TornAndFrayed
Banned
on par with a barca fan's ambitions. 
Luis Enrique
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
StarLord
New member
on par with a barca fan's ambitions.
Have a glance at this thread in the first half of the season. Or even a couple of months/weeks back.
TornAndFrayed
Banned
and that's why no one can say so far so good ? get real, the treble's been in sight for a while now.
Leo_Messi
New member
It's wonderful to witness that Lucho and his team are proving all the doubters and loudmouths wrong with their fantastic work, especially post-Anoeta.
I never had any doubt that Lucho was the right man on the long run and I was very disappointed when Rosell discarded him for Patata during the summer of 2013.
I feel that his managerial achievements this season so far are yet to be fully recognized outside of the club's fanbase but even also within it.
This is a man that has pulverized most of our records from the unique "El Triplete" season which until not long ago was something thought to be almost impossible to achieve.
Granted, our "El Tridente" up front have a lot to say about our success but it would be unfair to give them all the credit.
Look at our players insane fitness level, the defensive organization, amazing counter attacks, the almost perfect rotations, the ENORMOUS improvements defensively, improvement in terms of defending standard situations, offensive standard situations, moving Messi back on the "right wing", the purchases of Suárez, Rakitic and Bravo (ter Stegen was Zubi's transfer), how Lucho and his team were able to learn from their initial mistakes, how they were able along with the players and board to stop a toxic environment (the time leading up to Anoeta and right after) from imploding our season hopes etc.
I might have trusted Lucho and the type of manager he is but never in my wildest dreams did I believe that we would be where we are after that defeat at Anoeta against La Real. Yes, I believed that the league title was a possibility along with a CDR final.
Yet had anyone in late August told me that the team in May month would be only 2 wins away from winning a historic "El Triplete" in Lucho's debut season knowing how last season ended, the significant changes of the squad, the many off-field problems, I would have told them to limit their sangria intake.
The fact that we are now only 2 wins against Athletic and Juve respectively away from securing another "El Triplete" is almost beyond imagination. Winning "El Triplete" in itself would not just be something historic but a truly unique event and a testament to our dominance in the past decade, as no club in Europe has ever won the treble twice in their history.
The manner in which we have reached this stage of the season is also beyond ridiculous. Pulverizing numerous statistics and opponents on the pitch. Performing better against the top teams home and abroad in a single season than ever before too.
Of course we can still end up with "just" winning a league title but even if this happens Lucho and his team deserves huge, huge credit. In any case I am pretty sure that we will win at least another trophy this season. In fact it would surprise me if we did not win the treble.
EDIT: Quite funny to witness this thread below in hindsight.
http://www.barcaforum.com/showthrea...rique-now-or-wait-until-the-end-of-the-season
Muchas gracias por esta gran temporada Lucho. Lo mejor esta aún por venir. Nos as devuelto la ilusión a los culés!
I never had any doubt that Lucho was the right man on the long run and I was very disappointed when Rosell discarded him for Patata during the summer of 2013.
I feel that his managerial achievements this season so far are yet to be fully recognized outside of the club's fanbase but even also within it.
This is a man that has pulverized most of our records from the unique "El Triplete" season which until not long ago was something thought to be almost impossible to achieve.
Granted, our "El Tridente" up front have a lot to say about our success but it would be unfair to give them all the credit.
Look at our players insane fitness level, the defensive organization, amazing counter attacks, the almost perfect rotations, the ENORMOUS improvements defensively, improvement in terms of defending standard situations, offensive standard situations, moving Messi back on the "right wing", the purchases of Suárez, Rakitic and Bravo (ter Stegen was Zubi's transfer), how Lucho and his team were able to learn from their initial mistakes, how they were able along with the players and board to stop a toxic environment (the time leading up to Anoeta and right after) from imploding our season hopes etc.
I might have trusted Lucho and the type of manager he is but never in my wildest dreams did I believe that we would be where we are after that defeat at Anoeta against La Real. Yes, I believed that the league title was a possibility along with a CDR final.
Yet had anyone in late August told me that the team in May month would be only 2 wins away from winning a historic "El Triplete" in Lucho's debut season knowing how last season ended, the significant changes of the squad, the many off-field problems, I would have told them to limit their sangria intake.
The fact that we are now only 2 wins against Athletic and Juve respectively away from securing another "El Triplete" is almost beyond imagination. Winning "El Triplete" in itself would not just be something historic but a truly unique event and a testament to our dominance in the past decade, as no club in Europe has ever won the treble twice in their history.
The manner in which we have reached this stage of the season is also beyond ridiculous. Pulverizing numerous statistics and opponents on the pitch. Performing better against the top teams home and abroad in a single season than ever before too.
Of course we can still end up with "just" winning a league title but even if this happens Lucho and his team deserves huge, huge credit. In any case I am pretty sure that we will win at least another trophy this season. In fact it would surprise me if we did not win the treble.
EDIT: Quite funny to witness this thread below in hindsight.
http://www.barcaforum.com/showthrea...rique-now-or-wait-until-the-end-of-the-season
Muchas gracias por esta gran temporada Lucho. Lo mejor esta aún por venir. Nos as devuelto la ilusión a los culés!
Last edited:
Stric
New member
As much as I agree with it being funny and strange seeing our own comments about him from January, I don't think we should pretend that we were wrong then. Most of this forum agreed early in January that Lucho should be sacked either way, and a large majority wanted him out immediately, rather than in the summer. I believe many Barca fans outside the forum thought the same way. We didn't just pull that opinion out of our asses, we had good reason to feel that way. Lucho was making bad decisions, doing things that nobody understood, acted like a dick when confronted about it, and his own actions primarily created the crisis. On top of it all, he's only beginning his coaching career, and it wouldn't be strange to figure out that you're not satisfied with him after only a few months. It's easy to say now that he's done well, but to be honest, the club wouldn't have been wrong if they decided to sack him then. Everything pointed towards a downhill ride and it would have only been reasonable to try and do something to change that. The fact that we bounced back both in terms of football and relations betweent he guys, and ended the season successfully (even if it's just the Liga trophy, and reaching the CdR and CL finals without winning) is a sheer miracle, it was not to be expected. Which brings me to my main point. This all seems too good and too strange to be true. Enrique doesn't seem for a minute the kind of guy who just has an epiphany about his shortcomings and decides to pull a 180 and do things differently. He looks like a guy who had a plan from day one and was determined to put it in motion. I wonder how much of that 180 that happened was a result of him being pressured into doing it by others.
SocalBarcaFan
Member
Good post. I'm trying to remember the specific things he did wrong. I know the one was not starting Messi at Anoeta the game after Christmas break when we had an easy game the next round at home to rest him. Also I think he got alot of hate for starting Mathieu at LB against PSG or Real Madrid. Sorry I have the memory of an 80 year old. Besides the benching Messi for the Real Sociedad game I dont think we should be too hard on him for the tactical changes like playing Mathieu at LB. He did that early in the season to see if it was a viable option later on. Also some of our poor results in the first half could be due to our players trying to adjust to Luchos new system. Once they got the hang of it I think we can all admit that he knows what He's doing, he has a clear plan and that he is the right man for the job at this moment.
Siberia
New member
lol and people say Messi wants him gone. I dont believe a thing the media says
Vlom
Previously known as Mehssi
[MENTION=19517]Leo_Messi[/MENTION] What Lucho has done is amazing, but it's kinda unfair to point to people (there was a lot of them) that criticized him after Anoeta because I believe, no matter what the official version is, that it was a KEY moment in how the season went and how everything changed from that point and further.
Also, Xavi has a LOT to do with our success, don't forget that Lucho was ready to give the maximum fine to Messi for missing the training the day after Anoeta, that would have been an incredibly rookie mistake and the first dig for Lucho's grave and our season's titles hopes.
Also, Xavi has a LOT to do with our success, don't forget that Lucho was ready to give the maximum fine to Messi for missing the training the day after Anoeta, that would have been an incredibly rookie mistake and the first dig for Lucho's grave and our season's titles hopes.
Leo_Messi
New member
It's not about being wrong or right. It's about people and especially fans of Barça, RM and other top clubs having little patience nowadays. Lucho committed tactical mistakes before Anoeta and I criticized that as well. There is a long way from that to demanding his head less than 5 month into his job when we still had big chances of winning the league and CdR at least. When the most basic mechanisms of the team were yet to be fully developed. Lucho was also experimenting quite a bit which is only normal for a new manager. I mean what was he supposed to do? To get it all right from the beginning? That's quite some unrealistic expectations if you ask me.
Pep's debut season was also a work in progress even in January 2009 despite us leading the league clearly. Pep too committed many silly tactical mistakes and he just like Lucho took full advantage of an amazing squad and players who were at their highest (Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Alves, Eto'o, Messi, Henry etc.).
I don't buy the notion of Lucho being lucky at all. You don't just go from being total shit in the eyes of many fans to suddenly being 2 wins away from a treble which is something that 5-6 European clubs have achieved in the past 60 years. All of them just once each.
Bojan, yes I believed that it was a possibility. Was I certain? No, but the season is long. In fact I was more "angry" when we lost against Málaga at home the next month.
The truth is that Anoeta was blown out of proportion. I mean the result itself not so much what occurred afterwards between Messi and Lucho. Even after that game we were only 3 points behind RM and Anoeta has been the most difficult away ground for us in recent years. We lost by 1 goal after an Alba own goal in the opening minutes. Based on chances we could have even won that game despite Neymar and Messi not starting that game due to just having returned from South America after the Christmas Holidays.
Granted we did not play well at that time but we still were able to win most of our games and logic told us (at least me) that the tide had to move in another direction eventually. Especially with that trio upfront.
Still it's quite some story and I doubt that anyone would have called the position we are in back then (January).
This is why Lucho and the team deserves so much credit. They could have imploded but instead they improved and with them the team did so as well.
Lastly Bartomeu and the board also deserve some credit. They handled a very tense situation well. Bartomeu has done almost everything right since Anoeta. I watched his and Jordi Mastre's interview for Barça TV that took place earlier this night and you can sense that he has grown as a president which is good to see should he be elected.
It's like everything has clicked this year. Even our most fierce rivals have had an annus horribilis so far.
It's a fantastic time as a fan and we should enjoy it as much as possible.
Good night!
Pep's debut season was also a work in progress even in January 2009 despite us leading the league clearly. Pep too committed many silly tactical mistakes and he just like Lucho took full advantage of an amazing squad and players who were at their highest (Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Alves, Eto'o, Messi, Henry etc.).
I don't buy the notion of Lucho being lucky at all. You don't just go from being total shit in the eyes of many fans to suddenly being 2 wins away from a treble which is something that 5-6 European clubs have achieved in the past 60 years. All of them just once each.
Bojan, yes I believed that it was a possibility. Was I certain? No, but the season is long. In fact I was more "angry" when we lost against Málaga at home the next month.
The truth is that Anoeta was blown out of proportion. I mean the result itself not so much what occurred afterwards between Messi and Lucho. Even after that game we were only 3 points behind RM and Anoeta has been the most difficult away ground for us in recent years. We lost by 1 goal after an Alba own goal in the opening minutes. Based on chances we could have even won that game despite Neymar and Messi not starting that game due to just having returned from South America after the Christmas Holidays.
Granted we did not play well at that time but we still were able to win most of our games and logic told us (at least me) that the tide had to move in another direction eventually. Especially with that trio upfront.
Still it's quite some story and I doubt that anyone would have called the position we are in back then (January).
This is why Lucho and the team deserves so much credit. They could have imploded but instead they improved and with them the team did so as well.
Lastly Bartomeu and the board also deserve some credit. They handled a very tense situation well. Bartomeu has done almost everything right since Anoeta. I watched his and Jordi Mastre's interview for Barça TV that took place earlier this night and you can sense that he has grown as a president which is good to see should he be elected.
It's like everything has clicked this year. Even our most fierce rivals have had an annus horribilis so far.
It's a fantastic time as a fan and we should enjoy it as much as possible.
Good night!
Last edited:
Stric
New member
Let's keep in mind that this is only his third season coaching at this level. Hiring a beginner coach is gambling, you don't know what you're getting. And in such cases, when it starts going downhill early on, it's perfectly reasonable for people to react and want the coach out immediately without wasting further time, because they feel like the bet that was made has proven to be the wrong choice, and you want to quit and go in a different direction before losing more money. If it was a veteran coach in question, IMHO, it would be easier and more expected to try and give him more time.
I guess you could say that the opposite is true, as well. If a veteran can't do well, he has nothing more to offer, while a beginner might.
Also, Anoeta was not about winning or losing the game, or the amount of chances we had. It was just a perfect example of Lucho's weird tactics and unfathomable decisions. It was more a matter of principle that it was a matter of football.
I guess you could say that the opposite is true, as well. If a veteran can't do well, he has nothing more to offer, while a beginner might.
Also, Anoeta was not about winning or losing the game, or the amount of chances we had. It was just a perfect example of Lucho's weird tactics and unfathomable decisions. It was more a matter of principle that it was a matter of football.
Home of Barca Fans
