Daniel Alves

[JamDav1982]

I never said the defending was 'bad' however it's certainly not been the best!

Surely you can't deny that Barcelona have had some issues this season defensively? Two goals(should have been three against Sevilla) Two against Valencia. Ajax, At Madrid, Celtic creating chances etc. It's not been good enough for one if not the best club in world football, IMO.

Suppose it depends on who you would regard as the top team. Overall I would say Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich have barely played a decent team either though.

In the games they have they conceded 4 against Dortmund, 2 against Chelsea and 1 against Man City.

You are judging Barcelona on standards that no other team has to live up to.

 

[te amo barca]

Nice glasses

The swag is strong with this one.

 

[suckabov]

I never said the defending was 'bad' however it's certainly not been the best!

Your (and others') reaction to the initial statement spoke a different language. As I said, you might not agree but you make it seem like a laughable, stupid thing to say which it clearly isn't. There isn't any team who is inarguably better defensively than Barca, your vague wording of "Overall I would say" is proof of that:

Suppose it depends on who you would regard as the top team. Overall I would say Bayern Munich.

Speaking of which, how did Bayern lose to BVB conceding 4 goals in one game, while we conceded one goal in two legs versus Atleti? Or drew with Chelsea if it weren't for the penalties? I swear if Barca had done that, this place would be in flames. And Pique/Alves would already have been slaughtered.

 

[big_man]

Speaking of which, how did Bayern lose to BVB conceding 4 goals in one game, while we conceded one goal in two legs versus Atleti? Or drew with Chelsea if it weren't for the penalties? I swear if Barca had done that, this place would be in flames. And Pique/Alves would already have been slaughtered.

Watch how this post will be casually ignored like it never happened . Don't worry though, the excuses will flow in as usual for the other team, Dante's aunty was ill on the day of the Dortmund game, the chelsea game Pep had the shits in the morning so couldn't prepare his team well defensively(or something).

It's funny how people can build ideas in their head that-even when clearly wrong-is a "fact", no matter how much factual evidence you provide to the contrary.

"Bayern have the best defence in Europe this season" - Yet they have shipped in 8 goals with the only 4 decent teams they've faced this season, winning only one out of those 4 games.

"Madrid has a better defence than Barca"- Yet concede more than Barca every season, including during the worst season Barca experienced defensively last season.

"Madrid has a better squad than Barca"- This one, you hear it every season since 2009, yet in a 38 game season where squad strength is tested, Barca have won the league 3 out of 4 times in that period, and could very well be 4 out of 5 times this season.

I mean someone even said; "Dani Alves isn't THE BEST in the world anymore" oh really? Now that he is a mere number 2 or 3 or whatever, we should just dispose him eh? What good is Barca if they don't have the number 1 in every position?! like we did in errr.......when?

"Tata is the same as the other coaches, he doesn't really trust in youth". Another comment from someone against a coach that has been overseeing this team for an enormous number of (12!) games.

Unfortunately, that's the way it is on here, it's got to the point that when I see certain names I just automatically skip that post because 9 out of 10 times, all they'll spill is negative cliche'd nonsense despite the team having a fantastic start to the season, results and performance wise.The sooner you accept this, the better your life will be on this board.

 

[Semi-Neutral]

Surely you can't deny that Barcelona have had some issues this season defensively? Two goals(should have been three against Sevilla) Two against Valencia. Ajax, At Madrid, Celtic creating chances etc. It's not been good enough for one if not the best club in world football, IMO.

Sevilla was a one-off almost upset, the goals Postiga scored were pretty much impossible to stop, Ajax didn't really create anything, Celtic had one random header (and they were at home), and conceding one goal in two games against Atletico is great when you consider the form they are in.

 

[footyfan]

Speaking of which, how did Bayern lose to BVB conceding 4 goals in one game, while we conceded one goal in two legs versus Atleti? Or drew with Chelsea if it weren't for the penalties? I swear if Barca had done that, this place would be in flames. And Pique/Alves would already have been slaughtered.

Watch how this post will be casually ignored like it never happened . Don't worry though, the excuses will flow in as usual for the other team, Dante's aunty was ill on the day of the Dortmund game, the chelsea game Pep had the shits in the morning so couldn't prepare his team well defensively(or something).

It's funny how people can build ideas in their head that-even when clearly wrong-is a "fact", no matter how much factual evidence you provide to the contrary.

"Bayern have the best defence in Europe this season" - Yet they have shipped in 8 goals with the only 4 decent teams they've faced this season, winning only one out of those 4 games.

"Madrid has a better defence than Barca"- Yet concede more than Barca every season, including during the worst season Barca experienced defensively last season.

"Madrid has a better squad than Barca"- This one, you hear it every season since 2009, yet in a 38 game season where squad strength is tested, Barca have won the league 3 out of 4 times in that period, and could very well be 4 out of 5 times this season.

Unfortunately, that's the way it is on here, it's got to the point that when I see certain names I just automatically skip that post because 9 out of 10 times, all they'll spill is negative cliche'd nonsense despite the team having a fantastic start to the season, results and performance wise.The sooner you accept this, the better your life will be on this board.

C'mon you can't be serious. That Dortmund game happened in July, you can't really be counting that. 2 goals against Chelsea is not too bad, if you've been watching Bayern games you'll notice that they don't concede a lot of chances while Valdes has been so overworked this season. Also you can't be counting Valdes as part of our defence, when he inevitably loses his current awesome form, you'll realise how bad we've been defensively.

Madrid's defence for the past 2 seasons has been shambolic, however they always defend very well against us.

 

[JamDav1982]

C'mon you can't be serious. That Dortmund game happened in July, you can't really be counting that. 2 goals against Chelsea is not too bad, if you've been watching Bayern games you'll notice that they don't concede a lot of chances while Valdes has been so overworked this season. Also you can't be counting Valdes as part of our defence, when he inevitably loses his current awesome form, you'll realise how bad we've been defensively.

Madrid's defence for the past 2 seasons has been shambolic, however they always defend very well against us.

Why not count the Dortmund game? It was this season.

They could have conceded more against Chelsea and Man City.

If you are not counting those games then the standard of teams they have played is not on the same level as Barca has.

As I said its one rules for Barca then they change for other teams.

 

[big_man]

So apparently Lazio and Inter are on Celtic's level of being decent?

The likes of Levante, Rayo, Almeria and Valladolid are hardly greater quality than the likes of Parma, Sampdoria etc.

But Barcelona are not defending the best at all, that's the whole point, you've already been shown the goals conceded by other clubs from footyfan which is a better record than Barcelona's. I'm not sure if your a Barcelona or Arsenal fan as you us 'we' when talking about both, but I do know sometimes you're unsure when Barcelona are on or fail to see the games. Against Valencia, Celtic etc Barcelona were very lucky not to lose more goals. Similar against Malaga, At Madrid and Sevilla. Sevilla having a fine goal ruled out which would have been 3 in one match.

Actually, only one team in europe has conceded less goals than Barca in all competitions; Roma. So his claim is not outlandish. Also, how dare valencia create chances against Barca eh? it's not as if they're one of the top 5 professional football teams in their country.

Not to mention Valdes has been on excellent form and saved two penalties. Barcelona have had issues defensively and have let in 7 goals in 12 games. That is not a great record at all and in all honestly it could have been even worse. Barcelona have not been great defensively and it's been commented on constantly during the games. Either you're basing Barcelona's defending on that whoscored rating which is for overall performances or you haven't watched the games because the defending has certainly not been the best in Europe and it's been a long way from it.

Oh statistics how I love you. I can also tell you that Barcelona has 7 clean sheets this season, more than any team in Europe. In fact 4 of the goals conceded were in just 2 games that Barca were already ahead by 2 or 3 goals. a.k.a complacency. Not excusing complacency, and it needs to be ironed out, but whenever we needed to defend well this season, we've generally done well. The only time the team has conceded goals while not in a winning position was against Atletico and Valladoid, just 2 games in 12.

Totti would score against Barcelona and Roma's counter attacking would certainly hurt Barcelona much more than what you've faced this season outside At Madrid.... but of course Roma would struggle to keep a clean sheet. But this season so far they've been more secure than Barcelona defensively, I'm convinced you've not watched any of Roma's games.

Kudos to Roma, who's only decent opponent this season has been Inter. They haven't faced any team with the attacking threat of Valencia, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Ajax. Let's see where they are when they face teams of that caliber shall we?

 

[DavidVillano1]

Bayern Munich have barely played a decent team either though.

In the games they have they conceded 4 against Dortmund, 2 against Chelsea and 1 against Man City.

You are judging Barcelona on standards that no other team has to live up to.

Leverkusen, Schalke, Hannover, Monchengladbach and Frankfurt are decent teams.....

Let's not ignore the game against Dortmund they played Starke in goal and it was Van Buyten and Boateng at the back. They also didn't have Ribery and Martinez and Schweinsteiger started on the bench.

Losing a goal away to City(when the game was over) and it was a fantastic finish is hardly a crime and not something you can use against Bayern and their defensive performances this season.

The Chelsea game was a one off game where Bayern were very open and Neuer made another poor mistake.

Your (and others') reaction to the initial statement spoke a different language. As I said, you might not agree but you make it seem like a laughable, stupid thing to say which it clearly isn't. There isn't any team who is inarguably better defensively than Barca, your vague wording of "Overall I would say" is proof of that:

Speaking of which, how did Bayern lose to BVB conceding 4 goals in one game, while we conceded one goal in two legs versus Atleti? Or drew with Chelsea if it weren't for the penalties? I swear if Barca had done that, this place would be in flames. And Pique/Alves would already have been slaughtered.

This season Bayern, Roma and At Madrid have been better defensively than Barcelona. So yeh I stand by that it is a laughable suggestion to claim Barcelona have been the best.

Sevilla was a one-off almost upset, the goals Postiga scored were pretty much impossible to stop, Ajax didn't really create anything, Celtic had one random header (and they were at home), and conceding one goal in two games against Atletico is great when you consider the form they are in.

Sevilla was not a one off as shown against Valencia.... They had more than one random header, Valdes made a fantastic save from Forrest.

Barcelona may have only conceded one goal, but let's not ignore Valdes made some excellent saves from Villa/Turan shots. Stop basing it on goals against and actually base it on chances given away!!

 

[DavidVillano1]

Actually, only one team in europe has conceded less goals than Barca in all competitions; Roma. So his claim is not outlandish. Also, how dare valencia create chances against Barca eh? it's not as if they're one of the top 5 professional football teams in their country.

Oh statistics how I love you. I can also tell you that Barcelona has 7 clean sheets this season, more than any team in Europe. In fact 4 of the goals conceded were in just 2 games that Barca were already ahead by 2 or 3 goals. a.k.a complacency. Not excusing complacency, and it needs to be ironed out, but whenever we needed to defend well this season, we've generally done well. The only time the team has conceded goals while not in a winning position was against Atletico and Valladoid, just 2 games in 12.

Kudos to Roma, who's only decent opponent this season has been Inter. They haven't faced any team with the attacking threat of Valencia, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Ajax. Let's see where they are when they face teams of that caliber shall we?

Love how you make the statistics comment yet your opinion sentence was about statisitcs.

Only decent team? Then you claim Ajax are some great attacking team? Think you may be stuck in the past, Ajax are decent at best, nowhere near as good as they once were. Lazio > Ajax.

As I said above people need to stop basing it on goals against, you just need to watch Barcelona this season to see they have defensive problems. It's been commented on non stop, you Barcelona fans seem to think everything is fine in that department and will be in for a shock this season when the defending costs you a big game. Don't care how many clean sheets they've had, they've certainly gave many chances away and clean sheets were prevented from Valdes alone who's been one of your best players this season which says it all!

 

[JamDav1982]

Leverkusen, Schalke, Hannover, Monchengladbach and Frankfurt are decent teams.....

Let's not ignore the game against Dortmund they played Starke in goal and it was Van Buyten and Boateng at the back. They also didn't have Ribery and Martinez and Schweinsteiger started on the bench.

Losing a goal away to City(when the game was over) and it was a fantastic finish is hardly a crime and not something you can use against Bayern and their defensive performances this season.

The Chelsea game was a one off game where Bayern were very open and Neuer made another poor mistake.

This season Bayern, Roma and At Madrid have been better defensively than Barcelona. So yeh I stand by that it is a laughable suggestion to claim Barcelona have been the best.

Sevilla was not a one off as shown against Valencia.... They had more than one random header, Valdes made a fantastic save from Forrest.

Barcelona may have only conceded one goal, but let's not ignore Valdes made some excellent saves from Villa/Turan shots. Stop basing it on goals against and actually base it on chances given away!!

Typical, excuses for Bayern like the game being over or injuries that dont get given to Barca.

Even games where they dont concede if the opposition get 1/2 chances it is used to show a poor defence.

It is unreal and biased beyond belief.

 

[Semi-Neutral]

Again, it's Valdes's role in the starting XI to make saves. I don't know why "oh the GK played well so our loss doesn't count" is seen as a good point, it really isn't. You're not going to say "oh if their attackers didn't play well we would have won" or the same for their defenders, so why does it work with goalkeepers? As for Valencia, again, both of Postiga's goals were really hard to stop, his bicycle for anyone and his header for most teams.

 

[big_man]

C'mon you can't be serious. That Dortmund game happened in July, you can't really be counting that. 2 goals against Chelsea is not too bad, if you've been watching Bayern games you'll notice that they don't concede a lot of chances while Valdes has been so overworked this season. Also you can't be counting Valdes as part of our defence, when he inevitably loses his current awesome form, you'll realise how bad we've been defensively.

Madrid's defence for the past 2 seasons has been shambolic, however they always defend very well against us.

Just as I predicted, excuses galore. He is using july as an excuse FFS That is such a ridiculous point I won't even bother to write an argument against it.

2 goals against Chelsea is not too bad eh? so if a team allows 2 goals (and got lucky with the ball only hitting the post) when they have just have 6 shots against them that is a good defensive performance (except when it happens to Barca of course) eh? Gotcha!

Valdes not part of the defence, what in the blooming hell?!

 

[footyfan]

Why not count the Dortmund game? It was this season.

They could have conceded more against Chelsea and Man City.

If you are not counting those games then the standard of teams they have played is not on the same level as Barca has.

As I said its one rules for Barca then they change for other teams.

It was a glorified friendly that happened insanely early into the season, it happened even before Barca's 2-2 friendly draw vs Lechia Gdansk. Dante was a sub, Schweinsteiger was a sub, Ribery didn't even play, Martinez didn't play and if we really are going to count goalies as part of the defence, then Tom Starke played as goalie and had a stinker (he handed the first goal on a plate to Reus).

I suggest you rewatch Barca game highlights to see how many we could've conceded. Bayern've faced Man City, Chelsea, Schalke and Leverkusen who were 3rd and we've faced Atletico. Valencia were in the bottom half when we faced them while Sevilla were near the relegation zone.

 

[footyfan]

I don't like putting goalies as part of the defence, it's sometimes absurd. Would you really consider Chelsea to have had a good defence vs us in the CL second leg when Cech played a blinder?