Good match by Barcelona against a hopeless Milan side
FC Barcelona totally dominated the game. They scored 4 goals and won 3-1. Piquet was somehow confused about the goal direction and scored an own goal. Messi opened with a goal from the penalty spot. The penalty it self was questionable. I am not sure if Neymar was really fouled.
The second goal was a very untypical Freekick to header from Busquets. Martino is really bringing some new aspects to the Barca game.
The goals for Milan was largely due to Kaka's good run and Pique's carelessness. Messi finished the game with a brilliant 1-2 pass with Fabregas. he just walked into the box and somehow semi chipped the keeper.
Good game by Barcelona. a long not losing streak. They still have to prove themselves against very strong opponents though. Lets see how they would do against Dortmund, Bayern or Arsenal.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Review Rayo Vallecano versus Real Madrid 2.10.2013
Exciting to the end,
What a match. I must admit, as a barcelona fan since the emergence of Messi and Guardiola from 2009, I enjoyed watching FC Barcelona games a lot. But this season, the world has been upside down. FC barcelona games are proving to be dull and uneventful affairs. In stark contrast, Real madrid matches are really exciting to watch. Last game against Sevilla was 10 goals extravaganza.
Barcas game against Espanyol on the other hand was a yawn fest.
I believe that the reason for this is to be found in Madrid's surprisingly weak defense. Even against the last team in the league, their back line looked helpless.
The first half of this very exciting game started with a goal in the 3rd minute. CR7 got the ball deep in Rayos half on the left side. He was a bit lucky in tunneling the defender and getting past him and finished masterfully against the keeper. Rayo was denied a penalty shortly afterwards and was also a bit unlucky with an offside goal which could have been a goal.
After a counterattack Benzema was able to head in a very good assist by Gareth bale who seems to be improving in each match. Bale also assisted CR7's
After the 3rd everything went awry for Madrid. Rayo could have scored about 6 or 7 goals. The second half from Madrid was absolutely abysmal. I wonder what Ancelotti is thinking. Madrid went from being one defensive monolith under Mourihno's reign to having the weakest defense from all the top teams in Europe. Is Ancelotti not the guy who trained defenive giants like AC Milan in the 2000s and Juventus in the 90s?
Strange that such an experienced coach with these star defensive players is not able to put up a good defensive effort.
But I am not complaining. This makes every madrid game really a joy to watch. They wont be able to win anything with a defense but they are very entertaining.
Anyway, Madrid managed to somehow not concede the equalizer in the second half. They gave away two penalties to Rayo on very stupid fouls. Rayo had 3 or 4 more chances to score but were very unlucky and/or unable.
Rayo remains in the the bottom table and Madrid remains third after this game.
CR7 is now top scorer in La Liga with 13 goals.
Looking forward to the next match!
What a match. I must admit, as a barcelona fan since the emergence of Messi and Guardiola from 2009, I enjoyed watching FC Barcelona games a lot. But this season, the world has been upside down. FC barcelona games are proving to be dull and uneventful affairs. In stark contrast, Real madrid matches are really exciting to watch. Last game against Sevilla was 10 goals extravaganza.
Barcas game against Espanyol on the other hand was a yawn fest.
I believe that the reason for this is to be found in Madrid's surprisingly weak defense. Even against the last team in the league, their back line looked helpless.
The first half of this very exciting game started with a goal in the 3rd minute. CR7 got the ball deep in Rayos half on the left side. He was a bit lucky in tunneling the defender and getting past him and finished masterfully against the keeper. Rayo was denied a penalty shortly afterwards and was also a bit unlucky with an offside goal which could have been a goal.
After a counterattack Benzema was able to head in a very good assist by Gareth bale who seems to be improving in each match. Bale also assisted CR7's
After the 3rd everything went awry for Madrid. Rayo could have scored about 6 or 7 goals. The second half from Madrid was absolutely abysmal. I wonder what Ancelotti is thinking. Madrid went from being one defensive monolith under Mourihno's reign to having the weakest defense from all the top teams in Europe. Is Ancelotti not the guy who trained defenive giants like AC Milan in the 2000s and Juventus in the 90s?
Strange that such an experienced coach with these star defensive players is not able to put up a good defensive effort.
But I am not complaining. This makes every madrid game really a joy to watch. They wont be able to win anything with a defense but they are very entertaining.
Anyway, Madrid managed to somehow not concede the equalizer in the second half. They gave away two penalties to Rayo on very stupid fouls. Rayo had 3 or 4 more chances to score but were very unlucky and/or unable.
Rayo remains in the the bottom table and Madrid remains third after this game.
CR7 is now top scorer in La Liga with 13 goals.
Looking forward to the next match!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Review FC Barcelona versus RCD Espanyol 1.11.2013
A very uneventful game.
Messi was clearly not in form. Has some nice passes and tried to score. But his explosive style and drillings were not present. Is he still suffering from his injury?
Espanyol were absolutely harmless. Barcelona was not able to papply any pressure. It was a very nice pass from Neymar through the legs of two defenders that set up Alexis Sanchez for his 7th goal.
Overall, it was a game to forget about.
Messi was clearly not in form. Has some nice passes and tried to score. But his explosive style and drillings were not present. Is he still suffering from his injury?
Espanyol were absolutely harmless. Barcelona was not able to papply any pressure. It was a very nice pass from Neymar through the legs of two defenders that set up Alexis Sanchez for his 7th goal.
Overall, it was a game to forget about.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Who is the best player of all times?
I have been watching football since 1985. I have seen the most important world cup games since 1958.
A lot of fantastic players are on my short list for the best player ever.
I will try to present a chronological account of them
1. Garrincha, dominated 1958 and 1962 games. was easily best player of the 50s and the mid 60s.
His dribbling style is still legendary
2. Pele: won the world cup in 1958, and 1970. Was an excellent goal getter. His goals in the 1958 semi final and final are still legendary. A very strong player in what was a very strong brazilian squad. IMHO among the top definitely, but not among the top 5. He never played out of brazil and his 2 world cup wins were with a very strong squad.
3. George best: only seen video footage from him on youtube. His dribblings are truly impressive. Haven't seen enough from him to be able to judge further. I can only say that the footage looks very impressive. So I have to include him. even if he never really had a chance to shine with his national side. Received the Ballon D'or in 1968.
4. Cruijff: A legend and probably the best player of the 70s. Was voted european player of the century and as far as I can see rightfully so. Starred with Ajax, Barcelona and Oranjes. Received the Ballon D'or 3 times.
5. Diego Armando Maradonna:
Not much to say about this Guy. Won the world cup 1986 with a stunning and unprecedented performance. The best performance by any player to date on the stage of the world cup. Won the championship in the Serie A twice with a mediocre Napoli squad. Was the best player of the 80s and in my opinion the best player of all times until recent times.
In an internet poll conducted by FIFA, he received 53.60% of the votes and was chosen as player of the century. Truly a giant of the game.
6. Zinedine Zidane: His stare rose in the 1998 world cup. Already in the world elite since 1996, he scored two goals in the 1998 finals and never looked back. He won everything there is to win in the football world. A true number worthy of the name. The best player of the mid 90s to the mid 2000s. this is why I am omitting other great players like Baggio, Romario, Stoitchkov, hagi and Ronaldo.
He as won the World player award 3 times. Was world champion and runner up. Won the euro in 2000 and won the Champions league in 2002.
7. Messi: The greatest talent soccer has ever seen. He is Maradona but faster. His dribblings seems almost supernatural, his passing is incredible. The only other player that could pass with a negative spin was maradona.
This single footage shows how extraordinary Messi's technique is:
The ball rolls back upon landing on the grass after the pass due to a negative spin instead of rolling away. This enables di maria to score.
And to be able to give pass like that while and after evading a tackle is simply incredible.
Dribbling skills:
I never thought that someone could surpass Maradona. But Messi has made it. He is a better, faster version of him. 26 years old and he has already won the Ballon D'or 4 times and broken almost every record there is to beat in football. Only thing missing to cement the deal and convince the doubters is a very strong performance during the world cup. Two other players from the mid 2000s can be mentioned here. Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.
Ronaldinho was just not excellent enough for a long time. He had a very high level for 2 to 3 years and then declined. Christiano Ronaldo is a very good goalscorer but cannot be compared to the all time greats due to a lack of technique, skill and passing ability.
For me hands downs the best player ever, Lionel Messi.
A lot of fantastic players are on my short list for the best player ever.
I will try to present a chronological account of them
1. Garrincha, dominated 1958 and 1962 games. was easily best player of the 50s and the mid 60s.
His dribbling style is still legendary
2. Pele: won the world cup in 1958, and 1970. Was an excellent goal getter. His goals in the 1958 semi final and final are still legendary. A very strong player in what was a very strong brazilian squad. IMHO among the top definitely, but not among the top 5. He never played out of brazil and his 2 world cup wins were with a very strong squad.
3. George best: only seen video footage from him on youtube. His dribblings are truly impressive. Haven't seen enough from him to be able to judge further. I can only say that the footage looks very impressive. So I have to include him. even if he never really had a chance to shine with his national side. Received the Ballon D'or in 1968.
4. Cruijff: A legend and probably the best player of the 70s. Was voted european player of the century and as far as I can see rightfully so. Starred with Ajax, Barcelona and Oranjes. Received the Ballon D'or 3 times.
5. Diego Armando Maradonna:
Not much to say about this Guy. Won the world cup 1986 with a stunning and unprecedented performance. The best performance by any player to date on the stage of the world cup. Won the championship in the Serie A twice with a mediocre Napoli squad. Was the best player of the 80s and in my opinion the best player of all times until recent times.
In an internet poll conducted by FIFA, he received 53.60% of the votes and was chosen as player of the century. Truly a giant of the game.
6. Zinedine Zidane: His stare rose in the 1998 world cup. Already in the world elite since 1996, he scored two goals in the 1998 finals and never looked back. He won everything there is to win in the football world. A true number worthy of the name. The best player of the mid 90s to the mid 2000s. this is why I am omitting other great players like Baggio, Romario, Stoitchkov, hagi and Ronaldo.
He as won the World player award 3 times. Was world champion and runner up. Won the euro in 2000 and won the Champions league in 2002.
7. Messi: The greatest talent soccer has ever seen. He is Maradona but faster. His dribblings seems almost supernatural, his passing is incredible. The only other player that could pass with a negative spin was maradona.
This single footage shows how extraordinary Messi's technique is:
The ball rolls back upon landing on the grass after the pass due to a negative spin instead of rolling away. This enables di maria to score.
And to be able to give pass like that while and after evading a tackle is simply incredible.
Dribbling skills:
I never thought that someone could surpass Maradona. But Messi has made it. He is a better, faster version of him. 26 years old and he has already won the Ballon D'or 4 times and broken almost every record there is to beat in football. Only thing missing to cement the deal and convince the doubters is a very strong performance during the world cup. Two other players from the mid 2000s can be mentioned here. Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.
Ronaldinho was just not excellent enough for a long time. He had a very high level for 2 to 3 years and then declined. Christiano Ronaldo is a very good goalscorer but cannot be compared to the all time greats due to a lack of technique, skill and passing ability.
For me hands downs the best player ever, Lionel Messi.
Review Celta Vigo versus FC Barcelona 29.10.2013
Match Review:
FC Barcelona easily defeated Celta Vigo yesterday:
Celta Vigo
|
Barcelona
| |
Possession
|
40%
|
60%
|
Total Shots
|
12
|
20
|
Shots on Target
|
4
|
8
|
Pass Accuracy
|
79%
|
87%
|
Fouls
|
17
|
12
|
Offsides
|
2
|
3
|
Yellow Cards
|
3
|
1
|
Red Cards
|
0
|
0
|
It was a very one-sided affair. Celta Vigo was pretty much harmless. Alexis Sanchez scored the opener in 9th minute. It was his sixth goal in 8 appearances in the current la liga season. He seems to be on a high, and also scored the beautiful chip shot goal against madrid on saturday in the "el classico".
Fabregas scored the other two goals with assists from Messi. Messi was named player of the match. He tried desperately to score but was denied by the goal keeper with brilliant saves.
Overall a good game by barcelona. But deficiencies in the defense were apparent even against a very weak opponent.
This takes Messi's statistics to 8 goals and 5 assist in 9 appearances in La Liga.
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