Barcelona's trip to play against Osasuna in the liga will take place tonight. After a long round of "He loves me, he loves me not" Spanish federation steped in and "Thats it. Barca need to play to day. Find a bus. Take it or, take it".

It is true that Barcelona can only blame themselves for that. They should have traveled yesterday.  They took things for granted, ad you cant do so on this level. It is also true that the federation should have made up their minds earlier today. Big mess. 

And one can wonder with all the technical discussions regarding the worldcup, is this mentality is trustworthy to host a worldcup? Just saying... (We will talk about it in another post). The question is, will mother nature and this bus-trip leave the same impact on Barca's Liga title as it had when they took the bus all the way to Milan last season to play Inter in the Champion's league? It will not take a long time till we know.

Now Pep need to let Puyol run all the way to Pamplona and defend against Osasuna till the rest of the team arive and join him.

RUN RUN RUN!!! Pep screams on his players. Some were able to make it, others barely did.

 

I already stated my opinion about this argument in less than 100 words (I guess). If you are lazy to click the link - and i know you are- I repeat it here:

Dedummm… Dedummm… Dedummm…a dim beat coming from a distance. You barely hear it but it still fills you with discomfort and you visualize all kinds of ghosts, freaks and serial killers hiding in the bush of your own anxiety and moving as died shadows in a dark forest. The beat is only getting louder and louder turning apart the last shelter of patience and certainty you shield behind. Clasico time!

I am not enjoying the luxury of time lately to read all what the internet delivers about football on daily bases. A fast ramble across the web gave me an impression that a massive number of posts were written covering the clasico, and that’s not a surprise. There is more focus on the tactical aspect of the game this year than usual. First, because the two clubs –for the first time in recent year- are equipped with massive quality in each and every position. When two teams become that close concerning individuals, tactics turn to be the deciding factor. And secondly, because there is a Mourinho in the hood this time, and while the majority only remember Mou beating Barcelona in the champion’s league semi final last season and consider it a tactical victory for Mou over Pep, they forget that Pep outclassed Mou tactically in the group stages of the same year, beating him without even using the key players of offense. This is another reason that makes this match more interesting to follow.

Maybe, the main flaw I noticed in my fast scan on the net, is that people are predicting the team’s approach based on what we saw against Almeria (Barcelona) or Athletic Bilbao (Real Madrid). It is unlikely that the two teams make revolutionary changes –especially Pep- but the selections (or at least the tactics) will be tuned to meet the special demands of the big game. There is a special interest to see how both coaches will prepare their troops for this battle.

It is not the first time we predict that Pep will accept some compromises regarding the team approach, and he almost proved us wrong each and every time. Sometimes he was right to ignore my demands, other times he wasn’t.

It will be interesting to see if Mourinho’s priority will be checking Alves or preventing Iniesta from opening to the left flank. Di Maria’s position will define that. One option is having Di Maria on the left as represented in the photo and using Ronaldo to help defensively on Alves flank. Another option is to use Di Maria on Barca’s right to check Alves and releasing Ronaldo to a more offense oriented role. 

The above photo represents another rough presentation that is not realistic almost at any specific moment of the game. Mou will mix tactics he used at Inter against Barcelona with Rubin Kazan’s tactical lesson in defense that inspired lot of Barcelona’s opponents afterward.

If you take another look at the photo above, it is easy to notice lot of flaws in defense. Mou will make sure his team doesn’t fall in this trap often during the game. On Barca’s right, Messi-Xavi-Alves-Villa will keep being capable to break into the box through one touch and interchanging, especially that Ronaldo –no matter how disciplined he will be defensively- it is unlikely that he will keep tracking Alves that far into Real Madrid third. Ronaldo’s transition release Barca’s defense to contribute more often in the buildup and possession game. Asking Ozil to help the two holding midfielders will uncheck Busquets and lead to the same. Any of the mentioned leads Barcelona to spend more time in Real Madrid’s third than Mou can tolerate. That’s why there is a possibility that Mou sacrifice either Ozil or Higuain for Lass. Yet, there is a better option.

Rubin Kazan coach succeeded to create a system to defend Barcelona both horizontally and vertically. The common presentations we find through the internet arrange players in a very casual manner with every player being in his nominal position. When Barcelona attacks Real Madrid left flank, we will see Ramos playing as a right center back with Pepe, freeing Carvalho to create a diagonal depth between Marcelo and Alonso who moves to help closing the flank, Khedera more central and Di Maria as a pending holding midfielder (Similar to Pendev role when Inter met Barcelona in the Champion’s league). The whole positioning structure shuffles symmetrically when Barcelona attacks from the opposite flank. When Barcelona move the ball to the center, Real Madrid fullbacks will both move closer to the box to close any spaces in the center where Barcelona are more lethal than the flanks, especially with Pepe and Carvalho being dominant in the air in case Barcelona flanks crossed the ball to the box.

For this structure to work, Xavi and Busquets are the main key players Mourinho will check. Barcelona can break down this defense by moving the ball continuously from one flank to another forcing Real Madrid players to continuously re-consider their positioning and roles on the field. That’s extremely exhausting both physically and mentally. Rubin Kazan showed a successful demonstration. Attract Barca offense to one flank and compress it there by creating a vertical line that prevent Barcelona players from releasing the ball to the center or to the Area (unless if through crossing, which is not the most dangerous options for Barca offense). This means that instead of defending Barcelona across the whole width of the field, drag them to one flank and concentrate the defense to contain them there.

Though, it worth repeating that Mou will try to avoid the situation where Barcelona settle in Madrids third by putting pressure in Barca’s half to disturb the buildup. Checking Pique and Busquets will force Xavi and Iniesta to come closer to their defense to help releasing the ball forward. That situation serves Real Madrid holding midfielders who will not be under continuous pressure leading to mistakes. It will offer the defense a refreshing break. It will help Di Maria to contribute more in offense as well.

Real Madrid offense cause most danger when they win the ball in the opponent’s half. That’s why they will try to do exactly that. But it is also a given that Real Madrid is one of the best teams in the world in generating counter attacks. In Barcelona, Mou will find a great feast, a team with high defense line and offense dedication. Based on Barcelona’s initial game plan, we can visualize Real Madrid counters blowing as follows:

There are lot of talks about Ronaldo Vs Alves on the flank. There are lots of expectations that Ronaldo will expose Alves “defensive flaws”. In my opinion, this is an irrelevant argument, simply because it is not Alves job to check Ronaldo. Assuming that Alves is a traditional fullback is not true. If Alves think of Ronaldo while contributing in offense, he will run forward while looking back. That will reduce his offense contribution without really enhancing is defense output. Secondly, if Alves check Ronaldo, who will take care of Marcelo?

Here comes the first change in Barca’s selection above. The solution of Ronaldo/Marcelo combo is switching Pedro to play in front of Alves to take Marcelo defensively. Villa on the left, and Messi in the center.

Such option limit some defensive damage, but 1) It doesn’t terminate the threat completely. Ronaldo is not a pure wing. He will most probably cut into the center and take Alves on the weak foot. 2) It creates offense complications where Alves and Pedro may step on each other toes on the flank while iniesta will be forced to move to the left flank more often to stretch the field and help Villa to get into the box. That will make Barca’s center midfield more containable with Xavi and Busquets both being checked and Pique unable to move forward, leaving Puyol in one-on-one situation with Higuain.

More importantly, if you check the first photo where Barcelona in possession then the following photo representing Real Madrid counter attacks, it is obvious that checking Real Madrid key players to prevent counters will not be an easy walk for Barcelona when they lose possession. Real Madrid have many players who are good on the ball and can initiate the counters including Carvalho, Pepe, Xabi, Marcelo, Ozil, Ronaldo… They do it accurately through short or long passes to the space and they do it fast. There is a need to create a solid backbone that close spaces or at least delay Real Madrid counters till Iniesta and Co retain positions and help checking Real Madrid passes outlets.

If Pique will end up being the player who defend Ronaldo, expect Higuain to play more often on Puyol just to prevent him from creating defensive cover. Abidal will be denied on the left or kept Busy by Di Maria while Ozil mounting questions for Busquets in the center. Real Madrid can easily create numerical superiority at the attacked flank, and more importantly can create spaces on the other flank before switching the offense to expose it. We saw that clearly in the Champion’s league match against Inter.

Then you have the offense diversity and Tactical unpredictability. What if Mou switched the offense setup and used Ronaldo as a second striker?

Pep will keep being loyal to his game approach. It is tested and proved. But I still believe this is a better approach to adopt for this game (this represent the defensive setup of the selection):

Mascherano’s inclusion can solve lot of the mentioned complexity. He can close the hole behind Alves so he become the first to welcome Ronaldo when Real Madrid generates counters. It doesn’t matter if Ronaldo move on the flank or the Center, Mascherano will be there. Pique and Puyol will be more capable of dominating the area and creating depth. Abidal is an added value and he can make sure to check any threat coming from the left flank (Adriano or Maxwell will also be valid options for Left back in this case, though Abidal's defensive quality gives him the edge in this match).

As for Offense, having Mascherano in the center will release Busquets to contribute in the buildup making it more difficult for Real Madrid to contain the passing outlets in the center with Mascerano and Busquets helping Xavi and the players on the offense flank to release the ball and switch the play to the opposite flank. It means Real Madrid will start to give more attention to both flanks that focusing on one at a time. Beside being extremely demanding mentally and physically to keep tracking Barcelona’s offense switching from one flank to another, this will create more spaces in the center.

In the other hand, this structure will help driving the ball forward from the backline without Xavi’s help. Pique will be able to demand the ball forward with Mascherano covering for him. Busquets will find more space. Xavi will get the pass in Real Madrid half faster, which will help him to generate attacks before Real Madrid players structure the defense line. Busquets (or Pique) will be able to contribute in offense more frequently by making surprising runs to the box adding to the offense what the other forwards lack.

I don’t think the team will miss Pedro a lot in this case because Iniesta can execute a dual CM/LW role perfectly.

But as we all know, Pep will most probably play it SOLD, as usual. The most you can expect is a compromise between the two options by using Keita (not Mascherano). While this can solve lot of complications in the center and in the opponent box, I am not sure how it will strengthen Barcelona’s defense on the right flank.

Finally, food for thoughts:

Get ready for a titanic battle!

 

 

Revista La Liga is back covering the Liga and discussing the classico among other things. You can watch last week's version here. I already published the Champions league preview covering the match between Panathinaikos and Barcelona on The offside. Credit to Maxxed football forums for uploading the files, and to Andres for uploading Revista La Liga to his Youtube Channel.

 

First, my initial five cents about the match:

- Villarreal were not focused nor discipline during this match, especially in the first half where they missed pass for fun, ignored the defensive cover and even though they were putting an immense pressure upfront, it wasn’t systematic enough to cause lot of concerns for Barcelona. The energy burned in the first half left the team out of fuel in the second half. They paid for it.

- Barcelona performance tonight reminded me of the match against Sevilla. It’s not a coincidence that the two ecstatic performances followed a full week rest for the key players. That’s what squad depth mean. And that’s what the team lack this season. Granted with a match played in the midweek with the first teamers selected, there will be lot of doubts if the team can put such an effort in this one.

- Pep made a very interesting Tactical surprise in this match by using a conservative Maxwell. Remember my concerns before the match regarding a selection where both Maxwell and Alves move forward leaving the defense exposed? Remember the need to have Abidal on the left? Well, we had an Abidal on the left in Maxwell tonight. Especially with Villa playing on the left flank, there was no need for Maxwell to move forward beside when the defense is completely secured (With Alves being closer to the center backs). I still cant say this trick was the best possible as I believe a Keita or a Mascherano would have helped more (And I wont turn my hunch that the goal conceded was avoidable to a belief). Still, that little modification in Maxwell’s role was essential. Credit where due.

-The substitutions were successful as well.

- Abidal was very good in this match considering the fact that he is still not completely adapted to the responsibilities of Center back.

- Messi…

I am sure there is much more to point out. But I will keep it short and leave you with the match goals:

 

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La liga promise a great encounter this week where FC Barcelona hosts Villarreal at the Camp Nou. After a season of instability following Pellegrini’s departure, Villarreal bounced back to its progressing curve that led them to become one of the wild horses in Spain. And they made this comeback with fashion.

There is no doubt that lot of common features blend the two clubs meeting today. After a great cycle of Success with Rijkaard, a disappointing season led the Barcelona to bet on their youth team coach (Barcelona B) Pep Guardiola to recover the club, and the outcome was instant. After a successful era under Pellegrini Villarreal had a bad spell under Ernesto Valverde before the club looked back to their youth team coach (Villarreal B) Juan Carlos Garrido to recover the club, and the outcome was instant as well. The dependence on the youth coming from the club academy (with both B teams competing in the Second division) is another common feature. Now what about the following Quotes:

“Villarreal always tries to win games. That’s the initial idea, but we must travel with humility and great respect because we know we play against a great champion.”

“Each of us likes to play football. I try to get Villarreal to play in a way that appeals to our fans, but the ultimate goal is to always win.”

Such vision was successfully transmitted by the coach to the players. El País published an interesting interview with Santi Cazorla and Borja Valero where you can read lot of statements that leave you confused which side the two players play for. (Rough translation)

“The intensity, the pressure, short sided game; we do get that speed on the field. In England [Borja played for West Bromwich] workouts were a little rough, over run, nothing to do with it. Here, we hardly run without the ball.” Say Borja Valero

“Even in the preseason, everything is related to the ball. It makes you work more enjoyable.” Confirm Cazorla

El País: Garrido is very involved in the session. Is it heavy?

Cazorla: “I was lucky to have him in the reserves when I arrived. It's like then. Too tight and wants a lot of intensity.”

Borja Valero: “Some days you wake up with less enthusiasm and, if it were not because of that energy at every moment, you relax. He keeps us plugged.”

El País: It seems to have fun playing.

Cazorla: “The style and the players we have are of high quality and the team enjoys.”

Borja Valero: “It is so much fun. We have the ball and create chances.”

Talking about comparisons between Villarreal style and that’s of Barca, the players had the following to say:

Cazorla: “Our style is to employ many people around the ball and always have the initiative game.”

Borja Valero: “I love this game. Having possession and, on the basis of the possession, trying to hurt the opponent. Barca plays a high level and, relatively speaking, perhaps we are the more we tried after them.”

Cazorla: “We are also running a lot. We both play on the flanks and that’s a position where you have to run. The coach wants us to have much weight in the attack and then help in defense.”

And while Barcelona coming weeks embraces the Classico against Real Madrid, a game lot of observers consider a deciding event in the Liga tour. Villarreeal will play their derby against Valencia next week as a milestone for a competitive stretch of matches that include matches against Sevilla and Real Madrid, and that’s where Villarreal’s destiny this season will be decided.

Putting the uniqueness of the match against Villarreal aside, the suspension of Pique and Milito’s injury are the main initiatives behind writing this match preview. No doubt, there is a tactical challenge, and it will be interesting to see the Pep response to such complications.

It is important to scout the kind of threat Villarreal can create against Barcelona to figure how to structure the team to counter such threats. Villarreal like to keep possession, no doubt. But I strongly recommend not considering this feature as a common habit they share with Barcelona. There is much more directness in Villarreal’s football and they are more a counter attacking team than most of the Liga clubs Barcelona will play against.

Santi Cazorla and Borja Valero are the two players Barcelona need to contain to minimize Villarreal’s threat. If Borja had the time to split Barca’s lines with his quality passes, if Cazorla left to expose the wholes between the lines, this will be a long night for Barcelona. Capdevilla contribution in offense is also crucial for Villarreal’s dynamics as it offer Cazorla the chance to cut inside instead of stretching the field. Nilmar will be the player employed to dance between Barca defenders to push them back creating a space between them and the midfield. That will disturb Barcelona’s buildup while in possession, and will create spaces for Villarreal’s offense while countering. Rossi will create numerical superiority in the midfield when needed, expose the space between defense and midfield, and MOST IMPORTANTLY make the darting runs to the box to get advantage of any lack of positioning discipline between Barca’s defenders MAINLY near the far post when Villarreal attack the flanks.

Knowing that I dont play the guessing game, There are three main assumptions in that matter. And this is a general roundup, so you can make your own prediction:

Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Abidal, Maxwell, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Villa, Pedro

This selection is so much a Pep Guardiola game approach. And it usually works (mainly because of the players’ quality). Now you can only bet that your team is having a good day, while the opponent is having the worst day of the season. If reasoning will decide the encounter, Barcelona lose this match if Pep picks this selection.

While Alves contribution in the offence is a given, Maxwell is not a wingback who can create the cover. Abidal is a player who can play as a center back and with adaptation time he can end up being a quality option there. But at the moment, he is still far from having the positioning sense, anticipation, and concentration needed in this vital position. He counts more on his stamina, strength and pace which overcome lot of those deficiencies while playing as a left back, but may not serve him as much in the center. With Both Maxwell and Alves being more comfortable going forward than defending, and Abidal lack of excellence as a center back, taking in consideration Villarreal’s potentials on the flanks not only coming from the midfield and fullbacks but also their strikers movement to channels, this Barca selection is a recipe for troubles.

Now of course, the holding midfielder can move back to serve as a third defender. Yet, unless Villarreal make the same mistake Atletico Madrid did against Barcelona, this alternative will not help. With Busquets moving back to help as a third defender, a gap will occur between the defense and the buildup duet Xavi-Iniesta. Villarreal can expose such space to the extreme attacking more centered and negating any defensive contribution of Barcelona’s fullbacks while the immense pressure –and numerical superiority at times- will be thrown on the defense trio to deal with.

Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Abidal, Maxwell, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Villa

In brief, this alternative injects more consistency in the selection. When Busquets move back to assist defenders, Keita take Busquets role as a holding midfielder to close that gap left in the midfield. Iniesta’s role here is to play a dual-role between the midfield and the left wing based on what the match dictates. Now we are trying not to be too creative and stick to the least adjustments possible to the commonly used selections, or else –for this alternative- I favor having Mascherano as a holding midfielder and Busquets for Keita’s role.

This is a highly unlikely alternative, taking in consideration Barcelona’s proactive approach. But we post it to complete the picture:

Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Villa

Solid and secured. It counts on terminating Villarreal’s threat permanently while releasing Xavi, Alves, Iniesta, Messi, and Villa to cause damage. Luckily, we are not that pragmatic.

Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Busquets, Abidal, Mascherano, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Villa, Pedro

1)Busquets is the closest thing to Pique. Plus, He read the game well. Relatively tall. And has the minimal understanding needed to play beside Puyol. It will be smooth for him to track Rossi to the midfield leaving Puyol and Abidal to mark Nilmar (Compare that to having Puyol-Abidal partnership). He can also contribute in buildup through switching with Mascherano when Villarreal mark all passing outlets. This will also damage Villarreal chances to isolate Barca’s defense from the midfield.

2)Mascherano is a master in slaughtering counter attacks, commanding areas, and covering spaces. A great tackler. And most importantly, a player who has no hesitation to commit tactical fouls and receive a card when he feels his defense may get exposed if he doesn’t stop the opponent attack. People criticize him for that (getting booked). Yet, I respect his “on my dead body” mentality, and understand his decision of taking a risk to avoid a disaster.

3)The team gains another goal scoring possibility with Pedro, who also contributes in regaining possession amazingly.

Villarreal trips to Barcelona were full of draws and goals recently. I don’t predict results, and this one is more difficult to predict as it can go both ways and in many ways. 

The previous two meetings at the Camp Nou brought Ultimate pleasure and Ultimate -last minute- disappointment.  Next:

 

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From Manchester and Arsenal, to Liverpool and Chelsea across the English Premier League the term “bandwagons” rings in every direction. From Juventus and Roma to Milan rivals the claim that “there are no glory hunters supporting our club” is a claim written on every supporter chest and echoing in each corner at Serie A. And let’s not start talking about La Liga, and mainly the two poles of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.  Bandwagon fans and Glory haunters, Who are those people?

"A bandwagon fan is a phrase used among sports fans and sports writers to describe a fan that only roots for popular and successful sports franchises, then when they fall and are unpopular they switch to the new team. Sometimes people may change teams due to many factors, such as bad management, scandals involving the team, poor draft decisions, or unfavorable conditions in the current residence (which often could cause them to adopt their hometown's rival team as their own)... Bandwagon fans are usually despised by fans who consider themselves die-hard". (Source)

Before getting into the threat this slice of football fans can present for big –popular- clubs, it is relevant to go back in time to figure how the big-popular- clubs became big and became popular. It usually starts with one or handful football entrepreneurs collecting players and organizing a team like many in the city or the region. The team develops and shows enough promise to be recognized by the neighborhood that starts following the team regularly. At that early stage, if the team fails to secure continuous improvement, the followers start to vanish, attracted by other clubs with more potential in the same surrounding. The club ends up being one of numerous small clubs worldwide with few hundreds of followers competing on local minor rivalries and unrecognized competitions. 

If that small team succeeds to satisfy the followers hunger to victorious joys (A.K.A. results) dipped in the bragging opportunities to tease those living across the street, it sets the cornerstone to win over the followers hearts. With time good memories, cultural and social concurrence starts to tie the fans and the club more. That’s when temporary failure becomes more forgiven. It is no more this street club against the club of another street, but the club that represents the City best against the clubs of other cities. The more the club succeeds, the more its fan base expands the same way it was initially created: Results increase awareness. Awareness makes more people interested. Interest creates addiction. Addiction structure loyal supporters, added to the support inherited from father to son originated in that small street, then through the City, the nation, and worldwide. 

I am not sure if the term “Bandwagon” is originally offending. I am not an expert in English terminology. But if we use it with good intentions and based on the definition and argument above, there are two kinds of club followers: Ex-bandwagons outcome (Loyal fans), and current bandwagons (fan base contenders). So called bandwagons are people who became interested in the club when the club proved capable of bringing pride, joy, and satisfaction. Some of them became loyal fans and the rest decided to aboard the ship when the wind started to blow in another direction. But there is an important question here. Is it only about the people? It seems that the club has nothing to do in this matter, which is not the case at all. 

To understand the clubs’ role and responsibility we need to consider the club as any other firm, organization, or business. If you own a restaurant, you invite people to visit and try your food. If the first time they visit you fail to satisfy them, you are done and dusted. If they leave your restaurant smiling and praising, you can be sure they will come back again. But it will take more than just few successful trials before you can consider them as loyal customers. They need to enjoy some more lunches and dinners, to start recognizing the staff faces and names, to feel comfortable with the way food is served and the food diversity available, and most importantly start sharing the nostalgia of the memories they share with that restaurant. When they become that loyal, then they will forgive you if for once the launch was overcooked. A bit too spicy. Or the service was not up to the expected standards. During trial period they forget you. When they become loyal, they forgive you.

That’s how clubs create fan bases. Like loyal customers. Using marketing terms, clubs successful period is the marketing campaign. Bandwagons are the leads. Permanent supporters are the loyal customers. Successful periods -full with titles- act as marketing campaigns. It generates leads and increases awareness and attractiveness. Leads may visit your showroom because your marketing campaign was successful. That’s your opportunity brought to you on a golden plate. Now it’s your job to turn the leads to loyal allies. If they end up visiting your showroom without buying anything, then it’s your fault not theirs. If they buy just to get advantage of the offers promoted through the marketing campaign then you are lucky because that will buy you more time and extend your opportunity to do your homework. If they vanish the moment the marketing campaign cycle ends, that’s because you –as a club- failed to show more interesting features about your club/business beside titles/offers. You failed to create a more personal/human-like relation with them. You failed to make them aware that your club is so special in many ways that bring even more pride to its fans than titles. 

If they jump out of your ship when your club wins no more, don’t call then glory hunters. They are so, because you failed to show them the glory lies behind supporting your club, regardless of the titles won or lost.

The post today was supposed to continue the topic discussed yesterday. Yet, an urgent trip to Stockholm forced me to pack fast and write a light match preview before rushing to catch my train. The other post need to wait till I am back from the Swedish capital on Wednesday. Till then, let’s survive on snacks.

This week, FC Barcelona hosts Mallorca who already won 2 games, lost two and drew one collecting 7 points and settling in the eleventh drawer in the table. 

The club owned by Rafael Nadal the tennis master after an acquisition campaign led by no one but Serra Ferrer, faced the first blow when the intelligent coach Gregorio Manzano decided to move on after an extremely successful spell which led the club to the Champions’ league before their hefty debt that exceeded 80 Million Euros gave the chance for the UEFA to practice the law on this humble team, now that they don’t dare to show their authority facing the giants. Platini had lot of pleasure punching the kid hoping that this will scare the beasts.

Our own (or not?) Micheal Laudrup is the current coach. He is a coach who can do decent work where the expectations are not high. That’s exactly the case at Mallorca. He can count on the strong defense Manzano structured last season. They signed De Guzman (free transfer) to strengthen the midfield and Cavenaghi as a striker adding to the existing options Víctor,Webó, Sergi Enrich, Martí, without forgeting Aouate, one of many keepers in the Liga who perform at their best against Barcelona.

If Pep will keep counting on the same system discussed in the previous post, then why don’t we go for a 3-5-2 instead. With Xavi being out, all options are on the table for the selection. 

Predicted Lineup:

Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal, Mascherano, Busquets, Keita, Pedro, Messi, Iniesta

No one like it. I can live with that. Though I think it will be good to use Messi as a nine for this one after coming back from injury. That’s a position that doesn’t demand the Physical readiness his initial position does.

Nothing much to say that we didn’t point out in previous post. Beside that I will almost mess my train if I don’t start running!