Rafinha Alcantara
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dakt
Active member
Why do you want too sell him? Why the hate?
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
Not necessarily two starters,but two players that fit well with him. One of Gomes/Rakitic will be better fit with him than Iniesta for example.
serghei
Senior Member
In this case, keeping both Rafinha and Denis seems like a bad move now, as we won't be able to give valuable minutes to both without risking too much.
Anyway, that's how I see it now.
I'd have Arda as no2 option for the creative player in midfield, after Iniesta. I'm sure about that. I think Iniesta and Arda are by far our best creators from midfield, and now with higher workrate for Arda and better physical level, he can do the job of Iniesta the best. I saw that in the poll Denis is seen as the best option to replace Iniesta. Can't belive that for a second.
I'd have Rafinha as the guy who needs to play as well because he is in good form. Right now I think we could also rest a member of the MSN at times, to make room for Arda and Rafinha who deserve to play more for being very good so far in the season. Both scoring and creating and being at least okay, often among the game's best players, in more or less every game they've played (bar one-two games maybe in which pretty much everybody sucked).
Then it's Rakitic who provides the only viable option if we choose a more balanced midfield, made of one DM, one CM and one playmaker (only Iniesta and Arda cut it for me at Barca now) who can create. There's nothing to say that we can't play a DM in Busi and two more attacking midfielders against a team like Granada at home. I'll be more than happy with Arda - Busi - Denis/Rafinha. Just not with Denis and Rafinha together in midfield.
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Raketa10
Senior Member
I Agree with you, Denis and Rafinha are basically the same and at the moment Rafinha is playing much better. On the other hand Rakitic is the only one who plays defense apart from Busquets. I am not sure you can play Arda together with Rafinha or Denis. Maybe against weaker teams. I would try maybe Arda-Busquets-Gomes and than Rafinha on the wing. Or Rafinha-Busquets-Gomes and Arda on the wing. In stronger games we need balance in the midfield so I would not play two AM at the same time.
serghei
Senior Member
Yea, if the opponent allows it, and Granada at home should be the definition of a weak opponent, we can rest Rakitic (or play him DM) and play two offensive CMs, but one of which has to be Iniesta or Turan, because of experience and maturity.
Maybe who knows, Lucho intended to play exactly like that, Arda - Rakitic - Rafinha, but Arda being injured messed up his plans. He was still wrong to choose Denis over Gomes though, at least in my opinion.
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
I see it this way
We have Busquets/Gomes/Rakitic for 2 midfield positions. CM & DM .two of those have to play.
We then have Iniesta as starting AM (or another CM,or LCM. whatever you call it) and Arda/Denis/Rafinha as 3 subs for Iniesta,Messi & Neymar
On paper those are 4 players as back up for 5 positions. Not so crowded and they will probably get their minutes.
But the way Messi & Neymar hates to get rested it will limit their minutes. Though with Messi age he will have to rest whether it is coach decision or injuries.
The thing is Lucho seem to try to force thing right now with those players,playing Busquets,Gomes & Rakitic together most of the game against Valencia,playing Rafinha &Denis yesterday against Granada. this won't help them to show their talent.
May be he is trying to get to know how they are gonna work together early in the season and trying many formulas like he did in his 1st season. Understandable with the team adding 5 outfield player in summer in addition to Arda having his 1st full season here.
One side note for Denis is that he is probably the best option if Messi is gonna drop deep a lot as he is very comfortable in exchanging position with him in midfield & RW.
But in that case he will need Gomes or Rakitic as LCM
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serghei
Senior Member
OK. And then we have the question of how attacking can the CM be? Say we play Sevilla away, or Madrid. Rakitic should play 100% as he's our hardest worker in midfield bar none and he can also show up for a header or for a good shot. We have Messi on the right and we need a midfielder who's best streght would be workrate and quickness in covering spaces left by Messi not moving with his man - check Marcelo being the best player of Madrid in the last 2 clasicos on Camp Nou because of Messi not working enough to help Rakitic, and even Rakitic failing to close him down quick enough. Against a team that can hurt you in attack and with MSN up front, I think we need to play Rakitic, or if Rakitic can't play we can even count on Mascherano to play there. Sure we will lose the dangerous presence of Rakitic in the last 3rd, but we would still have a combative player there, able to stop attacks, or make tactical fouls, or be there overall as a defensive presence.
But if we don't play a top team, or a team who tries to attack us, and if we play a team like Granada, or some other weak side, especially at home, then there's no one to say we can't use a more offensive player. And Gomes/Rafinha/Denis can show up here instead of Rakitic. Gomes being the best fit, but we can also risk more and play a pure CAM with desire to go forward like Rafinha or Denis.
Lucho is the first one who has to make calls that won't sit too well with the MSN. But he has to do them. Why not rest Neymar in a game and play Arda there, when Arda was actually show he can do a very very good job in the left wing, not only in easy games, but against Sevilla of all teams, even on Pizjuan. He can play great at LW and Neymar needs to share some minutes there.
Also, about the AM spot, it's tough to crowd 4 players there. Iniesta and Arda need to take a large portion of the minutes imo because they share a lot of qualities (for example, look at Arda's assist to Rakitic vs Bilbao, then at Iniesta's assist to Rakitic vs Atletico, almost identical, only midfielders who can put a ball that well, who have that control over a pass are Iniesta and Arda). Rafinha can slide there when Arda plays LW (which he should do, I don't know why Lucho has let go of that move, it worked great when Neymar was at the Olympics).
Denis a bit on the outs on the left imo, even though he seems to be everyone's fav. in that position. But we can't really have 4 players on the LCM spot, and only 2 on the CM spot (Rakitic and Gomes). That is why in the easier games we should force a bit and play a more attacking player in Rakitic's spot. That is how we rest Rakitic as well, by playing him at CM especially against teams who attack space left by Messi's poor defensive coverage. We can get away in most games with a player who's less of a workhorse than Rakitic in that RCM spot.
That's a big problem. He seems to not have the courage to rest MSN, either our game is too dependant or them, or he doesn't want to upset them and ruin their mojo, or both. And lets not forget about Paco. He was brought to do what? Just rest a member of MSN more often. Not two at once, but one can be rested. Neymar for Arda and Suarez for Paco. It can be done. Playing Arda in good form for Neymar is not that much of a drop in quality, given how great Arda was there, getting assists and goals and showing he is probably the only player in our squad who is on the same page with Messi, Neymar, Suarez and Iniesta.
I noticed that Denis does intercharge with the winger from his zone (Messi this time), but he isn't picked up with balls. Most of Messi's balls go for Suarez and Neymar. It's as if only Arda breaks that trio in terms of being trusted, and Rakitic at times. He seems to get along the best with the MSN, being in their group. Denis not so much. He runs a lot, gets in good positions at times, but he doesn't get the ball. It's as if his role is only to draw players on him and make some room for Suarez, but a lot of times the opposition players leave him open and still stick to Suarez who they see as the dangerous player. In those moments he needs to receive the ball and let the opposition know that he needs to be looked after as well. He needs to receive 2-3 good passes and score a few goals as a result of being unmarked, so other teams will take note and start marking him, thus creating more space for our forwards to get into.
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JerseyAddict
Well-known member
http://www.sport-english.com/en/new...lona-not-suffer-from-messidependencia-5645547
Stop kidding yourself man, you are half a team without Messi...
Stop kidding yourself man, you are half a team without Messi...
evilhita666
Barçapocalypse NOW!
Atrocious game today, he looked like an entirely different player...
Antimadridista1
New member
Damn, he disappointed me a lot yesterday night. What happened to the La Liga's Rafinha who scored 5 goals and was able to create a lot of danger ?
JerseyAddict
Well-known member
So, why Rafinha was not in the squad against RM? At least as a bench filler?
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