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Derby better than Barca


zaragozaram

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Nice one, I had to use my fingers to count and check, agree with fed up of tippy tippy barcarole style, prefer bayerns play of faster forward passing myself, what do you reckon ?

I like Dortmund, the are more progressive going forward but they work hard to quickly get the ball back when they lose it. I'd say the prem and the bundesliga have a higher quality of overall teams in the league. Barca may be better than all teams in the prem but the games won't be givens like they usually are in la liga bar Real and more recently Athletico Madrid.

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The Bundesliga is absolutely terrible regarding defending.. And the likes of Schalke and Leverkusen wouldn't finish in the top 4 in the PL, La Liga or Serie A (and they're probably the 3rd/4th best side in Germany)..

 

Bayern Munich wouldn't dominate any other league as much as they do the Bundesliga..

 

It's good fun to watch though, plenty of goals..

 

As for Barcelona, their games over the past 2 years have become predictable. They'll attack in the waves and the opposition will sit on the 18 yard line and try and break in numbers and with as little number of passes possible. They along with Spain suffer from the midset of the opposition more than anything..

 

For the first 2 years Barca won something like 9 trophies and the opposition tried to attack and couldn't live with them.. Jose Mourinho altered that firstly with Inter Milan and then with Real Madrid after their initial 5-0 drubbing.

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As for Barcelona, their games over the past 2 years have become predictable. They'll attack in the waves and the opposition will sit on the 18 yard line and try and break in numbers and with as little number of passes possible. They along with Spain suffer from the midset of the opposition more than anything..

I think Spain do themselves no favours though playing without a recognised striker in favour of 6midfielders. It had me willing Italy on to beat them t'other year in the final. Usually I don't care who wins once England are out but I actually wanted Spain to lose

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I think Spain do themselves no favours though playing without a recognised striker in favour of 6midfielders. It had me willing Italy on to beat them t'other year in the final. Usually I don't care who wins once England are out but I actually wanted Spain to lose

 

This.

 

They were trying to reinvent the wheel with that false 9 *****. Everyone was talking like it was the dogs, yet when you watched it, you still thought they'd be far better with a striker.

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Problem was obvious though..

 

Spain played through the middle, and along the ground.. The amount of midfield quality they have completely outweighs their striking options..

 

I just felt at 2012 they didn't feel comfortable with Negredo, Villa was injured and Torres massively out of form.. Llorente perhaps wasn't ready either. It suited them better to play Fabregas there, as he can and was probably in much better form than the rest..

 

At the WC in 2014 there is no way Spain will play without a top striker.. Negredo or Diego Costa will definitely start

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Problem was obvious though..

 

Spain played through the middle, and along the ground.. The amount of midfield quality they have completely outweighs their striking options..

 

I just felt at 2012 they didn't feel comfortable with Negredo, Villa was injured and Torres massively out of form.. Llorente perhaps wasn't ready either. It suited them better to play Fabregas there, as he can and was probably in much better form than the rest..

 

At the WC in 2014 there is no way Spain will play without a top striker.. Negredo or Diego Costa will definitely start

 

Isn't Diego Costa Brazilian??

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Yes but he's decided to play for Spain

 

I reckon he was mightily annoyed at Brazil's decision to leave him out of the Confederation Cup and ignoring him over the past 2 years..

 

Didn't realise he could do that as he'd already played for Brazil internationally... reading up on Wiki (the font of all knowledge), have FIFA granted him permission to play for Spain yet?

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Didn't realise he could do that as he'd already played for Brazil internationally... reading up on Wiki (the font of all knowledge), have FIFA granted him permission to play for Spain yet?

 

Friendlies don't count now..

 

So he is allowed to play for Spain.

 

I think it's quite sad actually, players changing nationalities. Spain shouldn't call him up, it's not like they're lacking in decent footballers.

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Sorry Ambitious. This too mate.

Nothing more embarrassing than having to explain how a cucumber got there in the first place. You'll be alright mate.

Right, my aunties a sexual health nurse, she said that when they have to send someone for surgery to 'retrieve a lodged object' and they don't like the person... they leave it on the table for when they come back round. Stories of washing an apple and including it in the hospital meals and somebody who snapped a garden cane in half up there and brought the other half in to show them what it was.

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Friendlies don't count now..

 

So he is allowed to play for Spain.

 

I think it's quite sad actually, players changing nationalities. Spain shouldn't call him up, it's not like they're lacking in decent footballers.

 

Ahhh ok, cheers!

 

Yeah, I see what you mean although from the players perspective, if he isn't going to get into the national team and then qualifies to play for another country who he will be called up to play for, I can see why they'd swap allegiances.

 

Brave decision to make though... can't imagine ever turning my back on my country.

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With apologies for bringing an old topic back and in the interests of proper research I went to Barca on Saturday to watch them play Villareal in the Camp Nou. Some thoughts on a 2-1 win to Barca.

 

stadium was 3/4 full with pretty much a 99% Barca supporting crowd.  The atmosphere was just different from ipro and quieter - no exchange of noise between fans; about 100 (literally) noisy Barca fans behind one goal with drum, flags and loudhailer who kept up the noise throughout with the rest of the crowd periodically joining in; they have their own 'Steve Bloomer's watching song, with two verses both of which end, 'Barca, Barca, Barcaaaaaaa' which they sing before the match (the big screen also has a deaf signer doing the words just in case the deaf people can't read); there were no matchday programmes or at least not that I saw, but plenty of tourist supporters Spanish and otherwise, like me; they did fancam type of thing but without the 'give us a wave, folks' commentary; there were loads of stalls, official and otherwise, selling shirts and scarves outside; food in the ground was similar to ipro - hotdogs etc and pretty similar quality by the looks of it.

 

As to the football and match, Barca are top and Villareal 5th but many a point behind.  Villareal gave it a good go - Barca got a fortunate penalty in the first half (ball kicked very hard against defender's hand from 3 yards), Villareal equalised early in the second half and only then did they bring Xavi on - Neymar scored the winner after about 75 minutes but Villareal pressed them again without really getting too close.

 

Six things struck me:

1) every single Barca player (though not all the Villareal players) is happy with the ball on their right or left foot - the control is instant and passes go mainly to feet and accurate.  All of them are variations on Will Hughes - Big Will, Fast Will, Striker Will, Better Will.  None are afraid (and the crowd doesn't groan either) when the ball goes backwards, just so long as possession is kept.  Then they break and break quickly.

2) the Barca style is reminiscent of how we are playing when we are at our best.  Think the goal at Yeovil - loads of passes and then a quick ball foward, runners found with a quick pass who then score; but also longer, diagonal passes from the back four over the top of defenders to get them to turn - think Bucko to Dawkins/Ward - followed by a cross

3) their work rate without the ball is frighteningly good.  The moment the ball is lost the sole intention is to win it back - tackles fly in, players get behind the ball/find a defensive shape in an instant

4) Personal this - but if I had a pick of one Barca player to come to Derby it would be Piquet - think Roy Mac, Toddy and Stimac in one player.  Tall, imposing, fantastic on the ball, quick, ready to break forward, reading the game and all the rest (Messi wasn't playing mind) 

5) not once did any player from either side stick their hand up for a throw in that they knew damn well wasn't theirs; the amount of stick the referee got was minute from both players and crowd, and by extension the respect they got was significant.  Even the penalty was accepted.  There was no diving, no pushing/shoving and all the rest of it.  The only time the crowd got exercised about the ref was when he blew up dead on 45 minutes when Barca were attacking, but as there hadn't been a single stoppage apart from the odd foul, that seemed fair enough

6) No substitutes from either side were on the pitch at half time 'warming up' - they did that by the side of the pitch when the second half was in progress.  Presumably they were listening to what the coach had to say at half time; before the game they warmed up seperately - bit like Simmo does with ours

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