The Good and the Bad of Barcelona

Credit: here




Last night saw something which football fans across the globe have become immune too, a Barcelona defeat.

It had been 30 games since Barcelona lost 2-0 at home to Hercules, when they travelled to the second division leaders, Real Betis, leading 5-0 after the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie.

Despite playing the likes of Messi and Xavi with some youngsters including Bojan, Barcelona were 2-0 down within ten minutes and went on to lose the game 3-1.

Messi missed a penalty and, ok, it was of no substance in a tie which was effectively already over, but it shows that Barca perhaps lack a strength in depth.





Messi missed a penalty as Real Betis caused an upset in the Spanish Cup.

Credit; here

I take time to analyse the good and bad things about Barcelona and what they can achieve this season.

We'll start with the good, and that obviously peaked with their 5-0 victory over Real Madrid in El Classico in November.

I remember watching the game and I was expecting Barca to win fairly easily, but they still impressed me with their incredible movement and their ability to convert the multiple chances they created. You can watch the goals below.

It was Xavi, Villa and Messi who tormented Real throughout and even Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 22 goals this season, could not do more than touch the ball in the Catalan side's half.

It hasn't only been Real on the wrong side of a mauling from Pep Guardiola's side this season, however, and Espanyol, Almeria and Seville have all been hit for five, contributing to the Champions huge goal difference total of +50, most of which coming from the 8-0 away demolition of Almeria, who face Barca in the next round of the Cope del Rey. Bet they can't wait.

The most frightening thing about Barcelona, as well as their standard of players, is how technically good their midfielder's are.

I class Andres Iniesta as the best midfielder in the world, despite some well regarded pundits saying Xavi is better, as he takes the games to teams, can pass, can score and has a footballing brain.



Iniesta and Xavi have played together for some time at both club and international level, and they supplement each other's play well.

Credit; here

It's a close match, but it's safe to say that the side have two of the top players in that position in the world, who have ketp the likes of Cesc Fabregas out of the Spanish team.

They play well off each other and have two of the best footballing brains I have ever seen. It's a shame that I doubt we'll ever see either of them in the Premier League.

Obviously, it's ok to have creativity, but you need the strikers to finish those chances.

The front three, Messi, Villa and Pedro, have scored a combined 42 goals, despite only Pedro playing all 19 league games so far, and only Hercules, in the league, and Atletico Bilbao, in the Cup, have managed to keep out the dominatory side so far this season.



Barca's trophy collection is already pretty impressive, but they are still in with a chance of winning the Champions League, the Copa del Rey and La Liga, where they sit four points clear at the top.

Credit; here

The real question is, how do you stop Barcelona? Maybe one day, someone might hire a few double decker buses to park in front of the goal, advice which might be well heralded by Arsenal when they travel to the Nou Camp in 6 weeks.

Arsene Wenger's side are full of confidence at the moment after beating Chelsea 3-1 at the Emirates last month but you question whether Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and company can really afford to take the game to Barcelona.



Barcelona left their mark on the pitch against Arsenal last time out and it could become a permanent scar if Arsenal fail to turn up again.

Credit; here

That is one area where Barcelona are a little short, at the back.

It's a bit like picking at holes, considering they have kept 9 clean sheets this season, but they don't usually draw 0-0, you quite simply have to score against them.

This video might be a few years old but, regardless, the team still set out in the same manner.




The last time they were beaten to nil, prior to the Hercules defeat, was in a pre season friendly against Manchester City in 2008 and maybe Arsenal, and other teams, are going to have to accept that they won't have much of the ball, and that they must take any chance they get.

That is where pace comes in. Theo Walcott must be huge for Arsenal in both legs against the Spanish side, and pace is something which they have struggled against, especially given he'll likely be up against Eric Abidal.




Walcott's pace could be absolutely essential if Arsenal are to get any kind of result, but he must make the right decisions.

Arsenal scored against Barca in both of last season's ties, and maybe they can learn from their experiences but I expect Barca to lift the trophy again come May and it will be a privilege to see them conquer the domestic world at Wembley.

There have been questions raised of Guardiola as a manager, but how can a manager be under pressure when he has a team that could perform whether they have a manager, coaching team, fans, or not.

It's time for someone to step up and not be afraid of the Spaniards, and that could be their downfall, but we don't want a Spanish team to dominate the whole of Europe for years to come.

A treble would go some way to claiming that title and anyone who can stop them would again be worthy of winning whatever competition they're playing in.

How do you stop Barcelona? Do Arsenal have any chance in the Champions League tie? Could Barca win the treble?