Champions League Preview: Schalke 04 Vs Barcelona

Whether there is a crisis or not.......this game will decide.

And what the hell is this about Ronaldinho was left out of the squad for this game too.Can somebody tell me more??????????????

Barca Fan-Miki - I think the club, like a lot of fans, has finally lost patience with his lack of discipline. Whether he is injured or not is anyone's guess. I don't know what is true but there are a lot of rumours about Ronaldinho's personal life. I'll say no more while he is still a Barça player.

I think 2-1 to Barca.

Is ronaldinho's life just about enjoyment or what? shalke 1-3 barça after the talk of crisis this is the only "aceptable" scorline.

i think this will be a 1-2 loss for us ...

1-2. :(

U lot are frustrated with Barca and R10 but stick wiv them! Barca to win 2-1 Eto'o to score first then Bojan! And Kuranyi for them! BLAUGRANA 4 LYF! We need the old Ronnie again! Without him we're not the same team!

Sadly I think if you want the old Ronnie then I suggest you buy some of our old matches on DVD..... That's what I did, and the drop in his form is absolutely shocking especially after watching just how incredible he was...... Better than I even remember.... It just makes his dissolution all the more sad to see and hard to take.....

thank god for rafa !!!!!!!!! were 2wice as solid as before... or hopefully he hasnt layed in a while and milito is back so hopefully our d is better than against betis

0-0

I'm feeling more positive about the match. I'm glad Rafa is back. I know there are mixed opinions about him but the defence seems more solid with him in the line-up.

I also hope that Frank does play Sylvinho. Even though Abidal and Henry are National teammates, Sylvinho seems to be better at crossing the balls in to Henry. I'm also thinking that since this is a CL game that Henry might put on his shooting boots. I'm also hoping to see more tracking back by the frenchman.....a desire to get the ball back, Lord knows he has the speed to do so.

Most certainly I'm hoping that Eto'o will be able to start. His knock is worrying but I'm not going to "borrow trouble" before I have to.

I've read that it's been laid out to the team about what is expected. I'm geared up to see how this all pans out now. I wont make a prediction though, because I never get it right anyhow! :)

2-1 barcaaaaa

The best result for Barca will be a goal less draw. As far as Ronaldinho is concerned, he looked getting back to his form just before he got injured. Why is he being dropped?

Barcelona 1-0......Regarding Ronaldinho and the crisis, the less said the better.

Sylvinho must start..

Ronaldinho missing lol.. this is just gettin absurd. Barca should pull through.
Mayb Ronnie and Messi are on holiday together lol

true say, maybe messi just decided to fake injury too just to go back to motherland and party.

Perhaps in the longer term - going out now would be better... It would make the club realise that we are in need of major changes... also it would mean we would not have to face a Man Utd team that would rip our defence to pieces... just a thought....

@John
I disagree dude.

The club has realized that major changes are needed. So that is inevitable. And Man United's defence can be equally ripped to pieces by Bojan, Iniesta, Eto'o and.........Messi.

sorry, id like to keep faith as much as possible but its no need to exaggerate. john, u are not the only person thinking that, both hilal and many others have voiced the same. i watch man u almost weekly and they are just awesome to watch. when they attack its clinical. some of my best friends are man u fans, so personally would hate to get embarrased by them. i know u cant predict in this game, but on the balance of probabilities, it could be a rough affair. and also, man united defense is very very solid and ripping to to shreds is a gross exaggeration. with messi just coming back from injury, it wont be easy.

but thats a future problem. lets hope we can just put on a decent performance, but more importantly, one with some SPIRIT and EFFORT. i pray the betis game was reality check, though i dont know why they havent had one before. in all honestly, i see it 2-1 (not sure which way) or 2-2. with regards to our beloved roni, people just get honset. if u dont know why he isnt playing you've been livign under a rock a bit. so ill enlighten some, to the most of my knowledge from teh press. he has been faking an injury basically because he is unfit and because he is depressed with his form, the abuse fans have been giving him, and his family all being in brazil. due to this he has been partying and drinking regularly. luis fernadez, a former manager at espanyol and one of hte staff at PSG during his time there, game out with a book last week slamming Roni. he said he was one of the worst players he ever worked with and called him "a womanizer and a drunk". not my words. i would be suprised to see him take the pitch more than a handful times more this season.

I think after admitting the club are in crisis the boys are going to prove everybody wrong and once again step up to prove that they are still a european powerhouse.

Schalke 0-2 Barca

As I was saying .. Just a thought! we are still a great club but we are in not in good health... we need some tough medecine in the form of Jose... ;-)

ronaldinho?! A womanizer?!..............goddamn, i never knew.

Hmm tough game to call. I agree with blaugranaboy with 2-1 score either team or tie. They do better in CL so maybe it will be 2-1 for them. Regarding Ronnie's assessment I also think blaugranaboy is right. But to be fair to Ronnie Thiago Motta and earlier before Bernd Shuster have defended him so maybe it's both parties to some extent. In any case changes are coming...

Don't be so afraid of Man United. They are an English team after all. Arsenal are more dangerous.

Gonzalo Higuain - "I hope Barcelona are knocked out. I want Schalke to go through to the semis but I'd really wish it were Real Madrid."

That is the most senseless statement I've ever heard from a professional footballer.

Jay - I agree we shouldn't be so afraid of Man United but I can't agree that Arsenal are more dangerous. I know we have problems at the moment but on our day we can still beat anyone.

Somehow I feel this game will be a walk in the park for barcelona. 2-1, but i feel Barcelona will win this one with ease. Like Nic said, on our day, barcelona can still humble manchester united or ne other team in the world!!
And yeah. Higuain is just stupid. Absolutely ridiculous.

I completely agree with all of you that on our day we can beat any team. However I just cant see us having "our day" anytime soon. Maybe with Messi back things will change a bit, but that is not a good sign for our team, that we need a 20 year old kid in order to play to our best!

Higuain is an idiot and embarrassed himself with that remark.

Oh and there is no way Arsenal are more dangerous than Man utd.

OK, probably means nothing but after despairing for days now..... well actually for more or less the last two seasons, I suddenly had this odd rush of optimism.... Probably delusional, but I have this feeling that we are not only going to get by Schalke and probaly win today.... 2-0, 3-1, 2-1.... I don't know, just win I guess.... But I really had this deep feeling that we are going to beat Man U..... Listening to all the experts pronounce us dead (like I have, I must admit), hearing how all the Man U fans want us as we are an easy team, knowing how arrogant and cocky Ferguson is, seeing how the only times I've seen Man U look vulnerable is when teams come out and attack them full on, thinking about their fixtures with Lyon who we handled far easier (granted we had Messi, and were in better form at the time), and now the capper Higuain spouting off like the fool that he is (like some hack second rate striker's opinion holds any weight except to get our guys angry and motivated)..... Also seeing Frank show a bit of grit at his press conference, and knowing it is do or die for him..... maybe his Championship Pedigree as both player and coach will surface, and we'll see an inspired Barca...... Maybe it's just me being angry hearing everyone trash us, or maybe people should have let sleeping dogs lie..... We have the talent more talent in my opinion even with our injuries than any other team on the planet, really what we lack more than anything is a sustained show of hunger, effort and determination... I don't know, maybe it's that I still feel for Frank because he really is a good guy and even though my rational mind wants Mourinho, my heart wants to believe that you can be a good guy, and cool with your players and still win, and shut up the likes of Fergie, the Man U fans, and the Experts on TV and in the press...... Well one thing is for sure if Frank doesn't do it then he's a goner.... But, He was always an amazingly clutch player performing best in the biggest games and when under the most pressure, maybe he can dig deep and show that same trait as a coach..... I'm still rooting for him but we'll find out pretty soon either way.....

What I meant was that Arsenal have a better defence-ripping approach than Man United. They are like us and know how to get in and make merry. They actually have had a brilliant season but lack of experience and strength in depth has seen them lose the plot.

United rely completely on Ronaldo. More than ever. What else is a bigger weakness than that. Ask Milan(3-0 home leg, UCL semis 2007).

Higuain was booed by his fans this weekend. He's "trying" to make up for it. But his senses aren't taking his stand.

IS ETO'O PLAYING TONIGHT NIC??

Youssef - YES!! I've just got home in time for the game. The team is:
Valdés; Zambrotta, Puyol, Milito, Abidal; Xavi, Toure, Iniesta; Eto’o, Bojan, Henry.

Schalke are starting with: Neuer; Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Westermann; Ernst, Kobiashvili, Asamoah, Pander; Altintop, Kuranyi.

God I hope we destroy Shalke tonight. I know i said I didnt think it would happen but I always get a rush when I see the team lineup. We just have so much quality even without Messi and Ronnie. If they want to win then they will win, lets hope they want to win!!!!

COME ON BARCA!

(I always get excited when we play, lets hope its not a let down!)

1-0 Barcelona 12 minutes
Bojan....

Why do I have a feeling the game is about to turn.......

I'm at work so I'm listening through fcb website radio. Doesn't sound like a very exciting game. So maybe it will end 1-0.

If we were playing a better team they would have scored already. What is wrong with us, everytime we score a goal we go to sleep. Again, no heart, no spirit, nothing lethal about us whatsoever. Henry might as well not be playing, and Eto'o is clearly not a winger. Unsurprisingly another poor performance. I dont even care what the final score is. This was our chance to REALLY come out and fight against a team a lot weaker than us and nothing. Plus they should have just been awarded a penalty. We'll probably get through but i

Does anybody really believe that we can beat Man Utd playing like this?

If we were playing a better team they would have scored already. What is wrong with us, everytime we score a goal we go to sleep. Again, no heart, no spirit, nothing lethal about us whatsoever. Henry might as well not be playing, and Eto'o is clearly not a winger. Unsurprisingly another poor performance. I dont even care what the final score is. This was our chance to REALLY come out and fight against a team a lot weaker than us and nothing. Plus they should have just been awarded a penalty. We'll probably get through but i am really not looking forward to what is awaiting us in the semis.

Does anybody really believe that we can beat Man Utd playing like this?

BARCAAA!!! hoo cares? im not thinking about man united now, way too early!! valdes gr8 save at the end!!! YEAAAAAAAA!!!

Thanks for the win lads. shame it was nt convincing. I think the second leg wont be easy. They have nothing to loose and barca seem to always crack when put under pressure. What will be will be in the CL. I just want this season to end, get rid of the dead wood and bring in a new manager with new ideas and hopefully some players who will sweat blood for the club.
FORZA BARCA!

SHOUT AND SAY: VISCA EL BARCA...

WE DID IT!!

at least, we didnt lose, wat is wrong with this henry, can't rijkaard see he's not givin his all?

henry and abidal, i dont think we should sign any more french players apart from ribery(one of ma fav players)...lol....these guys are seeing double on the pitch

You know what, screw man united. Let them beat roma and face us. Barcelona will prove to everyone, through thick and thin, they can put up a fight.

Congratulations Jay on a correct prediction :-D