Thiago Translantara
- Thread starter IraqiCulé
- Start date
I may be!
In fact I really enjoyed the last match against Malaga - felt a lot like the street soccer that we've all played. Dribbling, passing, less structured, more risks. With Messi in, I find guys like Sanchez especially turn into robots. Much preferred the younger Messi - or the way he was used - not the focus of the entire team.
I'm no sports medicine expert, but as a coach I know that work (or damage) is not linearly correlated to the distance run. That is, 4km causes much more than half the damage of 8km. Kind of like highway vs city mileage for a car.
Also, can you offer some explanation for Messi's reduced speed. You would think that he should be even faster in matches today than before given he runs less.
Semi-Neutral
Sir Alupp Heynrguson
Save for the Malaga game, that one was a ton of fun.
BerkeleyBernie
Senior Member
+1
I agree, by far one of the more entertaining games of the season for me. Malaga match the ball was really zipping around, a lot because the three forwards had freedom to overlap in the middle and all trying to get in behind the defenders, and because Montoya plays smarter than Alves. When Messi plays, he's either walking up front providing no target or dropping back to the half line leaving a huge hole up front. Personally, I'd rather see the team shine like this rather than one or two moments per game of individual brilliance from Messi as a false 9.
Also, Malaga also put together some quality offense. They created some really good opportunities from good passing and dribbling, not due to poor defending. Barça deserved the win, but could have been a closer scoreline.
ThwiX
Best midfielder around
Are you saying that our team has shined every match that they have played without Messi? What I have seen is a team that hasn't played well at all. A piss poor Fabregas and Villa wasting chances that even I could score. Without Messi we would never have won the league nor reached the CL semi final. I think a lot of people here should show more thankfulness over how Messi has carried us this whole season.
BerkeleyBernie
Senior Member
I'm saying the Malaga game was very entertaining and that the team is starting to find its stride without Messi on the pitch (*and* with Montoya replacing Alves). It's a different beast. When you've played practically every game with Messi for the past two years and suddenly have to change, it takes awhile for the forwards to adjust to having that freedom to move again.
I'm thankful for *Barça* playing the kind of technical fluid football that I enjoy watching. I want to be entertained and I reaaaaaally don't care about winning. Messi is undoubtably a great player, but the current system built around him (with wide forwards instructed to hug the touchlines and him dropping to false nine) has in large part contributed to the sideways tiki-taka this year and made Barça's games generally less fluid. The few times Tito has played someone up front of Messi in the CF area helped restore a more diverse attack, but overall this season's games have been far more boring and less team attack than previous years.
ShandyFFM
New member
Zubi said at neymars pesstalk thiago although likes to wear the 12 or so the players have to discuss the numbers on their own... guess thiago will leave this club...sad but true... nothing s looking like he will stay, neymars number, xavi getting more playing time and although in the last game against malaga he only played 15mins
Although there are a lot of us for whom football is primarily art... I should like to add for the others that playing Messi less and differently, and diversifying in general, and more rotations, will lead not only to more entertainment but also more winning in the longer run. Otherwise Barca risk becoming a very cyclical club, burning out players, buying sprees to taper things over, etc.
I would also say that Alves' utter predictability has a lot to do with the system as a whole.
I would also say that Alves' utter predictability has a lot to do with the system as a whole.
XaviMessiGirl
New member
I definitely wouldn't say that Barca without Messi is better or more fun to watch, but I do agree that we need to learn how to play without him & even when he does play, to not rely so heavily on him to produce everything. Pretty much a given though I don't know how realistic it actually is.
H
Haruko The Goon
Guest
Thiago to Arsenal pleaseeeeeeeeeeee
6km once or twice a week isn't much. Some of that is just walking. Some just jogging. There's a 15 minute break in between too. You then get a couple of days to recover.
If he's spending time walking then his body will be cooler and thus he'll be less mobile. Personally, I think the last 15-20 minutes of each half he should play normal and not walk around. That'll push him up to 7-8KM per game rather than 6-7.
Kerrybai
New member
The problem has nothing to do with Messi though, it's the tactics. We can only assume that Tito is ordering our wingers out wide, or else they just suck. I'm sure messi would be delighted if Sanchez etc stopped been static and took up positions in front of him. Have you watched Argentina play? Higgy and Co move all over the pitch. ----------------------------------------The other thing I will say is that the Malaga game was a training excercise, we were toothless without Messi on the big games. The beast you referred to is non-existent right now, Malaga had nothing to play for, in fact they have given up on their season since their CL exit.
hadilee666
New member
oh go on, go on. more non-Thiago talks. :valdes:
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