Aleix Vidal

[Total-Football]

plenty of times pep deployed Alves exclusively as a winger with Abidal sliding back as a third CB.
i recall a certain game vs Valencia where we ended up drawing 2-2 with an Abidal own goal

Point is, he used it plenty of times
it may ve been 4-3-3 on paper but through 90 mins it was 4-3-3

but we played with 2 center backs and not 3 .. those are tactical adjsutments of a 4-3-3 .. it's open to interpretatin tho .. but the setup against milan .. that's a clear 3-4-3 ( 4 real mdifielders and 3 forwards ) .. you might even argue it's a 3-5-2 .. but still 3 defenders at the back

 

[gasgas]

but we played with 2 center backs and not 3 .. those are tactical adjsutments of a 4-3-3 .. it's open to interpretatin tho .. but the setup against milan .. that's a clear 3-4-3 ( 4 real mdifielders and 3 forwards ) .. you might even argue it's a 3-5-2 .. but still 3 defenders at the back

Abidal was a CB/LB depending on the game
like vs milan where he was a CB

 

[Total-Football]

yep he was versatile .. and w spent too much money on replacing eto'o (ibra villa henry etc ) we ended up short of defenders .. Abidal was a good CB whenever played there .. not the perfect one but he did the job

 

[Total-Football]

[MENTION=20930]Messi983[/MENTION]

well, that's a well elaborated post you got there Buddy , i agree with most parts of it. the words offensive-deffensive are too much open to interpretation , let's set a premise here , by offensive i mean a possession oriented type of football , based on slow to medium paced attacks and not fast counter attacking (a defensive set up based primarily on counter attacks-fast transition- minimal of possession)

having set the premise here, i do agree with what you say about Chile and Italy , when i say defensive set up , by no means i mean it's not solid or anything like that, i was geniunely surprised by Italy in the euros and i even rooted for them , we are on the same page here. same thing about Chile.

well i kinda refreshed my memory , i do remember Liverpool playing a lot of 3-4-3 and they domolished Barca with that set up , it allowed Riise to lunch non stop assaults at our goal when we faced them in 2007 and i reckon they did the same thing against real Madrid when they demolished them in a great fashion in 2009 4-0 with the defensive 3-4-3 ( again by defensive i mean , minimal possession - fast transition - fast execution of attacks ) .. Liverpool were simply rock solid and their record during that period speak for itself , 2 finals in 3 years.

Now to Barcelona , here our opinions differ , i'm an idealist , i believe in football identity, there is a reason why Liverpool aren't a powerhouse anymore and we are , it's a bout building something sustainable and establishing a dynasty , the blueprint is there , it's to play 4-3-3 ( yes with all the variations you mentioned except the last paragraph , there where i disagree ) .. i truly belive that if we continue to believe in our ideology ( so far we are doing it ), football giants around us will keep having their ups and downs , while we'll still be here forever at the top of the hierarchy . that's a personal belief

 

[FCBarca]

Not reliable as a defender, that's the biggest concern

 

[Interlop]

Luis Enrique: "I was surprised with Dani Alves leaving this summer. Juventus reinforced themselves very well with him."
Luis Enrique: "We looked into solutions to compensate for Dani Alves' exit. With Sergi Roberto backing up and Aleix, we got it covered."
So is he saying Sergi Roberto will be a back up and Aleix the starter or both of them will "back up" the RB position?

 

[Topolino]

They'll both play until one of the steps up or both fail.

 

[Stric]

Vidal and Bob covering the RB spot. I might wanna sleep through this season...

By the way, interesting how he didn't even mention Douglas, the only actual RB.

 

[Topolino]

I'd like to see Bob at midfield. He had some nice games there last season. And having homegrown midfielders is quite important as that's where the magic happens.

I find it awkward he didn't mention Montoya. Is he really worse than Bobic and Aleix? Maybe if he finally gets all the responsibility he'll finally step up. I always hoped Montoya would develop into Alves heir. He had all the potential. Maybe he'll get back on track but it's just wishful thinking.

We'll probably end up playing Masche as RB like some people suggested once.

 

[Stric]

I honestly wouldn't mind seeing Mascherano try out the RB spot.

 

[God Serena]

RB Mascherano would be a nightmare. We'd kill any attacking or link up on our right side and his hard tackling would be far less useful or effective when covering wide. We'd be better off just bringing up a B team RB to play there.

 

[Devils]

I must of missed something on where the consensus was formed that Vidal is incapable of playing RB for us.

 

[navidjaan]

They'll both play until one of the steps up or both fail.

And if both fail, it's Bellerin time.

Edit: I'm not even the biggest fan of Bellerin, but it's so obvious that he'll be the next number 1 RB target, and he'd be a solid long term RB given how bad the market is and the lack of upcoming quality RB's these days.

 

[F4THi]

I can imagine Mascherano being an Abidal at RB, Abidal wasn't that good offensively but could do things when needed

 

[God Serena]

And if both fail, it's Bellerin time.

Edit: I'm not even the biggest fan of Bellerin, but it's so obvious that he'll be the next number 1 RB target, and he'd be a solid long term RB given how bad the market is and the lack of upcoming quality RB's these days.

Not to mention the club would get to have an epic story of rescuing a lost son from Arsene's evil clutches. Again.