Welcome to the new look of Barcelona Football Blog. You’ll immediately notice several new things, of course, but there are some things I would like to point out in addition to the visual differences (background image, sidebar).
First, I’d like to point out that this new look is the work of our IT man, Tarun, who is a juggernaut behind the scenes. He’s the hidden gem behind the Messi-like qualities of our mercurial poster, Kevin, and our deep-lying midfield maestro, Hector. I suppose that makes me the Hleb of the group. Shit.
Several people expressed a desire to be able to reply directly to comments, so that their responses would be threaded instead of dropped at the very bottom of the page. This has been incorporated into our new look and we believe it will be helpful in guiding discussions through several different topics at once.
The sidebar, of course, has a slightly different look, with more pronounced emphasis on Facebook and Twitter, which will be blowing up your mobile cellular communication devices (isn’t that what the kids are calling them these days?) if you so choose to stay connected with BFB day and night. If you aren’t friends with us on Facebook and you do have a Facebook account, join the crew; also, follow us on Twitter, where all our new posts are linked and the lineup for each match is posted as soon as it’s seen.
Another piece of the sidebar that is brand spankin’ new is the Poll of the Day. This is where you get to voice your opinion via a click. You’ll see site-management questions occasionally (such as the first one), jokes about Natalie Portman, and questions regarding the upcoming games.
Please let us know what you think of the new look in the comments section (besides voting in the poll, of course). If you find anything wrong with the site, please let us know with an email (form here). A few of you have emailed us and we appreciate the feedback and hope that we can incorporate more of your innovative and directional ideas in the future. You, the readers, are what make this blog function (that and lots of caffeine), so we want to keep you happy. With the return of the league comes the return of full-on BFB coverage of all things FCB.
Visca el Barça!
looks good…1st
I agree. And I wanted to test out the thread option!
although i had gotten used to the guy with the weird but enthusiastic expressions up on top, seeing messi more would definetily make my day brighter, thanks for all the hard work
it’s the awesomeness Isaiah Hleb
on another note… who the hell picks the Argentina team these days?
Surely Maradona isn’t this stupid? Is he?
It’s like he allows himself to name 4 world class players and the rest have to play in the domestic league.
Why are they not playing a 4-3-3?
They don’t really have any box-to-box central midfielders but a 4-4-2 needs them.
They don’t really have forwards built for a two man frontline either and their wingers are those of a 3-man frontline. Frustrating.
Lavezzi, Zarate, Lisandro Lopez & Higuain can’t get a game but Veron is starting.
Come on, say it with me: four three three
That’s more then Maradona realizes, what was the AFA thinking?
Paraguay hit the woodwork for the second time already, min.23.
nice updates. I like the replacement for the imodium commercial – ‘The Flea’ stimulates the eyes better.
awesomeness
My god..Argentina REALLY doesn’t want to qualify for the WC!! They are getting pummeled by Paraguay.. it is a miracle that they aren’t losing 2 or even 3-0.
Messi is the one I feel really bad for. Man…it must suck.
As a Mexican fan that knows it’s not possible to win the WC without the most amazing luck in the world, it sucks. But to know that your team has every capability to win the WC and not be able to fulfill that due to a shitty coach…that’s just downright cruel.
poor little Messi., he’s probably thinking now why he didn’t become a naturalized spaniard.
Arg-Par streams?
this is fookin’ SEXY
1-0 to Paraguay
http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/estrivos09092
try this for paraguay argentina
paraguay just scored :S fack
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kaos-lethal
That’s the one i am watching now
Argentina is almost unbearable to watch now. Paraguay up 1-0
Paraguay go 1-0 up, deservedly
//http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kaos-lethal
forgot about the comment mod thing
me too, oops!
can’t get over how good the new design looks! well done guys
//http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/estrivos09092
try this for paraguay argentina
paraguay just scored :S fack
English:
http://www.iraqgoals.net/ch1.html
Hmmm, out of4 official games maradona has lost 3. this would make 4 out of 5.
tip: maybe we should use a logo that will make us more recognizable? kinda similar to how TheOffside has the logo with the silhouettes playing football, and how TheSpoiler uses orange font with the ball and dagger. a basic serif font might get us lost in the shuffle!
Has Veron gotten the ball past the wall yet?
Cool design indeed, and the guy taking a dump gone awesome.
i always pictured the guy taking the dump as Isaiah.
*Takes a swig of rum and bows to root for Paraguay just this once if it means Maradona gets fired*
Corrine: Logo contest??
BTW Paraguay IS actually a really good team. Just saying. If they make it to the WC don’t be surprised if they surprise quite a few folks. Caba~as is sweet. He looks so fat but is fast as hell.
Hey, Ramzi (if you’re out there)! Remember when we bitched about Bielsa? Well, if this is what we get then I want him the hell back. Nothing is worse than this.
Midfield trio of: Lucho, Mascherano & Cambiasso with Gago, Maxi & Datolo as cover.
Forward trio of: Messi, Aguero & Milito with Zarate, Higuain & Lisandro as cover.
What would be wrong with that?
or Masherano and Cambiasso behind Aguero, Messi and Maxi with Higuain or Milito up front in a 4-2-3-1. really, with that much talent these lineups fashion themselves; it’s actually pretty amazing that Maradona has managed to get it wrong every single time.
ARG= huge disappointment.
Does anybody remember WHY the previous coach was fired? Weren’t ARG ranked #1 in the world and Olympic gold medalists?
Nothing. Which apparentlu is precisely what is wrong with it in Maradona’s eyes.
jnelson- Because they were losing close, drawing games they should win, and having trouble scoring.
If only they knew *cracks up in laughter so as not to cry*
When looking at the line-up and the substitutes, I thought immediately “this is going to be a horrible match”. And it seems I was right.
Maradona even turns Mascherano from a world class defensive mid (maybe the world’s best when playing at Liverpool) to a under class player who lacks confidence – as the rest of the team. It’s really a shame and Messi doesn’t deserve this. He should seriously think of retiring as long as there is no new coach AND new players like Higuain, Lisandro Lopez, Riquelme, Lucho Gonzales …
Mexico-Honduras game starting in 30 minutes. I want me some Giovanni Dos Santos action.
Personally, I’d like a 4-2-3-1. Cambiasso and Gago as holding mids, Messi as the playmaker and Higuain and Tevez (forward/wingers with an actual work rate)flanking Messi and Milito up top.
BTW hasn’t it been like 3 years since Walter Samuel was last not injured? Shit. I though so. That means you’ve got a couple of months until he gets injured again. Use him while you got him. Is he really worse than Gabi effing Heinze?
Bow down to genius!!! Paraguay dominated the midfield and our valiant field general takes out a midfielder and adds another forward. Brilliant!!!
Brilliant! I see him getting toasted by those dudes from the old Mike’s Hard Lemonade commercials haha. Brilliant! I’m just waiting for him to sub himself in. And THEN Aguero Jr.
Veron sent off
Whoa…a red card.
At least Dunga gets results for Brazil’s terrible performances… Maradona gets nothing, only embarassment
*Goes to get another drink*
So, if they lose today, what chances do they have of qualifying? While I don’t really like Riquelme, whats up with not calling up all those other players that Helge mentioned? Why is Higuain not rated by Maradona?
And I like the idea of a logo contest. It must be Yaya Magnificent.
You get a midfielder sent off, immediately you think ‘I better bring on a big slow striker like Martin Palermo’.
Aguero off for Palermo
Will he drop Messi back to midfield or what?
Links? I think mine is way behind.
Maradona can’t even get these exceptionally great players to click..never mind bringing in younger and fresher talent.
And he has a hard on for players who play locally.
I like the new layout guys. Congrats on the success of the site so far. I just wanted to let you guys know I finally got around to recording my first podcast. You can check it out here: http://real.theoffside.com/team-news/espanyol-preview-and-podcast.html#comment-15082
Adios
I think I’ll send Maradona a copy of Football Manager 10 when it comes out in October. Maybe his team might play better on that
hahaha
He’ll end up ruining Pro Vercelli’s next season…
I feel for Messi, everyone else seems lost.
Martin Palermo once missed three penalties in one game for Argentina… and he gets to play ahead of Milito, Lisandro, Higuain and Mauro Zarate?
BRING ON MAXI LOPEZ!!!
Nah. Messi is also lost in space. Everybody is. Goddamn it to hell! The only thing that can make this worth it is if Maradona is fired after this.
Yeah, still feel sorry for him. Especially with that terrible haircut.
And yeah, the only positive that can come from this is getting rid of Maradona. If he stays it would be total madness.
NOW you’re talking, Ciaran!
Hector! We discussed this before the re-launch…we can reply directly!
Why didnt Milito start, who was to hold up play ?
Jordi, dude… Veron was playing as a winger…VERON!!! Little stuff like holding up plays does not concern Maradona.
I GOT IT
Maradona is confused between his fantasy football world cup qualifiers team and his real team.
He believes that he has spent his budget on Masch, Messi, Aguero and Zanetti so he had to pick lots of shit players so he won’t go over budget.
I think Maradona lives in a world where there is no logic.
So, who is this clown that Maradona just subbed in? Never seen him before.
He’s a 36yr old centre back who plays in Argentina I believe, with no international experience… exactly what you need to get yourself back into the match
Like, duh!
We’re the crazy ones, not him.
/who is Rolando Schiavi and why is he getting his 1st cap at 36, IN A CRUCIAL QUALIFIER ,down to 10 men no less. ?
cause he’s tall?
Paraguay fell asleep there. I thought for sure it was going to be 2-0.
Ding Dong Maradona is ded.
oh my god. that is all
So how many points do argentina nedd now? :/
The fat lady has sung for Paraguay. Argentina’s fat lady continues to feast on their luck; one can only hope she moves onto Maradona…
Maradona must go. I didn’t even see the whole game, but Maradona must go. It is the only way for Argentina to move forward.
I hope!
Word…and yes I learned to use the individual reply button.
Seriously. When Mexico hired the blow-hard Hugo Sanchez, I knew it was a bad idea. When Argentina hired Maradona, I knew it was an even worse idea.
Who do you all think would be a good replacement?
Bianchi would be the consensus best choice IMO but he hates what Grondona has done to the AFA. Angel Kappa would be interesting as hell but risky. Bilardo has disappointed me. He’s supposed to be the “Technical Director” of this mess.
What do you guys think? Pep for Argentina NT head coach?
I’ve got a lot of ideas
But my two favourites are
1.Johan Cruyff, that would be sensational – but it’s also the most unrealistic.
2.Roberto Mancini is another great coach who is available at the moment.
Lavolpe! Lavolpe!
i dug lavolpe @ mexico…& the same tie he wore every game
..AND the chain smoking.
he’d wear that tie with the leaves in a whirlwind…can you even smoke by the pitch anymore? i miss that fucker.
agree. you can dissect the game and figure out what went wrong but nothing will change unless he goes
Quite honestly that would take too long
and sometimes my Argentina fanboy-ness takes a hold of me. I have to remember that this is a Barca blog first and foremost. I do have another article that’ll be up early tomorrow morning.
haha you could write encyclopedias on it!
I’m with you Hector, I think it’s really upsetting. Driving me f’n crazy actually. I hope they fire him NOW.
i only got to catch the last 15 minutes of the argentina game…and it my stream died right before stoppage time. still pretty easy to see maradona needs to get hit over the head w/a sack of pennies.
onto a team i have no expectations of. mexico!!!! wooo!!!!!
I will renounce my faith if the AFA does not finally sack Maradona after this yet another out of the question performance!
Argentina will have to win both matches if they want to secure 5th place. I don’t even think about 4th anymore…
PS: At least, Messi didn’t get injured. And I think he didn’t use all his batteries today, maybe saving something for the next week with Barca. Well done, Messi. I’m serious, even if he tried his runs as he did against Brazil, it would have been meaningless.
Now I can’t wait for Saturday, I wanna see Barca play again. Some real football!
I lost it a while ago. Julio Grondona has been president of the AFA since 1979 and is still remembered as one of the dictatorship’s cronies. He is a flat out corrupt gangster and I hate his guts. That’s why Bianchi won’t go near the job. Cappa would be interesting. Hell, Pochettino over at Espanyol can probably do a better job than Maradona.
If Argentina lose the next game they’d still have a chance at the play offs, right? If Uruguay and Colombia both also lose, it would come down to the final game vs Uruguay..
Why is Cuauthemoc Blanco playing? I hate that guy.
Goal.com’s Flop Of The Match is Lionel… wait for it… Messi!!!
Goal.com also suggested Cesc can keep iniesta out of the Selección.
was it in a sarcastic or satirical tone?!?!
WTF?!?!
God I’m gonna have to take some digs directed at me now! I HATE Maradone
anybody have a working brazil chile link???
//http://www.mitvcanal.com/otros/usopne/horacio.html
obrigado!
“This Channel is blocked by admin” x^[
i don’t know then, sorry!
Argentina has scored only 2 goals (1 vs. Bolivia, 1 vs. Brazil) in their 6 World Cup Qualifiers this year. I wonder why………..
Ahh crap. Yea they WON 2 of those. The first 4-0 in March? and the second 1-0. Ehh Maradonna sucks anyway. I think he has to be fired. I mean Palermo and Schiavi??? WTF? That’s not including Veron, Heinze, dude from Velez Sarsfield(sp?) oh AND the 4-4-2. A new coach would dramatically improve this team WITHOUT A SINGLE TRAINING SESSION. A simple (Huge) change in selection and formation would work wonders. A new coach they require. ASAP! or my name is Robinho
Three vs. Venezuela and one vs. Colombia also. *starts to cry*.
ALTHOUGH…gotta wonder about Dumbenech if Mardadona and his all stars beat him 2-0
. What do you think, Kevin 
.
Haha, now that’s scarry… but true (also I already forgot about that friendly)
sun’s been setting on maradona…even if you had puppy dog eyes for him before there’s no overlooking these results. :^(
Wow, we could see a World Cup without:
Argentina, France, Portugal, Germany or Russia, Czech Republic and Turkey!
Maybe Ivory Coast will have a serious chance next year
PS: alves is playing right wing with maicon as RB (i think)
watching the highlights.. was that nilmar w/the first goal? he was a great buy for villarreal this summer. don’t know that they should’ve gotten rid of mati fernandez though
i have an ok setanta stream
//http://iraqgoals.net/ch1.html
this one works for me…got to see their 2nd goal
//http://www.justin.tv/rorrox_online/popout
chile gets a deserved penalty & is back in it
cool…i can reply to myself
i have to do all this tracking back now this sucks
Dani got an assist. Made the pass for Julio Baptista’s goal. Good for him.
that nilmar goal was sick!! it was nilmar right?
Holy sh*t that looked nasty. Damn.
suazo ex-colo colo scored. brazil’s qualified anyways right?
alves is playing in his hometown
is there a way to turn off email notifications? i checked the box to test it out but i can’t find an option to undo it
Hector is right, there should be unsubscribe option at the bottom of the email. Use that.
gracias!
In the emails you receive there is a link to “unsubscribe”. Click it.
It happened to me too
/
gracias, i never bothered to open the emails
Damn these terrible offside calls in the Mex/Hon game are pissing me off…
penalty on gio dos santos
NICE!! 1-0 to Mex. Yay
Ugh, and Cuauhtemoc had to score. Still hate him. But yay Mexico!
that guy should be lugging around an oxygen tank & being manhandled by nurses in a convalescent home.
Heh. And he’d probably sexually harass the nurses.
he’s doing a great job @ lying down right now
I know this is a barca blog but I can’t wait til the WC.
Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaah! Pretty gorgeous, eh? I know. I’m biased. All props due to the indefatigable Tarun, our Web whiz par excellence.
Now, for a rant:
I am trying to think of things that I dislike more than Nicolas Anelka.
1. A proctology exam with red-hot barbed wire. (Maybe)
2. Getting cock-punched by the reigning UFC champion. (Um, no.)
3. A dinner soiree with Mr. Massive Head Wound (Not even close.)
4. The EE (Okay, you got me.)
He killed Les Bleus today. Between being offsides almost all the time, losing the ball in his feet, opting (once again) to shoot instead of passing to a wide-open Gourcuff with no keeper in the frame, he’s just a big, giant bowl of wretchedness.
Henry was all man today. Don’t know how many of you saw the match, but he was magnificent, fully deserving of wearing the captain’s armband. But, typically of Dumbenech, he takes off the one offensive player working his ass off in favor of Ribery’s worthless self. I started fast-forwarding, knowing that they weren’t going to score.
Quelle surprise.
Oh, and if they docked Eduardo two games for his dive, I can’t wait to see what befalls that Serbian attacker, who must have tripped over a blade of tall grass, since Lloris didn’t actually touch him. That ref should be ashamed of himself, for letting the match degenerate into a rugby scrum, and for allowing the Serbian players to opt for the drop-and-roll school of time-wasting.
Once again, France had the match on someone’s boot. The only problem was that in both cases, it was Anelka. Last match, he ignores not one, but TWO open men in favor of a shot that didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of going in. This time, he does it again, opting for a shot from a crazy angle, instead of just tapping it to Gourcuff. Damn his mediocrity-laced soul to hell.
france game twas a while ago & i’m sure you were watching it a lot more attentively than i was on my crappy stream that’d black out every time something awesome was happening…..but wasn’t it anelka’s shot that the goal keeper fumbled resulting in henry’s goal? and lloris’ red car was warranted. i didn’t think so @ first but on the third replay you can definitely see lloris nicking his leg…that the serbian sold it is another issue.
Watch this video. No contact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCzLd48KmFA
Anelka’s shot should have been easily saved by the keeper, who screwed up. I give him about zero credit for that one, which might simply be because he has single-handedly killed Les Bleus.
I was watching via DVR off the TV5 match feed, txiki. Not. Happy. Right. Now.
me either bro. my condolences.
I would be shocked to find Anelka on anyone’s list of things they like. Well, except for maybe by mistake or a travelling salesman who can relate to his work ethic.
Is anyone else continuously checking all the football sites for breaking news of Maradona’s discharge as coach of the Argentine NT??
Class tomorrow is going to suck hard.
This, of course, is on the assumption that he will get fired.
I’ve refreshed my feeds 3x already. Here’s hoping!
i hope he retires. afa put themselves in this shit sandwitch. you can’t fire god. i’m thinking the afa approaches him & asks him to capitulate gracefully.
Guys this new design looks fantastic!! *Nice job, Tarun!* You must have worked really hard on this and it is definitely appreciated.
Also- yay for Mexico AND the US! They beat T/T 1-0. The WCQ table is looking pretty good right now. Aguirre has done a great job to clean up the hot mess that was left after Sven.
USA-16
Mexico-15
Honduras-13
Costa Rica-12
El Salvador-8
Trinidad/Tobago-5
It will probably Costa Rica Vs Argentina.
Hmmm. I was going to moderate my own comment to activate the link, but I can’t log in to my own blog. Everybody can laugh at me now!
Alves actually had two assists from that right mid spot today. Come on Dunga.
Alves is a better attacker than Kaka, Robinho, or anyone on Dunga’s 3-man-defensive-midfielder-line.
I would personally go with:
———Julio Cesar——-
Maicon-Lucio-(Juan)-Maxwell
–Felipe Melo-(Elano)——-
D.Alves—-Diego—-Robinho
———-(Adriano)——–
the people in Parentheses I could replace easily, but they just came to mind, most of them with someone who can easilly replace them.
(Juan) OR Alex or Naldo or Luisao or Henrique
(Elano) OR Anderson or Ramires
(Adriano) OR Pato or Luis Fabiano or Baptista
You left Kaka out of stating XI?
you mist be
a) an dumb
b) an anti-madrid biased Cule
c) been drinking too much today
(i’m guily on all counts
)
(well… 2/3)
Okay, for some reason the page wasn’t loading right while at work. Now I can see it – I think it gets a Yaya stomp of approval!
Xavi and Pique played the full 90? that’s just wrong… Perhaps I’m over analysing the situation..
1. Del Bosque is a former EE Coach
2. We have 7 games in 22 days (perhaps it slipped Del Bosque’s mind)
3. Spain has almost qualified, the reserves could have been given a run out.
4. Xabi Alonso was reserved and didn’t play at all. Sergio Ramos was fit too but didn’t get any minutes at all.
Don’t think Ramos was in the squad. He is just finally recovered after an achilles problem, I think.
My fatherland Armenia beat Belgium today! lolz. what an upset. Love the new site dudes, great improvement. R-R-R_Russia is killin’ it Gus Hiddink style!
The Potato ended up coaching for Russia? Good for him.
Armenia winning means my neighbors will probably be celebrating tonight. One of these days I need to learn some Armenian in order to join in the festivities.
Tarun and the rest,
Great job with the new design! Now I have even more reasons to spend my day checking this site.
Yeah for sure Soto, The log messages of my timesheet at work are littered with “scanning posts of barcelonafootballblog.com” comments
Hi Isaiah, Kevin, Hector and Tarun. I don’t usually post a lot but I’m an avid reader. First things first, I like the new updates cause it makes a lot of things more convenient. The only thing I have against it is the design and this is a product of I guess my OC-ness. Maybe You can move the pictures on the side so we can see a face rather than the body of Messi? I don’t know maybe it’s just me but it really bothers me. But of course, I’m not your only reader so maybe other people feel the same? Nonetheless, this is the best blog evaaah.
I like the new look.it definitely has the electric rush that messi provides on the pitch.Issaih can i get Tarun’s email addresss?something i wanna ask him – the tech stuff.or can he perhaps respond to my email address?thanx.keep rocking guys.
Any body watched Uruguay vs Colombia yesterday? Luis Suarez scored an AWESOME goal & that little trick he did during the set-up for 3rd goal was too good…
wow.. really? I loved his articles. This doesn’t sound like the real Isaiah. hmmmm
Somebody hijacking isaiah’s name to discredit hector or what???? We love hector posts, lets keep Hector get rid Achilles or some other dude who fought ancient mythical battles, like Conan the Barbarian or George Bush (pick either one of them).
No not hector.hector’s pieces are very insightful. You can tell he puts a lot of thought and effort creating them.they provide with such extensive view of our tactics.im even teaching my group of 10 year olds tactics based on this review.HECTOR HECTOR HECTOR HECTOR HECTOR HECTOR!!and that doesnt sound like Isaaih, no reason or philosophy..
meant “im teaching my group of 10 yrs olds football tactics based on Hector’s reviews”
Heeeeeeecccctttoooorrrr! (Achilles shouting outside the gates of Troy like in the movie)…
More yells to follow
Great work guys!
love the new design!
I Found us a good article from The Guardian:
//http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/sep/09/diego-maradona-argentina-world-cup
“Since he took over as national manager [Diego Maradona] has tried 62 players on the pitch, and given continuity to almost none.”
Haha.
Hey, great layout. One suggestion though. Is it possible for the posts from the members of the writing team to be in a different colour? That way you’d know for sure when the real Isaiah is posting.
Oh and since these articles generate a lot of activity, maybe the notification check box could be “Notify me when someone replies to my comment” instead?
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=674445&sec=europe&cc=4716 .. yet another read on Barca blooding in their youth this season by Lucy Turner
We’re working on some stuff so that you all know when it’s us. When we’re posting from the logged-in state as Admins, it isn’t sufficiently distinctive. Stand by, and apologies for any nonsense. I guess that it comes with being popular, right?
YES, excellent. I wouldn’t dare filling in that “notify me when new comments are added,” and I say that to all of us, or Isaiah, Kevin, Hector, and Tarun will have every carrier from AOL to Yahoo all over their asses.
Love the Facebok feature, too.
And Isaiah, I’d say you’re the Pique of the group. I’m actually not quite sure what Kevin is. Henry?
I’m a little late in adding my two cents here, but thank you so much for making the comments thread. It’s a rare to find something in the age of web 2,3,4.0 that encourages linear thought or conversation. Also, while I’m here, thanks for the great work and info.
Ever due to the fact their feud in UFC 107 in December, there have been several situations, in which it was believed that Evans and Jackson may collide next to a single another. However, Jackson announced a retirement, which did not last for often, but place the match on hold. Now, with the star announcing a return, pretty very much recently, the feud has been reignited. Both of them will get an possibility to settle their variations as soon as and for all when they go head-to-head next to one a different in UFC 114 on May perhaps 29.