager, I LOVE IT!

 

Very poor performance overall, especially I think by the midfield and by the coach.

First off we shifted to a 4-4-2, probably due to not having a Luis Garcia or Quaresma to take the right side. Iniesta right side midfield, quite lost, did not get forward and could not get into a passing game as without full centre field responsibility he is a bit lost- a weak utility player. This meant going up the middle and less wing options (Davids on the left side of midfield, neither he nor Iniesta on the right are going to find the end line), bad choice as Celta played with three central defenders. Add to this an overaccelerated Davids (always trying to force himself instead of doing easy passing) and a bad day for Xavi, never on track.

Which is why I rate Rijkaard poorly. Since he put in Luis Enrique late, I wondered why he had not come on earlier for Iniesta instead of Gabri, who looks overweight and was not sharp either attacking or defending.

I think our best player on the day was Van Bronckhorst, Oleguer was also fine, the penalty was half a metre outside the box, fortunately there was justice in Valdes stopping it.

Celta was pumped, pressured up high, passed well with the ball in nice triangles, some fine midfield players in Mostovoi, Edu, Luccin; all they really lack is scoring punch, a team that should never be fighting against relegation.

In the end I think that we are better to stop dreaming about the league and get onto thinking about next year. Reports say the first to be signed looks to be Belletti. Giuly's name has finally come up as a possibility. But the cover of El Mundo Deportivo today has Ballack on it, purportedly he could be had for the same Bayern paid for him (12 million €) or a bit less. Ballack has over 10 (12?) goals this year and the same number of assists. I am not sure about this option as he plays very much where Ronaldinho should be and even Xavi, Iniesta in their best moments could be. Also similair in going forward as Gerard, who is the player who would then be ripe for transfer out (also Gerard is one of the five highest players on the squad; I think he'll be out, as he has a good rep still and get a decent fee).

 

Ballack should not be mentioned at all. He's been extremely underwhelming in every single Bayern game i've seen this season, and always choking in the big games (2 games Vs Madrid, last game against Werder).
About the match, I thought Davids was a real warrior. In doing his job, he was fantastic, even keeping his cool where he could have easily lost it after 3 harsh Celta tackles on him to start the game. However, i thought he was put in alot of situations where he had to create, and well, even Dinho couldn't create against that Celta back four. But in chasing back and winning balls, the pitbull was as good as ever.
IF Valencia lose today, the way i'm gonna look at it in order to preserve my sanity is this: We won yesterday, but so did Valencia, and the chase goes on (Godly intervention needed).

 

In this case I agree about Rijkaard. It wasnt a wise move to change the team tactically. Iniesta showed last week that he is more than capable of playing that right wing position. My general impression of Rijkaard is that he is a work in progress. He is young and has a lot less experience than what we are used to at Barca. One thing I do believe is that he is very good at learning from his mistakes and that he makes adjustments well. Not adjustments during the course of a match, but rather during the course of the season. During the early part of the season, FR did a lot wrong tactically, but recently he has overcome those mistakes and really put a good team on the pitch.

I would probably support the Ballack signing. For 12 million Euros, he would be a very solid signing. He showed very, very well in the last world cup, which made him a high profile player internationally so the positive press accompanying a signing would be good for the club. I believe he has had injury woes at Bayern, and there is really a lot going on behind the scenes at that club which could hurt his psyche. I dont know where he fits tactically in the side, but I think we are still in a position where any chance we have to add quality to the side, we must take.

I agree Gerard may be on the way out, especially if we are considering signing players like Luccin to add depth to the club. I think one big direction Laporta wants to take this club is to one of financial responsibility. Now Gerard does little more than add squad depth and squad depth can be gained for much cheaper than his salary. This same dictum will probably see Overmars, LE21, Rustu, and Kluivert out at the end of the season as their roles can be filled by either youth or cheaper players which save the club tens of millions of euros a year.

 

Would Ballack be a Cocu replacement? Davids qualities are unmatched by Ballack. Ballack can pass and win a header...but Davids tenacious attitude and intense tackling is really a quality that Barca needs.

 

Ballack is more attack minded than Cocu. It would still be a complete waste of 12 million euros in my mind. 6 million more (or even less) and you get a guy with 6 million times the potential in Rafael Van Der Vart. Arghhhhhh, I just cringe when I hear Ballack and Barca in the same sentence!
I didn't feel that Rijkaard changed a whole lot against Celta. The only difference was the absence of Motta, replace by Marquez with Cocu regaining his natural position. Since Iniesta played a very good game on the right wing against Espanyol, Frank thought the guy deserved another chance playing in the same spot.

 

Effenberg > Ballack

 

I think I fall into the camp of seeing Ballack as a second choice signing. I would certain rather see VdV come to the Camp Nou, but realistically what do you think his signing figure would be? If its only 6 million euros then he should already be lined up. I guess I see him in the same ballpark as Reyes, so maybe in the neighborhood of 14-17 million euros, maybe more if he has the Eureopean Cup we expect and ManU enters the bidding.

I don't know if you think of them as the same, but I think that they both could play supportive roles behind the striker and Ronaldinho. VdV would certainly be better drifting out onto the wing, but he comes with less experience and maybe more cost than Ballack.

Interestingly, we could probably have Guily from Monaco for significantly less than both and he has excelled at exactly this wide creative position all year.

 

mike, as you had mentioned that Ballack could be had for 12 mil Euros, I added that for 6 million more (even less than that maybe), you could get VdV..so I see vDv in the 15-18 million range... getting both would be stupid, since none of them would accept to be a sub, plus you already have Xavi as a bonafied starter, and Iniesta on the bench...so instead of getting Ballack for 12, Barca can pay a little more and get a much better player (now and as a futur prospect).

 

Cocu maybe has 1 or 2 years left. VdV is our Overmars replacement. Motta backs Davids, we will need another midfield reinforcement or reshape formations. I think Ballack is too expensive.

 

there is a lot of debate in germany about what ballack's best position is, whether he is a defensive midfielder or an attacking midfielder. at bayer leverkusen he was played as a DM, right now at munich he plays just behing the strikers. if he came to barca, he would most probably play in a defensive role. he would be a fantastic replacement for cocu. ballack and davids would make a pretty strong midfield, they are both real fighters but are also both very good at helping the attack.

 

I am racking my brain trying to think of a good replacement for Cocu. Really he has been the most wonderful player for us over the years, i'd say he's the foreigner I most admire. A great professional. Very versatile. Intelligent tactically, as shown by how well he adjusts to positional changes. Also is in great condition and is rarely injured.

Hopefully we won't have to worry about this until next year. I think the right kind of player would be Deco by the way.

 

El chico,

Sorry, I misread your post. 18 million Euros sounds pretty much right.

I would like to see Motta given a shot to win Cocu's position after next season. With another year of experience he could be a very solid player in the middle of the pitch. Right now, he lacks Cocu's consistency, (but who doesnt?) however, his skills and physical nature would fit in well there.

VdV would ideally play in Luis Garcia's role, as a creative width player. His signing would really add another element to this team's front line.

 

As for the Celta debacle, Barça were tactically outclassed on the day, period. Mostovoi and Edu were excellent, as was Juanfran in the back. Ronaldinho and Davids forced the ball all game, which made things very difficult for themselves. Oh well, can't win 'em all. The amount of progress made in the second half is mighty promising.

I would prefer VdV to Ballack. His adjustment would be much quicker even though he is less experienced. The last thing Barça needs is more central midfielders.

I agree with Mike on Motta. I'm sure this season was pretty frustrating for him, and should only motivate him to improve his mental game. Technically, he's there. He just needs to stay out of the referees' notebooks too.

 

im a madrid fan but i was watching this game. Barca has been playing very well for past 16 games. Now the lost to a celta. Barca didnt play well...ronaldhinio played poorly compared to his last 10 games but it was still good. but davids is the man. When he got "transfered" to barca He got the team and esspecially ronaldhinio going. i love them together but sometimes i get mixed up because of the hair.

You guys have a huge chance to being in 2nd place....so good luck guys and i realy mean it. i want real to finish 2nd but barca also deserves it. I dont know if more but it will be known soon. Real played better in first half of the season and Barca played better this half of the season.

It sucks because Valencia won the title ..i wish the had a loss last game so we still could battle a little bit.