Lliga: Real Madrid - FC Barcelona 3-1

[ManusXavi]

I hope everybody opened their eyes today. The sadest thing is, I'm watching croatian tv, and commentators concluding even after Barca took a lead they knew Real would win. The sadest thruth.
This is why some of us were pessimistic after Malaga and PSG, not because we lost point(s) but because we saw same old mistakes, same old Barca. Actually I think Tata is the only one after Pep era who tried to change things but failed, everybody else continue downfall spiral.
We used to have problems with let's say Chelsea's bus, even though we created a lot of chances against them as well, now, now every bus is problem, but also teams who are fast and strong like RM and PSG who didn't play bus. I can't belive some people here still think opposition doesn't try hard enough against Real, or Bayern or even Chelsea....THEY DO, yet thoose teams find space..WE DON'T!
Todays game actually showed CR is not in some uber form, he done pretty much nothing, it's just taht entire team is opening so much space for him and all the rest, on the other hand we only rely on individual class.
I remember when Messi was at his peak (even though I don't think he is much worse this season) rm fanboys said he is good because of Iniesta and Xavi. Of course that was bullshit but it showed something else - we were fucking machine with Messi delivering final punch. But our main strength was team play, team movement, running without of ball (many teams said after playing us it's like chasing shadows), quick passing from one touch and so on...everything is gone now.
Even Pep said he hates tiki taka (of course words could be twisted a bit) but his point is passing for sake of passing means nothing, passing to open space quickly - that's the point. We give opposition chances on counters from our mistakes also because of that problem...many times our players are under big pressure and they lose the ball, years ago we danced more quickly our why out of trouble, or simply put opposition couldn't pressure us as the ball was already gone.
Now this may sound controversial (and I'm stealing this from one analyst here in Croatia) but Neymar is good example of this new Barca: He is technicaly great player, great potential...but he slows our game down to a hault. He always has 10 touches, entire defence is already prepared and only thing he can try is individual break. Our entire team is trying the same, Messi is the one who can do it and that is why he has so many assists, but on the other hand he is rearly in perfect position himself.
no, problem is not Alves crossing, yes I would like him to cross better...but be honest to yourself, pause the game every time before his cross and you'll see he actually doesn't have any othe options. He is the player that opposition gives space as they know thew ball is slow and they'll have their defence complety ready. He didn't cross any better couple of years ago but he crosses to a defence thyt was of balance, not prepared and he assisted a lot.
Our entire game is flawed and with this style there is 0% chance of us beating top teams, especially over the two games (and we always thought Barca can be beaten only over one game by some fluke)..now we need that fluke game.
Ofcourse our individual class is still more than enough for 95% of teams, but those 5% are better than us. Sad thing is: they are not better individualy. Our attack trio is the best in the world but our team as unit is mediocare.

 

[serghei]

Doom and gloom aside, it's still early. Lucho can fix things. Ancelotti didn't start that well either last season, and he's a much more experienced coach.

True. But it's like trusting a child to go to the groceries and buy you all the things you need in order to make a great recipe. He can do it, but there's a big chance he'll forget to buy you asparagus, olive oil or some shit you need to make the damn recipe.

 

[kishore680]

Is it just me or Under Luis Enrique, the opposition is getting hella lotta chances. Last year under martino, the first clasico was the best. Real Madrid were shut down completely and Ronaldo didn't have even one shot. I m not satisfied with the way we are playing against top teams. Midfielders covering the flanks and leaving "MIDFIELD" open against top teams is a suicide.. If we are sticking to that philosophy we may perfect it, it takes time and it means we will be kicked out of CL within no time.

 

[mobster_1930]

The sad truth is that Iniesta is finished. I thought just Xavi was done, but it's so obvious that Iniesta isn't what he used to be, and from a player that's 30 years old, you can never expect him to return to his earlier years.

Overall, the most worrying thing is our player's body language and lack of energy. We were so good under Pep because players actually ran, created spaces. You just can't see any sense of urgency in our play, when we're losing 3:1, players are behaving and running like we're actually winning 5:0. Is it because they are old, like Xavi and Iniesta ? I don't know. When Rakitić came on it was shocking to see at which speed he was covering the ground, he was practically jogging through midfield. It seems that our manager is relying on individual moments of brilliance from Messi, Neymar or Suarez.

I am aware that we have to lose sometimes, but loosing in such a dominated manner by Real Madrid is what bothers me. Old, lazy, unmotivated, I really don't know what's happening to our midfield. No one will ever be able to replace Xavi and Iniesta at their peak, I'm really worried about our future, Real dominated our midfield with James-Isco-Kross, all born in early 90s. I think we should prepare ourselves for couple of trophyless seasons

 

[Lomar1o]

The sad truth is that Iniesta is finished. I thought just Xavi was done, but it's so obvious that Iniesta isn't what he used to be, and from a player that's 30 years old, you can never expect him to return to his earlier years.

Overall, the most worrying thing is our player's body language and lack of energy. We were so good under Pep because players actually ran, created spaces. You just can't see any sense of urgency in our play, when we're losing 3:1, players are behaving and running like we're actually winning 5:0. Is it because they are old, like Xavi and Iniesta ? I don't know. When Rakitić came on it was shocking to see at which speed he was covering the ground, he was practically jogging through midfield. It seems that our manager is relying on individual moments of brilliance from Messi, Neymar or Suarez.

I am aware that we have to lose sometimes, but loosing in such a dominated manner by Real Madrid is what bothers me. Old, lazy, unmotivated, I really don't know what's happening to our midfield. No one will ever be able to replace Xavi and Iniesta at their peak, I'm really worried about our future, Real dominated our midfield with James-Isco-Kross, all born in early 90s. I think we should prepare ourselves for couple of trophyless seasons

i swear we should get coutinho

 

[ManusXavi]

I can't see Iniesta as finished at 30. Not the type of player he is.

 

[6 Ballons for Messi]

We could be leading 0-3 in 10mins with the 2 missed messi chances.
Two of their goals were idiotic mistakes that won't happen again.
We are the best team and leo is the best player.

Mes que un club!

 

[mobster_1930]

And you are obviously 12 years old.

 

[linetty]

I am not sad because of the loss but because of how we played.

We got the lead and then let RM have the ball that led to several dangerous chances with shots on goal. Seemed like we were the ones with a day less rest. Everything fell apart after the penalty and Lucho seemed not to have a clue what to do next so the players just gave up well before the end.

Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta midfield is ancient history.

 

[Schumi]

Well, most of us can see that our midfield is spent. The question is, will Lucho? I think he is has been reluctant to use some kind of double-pivotry or try other players in midfield because he is scared shitless that if he does that and we lose, he will be crucified by the Catalan press for betraying our "philosophy". So he prefers to stick to the old and now failing formula of Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta so that even if we lose, people will then say:"well, we at least remain faithful to our philosophy".

It is absolutely essential for us to use a completely different midfield in future games, and also try two DMs against strong teams. Midfield is something we may find a partial solution to. But Lucho has not even tried as yet.

As for the defense, it will remain substandard for some time longer, we can only hope that we can somewhat reduce our shittiness there by playing JM at LCB, benching Pique and pray to the Gods that Vermaelen somehow gets fixed.

Our attack is the best in the world, no two ways about that.

So our predicament is not that complicated: a) Try something new in midfield with Mascharano, Rafinha and Rakitic or a double pivot. b) Pray for the defense (really, what else can we do over there?) c) The attack will get better and better as the understanding between Messi-Neymar-Suarez will improve with games and time.

 

[Richard.H]

Is it just me or Under Luis Enrique, the opposition is getting hella lotta chances. Last year under martino, the first clasico was the best. Real Madrid were shut down completely and Ronaldo didn't have even one shot. I m not satisfied with the way we are playing against top teams. Midfielders covering the flanks and leaving "MIDFIELD" open against top teams is a suicide.. If we are sticking to that philosophy we may perfect it, it takes time and it means we will be kicked out of CL within no time.

It's a double edged sword. Tata's coaching style puts a heavy emphasis on defense while Lucho is more offensive and likes Tiki Taka (albeit the Tito version of it).

 

[Schumi]

It's a double edged sword. Tata's coaching style puts a heavy emphasis on defense while Lucho is more offensive and likes Tiki Taka (albeit the Tito version of it).

I think Tata should have stayed on for another year. Was it his fault that Messi and Neymar had all those injuries? Or that our defenders are a bit on the low-quality side? We blamed the team's failures and bad luck on him and that was a mistake.

 

[serghei]

@Ursegor, the board failed big time. The decisive moment, when we needed a ferm and intelligent board was 2012. They should've listen to Pep, he knew that the players were not motivated anymore. He was the only person who could've known that. Instead of listening to him, they decided to let him go and put Tito (RIP) instead. After a season in which we ended 9 points after Madrid, we bought 2 cheap players in the summer of 2012 (Alba and Song). Our team from 2011-12 is just the faded version of the team that played the 2011 CL final on Wembley. Look it up, it's exactly the same, except we put Alba instead of Abidal, who had that liver transplant.

Let's look at the players that were on the market in the summer of 2012:

Hazard - Lille to Chelsea
Thiago Silva - Milan to PSG
Javi Martinez - Bilbao to Bayern
Dante - Monchengladbach to Bayern
Modric - Tottanham to Madrid
Reus - Monchengladbach to Dortmund
Mandzukic - Wolfsburg to Bayern

So, imagine this. After a year in which Bayern finnished 7 points behind Dortmund in Budesliga and made the CL FINAL!!!, they bought 3 starters, all of them which started on Wembley and won the CL next year (Mandzukic, Dante, and Javi Martinez). Barcelona, after a year in which they finnished 9 points after Madrid in La Liga and was eliminated in the CL semifinals, bough 2 cheap players, one starter, and one backup. Talk about faulty management.

Now let's go to 2012/12.

We won the league because Messi scored 92 goals in that year. Then Messi got injured, Tito had that horrible cancer and the team collapsed and got dominated in virtualy every single important game they've played except the 4-0 win against Milan. By that time, the decline was clear and the 0-7 we took against Bayern was the ultimate evidence.

Now let's look at the transfers.

Players available in the 2013 summer transfer window:

Cavani - Napoli to PSG
James Rodriguez - Porto to AS Monaco
Gotze - Dortmund to Bayern
Marquinhos - Roma to PSG
Strootman - PSV to Roma
Falcao - Atletico to AS Monaco
Isco - Malaga to Real Madrid
Tevez - Manchester City to Juventus
Ozil - Real Madrid to Arsenal
Willian - Anji to Chelsea
Lamela - Roma to Tottenham
Bale - Tottenham to Real Madrid

And what do we do? We spend a fortune to Neymar's dad and took only 1 player: Neymar. We just stood there on the market, and let all this young players like Isco, Marquinhos leave to other teams. We had a declining team and a declining midfield and we didn't sign any midfielders. Not one. Instead, WE SOLD one. Thiago.

Thaen, during 2013-14 season, a thropy-less one, of course, we are hit with this ban, we appeal and CAS suspends the suspension. We are allowed to make transfers. And what do we do again? We sell Alexis (horrible move), Cesc, and buy Suarez and some other inferior players like Mathieu, Rakitic and an injured CB that doesn't play. Oh, and the brazilian wonder Douglas. How could I forget about him?

board.

And Lucho, a coach with no credentials to build us a new team.

 

[Schumi]

We did take in Alexis and Cesc after the CL victory in 2011 didn't we?

None of them really worked, but I would prefer Cesc to Rakitic. Alexis was a complete and utter failure for us.

 

[serghei]

We did take in Alexis and Cesc after the CL victory in 2011 didn't we?

None of them really worked, but I would prefer Cesc to Rakitic. Alexis was a complete and utter failure for us.

I agree, especially since, last season, he was only the best winger in the league bar Ronaldo, who's not even a winger.