I had to post this here just to make record on this blog. For a while now, Ibrahimovic agent, Raiola, has been an outspoken Fat-Rat who just whine and rant. So as Ibrahimovic himself. The club, and Guardiola made an attempt to absorb that situation hoping the two will heal from the failure flu at FC Barcelona. Yet after this most recent Fat-Rat Raiola comment:

"Cruyff and Guardiola should go to a mental hospital, shut up, sit there and play cards" [expressen via @johannagara] (Barcastuff)

"FC Barcelona would like to state that we consider that recent statements by agent Mino Raiola are unacceptable as he has again questioned the honour and moral integrity of our first-team coach Josep Guardiola and that of Johan Cruyff.

The statements were published in Swedish newspaper 'Expressen' and reproduced extensively by numerous agencies and international media outlets.
For this reason, the FC Barcelona legal department is considering taking legal measures against Mr. Raiola, including taking him to court. With immediate effect FC Barcelona is blocking all pending payments to Mr. Raiola in relation to his contractual agreements with the club. "

"I don't have anything against Guardiola. He's a great coach. My player Maxwell feels good with him. I only said Cruyff should go to a spa. I didn't say anything about Guardiola." (Barcastuff)

Poor thing...he was misunderstood...Can we all hug? Well...No! We send you to court. You send those who fabricated your qoutes to court (Assuming that anyone did-I doubt). We kick your front and you kick their behind. Then maybe...we still not hug!

As for Ibrahimovic. You know...I understand the initial reaction. I am aware that it was not all his fault for all what happened. But now after giving him the benefit of doubt. He is still complaining about Pep who was not making him a roll and tying his shoe every day. It hurts, I know... Well I have one thing for you Mr. Cadabra:

And for the record, I am a bit surprised about:

“With immediate effect FC Barcelona is blocking all pending payments to Mr. Raiola”.

Dont get me wrong, I like it. But laws are not emotional. Are we legally allowed to do so? If we are, then the:

“the FC Barcelona legal department is considering taking legal measures against Mr. Raiola, including taking him to court.”

Because after FC Barcelona’s decision to pay the Agent no more money. Court it will be. I just hope we will have enough material there because if he wins…I dont want to think about it…

Still, more than anyone can expect. If it will make Fat-Rat tremble for one second. I call it glory. 

* Attention: The following Video  may contain strong language that may not be appreciated by sensetive readers.
And give the page few moments to load then re-play.

In the post I published after Ibra’s transfer last night, I shared my view about the whole case. Later on tweeter I said that I hope I will not say anything more about it, and I will really try to keep my word. I just want Barcelona to help the fans at least to forgive, if they can’t forget. Publishing statements like this on the official site is not helping. Seriously.

Is the Permanente move “an option” or a MUST? Will Milan have a choice to decide if they buy him or not, or they HAVE to buy him? Especially when the following statement say “If the option to buy Ibrahimovic is taken up by the Serie A club” hm…Ha?

Then the argument that "That's a great deal! we save 60 m" is disrespectful for the fans as it is built on the assumption that "they are naive, so lets fool them" Why not selling Messi then so "We save 200 M" based on the same logic?

But if you think there is no fun for some humor then you have to read the last paragraph of the statement:

“The deal was able to be done thanks to the collaboration of the player and the willingness of his agent to conclude the negotiations.” Alright…I got it…not…

La Liga adventure for Barcelona starts today. There are high expectations as usual. This season, the Squad will lean on better resources than last season and if the players enjoy enough luck away from injuries the team can go far competing to regain the titles lost last season and keep the titles won. 

The quest to the title starts today against Racing Santander at El Sardinero in Cantabria. One of the decent counter attacking teams in the Liga. They lost Sergio Canales, José Moratón, Toni Moral and Luis García. But they signed Kennedy Bakircoglü, Adrían González, Cisma. Adrian, and Tziolis,

Last season, Racing Santander struggled to avoided relegation. This season will likely be the same, though they could hope to finish in the middle of the table.

Racing de Santander: Toño, Francis, Henrique, Torrejón, Cisma, Kennedy, Colsa, Diop, Arana, Munitis y Tchité. 

Worth noting that Henrique is Barcelona’s Brazilian defender who extended his loan. It will be another opportunity to watch the performance of this exiled player. With two holding midfielders in Colsa and Diop the team will try to close spaces while Tchité and co do the best they can to put pressure on Barcelona’s defense and midfielders to disturb the buildup. Munitis –if started- is the same old fox who makes the most offense impact for his team.

The chaos the club had in the past few days was not the perfect way to approach a season. But one can expect that the players were shielded from any passive vibes created by Ibra-gate. They will approach the game with lots to prove and they will make sure to demonstrate the will to win the title again.

The selection is not something we can accurately predict. Against a team like Racing, it’s good to avoid bad surprises. With Keita performing on the highest level recently I can see him in the midfield beside Xavi and in front of Busquets. A front line of Iniesta, Villa, and Messi is not a bad call with Pedro as a game changer. It will also help to re-tune Keita’s role for more offense work than he did in the last segment of last season. That will be crucial now without Ibra, where the need of Keita’s runs into the box is a vital need. It’s also a more attainable option after signing Mascherano. Keita in front of Mascherano will not need to play as deep as he plays when Busquets is the holding midfielder because Mascherano will not move forward as far as Busquets does. 

Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Adriano, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Messi

The strangest name in the selection is Adriano instead of Abidal. The French defender is still no doubt the first option at left back. But for this game, I think Adriano can help more offense wise. Yet, Pep may start the game more conservative by using Abidal, and then using Adriano later on if needed.

The striker Barcelona offloaded their historical goalscorer to get was donated one year later for less than half the amount paid to get him –if my estimations are right regarding how much Barcelona paid. He was offloaded for less than third the money the Catalans paid if we want to believe the numbers thrown across the world after he joined the club.

Out of nowhere, Spanish media start showing more interest in Raiola’s wisdom. Raiolla is not known to be a man who back. Trash talking. Milan faxes a loan offer. Out of sudden, a conflict between Pep and Ibra flow on the surface. And boom! Barcelona’s striker was thrown out of the door. Less than 48 hours from the transfer period’s end-if you count business days.

Starting from the numbers, the bargain landed on 24M that will be paid starting from next year stretched along three years. It is important then to note that 24 M payable in three years, that’s not exactly the same as 24 Million you put on the table today. That’s much less. Meaning, Barcelona sold Ibrahimovic for less than 24 Million. That’s not the end of the joke, so hold your last breathe and don’t laugh yet. There is an exit fee, Bonus, super bonus, cash sandwich, call it whatever you want. It kiss the four millions estimation. All in all, Barcelona will receive less than 20 Million to offload Ibra, and they will be begging for those coins for three years. More? Well. I can pull out one more rabbet from my hat. Based on the new regulations of fair play, the teams are not allowed to have loans between each other. Will that lead to another negotiation circus a year or two from now for a compensated payment?

That’s in one hand. In the other hand, the way the transfer was engineered is purely Shame-tastic. If we want to go with normal sense, when you start negotiating, there is a possibility the deal will take place, but there is also a possibility that it collapse. You don’t burn all the bridges. The two parties –Barcelona and Milan- were negotiating on the main road each on one side with loud speakers in their hands to negotiate the details while the media of the world cruising in between. Milan made no foul there; they squeezed their counter to the corner. They made it disgraceful for the player even to consider staying in his club after being publicly labeled as: Unwanted. It was so hilarious to a level that Rosell posted on his tweeter account: “Now I am going to meet Galliani” even before Milan officially provide their formal offer. Ladies and gents, that’s the president of the club, we are talking about!

Milan applied a set-in negotiating strategy. They brought all the staff they needed to make sure they give no space of time for Barca management to reconsider. All decisions were taken at the heat of the moment. That’s predictable, when Barcelona brings all their staff to the negotiation’s table as well. That’s a sign that you are desperate. That’s a sign that you have no way back. That’s a sign that you don’t want to take any time thinking about the whole situation. You made the decision and you consider negotiations as logistics. That’s a “take him please!” And a veteran football director like Galliani will easily ride your back when you bow that low.

Now everyone will start getting crazy for the fig leaf. Spanish press quoted by the press worldwide will suck the blood out of this carrion. Sandro is the man who will not show up in the daylight but will do all the dark magic after the wolves' first cry when the night spread its wings. Pep will keep being the minister of foreign affairs meeting the questions with full stops, unless if he feels he is in the corner then he plays the victim or victimize himself. Ibra will be the temper chauvinist he is, and his agent is a football agent-no worse way to address him I guess. But there is a catastrophic mess that happened. A damaging action for the club’s image. Not only on the financial level, but also on the moral level where the club showed lack of commitment toward a player they crawled to get. They were not even interested in saving his face, leading to more predicted outburst and more pathetic episodes to this drama that is yet to reach the closing. Salaries, prestige, and branding are important factors that attract employees to a company. But the most important factor is job security. Ibra’s story with Barcelona will not inspire lot of confidence for any player the club may try to sign later.

When an organization gets in big troubles, it’s Hippocratic to start by blaming the gates' keeper. The receptionist. The human resources manager or the guy who waters the grass in the parking. The blame has to be on the decision maker. The one who is supposed to make sure the gates keeper does his work properly. The receptionist is always well-dressed in proper cloth and charming smile. The human resources being up to the task. The decision maker need to notice the grass is not as green as it should be and make sure to put things in place before the grass turn to ashes. That’s why the head of any organization is given more authority than the rest. Because they should know better. They should be the ones who weigh the situations from all perspectives rather than reacting on it from a marketing perspective, or accounting perspective and so on. The decision maker with more authorities means vital responsibilities. Those high level managers are highly authorized so they lead, not to be led.

Looking back to Barcelona’s case of Ibrahimovic, There is the first conclusion that says it’s Sandro Rosell who was pushing for this transfer since day one and he setup the theater for the play to rock on. If so, then case closed. But what if it was Pep’s or Ibra’s fault for the football divorce between the club and the player?

If the board of directors were aware of this problem since they inherited Laporta’s reign, then why waiting till the last moment of the transfer window? Even after Ibra’s return from holidays he had a meeting with Pep and afterward he made it clear that he is staying. He is at Barcelona to win the champion’s league and he will try to do so next season. “If Villa will help winning the title, then it’s all good”. He played in all the games of the preseason. Hours before Milan’s offer Barcelona’s PR director was saying that Ibra is not transferable, though he can’t say 100 % a player will stay even if that was Xavi or Messi…or Ibra. Hm…who is next?

One month ago, Barcelona could have generated more money from Ibra’s transfer. No doubt about this one. Based on the charity deal they just made with Milan, they may end up collecting half the amount of money Man city paid to get Balotelli. Will Man city pay over 25 Million to get Ibra? You will find people who believe City wouldn’t hesitate to pay him that as a salary. Will Ibra move to Man city? Some may doubt. I think if he –or his agent- are smart they would have picked Man city over Milan in a heartbeat. Nothing against Milan but going back to Italy –to the same city he left searching for glory- is not just a step back, but a return with his tail between his legs. Manchester City is not in the Champion’s league but isn’t it more prestigious to lead them next season to the Champion’s league than playing for a team that is already there? Some may even argue that Man city will have better chance to win the Champion’s league in the future than Milan. Stretch the imagination a bit and think about winning the English league after dominating the Netherlands’, Italian, and winning the Spanish. There was definitely a way to promote the idea for Ibra.

Still, now that we know the numbers, who said Manchester city would have been the only choice? The transfer ended up too cheap that even Xerez would have engineered an offer. Chelsea had lot of players they could have used in the offer to get the player. Even Manchester united with all their financial complications. It was even a better deal to send Ibra with cash over his head to tempt Liverpool for a swap deal that bring Torres back to the liga. Bayern would have thought about making an attempt. And the list is long. Most importantly, the club would have had enough time to sign a replacement and the replacement would have had enough time to adapt before the season starts.

But what if Pep was in a coma and only realized the Ibra-flammation few days ago. The board should have been aware that it is too late. Or at least “may be it is too late”. The first two rules to enter a negotiation are 1) to know exactly how far you are willing to compromise.2) to plan an exit if the negotiation proved unsatisfying. The board should have told the coach that they will try to resolve the situation but he needs to expect the player to stay one more season if no good bargain was possible. He takes as a coach the responsibility of late judgment, not the club. When the board set the mentioned guidelines they position themselves better on the negotiation table. The first thing needed was to tell Milan –before they travel to Barcelona- that the loan Idea is laughable. Hell even Liverpool had the balls to completely ignore an offer from Inter for Mascherano. To be clear, when I say “even Liverpool” I am pointing at their financial problems. You can’t respond “just come and we will see” no matter what the initial offer is. The initial offer will be the starting point that you can only expect –and work- to improve, not to change radically. When you keep in mind that the negotiation may go either way –and inform your coach about it- then you will feel it’s a must not to go in public till you get a solid offer that you are willing to negotiate. What happened was the opposite. The coach was the most conservative while the board leader was riding the high horse of slaughtering the Swedish vampire anyway possible.

What was the worst that may happen? Ibra stays? Regardless of his (lack of) quality, Barcelona could have received an equivalent amount of money if they sell him next summer-or even during the winter transfer market. Remember, it’s less that 20 million receivable during 3 years. Fifteen millions in hand is a better bargain next summer. 

After the pathetic show of dragging Barcelona naked across the streets of financial reports, this was the next “big” Rosell-ic thing to happen in less than two months. I am not sure how saying that the club is collapsing financially will help your case while negotiating sponsorship deals, or any kind of agreements that may inject money in the club’s veins. But that’s another story. If he will show consistency that meets his performance so far, free your imagination and expect the worse.

I was an admirer of Sandro when he was in Laporta’s board. Ironically, I was closer to his point of view (or as the media presented the case back then). But since he started to do thing on his own away from Laporta’s farm things started to turn ugly. Being someone who opposed his campaign to inherit Laporta, I am under an obligation to give him the benefit of doubt and spread hope that he will be great president and that he just need time. But he needs to start giving me some good reasons to do so.

Quote of the day:

Villa’s move to Barcelona is so far the most exciting transfer for the summer. A player who scored 129 goals and created 53 in the past 5 years for Valencia joins the Catalan offense armada. Spanish media published dozens of articles about the definite departure of Ibrahimovic because he will not have a place in Barca’s lineup while some-me included- considers Villa acquisition as the best news for Zlatan. But what can we expect from Barcelona offense next season?

There was a general dissatisfaction between Barcelona’s fans when you ask them about the offense line performance of last season. Such dissatisfaction usually targets the newest kid in the building A.K.A Zlatan Ibrahimovic, especially after the inflated values stamped on his transfer. No one can argue that Zlatan was not the greatest of them all and if he is seriously considering winning the champions’ league he needs to improve his contribution with the club. Yet, with the declination of Henry and injury owes of Iniesta, I couldn’t resist thinking of Eto’o’s performance the season when Ronaldinho and Deco disappointed while watching Barcelona’s performance in 2010. 

I usually stress on the need to structure a permanent offense presence at the highest point possible on the field. If the team is defending, that offense reference has to position the threat in line with the opponent’s last center back. In the final third –when the team attacks- a permanent presence in the box with sufficient support is a must. One of the reasons I doubted that Brazil will win the world cup was the lack of support inside the box where only Fabiano can cause damage –beside set pieces. One of the points I voiced regarding Spain is that to win the world cup they need to have Torres in the selection with Villa. Time confirmed that.

“Offense wise, Kaka’s form will be vital to link midfield with offense and guarantee change of play which will be important against parked buses Brazil will face. Yet, the most notable concern is the lack of players who can create threat inside the box. Something they may need if the opponent left no spaces for the Brazilian forwards to demand the ball in the space or shoot from outside the box. Only Fabiano can get advantage of Maicon and Bastos crosses. That’s why I think it was better to use a player like Baptista who can serve better than Elano the system Brazil is using.”

"After the game against Switzerland, Vicente del Bosque modified the selection slightly to solve problem number one: Lack of offense presence inside the box. He counted on Torres as a striker with Villa exposing the spaces."

In his first season, Henry struggled to fit the role requested as a left wing. In the second season he had his best performance at the club. It was not just about adaptation. It was not only because the team as a whole performed better which is a need for any forward to meet the expectations. It was basically because his role was modified. Eto’o’s Henry played the role of Ronaldo’s Rooney for Manchester United. He was a player who creates spaces, shake defense line and open to channels (left). He was the first player to run forward exposing the space and demanding the ball upfront, supporting Eto’o when the team retain possession. Eto’o was the player who took advantage of that work (synchronized with the work of the group) and did what he like to do most: scoring (without ignoring his immense contribution otherwise). That’s why shuffling the lines forward when retaining possession was smooth and timed. 

The second alternative applied in 2009 was having Yaya-Keita-Xavi in the midfield with Iniesta-Eto’o-Messi playing upfront. Regardless of the impression that “Iniesta does not score so he can’t play on the flank” the team eventually scored the same rate of goals with this alternative as they did using the first one. The keys of success for this alternative were 1) With Iniesta moving to the midfield more often to contribute in the buildup, Messi had to work less in that department (than he had to do in the first alternative, Henry-Eto’o-Messi), so he was able to demand the ball closer to the opponents’ area. 2) Eto’o’s style for being a player who likes to demand the ball behind the opponents’ lines which forced the opponent defense line to be more conservative to create spaces behind (ultimately created more spaces between the lines to move the ball forward. When the team attacked the box Keita was the player who supported Eto’o in the box. He didn’t score lot of goals but he pulled the defense attention and created spaces for Messi and Eto’o to operate.

Barcelona Tactics last season were subject to lot of discussions. Was it 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-1-3-2, 4-2-4, 4-1-4-1, 4-4-2, or simply a 4-3-3 is not what matters most. The loss of Henry meant the 2009th first alternative is not valid anymore. Pedro is a good player. But he wasn’t able to serve that offence dynamics in his first season. He can’t serve as a “station” holding on the ball and giving time for the players to reposition, instead he accelerate the tempo even when there is no sufficient support, squeezing the options and spaces instead of creating them. Besides, he is a typical Barca player whose first priority is the ball, not the field dimensions. Sometimes running into the space upfront even if you get no passes serve the team much more than moving deep and doing a Xavi. Remember that substitution del Bosque made in the world cup final (Navas for Pedro)? That’s exactly what I mean regardless of my opinion about starting Pedro in the first place then subbing him that early for Navas. But it shows What Pedro is good at, and what he is not as good. No doubt, he was one of the best performers for Barcelona last season, and one can only expect him to get better next season. But the point here is not about his individual qualities but the contribution he makes with the system in hand. Pedro’s inclusion –as Ibra’s inclusion- required system modification. Such changes take time to turn fruitful. 

The absence of Iniesta either for injury or lack of form (even when he played) ruined the advantages of the second alternative. He wasn’t in the midfield to assist Xavi nor he was on the wing/midfield to contribute in the buildup keeping Messi upfront. That situation forced Messi to contribute in the midfield more than he did before and kept him a bit far from the offense department. Ibra in the other hand is not an Eto’o who enjoys playing between the defenders waiting the pass in the space. He is a forward who like to touch the ball more often and if his teammates didn’t deliver it to him he will come all the way to get it. The output was a Barcelona offense playing in the midfield. When the team succeeded to shuffle the lines forward everyone was happy. Interestingly-for example- that the games Keita scored his goals were the games where Ibra produced his finest performances with the club. Coincidence?

Ibra generated some of the complexities of Barcelona’s offense. But he wasn’t THE complexity. Lot of theories took place last season and it went so far that I had to make a long rant in one of my posts responding to one of the most popular arguments: Bojan should have played against Inter instead of Ibra. When Coincidences support an argument there is no place for logic. Which is pretty much the case here. But later on, the upgraded accomplished version of Bojan dressed in a Spanish kit proved otherwise against Switzerland and later against Holland (none of them were even close to Inter’s quality). 

The first thing to expect for last season is that ibra will not be sold. Hear me Sandro? The second thing to expect is that the complications of last season will not exist. Zlatan took a whole season to adapt. Pedro is improving every time he blinks his eyes. Bojan already announced that for next season he will not be the squad child anymore, he feels like a man;-) The best thing ever happened to Messi was losing the world cup because that will generate him with enough hunger for the following four years. And there is a Villa in the villa. 

Villa will no doubt be the player who can complement Ibra most and both can create acres of spaces for Messi. The three players will create offense triangles more than an offense line. Messi behind both Villa and Ibra is one. Ibra being the head of the triangle while setting offense then pulling the defense put of position for Messi and Villa to demand the ball behind the defense is another. Ibra playing behind Messi and Villa then crushing into the box is an option as well. There are countless options and it will be up to pep to decide how to approach every game. The three players are assists generators. The three players can create spaces and can expose them. The three players –if you analyze their attributes- complete each other like the colors of a painting. There are lots of reasons to feel excited about this offense troika.

But while hailing the fantastic three, let’s not forget the excitement of the fantastic four when the club signed Henry to join Messi, Ronaldinho, and eto’o (Though, I wasn’t that excited, but that another story). We all know how that tale ended up. Will the fantastic meet the expectations this time?

This is the the interview content without my own opinion. Followed by my five cents and impressions:

"Villa can play in the center or on the left wing. Wherever he has played, he has always scored. Villa is a player who moves well, and creates space. Let's hope he'll continue scoring and that he'll be happy here."

"We thought that signing a player just to let Alves rest every now and then wasn't right. Abidal can play as centre-back, that's why we preferred to sign Adriano. Adriano is very versatile. He is 24-25 years old, he knows the league, and has a lot of energy. A great transfer."

"I'm not aware that we're interested in Alou Diarra as possible substitute of Touré. We're looking for someone with the profile of Touré. Or we could play Keita in that position. It will depend on the finances."

"Touré is a unique player but he wanted to leave. He is a big loss for us. We've done all we can to make him stay but I understand he wants to play more. I thank him for what he has given us and I hope that he will find what I wasn't able to give him."

"Chygrynskiy? I know I'm alone on this one but I didn't want to sell him. The president said we needed to sell for economic reasons. The sale of Chygrynskiy was needed to pay the salaries of the employees? They told me something like that. The economic criteria of the president and the club are moreimportant than my opinion. So I understand the sale of Chygrynskiy. I'm just an employee of the club. I feel part of the new structure of the sport’s area but the club made the decision. I'm a man of the club. Although it might not seem like that with people suggesting I'm deciding everything around here" 

"It has been an immense pleasure to have worked with Henry. We keep good memories from his time at the club. I wish Henry all the best in New York."

"We plan to loan out the same players as last season. Today, I've talked with some of them."

"Will Marquez leave? That's possible. He will make the decision. I cannot guarantee him a lot of playing time."

Ibrahimovic and his agent will choose what they think is best for his future. He has to be a key player. We've talked. Last season he did very well. I didn't ask anyone to try and sell him. 

I'm delighted Bojan continues and that he proved me wrong at the end of last season. I hope this year I will be able to give Bojan the playing time he deserves.

Signing Cesc would cost us a lot. And I understand that because he's important for Arsenal. If Arsenal doesn't want to negotiate for Cesc, we can't negotiate. We want Cesc, but it seems Arsenal and Madrid want him too. I don't know how things stand now.

Small squad? Well, we don't have a penny left, so we can't sign new players. Maybe we'll have a couple more, plus the youth. I'm not worried about a small squad. I'm working better this way. Maybe we need something in midfield but Cesc is expensive.

Abidal could be an option as center-back. Besides, we also have some youth coming. (Keita as a Holding midfielder as mentioned above).

We need to be competitive again. We need to make ourselves small to be great again. We'll try to defeat Madrid with modesty and enthusiasm. Last season, both could have won the league. Time will judge on next season's league. 99 points vs. 98, that's a small difference. It's about details, as in the CL semis. Winning the league will again be very difficult. We will have to compete for every victory.

I have a lot of faith in the players of the B team. Their promotion is great news. Luis Enrique and his team did an incredible job. There are great players in the B team but they are the ones who should do it now.

We will try for the B team to play before the first team so people can first go and support them.

Not even drunk I would have believed two years ago that Pedro and Busquets would win a world cup, a trophy I don't have. We will see how the world cup will affect our players and performances. The players and I want to repeat last season. I don't feel that world cup as mine. It's exclusively the world cup of the players and the coach. It has been a long process. It's not right to exclusively link Spain's world cup win with Barça. There are many other factors involved.

Spain friendly on 11 Aug? It wouldn't be logic since they only return from vacation 9 Aug but the federation decides. What if I'd give them two more days of holiday?

"I don't know why the press always speculates I'm having a bad relationship with the president. Last year Laporta, now Rosell. The new structure has been decided by the club. The president listened to my opinion, but the club makes the decision. I don't feel left alone. Manel [Estiarte] is here, Tito, the players. And I'll keep on calling Johan when I need advice.

I'm very happy and thankful to be able to continue another year. I don't make any promises, only that we will work hard. I feel more comfortable working with a short-term contract. I need to know there's a good understanding with the players. I asked the board for a one-year contract but the years don't really matter. The day I feel I can't make the team work, I leave. The president talked about the stability of a long-term contract but results are the only guarantee for stability. 

There won't be a problem with my renewal this year. There are no elections, so things will be calmer. The renewal was postponed because the president had 1000 things to do. We closed a deal in few minutes. There are few clauses.

I prefer short-term contract and I'm grateful the board has respected my wish. There's no better place than here.

It would be good the president meets with Cruyff because he has been an important person in the history of the club.

Cruyff should always be linked with Barcelona. Something went wrong. Johan doesn't deserve this. He'll talk with the president.

"I don't think the hours of the games will change. The television stations are deciding, they have the right to do so"

Fining me is just bad for them. The images are there. They're not saying the truth, fine or no fine. They falsified the referee reports and I guess they can't go back now.

"Mourinho? The more good players and coaches, the better for the Liga. His character? Every has his own."

Pep interview shed some lights on the overall environment in the club at the moment and the team to expect for next season.

In a way, he confirmed what we’ve been repeating on this blog since a while. He is considering Villa as a quality option on the left flank –something the world cup already demonstrated. Its also good that they took in consideration that we can’t sign a pure backup for Alves. I would have preferred a player who can play both as a Right back and a Center back instead of Adriano as that would have met our direct needs without other modifications. But in the post where we welcomed Adriano I mentioned that there might not be any good option in the market to fit that demand. So we signed Adriano. 

Pointing out that Abidal is an option for the center back is also good. But it’s yet to be seen how far we can use two offense oriented fullbacks with only a holding midfielder in front. We can’t do it Spain’s world cup way, because it means changing the whole structure. There are numerous options; we will come to that in another article about next season tactical potentials. Keita is another name that Pep mentioned to enhance some positions’ depth. It’s true that he can serve as a holding midfielder. But if Hleb will be loaned (as pep said regarding all ex-loaned players) then beside the youth, Keita is the only available backup for Iniesta and Xavi. To count him as a backup for Busquets as well is a bit too much. Moving Messi to play deeper in some games is an option. But that will not provide the minimal depth needed. Signing a midfielder is a must. And I am sure we will. 

Also, glad to know that Adriano was Pep’s choice. I had no doubt about it for the kind of utility players Adriano is.

Marquez is leaving. It seems inevitable. I would have liked to keep him for one more season especially that he can play as a Center back and as a holding midfielder. But Pep can’t give him any guaranties. Fair enough.

Talking about guarantees, the same thing applied on Ibra. I am a believer in Ibra’s qualities, a player who was the backbone for different teams in different leagues playing different styles. His attributes makes him the best combination of offense pivot for Barcelona. At the same time, we are talking about a coach who achieved everything for the club so far, the coach who brought this player in the first place. It’s a challenge for the coach to create the perfect structure to benefit from this immense kit he has in his squad. It’s also a challenge for the player to fight to prove his worth. If Ibra and his agent demands any guarantees, they can’t expect any. If Ibra wants to stay and succeed, no one can stop him. Nor even a club president hiding in the bush waiting for an opportunity. If he wants it easy, Man city is out there. 

Talking about determination, take Bojan as an example. If a young child-like Krkic had the patience and spirit to keep working for his spot, Ibra need to know the requirements of being in a big club like Barca. That psychological remark pep made about Bojan was extremely smart. You can imagine Bojan’s moral now. There are no automatic starters. Let the battle begins. 

In the same context, Pep enlightened us more regarding Yaya’s case, though it was not that mysterious. He is a great player. He lost the starting role for a player who performed better. It was a matter of form more than being a matter of quality. He wanted the guarantees Pep can’t and shouldn’t give. He picked another choice where he felt it fits him better. Good luck. 

I will not comment about Cesc. While his praise for Henry is a given. A player who was a crucial member in the squad that brought the best of Barcelona in the history of the club.

Chygrynskiy’s transfer brings us to the work environment in the club this summer. Regardless of how we evaluate the player’s qualities, there are some issues about the transfer that bring lot of concerns to the table. Pep didn’t want to sell him. And it seems he was not completely convinced regarding the economic needs behind selling him “The sale of Chygrynskiy was needed to pay the salaries of the employees? They told me something like that.”. Rosell approached the case from a position where Pep can’t actually win an argument: “The economic criteria of the president and the club are more important than my opinion.” When the president says if we don’t sell we bankrupt, what can the coach argue about? At the end of the day he is “just an employee of the club…Although it might not seem like that with people suggesting I'm deciding everything around here".

Chegrnskiy’s transfer can barely pay the salaries of Messi and Bartra. That tells enough. There should have been some other ways to pay the salary of the clubs plumber for one month other than selling an asset that the coach feels he can be great for many years, especially if you take in consideration that the money arrived couple of weeks later. 

No doubt, Pep is taking the “professional employee” profile here. He is not in a conflict with the current board. But it’s safe to say that he is not as empowered and its not the same friendly environment. He didn’t waste a chance to take his position in the cruyff-Sandro case. Not only that but this comment is interesting:

“I don't feel left alone. Manel [Estiarte] is here, Tito, the players. And I'll keep on calling Johan when I need advice.”

He barely has a clue about some operations that he is contradicting himself Sandro-style. In one sentence he says we don’t have a penny and in another he says Cesc is too expensive (which means that there is more than just a penny in the pocket but just not enough for Cesc-60M price tag). “Maybe we need something in midfield but Cesc is expensive.” Is the best remark he made. It’s still too easy to get confused, we had 50 million-Adriano= 40 Millions + any new transfer we make (sell). May be Sandro was just bluffing when he said we have 50 M, but it can go both ways: 5 million instead of 50, or may be 500. 

Yet, if we will not sign, we must not sell. And maybe we must not be as enthusiastic to loan out every player we can.