Pep Guardiola’s Midfield Dilemma

Posted on July 11, 2013 by azeriran

As Pep Guardiola pursues F.C. Barcelona’s unsettled midfielder, Thiago Alacantara, he has one stumbling block. Thiago is looking for more minutes on the pitch, which he will most definitely not receive if he moves to Bayern Munich and its unbelievably stacked midfield composed of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi Martinez, Mario Gotze, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Xherdan Shaqiri among more. This would leave Bayern with too many players to be able to realistically play them all.

This leaves Guardiola needing to sell a player in the midfield. The latest reports show a player+cash deal with Real Madrid, in which Toni Kroos will be swapped for 10 million euros and Sami Khedira. This would have 17-year-old Pierre Højbjerg be the long-term replacement for Schweinsteiger.

This would not be a good deal, at least in my eyes, for both sides. Toni Kroos is a great play and certainly worth more than 10 million euros and Sami Khedira. Don’t get me wrong, Khedira is a cracking player but he is just not on the level of Toni Kroos, at least in my point of view. Another problem for Bayern Munich is that instead of their midfield being overly stacked, their defense would be if they went through with this deal! Real Madrid, also have a very stacked midfield, having recently signed hot prospect Isco from Malaga. And while Sami Khedira leaving would open up rotation room for Kroos, Sami is a vital player to Real Madrid, and it would not be in their best interest to let him leave.

Do you think this is a good deal? Do you think Thiago should stay at Barcelona and Bayern avoids this mess altogether? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

2012/2013 Champions League Semi-Final draw

Posted on April 12, 2013 by azeriran

Bayern Munich vs FC Barcelona

Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund

tweetsFC – The best way to follow your football team on Twitter

Posted on April 2, 2013 by azeriran

tweetsFC

This site compiles all of the tweets and accounts of the football players of a club and lets you see them in one place. You can follow your favorite teams like FC Barcelona or Manchester City FC. Players like Kompany and Gerard Pique all have Twitter accounts. The only downside is that you cannot follow Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson doesn’t allow his players to have twitter accounts.

FC Barcelona vs AC Milan Champions League Second Leg Review

Posted on March 13, 2013 by azeriran

First Game:Milan2-0Barcelona

Second Game:Barcelona4-0Milan

Aggregate:Barcelona4-2Milan

Messi and Co. have finally come back from their slump to beat Milan 4-0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. 4-2 on aggregate. Messi scored a brace to mark his first goals against an Italian club from open play and David Villa scored what proved to provide the win in the 55th minute. Jordi Alba also scored in injury time. Barca’s tactical tinkering led them to be able to win because there was room made for David. Iniesta was dropped to the midfield which led to the master combonation of Xaviesta. And for your specific fact of the day, FC Barcelona have won all three of their games during Papal Conclaves 4-0.

Should David Villa play a role in the first team?

Posted on March 5, 2013 by azeriran

Copa Del Rey Semi Final – FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid CF

Posted on February 27, 2013 by azeriran

Real Madrid is the second of two teams to defeat Barcelona in recent times. First they lose against AC Milan 2-0 and now they lose against Real Madrid 3-1. Ronaldo scored twice and Varane scored once to make it 3-0 but Jordi Alba scored a consolation goal for Barca. Barcelona’s recent spell of low form can be attributed to no true striker to break down the teams when they park the bus. Barca also have no real coach. Jourdi Roura is inept against bigger teams. He does not have the tactical prowess to know when to substitute or change formation or tempo or even width. But even though Barcelona haven’t been doing well, Real Madrid must be credited for their win. The “Special One” used the same tactics as AC Milan did in the Round of 16 match. But Barcelona needs Neymar to come soon and they need Tito Vilanova back. But Sandro Rosell has said that they will not look for another coach as seen here . Real Madrid advance 4-2 on aggregate.

My Prediction: 2-1 to Barcelona’s favor

Result: 3-1 to Real Madrid’s favor

Copa Del Rey 2013 Semi Final Preview – FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid CF

Posted on February 26, 2013 by azeriran

Tonight, the El Classico will be played to move on to the final of the Copa Del Rey. Millions will be watching it. The first leg ended 1-1 with the Real Madrid’s 19 year old defender Varane and Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas each scoring a goal. The 1-1 scoreline in the first leg certainly left a cliff hanger. Since this game, both teams have managed 2 wins, a draw, and a loss. In the Champions League first leg Real Madrid managed a tie against Manchester United, 1-1. Barcelona though lost 2-0 at the San Siro against Milan so morale will be low and it will be tough for them to climb back to go to the quarter final.

With Barcelona 15 points ahead of Real, Los Blancos will surely be focusing on the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League. Though Barcelona is 12 points clear for the La Liga and in stellar form, they must remember that Real Madrid has only conceded 13 goals this season, but they haven’t scored as nearly many goals as Barca, or been as good away from home. Barcelona on the other hand have only lost one game domestically and they are unbeaten at the Camp Nou this season.

In conclusion, this is huge match between two teams that might make or break a team’s season. But Barcelona have the upper hand despite the recent loss against Milan

My Prediction: 2-1 to Barcelona’s favor

Is Neymar really that good?

Posted on February 21, 2013 by azeriran

Brazilian “wonderkid” Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, who plays in the Brazilian top flight for Santos and for Brazil, has been compared to Lionel Messi and former New York Cosmos and World Cup winner Pele. But is he really that good? With Santos, Neymar has won many titles in the Brazilian league and cup, including the the hotly contested Copa Liberatadores, which is South America’s(and Mexico’s) equivalent to the Champions League in Europe. He also placed second place with Santos in the CWC(Club World Cup) but their rivals in the final were the mighty Barcelona and they lost 4-0. With Brazil, Neymar won a silver medal in the 2012 Olympics in the UK. As an individual, Neymar has won the Young Player of the Year, the FIFA Puskas award, and the Bronze Ball in the CWC, all in 2011. He also won the South American player of the Year twice in a row in 2011 and 2012. So Neymar, is he really that good? His individual and club achievements are great yes, but he has not done much with his international team and no offense to the South American leagues, they are just not as good as the European leagues! He has already shown interest in moving to one of the “Big 2” in Spain, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF. To truly prove himself, Neymar must mature and make a move to a team in Europe.

Champions League Round of 16 February 20th wrap up

Posted on February 20, 2013 by azeriran

AC Milan vs. FC Barcelona My Prediction: 3-1 to Barcelona’s favor Result: 2-0 in Milan’s favor FC Barcelona was absolutely appalling today with a puny one shot on goal at the San Siro while Milan’s tactical genius and goals by Muntari and Boateng shut down Barcelona’s entire team. Stephan El Shaarawy especially stood out in helping defeat the mighty Barca. Many people have been unhappy with the ref this game who did make some horrendous calls but none as bad as the hand ball which resulted in Milan’s first goal. Milan may have been accused of parking the bus but defensive Italian fotball can always dismantle other teams. Even Juventus could defeat Bayern Munich with their style of football. But in all honesty the coaching deserves the blame for tonight’s loss. Jordi Roura has no idea how to handle to big games like this and Barca as a whole has not yet found a way to break down the bus. While Barcelona did not play well, AC Milan put on a fantastic display of football and they should be proud of themselves. Milan might be the one to defeat Barcelona in this Champions League and go on to the quarter-finals. Galatasaray vs Schalke 04 My prediction: 4-0 in Galatasaray’s favor Result: 1-1 This first leg match was very enthralling to watch, despite the low and tied score. Both teams’ defense was not very good so that led to many shots and exciting plays. Burak Yilmaz made a very nice play in the 12th minute to put Galatasaray up a goal but Jermaine Jones scored one with a minute to go in the first half. Sneijder in particular disappointed for Gala which resulted in him being subbed off. I think we can expect more of the same from Galatasaray and I could see them easily advancing to the quarter-finals.