In my fantasy life, I’m a Barca-crazed contributor over at Barcelona Football Blog. In my real life, I’m a full-time journalist at the Chicago Tribune, based in Chicago, Illinois.
37 Comments
Kari
November 5, 2010
Saw this a while ago. Xavi owns, but we already know that 😀
Just needs to finally get his hands on the WPOTY/Balon D’Or. Messi will obviously win it again some other time, but it would be a travesty if Xavi ends his career without the recognition.
-What’s with Pastore talking himself up? I know the press are asking him the questions, but he sure ain’t dodging them…Still it is EMD and Sport we are talking about, but he’s one to watch.
OH OH OH, you know what is totally meaningless? MVP awards in team sports. Who cares who gets the Ballon d’Or or FIFA World Player of the Year? It matters as much as the “Eats The Most Bean Burritos At Lunch” award I got in my high school yearbook.
And yes that’s a real award.
Miguel
November 6, 2010
how many?
mei
November 6, 2010
pictures or it didnt happen! 😀
Euler
November 5, 2010
Against Coppenhagen Xavi was clearly not 100% and as people noted it wasn’t his best match by any means.
Despite that – despite the injury and the off performance – Xavi completed 98 out of 103 attempted passes. It’s just staggering how good he is. On an off day he still controls the game to the tune of 103 pass attempts and completes 95% of them. The only ones that weren’t completed were difficult killer through balls.
Courtesy of the TotalFootball Chalkboards for the CL and via Zonal Markings here is the Chalkboard for Xavi in that last match – it really is just beautiful:
oooooo, there’s a barca b villarreal b game today @10am pst. almost forgot.
mei
November 6, 2010
xavi hernandez excellent video :
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogmpXObU7Yk
how can somebody describe xavi?
a guy sums it up pretty well in the comments in that video :
“he’s up there with the best, not maradona, not pele, not even messi, but with mozart, leonardo da vinci… etc”
Eklavya
November 6, 2010
Wow, nice comment!
Kxevin
November 6, 2010
Not at all sure how true it is, but apparently there was a summit meeting with Guardiola, Rosell and the technical staff, where it was determined to seek cost-effective signings in January. Affelay is the name that keeps popping up, as the price is right because he is out of contract.
Stay tuned. Two months before the January madness begins.
Helge
November 6, 2010
My short verdict on Afellay: He doesn’t bring it.
He’s been playing for 6 years at PSV Eindhoven and after each season you though “Next season he’s gonna explode” but it never happened. He’s just a good player in the Dutch Eredivise, but nothing more than that. Would be a complete waste of money. Then he should better give Thiago more chances and not call him up for almost every match to let him sit on the bench for 95% of the matches 🙁
Sometimes it takes a team to see a player explode though. If he doesn’t take the team to champions league and then he is not great, there must be something wrong about their national team selection because he should have been dropped in that regard.
Remind me how old is Bojan now, are we still giving him some time to develop? At 24, you are bound to give your best football to us, because that’s about the right age. So, 6 years in a club seems short because Bojan has 4 with us already, and we have another 4 years to see him reach 24.
Watched 45mins of English pinball just to see some Bale, but couldn’t see him. poor match, no chance created, hit the post once with a freekick. well, give him an excuse now, the whole Tottenham had a bad game, and so was Bale. But I thought he was supposed to be the kind of game changer in a league he knows best… Another thing I notice about him is that he can’t dribble a non-straight line. He could beat a lot of defenders with his signature forward push or drive, but when he tries to dribble inside which involve more control, he is slow as hell with a tendency to lose the ball.
The scoreline was exciting, but the game is just ok, if you like pinball, you will like it. I guess I am too spoiled by Barcelona.
All for Afellay within 7M. He is 24 year-old, 180cm tall, fast and technical.
Hilal
November 6, 2010
I mentioned this in a post a few days ago. Bale is hugely overrated by the english press, like most British players. Hell, they dont even have to be British, they just have to play in the EPL and all of a sudden they are overhyped. I watch the EPL a lot since I live in London and trust me Bale, like Walcott, is just pace. He needs space and lots of it in order to shine. His technical ability is not that great. He is not Barca material, no way. Pedro is a much better player. Inter made Bale look fantastic because they gave him acres of space to run into and Maicon seems to have fallen from grace. Can you imagine what Pedro, Messi, Villa, or any of our strikers would have done with that much space and time on the ball. It very rarely happens when we play, teams know not to let it happen, so Bale would never be allowed the space he needs at Barca. Let him stay in the EPL. He is not worth anywhere near the money they are talking about… 50m *scoff*
This highlight of Afellay has a more real game feeling to it, not tailored to make him look good. Not even a highlight of all his great skills, but all of his useful involvements, I guess.
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kEsFPWCw6c
BA
November 6, 2010
Zouzinho does yeoman’s work with those sorts of videos. somebody should give that guy a medal.
gv
November 6, 2010
xavi truly is magic. bBut if there is one person I know who’s better than him in passing, it’s pep.
Kari
November 6, 2010
My fav. Xavi video:
/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sjmEfM1c88
blitzen
November 6, 2010
Mine too! 😀
sab
November 6, 2010
interesting
*http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b6QQF
sab
November 6, 2010
sid lowe said that cry babys stat are as good as messiah,but he mentined 2 4get that how messi makes his goal so simple,and how diver makes his goal so difficult.
uh oh. swiss cheese defense leads to an equalizer.
Miguel
November 6, 2010
*iago w/the goal.
Miguel
November 6, 2010
former barca b player, iago, trips up telo in the box. jonathan soriano converts the penalty. 2-1
sab
November 6, 2010
AW has a secret affair with a french rapper named donya tatar,its alleged
Miguel
November 6, 2010
10 million dollar nolito cuts in from the left then blasts it in towards the far post. 3-1
Miguel
November 6, 2010
rochina, another sub, scores a goal.
Roz
November 6, 2010
Awsome game.
Roz
November 6, 2010
And its Euro lol.
Miguel
November 6, 2010
so he’s worth $14,044,000.00. my bad.
Vj
November 6, 2010
Vote for Guardiola!
||http://bit.ly/d2Gl8x
poipoi
November 6, 2010
another cool xavi vid, with his funkiest dribble ever IMO (1:55) he really pwns that guy only with only one touch, stepping over the ball and dancing for the second touch
another cool xavi vid, with his funkiest dribble ever IMO (1:55) he really pwns that guy only with only one touch, stepping over the ball and dancing for the second touch
Saw this a while ago. Xavi owns, but we already know that 😀
Just needs to finally get his hands on the WPOTY/Balon D’Or. Messi will obviously win it again some other time, but it would be a travesty if Xavi ends his career without the recognition.
-What’s with Pastore talking himself up? I know the press are asking him the questions, but he sure ain’t dodging them…Still it is EMD and Sport we are talking about, but he’s one to watch.
OH OH OH, you know what is totally meaningless? MVP awards in team sports. Who cares who gets the Ballon d’Or or FIFA World Player of the Year? It matters as much as the “Eats The Most Bean Burritos At Lunch” award I got in my high school yearbook.
And yes that’s a real award.
how many?
pictures or it didnt happen! 😀
Against Coppenhagen Xavi was clearly not 100% and as people noted it wasn’t his best match by any means.
Despite that – despite the injury and the off performance – Xavi completed 98 out of 103 attempted passes. It’s just staggering how good he is. On an off day he still controls the game to the tune of 103 pass attempts and completes 95% of them. The only ones that weren’t completed were difficult killer through balls.
Courtesy of the TotalFootball Chalkboards for the CL and via Zonal Markings here is the Chalkboard for Xavi in that last match – it really is just beautiful:
**http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/5803/aabarca.jpg
oooooo, there’s a barca b villarreal b game today @10am pst. almost forgot.
xavi hernandez excellent video :
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogmpXObU7Yk
how can somebody describe xavi?
a guy sums it up pretty well in the comments in that video :
“he’s up there with the best, not maradona, not pele, not even messi, but with mozart, leonardo da vinci… etc”
Wow, nice comment!
Not at all sure how true it is, but apparently there was a summit meeting with Guardiola, Rosell and the technical staff, where it was determined to seek cost-effective signings in January. Affelay is the name that keeps popping up, as the price is right because he is out of contract.
Stay tuned. Two months before the January madness begins.
My short verdict on Afellay: He doesn’t bring it.
He’s been playing for 6 years at PSV Eindhoven and after each season you though “Next season he’s gonna explode” but it never happened. He’s just a good player in the Dutch Eredivise, but nothing more than that. Would be a complete waste of money. Then he should better give Thiago more chances and not call him up for almost every match to let him sit on the bench for 95% of the matches 🙁
Sometimes it takes a team to see a player explode though. If he doesn’t take the team to champions league and then he is not great, there must be something wrong about their national team selection because he should have been dropped in that regard.
Remind me how old is Bojan now, are we still giving him some time to develop? At 24, you are bound to give your best football to us, because that’s about the right age. So, 6 years in a club seems short because Bojan has 4 with us already, and we have another 4 years to see him reach 24.
Here’s your cost-effective signing: Keirrison.
Pwnage!
Watched 45mins of English pinball just to see some Bale, but couldn’t see him. poor match, no chance created, hit the post once with a freekick. well, give him an excuse now, the whole Tottenham had a bad game, and so was Bale. But I thought he was supposed to be the kind of game changer in a league he knows best… Another thing I notice about him is that he can’t dribble a non-straight line. He could beat a lot of defenders with his signature forward push or drive, but when he tries to dribble inside which involve more control, he is slow as hell with a tendency to lose the ball.
The scoreline was exciting, but the game is just ok, if you like pinball, you will like it. I guess I am too spoiled by Barcelona.
All for Afellay within 7M. He is 24 year-old, 180cm tall, fast and technical.
I mentioned this in a post a few days ago. Bale is hugely overrated by the english press, like most British players. Hell, they dont even have to be British, they just have to play in the EPL and all of a sudden they are overhyped. I watch the EPL a lot since I live in London and trust me Bale, like Walcott, is just pace. He needs space and lots of it in order to shine. His technical ability is not that great. He is not Barca material, no way. Pedro is a much better player. Inter made Bale look fantastic because they gave him acres of space to run into and Maicon seems to have fallen from grace. Can you imagine what Pedro, Messi, Villa, or any of our strikers would have done with that much space and time on the ball. It very rarely happens when we play, teams know not to let it happen, so Bale would never be allowed the space he needs at Barca. Let him stay in the EPL. He is not worth anywhere near the money they are talking about… 50m *scoff*
This highlight of Afellay has a more real game feeling to it, not tailored to make him look good. Not even a highlight of all his great skills, but all of his useful involvements, I guess.
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kEsFPWCw6c
Zouzinho does yeoman’s work with those sorts of videos. somebody should give that guy a medal.
xavi truly is magic. bBut if there is one person I know who’s better than him in passing, it’s pep.
My fav. Xavi video:
/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sjmEfM1c88
Mine too! 😀
interesting
*http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b6QQF
sid lowe said that cry babys stat are as good as messiah,but he mentined 2 4get that how messi makes his goal so simple,and how diver makes his goal so difficult.
*http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b6QQG
finally a good link!
*http://www.justin.tv/manu__chanel#/w/528673760/2
good read
*http://bleacherreport.com/articles/508273-fc-barcelona-tiki-taka-or-quite-simply-the-beautiful-game
wow! muniesa w/a sick long range shot!
uh oh. swiss cheese defense leads to an equalizer.
*iago w/the goal.
former barca b player, iago, trips up telo in the box. jonathan soriano converts the penalty. 2-1
AW has a secret affair with a french rapper named donya tatar,its alleged
10 million dollar nolito cuts in from the left then blasts it in towards the far post. 3-1
rochina, another sub, scores a goal.
Awsome game.
And its Euro lol.
so he’s worth $14,044,000.00. my bad.
Vote for Guardiola!
||http://bit.ly/d2Gl8x
another cool xavi vid, with his funkiest dribble ever IMO (1:55) he really pwns that guy only with only one touch, stepping over the ball and dancing for the second touch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-bIknyoUbc&feature=related
another cool xavi vid, with his funkiest dribble ever IMO (1:55) he really pwns that guy only with only one touch, stepping over the ball and dancing for the second touch
*www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-bIknyoUbc&feature=related