4 - Ronald Araújo

Bobo32

Bobo32

Senior Member
Gnidrologist said:
Wiped our other defender's arseholes for them all the time while on the field. I don't give a shit that he's not good "ball playing CB". He's what we need now. Garcia will fill in the ball playing part. Hope he stops being injured all the time.
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He did save Barcelona today many times.
I thought Comas looked pretty good too though when he arrived, although maybe a bit passive on the goal...

I am not sure I agree about Araujo being what we need, I think as long as he plays there, the whole system becomes a mess - stear the ball towards him, and the entire buildup becomes pretty poor and uncertain, and most Barcelona players are still dependent on keeping control of the ball and don't really shine in chaotic games. Of course, when there is a chaotic game, in which Barcelona will inevitably be pretty poor, Araujo is one who will be able to save them sometimes... But he also makes mistakes, he is not perfect in his positioning, tackling or marking, either...
 
G

Gnidrologist

Senior Member
Puyol was quite horrendous on the ball especially in the beginning of his career. He never became all that good in his prime either. There were enough other players to compensate for this flaw of his. He played it safe and was one of the rare players, who didn't shy away from kicking the ball into the stands, when didn't know how to handle it, but he did save us from misery many many times in the manner that at this point i only seen Araujo doing for us. Balanced team can do with one such player.
 
Bobo32

Bobo32

Senior Member
Gnidrologist said:
Puyol was quite horrendous on the ball especially in the beginning of his career. He never became all that good in his prime either. There were enough other players to compensate for this flaw of his. He played it safe and was one of the rare players, who didn't shy away from kicking the ball into the stands, when didn't know how to handle it, but he did save us from misery many many times in the manner that at this point i only seen Araujo doing for us. Balanced team can do with one such player.
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I think Puyol always was superior to Araujo both with the ball and as a defender, but I won't argue too much about this as I see your point and could agree with it. Time will tell.
So far though, the system is nowhere near good enough to compensate for Araujo I don't think, and I doubt he will become a true positive influence to the team under Koeman.

Abidal-Puyol-Pique-Alves all had their VERY big flaws, but under Pep especially, they looked almost flawless. I am not at all out-ruling Araujo could be a brilliant defender for Barcelona one time.
 
J

JamDav1982

Senior Member
Passing was decent enough tonight.

Double pivot helps him as more options for short quick pass.

Dont think ever seen a CB that is as much of an 'athlete' as he is. Freak.
 
xXKonan

xXKonan

Senior Member
On Set Pieces there were times Araujo easily got the better of De Ligt.

Right before Braith scored Araujo dragged De Ligt away so Braith had the space.
 
Andresito

Andresito

Senior Member
Staff member
Needs to stay healthy. A full season of being a starter will be extremely beneficial for his development.

Seems to have the right mentality and desire as well. Got balls on him.
 
Messi983

Messi983

Senior Member
I think Koeman wanted to see what we have in Eric and would be quite risky to play Araujo and Garcia together from the start due to their lack of experience. OTOH it was probably also a tactical decision as I think with Isak not being in Sociedad's match day squad Koeman rightfully projected they will start with Oyarzabal (who is not the fastest) as a false 9 and try to press us high (which they did in 2nd half, not so much in the 1st though) so he prefered to have two good ball playing CBs.

Facing one of the fastest players in La Liga Inaki Williams in Bilbao this week I could see Araujo back in the lineup. Garcia looked faster than I expected but still believe Araujo would deal with Inaki better.

Eventually I think it will take some weeks before we'll see Garcia and Araujo starting together (unless Pique gets injured) but if we'll have a relatively comfortable lead in one of next games Koeman could take Pique off in 2nd half and give them 20-30 minutes to gel together.
 
P

Porque

Senior Member
I think Pique has earned alot of good will too and will be starting with that in mind.

As long as his level is good I don't mind. He seems motivated to lead us on the pitch through this crisis so I think it's good he's starting.

Garcia and Araujo to rotate depending on the opponent, and hopefully we don't revert to a 352 in games that Koeman views as tough.
 
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