Martin Montoya

[CatalinR10]

firstly no one is comparable to dani alves he is arguably the best FB in the last two decades of football all things consider (taking sevilla to the brink of winning la liga, UEfa cups + what he has done at barca).

but their is something to be said about balance, and montoya would give us that balance and allow alba to be more attacking that he is right now, its really that simple. with a defensive fullback, alba could be camped in the oppositions half the way alves is for us. will he be as good?. nope. but few if any well. unless we are going to play a winger there.

we need balance, we have lost it since abidal has left and since then we have been sub par.

the defensive FB allows the creative fullback to push forward and do his job.

montoya has shown that he can do this job for the Spanish under 21, for two tournaments. they kid has ability, and not only has he been only a stopped, but he has shown that he can bring something to the attack as well, all he needs his game time to work out the few glitches in his game.

having two attacking fullbacks will not help us in breaking down buses, it will only make us weaker

That's what was great about the deffence a couple of years ago. Balance.

Abidal would rarely participate in the offensive play and even though Alves was always involved in that department , he would still have the capacity to return in the deffence and help Pique and Puyol. He looked like he had 4 lungs . These days Pique or Masche need to put up with Alves's shit and cover for him when he's too lazy/exhausted staying up front and not tracking back while they both , sometimes , are blamed for Alves's lack of effort. Alves untill 2 years ago was really a freak of nature. I was always wondering how can a guy with a frame that small perform that good against opponents twice his size. These days he's nothing like the player he was. Sure he can be really really good in some games but that's all .

Lucho needs to sort the tactics out also when it comes to Alves because I refuze to believe a Barca player is dumb enough to cross 30 times a game towards someone who is 1.70 m tall. He should be instructed to have a more defensive orientated way of play because due to his age probably he doesn't have the capacity to track back everytime we are caught on counter attacks. I still think he would do great here if he is instructed not to attack but I don 't think he would accept that.

Also , I don't want Montoya do be in our first 11 . I don't have any problems with him being 2'nd choice for RB but I wan't Barcelona to compete for all the trophies with the best 11 this team can have. Montoya isn't starting material , at least not yet.

 

[serghei]

@DonAndres, yea, we have players now who can create superiority on the wings (I'd add Alexis to that list), but we also have teams that defend a lot more. Basically a winger in our team must deal with 3 players in a matter of seconds. The direct marker, the fullback of the opponent, their defensive midfielder in the second line of defenders (the preferred tactic against Barca is a very retreated 4-5-1, with two lines of defenders sitting at the edge of the box, very close from one another) and the CB from that side. Against Atletico for example Neymar has to deal with Juanfran, Miranda and Koke. It's a 3 of theirs vs. Neymar and the fullback. Now, Neymar can dribble one player, very rarely two in a row against a team of Atletico's calibre.

It is very tough to surpass a defensive like Atletico's without some kind of great ball control abilities from both the winger and the fullback. Just my oppinion.

 

[DonAndres]

@DonAndres, yea, we have players now who can create superiority on the wings (I'd add Alexis to that list), but we also have teams that defend a lot more. Basically a winger in our team must deal with 3 players in a matter of seconds. The direct marker, the fullback of the opponent, their defensive midfielder in the second line of defenders (the preferred tactic against Barca is a very retreated 4-5-1, with two lines of defenders sitting at the edge of the box, very close from one another) and the CB from that side. Against Atletico for example Neymar has to deal with Juanfran, Miranda and Koke. It's a 3 of theirs vs. Neymar and the fullback. Now, Neymar can dribble one player, very rarely two in a row against a team of Atletico's calibre.

We'll never truly break down a team as defensively sound as Atletico. However, we can maximize the amount of chances created just by playing more quickly. Have you ever noticed that when we're 1-0 down to a liga team (a fairly common occurrence for us) we seem stale and useless up until the final 15 minutes when players start to pick up urgency and play quick, instinctive football with purpose? It's not just coincidental, speed is the key. We can't rely on slow buildup and then Neymar dribbling against 3 men to get us the win, but if everyone just dials it up a notch then we'll be running rings around the opposition and making chances.

Given that we're completely on the front foot in those situations, a Rafinha-Iniesta midfield would work well too and just give us more attacking impetus. I'm hoping for Lucho to reinvigorate us tactically most of all.

 

[serghei]

We'll never truly break down a team as defensively sound as Atletico. However, we can maximize the amount of chances created just by playing more quickly. Have you ever noticed that when we're 1-0 down to a liga team (a fairly common occurrence for us) we seem stale and useless up until the final 15 minutes when players start to pick up urgency and play quick, instinctive football with purpose? It's not just coincidental, speed is the key. We can't rely on slow buildup and then Neymar dribbling against 3 men to get us the win, but if everyone just dials it up a notch then we'll be running rings around the opposition and making chances.

Given that we're completely on the front foot in those situations, a Rafinha-Iniesta midfield would work well too and just give us more attacking impetus. I'm hoping for Lucho to reinvigorate us tactically most of all.

OK. I agree. Anyway, it is important to let Lucho make his own decisions. He will surely improve us with our fitness and speed issues (if you remember, I've asked you in the La Liga thread if Celta's players run their asses off against RM, precisely because I'm sick of our superslow tempo and want some change in that regard -- most important aspect IMO) and that's more importnat than one player.

 

[Butaan4barca]

yean, agreed, we can still maintain our style by increasing the speed of play. Instead of slowing down the tempo

 

[DonAK]

Montoya will do well next season. Many will change their opinion on him. He can be a starter at Barcelona, he can for sure.

 

[FC B]

He can but I remember what Cristiano did to him when he was his direct opponent. Sure he is more mature now and I wish he'll do a great season for Barca.

 

[Zangash]

He can but I remember what Cristiano did to him when he was his direct opponent. Sure he is more mature now and I wish he'll do a great season for Barca.

You're talking about probably the best winger in the world here. It's not really fair to judge him on a performance against literally the strongest attacking force he'll be directly faced with in a season where he's received minimal playing time.

 

[FC B]

Well, people bash Banani harshly for his decline and want him out but still Cristiano didn't do much shit in front of him in El Clasicos.
Montoya is good but I want him to be better for a starter spot in the team.

 

[KingMessi]

Well, people bash Banani harshly for his decline and want him out but still Cristiano didn't do much shit in front of him in El Clasicos.
Montoya is good but I want him to be better for a starter spot in the team.

Dani Alves used to be world class and he's declined greatly. People are justified when they complain about his performances. However, Montoya is a youngster and will only improve with playing time.

 

[Vilarrubi]

@Zangash You have a point saying it's unfair looking at Montoya against Ronaldo and Real Madrid.. But on the other hand in a league like La Liga it's the big games that count as was proven at the end of the season, look how tight it was. There's a lot of RBs who could start for Barca and play really well against teams like Almeria, Osasuna, Elche etc.. But a world class RB is needed for those big games. That is why Montoya cannot be in the starting 11 for us..

 

[FC B]

Dani Alves used to be world class and he's declined greatly. People are justified when they complain about his performances. However, Montoya is a youngster and will only improve with playing time.

Agree but look at this :

@Zangash You have a point saying it's unfair looking at Montoya against Ronaldo and Real Madrid.. But on the other hand in a league like La Liga it's the big games that count as was proven at the end of the season, look how tight it was. There's a lot of RBs who could start for Barca and play really well against teams like Almeria, Osasuna, Elche etc.. But a world class RB is needed for those big games. That is why Montoya cannot be in the starting 11 for us..

 

[ebieymjunior]

@Zangash You have a point saying it's unfair looking at Montoya against Ronaldo and Real Madrid.. But on the other hand in a league like La Liga it's the big games that count as was proven at the end of the season, look how tight it was. There's a lot of RBs who could start for Barca and play really well against teams like Almeria, Osasuna, Elche etc.. But a world class RB is needed for those big games. That is why Montoya cannot be in the starting 11 for us..

I still remember the game against Real Madrid in the Supercopa of 2012 when he completely shut up Ronaldo. I think if he gets a lot of minutes, we'll see one of the best defenders ever. That's just me.

 

[KingMessi]

I still remember the game against Real Madrid in the Supercopa of 2012 when he completely shut up Ronaldo. I think if he gets a lot of minutes, we'll see one of the best defenders ever. That's just me.

If that shot of his would have gone in during the 2-2 draw, Montoya would be hailed as the best rightback prospect in the world. Montoya's got what it takes. All he needs is a chance, and Lucho will give it to him.

 

[Behrox]

If that shot of his would have gone in during the 2-2 draw, Montoya would be hailed as the best rightback prospect in the world. Montoya's got what it takes. All he needs is a chance, and Lucho will give it to him.

In addition to a chance he needs an injection of confidence when he wears a Barca shirt much like Roberto and Neymar and to an extent the Jugadorazo