Reflections on Chelsea - Barça (And A Few More Photos)

agree 100%, very well written Nic!

Well said, Nic. Concur on all points.

" Barça were far braver in their attitude to go out and try and win both games from the beginning. At the end fortune was on our side but I feel deservedly so. "
Good point . as the saying goes, " no guts no glory " . Barça were the only side that showed any courage or guts over the two games . We tried to play football as it is meant to be played and we deserved to advance to the final . Chelsea , on the other hand , played scared and cowardly and were left to pay the price . The ultimate glory is only one game away and despite all the odds and the suspensions it is still achievable .
And yes , there is a God !!

firstly, im no chelsea fan, i use to deeply hate them. but, i think they are getting a bit less credit than they deserve, in london at least. all the attention has gone to the ref, but i thought chelsea were quite excellent last night. teh defense was ALMOST unbeatable and they attacked more than i had even predicted and were super dangerous. without some amazing saves from VV and tackles from yaya, the score could have been depressing. lampard took this all very admirably and i gained some respect for him, no more fat frank.

BUT, then NIC IS TOTALLY CORRECT. the irony of telling barca to stop whinning 1st leg about the ref and now going ballistic. granted their leg had bigger decisions, but those penalty claims, despite many of them, had at most one ligit one. malouda NO WAY, abidal on drogba maybe, but his rep preceeded him so tough, pique, i would have been gutted but not angry, that could have gone against us, etoo at the end, impossible.

and drogba should look at himself and say disgrace. his level of acting, diving and time wasting is second to none. he can only blame himself for the rep he has built and missing many chances.

anyhow, im ready to let that game go, we never get luck like that, so its about time we get it.

i think pep should right now put caceres as starting right back and get him ready for that role in rome. puyol and pique shold def hit the middle because losing yaya in the mid is just too much, with him, xavi, and iniesta, we are brilliant. caceres on the right, he is fast and should do well enough, plus a right back can often make an error and be saved by the center back. slyinvho on the left, well he has the experience, and will just have to play deep and not get caught out going forward.

after some thought, for me its:
caceres, pique, puyol, slyvinho.

Fue dificil...pero no imposible...estabamos en desventaja...pero los goles se hacen....no se merecen.....arriba el Barca...

Here is a video of Barça celebrating at the end of the game .

LINK

hmmmm....not sure whether last night's poor performance on our part was due to Chelsea's stellar performance or our tactical changes. Probably a combination of both. Iniesta should always play in the middle, those who think he should be on the wing and that Keita should be in the middle need to go watch this game again. Where did Iniesta score from? I rest my case.

That being said, cant blame Pep, injuries came at the worst freakin time possible. He did what he thought would work and i suppose it did. Taking Yaya out of the middle was one thing, but Iniesta too, that left just Xavi. Keita and Busquets were just filling space really, neither did anything of note. It exposes our lack of depth and we needed the luck FOR ONCE and we got it FOR ONCE. Now lets hope we dont need it in the final. No Alves might just be a blessing based on recent performances but no Abidal is just cruel, especially when he did nothing to deserve a straight red.

If we get Henry back I think we will win it, because a midfield of Iniesta, Xavi and Yaya with Messi, Eto'o and Henry can win any game, even with a makeshift back four....without Henry though, with Iniesta on the left and Keita next to Xavi....i dunno. It will def be a lot harder.

i thought is was a very exciting match.. i thought it was over, that chelsea won, and even pep was congratulating hiddink... and then BAM iniesta scores omg i never expected that!

Lets thank God for Iniesta I thought this game was going to be a repeat of last years semi final when Essien scored.

It was a mistake putting Toure in defense even though he performed admirably he and Iniesta are crucial to our midfield.

I think Pep will go with Keita at left back for the final.

Barca also really need to be direct and shoot more often from outside the box, and Messi should have ran at the Chelsea defense more often every time he got the ball he was looking to pass.

Alves crosses were terrible but credit to him his late cross which resulted as a goal.

What is going on with Eto'o though? Was he even on the field, seriously though these past few games Eto'o has not been playing very poor.

nic .....THANK YOU ive been saying the same things to my freinds who said barca got lucky......

evil that men do...... how do you expect messi to get by 4 defenders......they were surrounding him

TREBLE IS LOOKING MORE AND MORE LIKELY!!!!!

Yes, now is the time to analyse the game without the neighbours banging on the wall because of my shouting...

The defense: Pique and Yaya were immense. Yaya did not look comfortable in all honesty, but his tackling was world-class and he and Pique were class. Abidal was solid untill the debateable red. Alves was utter poor. He did one good cross all night. when he did I saud to someone next to me "ONE GOOD CROSS ALL NIGHT HE HAS BEEN FUKIN SHT", 10 seconds later, messi retrieve the ball and then the Iniesta goal... how football can change in the blink of an eye.

Midfield: Very average. Without Yaya offering the power to get past the opposition AMC, and Iniesta to offer a short outlet to Xavi, we struggled. Iniesta in midfeild offers Xavi a distraction and someone to get past their man so Xavi can run riot in midfeild. Check the Real Madrid game, every Xavi pass usually came from an Iniesta or Yaya touch/pass. Against Man United the midfeild will be back together so I dont worry about yesterdays lack of creativity.

Front Line: Bar Iniesta's goal, we struggled to play well. Messi was again marked by 3 men which meant he was struggling. Eto was anonomous and has been very poor in the two legs. Iniesta tried but he is far more effective in midfeild where hopefully he will kill Manchester. For the first time, I think people will realise how much the attack needs Henry now. He has raw pace which spreads the play. He has the brain of Messi and can score, and I have a feeling he will be crucial against Manchester united.

All in all, no one can complain about reaching the final no matter how Barca got there!! Lets keep everyone fit, and look forward to a mouth watering tie in Rome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i never negitiate beautiful football...it does not matter if some one attempt negative tactics...but i think its time and pep got some lesson from this two leg in which we failed to show our defense breaking capability due to oponent's attitude...

i feel still its possible to break oponent with same rythm even if they have parked the bus....in that case we must have more than one plan in the games. this is because we don wan to dominate ths year...and as in CL u can also expect EPL teams next yr as well ..in knock out phases with samne attitude...

two leg proved that barca rythm could be stopped by a EPL attitude ehich is a bad point ofcourse. its not true that all barca players were not at their best in both the leg...at times i found yesterday they forced us not to at our best...

anyway...by beating MAN U in final...i think the EPL team can get a good deserving lesson...

glad to get back our key players..though loosing Alves....i don know why is becoming ferocious day by day...he is showing more anger than expected..

Correction...."this is because we don wan to dominate ths year."...would be "this is because we don wan to dominate the world ths year only"

As United supporter I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on reaching the final before offering a few opinions on yesterdays match and the upcoming final.

Football, like boxing, is a sport that pits together opponents with different styles of play and yesterdays match was a classic case in point.
There is lots to be admired about Barca and their young coach for sticking to his principles of beautiful football, which in the end triumphed, but only just.
As a fotball fan I greatly admire football played that way and next to United, Barca are the team that I admire the most and if we lose the final, I can think of no better team to lose to, but hopefully not.

But Chelsea had a game plan, a plan that was forced on them by the quality of the opposition, which is a compliment to Barca, and it was a plan that was almost executed to perfection, so for this Chelsea also deserve huge credit, coz lets get it right, not to have one shot on target until the 93rd minute is not good and shows naivety from Guardiolas perspective coz its one thing to have a beautiful plan A, but its another thing entirely not to have a plan B, wether it be beautiful or ugly.
The clear cut chances over the two legs fell to Chelsea and if the referee had have given just one of the penalty claims then it would have been a repeat of last years final, and I dont think Barca could have much grounds for complaint.

That brings me to the final, which promises to be a fantastic game, but I doubt very much it will be the game everybody is hoping for.
United will more than likely play 5 in midfield with Ronaldo up front, we will keep it tight and try to close the space that the Barca players thrive on, but the difference between us and Chelsea is that our midfield and forward line are more dynamic and break at pace.
It promises to be an intriguing final involving two great clubs with great players on show.

good comments people

like i said b4, i believe our poor performance had to do with the small stamford bridge...alves could manage to keep just abt 2 out of 20 crosses on the pitch, malouda and anelka could afford to come back as far back as possible cos going back upfront was jst a lil distance.....pep shoulda seen there was no how our philosophy lacking the midfield it needed woulda worked here,

i cant blame any of messi or eto much....u cant imagine eto making the moves he made against alex n terry in d 1st leg at stamford bridge, absolutely no space for that

stamford bridge should neva host a final....

nywayz, i have reasonably good feelings we will lift the trophy though it still depends on lots of factors....and its still after we've dealt with current issues

u guys should chck dis out
LINK

Well written Nic. While Pique's handball is the only call that I might entertain as egregious, I have little sympathy for a team who parks the bus while a man up for the last 25-30 minutes. They had plenty of chances to make the discussion of clearly inadvertent handballs and armpit balls irrelevant. Their gameplan was to defend with as many men back as humanly possible (which is fine if that's what they think it takes to win) but if you are going to do that rather than try to attack and score, you can't make any mistakes. You can't leave guys open or you'll pay. They did it once and we cashed in. Plain and simple. You can't blame the ref for that-- the ref had nothing to do with Iniesta being open and striking that glorious shot into the left upper V. If you watch the buildup again, Iniesta actually gets wiped out by a great Lampard slide tackle, but he gets up and plods his way upfield, finds space, Leo finds him and Barca punches their tickets for Rome.

OMG OMG OMG

i guess i'm the only person who hasn't commented. the high dose of adrenaline in me before and after the game took control of me. i was just celebrating and celebrating. i woke up this morning thinking i had a sore throat, but then i was like; i was shounting iniesta and barca the day before.

damn i am so proud of the effort of my team. 10 men against chelsea and still pull a result. the fact that we score on our only opportunity really tells us how good of a team we are. YOU MESS UP, YOU CRY. plain and simple. i think if we had the clear chances chelsea had we could have score all of them. OMG every time a see iniesta's goal i wipe the tears in my eyes. what about those who saw it real, raw and live. did you guys notice that it is like our good luck side. it was on this side that eto'o scored the 2-1 victory. wow i am so full of emotion. to be honest in a game like this no player, wining ot losing side deserves a rating because the amount of sweat from each player could fuel a truck for three full days. high energy and intensity for 90 plus minutes.

i told you guys that Toure was the only match for drogba. guess what pep kindas played my line up. yeah...coach of the blog...ha ha ha. just playing.

imagine we are la liga champions on Sunday. it will be the best week in barca history

real madrid 6-2
chelsea 1-1
villareal -- la liga 08/09 champions.

energy energy energy in a row. even gallons of red bull and gatorade cannot replish that.

peace out....viva BARCA.

Beautiful Pics~~~!!!

guys you guys should go to you tube aand look for commentaries on various languages. they are damn funny.

is that michael jackson or dani alves doing the BILLIE JEAN move. damn that's hot.

i would like to see that iniesta's sole picture enlarged that put in nou camp in case we win on may 27th. moments like this should never be forgotten. i'm still filled with adrenaline. wow.

blogger find extra celebration and more pictures please...

I may sound like the eternal pessimist on this blog (like to think of myself as a realist) but the Barca performance against Chelsea over both the legs ,the related suspensions (for the final) and Man U's revival from their (way too short from a Barca fan's perspective) blip don't bode very well for us as far as the final is concerned.

As a Barca fan I find our tactics very frustrating, I don't understand why we don't have a Plan B against English sides. Yes they will win most if not all of the balls in the air at the back,yes they will man mark Messi to render him almost ineffective, yes they will nearly always dominate in dead ball situations, yes they will hit us on the counter attack with their pacy and powerful attackers. But why can't we put in place a strategy to counter/neutralise these tactics. We have been knocked out by English sides every time we have exited the CL in the past few years. And yet we can't seem to find their weaknesses and exploit them.

Can somebody tell me what Eto'o has been doing on the pitch in the past few Barca matches? My apologies if I sound like a bitter fan but I sit next to a Man U fan at work who can't stop reminding me about Barca's CL record against English sides in the CL.... I

hey Omer,

why don't you just go ahead and tell us what these strategies should be? what way can Barca play that will be better?

personally, i don't think we're a team built to play a different game. we can't beat them at their own game, if that's what your suggesting.

if you look at both the Chelsea games and the Man U games from last season, one thing has to stick out: Man U and Chelsea both scored first. and both did so thanks to amazing hits from outside the box, against the balance of play. sure, things could have been different, but they weren't.

if that's what the best teams in the world are counting on to beat us, then I say we play that game. I'd rather hold the ball and make them defend nearly the whole game. i mean, would it be better if we camped in our box and let them send crosses at us where we are severely at a disadvantage?

i've said this before, the key to cracking the English nut is to score first. this and only this will open up the game. we need a moment of brilliance, plain and simple. probably a shot coming from midfield from outside the box (maybe that's what Kieta was bought for...but hasn't quite worked). or messi or iniesta breaking free. or just getting lucky enough to have a penalty called. or a perfect dani alves kick that seems less likely now.

if some of the strongest and most skilled teams in the world put 9 or 10 men behind the ball there's no easy strategy to score on them...we've just got to hope that our luck will be better than theirs...and maybe it just has...

nic...mate any news on Henry!? Whats the chance of him playing against Manchester?

Seriously...last year...when everyone was calling for his head...i knew he'd come right...you try having your wife leave you, living in a new city, speaking a new language, playing with an injury and being forced to run more than you ever have before! well done titi for proving everyone wrong...you've earnt your place in this team (long ago)

but yeah...got any idea nic?

cheers mate

I tend to agree with Caleb on this one. Barça should play to their strengths which means possession football, passes on the floor to the man and a patient build up. Of course the long ball is fine sometimes but best used when the opposition defence are not camped on the edge of their penalty area like Chelsea played. Shooting from distance is also fine if you have the space although this is not a particular strength of ours. When we play United we must try to keep possession and not lose the ball anywhere near our goal as that is how Ronaldo and Rooney will punish us. If in the end our game plan A isn't good enough, then so be it, it wasn't good enough, but playing this way has got us to where we are and I still think it is our best chance to go on and win the thing.

Aussie_Barça - nothing in the news about Henry, on Tuesday when the reports came out that he would definitely not make it for Chelsea, it was also said he may not make it for the Copa del Rey, so I imagine he should be fine for Rome but there is no definite news. When I know something more I will post it.
And yes, Henry has certainly proved me wrong this season

guys ....i think i have to give some props to ozone as far as guessing formations go i think he was the only one that put toure in cb......so good job



TREBLE

guyz...did u get this news....is it rumour or humour...

LINK

@ neuro11 ,
Perhaps Puyol(31) is already planning for his future after retiring from Barça . Fine with me . Remember AC Milan have 15 players who are 31 years old or older . Some are in their mid and late thirties . Needless to say that there will be no threat of any "youth movement" looming in the horizon for Milan anytime in the near future !!

Check this out . A handball/penalty by Ballack . Another possible penalty by Ashley Cole . Watch between 1:54 to 2:04 . The replay shows Ballack handball clearly . Courtesy of a Barça fan at " FC Barcelona Blog Barça Transfer Zone " !!

LINK

Speaking of Plan B versus the english teams i simply believe it should be a slightly modified plan A. Too often (against the english defense) when we get the ball high up the pitch, we end up playing it back to the center backs to organize and start the attack. This works well in La Liga against weaker defenders, and also works well at controlling the game against the english teams. But against chelsea/manu/pool, it lets all 8 defenders and midfielders set up their defense, and against these elite teams, penatration will not come easily.

Plan B should simply be a slight change in urgency from two players, Xavi and Messi. Xavi must not pass back to Puyol and start the attack, but try a killer ball through/behind the defense before they are set up. Likewise, Messi, if he gets the ball quickly on the wing, should try to beat his man down the touch before he gets 3 on him. If Xavi's pass is cut out, or Messi looses it occationally, so what.

Not saying we should abandon our normal possession, but calculated low-percentage risks by our world class players that are capable of doing so will greatly increase our chances of scoring.

guys Eidur Gudjohnsen news:

LINK

if Guddy leaves i think his best replacement will be MOUTINHO the guy who plays for Portugal and Sporting. He is very young and skillful. excellent free kick taker too. he would be a good cover in midfield as Yaya and Kieta have African Nations Cup commitments next season.

What about buying JUNINHO. i think he still has some two years in him given that he might leave Lyon as they are staggering in France.

messiah10, thanks for the award.

Guddy leaving means we need to buy a young and cheap midfielder with some suitable experience. are there any suggestions?

I read the MAXWELL news. that is just the kind of player we need. Height, Strength, Confidence and excellent crosses.

what is all this plan A and plan B talk. let me make this debate official.

personally i think plan B would be:
1. stay alert at all times especially those with defensive duties to cover left and right back positions when they make forward runs.

2. Most or all passes to strikers should be the same way Henry received balls for his goals from Marquez against Lyon, Xavi and Messi against Real Madrid. those kind of passes leaves defenders looking at each other and reacting 2 seconds late after saying "oh sh@#$%t f$%&k, i thought you were going for that. lines man, isn't there offside? where the hell is he? already running toward our goal, we better follow him."

that my plan B: maximum focus, full concentration, attention to detail, mind to mind communication and intelligent aerial through passes. also, all shots should be as accurate and millimeter precise as iniesta's against chelsea. put your heart and soul into it. opportunity comes only once so better make the most of it.

peace out!

guys read this

LINK=512/newsid=828015.html

we better send a petition to UEFA for Abidal's case before it too late. if a red card has to be forgiven, i would say abidal over fletcher. his was the most obvious: tackle from behind, foul inside the box, last player.

what are your thoughts.

LINK=512/newsid=828015.html

Apparently UEFA didn't forgive Alves and Abidal..
I've just read in Sport that after the match, Terry went to Barça's dressing room to congratulate them for getting to the final, and they said it was a very emotional moment for all. This happened while Drogba and Ballack were attacking the ref.
I've never liked that guy (2004-2005 trauma getting to my mind), but that kind of gests reminds that there are still good people at chelsea.

@ Maria Ines,
John Terry is Chelsea's captain and that is why he went to Barça's dressing room . He had to do it . It was his job . It has nothing to do with him being a nice guy or anything like that . If anybody watched him play he can be the dirtiest and meanest s.o.b. on the pitch . I don't buy any of that Mr. nice guy crap !!

very well written nic!

chelsea pushed us right to the very end but somehow i feel more confident facing united. they aren't as physical as chelsea and prefer to attack rather than defend.

although they exhibited a defensive approach last season, we can find hope in the fact that this is a one match FINAL not a two leg affair so applying chelsea tactics may not be fruitful at all.

in all, i just think it's going to be a great final to watch and if both teams play the football they are famous for, it will be a great night for football!

sempre amb el barca!

It looks like FC Barcelona has wounded the entire football universe. people are still commenting on the Stanford Bridge events: goals, cards, penalties, swearing,etc. it will really take a while for the remnants of the pain and agony to dissapear.they better defeat arsenal to suppress the pain.

damn, sergio ramos is still in pain. read GOAL.com

peace out.

niice comment by zizu....

LINK

@FCB Holland
I mentioned that because i don't remember we or another team we faced in the past doing this, in a game like this.. but it might be as you said..
And about Zidane, there's still the mistery whether madrid have or not quality young players. As we don't see them, we don't know. Our future, on the other hand, is safe. There are some kids that you could see have enough talent and they're not even 15 years old yet! (i watched them a lot while i had Barça TV here, but now it has been replaced by Real Madrid TV..nice!..which didn't broadcast anything new this week!!! )

Hello Mates.. Ozone thanks for interesting links.
Here's what I whant to discusse and hear ur oppinion, How bout playing 3-4-3 formation Pique , Toure ,Pyol ,
Hleb ,Inesta ,Buskets ,Havy
Titi(as of may 8 he is doughtable),Etoo ,Messi
We need to close the midfiled and contor the ball over 70%. Since Alves is suspended for the game I thing that Hleb and Messi could play as googd together.

Caleb, when I say Plan B I don't mean playing like Chelsea did at the Nou Camp. But we could try to modify our existing tactics like:

-switching to 4-5-1 from 4-3-3 when we don't have the ball instead of piling more pressure on the 3 man midfield and the makeshift defence. I totally agree with Greg about reducing the backpass to CB which allows the opposition to regroup and fortify themselves.

- Move Messi all around the pitch if the English sides want to man mark him. Let him draw their defenders away and make them uncomfortable with his 'floater' role and remember not every defender can man mark him for 90 min without him causing any damage. Iniesta is versatile enough to switch flanks and even play in a central role if Messi is to be played in such a way.

- We could try the 4-2-3-1 against Man U (Puyol-Pique-Toure-Sylvinho- Keita-Busquets-Messi-Xavi-Iniesta -Eto'o) but we need to give our makeshift defence lots of playing time before the CL final so that they can gel together and develop some sort of understanding.

Nic, is Caceres going to be given a try in La Liga/CL or is he destined to be a benchwarmer for Barca? We spent a lot of money on him and it doesn't appear like he is part of Pep's plans even when we are struggling to fill our defensive slots. Do u think we bought the wrong player? If that is so will Henrique be filling his position next season or will we go searching for another defender in the summer?

yo yo yo

it seems like you guys are forgeting that we are playing Man Utd. the match against chelsea exposed out limitaions to ferguson. i am not sure he will repeat his strategy. man utd have a far weaker midfield. there is also a hole at right back because of john o'shea. ferdinand is not as good as people think. vidic and john terry do all the dirty work making him appear good with that his scary angry face. look for a man utd match without vidic and tell me the defensive outcomes. he only has height. that is why we desperately need Titi for Rome. i am confident he will heal. give that there is less pressure on us and enouigh time for the barca medical staff to access fitness level.

this thus means our best midfield:Xavi,Toure,Iniesta (they are the ones who drive the team and coordinate the passing.the midfield should be the brain,the central processinbf unit. thay have been playing for two years now so thay know what to expect from each other. they know what the striker want) plus Messi, Eto'o and Henry. Hleb can play with O'shea all he wants if Titi is late. as for defence. Cacares,Pique, Puyol and Sylvinho is our only bet provided they stay injury-free. all practices should be done with Caceres as right back. this means he better enroll for a Dani Alves skills and mindset crash course for the right side to maintain its average of 89% efficieny.

let me do some more thinking.
peace out!!

Ozone mate...last year when we played united...vidic was out...for the first leg i think. we still couldnt score!

Henry will be fine...mind games people

Good morning..after watching the game against chelsea (saw it yesterday)..i might have been too tired, but i saw a 11-men team defending with 9 men while a 10 men team where attacking with all they got. I even felt sorry for chelsea for loosing the final the way they did (without watching the game) because i thought at least they had some pride..but all they got was a lucky goal and defendeded it with 9 men. And dive whenever they got the chance. So i think our ticket to Rome is far more than well deserved. Chelsea didn't deserve anything but watching the final on the tv.
United won't defend with 9 men, but on the other hand, they will be very tough and explote our lack of wings. But i don't see their midfield being stronger or talented than ours. I do, however, and watching all the stupid whining from UK (i thought it has some kind of base, but the way chelsea dived that entire game was ridiculous), fear for ronaldo and his dives. That could cost us. But our guys understand they shouldn't even let united to get the ball, minimizing the options for him to dive. This will be very similar to madrid (1st game), tough, but totally doable.