Not long ago, at the FC Barcelona General Assembly: participating members voted overwhelmingly in favour of holding a referendum to decide whether a New Camp Nou should be built, or whether the Old Camp Nou should be renovated.
A recent Dani Alves tweet: “Off to the stadium!! Barça v Granada, come on, courage and joy, God is leading us.”
Recent BFB posts: Go read the blitzen awards and Isaiah’s match preview.
The team plays a late game tonight – better for parts of the Americas, but not so good for the lands of Asia and the Middle East, unless they’re just getting home after late Saturday night shenanigans.
Even though they just managed to stay in the Primera Division after last season (finishing 17th), Granada is one of those teams against which Barcelona struggles to play its natural game.
Udinese seems to like Granada (or is it the other way around?) because the Andalucian team currently sports 6 players on loan from the Italian side.
One of those – Daniel González Benítez – won’t be playing tonight which is a good thing. He’s the type of player who very quickly gets under the skin of our Dani Alves and this makes our #2 do silly things – like fouls, and penalties, and red cards.
Why is Benítez not playing? Late last season in Granada’s contentious home game vs. Real Madrid, Dani threw a plastic drink bottle at the referee. Red-carded and hauled before the RFEF disciplinary committee, Benítez was handed a 3 month ban which ends in November. So he won’t be on the pitch tonight.
The moral of the story is: if you want a ban that sticks, chuck a plastic drink bottle at a referee. It’s obviously more of a travesty than poking the opposition’s Assistant Manager in the eye, or deliberately stamping on the best player in the world’s hand while he’s sitting on the pitch.
Earlier today: Zaragoza beat Osasuna 3-1, and Celta de Vigo downed Getafe 2-1.
Celta’s coach, Herrera, was sent from the sidelines in the very last minute of overtime, and Getafe’s Alexis was sent off for striking a player during the following play.
Espanyol, minus Pochettino on the sidelines (due to last week’s sending off while at home vs. Bilbao), lost to Betis 1-0 in Seville just minutes ago.
Shock of shocks: In the Zaragoza – Osasuna match today, I witnessed unintentional handballs not being given yellow cards! (Not in the penalty boxes, however.) Perhaps this year the refs are concentrating on sending coaches from the sidelines instead.
Barca line-up: Valdés – Alves Song Mascherano Adriano – Cesc Busquets Thiago – Alexis Messi Villa
On the bench: Pinto, Bartra, Alba, Xavi, Sergi Roberto, Pedro! and Tello
Wow – no Montoya in reserve! And Villa starts!
Get your streams while they’re hot: here and here and here.
And don’t forget to comment below!
This is painful to watch, so many missed chances 🙁
SHOULD BE A PENALTY
Cesc ;_;
That one was not clear. But the handball in the first half was 100% penalty and wasn’t given…
Three for the season so far.
Why do goalies have wonder games against us?
Toño tends to have wonder games period. He’s an excellent keeper.
This game has a hint of the Sevilla one last yr. Hope we get a goal though.
Painful to watch come on guys!! lets get a goal
Their keeper is like a freaking wall.
Has not been a very good TEAM game today. And we can’t keep saying keepers have wonder games versus us if we have not forced them to save. We need to be more clinical…too many shots right at the keeper or close to him.
Umm he has had some AMAZING saves, we have been testing them.
We WERE shooting straight at the keeper all game – you are supposed to save those 😉
No he had to really stretch for 3-4 saves, and saved a rebound well also. We did have a number of shots right at him that were comfortable, but that doesn’t discount his other really great saves.
Thank you Xavi! Save that keeper.
Normal service HAS been resumed.
Xaviiiiii. Love this team, never have I seen so many chances go begging.
Xavi finally put it where no human being could save it!
GOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!111
Omgosh!!! I died. This is my ghost writing. Thank you Xavi 😀
Lol.
When was the last time Alexis shot at goal?
What the hell, just had a bathroom break and xavi scores a goal?!
Are you complaining?
If i only knew, i should’ve gone to the bathroom earlier, and more often. This happens to me all the time!
Just as I arrived ..
Can’t you f’ing arrive sooner? Why do you leave it to the last minute?
Xavi, Cesc, Dani had a great game. Messi, Thiago pretty sub-par today.
Dark KnightXavi says the day…*saves..
Motm!! Tonyo – the goal keeper. Next to Valdes for sleeping the whole match, and had to wake up and save a one on one that kept Barca in the game.
Now Cesc – if anybody has any doubts regarding his abilities, please see this game again.
Tello – he is the future Henry. Please take good care of him Tito.
Yep, really impressed with Tello for the 20 mins or so he was on. Cesc played well minus his finishing.
I would also like to make a comment on Song sMash and Busi. They had an absolutely fantastic game controlling the backline.
Both of them had excellent interventions, and ball distribution. I don’t know of an instance in the whole match where sMash or Song gave the ball away.
There was only one, one-on-one situation which a Granada player got into. But that is bound to happen. Valdes might have just as well watch the whole match on TV just to stop watching and make the save on the counter which he did.
Song recovered 17 balls and gave away none. Apart from a couple of positioning errors where we had forwards (Alexis and Pedro) clearing out balls at the back, he had a solid game.
But then, without having seen the game again, this may not have entirely been his fault if he had been playing ahead of Busquets with Busi covering his position. I’ll have to watch a replay.
It’s uncanny how similar their movements on the ball are… well at least with the Henry of Barca.
And I come back to life. I’m not sure what to make of this game. So many chances, and Granada and their keeper were fantastic at defending. I think they packed 11 men near their box for most of the game. Song did well!
Great work by Tito, as usual the subs were excellent. The look on Valdes’s face after the one-on-one was hilarious. After all the chances we had I kept thinking we put it out wide and the replay would show Tonyo had a amazing game. Sucks for the own goal but Alexis would have put it in regardless.
Yeah, I was especially impressed (once again) by Tito’s willingness to make substitutions early. That’s something Pep never did.
And two matches in a row now, Tito’s decision to go 3-4-3 late pays off. (That said, a better team than Granada would have made Barca pay on the break.)
Tito’s substitutions have proven to be very fruitful so far this season.
I like that he isn’t afraid to make significant changes early in the second half.
The introduction of Tello also proved decisive.
I can already see headlines for this week – “Messi doesn’t get along with his teammates”
Though, he was really bitchy in this game to both his teammates and Granada players.
he sure was..He seemed frustrated…and it became worse as the game progressed…The situation we were in didn’t help matters. Messi loves to score, if he doesn’t well…
Remember Messi did the same thing to Villa last time they played at Valencia. What happens on the field, stays on the field. Messi is soo good that i think he expects too much out of his team-mates sometimes. Alves and Pique had that argument on the field 2 yrs ago when Dani chased Pique all over the field during the match. My point is, this happens all the time. I wouldn’t read too much into it.
I love how Xavi watched him make all those saves, and then calmly put it where it wasn’t humanly possible to save.
Probably a storm in a tea cup but can anyone explain what happened with Villa and Messi?
I think Tito solved the situation at half time. It is the coach’s job. I think substitutions were also made to rectify the situation at half time. But watch Marca and Sport as they will come up with the juicy details.
My interpretation is that Messi was complaining about the pass coming too late (Villa could have threaded a pass through a very tight passing lane but hesitated and then went for the lobbed all which difficult to control)
Now why this should have resulted in a nearly minute-long dispute is not clear. Part of it is TV bias though – this kind of thing happens all the time on the field, but only gets shown when it’s big-name players who do it and then the speculations begin; it should not be taken too seriously
I don’t think this one was any bias. Messi literally went after Villa, Villa tried to make his point, but to no use.
To sum it up, people over-reacting as usual..
Marca has the juicy details on the altercation.
*http://www.marca.com/2012/09/22/futbol/equipos/barcelona/1348348536.html
Apparently Messi was also upset with Thiago. Both were subbed 52 minutes into the game.
Ofcourse Marca are going to say they were subbed coz Messi wasn’t happy with them, bull. Tito had already mentioned yesterday that, Villa only had 45-50 mins in him and Thiago just came back from injury and really wasn’t playing that well either.
The way Sport and Mundo exaggerate about RM issues, so does Marca.
People on this blog in this same thread were calling for Thiago’s substitution at the half. And Villa wasn’t going to play the whole game anyway. It has nothing to do with that.
Plus yelling at Thiago was completely justified, that shot was a very dumb decision.
This game was won when VV was awoken from his slumber and made that fantastic one on one save. So has been his form i thought for sure the one chance they got, they would have scored. Good game and chances galore went begging. Combination of good goalkeeping and not being clinical enough.
And why was Messi bitchy today?
Pre-paternal stress hitting him? He still was great tonight, bumping and shoving his way past two or three players all the time, plus that control+pass to Cesc when lying flat on his back – that was just brilliant.
“Pre-paternal stress?”
Is that what we’re calling no tiki taka at home?
Too many daddies in da house!
Honestly, I think that sometimes we all expect too much of Messi. He’s a great player and definitely comes off as a sweet, humble guy, but he’s not perfect. Occasionally, he’s going to have a bad day in terms of his game, and occasionally, he’s going to have a bad day in terms of his temper. Whatever. It’s nothing to get too tense about, IMO.
Can finally breathe now!
salute to the team for not letting up..
It will be great if Messi can come out and clarify what went on between him and Villa..I know it is a small issue, but helps in maintaining the harmony within the team, and prevent the media from over-reacting,,
Heres’s my POV about the match :
1- VV passing is horrible , Alves produced two clear cut chances today including a fantastic first half cross , yet I still his supersonic runs and link up play.
2-Xavi saved the day , he has no replacement , the best midfielder I have ever seen .
3- The team lacked intensity , and Messi is growing more selfish with time , I hated it when he yelled at Villa , a scene not usual to see at Barca . I don’t think Xavi nor Iniesta would have done the same.
4- Hats off to Tito , I like how daring he is , and he is making the right subs at the right time .
5- Cesc has to shoot more and to find his scoring boots , don’t like the way Sanchez is playing , and I don’t feel he is happy playing like this .
6- Our defence will struggle versus Sevilla , I think it will be a draw or a loss if Negredo and Navas were on song .
1. Disagree about VV. Agree about Alves
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Agree
5. Agree about Cesc. Disagree about Sanchez.
6. Agree.
3. Messi growing more selfish? He was the most selfish at the start of the 09-10 campaign.
5. Alexis became more effective as the match wore on, he’ll get more confidence after scoring (soon).
6. Just you wait 😛
3- Don’t know , but I think – like a previous comment – that Messi is catching more of the “star ego” , and I don’t like that . sometimes I feel he is too consumed by being the one scoring goals even if another player is in a better position (remember the ball that bounced off the post , and many runs when he decided to go on his own instead of the simple through ball)
5- Alexis barely takes his player , hugs the side line too much , and I think he shot only once for the whole 90 mins . there is a ball where he did a great job at tackling the opponent and then dribbling past the defender to have the goal at his mercy , and instead of shooting he passes it to a poorer positioned Pedro who was too close to the GK , and that resulted in the chance wasted .
I believe in Sanchez , I hope he can find a balance between keeping possession and taking on players (As we need penetration , and another goal scoring source other than Messi) , and also a balance between assisting and shooting .
Honestly, I’m not convinced that the issue for Messi is that he’s taking on a star ego. For me, there’s a simpler explanation than that.
We all talk about the fact that the team is sometimes too reliant on Messi, and I think it’s a fair point. However, it doesn’t just affect the team – it affects him, too. As the team starts to rely too much on him, I think he starts to trust the team less and feel like he *has* to do it all on his own. It’s a vicious cycle that I hope they can break out of, because I really don’t think Messi’s becoming a diva – I think he’d just feeling a lot of pressure.
Xavi saving the day will probably help some. Anybody who thinks that he feels like he needs to score should look at his reaction to Xavi’s goal – there’s no resentment in there, just happiness.
Maybe you are right .
That reaction was most telling – if it was another unnamed superstar player playing for another unnamed team, it would have been a very different one, you can count on that
I just think it’s natural – he’s aging, becoming man and a leader. In few years, there might be no Puyol and no Xavi, and Iniesta just doesn’t have that edge in him. I’m glad Messi’s stopped being a shy little kid.
Case closed: “Discussion with Villa? I don’t have problems with him, on the contrary. It’s normal, the pressure of the moment.” – Messi (barcastuff)
Also, 11 points 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
And clean sheet!
lol..this exactly answers what I asked above..Thanks.. 🙂
And Tito’s response
“Vilanova: “Messi-Villa? Who played football, knows it’s normal. Won’t say I like it but shows they are motivated, better than keeping quiet”” (@barcastuff)
Oh. Case not closed, then?
na..case closes.. 😛
*closed
I say sell Messi next season for 300 million euros.
pish – 500 million. 😀
How much is that new stadium is going to cost?
300 mil something
600 million. Expect naming rights to also be sold. 300m for a full Camp Nou rehab.
And totally unnecessary in either case…
I’d agree to revamping Camp Nou. It’s old and too open. Needs a half roof over the top to retain the atmosphere.
It’s a solid building and a roof could easily be added as an exoskeleton around the outside – like the Norman Foster design which has now been abandoned because it was done during the Laporta days.
Sigh…
Adriano, who was subbed off, has a thigh muscle overburdening #fcblvie [catalunya radio]
At this rate, we’ll have no defender left 🙁
I was surprised that Adriano lasted 3 matches without being injured , he is a glass man.
Tito celebrating Xavi’s goal
http://www.twitpic.com/axdvc3
(@Emenderk)
This is the expressive Tito I’ve seen.
*most expressive.
Also, Smiling Messi 😀
http://twitpic.com/axds8i
(same source)
I’m just watching the game, i couldn’t on live streaming. Messi was nervous since he put his feet on the pitch, he had several situations with Granada players, then with Thiago, then with another player, i forgot which one was it, and in the end with Villa. So it was not something aimed at Villa, but rather Messi being disturbed on something. I noticed the same thing in the last couple of games.
Maybe, just maybe, he is not ALSO happy that Iniesta took the accolades from the Uefa trophies, and showing that on the pitch.
That sounds like something coming straight out of Marca…
Somehow I doubt that’s annoyance about Iniesta is the reason. Messi has won about a million trophies. I’d be surprised if he begrudges Iniesta this one, especially since his immediate reaction when Iniesta’s name was announced was what seemed to me to be a genuine smile. You can tell a lot about people by their immediate reaction to things, and that wasn’t an immediate reaction that struck me as resentful or annoyed.
(Though honestly, I don’t even buy that it’s the reason for Ronaldo’s expressed discontent.)
I think we’d have to be blind to not notice a slight (at least) change in the way Messi conducts himself on the field this season. Maybe it’s temporary, maybe it’s not, but there’s no doubt he’s bitchier, less smily, more chatty this year (so far). What the roots of that are (Pep leaving, impending fatherhood, pressure of performing week after week, whatever) I don’t know, but I do know what I see and I don’t like it.
Hey, do we have undercover Marca writers here?
Really, things like that (the situation with Messi and Villa/Thiago/Granda player) happen all the time. Sometimes the camera picks it up (See Dani and Pique in 2010/2011) and sometimes it doesnt. Its apart of playing professional sports. Not saying I support it but they’re all humans, they get agitated, annoyed, frustrated too. My God.
Messi was laughing his ass off in the Getafe match (even when he didnt get a PEN AND was not started) so these theories and “Messi has changed!” nonsense is overreaction.
Match impressions post up.