Champions League/Europa League Thread 2012-13 - Page 50

On February 21 2013 22:04 Telcontar wrote:
I actually think Barcelona can learn something from Spain's strategies from last year's Euros. Instead of committing so much to attack from the get-go against a side with solid defence and potent counter attacking, which leaves you very vulnerable at times, they should seek to choke the life out of such games by just circulating possession, more than they usually do. Drop your high-line defence, tell your full backs to ease up on marauding down the flanks, and really let the midfield dominate the pace of the game. Let your opponents literally chase shadows for around for 60~70 minute, and then if they show any cracks in their discipline/concentration/stamina, then you can push on a bit more and look for goals. Of course this is a risky strategy in itself, and I don't want to see them use it all the time, but in an away tie against a side like Milan, a little more caution and prudence could've yielded better results.

Barcelona's underlying philosophy on how football should be played is great, and it's certainly done wonders for them. However, no matter how good something is, if you become predictable and over-reliant on it, people will eventually figure out effective ways to stop you. Barcelona really need alternative plans, if only to give their opponents something different to think about. Of course, I should mention that this doesn't really apply to the return-leg. Barcelona need to be on full-throttle from kick-off to overturn the deficit. However, given how disciplined and well-oiled Milan's defence looked, I foresee a very difficult game for them. I'm going with 2-1 to Barcelona, with Milan progressing 2-3 on aggregate. I hope they prove me wrong.

On November 25 2012 09:41 ZapRoffo wrote:


Barcelona has a weaker looking team than last year though, they've been scraping by some of their games, I really think it's only a matter of time before they start dropping points too.

Or it's like last year they had a way higher ceiling but sometimes came out listless and got a bunch of draws cause of that, this year they are avoiding draws more consistently so far in the league and still doing enough in CL but just look like not as brilliant a team. Since they are giving up goals way more often it looks more like reckless attacking (throw 8 men forward all the time) that they've been on a good run with, rather than a well-balanced strategy that shuts the other teams down while controlling the offense.

On December 16 2012 13:44 ZapRoffo wrote:

He's impressively innovative though. He tried tons of different systems that would work with a basis in the Barcelona philosophy, and found some really impressive ones, and the way they line up the same way under Vilanova every game is basically just the one Guardiola found that turned out to have the most longevity and general applicability.

And that's why I'm like, I'll believe it when I see it with Vilanova in knockout games against the best other teams. They basically know what to prepare for exactly, and who knows how well he can come up with a response to that, without just being like, players you have to be more brilliant? Also I have a negative bias toward it because it's way more boring. Celtic should have been a wake up call, dunno if it will be.

Also I don't think Rodgers is necessarily doing horribly at Liverpool, they've been looking good recently, one loss (where they weren't really outplayed but just made bad defending at wrong moments) isn't suddenly back to doom. It's hard to tell really, depending on whether you discount horrible form starting out the year as a one time getting used to stuff thing, or you don't. The rest of the season will be illuminating.

On December 07 2012 03:39 ZapRoffo wrote:
Bayern
Real Madrid
Barcelona
Dortmund
Juventus
Man U
PSG
Shakhtar
Porto
Malaga
Schalke
Arsenal
Valencia
Milan
Galatasaray
Celtic

I don't think Barca has the tactical chops for dominant cup play this season, they are built for league play.

On February 22 2013 00:39 WillyWanker wrote:
You would be right if last night's game would have been like the games against Chelsea last season. Yesterday they shot 6 times but I don't remember them having just one real chance. They missed a lot against Chelsea.

I don't know why a lot of people are trying to analyze the 'tactics' of Barcelona and saying that they've gotten weaker tactically because they failed to adapt. Yesterday was about mindset.

By the way, Vilanova was known to be the tactical consultant for Guardiola, so I don't think he's just been applying what Guardiola did before him x)
Having Vilanova in New York is probably not helping... At half-time we should have reacted but nothing happened, no message was sent by Roura in the locker room or it wasn't received.

Fabregas told after the game that they've been really exhausted recently, I don't know if it's a good excuse though... But it's true that Vilanova/Roura have been using the same starting 11 for so many games this season that I wouldn't be surprised if they were paying it now. It's sad to see a team of this caliber make mistakes like that in the preparation, knowing that we now have to face Sevilla, Madrid, Madrid again and Milan...
2 years ago, Guardiola did the same with the starting 11 and it paid off but I remember them being a lot weaker in Feb/March/April than in the end of 2010. But at this time we had no real subs, just a group of 14-15 top players. This year we have the starting 11 + Song, Mascherano, Adriano, Villa, Thiago, Alexis and the youngsters... Why no turnover?
Not giving a chance to Villa and Alexis is really not helping them getting back some confidence... And they're talking about acquiring Neymar next season? If they do that, we won't win any CL in a while

On February 21 2013 14:24 Rebs wrote:


Doesnt matter, players often tackle and try to win the ball, when they dont and illegal stuff happens. Its a foul. No two ways about that. Arm sticking out of your body and getting such a heavy advantage will usually be called. In certain instances it may not be. This one isnt one of them.

He didnt do it on purpose, but it does beg the question why he had his arms up, defender pulled em in, whats with the hallelujah ? It is after all still interpretive though so I wouldnt hammer the ref over it.

On February 22 2013 01:04 WillyWanker wrote:
Pedro is at his best what are you talking about? Sanchez is not in the starting 11... Stop judging players by their stats it means absolutely nothing. Sanchez and Pedro are the kind of players any coach would love to have because they always do the dirty work and create a lot of space. When they're in front of the goal maybe Sanchez lack some killer instinct, but the press is constantly destroying him even when he plays good, just because he doesn't score. HE'S NOT A GOALSCORER.
Concerning Pedro just look at his performance with the Spanish team and you'll see he has this killer instinct, he's just playing a different role in Barcelona.

If you want to look at stats, look at the number of goals from the midfielders, which are the ones (with Messi) really benefiting from Barcelona's playstyle this season (like last season).

And yeah I agree with you, the defensive side this year is not as good as last years. But this year we're playing with 2 offensive wing backs, and I really don't like this choice. I would prefer to see Montoya-Alba or Alves-Abidal, but not both Alves and Alba, it's too risky Unfortunately we didn't have Abidal... until today! It's official, he can play football again with Barcelona! We might see him in one month or so, and I hope to see him raise this CL trophy once again :D

On February 22 2013 01:21 Slightly wrote:


Arms up for balance purposes while jumping backwards. I think most people do that with their arms when trying to dodge out of the way, or make their torso smaller to not get hit. In any case, it matters in my opinion because it defines intent. It may not be in the rules, but the refs generally won't call it unless a move is made against the ball by the arm. There are of course situations where it will be called, and differences between referees but I would say most of them wouldn't call that.

It's such a weird circumstance because of the deflection. If it had left the player's foot and struck his arm first, it probably would have been called, whether there was intent or not, and the goal disallowed. But because it deflected off of a player and the arm was the tertiary point of contact, it's clear the player knew nothing about it and it stays in play. Again, that's my thoughts on how the ref may have interpreted it, but you're right. It's a toss up decision and other refs may have made different calls.